Ruben’s bar. He’d always given off the air of chilliness, cold and rigid. It was nothing like the lax demeanor he now openly let me see. Why?
Here…here he was open and cool as a cucumber in his own environment. I hated to say that as the minutes ticked by and he shoved more food into his mouth without messing his clothes or spilling it on his chin, I sort of, kind of liked him.
“You live here more than he does, don’t you?” I gulped, hoping I hadn’t stepped over the line, but with the way Caridad treated him and how much more relaxed they both were when Jonas was gone, I figured just as much.
Emilio focused his tiger eyes on me, the color of shiny brown and gold beads reflecting the sun; not quite pure brown, but a more marbleized brown with swirls of yellow. His irises didn’t look real and were opalescent, but they were real, as real as my plain brown ones. The soft shimmer of light made him look so young, handsome even, and showed a healthy glow that was muted under the dark bar lights at night. His rounded cheeks and the sharp curves of his jaw were alluring, but in a striking sort of way. It sucked me in so much so that I didn’t even notice I’d been staring at him.
“You notice everything, don’t you, Liv?”
My name sounded foreign on his lips, seductive even. It had me shivering under the morning heat, but not from cold. I’d never really looked at the younger brother of the infamous Hermanos de Sangre cartel. It was hypnotic being under his gaze and felt utterly dangerous. If only I knew who this person really was, maybe I’d run right then and there, until I never saw him again.
“I better get going.” I slid my spoon onto the saucer of my barely touched coffee and stood up.
Emilio stood up too, and I noticed he was also barefoot. I don’t know why, but seeing his bare feet with a peek of leg hair from under his jeans made me pause. People don’t often show you their feet. It was personal, almost intimate in a way, to see him without socks and shoes on.
“I’ll drive you.”
“Oh no, that’s alright. Jonas said Marco would take me anywhere I needed to go.”
“Marco hasn’t returned from the airport yet.” Emilio observed me, taking in my outfit from the evening before and my makeup free face. It made me feel suddenly very underdone and exposed, without my mask of foundation and coverage. Whatever he saw, I couldn’t deny the hunger that lingered in those marbleized brown eyes. It was enough for me to flick my eyes to the ground and silently struggle with the knot forming in my throat as I swallowed. Jonas didn’t do that to me.
“Um. Okay then. I’d appreciate a ride.”
Emilio slipped on his socks, which had sat on shoes, hidden this entire time underneath his chair. Then, he stood up and reached out to slip his hand through mine, to my utter shock. Forced to follow along, I let him lead me through the house and out the front, where he opened the door to a modest SUV and let me in before closing the door. I watched him circle around to the other side while I touched my skin where his fingers had been. The heat from his firm grip still lingered on mine, and the thrill it caused still shot up my arm and into my belly.
I’d underestimated the power of this man in more ways than one, and I was in big trouble.
Chapter Sixteen
Audrey
I heard the slam of a car door and fought the urge to sit up in bed and run out to stalk my sister. I knew where she’d gone, and whom with. It was whom with that I didn’t agree to. My sister was playing with fire, and I didn’t want to see her get burned.
When the door shut outside again, I knew it wasn’t her. Saul sat up and turned his blind eyes toward me, lifting an eyebrow. “Was that Liv?”
“No.” I sighed and closed my eyes. I had to think of something else, anything but Liv. She drove me mad with worry, and I knew what a mother felt like already. Why I’d ever want to have kids to feel this way
Here…here he was open and cool as a cucumber in his own environment. I hated to say that as the minutes ticked by and he shoved more food into his mouth without messing his clothes or spilling it on his chin, I sort of, kind of liked him.
“You live here more than he does, don’t you?” I gulped, hoping I hadn’t stepped over the line, but with the way Caridad treated him and how much more relaxed they both were when Jonas was gone, I figured just as much.
Emilio focused his tiger eyes on me, the color of shiny brown and gold beads reflecting the sun; not quite pure brown, but a more marbleized brown with swirls of yellow. His irises didn’t look real and were opalescent, but they were real, as real as my plain brown ones. The soft shimmer of light made him look so young, handsome even, and showed a healthy glow that was muted under the dark bar lights at night. His rounded cheeks and the sharp curves of his jaw were alluring, but in a striking sort of way. It sucked me in so much so that I didn’t even notice I’d been staring at him.
“You notice everything, don’t you, Liv?”
My name sounded foreign on his lips, seductive even. It had me shivering under the morning heat, but not from cold. I’d never really looked at the younger brother of the infamous Hermanos de Sangre cartel. It was hypnotic being under his gaze and felt utterly dangerous. If only I knew who this person really was, maybe I’d run right then and there, until I never saw him again.
“I better get going.” I slid my spoon onto the saucer of my barely touched coffee and stood up.
Emilio stood up too, and I noticed he was also barefoot. I don’t know why, but seeing his bare feet with a peek of leg hair from under his jeans made me pause. People don’t often show you their feet. It was personal, almost intimate in a way, to see him without socks and shoes on.
“I’ll drive you.”
“Oh no, that’s alright. Jonas said Marco would take me anywhere I needed to go.”
“Marco hasn’t returned from the airport yet.” Emilio observed me, taking in my outfit from the evening before and my makeup free face. It made me feel suddenly very underdone and exposed, without my mask of foundation and coverage. Whatever he saw, I couldn’t deny the hunger that lingered in those marbleized brown eyes. It was enough for me to flick my eyes to the ground and silently struggle with the knot forming in my throat as I swallowed. Jonas didn’t do that to me.
“Um. Okay then. I’d appreciate a ride.”
Emilio slipped on his socks, which had sat on shoes, hidden this entire time underneath his chair. Then, he stood up and reached out to slip his hand through mine, to my utter shock. Forced to follow along, I let him lead me through the house and out the front, where he opened the door to a modest SUV and let me in before closing the door. I watched him circle around to the other side while I touched my skin where his fingers had been. The heat from his firm grip still lingered on mine, and the thrill it caused still shot up my arm and into my belly.
I’d underestimated the power of this man in more ways than one, and I was in big trouble.
Chapter Sixteen
Audrey
I heard the slam of a car door and fought the urge to sit up in bed and run out to stalk my sister. I knew where she’d gone, and whom with. It was whom with that I didn’t agree to. My sister was playing with fire, and I didn’t want to see her get burned.
When the door shut outside again, I knew it wasn’t her. Saul sat up and turned his blind eyes toward me, lifting an eyebrow. “Was that Liv?”
“No.” I sighed and closed my eyes. I had to think of something else, anything but Liv. She drove me mad with worry, and I knew what a mother felt like already. Why I’d ever want to have kids to feel this way
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