Page 73 of No Sweeter Poison

I scream but his hand tightens, applying more pressure as he smothers the sound. And when he finally finds release, that hand falls away from my mouth. I hold him against me as he buries his face between my breasts, a strangled groan tearing free from his chest. I could lie here forever listening to the sounds he makes when he’s inside me.

He takes a few deep breaths and I run my fingers through his hair while he comes down from his high. Eventually he lifts his head and kisses me until my toes curl inside my shoes and I’m ready for him to take me again.

“Get dressed,” he tells me. “We’re leaving in an hour.”

“D on’t talk to anyone, don’t look at anyone, don’t even breathe—”

“Leticia.” Alejandro adjusts his cufflinks as he fixes his sister with a look. “I think she knows.”

I nod so hard my neck cracks. “Yeah! I promised I’d behave!”

Lettie blows air between her lips. She spins on the balls of her feet and leaves the room in a flurry of baby pink silk chiffon. “Voy a buscar a Diego.”

The door closes behind her and I shift uncomfortably, the boning in the bodice of my dress digging into my ribcage at an odd angle. Smooth, champagne colored satin hugs my figure and spills to the floor like a river of melted gold following me everywhere I go. A side slit runs from below my hipbone down the length of my body and a draped, off the shoulder neckline exposes the right amount of décolletage. A waste of a beautiful dress because I’m being put on timeout while the grown-ups go talk in the other room.

“Why can’t I stay on the main floor?”

“Because last time—”

“I already promised I wasn’t going to go anywhere!”

Alejandro sighs and moves from behind the desk up against the far-left wall. We’re in a dimly lit boardroom with only two exits, both of which are flanked with bodyguards on each side. I’m so upset I can’t even admire how well-preserved the furniture is or how the gaudy red rug beneath my feet somehow manages to pull together the art-deco style room.

“This time is different because the heads of twelve dangerous families are under the same roof. I don’t want anyone seeing you.”

“They won’t even know who I am.”

“These people never forget a face. If they see you once, they’ll always remember. I’d prefer to keep risks at a minimal. You never know.”

You never know. He says that a lot lately.

“Why don’t you call Karina?”

“She never answers. Busy with wedding stuff.”

He bites on his bottom lip. “You can draw—”

“I left my stuff at home.” I push away from the table behind me. “Can’t I at least sit behind the mirror like Lettie?”

I heard Diego call Lettie a “civilian” once and on the car ride here, both brothers insisted their sister was prohibited from sitting in on the meeting but if it meant that much to her, she could sit behind the mirror and watch.

Alejandro’s hand stills as he adjusts the other cufflink. He quirks a brow at me. “Behind the mirror?”

“Yes.”

“And how would you know Lettie’s sitting behind a mirror?” he asks. “If we didn’t say that in English.”

Ah shit.

I rack my brain for a response. “I know the Spanish word for mirror.”

“Uh-huh,” he murmurs, unconvinced as he shoves his phone into his pocket. “Remind me to watch what I say around you.”

“Oh shut up. Karina’s fluent, not me. I just pick up on things.”

“I’m sure you do.” His eyes roam the length of my figure. Suddenly, I forget what we’re talking about. “Did Lettie pick that out for you?”

I smooth my hand over the drapery running across my hips, self-conscious of the way it looks. The mannequin was significantly smaller. “No…I did.”