Laila gaped at him, tears running down her face. “After everything I have done to you?”

  He shook his head. “Until you answer me, Laila, I’m not answering you.” He rolled away and grabbed his phone again. “Should I continue with this game, or are we finally going to talk? And before you answer, you should know that I can do this all night. I can get you to the verge of orgasm over and over again, never letting you fall over. I’ll enjoy spending hours with my head between your legs, lapping up that sweet pussy and keeping you on the verge of climax. So you can either tell me the truth now or go through the torment—”

  “He threatened to burn down your house,” she squeaked out.

  Of all the things she might have said, Trees hadn’t seen that coming. “What?”

  She sighed, more tears clinging to her lashes. “I did not want to tell you. You will only get angry and chase revenge. He is underhanded and brutal. He is ruthless and—”

  “I can be all of those things, too, honey. Every fucking day until he’s dead. But you’re saying you left with him because he threatened my house?”

  Laila nodded miserably. “I can no longer stand this torment you have heaped on me, and I cannot stop you from pursuing Victor. No matter what I say or do, I will lose you forever. So if you want the truth, fine. I was—”

  “You won’t lose me.” He stood and approached her again, cupping her face and delving deep into her hazel eyes. “You can’t lose me.”

  “He will kill you.”

  “He can try, but I’ll see him coming. And I’ll keep us both safe. Keep talking.” When she looked reluctant to go on, he cupped her mound again, sliding his fingers teasingly across her clit. “If you do, I’ll reward you.”

  Her head slid back. She moaned, a long, high-pitched wail of need. “I locked myself in this room when I heard him shout for you. He threatened to burn the house and kill you, so I—”

  “Rushed out to stop him because you were afraid of being burned alive? This room is fireproof. You should have stayed hidden and safe.”

  “And sacrificed you?” She shook her head feverishly. “No. Not when I could save you.”

  “You came out of hiding to protect me?” Did she comprehend how insane that sounded? Trees was well over a foot taller than her. He outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds. And he’d been trained by the best to be a lethal son of a bitch. But she’d put herself on the line to save him? “How did you think that was going to work?”

  “I talked him out of revenge by focusing him on another target for his violent urges. I could not bear him plotting your death or destroying your home.”

  “Fuck the house. I bought this place for the land and the privacy, not the structure. Did you really think you needed to protect it with your life?” And why would she?

  She squirmed, gyrating against his now-still fingers. “I saw an opportunity to accomplish many goals at once.”

  “Explain that.”

  Laila hesitated. Apparently, he’d ventured on to something she didn’t want to admit. Trees wasn’t about to let her hold out. He dipped his head and tormented her clit with his tongue again until it was hard as a stone, until she bucked in silent pleading, until he wrung a loud wail of surrender from her.

  “Laila? Explain.”

  “Okay. I-I ache. I cannot…”

  “Think? Yeah, you can.” He brushed his thumb over her again, giving her enough friction to tease but not enough to send her over. “Don’t filter. Use the first words that come to your head.”

  She nodded, gasping. “My plan was meant to save you and your house while distracting Geraldo Montilla, who would then focus more on Victor and less on my family.”

  “And put Ramos on Montilla’s radar?”

  “Yes. I hoped Victor would fight back and weaken Montilla.”

  Was she serious? “Did you grasp that it would probably mean Ramos’s death?”

  She hesitated, licking her lips, squirming again. The answer she was withholding right now was the something she didn’t want to admit. Was she afraid he wouldn’t give her this orgasm if she said she hadn’t meant for Ramos to get hurt?

  “Tell me,” he demanded, dropping his voice. “Now.”

  “Yes,” she gave in with a cry. “I suspected Montilla would kill Victor. I hoped for that.”

  She expected him to believe that after the video she’d sent? Trees scowled. “Bullshit. How about the truth this time?”

  “It is the truth!” she insisted. “After that, I planned to find Kimber’s location to give EM a reason to hunt down Montilla—”

  “So we would off him for you and your family would finally be safe?”

  “Exactly.”

  He had to give her credit. If that was the truth, her plan was both ballsy and brilliant. And something he absolutely itched to spank her ass for.

  But she’d also given him a lot to unpack in that statement. He started with the things she was most likely to answer without pushing back. “So…the distraction to focus Montilla’s attention on Ramos? Is that why you helped him steal the Ferrari?”

  She nodded. “It was my idea. I convinced Victor that if he could show the cartel he was clever enough to take the man’s prized possession, then perhaps everyone would think the old man incapable of continuing the operation and that he should be replaced by someone as daring and crafty as Victor.”

  Trees didn’t ask if Ramos had been dumb enough to believe it. Obviously he had. Laila had appealed to the man’s ambition and vanity and said exactly what he’d wanted to hear. “And you’re seriously telling me you wanted Montilla to kill your lover?”

  “He is not my lover. He is my rapist.”

  “That’s not what you said in La Pesca. You insisted that you enjoyed everything he did to your body and that you were with him of your own free will.”

  “I said what I had to so that you would not fight Victor in the street. I knew he would do his best to kill you,” she argued passionately. “When he shot you, I died a thousand deaths.”

  He wanted to believe her, but they were a long way from trust. “Why should I buy that after you criticized me for being suckered by your ‘sad story’? Which lies are the genuine lies, Laila? You sent me a video of you two fucking, so it’s a little hard to believe you didn’t leave me because you have feelings for Ramos and that you weren’t helping him for your own greedy ends.”

  “I swear, I only meant to protect you.”

  “By spreading your legs for him, filming it, and sending it to me with a kiss-off email?”

  The tears that had been trembling on her lashes fell. “Valeria told me you intended to rescue me that night. I knew you were injured. I watched you fall. I held you and you were unmoving. If you had come at Victor, he would have killed you. I could not have borne that.”

  “Because you have so many feelings for me?” He shot her a dubious stare. “You going to try to tell me next that you didn’t mean to hurt me with that video?”

  “No. I knew I would hurt you, and I hated that.”

  “But you sent it anyway. After you let him fuck you, of course.”

  “He did not! I stopped him.”

  Did she think he was stupid? “Really? Were you naked in that video?”

  “I was, but—”

  “Was he on top of you?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Was he between your legs? Was his cock hard? Were you smiling for the camera while telling him that your pussy was there for him and that you’d always be his good little whore?”

  Her expression reflected both misery and exasperation. “All of that, yes. But it was a calculated risk. He had been imbibing tequila all night. He had finished the bottle—straight. I knew from experience that it was a matter of time before he passed out.”

  Trees wanted to be convinced, but he needed to get away from her naked flesh, the smell of her creaming pussy, her dilated eyes imploring him to trust her just one more time… “I have two more questions.”

  “No rewards? I have been honest.”

  Well, she had answered. He would have to think through everything she’d said rationally to decide how much of it was the truth.

  “You’re right.” He reached behind him and dipped into the plastic bag of candy.

  “Not chocolate. Kiss me,” she panted. “Touch me.”

  So she could cloud his head again? He should probably see her request as progress, but without knowing her motives, he couldn’t. There was more than a passing chance that she’d tangled him up so badly that he couldn’t be logical anymore. “You don’t get to demand rewards, honey. You get what I give you. Do you want the chocolate?”

  “No.”

  “Then I’ll go back to my questions.”

  But resisting her wasn’t easy. Desire plagued him. She was right in front of him, stretched out, tied up in his dungeon, naked and begging. He’d had his hands on her, his mouth on her. He could smell her. He was on fire for her. He’d rather sink inside her than snap more questions at her, goddamn it.

  “A-all right.”

  Trees tried to focus. “You say you staged the video of you and Ramos having sex to protect me, but you didn’t let him fuck you? What if you hadn’t been able to stop him? Would you have allowed him to have sex with you to ‘save me’?”

  Laila closed her eyes. “Do not make me answer that.”

  Oh, so she didn’t want to tell him. Too bad.

  He slid his hand between her legs again and glided his fingers over her needy flesh. During their argument, she’d come off some of her arousal high. With a few circles around her clit and a drag of his lips across her skin, he fixed that. “Tell me, Laila. Or I’ll take you right to the edge and deny you again.”

  Her fingers curled into fists. Her face screwed up as she tried to resist the pleasure. “Why? Because you wish to torment us both? There is no acceptable answer. If I say no, you think I was not committed to keeping you safe. If I say yes, you decide I am a puta who spreads her legs to earn the favor of whichever man I am with.”

  She wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t make his question invalid. “Yes or no?”

  “If you love me, why do you want to know this? Can you not accept that I did my best to help you? Perhaps I did not do it the way you would have chosen, but—”

  “No, I can’t accept that.” Mostly because he was a stupid bastard who apparently wanted to torture himself with the answer.

  “I am sorry.” She pressed her lips together mutely.

  Did she think she was going to hold out on him? Not happening.

  He leaned in and stroked her clit in an achingly slow sweep with his tongue, then growled against the vibrating button. “Answer me.”

  “Trees…” She sucked in a shocked breath of pleasure, then wailed, “Stop. This is a no-win situation.”

  She wasn’t wrong about that, either. As much as it made him bristle, he had to be fair. “I promise, honesty won’t earn you more punishment.”

  “No, just your anger.” She sighed out raggedly. More tears fell as the fight finally left her. “Yes. I would have given my body to Victor, despite the fact I hate him and the thought of him touching me makes me sick. While I filmed that video, it took all my will to hide my revulsion. Even though I would have done anything to keep Victor from hurting you, you will still condemn me.”

  If he took her reply cynically, she absolutely looked like a whore willing to spread her legs for Ramos’s favor. But if he looked it like a man she cared for, she had done everything in her power to protect him—even if it cost her.

  “Why?” he blurted. “Why would you sacrifice yourself for me?”

  “If I tell you, what will you do with the knowledge?”

  He vaulted off the stool and took her face in his hands. “This isn’t a negotiation. Answer the goddamn question.”

  “Or you will toy with my body again until I am on fire, at the edge of bearing this horrible need?”

  “If I have to.”

  She swallowed and looked away.

  Trees’s heart leapt into his throat as he jerked her stare back to his. “Why, Laila? How do you feel about me?”

  “I cannot fight you. I do not know why I tried.” Her chin trembled as she fought more tears. “I love you.”

  Those three words blew him away. He sucked in a shocked breath. His heart turned over. He stepped back and stared at her as he tried to process her admission. Was it true? Or was she merely telling him what she thought he wanted to hear?

  Trees didn’t know. And he wouldn’t until he got distance from her naked body, his desire cooled, and he had the opportunity to think.

  Fuck.

  Without a word, he rounded the table and laid it flat again.

  “What are you doing?” She sounded scared.

  He didn’t answer. What the hell could he say? Instead, he uncuffed her ankles, then her wrists, and helped her to her feet. Immediately, her trembling legs folded beneath her, and she swayed into him, all but melting against his side. He caught her, wrapping his arms around her for support.

  “Trees.” She clung to him—with her hands, her eyes, her expression.

  It took everything he had not to carry her to his bedroom, lay her reverently across his bed, and make love to her until dawn. She’d proven she could be wily and dangerous. She knew how to work men. The Edgingtons had Kimber back mostly unscathed, but that hardly meant the danger was over. Now both Montilla and Ramos would come after them. He didn’t dare let himself be drawn in by a potentially pretty viper until he’d had the opportunity to think this through. Until he figured her out.

  “Stay here. There are water bottles in the refrigerator. Drink one. There are protein bars in the basket on the counter. Eat one. Don’t argue. Don’t touch your pussy or get yourself off. And don’t get dressed. If you’re cold, there are blankets in the cabinet along the far wall. I’ll be back.”

  When he stepped toward the stairs, she gripped him tighter. “Do not leave me. Please.”

  She hadn’t asked where are you going? or what are you doing? She’d just spilled a seemingly heartfelt plea at him not to walk away.

  Her words broke him. It made him a stupid sucker, but Trees just didn’t care right now. He couldn’t fucking stand the distance between them anymore.

  He picked her up, settled her back against the nearest wall, then crowded her personal space as he bent his head and seized her mouth. For a handful of forbidden seconds, he let hope control him. He let his hunger rage. He let his need for her boil over into a love that scalded his veins and burned away all good sense.

  He delved into her mouth, pressing himself against her until there was no air between them. He forced her lips wider and took her tongue. Laila responded unabashedly, opening herself, giving her all to him. She clawed at his shoulders, clung and climbed him, lifting her legs to wrap them around his hips. He helped, taking her ass in his hands and tilting her up. She rocked frantically and feverishly against him.

  When he wedged her against the wall with the ridge of his hard cock, rocking against her, she keened. He wanted her. He burned for her. He was sweating for her as he forced himself deeper into her kiss, not giving a fuck if he ever came up for air again.

  What if she’s playing you, too?

  As much as Trees hated that voice, it was rational. He couldn’t keep recklessly falling into Laila without self-destructing, so if he had any intention of saving himself and figuring out what the hell was going on, he had to break away from her now.

  Tearing his mouth free, he released her and stepped back, his panting breaths harsh. He swiped a hand down his face, pausing to palm her taste from his lips, trying not to give in to his need for Laila’s sweetness again. “I won’t be long.”

  Terror crossed her face. “You will not leave me in the dark, will you?”

  He softened. “No. I know you’re afraid. I would never intentionally scare you.”

  She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Thank you. And I am sorry. For everything. Perhaps my plan does not make sense to you, but I only meant to spare you the danger…”

  Because she supposedly loved him.

  His heart urged him to believe her and take a leap of faith. His head told him she was a bad bet and to back off.

  He couldn’t address her feelings—or his own—right now, but he could address her scheme. “Actually, your plan made a lot of sense. It was smart and well thought out…right up until you tried to tackle an entire cartel and a splinter faction on your own. You have knowledge of these people. I’ll give you that. But you’re not fucking trained for this.” And had she really needed to throw them under the bus to do it?

  “I know.” She dropped her head.

  Because she genuinely saw the error of her ways? Or because she was playing him?

  Fuck, he was going to what-if himself into making a stupid mistake if he didn’t get the hell away from her and get a few minutes to think.

  He merely nodded, then punched in the digits to open the door. “By the way, I’ve changed the code in and out of this room, so you won’t be leaving here until I say so.”

  Chapter Eight

  Trees climbed the stairs, made sure all the lights were on, then let himself out of the dungeon. He hadn’t dared to look at Laila again before he left. He couldn’t let himself be swayed. Or suckered by those hazel eyes he kept losing himself in. He had to figure out—once and for all—where her allegiances lay.

  How the fuck are you going to do that?

  Sighing, he headed for the shower. He needed to clear his head, and he thought better here. If he didn’t rid his thoughts of Laila—her scent, her taste, and that look in her eyes when desire overwhelmed her defenses and she finally moaned and spilled secrets from her lush lips—he’d get nowhere.

  He turned on the water, undressed, then stepped under the pelting spray. Then he went through the motions—soaping up, then jacking off to a hollow orgasm he hoped would purge Laila from his thoughts. It didn’t. He sank to the tiled bench and hung his head with a sigh. He hadn’t managed to accomplish much in the last few minutes, except to fixate on Laila more.