“Right,” she said as she leaned back on her heels. “Business.”

We exchanged a loaded look. We both knew what the business was.

I could see how our fucking was about to make things a lot more fucking complicated.

I quickly got out of the bath and dried off, wrapping the towel around me. “I’ll come right back,” I told her as she hoisted herself out so she was sitting on the edge of the tub, staring down at her feet in the water. “And you better be naked, lying on my bed with your ass in the air, waiting for me.”

At that, I left her in the bathroom and quickly got dressed. Black silk shirt, black jeans. I hurried out my door, shutting it behind me, and went down the hall to my office.

Este was already sitting in the chair, making it swivel back and forth while he sipped on a Tecate.

“It’s still early,” I said, nodding at the beer as I came around the desk and sat down.

He took a swig and shrugged. “I’ve had a hell of a time the last few days.”

I cleared my throat and folded my hands neatly on the desk. “Well, I suppose that makes two of us then.”

He cocked a brow. “Oh yeah? I suppose all the sex is helping.”

My eyes narrowed. He needed to be careful. Out of my peripheral I could see the letter opener sticking straight out of the desk. Then the memories of slamming Luisa on the desk last night began to seep into my brain.

“Oh, you’ve got it bad,” he commented snidely after a moment.

I snapped to attention. “Why did you call me here, Este?”

“For obvious reasons. We need to talk about the girl.”

“And why is that? Is she bothering you?” My hackles were going up. I couldn’t help it.

“No, not me,” he said, finishing the beer and putting it on the desk. I watched as the cold drops of condensation ran down the side, heading straight for the fine finish. I reached over and quickly slid a thin coaster under it before it was too late. My desk had been abused with too much scotch and cum last night as it was.

“Then who?” I asked.

“Well,” he said, “she’s making you bother me.”

“Who told you to speak in riddles, Este?”

He leaned forward and looked me dead in the eye. “I’m afraid you’re putting yourself and the cartel in jeopardy.”

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “We have already been over this.”

“But now you’re fucking her.”

“So? I know you fuck things too, on occasion. Whores and your hand.”

“I’m worried you’ve been compromised.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “I think you worry about all the wrong things, and I think you forget who you’re talking to. Since when does fucking someone compromise anything? It’s my damn right to use the hostage any way I please. Don’t get all jealous just because I’m not sharing her.”

“I’m not jealous,” he said. “Not much, anyway.” He eyed my half-empty bottle of scotch. “But you were drunk last night, which meant something had gotten under your skin. It wasn’t what you did to Franco. It was what he did to her. And if that affected you, a little abuse and attempted rape, how the hell are you going to kill her when this is all over? Or deliver her to Salvador, if that ends up being the case? You won’t.”

My gaze grew flinty. “Don’t tell me what I will or won’t do. Remember what you used to say about assuming, how it makes an ass out of you and me. Don’t be a fucking ass, even though you’re so good at it.”

“Funny,” he said, slowly getting to his feet. “Anyway, I thought I’d bring it up again. I’d hate for the others to start thinking the same thing.”

I got up too, pushing my chair back. “How about you let me worry about that?”

He gave me a self-assured look. “Just don’t grow a mangina.”

I snarled at him and unzipped my fly, swiftly bringing my dick out into my hands. “Does this look like a mangina to you?”

He blinked and looked away, shielding his face with this hand. “Jesus, Javier. Put that thing away.”

I kept my cock out for a moment, stroking it once, before putting it back.

Este peeked through his fingers and lowered his hand when he saw it was safe. What a homophobe.

“Is it always hard,” he asked, “or just when you’re looking at me?”

“Just when I have a wet cunt in my bedroom, waiting for me to stop talking to you so I can go back and fuck it. What do you have?” I waved at him dismissively. “Why don’t you go and enjoy your hand?”

He made a sound of displeasure and started to leave. “One more thing,” he said, pausing before he opened the door.

“Yes, what now?” I asked curtly, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

“Where is Luisa right now?”

I frowned. “I told you. In my room. Waiting to get fucked.”

“Alone?” he asked, drawing out the word.

“Yes, alone,” I said, mimicking him.

“How many guns do you keep in your room, Javi? A nine millimeter under your pillow. Your thirty-eight super in your drawer. An AR-fifteen under your bed. Am I right?”

I didn’t say anything although my pulse quickened curiously.

“I’m just saying,” Este said gravely. “Be careful when you open your door.” He left the room with a morbid look on his face.

Shit.

But Luisa wouldn’t shoot me. Would she?

Of course she fucking would, I told myself quickly. She’s still your fucking hostage and she’ll do anything to escape.

I exhaled sharply and picked up my pistol from underneath my desk, quickly checking the chamber. I really fucking hoped I wouldn’t have to use this.

I left the office, seeing Este head down the stairs in the opposite direction. Some backup he would be anyway. I gripped the gun in my palm and eased myself down the hall toward my bedroom. I paused outside the door and put my ear to it, listening. I couldn’t hear a thing.

Taking in a deep, steadying breath and hoping for the best, I quickly turned the knob, my gun down by my side, and pushed the door open with my shoulder.

Luisa was on her knees on the bed, naked, my 9mm in her hands and aimed right at me.

I automatically had my gun pointed back at her.

The sexiest Mexican standoff I’d ever been involved in.

“What are you doing?” I asked, taking a cautious step toward her, not lowering my gun for a second.

“Leaving,” she answered, her eyes hard. She was distracting as all hell, her tits and pussy and that gun. I don’t think I’d ever been so turned on so quick and in such an untimely situation.

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“I’m going to ask you nicely to let me leave, and if you don’t, I’ll shoot you.”

A grin broke out across my face. My god, she couldn’t be more perfect.

“If you shot me, you’d kill me,” I said, taking another step. “Then who would make you come all the time?”

“My fingers,” she said, her double grip on the gun tightening. “And I’d shoot you in the knees. I don’t want to kill you. I’m not that bad.”

I cocked my head. “No, you’re not. But you could be.”

Her face remained serious. “Please, Javier. Don’t make me do this.”

“Don’t make me do this. You know the minute you shoot me, I’m going to have to shoot you. And I hate to brag, but I’m a terribly good shot, no matter the range. The odds of you hitting me, even from this close, are very low. Have you ever even fired one of those before?”

I could see she was taking aim at a spot right beside my head, perhaps to scare me, perhaps to kill me. “Easy!” I yelled at her quickly. “If you let that gun off, everyone in the house will be up here and I won’t be able to protect you from them.”

A venomous expression came across her dark eyes. “You didn’t protect me before.”

“And I have been paying dearly for it,” I told her sincerely, taking one more step so I was almost at the foot of the bed. “Luisa, please, put the gun down and let me get back to fucking you.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. I need to go. I need to make sure my parents are safe and then I’m going to disappear.”

“How are you going to do that?”

Her lips pinched together for a moment. “I have a friend, Camila, she’s in Cabo. I could call her and—”

“No,” I stated, imploring her with my eyes. “You can’t. You won’t get to her in time, and she won’t get to them in time.”

“Please just let me go,” she said. Her tone was weaker now, as was the look in her eyes. They seemed nearly lost and hopeless.

There was a peculiar hollow feeling in my chest.

“I can’t do that,” I told her gently. “You know I can’t. I must keep you here until I hear from Salvador. If I let you go, it would ruin everything for me.” I gave her a pacifying smile. “Besides, don’t you know I’ve grown kind of fond of you?”

She swallowed. “You just want to use my body,” she said, her voice dropping slightly as well as the barrel of her gun.

“And I’ve grown very fond of doing so.”

As soon as I said that, I moved quickly. I lunged forward, hitting the gun out of her hands and it went clattering to the floor, then I tackled her into the bed, pinning her arms above her. Her eyes were filled with a mix of anger and desperation as she writhed under me.

I held her arms tighter, my face bearing down on hers. “I can’t blame you for trying, Luisa. And I was the fucking fool who was thinking so hard with his dick that I didn’t realize I left you alone when I shouldn’t have.” I lowered my head so my lips lightly grazed hers. “But you know what,” I said huskily, “I don’t regret any of it. Because that was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. And you, my darling, you’re really starting to be a queen.”