Chapter 9
Lyse
Ithought nothing was more maddening than being stuck in my father’s house, but I was wrong. Hell on Earth was being stuck in this room, waiting for something to happen.
Omar had given Felix a week to sort things out.
It had already been three days, and there had been nothing but radio silence on Felix’s end.
Helena brought most of my meals, but Omar came in each evening with my dinner.
He didn’t speak to me, but he made sure that I ate before he took the tray away.
He was fulfilling his promise to Felix: making sure I was well taken care of while in Castillo custody.
Lying on the bed, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, I realized that I couldn’t do this for another four days.
I would bash myself against the walls first. I had to think of a plan that got me out of this room.
Running wasn’t an option. Omar would kill me before he let that happen again.
But what if I got him to trust me instead?
Then I could try to slip away when the time was right.
Or maybe I could convince him to take me back to the mainland.
Even in my head, it sounded stupid. Why would La Bestia ever trust me? Not only was I a Rojas, I was the eldest daughter of the man who put a hit out on his brother. He would be totally within his rights to kill me…or ruin me.
An idea, reckless and utterly stupid, came to mind.
He wanted me; I might never have been touched before, but I knew what that look was in a man’s eyes when he stared at me.
But I needed Omar to do more than want me.
I needed him to…to take me. I needed his want for me to overcome his distrust. Then I might be able to convince him to let me out of this room, and, maybe, I could plan my escape.
Surely there was more than one boat on this island.
Though the thought of operating one on my own sent a chill through me. Could I really do it?
The sun was sinking in the sky, and I knew it was getting nearer to dinner time.
If I was going to do something, I had to be ready.
Only I wasn’t sure exactly what I was trying to do.
I’d been earmarked for Felix since I was fifteen years old.
Apá had been adamant that I remained untouched, meaning not even hints of attraction to anyone else were allowed.
It made a sick kind of sense now. Hell, Felix’s ultimate fear was not that I would be killed, but that I would be ruined before he could have his way with me.
I shuddered at the idea of his hands on me.
Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone, I thought, making my decision.
I scrambled off the bed and headed into the ensuite bathroom.
I stripped off my clothes and left them in a heap on the floor, turning the shower on as hot as it would go.
I yelped as I stepped into the cubicle; the water practically sizzled when it hit my skin.
It hurt, but it helped ease the tension between my shoulders.
I quickly shampooed my hair with the coconut-scented products that were surprisingly good quality for a prison cell. Once I was scalded clean, I turned off the water and reached for my towel. I roughly dried my hair and finger-combed the locks until they fell in wet curls across my shoulders.
Instead of getting dressed again, I took the damp towel and wrapped it around my body so that it was tucked beneath my arms and hung down to my thighs.
I stood in the bathroom, heart pounding against my ribs, until I heard the door unlock.
Then, steeling myself, I walked out as casually as I could manage, like I hadn’t just rehearsed this whole thing in my head.
I ran directly into Omar, whose eyes grew large when he realized that I was nearly naked.
I slapped my hands over my chest, holding onto the towel like it was a lifeline.
“You can’t even knock?” I demanded. My voice was a touch too high; there was a phony quality to it that I hoped he wouldn’t notice.
But, of course, he did.
“What are you doing, conejita?” A dangerous smirk worked its way onto his face; his eyes traveled down my body, and it felt like his hands were on me. A shiver zipped up my spine. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
I tried to deflect as best I could. “What do you mean? I’m not doing anything. You’re the one who barges in here whenever you like.”
His smile dropped. “It’s my house, conejita.
I can go in any room I want when I want.
” Omar put the tray of food down on the dresser, his eyes never leaving my body.
I tried my best to maintain the front that I hadn’t been anticipating him…
but it was a losing battle, and we both knew it.
“I don’t think you have any clue what it means to seduce a man. ”
Heat spread across my cheeks. “I am not—”
“You are,” he said. “Pobre conejita perdida. Pobre virgen. Asking for something that you can’t possibly handle.”
His taunting was infuriating, but the look in his eyes made my body quiver in a way it never had before.
The aura of danger that radiated off him was exciting, and I throbbed between my thighs.
The plan, Lyse, I reminded myself. You had a plan here.
Of course, that plan was shoddy and bound not to work, but I had to try something.
“I’m not asking for anything,” I insisted, but even as I spoke, I squeezed my legs together to try to relieve some of that ache. Omar saw the movement, because of course he did, and his eyes filled with fire.
He crossed his arms over his chest, tsking at me.
It wasn’t fair for him to be so attractive: I tried to conjure up the image of him spattered in the blood of my family, but it did nothing to calm the storm that was beginning to rage inside of me.
How was I already this flustered with only his eyes on me? “What would your father say, conejita?”
His voice was deep and rough, and I realized suddenly that I’d never wanted anyone like this in my entire life.
Knowing that I would soon belong to Felix had only ever made my skin crawl.
What was so different about Omar? Why did I not tremble in fear at the look he was giving me now?
Why did I want him to look… to touch? Heat spread down my chest.
“You and I both know that good girls don’t act like this.”
He was calling my bluff, but I refused to back down. Taking a deep breath, I loosened my grip on the towel. “Who said I was a good girl?” I said, and let the towel drop to my feet.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. His dark eyes roved over me as if he’d never seen a naked woman before, and I had to fight the urge to cover myself.
Why did he suddenly look even bigger than he had before?
I assumed a haughty mask and ignored the flush heating up my face.
I’d never been naked in front of a man before; I’d never been stared at like this before.
Omar stepped toward me, obviously expecting me to retreat, but I stood my ground.
“Impresionante,” he said and reached out to touch my cheek with the tips of his fingers.
My whole body was shaking, but still, I didn’t drop my gaze, and I didn’t try to dive back into the bathroom. “Has anyone ever touched you before?”
I shook my head, imagining the horror of what would happen if anyone had ever tried. “My father would have killed them and me.”
“Then why offer yourself to me like this? Don’t want to go into your wedding night completely clueless?
” I shivered again, but this time it was from the disgust that rolled through my belly.
Doing this will free you from him, I assured myself.
Freedom twice over. It made this moment even headier: the idea that I could find a way to free myself from Omar and Felix all at once.
“Do you want me to touch you, conejita? The same man who decimated your family just days ago? Really?”
His words hit like a blow. By saying yes, I would be betraying my entire family, and we both knew it.
Betraying them in order to return to them.
I felt a stinging behind my eyes and blinked it away; I tried to straighten my spine as best I could so that I looked confident in spite of the vulnerable position I was in. “Yes.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, what?”
I bared my teeth at him. Damn him for making me say it. “I want you to touch me.”
Omar, moving with the grace of a predator, shoved me down onto the bed; he pinned my wrists above my head, effectively making it impossible to move.
My breath caught in my throat, and I could feel my pulse rabbiting in my neck.
His eyes bored into mine, and for a moment, I thought he would kiss me, but instead, he leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Have you ever touched yourself, conejita?”
I hadn’t. When Felix first came into my life, I had begged my father to send me to a nunnery.
I didn’t want any part of the older man.
My body ached for weeks from the punishment that he put me through.
I had done all I could to divorce my mind from my body at that point, as it didn’t belong to me anyway. “No,” I admitted softly.
Omar let out a heavy breath. His lips touched my neck, surprisingly soft.
I shivered at the tickle of his lips, gasping as he mapped out all of my sensitive places.
He reached down and hooked his hand around my knee, drawing my thighs apart, and I whined at being so exposed.
He shushed me and touched that aching place, running his fingers over my damp sex.
Omar chuckled. “You’re already so wet for me. ”
I didn’t know what to say to that; I hadn’t done anything on purpose...except for dropping the towel like I had. When he touched my clit, a glancing thing, like he hadn’t meant to actually put his finger there, I cried out at the sudden sensation.
“That’s the spot, huh?” He circled my clit, and I bucked against the pressure of his fingers.
Omar laughed, as if I had done something amusing, and the sound shivered up my spine.
“You know what feels even better?” He shifted so that he was still thumbing that sensitive bundle of nerves, but he was able to press one finger inside of me.
It stretched and pinched for a moment, but then the fullness felt good, necessary even.
I moaned, helpless under the onslaught of his touches.
The slight pain of his weight on my wrists helped to ground me a little, but I was losing myself to the pleasure that speared through me.
I thrust my hips into his movements, trying to ride the rhythm that he’d set.
My muscles were winding tighter and tighter, and I needed it to release.
I wanted to fling myself into the overwhelming heat that was growing between my thighs.
“Omar.”
He looked at me, still smirking. “Are you going to come for me, conejita?”
Was I? I didn’t know, but something was certainly happening. Something big and overwhelming and so, so good, and—
Omar removed his hands and let my wrists go. His weight, oppressive and welcome at once, disappeared. It felt as if he’d dumped ice-cold water over my head. “Wha—?”
His eyes were flat and cold. “If I actually wanted you, I would have taken you already.” He turned on his heel and left the room, slamming and locking the door behind him.
The hot arousal that had been so all-consuming just moments before felt like spoiled milk in my stomach.
I drew up my knees and held myself as sobs racked my body.
I am such an idiot.
Omar
With a pounding heart and pants that were far too tight, I forced myself to walk calmly down the hall.
I hadn’t made it more than a few feet before I heard a wail from behind me.
So, my little bunny finally broke, huh? Seeing Lyse Rojas naked, with her body practically begging for me, should have been easy to turn down.
She was the goddamn enemy, after all, but all those luscious, untouched curves cried out to me.
It would have been a shame to turn her down entirely, and if she was going to act like a slut, who was I to treat her any differently?
I ignored Lyse’s crying and headed to my office on the main floor. It was time for my check-in call with Lili. “Should I pick up Ms. Lyse’s tray in a little while?” Helena asked as I passed by.
I shrugged. “Do what you like.” Felix had three more days to come up with a plan to get me home; if not, she was a dead woman anyway. “If you want her fed, you’ll need to take her food from now on. I can’t be bothered.”
Helena squawked at my response, but I ignored her. I kept walking to my office, took out yet another burner phone and called my sister. She picked up immediately. “Idiota,” she hissed as a way of greeting.
“Hola. How’s Angel?”
Lili made a sound like an angry cat. “No better,” she said. “The doctors still have him sedated; they’re too afraid to wean him off right now. And the police returned with a warrant this morning to search the house.”
“Did they find anything?”
“No, moron. They’re looking for you!”
Shit, of course. “How’s Emma holding up?”
“I’m worried. She’s so stressed out, and her blood pressure—” Her words were choked off, and I could hear her crying. In all twenty-three years of my sister’s life, I hadn’t heard her cry this much. “If Angel doesn’t wake up soon, she’s going to lose the baby.”