Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Trees groaned as he plunged deeper. The sound reverberated through her body. Time stood still. Everywhere he touched her, he seared her. And she welcomed it. Even if the sun was hotter in Mexico, this was the first time she’d felt warm since Trees had left for his mission two and a half endless days ago. Laila basked in him, breathed with him, welcomed the blistering heat of him.
If she hadn’t been sure how she felt about Trees before, now it was clear. She loved him. Granted, she had nothing to compare these feelings to. She’d always loved crisp morning breezes in spring, vanilla in fresh-baked cookies, and sea foam on the sand. But this was so much stronger. She loved him as completely as she loved Valeria or Jorge, but this love came with a passion that was unlike anything she knew. She didn’t have words to describe it, but having felt it, having acknowledged it, she knew she would never be the same.
Together, they panted and clung. Trees dragged his hands down her back until he cupped her backside and lifted her. She couldn’t stop herself from spreading her legs and welcoming him in between, wrapping her arms around him tighter, and, since she could never speak the words aloud, telling Trees she loved him with her kiss.
He yanked away and stared into her eyes, breaths rough. “Come back with me.”
Laila was so tempted. Some part of her wanted to rail that stopping the cartels wasn’t her responsibility, that she had already suffered at the hands of Tierra Caliente. Why should she now have to rip out her heart and play the hero? It wasn’t fair. Unfortunately, life wasn’t. If she wanted safety and justice for her family, there was a price. To protect Valeria and Jorge, the cost would be her heart.
“I cannot.” She pushed him away. “You have to go.”
“Goddamn it, Laila. Tell me what the fuck is going on. I’ll—”
“Buddy, there’s a truck coming. It looks like the one Trevor and Ghost said they spotted before it disappeared across the border,” the cowboy said, standing less than a dozen feet from them, blocking the view of anyone on the street.
Terror chilled Laila’s veins. Victor was here. Gustavo would fill him in. Then all hell would break loose. “Go. Please. Now. Don’t let Victor see you.”
“Where is that son of a bitch?” Trees craned his head around to scan the street, all while covering her with his body.
If they had more time and if she wasn’t convinced that Trees would put himself in danger to save her, she would have spilled everything to him—why she’d left, what her plans were, how she saw this nightmare ending. She might also make promises to return to his life, his arms, and his bed. But if she said any of those things, he would not only risk himself, he would do it full-throttle, holding nothing back, until the cartel put him in the ground. If Victor couldn’t find the smarts or the guts to kill Trees, Montilla would. Emilo’s ruthless father definitely had the resources and the cojones to get it done.
“Do not do this. Please. Leave it alone.”
Trees turned back to her with a scowl. He wasn’t going to let her go, despite her pleading, despite the cowboy telling him danger was approaching. “Like hell. Why did you help Ramos steal Montilla’s Ferrari?”
She would have to make him want to leave.
Laila took a deep breath and forced herself to look him in the eye. “Because he wanted it, and I thought he would look sexy driving it.”
“Sexy?”
Something inside her died as she forced herself to lie to him. “Do you always believe every sad story a woman tells you? I have been with Victor for a long time. I am attached to him. When he came for me, I saw the chance to return home and resume my life. Of course I took it.”
Trees looked at her, dumbfounded. “You want to be with him?”
“Of course. I always have.”
He scowled. “Bullshit. You can’t fake the terror you felt for him the night he cornered you in the women’s room of that hotel. You were desperate to escape. You screamed for help—until he tried to strangle you. You kicked and scratched and tried to get away.”
“It is a game we enjoy. It is our foreplay. I like sex rough.” That lie turned her stomach, but to save Trees’s life, she told it without flinching.
“I don’t believe you.”
“You should. If you came here to find me, you have wasted your time.” She jerked from his grasp. “Leave. Go back where you belong.”
“No.” He grabbed her arm again. “If you like the way he fucks you so much, why did you just kiss me with your whole heart?”
“I did not say you lacked skills. Your abilities between the sheets are quite good and kept you happily believing everything I told you.” She shrugged. “But Victor does me better.”