"It always is," she says with a sigh. "So what now? We are married. I’m part of your world now. What’s next? Do I get a job torturing people too?"
I scoff and roll my eyes as I pull up to the house and kill the engine. Neither of us moves to get out. I’m not going to bother with her last question because I don’t want her hands on another man, ever. Not even if she’s torturing him.
"That depends on you," I say. "You can keep playing the victim, the innocent girl forced into a marriage with a monster. You can continue to be miserable. Or…"
"Or?"
I reach over and brush a strand of hair from her face. She doesn't flinch away and my heart beats a little faster.
"Or you can be happy," I say simply. "You can be mine. My equal. My partner. My queen."
She grabs my hand, examining the blood on my knuckles with a detached curiosity.
"And if I choose neither?"
Anger courses through my body and I have to breathe for a moment before speaking. I know she’s pushing my boundaries. Seeing how far she can go before I snap. She thinks she has a choice and technically she does, but neither of those choices land her anywhere other than with me. I lean in closer, close enough to feel her breath on my lips.
"Everyone makes a choice, Datura. Your uncle chose to send you to me. That man in the warehouse chose to attack you. And you chose to stay and watch when you could have walked away. You have a choice too but ‘neither’ is not an option."
I watch her swallow as she stares at my hand. This time there’s a hint of fear, radiating from her. Her eyes look up to meet mine.
"Making the wrong choice…a betrayal."
I don’t know what she means. She doesn’t form her sentence like a question but I answer it like it’s one anyway.
"Yes," I reply. "And in my world, there's only one consequence for betrayal."
She nods slowly, almost to herself, before turning to look outside.
"Then I guess I'd better choose wisely," she whispers.
Something in the air shifts. This isn't the same girl who arrived at my home all those weeks ago. No, she’s all woman now. She’s a little colder, more calculating…dangerous even. It’s sexy as fuck. The perfect cartel princess.
"Come inside, Datura," I say, pulling my hand away. "There’s been enough excitement for one day.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Liana
Ihaven't slept properly since the warehouse. Since watching a man explode from the inside out while Rio's sister smiled like it was just another Tuesday. But also because Rio hasn’t kept his hands off of me. There is no space anymore like there was before, and I’m not even sure when that changed. It’s not like he’s bothered asking my permission. It’s not like I’ve said no, either. I want him. My body wants him, even when I should stay angry. As the days go on, I’m finding it harder and harder to stay mad at him, especially when he puts his hands on me. I forget everything else around me exists when he’s touching me.
I’m changing. I can feel it. I felt it in the warehouse when I watched a man die. The worst part isn't what I saw. It's how I felt watching it happen. Beneath the horror was something cold. A detached curiosity that I didn't recognize in myself. It was powerful knowing what side of that thin plastic I stood on.
"You're up early," Rio says from behind me.
I don't turn around. I’ve been staring out this window for over an hour.
"I couldn’t sleep."
His reflection appears in the glass as he moves closer. Bare-chested, tattooed and beautiful. A monster wearing the face of the man I can't help but want. He wraps his arms around me and I can’t help but sink into his embrace.
“I could help tire you out,” he whispers as he kisses my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
"Tempting," I say with a smirk and lean my head to the side, giving him better access.
It doesn’t stop my mind from racing though.
"My family…did you know? Before we were married, I mean."
