The words leave his mouth at the same time the air leaves my lungs. I blink, repeating them in my head as Daniel’s concerned gaze rests on me. He looks as if he sits just short of bolting out of his seat to catch me, should I fall from my chair.
“How would you know?” I require in a low but steady voice.
“My men found her.”
“Where?”
“On my territory,” he concedes, dropping his head as if guilty.
“How?” His eyes dart up to mine, but he keeps silent. “Tell me.”
“It was an accident.”
I don’t miss him sidestepping my question, and I shoot out of my seat in a fury. “How?”
“She had an argument with your father and threatened him with a knife. It got out of control and—”
“He killed her,” I conclude, horrified.
“No.”
I scrutinize him, not trusting his words. My father never forgave my mother for leaving him. It drove him mad. I experienced his rage attacks firsthand. “Do you have proof?”
“Yes. We have an eyewitness, and there were no fingerprints of his on the knife.” My heart lodges in my throat as I picture my mother getting stabbed. “Leonara…” Daniel starts in a gentle voice, slowly rising from his chair so as not to scare me.
“I need air.” Pivoting on my heels, I storm out on autopilot. When I reach the entrance doors, Emilio steps in front of me, blocking my way.
I’m short of shouting at him to get out of my sight, but Daniel beats me to it. “It’s okay, let her go.” Then he adds in a lower voice, “But keep an eye on her.”
The night is warm and humid as I amble along the pool. I feel the guards watching me from a distance, but I don’t pay them any attention. I halt on the bridge connecting the pool with a round seating area that looks as if floating on top. A waterfall on the other side lets the surface ripple, reflecting the green and blue lights from below.
I’ve always been a loner, content with my solitude, but now that my mother is gone, I’ve never felt lonelier. I always wished I’d see her again, dreaming of impossible things like opening a gallery together with her or introducing her to my future husband. Deep inside, I knew it was just wishful thinking, yet the finality of it all shatters my heart.
I wonder what the fight with my father was about. Considering Sofia felt the need to defend herself with a knife, he must have cornered her until she had no other way out.
I see Daniel walk up to me in my peripheral vision. He halts beside me, hands in his pockets. For a few minutes, neither of us speaks as we listen to the waterfall’s soft swoosh and the nocturnal animals chirping.
“I’m sorry…” he whispers.
I don’t understand the guilt lacing his voice. “Why? It wasn’t your fault.”
“I’m sorry you had to learn it from me. And I’m sorry that you hurt.”
“Did she get a funeral?”
“Yes, I saw to it personally. When all of this is over, I’ll take you to her grave.”
Leaning on the balustrade, my eyes swerve to the water lilies floating on the water. The funny thing is, I’m glad that Daniel was the one to tell me. Just imagine Kendra trying to break it to me with tears streaking her face. She would have fallen to her knees in front of me, looking at me with nothing but pity.
Don’t misunderstand me, I love her more than anything, but for some reason, Daniel feels like the safe rock keeping me from drowning in sorrow.
“Do you know what ‘Leonara’ means?” Daniel asks out of nowhere.
“No.” I can tell he’s trying to distract me, and I’m grateful.
“It’s the alternate spelling of the Greek name ‘Helen’ which means ‘helios’ which in return means… sun,” he reveals at last.
“Sun…” I ponder. “I’m not the sun.”
“I agree,” Daniel says to my surprise. He waits until I look at him before he adds, “You’re the total eclipse.”
This causes me to laugh. “What are you saying? That I’m plunging everything into utter darkness?” I layer my voice with a hint of mysteriousness, trying to make light of the situation, but Daniel’s gaze stays stern.
“Do you know what the ‘diamond ring effect’ is?”
“No.”
He leans his arms on the balustrade, eyes darting up to the night sky. “When the moon obscures the sun in a total eclipse, beads of sunlight shine through in some places. It’s an effect that occurs because of the uneven lunar topography.”
“So, you’re saying I’m a diamond ring effect?”
“You’re my diamond ring effect.”
His words cause me to do something I’ve never done in my life—I bite my lip both in awe and in shame. I’ve seen Ruby doing it when Jesse gives her a compliment and Sam when she watches Matthew working in the garden.
Feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden, I make my way back again with Daniel falling into line next to me. No guards are in sight. He must have told them to leave, and it feels good to have some privacy for once.
We don’t touch, but his proximity lets my heart jump erratically. While we continue our way along the mansion, my eyes are drawn to the rings on Daniel’s fingers. My thoughts wander to how his hand rested on my cleavage earlier, and I’m so caught up in the memory, I miss the garden hose lying on the ground. I stumble over it and flail with my arms, but it’s already too late. With an outcry of shock, I plunge into the pool.
“Leonara! Are you okay?” comes Daniel’s concerned voice as I break through the surface, gasping.
“All fine. I can swim, you know?” I chuckle, taking the hand Daniel’s offering me, but before he can pull me out, I yank, causing him to plunge into the water beside me.
I’ll never forget the sight as he comes up for air, shakes off the droplets running into his eyes, and pushes his hair back with both hands. Too bad I can’t click repeat and watch it in slow motion.
“Did you just throw me into the pool?” he asks nonchalantly, but his poise is predatory.
Smiling, I mumble an uncertain, “No…?”
The smile dies on my face as he stops a foot in front of me. The lights from the pool reflect in his blue eyes, making them sparkle in a mesmerizing way.
All of a sudden, a tidal wave of emotions crashes into me, and for the first time in years, a tear escapes my eye running down my cheek and mixing with the chlorine water. Daniel’s gaze follows its path before his hand comes up, brushing it away with a fingertip. No touch has ever felt so good, and my eyes zoom in on his lips.
Not hesitating, I rise on my tiptoes, and put my mouth over his. The tension in his body tells me he’s too shocked to move. For a moment, we stand stock-still, and I pull back to gauge his reaction.
“Why…” he starts but swallows. “Why did you do that?”
“I don’t know. It was suddenly all I could think of,” I confess in a whisper and add as an afterthought, “I’ve never kissed a man.”
“Never?” Daniel repeats in astonishment, but something else fascinates me all of a sudden—his shirt sticking to his skin, hugging his rippled muscles. Not asking for permission, I trail a finger over them.
Daniel’s hand gently pushes up my chin, so I have to look at him. “You’ve never been kissed by a man?” he repeats in disbelief, all the while letting me explore his torso with my hand.
“I never let them close enough,” is my unsteady answer.
He takes a step into me, causing me to take one back. “But you let me close to you? Me of all people?”
Another step, and my back comes up against the wall. My heart pounds so loudly in my chest, I’m sure he can feel the shockwaves in the water. “As you said… Other than all people, you don’t try to fix what’s not broken.”
The sentence is barely out of my mouth before his lips come down on mine.
Jesus… Is it always like this? No, surely not. It’s this man who makes my heart pump as if it just got revived for the first time, this man who sees me like he said he does—as the diamond ring in a total eclipse.
I gasp as he lightly sucks the water from my lower lip, again playing with my lip ring as if he can’t get enough of it. I have no idea what I’m doing, but he lets me nibble, suck, and play while I explore this new sensation. His breathing is harsh and his tongue relentless, so I might not be as incapable as I’ve thought.
At some point, his hands vanish underwater before reaching for my legs. Hoisting me up, he places me on the pool’s edge as he continues to devour my mouth, and I quiver as he slides the excess chiffon of my dress to the side, pulling me into him.
Out of the blue, something vibrates against my inner thigh, and it takes me a second to realize it’s Daniel’s phone. He pulls away slowly as if he’d rather continue to assault me, penetrating me with his intense gaze as his phone keeps ringing in his pocket.
With a frustrated sigh, he fishes out a waterproof iPhone, and the name Natalia blinks up at me before Daniel declines the call, a worried expression on his face. Instantly, my mind reels over the question which box I should put her in. Business? Family? Friend? Lover?
“How was your first kiss?” Daniel croons, a seductive smile curling his lips, which I return with one of mine.
“Fucking hot.”
My answer turns his gaze from playful and flirty to hungry and tormented within the blink of an eye. He leans closer, brushing a finger over my parted mouth still swollen from his abuse. Just as his lips descend again, he shuts his eyes, resting his forehead against mine. The way his jaw clenches tells me he’s fighting with himself, and I wait until the battle is over.
“We should go inside,” he finally says, his voice strained and husky.
“Okay.”
We leave the pool and enter the mansion, soaking wet from head to toe. When we arrive at my door, I turn around to face him.
Daniel looks lost, and I wonder why. I mean, if there’s one person who has no idea how to process everything that happened tonight, it should be me!
“And, how was I? For someone who received her first kiss?”
My question seems to throw him off guard because he looks off to the side and mutters an incomprehensible curse word under his breath.
“Keep toying with me like that, and my guards will have to protect you from me at night.”
And with that, he vanishes around the corner leaving me utterly confused.
~~~
My first kiss…
I replay it countless times in my head trying to brand it into my mind to keep it there for eternity—every touch, every breath, every stroke. I rerun the memory over and over until my body tingles, and my panties are damp.
That night, I pleasure myself with his face in my mind, recalling how his deep voice spoke to my soul. I come hard, fast, and long, and it’s nearly impossible to hold back a loud moan.
Shit, what’s wrong with me? This guy kidnapped me and holds me here against my will. Then again, I’m not so sure about the last part. Now, instead of fear, I feel peace. Instead of feeling empty, I feel whole. Instead of floating in the dark realms of my soul, I feel strong.
The next day, soft knocks on my door wake me in the late morning. Usually, Javier startles me awake with an annoying bark at an ungodly hour, so I’m surprised to feel sunrays warming the sheets, which means it’s already after dawn.
Instead of a gray suit and a grim face, a chubby woman with a warm smile scrambles in. She looks probably in her late forties with black hair framing her head in a neat crown braid. Brown eyes and dark skin reveal her Mexican heritage. She wears a housekeeping dress in navy blue, completed with a white apron.
“Hello, my child. You must be Leonara. I am Mariana, Señor DeLuca’s housekeeper. Nice to meet you,” she introduces herself with a throaty voice and a heavy accent.
It suddenly strikes me that I didn’t know Daniel’s surname until now. Daniel DeLuca… Sounds as hot and forbidding as he is.
“Uh, good morning,” I mumble, still groggy from sleep, trying to tame my hair while Mariana sets a tray on the nightstand. My stomach grumbles at the sight of what looks like an omelet with olives and avocado, along with five churro sticks and—finally—coffee! “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Mariana folds her hands over her apron. “Señor DeLuca apologizes, but he had to leave early and won’t return before late afternoon. He also wanted me to give you this.”
She hurries out of the room for a brief second, then returns with a package. I forget everything about my yearning for caffeine as I stare at the black wrapping paper with a silver bow on top.
“What’s inside?” I ask Mariana with a hopeful look, although I know the question is pointless.
“Open it,” Mariana encourages me and sits down on the bed, still smiling and slowly infecting me with her excitement.
A note flutters out after I unwrap the present, along with… a drawing set.
Even before I open the rectangular box, I know it’s a professional one, and my mouth pops open when I see every utensil an artist can dream of—timber and carbon pencils, graphite sticks, charcoal, erasers, blending stumps—neatly arranged and sorted by size.
“And he thinks he has no soul…” Mariana mutters while she watches me, no doubt seeing the glint of joy in my eyes, but her words surprise me. Taking in my confused look, she lays a hand on mine, telling me with a smile, “He has his heart in the right place.”
I tilt my head studying her. “How long have you known him?”
“Oh, since he was a child. My family worked for the DeLucas for generations.” Gathering from the pride in her words, I assume she’s not being kept here against her will.
“So, you’re okay with his business?” Could it be that Mariana doesn’t know about what Daniel’s doing behind closed doors?
This time, she inclines her head scrutinizing me. “What did he tell you?”
“Uh, nothing, actually, but I assumed…” I trail off, not knowing how to finish.
After a moment, Mariana leaves me baffled with, “There are many people who have an image of Daniel DeLuca, but only a few get the picture.” And with that, she stands up and says, “Come now. Eat your breakfast, and I’m going to bring you new clothes.”
While Mariana is busy getting my things, I uncurl the note.
To answer your question from last night—’fucking hot’ would be accurate.
The grin on my face becomes so big it hurts my cheeks.
~~~
As it turns out, Daniel gave Mariana permission to show me around and let me relax at the pool. It doesn’t escape my notice that barely any guards remain in sight. Only the two obligatory sentries at the gates are left.
It seems Daniel trusts me not to do anything stupid. Granted, the thought of taking a second chance to escape this place crossed my mind, but really, where would I go? Everything outside these gates is a minefield.
Come to think of it, I can’t complain as I stretch out my legs on the cushions inside the elegant pergola, the white curtains on all sides flapping in the wind and the roof shielding me from the sun. A margarita in a sugar-rimmed glass Mariana made for me stands on a table along with my new art supplies.
I just finished a sketch of a cute little bird that made itself comfortable on a palm tree, chirping agitatedly. It’s a fascinating creature with the most extraordinary feather colors I’ve ever seen—a violet head, an orange stomach, and lime green wings. A pity I don’t paint.
“Looking for some inspiration?” comes a familiar voice from next to me. I startle, glancing up at Daniel, who nods to the blank page on my sketchpad. Before I can answer, he takes the drawing on top of my already finished pile. “This is beautiful.”
“The bird sat on that palm tree for over an hour.”
“A Yucatan bird. There are hundreds of different species here in Mexico.” He folds his body gracefully on the seating area next to me, classy as always in a coal-gray suit, a drink in hand. I don’t miss his eyes roaming over my legs clad in comfy shorts, my floppy shirt sliding off one shoulder. Mariana offered me a bikini, but I declined quickly.
When his eyes find my face, a smirk suddenly plays on his lips. “What?” I ask when his grin only widens.
“You have charcoal streaks on your cheek. Looks like war paint.”
“Oh.” To his surprise, I lift my hands, rubbing more of it into my face. “What about now?”
Daniel laughs, and I can’t say I don’t like the sound. “Downright frightening.” His gaze swerves to the art supplies scattered around me. “Did I get you the right one?”
“Uh, yes, I… it’s perfect, thank you, but… why do you give me gifts?”
Another chuckle. “Because I can afford it.”
This was not what I asked, but my brain already reels in another direction. “How much money do you have?”
If he’s surprised by my blunt question, he’s not showing it. “A billion. Not counting the real estate I own here and there.” There’s no arrogance in his tone—he’s simply stating the facts.
“Wow. Does it ever get boring? This kind of life?”
“Depends. People with money don’t have friends, only allies and enemies. More of the latter, I should say.”
“Huh.” I ponder over this for a second. Daniel doesn’t thrive in what he’s doing, and I wonder why. “You never told me what you do for a living.”
“You never asked.”
“Are you a drug dealer?”
“No.” He watches me intently as if mapping my reactions.
“So, what you’re doing is not illegal?”
“I didn’t say that.” Watching my frown, he finally takes pity on me. “I work for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. I work on both sides.”
Well, this changes things. He’s not a dealer as I thought. He hunts them. “So, all this,” I start with a gesture of my hand referring to everything he owns, “is just a façade?”
He scrutinizes me for a long moment, and it seems as if he’s choosing his next words carefully. “I have the money to live a life in luxury, just as I have the money to build schools, hospitals, and shelters around the entire globe.”
Hearing this relieves me knowing that Daniel is not the bad guy he makes everyone think. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He leans forward with his elbows on his knees and says in a low voice, “Half of Mexico’s drug lords rot in jail because of me. Multinational corporations destroyed, cartel networks liquidated, billions of cash drowned in the ocean… all my doing. What do you think they’ll do if they uncover my true identity? What do you think will happen to those who work for me, to those close to me?”
I squint my eyes. “Why are you telling me, then?”
He leans back, sipping his drink. “You gave me your trust. Now I give you mine.”