Page 16 of Scarred Queen

They stared at each other for a few long, heartrending moments until she looked away and shook her head, a stray hair from her carefully coiffed updo trailing across her cheek. “Don’t do that, Reyes. Please just stop doing this to me,” shebegged.

To his credit he didn’t pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. His face resumed its usual hard lines as he stared her down, showing her that he didn’t care how much she begged, he could and he would do whatever he liked with her. That she was at his mercy and with every encounter falling further prey to hisseduction.

She held a shaking hand out, palm up and whispered, “I need you to be stronger than me.” She put every ounce of pleading she could into her voice as she begged him to leave her alone. “We both know I’m weak, Reyes. That I’m the pathetic, cracked wife of a powerful man who has spent years climbing his way into the Miami underworld. He won’t let go of his position and he won’t let go ofme.”

She flipped her hand over and showed him the scar on the back then lifted her eyes to see his reaction. Fiery rage lit his gaze as he stared hard at the shiny, raised “H” before meeting her eyes. “Ownership,” she told him in a shaky voice. “He will hunt me to the ends of theEarth.”

He said nothing for a moment, but when he spoke, his voice was filled with such fury that she wished she had more room behind her so she could take a step back. “You think I would lethim?”

Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head again, dropping her hand in despair. “I think it’s my duty to go back to him no matter what, Reyes,” she said in a quivering voice. “We’ve been over this and I just don’t think I can do it with you again.” She turned away from him and reached for thedoor.

He grabbed her from behind and shoved her into the door, pushing her until she was flush against the wooden panel with him hard at her back. He leaned in and growled in her ear, “You go when I tell you to go,nena. Neverbefore.”

He swung her around and pushed her shoulders back against the door. Before she could beg him to leave her alone he crushed her lips with his own, stealing the words from her. She sobbed into his mouth, accepting the hot embrace with despairing enthusiasm. A moan escaped her and she gripped his arms tightly, holding onto him while he shoved himself hard against her, knocking her hips and ass back into thedoor.

He didn’t give her a chance to reject him, shoving his tongue into her mouth and sweeping the recesses within, memorizing her, feeling her. He gripped her jaw and held her open for his dark caress, while his other hand swept her body, both holding her to him and testing her softness. Casey tried to still herself beneath the scorching heat of his caress, but her body clamored for attention, seeking the warmth he was providing. She arched into each sweep of his hand and began to enthusiastically meet each sweep of his tongue with tiny caresses of herown.

He pulled back just enough to mumble, “Fuckingcaliente, Casey,” against her lips, before devouring her once more. His hand dropped to the edge of her skirt and yanked upward, bunching it to her waist. She cried out against his mouth, but he swallowed the sound in another hardkiss.

“It’s okay,nena,” he murmured soothingly against herlips.

She whimpered as he tore her panties aside and pushed long fingers unexpectedly deep into her pussy. She widened her legs to ease the pressure, but he took advantage by pushing further up into her body. The breath shuddered out of her and she gripped his arms so hard she thought she might leave bruises. She knew she was embarrassingly wet for him. He did this to her. He made her body drip just for him. She’d never been this way before. Oh, she’d been turned on before. Usually alone in her room reading erotic romance novels or watching sexy movies, but nothing likethis.

Then he flicked his thumb across her clit and she thought she was going to die. She flung her head back against the door, knocking the back of her head into the wood and closed her eyes tight. “Stop,” shewhispered.

“No fucking way, not until you’re mine,” he snarled, leaning against her to bite into her shoulder. He shoved his fingers impossibly deeper into her. She knew she was going to be sore after this, but… fuck… it felt sogood.

“Please… I don’t want to do this,” shewhimpered.

He snarled something in Spanish so rapid and so vile she didn’t quite catch it. Reyes pulled his fingers from her body with a suddenness that left her gasping, then he shoved his fingers into her mouth and swirled them around her tongue and teeth, forcing her to taste herself. When she would have turned her face away he gripped her jaw hard, leaned in and shoved his fingers in and out of her mouth a fewtimes.

“Taste what I do to you, Casey,” he growled, his dark eyes so wild she thought he was on the razor’s edge of violence. “We both know he doesn’t fucking do this foryou.”

Then he leaned in to kiss her, shoving his tongue in her mouth, stretching her lips and joining his fingers to taste her. She moaned at the eroticism of the act and wrapped her tongue around his fingers. The kiss went on and on until she finally pulled back blinking rapidly. She turned her head sharply to the side, pushing his hand away. The moment was so intense it brought tears to her eyes. She’d gone years without crying over a man, yet somehow this man brought her to tears over and over in a matter of weeks. It was like he’d broken something inside her. Or maybe he was shaking up the already brokenpieces.

A sob escaped her lips and she whispered against him, “Please, Reyes, please just push me away. I’m not strong enough for this. Tell me to fuck off before I break my vows. If you take away that part of me… I’ll have nothing left of myself. J-just make me go.” She clung to him, digging her nails into his flesh. She blinked rapidly and stared at her hand on his arm. Even though she couldn’t see colours she could see that her skin was light againsthis.

He looked at her for a moment, debating whether or not to continue, knowing he could easily fuck her up against the door and she wouldn’t murmur a single protest. But he also knew that if he did that, he would be taking something from her. Something extremely valuable. So, instead he pushed himself away, slamming a hand over her shoulder next to her head. She flinched, but stood still, breathing heavily. After a moment, he dropped his hand to the lock and twisted it. He pulled her back, smoothed her skirt down her body, opened the door and pushed her through with a growled, “Go.”

Casey ran into the corridor without looking back. She refused to turn around as she heard Reyes leave the washroom and stride away from her. Elvira rushed quickly toward her from the other direction and reached for Casey’s arm, steadying her. “Everything okay, hon?” she asked, her voice sharp with concern. She glanced behind Casey as though expecting to see someone in theshadows.

Casey nodded swiftly and lifted a hand toward her hair. Elvira reached up and tucked a few strands behind Casey’s ear with swift efficiency. “You look beautiful. Don’t worry that the bitch squad’ll think anything’s wrong. They don’t have time for anything but their own selfish selvesanyway.”

Casey laughed shakily. “Thanks,Elvira.”

“Come on. Let’s go get a drink in the lobby bar,” she murmured huskily, linking arms with Casey and pulling her toward the front of therestaurant.

Casey glanced back toward the Tuesday table. “Won’t they missus?”

“Who the fuck cares,” Elvira said. “I’m more interested in hearing what kind of wild animal attacked you in the washroom and where I find can one ofthose.”

Casey laughed, beginning to feel some of her tension ease and allowed the older woman to pull her toward thebar.

Chapter Thirteen

“Where are they…?”Casey mumbled, rummaging through the drawer in her washroom. She could barely see through the terrible throbbing behind her eye socket. She’d crawled from her bed to the toilet several minutes earlier where she’d emptied her stomach. Now that the horrific nausea had passed she was searching for the migraine pills Ignacio’s doctor had given her. Sometimes they worked and sometimes theydidn’t.

Her hand closed over the box and she pulled it out with a relieved sigh. She collapsed sideways onto the bath mat and lay still for a few seconds, one hand clutching the small white box and the other pressed tight against the side of her head. Tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks. She bit back sobs of pain, knowing they would only echo in the small space around her and make the throbbing in her skull that muchworse.

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