and I know it. I never intended to involve her. God, I spent years keeping her oblivious to what was going on.”
“Let’s talk about that.” He brushed a lock of hair from her face. “Why were you in trouble and accumulating debt?”
“Our mother…” Her scalp tingled, and though she was whispering, it sounded like a roaring gale in her ears. She searched the spaces between the trees and probed the field beyond.
“Tomas did another sweep of this area today. No one is listening. And he’s out there just over that hill right now, guarding. He’ll let me know if anyone approaches. Your mother…”
“Died of heart disease.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for your loss.” He stroked her cheek, her neck, his fingers constantly brushing her skin as if he couldn’t stop touching her. “Tula gave us a comprehensive rundown of your background to help us rescue you. Hector tried to convince her that you were working for him, but she never believed that. She was adamant about your innocence.”
“I miss her so much. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize me. We look alike.” She glanced down at the bones protruding on her frame. “Or, at least, we used to.”
“She didn’t have recent photos. The teenage girl in the pictures we saw…”
“I’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“You were beautiful then. And now.” A heated look came to his eyes, lazy and hooded. Arresting. The transformation drugged her with narcotic desires, turning cravings into a full-blown addiction. “You’re so fucking gorgeous. Sometimes, I look at you and think you’re an illusion. You can’t be real. Then you return the eye contact, and I feel like a teenage boy all over again. A fumbling, fuzzy-headed, walking hard-on.”
The foolish, constricting organ in her chest jumped madly at his words, sinking deeper into him.
“Your sister told me that trouble often found you. But she didn’t know about your debt.” His fingers feathered along her collarbone. “What did your mother have to do with that?”
“Medical bills. So many. She was in and out of the hospital for years before she died. I had no money, no way to pay for her care. Doctors started refusing her, and I just… I couldn’t tell Tula. She made it out of Ciudad Hueca, escaped to America through hard work, brains, and legal means. If I told her about the bills, she would’ve forfeited the life she’d worked so hard to achieve. She would’ve come home. I couldn’t let her do that.”
“So you lied to her.” He held his chin tight to his chest, green eyes sparking beneath thick copper lashes.
“Don’t you dare judge me.”
“Judge you?” He half-laughed, half-groaned. “I’m insanely turned on. It’s all I can do to not throw you on the ground and have my way with you. Your ferocity, selflessness, courage, outrageous beauty… I’m fucking beside myself with admiration. I won’t even apologize for it, because you know exactly what you’re doing to me.”
“No, I….” A pulse burst in her temples, and her mouth went dry. Desire. It tore through her belly, low, deep, and ill-timed. Focus. “I want to hear about Martin and Ricky.”
“They’re two of my closest friends. I told you their histories with Van. They’re also bi-sexual, openly now, with Tula. The three of them are in a polyamorous relationship.”
“You’re kidding.” She couldn’t imagine it. “My sister… In a threesome?”
“From what I saw just a few days ago, she’s happily, ridiculously in love.”
“Wow. How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t swing that way, despite what I went through in Van’s attic. I’m not the sort of man who shares women, not even with my best friend. But if they’re happy, I’m happy for them.” He leaned in, eyes glowing. “Ask me how I feel about you.”
Heady warmth spread through her stomach and radiated to her thighs. He was so obscenely handsome and sexy, and that heady warmth gathered into a delicious ache. “How do you feel about me?”
“I’m here to free Vera Gomez by any means possible.” He lowered his lips, settling his mouth upon hers, soft, barely touching, yet certain. “The task felt impossible because I didn’t want to help the woman who pretended to be you. I wanted to kill her. Still do. Especially now, knowing the part she played in making your life a living hell.”
His voice was a deep caress with an edge of vindictive fury as he kissed her face, her neck, nuzzling and touching her everywhere. The yearning he stirred in her was frightening, scrambling her concentration.