“What’s going on?” I asked, trying not to panic.

“You don’t like kinky games?” Esteban asked with a smirk, coming toward me.

I instinctively took a step back.

He stopped and gave me a wry look. “Oh, come on, hey. I’m just getting you ready for your journey. You don’t think we’d actually let you see where we are taking you.”

I suppose he was right. So I was just trading one golden prison for another.

“Now be a good girl,” he said. “And we won’t have to hurt you.”

At that, the old doctor stepped into the room holding out a syringe. Like hell I was going to let them drug me.

“I think I’ve grown tired of being the good girl,” I snarled.

Este frowned, and I took that moment to pick up the lamp beside me and bash it into his head. I got him right on the bruise from where I’d smashed the rock into him. He swore as the glass shattered all around him, but I was already jumping across the bed and going for the other lamp, ready to fight off the doctor.

But when I turned around, Franco was coming into the room and shoving the doctor aside. The dull, mean glint in Franco’s eyes and his veiny muscles meant that there was no way I could fight him off, even if I managed to grab a piece of glass and gouge it in his eye. Nothing would stop him.

He lunged for me, his hands hard on my chest, and he pushed me. I flew back against the wall, my head striking it, producing a shower of stars in my vision. Suddenly I felt rough hands grabbing my arms, squeezing them until I thought they would break like twigs, and through the throbbing in my ears I heard people shouting.

The next thing I knew there was a loud bang, a shot, and the blurred vision of Franco began to slip away. His grip on me loosened and now he was swearing his head off in between screams of pain.

I squinted, trying to see past the waves of dizziness and stay upright, and I saw Javier standing in the doorway, a gun in his hand, pointing it right at Franco who had turned around and was yelling at him. I looked down and saw him trying to clutch his foot, blood seeping out of his shoe and onto the floor.

“The next time you touch her,” Javier said, his eyes crazed with burning rage, “I will remove the foot I just shot. And your other one. Then your hands,” he stepped closer, the gun still trained on him, “and your shriveled cock.” He aimed the gun down at Franco’s crotch. “And then I’ll piss on every single wound. I’ll take your head last, so you can see each piece of you disappear, and then I’ll piss in your skull. Do you understand?”

Franco didn’t. He told him to fuck off.

The room seemed to freeze.

But Javier marched right up to him and pistol whipped Franco across the face, a man twice his size. He whipped him so hard that blood spurted out of his mouth and sprayed onto my arms and chest. I held my breath, so certain that Franco wasn’t going to take that. But he did. Power was everything, and Javier had power. He just proved it.

Javier shoved him out of the way and gave me a quick glance of concern before he turned and faced everyone else in the room, a guard at the door, the old doctor with the syringe, Esteban who was holding his head and cursing.

“All I asked of you fucking delinquents was to bring Luisa to me.” He glared at the doctor. “I did not ask for her to be drugged. I did not ask for Franco. This should have been an easy process. Now I have another reason why I have to do everything my fucking self if it’s going to be done properly.” He jerked his chin at Esteban. “Leave the blindfold and the cuffs and everyone get the fuck out of here before I lose my temper again.”

The men obeyed with no hesitation and left Javier alone with me.

He sighed and rubbed his hand down his face before he turned to look at me again.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked wearily.

“No worse than you have,” I answered.

He nodded. “Good. Because I meant what I said.”

“About?”

“About him touching you. I don’t want anyone touching you. I won’t let it happen. You won’t have to worry about that.”

“I don’t know, you seem like a very touchy feely bunch here,” I said humorlessly.

“I’m serious,” he said, taking a step closer to me. He ran his hand down the back of my head where it hit the wall, gently cupping it. His eyes bore into mine and I couldn’t look away. “I will protect you. I promise, and I keep my promises.” He paused, licking his lips. “The only person I won’t be able to protect you from is me.”

I believed it. And in some messed up way, I was okay with that. I could survive him, his touch, his anger, his passion, because I was starting to understand him. I just couldn’t survive anyone else.

“All right,” I said slowly, still locked in his gaze. I wondered what they were seeing in me, deep down. There was no way he could look at me like he was, his stare so absolutely penetrating that I felt it in my heart, and not see something. I wanted to know what it was, who I was in his eyes.

But he looked away suddenly, breaking the spell, and pressed his hand to the back of his neck. “I’m afraid I’m still going to have to blindfold you and put you in cuffs. But I promise, you will not leave my side.”

I nodded and bit my lip while he picked up the cuffs and the black satin sash from the bed.

I dutifully held out my hands for him. “Do you prefer in front or behind?”

He smiled openly at me, and it was the most shockingly beautiful sight. He looked so damn young, almost angelic. “Oh, my beauty queen, you should know I like it every way possible.”

“I meant the handcuffs,” I said, though it came out in an uneven whisper. I was still a bit shaken.

He cocked his head at me. “Well, just in case,” he said. “The more informed you are, the better off you’ll be. Let’s take it from behind for today.” He quickly walked around me and pulled my arms back, snapping the cuffs over my wrists, which now felt heavy and weighted with the cold metal.

I swallowed the tiny prick of fear that was forming in my throat as he reached around me and placed the blindfold over my eyes. The world went dark, save for a tiny sliver of grey light at the bottom, and he tied it securely behind my head. Now I was one hundred percent powerless and completely in his trust.

I could only pray that he really did keep his promises.

He gently grabbed my upper arm and put his mouth to my ear. “Now I’m going to pick up your bag and take you down the stairs to the car. I’ll put you in first, then I will come in right after, and we’ll be on our way. If you need us to stop to use the washroom, well, there are plenty of trees. I’ll try not to watch you too closely.”

I raised my brow, the fabric barely budging from the movement. “How courteous.”

I could sense him smiling. “I’ve been called worse.”

* * *

True to Javier’s word, he literally did not leave my side during the excruciatingly long journey to his compound. And, as he had said, he was even there when I had to pee. I was trying to avoid it, but wherever he lived was an eight hour journey, and even I couldn’t hold it that long. There’s nothing quite like trying to pee in the jungle with a blindfold and handcuffs. I suppose he could have taken the blindfold off for just those moments, but from the sound of his laughter ringing through the trees, I could tell it was funnier this way. To him, that is.

It was near the end of the ride that I found myself falling asleep. I must have dozed off for quite some time, because the car jolting to a stop woke me, and when I raised my head, I realized I had fallen asleep on Javier’s shoulder. The feel and smell of him must have been strangely comforting. I felt embarrassed for some reason but said nothing, wondering why he had let me sleep that way.

“We’re here,” he said in a quiet voice. In the darkness, it washed over me like silk.

I heard the doors open and felt his grasp on my arms as he gently pulled me out of the vehicle. I gulped in the air, still smelling fresh and sweet. Mountainous. It was cool, making my skin erupt in goosebumps. It figured he would have a fortress somewhere up high. I started to miss the dry, hot desert air and sea breezes of Los Cabos. I started to miss a lot of things.

I was brought down a smooth path that felt like cobblestones beneath my shoes, and unfamiliar voices greeted Javier from all sides. I was ushered inside, across a tile floor, then up a long, curving flight of stairs. He took me down a lushly carpeted hall and finally into a room.

The door clicked shut behind me. Locked.

“Where am I?” I asked as he led me across the room. The floor here was tiled but I nearly tripped over a rug. His grip on my arm kept me upright. I expected him to remove the blindfold by now, but he didn’t.

“We’re in my room,” he said. His hands went around my waist, and he picked me up and placed me back down so I was sitting on something lavishly soft, like a fluffy cloud.

His room.

His bed.

My pulse began to quicken.

“Don’t look so scared,” he said. “My room is a very good place to be.” He leaned over me and I felt his hands go to the blindfold. I thought he was about to untie it, but his hand slipped down to the back of my neck and he gripped me there.

“I have been dreaming about you in my room,” he murmured, his grip massaging my neck. “About what I would do to you if I ever got you here. And here you are.”

I had expected to be brought to my own quarters, to be left alone or brought some food. I hadn’t expected this. This was taking me completely off-guard, and the handcuffs and blindfold weren’t helping at all.