Chapter 148

María José’s eyes widened in alarm when my knees nearly gave out. “Mateo? Are you
What the hell did she want to ask me? Am I what? Fine?!
What man is fine after getting rejected by the wonder he loved the most in the world? A woman he wouldn’t hesitate to kill for within the blink of an eye?
A woman to whom he’d gladly pluck out his heart for if she did as much as demanded for it… even playfully?
She better be kidding me!
She reached for me.
Big mistake.
The moment her fingers brushed mine, I snapped.
I grabbed her wrist tightly, squeezing as my breath ragged.
“Who.” My voice was a throaty snarl even as it was low. “Who do you love?”
She tensed, her pulse hammering beneath my grip. “M-Mateo
I yanked her closer, our faces mere inches apart. “WHO DO YOU LOVE?! TELL ME!”
I had yelled out at her, my veins throbbing on my forehead as my face remained so glued to her before I realized it.
Did I just yell at my Innocent Flower? Oh, get a grip, Luis.
But I couldn’t really blame myself. She asked for it.
“Is it… Axel? ” The name left my lips like a curse, but I had to know.
I needed to know.
But oh, what happens if I know. Oh, bad things would. Oh, Big Bad Daddy Luis would go on a killing spree.
No. No, it can’t be him. Tell me it’s not him. Don’t say his name, María José. I’ll kill him if you do.
However, her silence was all the confirmation I needed.
My vision went red. My whole body burned with fury, my chest rising and falling like I had run a mile.
Axel.
The bastard.
The stupid arrogant boy.
My cousin.
María José struggled in my grip, but I held her still, my fingers digging into her skin as I trembled with the effort to not lose my mind completely.
Her free hand pressed against my chest, trembling, as if she knew she had just shattered something inside of me.
Of course. Of course, it was him. The perfect one. The one who had everything handed to him. The one who never had to fight for anything in his entire miserable life.
And now, he had her. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ.net
My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth might shatter.
María José was still looking at me, her eyes searching, pleading.
She had no idea what she had just done.
No idea that she had just ruined me.
No idea that I wasn’t going to let her go.
María José gasped the moment I yanked her against me. It was instinct—the way my arms closed around her like a trap and my fingers locked at her waist so she couldn’t slip away.
She tried to push at my chest, to squirm, but it was laughable. Tiny, helpless thing. Did she really think she could get away from me?
“Let me go,” she breathed, panic flaring in those wide, doe-like eyes.
Let her go?
My jaw ticked.
Let her go so she could run to him? So she could chase after an arrogant, undeserving bastard who would never… could never—love her the way I did?
I pressed in instead, forcing her back step by step until…
Thud.
She tripped on the edge of her little cot.
I could’ve caught her, could’ve been the noble gentleman. But oh, no. I let her fall.
She landed on the thin mattress with a gasp, her dress bunched around her thighs. Before she could scramble up, I was there, hands braced on either side of her, caging her in.
Because she was mine and I could do to her as I pleased.
Her chest rose and fell too quickly. “Mateo
I smirked, watching the way her fingers dug into the sheets, how her lips parted slightly in breathless uncertainty.
Oh, sweet sweet corazón. Gracious to the very end, so pitiful and helpless lying in bed like that as she should be.
“Look at you,” I murmured, my voice dark and indulgent. “Trapped beneath me, just like you should be.”
I saw her throat tighten as if the air had been sucked out of it. I liked what I saw.
Hence, I slid my fingers beneath her dress, tracing the exposed skin of her thigh and reveling in the way she quivered under my touch.
The little goosebumps that rose, the slight arch of her back as if she wanted more—oh, María José, you’re too easy to read.
But she still had some fight left.
“D-Don’t touch me like that,” she stammered, trying to shift away.
I chuckled lowly, letting my fingers drift higher. “But why not, cariño? Your body doesn’t seem to mind.”
She gasped again in a mixture of outrage and something else.
Oh, I was going to ruin her.
If I couldn’t do this fairly, I might as well cheat. After all, there was nothing in this world that could be achieved fairly.
My magic took root inside of her, softening every ounce of resistance she had. I wasn’t controlling her, no, I was simply… easing her stubborn little mind.
After all, one’s precious little treasures could err. It was up to one to call them back in line. That was exactly what I was doing… making the decisions for her because she couldn’t make healthy ones on her own:
Her muscles slackened slightly and her breath grew heavier. I loved that. Perfecto!
“There you go,” I whispered, watching her lashes flutter.
My fingers trailed higher, up her waist, brushing over her ribs. She was so delicate. So breakable.
And she was mine.
I could already feel the pressure bulge beneath my trousers and in between my legs. My cock had already risen to action the moment I first stepped into this room.
Maybe, just maybe if I took her innocence, if I filled her up with pleasure more than she could handle, she would never be able to resist me.
Ever again.
Yes…
I leaned in, lips grazing the corner of her jaw, inhaling the scent of soap and something sweet, something her.
“I could make you forget him,” I murmured. “Make you see what real love is.”
She shuddered, and for a moment, I thought I had her.
But then, her hands pressed against my chest. It was a weak emotion as she was no match for me, but it was determined.
“No,” she whispered.
I stayed motionless for a second.
No?
My eyes snapped up to hers. Her pupils were blown wide, her lips pink and swollen from how hard she was biting them. But her gaze—her gaze still held defiance.
I felt something dark coil in my chest.
I had softened her. Had made her body crave me. And yet, she was still resisting?
My jaw clenched as frustration swirled inside me like a storm. What sort of stubborn will was this?!
But does Big Bad Daddy Luis give up? NEVER!
I traced a slow, agonizing path back down her body, then gripped her wrist, bringing her palm to my face so that she could feel as I was feeling her.
So that she could feel my breath, feel my warmth, my love, and my obsession.
“You love him,” I said flatly. “But does he even love you?”
Her brows furrowed and I grinned internally when I saw confusion flickering across her face.
I exhaled, shaking my head as if she was the foolish one. “Do you even know what Axel has been saying about you?”
Her lips parted and her eyes began to search mine like I had just raised the most important topic to her all along.
Yes, María José, if ruining your chances with Axel was what could make me have you, I promise you, I would stop at nothing until you learned to give him up.
Slowly, I would poison your mind toward him and make Axel marry your sister until you saw him for the bastard that he was.
He was a user… using you.