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I felt Mateo’s black gaze like sandpaper on raw skin, and I resolutely suppressed the reflex to cringe away from him.
Adrián’s striking, luminous green eyes were almost as unbearably intense as Mateo’s.
I focused intently on Valentina. The petite brunette had warm, chocolate eyes and a sympathetic smile. She slipped out of Adrián’s hold to offer me a hug, her arms outstretched but waiting for me to come to her.
The tiny woman was several inches shorter than me, but her embrace was fierce; a comfort to me and a warning to the men. Solidarity had been declared.
“I’m so glad to see you, Sofia,” she said, giving me an extra little squeeze before stepping back. “I’ve been thinking about you constantly. Mateo promised Adrián that you were comfortable here, but I want there to be a direct line of communication between you and me. Can we get to know each other better over dinner and exchange numbers after?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, my heart twisting at the vehement declaration of concern and support. “I’d like that.”
“That’s settled, then,” Adrián announced, impatient. He grabbed Valentina’s wrist and tugged her back to him, jealously guarding her attention. “Let’s eat.”
He started walking in the direction of the dining room, as though he was in his own home. Valentina shot me an apologetic smile, but she edged closer to Adrián, clearly loving his harsh affection.
When I didn’t move right away, Mateo reached for me, like he expected to hold my hand, too.
I recoiled, panic spiking. I wasn’t afraid that Mateo would hurt me; I was afraid of how I might react if I allowed him to touch me. It would be so much easier to forget all the awful things he had done to me—kidnapping me, bargaining for my virginity—if he held me with tenderness.
His hand curled to a fist, his huge body coiled tight.
“You’re already late,” he informed me tightly when I didn’t follow Adrián and Valentina to the dinner table. “Don’t test me.”
My stomach flipped, the little thrill elicited by his low threat caught somewhere between arousal and fear. I remembered how good it felt when he’d disciplined me before, when he’d spanked me and put his big hands all over my body. But to melt beneath his touch now might break me. If he forced his attention on me, I was certain my body would react, whether my mind welcomed it or not.
I followed after Valentina, skirting around Mateo’s bulk. He caught up with me in a few long strides, arriving at the dining table in time to pull out my chair for me. As I shifted to lower myself into it, he brushed his palm against the small of my back, pushing my boundaries with the guise of support.
I jerked away from him, too frazzled to retain my balance properly. His hands bracketed my waist before I could stumble. I stiffened and tried to twist out of his hold, my heart hammering against my ribcage. His thick fingers curved into my hips, branding my flesh through my clothes.
“Let me go,” I demanded. His proprietary hold felt far too good, and his refusal to release me heightened my distress.
“No,” he growled. “I’m not going to let you fall.”
“Let go.” I shoved at his granite chest.
His black brows drew together, his mouth harsh with grim determination. “I know you want me to hold you.”
“Stop it!” I insisted, panicking.
Adrián sighed loudly, but Valentina jumped straight into the conflict.
“Back off, Mateo!” she commanded.
Adrián didn’t seem to realize just how incensed she was on my behalf, because he didn’t move quick enough to restrain her from coming to my aid. She inserted herself directly into Mateo’s hulking shadow, glaring up at him. Her chocolate eyes were dark with rage, her full lips drawn thin with fury.
“Valentina,” Adrián said, her name sharp with censure. “This is Mateo’s business, not yours.”
She rounded on Adrián. “I will not allow this to continue,” she seethed, her small body practically vibrating with righteous rage. “I know what it’s like being the object of a man’s obsession when the attention is unwelcome. I’m not going to sit here and make nice over Mateo’s tamales if he’s forcing himself on Sofia.”
Mateo hissed and dropped his hands from my body as though I’d burned him.
“It’s not like that,” he ground out.
Her ferocious glare softened when she focused on me, but the aggression didn’t ease from her petite frame. “Do you want Mateo to touch you?”
“No,” I whispered, so grateful for the woman’s intervention that tears sprang to my eyes.
“Then he won’t.” She issued the edict with another hard glare at Mateo. She held the scathing look for several long seconds before turning back to me with a gentler expression. “Can we eat dinner, just the two of us? The men will give us privacy, and we can talk. Is that okay with you?”
