Chapter 47

Shay-Lee

"Neat on the rocks?" Dion offered, his back half turned to me.

"Always." I gave him a sly smile while waiting comfortably on the leather couch in his office.

"That's a good boy."

Ignoring my urge to gag at his comment, I pretended to like it by tilting my head and biting my lips.

After pouring the drink on top of the ice cubes and adding a twist of orange, Dion returned to sit beside me on the couch. As always, he was dressed like a slut, with a deep V-neck shirt that showed off his pecs and tailored trousers that clung to his thick thighs. A few months ago, it would have worked for me, and I'd have licked my lips imagining sucking his cock, but now, I wanted to slit his throat with a knife.

"Thank you," I said, oozing charm as I took the drink from his hand, brushing our fingers on the way before settling back against the couch and lifting my legs to rest them on Dion's lap.

He seemed surprised yet pleased as he placed his hand on my ankle and caressed the strip of skin between my shoe and pants with his thumb.

"You're behaving awfully sweet today."

Taking a sip from my drink, I licked my lips. "Well, turns out you were right." I picked out the orange slice decorating the glass and sucked it between my lips.

"I often am, but do you mind telling me what we're referring to specifically?"

I dropped the orange back into the drink, then put the glass down. "About you telling me I shouldn't be with a whore." Resting my head on the couch, I lifted my leg. "Take off my shoe." I watched his face gleam with pleasure as he slid off my leather loafers.

Now barefoot, I put my foot back on his thigh and gently rubbed him.

"Turns out you were right about that. I should never have wasted my time on a penniless whore." Never before was a lie so painful on my lips, but I needed to remind myself that it was for a bigger cause. I kept up the act as Dion grabbed my foot and placed it right on his lap, letting me feel his growing erection.

"And what made you change your mind?" he asked, the pad of his fingers dancing over my skin, greedily sliding underneath the hem of my pants.

"Well, I simply realized Nero was nothing but a rebellious phase against my father."

He perked up in his seat, eager to learn more. "A rebellious phase, you say?"

Smirking, I pushed my foot down against his dick.

"Putain," he swore under his breath.

"One might say I have daddy issues." I grinned as I continued to massage him over his pants until he throbbed under my touch. "So yeah, a good, long, dirty, rebellious phase."

He groaned, bit his lip, then shook his head before finishing his drink and putting his glass away. "You little devil."

"Nothing about this is little," I purred, pouted my lips, and gave him a not-so-innocent smile that nearly made him burst.

God, I want to cut off his dick.

Licking his lips, Dion grinned widely, showing off his sharp canines before he grabbed my ankle and pulled me down so I was lying on the couch. He moved above me and leaned down to steal a kiss, but I stopped him with my hand on his mouth.

"Nah-ah." I shook my head, playing the dangerous game he was dying for. "Not so fast."

He huffed, straightened up, and adjusted himself.

"So what is it that you want, then?" he asked, his eyes roaming down my body like a starved beast.

Moving to sit in his lap, I wrapped my arms around his neck. I hated being this close to a man who wasn't Camilo, but I had to sell my act, or Dion wouldn't believe me. Before today, Camilo and I drew the line on what I could and couldn't do to make Dion believe this was real.

"I want you to work for it," I said, leaning a bit closer until I was suffocated by his strong cologne.

Grabbing my ass, a cheek in each palm, he squeezed me firmly. "Work for it?"

I pushed my annoyance aside and chuckled. "Yes, darling. The very reason you need to sweat for it is in your hands as we speak." Modesty was never my strongest quality, but it worked on men like Dion. Men with no morals who only cared about fun and power.

"You know I can get anyone I want, right?"

I smirked. "But you want me. You want your mon péché. You want your dirty little sin to be another part of your collection." My lips ghosted the shell of his ear.

His breath turned heavy, and his body tensed. My only consolation was seeing the black eye my man gave this jerk up close. Fuck. If only we could shoot him between the eyes, as Camilo had suggested.

Completely fooled and unaware of my motivations, Dion moved his fingers to my mouth and pressed his thumb to my lips, his eyes closely observing me as I darted my tongue to lick it. He hissed, his dick pushing hard against his trousers.

"So what do I need to do?" His question sounded more like a plea.

"For starters, how about you show me you can support a guy like me?" Hooking my finger underneath his cross chain, I pulled him close. "As you know, I have a liking for expensive shit."

Biting his lips, he swallowed a groan. "What do you want? Tell me, and I'll buy it."

"Currently, I'm homeless, so how about we start with that?"

Sliding his hands up and down my hips, his eyes moved down to my crotch. "Just come and live with me. I have a gorgeous penthouse that would fit you perfectly."

I huffed. "Nah. I want my own place."

"Why would you—" Before he could finish his question, I cupped his jaw and brought his face an inch away from mine.

"I want someplace new. No neighbors." I smiled viciously. "You know how much I love to scream when I get pounded."

He let out a choked breath, almost like he couldn't believe his luck. "You're crazy."

"That's why he wants me so much." Grabbing his dick over his trousers, I squeezed him hard. "Yeah, he remembers how good I am."

"Seigneur," he groaned, tilting his head back and revealing his neck to me. Once again, I was hit with the strong urge to slit it, but instead, I let go of him at once and stood.

"Also, my dad will probably be angry about it, so I'd watch out if I were you." I bit on the tip of my nail while looking at him with worry.

Finally, Dion seemed to be pulled back to his senses as he rose to his feet and laughed. "There's no reason for you to be afraid, mon péché," he said, placing his hand on my abs and pulling me back against him. "As he should be the one watching out for me."

Oh, I'm counting on it.

Diesel

"How did it go?" I asked before Shay-Lee's ass had even met the car's seat.

Closing the door behind him, he looked up and smiled. "Just as planned."

A week had passed since Iván's death, a week in which we'd planned everything in detail.

Cupping the back of his head, I pulled him close and sealed our mouths together. Kissing him unleashed the bundle of nerves that had knotted in the pit of my stomach since he'd left the car nearly forty-five minutes ago.

"You smell like him," I hissed, my jaw tensed.

"Still?" Pulling back, Shay-Lee grabbed the hem of his shirt and sniffed himself. "Shit. I swear to God I've already sprayed myself with my cologne, but this asshole bathed in it. How annoying." Shrugging, he turned to look at me. "We better get going. I know we parked the Benz two blocks away, but still."

Nodding, I moved the car into gear, reversed out of the parking lot, and pulled onto the road as Shay-Lee told me how his meeting with Dion went. If we followed his plan to bring Dion and Christian down, we'd have to stay away from each other.

"So, how long do we have to keep up the act?"

"We have exactly one week. That's how patient this guy is, but it works in our favor."

My face pulled into a frown. "How so?"

"The less I need to stay away from you, the better. And besides, graduation is a week from now. We've been waiting for this day to come for weeks now."

That day at the shopping center's parking lot, about a month and a half ago, Shay-Lee and I made a promise. We said we'd wait for graduation and then decide what to do. Well, the time had come, and in a week, if everything went to plan, we'd be free.

Despite the short amount of time that had passed since we made that promise, so much had changed. To think I had plans for Iván and Shay-Lee to meet… If only I'd been more careful. My anger and impetuousness had cost me Iván's life. Now, I'd carry this burden for the rest of my life. My brother was dead because of my idiotic mistakes, and nothing would ever change that. I had failed him in the worst possible way, and although my guilt could never bring him back, my fury would avenge him.

Bitterness twisted with anger filled my guts, and while I wasn't anywhere near overcoming Iván's death, I was excited about the idea of our freedom. One week from now, Shay-Lee and I would be free. But what did freedom mean?

"Hey, where you going?" Shay-Lee asked once I took a left and got on the highway.

"To the beach."

"Why? It's about to get dark."

"I want to see the ocean."

His brows pulled together. "That's so random. Can't we just go back to the apartment and fuck?"

"No." I gave his shoulder a slight nudge. "We're going to be apart for a week, so I want us to look at the ocean together."

Slumping back in his chair, he put some music on. "Sometimes you're too much of a romantic."

"Is that a bad thing?"

He huffed. "Duh. Who needs romance?"

I groaned. "Are you seriously picking a fight with me for trying to be nice?"

"Who asked you to be nice?" he snorted, and I rolled my fucking eyes. "I like it when you're all grumpy and pissed. It's hot."

This guy never seemed to shut up. In fact, he continued to rant the entire ride, even more so when he found out I was taking us outside the city. It wasn't even that far, only an hour's drive.

His bitching didn't stop even after I parked the car, and he continued as we went down the trail leading to the shore.

"Are you going to shut up at some point?" I looked behind me to where Shay-Lee had decided to stop in the middle of the path.

"Did we seriously just drive an hour to see the ocean on this remote beach at night?" He stomped his foot. "It's completely dark! You can't see shit."

He was exaggerating. It wasn't that dark. The moon and the stars provided all the light we needed.

"Fine, so stay here, Princesa. I'm going down." It only took me five steps before he ran after me.

He shoved at my shoulder. "Were you actually going to leave me behind? What if some creep was lurking in the dark, just waiting for the right time to kidnap me?"

"With how much you talk? He'd return you to me right away, saying he feels sorry for me."

Shay-Lee gasped, then shoved me again. "I was serious. What if it was a serial killer then?"

"You just spent forty minutes talking to one and didn't seem to care. Not to mention you're about to live in his house for a week."

Huffing, Shay-Lee waved his hand in the air. "Not the same thing, and if anything, it's only proving my point that we should spend tonight fucking and not hiking on some stupid beach."

As we reached the shore, I looked around. It was empty, so I began to undress.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I tossed my clothes at Shay-Lee, my boxers hitting his face, then ran into the water buck naked.

"If you're drowning, I'm not coming in there to save you!" he shouted after me.

When I reached the water, it was still cold but not enough to keep me from jumping in headfirst. Like a slap to the face, the water awakened me in seconds. This feeling of being alive was like no other, and it never got old.

Wiping my face and pushing my fingers through my wet hair, I looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, enjoying the warm evening. The moon and the stars shone so brightly, reminding me of Iván, Carmen, and my mom and how they should've been here, too. For a brief second, I was awash with loneliness, something I was familiar with, but then Shay-Lee called for me, and those feelings left as quickly as they arrived.

"I can't believe I got in," he complained while making his way toward me and pulling his hair into a messy bun on top of his head. "I better not get stung by a jellyfish."

It was absolutely insane how this spoiled, overly annoying, and pampered brat managed to save me from myself. Then again, he wasn't just spoiled, and he wasn't just pampered. He was sweet and kind and, as much as he'd argue otherwise, not at all selfish. He was the most flawed soul I'd ever met, but beautiful nonetheless. One that drew me in right from the beginning. Even if we had a rough start, it was for good reasons because sometimes, you need to hate before you learn how to love.

"Are you even listening to me?" he asked, stopping before me, the water reaching his waist.

"Marry me."

"What?" Shay-Lee spat, his face turning to shock.

Grabbing his waist, I pulled him close. "I said, marry me."

He slapped me. Of course he fucking did.

"What was that for?" I grunted, rubbing my cheek.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" he growled, eyes fierce.

He wouldn't be the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with if he didn't react this way. Chuckling, I leaned in and placed a gentle kiss over his lips. "After graduation, let's skip the after-party and drive away. Escape this place forever."

He froze in my hold. "Are you serious?"

I hummed a low yes, grabbed his jaw to angle him to look up. "We can stop in Vegas, get married there, and go on to who knows where. We can leave the state and travel around the world. Do whatever we want. Go wherever we want."

Suddenly, the thought of running away with him made so much sense. From the beginning, he was the one thing I lacked, so why push it away? Why waste our time? We were only going to be on this planet for who knew how long, so we better do whatever the fuck we wanted.

"What in the last hour made you want to marry me?" he asked, his eyes narrowed. "Was it the nonstop whining, the complaining, or all the bitching?"

"Pretty much all of it."

I tried to kiss him again, but he stopped me by placing his hands on my chest.

"I mean it, Camilo." Moving his fingers up, he stopped once he reached my necklace.

It was the gold chain Iván used to wear. Before burying him next to Carmen, I'd taken it.

"Do you actually want to marry me, or is it because of his death?"

Meeting my gaze, Shay-Lee looked at me with those heartbreaking eyes of his that captured every piece of my body and soul.

I cupped his face in my palms, then caressed his wet skin. "Maybe his death made me realize it sooner, but I would have asked you to marry me eventually. So why delay it? You're the only family I've got, the only family I want."

Closing his eyes, he leaned into my touch. "We're too young to get married."

"People our age get married all the time."

He opened his eyes. "And what if we fight?"

"We already fight."

"We've been dating for only a few months."

"So what? You have any doubt I'm not the right man for you?"

He chuckled, his lips curling up.

Nothing in this world could ever match how beautiful he looked when he smiled—absolutely nothing.

"Fine. Let's do it, but on one condition."

"Oh?" I raised my brow at him.

"You quit smoking."

That made me grimace. "Why?"

"I'm not going to marry someone who'll die from a heart attack in his twenties."

Pinching his cheek enough to make him wince, I laughed. "Fine. I'll quit."

I then let him go, moved my hands to the back of my neck, and took off my necklace.

"This should be enough until I get you a ring," I said, securing it around his neck.

"Are you sure about this?" He traced his fingers over the gold chain.

Crossing my arms around his body, I pulled him into a tight hug. He buried his face in my chest, and I inhaled his sweet, addicting scent. At this moment, not even the ocean seemed strong enough to separate us.

Kissing the top of his head, I smiled.

"More than anything, Llorón."