Page 26 of Bastard

Do I tell him the truth? ¿Estoy loca?—hell no.

I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly, though I feel anything but. “You told me to move on.”

“I gave you a chance to live a normal life. But you never grabbed hold of it, did you?”

“What do you care,” I snap, “if I did or didn’t,mi ex esposo?”

Either he’s bored with this conversation or he’s testing my patience, because he flicks his wrist, checks his Rolex, and straight up ignores my question. It was a rash question, and in truth, I’m unsure I want to hear his response.

“Is this yacht yours?” I ask, redirecting our conversation. Curious about the money he has to waste on fancy watches and luxurious yachts.

“It’s on extended lease.”

“And the helicopter?”

He turns to face me, and I wonder if he is ever reminded of the day he destroyed me. “Mine.”

I gasp, for a moment, believing he was talking about me and not the helicopter. The mistake infuriates me. “I suppose if I share this information with anyone, you’ll have to kill me. Or better yet, maybe you’ll have me cut up? You’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you?”

“Enough.”

He stalks across the room, and I take a step backward. He’s too fast to dodge. With his big body, he forces me back against the door, caging me in. One hand cups my cheek and the other folds fingers around my throat. He squeezes lightly in warning. “He leaves,” he grinds out. “You stay.”

I’m too outraged, too unsettled by his touch, to be afraid. The scars on my stomach tell a different story. “No,” I snap.

His eyes bore into mine. Challenging me.

I raise my chin and lean into his grip.Do it if you dare.

Time stands still. My heart races and my thoughts jumble. But what does my treacherous body do? Unexpectedly, inexplicably, I feel myself reacting to his touch.

Desire.

I close my eyes, blocking him out. Praying he didn’t notice the flash of lust that’s gripped hold of me.

“Ask around and you’ll find out what kind of man I’ve become. Then, you’ll think twice about disobeying my orders.”

His harsh words leave me empty, so empty. I was so certain that if we ever met again I’d stillfeelhim. I used to feel him. Feel him wanting me. Feel him caring about me.

The man I loved was a mirage, one replaced by this beast.

Pain causes my chest to clench. I’m so caught up in it I miss his fingers gliding across my neck then shifting lower and lower, until he’s dipped one beneath the chain resting there. With the curl of his finger, he pulls his ring free of my shirt.

Madre mía. No.

I struggle against him but the hand on my chin holds me still. But it’s my name on his breath that gives me pause.

“Luciana.”

I wince, never hating my name so much.

Just then, the sound of a helicopter cuts through the air. My eyes open in alarm only to be greeted by his crushingly brutal smile.

I stare at his handsome face, confused and suddenly very wary, while at the same time being totally ensnared by the unexpectedness of it. He runs his thumb over the band then without another word, tucks it back inside my shirt. For a few seconds, we’re frozen in space and time.

It’s thethwap,thwap,thwapof the helicopter that breaks the spell.

Donovan.