Breaking Point

Chapter Eight

Scary Realizations

Illianna

I knew what Santiago was doing, it was obvious and I could use it against him easily. He found me attractive, and wanted to use me as his whore, that's what all men want. Playing along with him was easy enough when I played it almost every day back at the estate. Playing their games was the only way I could see my mother.

Santiago stood in front of me, his brown eyes staring me down. I knew this game between the two of us was bound to be catastrophic, God, it was clear what he wanted with me but he didn't know what he was lusting for. He didn't know that behind the shell of hostility, sarcasm, and boldness was a broken little girl who cries at a mans touch.

Our chests rose and fell in sync in the large silence between us. His hand was still in my hair, his fingers still tangled in the strands. We stood like this for what seemed like forever before he spoke.

"Have I rendered the feisty Illianna speechless? I'm shocked." His words were low and teasing, it sent tingles through my entire spine. I blamed it on his sexy Spanish accent.

"What do you want from me Santiago?" I questioned. His hand in my hair moved to my face and his eyes softened.

"I want to know you." It took me a minute for the words to register in my head, that was a new one. Nobody wanted to know me. I stared at him skeptically, he wanted to kill me when we first met.

"Why? You made it pretty clear that you wanted me dead. 'Every fibre in my being is screaming at me to kill you.' Do you remember that? Because I remember. Vividly." I said, stepping away from him.

"I said it to scare you." I scoffed. "It obviously didn't work as planned but you intrigue me." He said nonchalantly. I stared at him in shock, then my eyes narrowed as I backed away once more.

"I'm not some deranged animal." I glared at him. He smirked, stepping closer to me.

"If you were an animal, every thought in my head right now would be animal cruelty." The huskiness in his voice made me clench my thighs together. I haven't been around men like this before, men who flirted outwardly with me, that perused me, men that spoke in innuendos and it was doing things to me. For the third time, he closed the distance between us.

His presence alone was intoxicating, his power and authority just radiated off him in waves and I found myself drawn to him. I was part disgusted at myself for wanting such a brute man and part curious at what lay behind the chocolate eyes and the hard exterior and God, what was under that suit. As the thought came to me I quickly dismissed it. I shouldn't want to be anywhere near him, he was a coldblooded murderer.

"I'm not intriguing in the slightest." I breathed, his eyes held amusement.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not. You said yourself that I'm not hard to look up, everything is known." He leaned towards me and my heart rate accelerated.

"I beg to differ pequeño," he said, "Basic information is easy to find yes, but you yourself is something to be discovered, and I want to discover you." I was lost for words. Every bit of knowledge in my head disappeared, I was used to men just telling me that they wanted to fuck me. Not this wooing shit, or whatever he was doing. He reached up to my shoulders and turned me around. I was still to stunned to protest.

"Take off your shirt." My mind took a minute to comprehend his words. When I opened my mouth to say no, I felt his warm fingers graze the bottom of my hips and the word died in my throat.

"I'm not sleeping with you." Was the only thing that managed to come out of my mouth. I need to keep my last shred of dignity, this is the very least I could do.