He smiled openly at me, and it was the most shockingly beautiful sight. He looked so damn young, almost angelic. “Oh, my beauty queen, you should know I like it every way possible.”

“I meant the handcuffs,” I said, though it came out in an uneven whisper. I was still a bit shaken.

He cocked his head at me. “Well, just in case,” he said. “The more informed you are, the better off you’ll be. Let’s take it from behind for today.” He quickly walked around me and pulled my arms back, snapping the cuffs over my wrists, which now felt heavy and weighted with the cold metal.

I swallowed the tiny prick of fear that was forming in my throat as he reached around me and placed the blindfold over my eyes. The world went dark, save for a tiny sliver of grey light at the bottom, and he tied it securely behind my head. Now I was one hundred percent powerless and completely in his trust.

I could only pray that he really did keep his promises.

He gently grabbed my upper arm and put his mouth to my ear. “Now I’m going to pick up your bag and take you down the stairs to the car. I’ll put you in first, then I will come in right after, and we’ll be on our way. If you need us to stop to use the washroom, well, there are plenty of trees. I’ll try not to watch you too closely.”

I raised my brow, the fabric barely budging from the movement. “How courteous.”

I could sense him smiling. “I’ve been called worse.”

True to Javier’s word, he literally did not leave my side during the excruciatingly long journey to his compound. And, as he had said, he was even there when I had to pee. I was trying to avoid it, but wherever he lived was an eight hour journey, and even I couldn’t hold it that long. There’s nothing quite like trying to pee in the jungle with a blindfold and handcuffs. I suppose he could have taken the blindfold off for just those moments, but from the sound of his laughter ringing through the trees, I could tell it was funnier this way. To him, that is.

It was near the end of the ride that I found myself falling asleep. I must have dozed off for quite some time, because the car jolting to a stop woke me, and when I raised my head, I realized I had fallen asleep on Javier’s shoulder. The feel and smell of him must have been strangely comforting. I felt embarrassed for some reason but said nothing, wondering why he had let me sleep that way.

“We’re here,” he said in a quiet voice. In the darkness, it washed over me like silk.

I heard the doors open and felt his grasp on my arms as he gently pulled me out of the vehicle. I gulped in the air, still smelling fresh and sweet. Mountainous. It was cool, making my skin erupt in goosebumps. It figured he would have a fortress somewhere up high. I started to miss the dry, hot desert air and sea breezes of Los Cabos. I started to miss a lot of things.

I was brought down a smooth path that felt like cobblestones beneath my shoes, and unfamiliar voices greeted Javier from all sides. I was ushered inside, across a tile floor, then up a long, curving flight of stairs. He took me down a lushly carpeted hall and finally into a room.

The door clicked shut behind me. Locked.

“Where am I?” I asked as he led me across the room. The floor here was tiled but I nearly tripped over a rug. His grip on my arm kept me upright. I expected him to remove the blindfold by now, but he didn’t.

“We’re in my room,” he said. His hands went around my waist, and he picked me up and placed me back down so I was sitting on something lavishly soft, like a fluffy cloud.

His room.

His bed.

My pulse began to quicken.

“Don’t look so scared,” he said. “My room is a very good place to be.” He leaned over me and I felt his hands go to the blindfold. I thought he was about to untie it, but his hand slipped down to the back of my neck and he gripped me there.

“I have been dreaming about you in my room,” he murmured, his grip massaging my neck. “About what I would do to you if I ever got you here. And here you are.”

I had expected to be brought to my own quarters, to be left alone or brought some food. I hadn’t expected this. This was taking me completely off-guard, and the handcuffs and blindfold weren’t helping at all.

“And what is that?” I somehow managed to get out, though the words felt lodged in my throat.

“Do you want me to tell you,” he said, pulling down the front of my dress so my breasts were exposed, my nipples tightening from the air, “or would you rather I show you?”

“I’d rather you tell me,” I said warily, even as his lips so softly grazed the tips of my nipples, causing a flood of need spread through me. Now I knew for sure what cards were on the table.

“And I’d rather I show you,” he said. Suddenly he was pushing me down on the bed and flipping me over so that I was on my stomach. In one quick motion he pulled my ass up in the air and flipped my dress over my hips. “This has to come off.” He pulled my underwear over my cheeks and down my legs, taking his time.

This position felt awfully familiar. “You’re going to come all over me,” I said.

“No,” was his response. I tensed as I felt a hand skim between my legs, sliding up toward where I was becoming increasingly wet and hot. “I’m going to fuck your cunt with my fingers and your ass with my tongue.”

It took me a full moment for what he said to register. Then it hit me like a brick.

“What?” I gasped, utterly shocked.

He put one hand on my ass cheek and began to knead it with his fingers. “I’ve been staring at your perky, firm, heart-shaped ass for too long. I want you to clench around me as you come, I want to experience you from the inside out.” He paused long enough to kiss me, slowly, on both cheeks, while one of his fingers slipped inside my opening, his thumb on my clit.

“And what if I say no?” I asked. I swallowed, trying to gather up the desire to say it. But it wasn’t there.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Not exactly,” I admitted breathlessly. He hit a sweet spot that made my back arch, my eyes clench shut, my body want more of it, so much more. I was surprised at how fast it was betraying me, like an addict after a fix.

“Let me rephrase that,” he said. He plunged his finger in further, causing me to release a moan. “Don’t you trust that I can make you feel better than I did last night?” He rubbed at me harder, increasing the pressure, making me swell. “Don’t you trust that I can make you come so hard, you won’t be able to stop yourself from screaming my name?” His tongue teased the top of my crack. “Don’t you trust that I can give you things you’ve only dreamed of?”

I did trust that.

“Well?” he asked.

I nodded my response.

He stopped what he was doing. “I need to hear you say it.”

“Yes,” I said quickly, eager for him to continue. “I trust you.”

“Good,” he said soothingly, kneading my skin again.

“Isn’t it…” I started, then decided it was too embarrassing to say.

“What?” he asked, his voice rough and low now, like sandpaper.

I bit my lip as the pressure continued to build inside me. How do I say this?

“You’re a very dirty man.”

“Filthy,” he corrected me. He smacked my ass lightly, causing me to jump. “Oh, that’s just fucking beautiful.”

He did it again and again, not enough to hurt but enough to sting. Each time, he licked the place where his handprint would have been. Then, with one hand he gently pried my ass cheeks open. I couldn’t help but cringe.

“You need to relax,” he whispered. “This won’t hurt. And I’m sure you took a bath this morning, didn’t you?” I murmured yes in response. “Then you’re clean and you have nothing to worry about. As for me, I’d take you anyway I can. It’s all exquisite to me.”

He was right. He was filthy.

“Relax, Luisa,” he said again. “Relax.”