Page 42 of The Queen's Serpent

There are so many questions, and no answers that I can see forthcoming. I give myself a shake, trying to pull myself out of the melancholy that threatens to drown me. It doesn’t matter anyway; I know I will never leave this jungle unless Diego allows it, which seems highly unlikely. The last two weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions, bringing with them highs and lows.

He’s held me tight every single night in his arms, moving me into his room and sharing his space, as if we were a couple. He fucks me every chance he gets, filling me with his cum as if he’s insatiable, andthank fuckhe can’t get me pregnant. On more than one occasion, the staff has caught us in compromising situations, and I have been too embarrassed to meet their eyes for days afterward.

Then there are all the surprises he has orchestrated, like all my favorite books in the den, the products I used back home, movie nights under the stars, and picnics at the waterfall. He even had the candy I craved like a fiend shipped by the boxload. He left nothing to chance, ensuring I would have everything Ineeded here, as if there was no probability of me ever returning to my old life. That thought terrifies me, that I may never see my grandmother or sister again.He wouldn’t do that; he loves you.

Diego whispers words to me in Spanish with such gentleness when he doesn’t think I can hear them, and I’ve managed to pick up a word or two and translate them, with Santiago’s bemused help. It seems my lover does know how to be gentle, poetic, and sweet, but it’s a shame he only seems to show me that side of himself when he thinks I’m asleep. Then there are the words he hasn’t repeated since the first time at the waterfall. I’m not even sure I want to hear them; all I know is that not hearing them hurts me too.

“Chica, me estás escuchando?”Alisa taps me on the thigh with her potato peeler, and I snap out of my thoughts. I have no idea what she just asked me, so I just smile brightly and nod my head. A hearty laugh leaves one of Diego’s men who are watching us. There is always someone watching and waiting for danger to arise, or maybe that is to keep a princess from escaping her captivity.

“She asked if you were listening to her,señorita, which obviously you weren’t.“ Another chuckle leaves his lips at what seems like my expense.Asshole.

My eyes narrow and slide over him, taking him in from his large feet encased in black combat boots to the camouflage-printed cargo pants, and the tight, sleeveless gray tank top that exposes his large, tattooed, muscled arms. My eyes keep moving upwards until they meet a large grinning mouth, with what I can only describe as a seventies pornstash, a bulbous nose, warm chocolate brown eyes, and a head with dark, closely cropped hair.

I side-eye Alisa, who keeps on peeling potatoes as if she’s getting ready to feed a small army, which I guess she is. I have no idea how many men are here in the compound, guarding usfrom who knows what dangers, but I know that Alisa and I are the only women. That knowledge made me uneasy, but when I expressed my concern to Diego, he said I had nothing to worry about, that his men were loyal, and they knew that I belonged to him.

“Sigue pelando las patatas mientras empiezo con la carne.”Alisa puts her peeler down and wipes her wrinkled hands on the apron at her waist, before she wanders off in the direction of the kitchen, and I’m left curious at her words.

“What did she say?” I question as I keep attempting to master the peeler, but my poor potato looks like he went through a massacre.

“She… um… she said for you to keep peeling, but no offense,señorita, I don’t think you should. There will be no potatoes left for dinner if you do.“ His mustache twitches on his face as he tries to swallow his laughter.

My own lips quirk as I look at the mess around me. I should probably stop, at this point, we would likely starve if I was the one required to feed us. I put the peeler down in the large stainless steel bowl Alisa placed on my lap when she told me to start peeling.

“Perhaps you are right.” I start to rise from my chair, the bowl cradled in my arms, intending to go back inside, out of the heat and sunlight, and maybe find a good piece of fae smut to read, when the man sits down in Alisa’s vacated chair. He leans in towards me, the smell of his sweat and tobacco filling my nostrils.

Apprehension immediately fills me, and I move farther into the chair, putting as much distance between us as possible. Usually, Diego’s men don’t speak to me unless absolutely necessary, with the exception of Santiago. Raphael, the coward, even turns around when he sees me in a room, and avoids me as if I had the bubonic plague.

“I’m Paulo, and you are Isabella, no?” He questions, his dark eyes roaming over my face, down my braided hair, and stopping at my breasts that are covered by one of Alisa’s colorful indigenous dresses. The heat from his perusal has my skin becoming clammy, and the sensation of insects crawling along it in repulsion. He hasn’t made any aggressive moves towards me, but that’s what I sense from him.

I nod my head but don’t understand what is happening here. Is this man trying to befriend me, or does he have another purpose for getting so close to me? He must know that Diego is uber possessive of me; it’s not like fucker attempts to hide his tendencies. Why would this man risk his wrath?

My intuition is telling me to run, to get away from him, that he doesn’t mean me well. I try to rise from the chair once again, prepared to keep walking away, even if he continues to speak to me. I would rather be rude than end up punished by Diego, if he misinterprets this man’s friendly attempt at conversation.

Just as I try to get to my feet, his large hand slides across the arms of the chairs, and he presses his palm against my abdomen, holding me in the seat. I almost release my hold on the bowl with my meager potatoes, with how stunned I am at his actions.

“What’s the rush, señorita?” All the friendliness leaves his features, as if he took off a mask that he was wearing. “We are just having a friendly conversation. There is no harm in being friendly; one can always use friends.”

My hand moves to remove his from touching me, but he leans across the chair, his tobacco-scented breath sliding over the skin of my arm and collarbone, as he presses further into my flesh. “I think you need a friend, Isabella Stratford, especially if you ever want to see yourabuelaagain.”

At the mention of the word ‘grandmother,’ my breath stalls inside my throat, choking me until I can’t breathe. What does this man know of my grandmother? Instead of leaning awayfrom him, or making a further attempt to dislodge his hold, and get up out of the chair, I lean closer.

“What do you know about my grandmother?” Alarm bells are ringing inside my head, as my heartbeat accelerates inside my chest.

“I know she hasn’t stopped looking for you,niña bonita. In fact, she seems determined to tear apart the world to find you.“ His words are said with a deadpan expression, as if it’s every day that you tell someone that their relative is still searching for them, after they have been kidnapped.

“I could help you. I could get a message to yourabuela, give her the right direction to look in… for a price.”

A snort leaves my lips at his words. “Diego would kill you, you know that, don’t you? Painfully, he would murder you painfully, and then bathe in your blood.”

“He doesn’t have to know. I can make sure that he never finds out, and that you manage to get away from him. That’s what you want, isn’t it,Princess?“ The way he says the word ‘princess’ gives me the creeps, and causes goosebumps to rise along my arms, even with the high heat.

Is this some kind oftestfrom Diego, to see if I will attempt to escape? I wouldn’t put it past thefuckerto be testing me with one of his men. He’s such anunhinged bastard, and he sees me as a prized possession, one he refuses to lose.

“I don’t trust you. I don’t know what you are attempting to do, but leave me alone. I don’t want to be punished by Diego.” I push away his hand, and rise from the chair with my back straight and head held high.

“Your grandmother is offering a hundred million dollars for your safe return, Isabella. Eventually, others will find you, and when they do, there will be bloodshed. He will die either at their hands or at your grandmother’s. It’s only a matter of time.”

I keep walking, and I don’t look back, refusing to acknowledge his words even though my insides are burning like hot lava, and nausea is threatening to suffocate me. I pick up my pace and rush into one of the guest bathrooms, dropping the bowl on the ground in my haste to make it to the toilet before I vomit up all my breakfast.

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