Shivering, Victoria swallowed to clear the lump rising in her throat, but could not conceal the fear in her eyes.
His dark hand was raised, his fingers extended, his pale eyes widened maniacally as his smile grew ever larger. At the sight, she felt herself pale. Then one and by one, he slowly thrust the digits deeper into the leather of his glove, then, turning, smile broadening ever so more, he curled them to form a fist.
Retreating, her own eyes widening, she felt her back press tight against the cool metal of the bars. Her reflexive wince and shudder seemed to please him, and now, Luis Ramone's fine cheeks colored slightly, his eyes blazing, his body crackling with a gathering tension.
Then, in an instant, he seemed to pause, his smile deepening further as a flicker of some unimaginable thought caught and passed across his eye. His lips parted, but his smile did not waiver, even though his voice was laden with malice and menace.
"What did he want, after all this time?"
Victoria knew she had to speak, but her mouth was dry, her mind racing in search of truthful, wise, calming and tactful words. With a deliberate motion very practiced to appear as casual, her shoulders rose, then dropped far lower than the gesture required. It would loosen her blouse, allowing it to slip down across her breast.
"I do not know. What he said, it made no sense."
The pale eyes again flickered slightly as they lowered, his tension both abating and somehow still rising. Then, with slow, and menacing motions, his hands raised to gather his cravat.
Her breath quickened and soft, distressed sound escaped her lips as the slender strap of white silk fell loose, exposing his breast. Her eyes, widening again in shock, helplessly trailed along the edges of the dark lines of his shirt, touching at the pale flesh revealed to her gaze.
Noting her observation with an even wider smile, his posture seemed to loosen as he twisted the white fabric within his grip until a long, tight line the width of a human neck lie exposed between his gloves.
"Tell me."
She spoke quickly now, her words only broken by her struggles for her breath as he advanced upon her, intent flaming in his eyes.
"He spoke of a promise..of many things I did not understand. I think that he is mad."
Amusement touched at his cheeks, even as his hands lifted to pass over her head, and with a quick, painful motion, she founds her own hands gathered, subdued to his grip and bound in the coolness of silk.
Quaking, her heart pounding, Victoria's eyes closed in a dreadful anticipation of his touch, her skin now tingling as his breath caught at her neck. Cold fear ran like icy fingers down her spine and at the sensation, desperate words poured from her shivering lips.
"He forced me to look in the mirror. He wanted to know why I did not wait."
A vibration passed along her shoulder, echoing the chills in her spine as Ramone chuckled, the silk of his hair tracing like cold drops against her skin, yet the warmth of his body still withheld, tantalizing and a heartbeat away from her breast.
Then her eyes narrowed, and for the first time, she felt her anger rising as the heat grew further distant and once again, his insufferable smile shone down upon her.
He was still laughing.
"He is mad, isn't he? I believe that honor was mine. At least, that's what you said."
At his words, Victoria felt her lips twisting into a scowl, her eyes narrowing further and now, shaking with rage, she fired back in spiteful retort.
"You do not know for certain, because your honor was mine."
At last, his smug smile wavered and she jutted her chin at him triumph. Then, his cheek, now scarlet, seemed to pulse and twitch, his eyes widening until white shown around their breadth. His nostrils flared, his teeth baring not in smile, but in a snarl.
"Bitch."
Her lips parted, gasping, her breast heaving violently. She jerked frantically at the bars, soft, cool silk digging deeper into wrists, panic and revulsion singing in her veins as another desperate outpouring was forced from her throat.
"And you are twisted. Demented. Vile."
Another gasping outcry stole the remainder of her words, as once again, his arms slid over her head, and at last, the sweet chills of her flesh were bathed in delicious warmth.
"And?"
His eyes were languid, his gaze intoxicating, his voice heavy with passion and his hands, his evil, wonderful hands...
Freed at last, she grasped at his shoulders, her fingers digging into his back.
"You are glorious. You are gorgeous and I utterly abhor you."
His lips, his full, perfect infuriating lips pulled tight in an insufferable and irresistible smirk.
"Fair enough."
For an instant, and inexplicably, Diego's face again flashed before her eyes. With it, some small pang, an emotion so alien that she could not even identify it. Then, a jolt of raw pleasure from the man in her arms drove the image from her mind.