Page 42 of No Sweeter Poison

And if he’s willing to kill for me then what else is he capable of?

KILL FOR ME

Dahlia

T he second we walk through the doors to the villa, I beeline straight to my bedroom.

Lettie catches Alejandro’s wrist. “Maybe you should let—”

I hear his footsteps down the hall, getting closer by the second. As soon as I’m behind the door I try to close it and flip the lock but Alejandro forces himself through, nearly ripping it off his hinges. With a swing of his wrist, it slams shut and I scurry across the room, desperate to keep as much distance between us as possible. I won’t make it to the bathroom in time to lock the door so instead, I settle onto the love seat and avoid his gaze, sitting as still as possible.

“I’m very tired,” I hardly recognize my own voice. “I’d like to go to bed.”

Alejandro carves a war path through my bedroom, flipping over the adjacent sofa, and knocking over the coffee table as he makes his way to me. I bolt out of my seat and press myself against the dresser on the wall behind me. He knocks the love seat over and then he’s in my space, hands gripping the edge of the dresser, trapping me.

“Give me onegoodreason—”

“I’m sorry,” I breathe. “I won’t do it again.”

“You won’t do it again.” he echoes, leaning forward so that the heat radiating from his body reaches mine. “Do you have any idea the fucking headache you just caused me? Four dead peddlers for Vito Russo and on top of that, two are American.”

I feel every ounce of restraint he pours into his words, can see the tension in his body as his knuckles turn white gripping the dresser, debating whether or not it’d be easier to kill me and save himself the trouble.

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”

Alejandro studies me a long time. Breaths short and labored, eyes burning yellow and brown, he says, “They scared you, didn’t they?”

There’s no use in lying so I give a short nod of the head.

A bitter laugh leaves his lips. “And how was your little taste of freedom, Dahlia? Was it everything you were looking for?”

“Please,” I plead quietly. “I’d like to go to bed now.”

“Tell me what they did, Dahlia,” he asks, a mocking tone in his voice. “What made you so afraid that you decided being here was better?”

I’m too ashamed to answer. I felt more fear in those last few minutes with Ron and Callie than I have the entire time I’ve been here. More than that, I wonder how dangerous the world outside these walls is. Has Alejandro been right this whole time? Is the villa really the safest place for me?

“You killed those people…” is the only response I can muster.

It’s the wrong one.

Alejandro reaches up and locks his fingers in my hair, tugging hard enough to make my scalp prickle with pain. My breath catches and he pulls my head back until our eyes are almost level, despite the height difference. He brings me over to the couch and tosses me onto the cushions.

“Get undressed,” he orders.

The words get lodged in my throat. He stares at me expectantly, no warmth or sympathy as he regards me with such cool indifference; I feel chilled to the bone.

“I’m your captor, remember? You’re afraid of me. You’re angry with me. Now I’m giving you a reason. Get undressed, Dahlia.”

“Alejandro—”

He leans down and wraps his hand around my neck, fingers grazing the soft skin under my jaw, grip tight without being life threatening.

“I’m not asking you to do anything Callie and Ron Wesley wouldn’t have. I’m assuming you knew that, considering you left with them.” His hand tightens, seconds away from the point of pain. “If you want to be treated like merchandise, then I can do that.”

I grab hold of his wrist. “Alejandro, please—”

“Good. You know how to beg.” His eyes roam over my face before settling on my mouth. “If you don’t get out of that dress, I’m going to rip it off of you. When every inch of fabric has been stripped from your body, you’re going to get on your hands and knees. And with your face pressed against the cold floor, you’ll get fucked from every direction whether you want to or not.”