Ruthless Savior - Julia Sykes Page 0,5

wall until my breasts were trapped almost painfully against his hard chest.

Overwhelmed by the sweet release I found in his arms, the tears that stung the corners of my eyes finally spilled down my cheeks. He stilled when the wet heat met his lips, and his huge body tensed.

He pulled back, but before he could draw away completely, I grabbed at his shirt, desperate to keep him tethered to me.

His dark, heavy brows drew together, hooding his eyes and dulling their luminous glow. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. I…” The words caught in my throat, but my rational mind slowly coalesced in the absence of his kiss. “I’m not hurt. Not at all.”

He hesitated for a moment, his full lips twisted in a frown. Tentatively, he reached for my face. When I didn’t flinch, he gently wiped away my tears. The tender brush of his thumbs over my cheeks intensified the sting in my eyes, and my chest tightened. More tears spilled, hotter and faster.

I’d already betrayed him. My fierce protector might die because of me, but it was too late to stop what I’d put in motion. Carmen’s allies planned to rescue her in just a few hours, and I couldn’t go back on my word. Not when my inaction would condemn her to more torment at her sadistic captor’s hands.

Even if I did try to back out, no one’s safety was guaranteed at this point. Daniel was intent on overthrowing Raúl’s boss. My refusal to cooperate wouldn’t change that. All it would accomplish was keeping Carmen locked away, allowing her to suffer because of my cowardice.

I blinked up at Raúl, struggling to see his rough-hewn face one last time before I fled. Tears blurred my vision, but I could still make out his frown.

“I’m sorry.” My soft, anguished apology was barely more than a whisper.

“You don’t need to be afraid,” he promised on a low rumble. “I’ll keep you safe.”

I nodded numbly, not daring to speak again. The thick lump in my throat would’ve rendered me mute, anyway.

Raúl couldn’t keep me safe. Not anymore. Once he realized my betrayal, he’d hate me forever.

Chapter 2

Raúl

The sight of Marisol’s tears knotted something at the center of my chest. Her distress disturbed me in a way that was entirely unfamiliar and deeply unpleasant.

I’d endured weeks of agonizing self-denial, forcing myself to focus solely on her safety rather than succumbing to my physical desires. In that time, protecting her had become my obsession.

She’d become my obsession: pretty, fragile Marisol. The first pretty, fragile thing I’d ever managed to shelter rather than shatter in my rough, greedy hands.

My jaw ticked, and I swallowed a growl. I should’ve killed Daniel for touching her, for scaring her. If she hadn’t soothed the animal in me with her soft sighs and sweet submission, I probably would’ve gone after him and finished the job.

I’d made an oath, issued an edict: No one touches her.

That slimy little bastard had made me break my promise.

I continued tracing her entrancing features with gentle brushes of my fingertips, attempting to calm her. Everything about her was delicate and enticing, from the gentle slope of her nose to the rosebud perfection of her lush lips. Her heart-shaped face and golden skin enhanced her soft beauty, and when she peeked up at me through her thick, dark lashes, her rich chocolate eyes melted something at the center of my chest.

When I’d first been tasked with guarding my meek hostage, I’d watched her closely to make sure no man harassed her. After my first vicious example of what would happen to anyone who dared to defy my protective claim over her—when I’d murdered a man with my bare hands for trying to molest her—no one had approached her.

But I couldn’t stop watching. My skittish captive was beautiful. Tempting.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t simply take what I wanted. My first and only act of goodness was protecting my vulnerable, lost little lamb. I was the person who kept her safe—the only man who could keep her safe.

Honoring my self-tormenting oath, I hadn’t touched her in the darkest ways I craved. To spare myself further frustration, I’d limited contact to an absolute minimum. Although I’d never allowed myself to do more than brush my hand against hers, the gentle touches always brought a small, cautious smile to her sensual lips.

She never smiled for anyone else. Only for me.

My gut tightened with a new, strange hunger that was more than sexual desire. I liked