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I wish I had an excuse to keep playing with her.
As soon as I put Jacinta into an armchair in the living room, she glares at me and tries to push me away with a Spanish curse on her lips. She looks disheveled with her palms bleeding after squeezing the shard and her hair plastered all over her face. She must be exhausted, but she keeps kicking around as soon as anyone steps closer—but eventually, Jacinta allows Alice, a young servant, to help her with the rope, and I leave them to that.
“Should I expect you to mess up again?” I stop in front of Marco and Hector with a frown. I know both of them well enough to not give them any punishment, but I can’t just forget that they let Jacinta escape.
“No.”
“No, sir.”
They look grim and ashamed, and it’s good. They should be.
“Marco, go to Alberto. He’ll take care of your wound.” I gesture for him to go to the kitchen and turn to Hector. “You stay with Jacinta. Follow her everywhere. If anything like this happens again, you will be the one to respond, understand?”
“You know I won’t stay here forever,” Jacinta yells from behind my back, and I chuckle and glance at her over my shoulder.
“Of course. Eventually, your father will offer a deal good enough to get you back.”
Her face falls, and I can see a glint of fear in her eyes, but I don’t stay to enjoy my small victory.
I have people to speak to in Riccardo’s name: drug dealers, police officers, mobsters, and members of our own clan directly below us. He has plenty of duties on a regular day, but I’ve grown up helping him, so it’s not that big of a deal. I spend the rest of the day in Riccardo’s office planning an airport exchange with a dealer from NYC, so I don’t even notice the darkness behind the windows until a servant knocks on the door.
“Signor Paolo, Señorita Jacinta is asking to see you.”
Huh? I raise my eyebrows and straighten up. Why would she want to see me?
My thoughts immediately dart to our conversation in the forest, but no, Jacinta is too young and innocent to actually accept my offer. She can’t be into anything but sweet and vanilla sex—yet while I walk to her room, I feel the heat of arousal spread under my skin. Jacinta has been nothing but a tease lately. What if she finally decided to go a step further?
“Yes?” Jacinta responds after I knock on the door of her room, and I clear my throat, make sure there’s not a trace of interest on my face, and step inside.
“Did you want to see me?”
I find Jacinta standing on the other side of the room, next to the huge window showing the park and distant lights of other houses in the neighborhood. She turns to me as soon as I enter, and her light dress slightly sways from the motion, pulling my attention. It’s white and almost translucent in the dim light of the bedside lamps, emphasizing the curves of her figure, and something in me lights up in response.
Jacinta decided to keep the ceiling lights off, and I can’t help but think about the only reasonable explanation behind it. Damn, is she actually trying to seduce me?
But a moment later, Jacinta clears her throat, and I realize that I’ve been staring at her dress for the last few seconds. I look up at her face just in time to see her tuck her hair behind her ear. I don’t know if it’s simply a trick of the light, but her cheeks and neck look pink. Jacinta refuses to look me in the eyes, but something in the way she avoids my gaze reminds me of our first meeting. Does she actually get shy so easily?
“Paolo, um, yes, I wanted to talk to you…” It sounds like Jacinta is looking for words, and I can’t help but smirk. I like how my attention affects her. “I wanted to talk to you about my dad.”
Oh?
I blink out of the lewdness of my thoughts and focus on her properly. “What about him?”
“If I help you get closer to him…” Jacinta raises her head and finally looks me in the eyes with the determination I’m already familiar with. “Will you let me go?”
I hum and tilt my head, studying her from a new angle. I’d been more interested in her appearance when I entered, but now, her thoughts seem more valuable. I wouldn’t mind it if she decided to betray Gerardo Escarra. Isn’t that why I kidnapped Jacinta, after all? To get under the skin of her family and get rid of them once and for all?
“It depends on what you have to offer.” I step further into her room and look around with fake interest all the while walking closer to Jacinta. “Are you actually willing to give him to us?”
I stop right in front of her, looking down. There is a few inches difference between us, and it’s the first time I can see it so clearly. Jacinta is shorter than me, her body is softer, and despite her fiery demeanor, everything about her is so feminine that I feel the primal need tohaveher.
Jacinta tenses up from my closeness, but she refuses to look away and holds my gaze. “Yes.”
Interesting.
“In that case, we can start with the location of your home.”
“Start?” Jacinta narrows her eyes in suspicion as if she is in the position to dictate the terms. “No, I want to knowwhatyou want from me in exchange for freedom.”
