Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Jasmine
M y heart raced as I woke from a troubled sleep, speeding from dreamland into confusion. A sense of panic rose up within me. Scanning my dark bedroom, I pulled my blanket over my breasts and searched the corners, certain I wasn’t alone.
What is happening?
Is our home under attack?
A large figure moved from the shadows a millisecond before a hand covered my mouth, stopping my scream. The scent of alcohol filled the air as warm breath bathed my ear.
“Don’t be scared.”
The familiar deep voice resonated through me as I shook my head. I wasn’t scared—alarmed and caught off guard. My pulse sprinted, causing my heart to thump against my breastbone. The reverberating beat in my ears made it difficult to hear Rei’s question.
“Will you be quiet?”
I nodded as my nostrils flared. As soon as he released my lips, I gasped for air. “Reinaldo?” I whispered as I jumped back. “You can’t be in here. Oh my God. Dario will definitely kill you.” I wished that I was speaking metaphorically, but I wasn’t. “Did anyone see you?”
“No one saw.” The mattress dipped as he sat on the edge of my bed. His usual sandalwood-and-leather scent combined with alcohol emanated around us as he reached for my hand.
Cautiously, I let him have it.
He wrapped his fingers around mine. “If he finds me, he can try. Mí padre is sending Em and me back to California in the morning, early before others wake.”
“On Christmas Day?” The sensation of his touch caused my skin to warm, and my eyes adjusted to the darkness, bringing Reinaldo’s handsome face out of the shadows. The muscles in his cheeks tightened, revealing the chiseled edge of his jaw.
“I couldn’t leave without talking to you.”
I sat up, allowing the blanket to pool around my waist. My pajama top covered me, although my lack of a bra felt a bit scandalous. “I wanted to talk to you too. Was Dario too hard on you and Em?”
Reinaldo scoffed. “Not as hard as mí padre .”
“He said you killed Russians tonight?”
“ Sí.” Lifting my hand, he kissed my knuckles. “They want to keep us apart, but I had to tell you that I’m not wrong about you. You’re deserving, more deserving than to marry a soldier—just a soldier. That’s all that Em is or will be. He can’t offer you what I can. I’m the second son of the kingpin.”
“You know it won’t be my choice.”
He exhaled, as if nonverbally agreeing. My future was in Dario’s hands.
“There was another reason I risked coming to see you.” His hand cupped my cheek. “I want to kiss you again.”
Hearing those words coming from him made my core twist and clench. “I want that too, but I don’t think we should.”
The tips of his lips curled upward. “I was right about you. You’re a rule follower.”
I momentarily lifted my hands to my face. My words came out muffled. “Until tonight.”
Gently, he eased my hands away from my face. His dark orbs zeroed in on me as if he could see beyond my exterior before teasing a ringlet of my hair through his fingers. “I don’t want to go back to California. I want to ensure you’re safe.” He paused. “Your beauty is also a curse.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Em and I should have taken more time to learn more about where we were taking you. Fuck. We had no idea that the lounge was in Myshkin’s territory. Jano told me that the Russians sent word on the street that they’re looking for the beautiful redhead who was seen with two cartel members.”
“Dario told me.” A smile curled my lips. “He didn’t add the beautiful descriptor. ”
“He should, preciosa . Like I said, you stand out among the others.”
Preciosa?
My smile faded. “Dario is sending me back to New York tomorrow after breakfast.”
“He’s probably right, but I’d rather have you in Northern California with me.” Rei bent at the waist and lowered his forehead to mine. “I fucked this up. I should have come forward sooner with my desires. Damn problems with Herrera.”
He was so close. Even in the darkened room, I could see into his dark eyes. Reinaldo wasn’t scary. He was intense, dangerous, and deadly. He was also risking his life to talk to me.
“It isn’t your fault or Em’s. I went with you willingly. I wanted to see the world without bodyguards for once.”
The timbre of his voice lowered. “Is that the only reason you went with us?”
A wave of warmth flowed from my chest upward to my neck and my cheeks. I pulled away to see more than his eyes. My breathing quickened, causing my breasts to rise and fall. The focus of my gaze dipped down to his lips—his strong, firm, yet also tender lips.
Rei lifted my chin. His timbre slowed. “When you’re mine, I can kiss you whenever I want.” He ran his warm palm over my arm. “And touch you. It won’t matter where we are, I’ll take what is mine.”
He said that as if it were already proclaimed.
“Without my permission?”
“No.” He shook his head. “You will want it all. You’ll crave me as much as I crave you. ”
My breathing grew shallower.
“My cock is so hard right now, I’m not certain I can walk away. If we could find a priest tonight, I’d show you exactly what I mean. Soon, you’ll be as addicted to me as I am to you.”
I rolled my lower lip between my teeth. “I went with you tonight because I wanted to get to know you better.” That was what he’d said in the lounge.
His hand moved from my chin to my cheek.
I closed my eyes, savoring the gentleness in his touch. It was as if he were holding back the dangerous side of himself, wanting me to recognize that he could also be tender.
Lifting my chin, I brought my lips to his. Explosions like fireworks on the Fourth of July detonated within me as he moved his hand to the back of my neck, pulling me toward him. Our heads turned and noses bumped. There wasn’t anything gentle in his kiss. Rei was ravenous and I was his meal. I also wasn’t meek in this new dynamic.
He’d said I’d want his kisses and his touches. In a matter of three encounters, he’d proved himself right. I pressed back. It was as his tongue sought entrance that I pulled away.
“Rei, I can’t…we’re not married.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t believe there were women like you left in this world.” He stroked my cheek with his finger. “The capo will choose me, and we will be married.” He leaned closer, his black orbs focused on my lips.
My approval came in the form of a nod, a small, almost imperceptible, nod, but a nod nonetheless .
Our mouths collided again as a moan escaped my lips. Rei’s tongue teased until my lips parted. He tasted of alcohol and danger, an absolutely intoxicating combination. I reached for his neck, wanting to touch his shoulders, pull him closer, and to feel his hardness against my softness.
This passion was the thing of movies and books.
I’d doubted its existence in reality, and yet here it was.
Rei’s hands began to roam when he was the one to pull away. “Fuck, Jasmine, I want to fuck you, but I won’t give the capo reason to hate me. The next time we’re together will be our wedding.”
My mind was too mushy to comprehend what he promised.
“Tell me you want the same thing.”
I nodded, still a bit drunk on the endorphins speeding through my circulation. “I do.”
“Then it will happen.”
As he stood from the bed, I made a point not to look for proof of what he’d said about an erection. Instead, I kept my gaze on his eyes. “Rei?”
He reached for my hand. “I’ll be thinking of all the ways to bring you pleasure once we’re wed.”
“What if Dario doesn’t agree?”
“He will.”
“How can you be so confident?”
A smirk came to his talented lips. “Because you’re now mine. If Dario chooses anyone else, you’ll be a widow before he has a chance to fuck you.”
That wasn’t the answer I was expecting .
“What about Em?” I asked.
“He can find his own woman. I’ve found mine.”
Once again, he kissed my knuckles. “ Preciosa. ”
“What does that mean?”
“It means beyond beautiful—precious.”
“Rei,” I said, “please don’t get caught leaving my room. Dario and Catalina are the double doors beyond mine.”
“See, Jasmine. He knows your value. It’s why he keeps you close.” He leaned over and laid a kiss on the top of my head. “No kissing anyone else. You’re mine.”
“I’m yours.”
“Dream of me.”
I held my breath as Rei went to the door. He stood silently for a minute before opening it and disappearing into the hallway.
Settling against the pillow, I contemplated my choice. I’d agreed. I said I was his.
I recalled something he’d said. He was going off to war.
Now that I’d committed my heart, I said a plea, wishing Rei to stay safe.