Page 48 of Cryptic Curse

Her breath hitches as I run my fingers up her side to cup her breast through her bra.She gasps into my mouth and clings to me tighter as I move my thumb over her hardened nipple.

I’m ready, so ready.

This isn’t the first time I’ve fucked in my parents’ house, but the first time in the kitchen.

I give her nipple a pinch?—

She gasps and pushes me away.

“Daniela?”

“I’m sorry.”She runs her fingers through her hair, loosening it from its messy bun.

It falls against her shoulders.

God, she’s fucking beautiful.

“This is my fault,” she says.“I… I shouldn’t have let it go this far.I’m… I’m a married woman, after all.”

I smile and caress her cheek.“Vinnie is your husband in name only.He and Raven are home by now, probably in bed.As much as I don’t relish the thought of what he’s doing to my sister…I know he’s doing it.”

She nods.“I know.And I’m fine with it.”

“Then…?”

“I just…” She hops off the counter and adjusts her sweatshirt.“I’m sorry I gave you the wrong idea.But I… I have too much respect for the institution of marriage to be unfaithful to my husband.”

“But your marriage isn’t arealmarriage,” I remind her.

She sighs and walks a few steps away before turning back to face me.“I’ve done enough damage to marriage already.”she says.

“What do you mean?”

She’s silent a moment, looking away.

“Daniela, sweetheart.You can talk to me.I swear to God, I would never hurt you.Hell, I’d never hurt any woman.”

She nods.“I know.It’s just… This is hard to say.”

“It’s okay.You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“I want to,” she says.“I need to.”Again, a pause.“My father… He made me…entertain his friends and associates.”

For a moment the words don’t quite sink in.They hang there, weightless and meaningless, like the calm before the storm.My brain scrambles to catch up, but everything feels muffled, like I’ve been plunged underwater.

Until they smack me in the head.

And when they do, the floor drops out from under me.

Rage surges through me.

I knew Daniela didn’t have an easy life in Colombia, that she was only seventeen when she married Vinnie and came here to the States.

“They were all married,” she says.“Or most of them were.Not that it mattered to any of them.”

“Daniela…” I step toward her.

She steps away.