Chapter 26

ELLA

I next woke up on a slightly damp, hard floor to the sound of a loud engine. I slowly opened my eyes, squinting from the bright sun, to see a pair of smart-shoed feet.

I then looked up higher to see Andrea, still wearing the same suit, controlling the motor of the boat.

He glanced down for a split second before taking his eyes back to the river as if he hadn’t noticed me.

I pulled myself into a tight ball and stared passively at the floor of the boat. My head throbbed and ached with a dull undetermined sense as my situation tried to sink in. It didn’t feel real, how could it?

About an hour later, the boat came to a stop. I didn’t move a muscle, but Andrea took my already bruised wrist and hauled me onto a jetty.

“Welcome home,” he announced as I looked up to see the huge mansion in front of us.

I remained silent as I was led up a set of stairs to the front door where another suited man awaited us with a huge rifle slung across his chest.

“Buenas tardes, señor,” he said to Andrea with a nod.

“Chico, this is my new prized possession. Leonardo Loren’s luna,” Andrea said, pushing me forward and presenting me.

He looked across at me expressionlessly and scanned my face. He eventually nodded to me too but said nothing.

“You’re in charge of making sure she doesn’t get out of this house without my permission,” Andrea said, grabbing my arms and shoving me into the house. “Don’t fail me,” he added in a darker tone.

Andrea pushed me into the large foyer with a grand staircase and huge, tall doors. It was dead quiet, and our footsteps echoed around the room.

“This is the first house I ever bought,” he said. “My house in Mexico is nice and lavish and comfortable, but this? This is home to me. Perfectly placed in the middle of nowhere, where no one can ever find us.”

He shot me a grin and winked.

“It’s nice,” I said quietly.

“Come. I will give you a tour,” he said, taking my hand.

He then showed me every room in the house. It was big and beautiful, but at the same time, I hated it. Every mosaiced floor, every watercolor wall, every huge plump bed, every swanky bathroom.

Even the pool, blue and refreshing, shook me.

“And this is the master bedroom,” he said, opening the door to the final room.

It was vast. The bed was the biggest yet. The balcony stretched out so far it could have space for its own pool, and the closet was by right another room.

“What do you think of the view?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me as I looked over the balcony into the array of jungle that stretched as far as the eye could see.

“It’s refreshing,” I replied quietly.

The wild, untamed nature of the jungle also reminded me of all the freedom I didn’t have, but I wasn’t going to bring that up now.

“Good,” he stated. “Now, I have a few questions before I put you to good use.”

He then placed a hand on my back and ushered me to a chair.

“Firstly, is there any chance you could be pregnant?” he asked.

“No,” I replied after a short pause.

I looked out at the setting sun over the horizon. Andrea’s tall silhouette blocked most of the rays that streaked like golden ribbons, but some seeped past him into the room, lighting it up in an amber illumination.

“One hundred percent sure?” Andrea’s deep voice asked, snapping me back to reality.

“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth.

His face curled into an amused smile.

“An entire week with your alpha but he hasn’t been inside you, huh?” he jeered. “Why’s that, Blanca?”

“You already know,” I said, refusing to look him in my eye. “He killed my brother.”

“So you’re punishing him by depriving him from what’s rightfully his? I’m surprised Leonardo Loren stands for that,” he mused.

“He’s a good man. He knows that he doesn’t have the right to anything,” I snapped, maybe with a little too much spite.

“Not anymore anyway,” Andrea replied, crouching down in front of me. “You’re mine now. And if I want it, I will get it, understand?”

He cupped my face in his hand. I had little choice but to nod and internally damn him to the fiery pits of hell.

“Next question, how good is your cooking?” he asked, standing up again and folding his arms.

“Mediocre.”

“It better be more than mediocre because I have some associates coming for dinner tonight, and you’re going to cook for us,” he replied. “And then tomorrow I have another job for you.”

“What is it?”

“You’re going to help me kill someone,” he stated. “I’ve been trying to kill them for the past year, but tomorrow night there is a party, and he will be there.”

I opened my mouth to speak but found myself too overwhelmed.

“Relax, babe,” he said, wrapping his arms around me again. “You only have to distract him. I’ll do the rest.”

“You’re going to kill someone at a party?” I asked. “Are you crazy?”

“You’re right…,” he said in thought. “I should definitely bring a spare change of clothes, especially if I get blood on my shirt or something…”

“You’re psychotic,” I said.

“You should be into that. Your alpha is the most notorious psycho in history,” Andrea replied with a sly smile as he stepped forward and ran a finger down the side of my face.

“And you let him do all sorts of things to you…”

I clenched my jaw and pushed his chest hard, shoving him away from me.

He let out a short laugh and approached me again.

“Take off your shirt,” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“Take it off,” he repeated. “Now.”

“Andre—I—” I stuttered.

“You’ve got some serious making up to do for this,” he said, pointing to the scratch on his cheek.

“Do it or I’ll find some more painful way to make you pay,” he added, pulling the gun from his belt and tapping it with his index finger.

I hesitated for a few moments as he stared at me waiting, and then I reached for the top button of my shirt.

As slowly as possible, I undid the buttons, Andrea’s hungry eyes on me the entire time, until I could shrug it off my shoulders.

He stepped forward and placed his hands on my waist, admiring my bare skin.

“You have a beautiful body, Blanca,” he said. “Lie down.”

I stared blankly.

“Get on the bed, Blanca,” he ordered as he ran his hands up my sides to my chest.

I tried to push him off me, but he caught my flailing arms and threw me down onto the mattress, pinning me there with my wrists.

He straddled me, squeezing me tightly between his legs, and brought his lips agonizingly slowly to my ear. I could do nothing but lie still in his unyielding grasp and stare wide-eyed at the ceiling.

“You’ve fucked one psycho, so why not another?” he whispered.

I looked across and met his darkened eyes. He stared at me for a few short moments in utter motionless silence.

I began to protest, but he promptly slammed a large hand over my mouth.

“Unless it’s a moan of pleasure, I don’t want to fucking hear it.” He growled, before his eyes fell back to my chest.

He was so heavy and, despite my training, unbudgeable. I wondered for a moment how he could be so strong. He wasn’t an alpha, nor a beta, nor anything really.

Just a nineteen-year-old rogue with a gun.

A tear dropped from my eye as he straddled me.

“Andrea, please—” I begged.

“Shut up.” He growled as he unbuckled his belt.

My eyes widened as I wriggled more.

“There’s nothing you can do except stop struggling and enjoy yourself,” he said, throwing his belt to the floor.

I shook my head, tears breaking free, but my body fell limp.

“There’s a good girl,” he whispered, running a finger down my cheek.

His finger paused when there was a knock on the door. He looked up and clenched his jaw.

“Que?!” he barked.

“Señor,” a voice said, before saying something else in Spanish.

Andrea unstraddled me and reached for his belt as he marched to the door. He opened it halfway to reveal Chico.

I scrambled for my shirt to cover myself as Chico noticed me on the bed and paused for a slight second before turning to Andrea and continuing what he was saying.

When he was finished, he bowed his head, and Andrea looked momentarily back at me as I stood in the corner with my shirt wrapped around my body.

“Make sure she doesn’t escape,” Andrea grunted, before marching out of the room.

Chico nodded and looked at me once again before closing the door and leaving me to redress as I listened to his pacing footsteps on the other side of the door.