Blood Ties by Lana Sky
Chapter Eighteen
Iexit the closet and eye myself in the mirror, trying to use this act of disobedience to distract from the growing fear, warning that, despite all of Domino’s taunts about Jaguar, I still have no idea what to expect. The only name I have to go on is La Guarida Del Tigre—a place filled with men even more despicable than he is, I assume. Hell.
By the time I finally leave and reenter the hall, my shoulders slump with the weight of the impending visit. Jaguar’s arrival feels more like an execution date, when I’ll finally find out my sentence. Death? Or something far worse?
In a daze, I make my way into the white room and stare from the windows watching the day slowly slip away as the sunlight darkens, turning golden. I don’t know what causes it—this imperceptible tensing of my muscles and a quickening of my heartbeat. A part of me is on alert even before I hear the telltale thud of a door opening and closing and a raised, masculine voice ring out.
When soft, shuffling footsteps approach my door, I’m already lurching to my feet just as Ines appears in the doorway, her head bowed.
“Mr. Jaguar is here, Miss,” she says softly. “He requests that you join him on the terrace.”
I notice that she doesn’t mention one other figure by name, and I can’t suppress the urge to ask, “And… Domino?”
She shakes her head, but if I’m not mistaken, a hint of alarm flits across her brown eyes before disappearing just as quickly. “Mr. Domino is not back,” she says.
But I sense there’s so much more lurking behind those ominous words. That gnawing unease chills me to the core as I stand and make my way through the house, bathed in the ochre light of sunset.
I hear him before I see him, a man with a booming voice that echoes loudly from the direction of the terrace.
“…So I came a little early,” he says, presumably into a phone given that I don’t hear anyone reply. “Don’t worry, I’m sure your little birdy tipped you off the second she saw me coming. Just take your time out on your little errand, Dom-Dom. I’m in no rush. In fact, it looks like I’ll just have to find a way to entertain Ada-Maria all by myself. See ya when I see ya, little brother.”
He’s standing at the balcony, eyeing me with a wink from over his shoulder. When faced in the full light of day without the shadows of Domino’s bedroom to obscure him, the man is imposingly tall, built seemingly from the same mold as his “little brother.” Muscle strains against the back of his thin white tee shirt that he wears paired with jeans. The tattoo covering nearly the full length of his left arm is on stark display—a predatory feline with dark fur, crouched among jungle leaves. I can’t help but notice that its hungry glare resembles that of the man spinning to face me, his lips parted in a sly, disarming grin.
“You must be, Ada-Maria.” His brown eyes size me up with a sweeping glance, lingering over my breasts, barely visible beneath the sweater’s relatively modest neckline. I’m already sweating, feeling the jeans cling to my legs uncomfortably. Perhaps it wasn’t so smart to try provoking Domino while having to face the brunt of the sweltering sun.
At the same time, some vain part of me is grateful for the extra fabric as a barrier against Jaguar’s scrutiny.
He has an aura so different from Domino’s—an all-encompassing swagger that instantly transforms this remote domain from an isolated paradise into a realm firmly under his control. He holds himself as though he owns the place, snapping his fingers to command Ines, who appears on cue.
“Bring us some wine,” he says, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. “The good stuff. I know little Dom-Dom wouldn’t want to be stingy when it comes to serving his guests.”
As she retreats, his piercing eyes return to me, his smile even wider. “Shall we?”
He inclines his head, beckoning me to follow him to the terrace’s second level. There, a familiar blond lounges on one of the white couches wearing a black string bikini. Her gaze is unreadable as she watches our approach, but when she turns to face Jaguar, I note that the angle is far different from how she’d contort herself before Domino.
She’s not letting her breasts spill out, but bearing her throat in a gesture of subtle submission. My mother looked at my father the same way. Like she’d die for him.
And at the same time…
Like he had a knife to her throat, ready to slice should her expression convey anything different. I learned in my early childhood that slender line between love and devotion. And oppression.
“Baby, why don’t you take a walk around the property. I need to talk to Miss Ada-Maria alone.”
Alexi’s simpering smirk falls flat. “But you just got here—”
“What the hell did I say?” His inflection never changed; merely his expression did. A hardness set into his mouth, and his eyes seem even darker.
Without another word, Alexi lurches to her feet and takes off toward the gardens.
“Have a seat, Ada.” Jaguar claims Alexi’s former couch, sprawling out with his arms braced along the top of the chair on either side. He nods toward the space beside him.
Instead, I pivot and take the couch across from him. His eyes narrow to slits, but his smile doesn’t budge, remaining a fixture on his face even as his gaze takes on a more calculating focus.
“I think I prefer you naked,” he remarks with a bluntness that sets my cheeks on fire. He eyes my chest with open disapproval and sighs. “Dom-Dom must prefer to keep you covered while he’s away. What a damn shame. When we get you to the Guarida, that will change, I can tell you that.”
“The Guarida.” The word tastes heavy on my tongue, lacking the musical quality his accent gives it. “Is that where…”
I find that I can’t finish that sentence out loud. Where I’ve been sold to.
“It seems our little Dom-Dom has been more forthcoming with you than he’s led on.” He leans forward, stroking his fingers through my hair without warning. It takes everything I have in me not to flinch, submitting to his coarse touch. “All for the better, though. I don’t enjoy breaking in the new girls myself, but I’m up for a challenge. I’ll give you a little crash course, even. The Guarida is my paradise, you see. A world where the trappings of society and the silly rules some stuffy men in suits decide for us cease to matter. It is freedom.”
He runs his fingers along the underside of my chin, raising goosebumps. A part of me reacts to his touch in a way I’ve never responded to anyone—not even Domino. It’s electric. The closest feeling I can compare it to is what I felt around my father’s guard dogs. Rumor had it that he trained them with live animals, and they were always on a hair-trigger, taught to heed only his command.
Jaguar has that same look in his eye. Like all he wants to do is bite. Attack. Brutalize.
Only I doubt he’d heed any other man’s commands to stop.
“You are very beautiful,” he tells me. “I’ll give Domino that much.” He sits back and gestures toward his lap with a wave of his hand. “We should get to know each other more. Come sit with me.”
It’s not a request. Knowledge of that spurs me to my feet despite every warning blaring at the back of my mind to put as much distance between us as possible. I aim to play it safe, meaning to perch myself on the very edge of his couch.
He snags my wrist before I can, dragging me toward him. His smile remains as he wrenches me down, and he doesn’t stop until I trip and land almost entirely on his lap.
“There. This is much better.” He hooks his fingers around my ass, yanking me forward so that I’m straddling him, much like I did Domino not too long ago.
But this position feels nothing like that. There’s no fragile familiarity, despite the animosity between us. With Jaguar, I’m on edge, painfully aware of the strength coiled in the muscle flexing against me.
“I can’t wait until we become more acquainted,” he murmurs, his gaze on my lips.
Maybe it’s because I’m pathetic enough to admit that I wanted Domino for years before he took me. I fantasized about every inch of his body, and a part of me will always fight that attraction.
But with Jaguar…
My body can’t get past the danger radiating off him in waves. It takes me a moment to identify it, but I stiffen the second I do—rage. It’s far different from the lethal anger that explodes from Domino, barely restrained. Jaguar’s hostility is far more nuanced, lurking beneath the planes of this handsome face, smoldering behind the dark irises.
“You have sexy fucking eyes,” he says with an intensity that makes me jump. I’ve been so focused on observing him, that I didn’t pay much notice to the fact that he’s been doing the same to me. “Like you’re thinking hard. I like that.” He grazes my cheek with the pad of his thumb, brushing the hair from my face. “Plenty of men will pay extra to enjoy a girl who seems like she has a brain in her head while she’s sucking his cock.”
I grit my teeth, feeling my cheeks flame as I look away at the sun sinking into the horizon. Domino wasn’t coy about this place and what would happen to me there, but still…
It’s one thing to hear him taunt me like it’s a game. It’s another thing entirely to listen to a man state it so plainly. He’s not exaggerating to manipulate me to conform to his twisted plans. He’s being honest, and I think I should be grateful for that.
No more mind games to navigate.
Just a minefield.
“I’m surprised he told you,” Jaguar muses, still petting me with the tips of his fingers. “Our little Dom-Dom never sent me a girl before.”
He chuckles when I flinch and cups my jaw, guiding me to face him.
“Oh yes,” he says, frowning. “You’re his very first. Domino has always looked down on my little enterprise, you see. Acted as though he was too good to care for the girls, and guide them toward a better life. Until you, Ada-Maria Pavalos. Though it sure as hell seems that he got his money’s worth out of you, first.”
He strokes the edge of a scabbed cut on my forehead disapprovingly.
“Though if you could please a stuck-up, prudish motherfucker like little Dom-Dom, then you must be worth every fucking penny.”
He slides his free hand beneath my sweater, ghosting the flat of my belly.
Given the number of unwanted touches I’ve had to endure from various men throughout my life, he should be no different. It should be easy to simper and smile and arch into his calloused palm the way I have so many times before.
I jerk back instead, nearly falling off his lap entirely. Domino’s voice explodes in my head, grated and guttural—I’ll rip you to pieces if you even let him look at your body.
It’s instinctive. I can’t help it.
But Jaguar’s eyes gleam as he withdraws his hand, and I sense that I’ve made a terrible mistake. My first impulse is to relax against him, forcing my muscles to contort. Then speak, anything to distract him.
“H-How… How do you know Domino?”
His frown deepens. “He hasn’t trained you,” he remarks softly as if he’s speaking to himself more than me. He strokes his hand along my cheek again, and I sense whatever irritation my reaction aroused in him diminish slightly. “At least the bastard did one thing right,” he says. “He saved the best part for me. I should teach you the basics now, baby.” His thumb finds my lips, grazing the seam between them. “You don’t speak unless I give you permission. Understood?”
I swallow hard, but he must mistake the jerking motion for a nod because he chuckles and leans back, his posture softening.
“But if it’s about our little Dom-Dom, I’m an open book. Ask me what you want.”
I hesitate, sensing a loaded weapon more than a kind gesture. He’s testing me, probing in his own, cautious way—so different from Domino’s doublespeak and intimidation tactics. Jaguar is far more predatory, patiently setting a trap in plain sight.
If only I knew what might trigger it.
“Don’t be shy now,” he scolds, batting my cheek with his knuckles. “I won’t bite. For now.”
The ominous feeling grows, but it’s not like I have a better option. It takes me just a split second to weigh the risk.
No matter what Jaguar does, I have nothing left to lose.
“Who is he to you?” I ask him, making my voice as soft and non-threatening as I can.
The demureness must please him because he tilts his head thoughtfully and shrugs. “Dom-Dom is my brother,” he says. “Family is important to me, you see. There is no stronger loyalty than blood ties. Nothing.”
I choke down the urge to ask the most obvious question. Instead, I take another tack.
“You seem so different,” I croak in what I hope passes for an amicable purr.
He laughs, flashing a mouth full of blindingly white teeth. “You’re smart as well as sexy. You don’t need to share a womb or have the same sire to be brothers,” he says cryptically. “Those bonds lurk in pieces of us you can never erase. If I were to fuck you here and now, plant my seed in that sexy little body. My child would make you mine in a way you could never escape. Both of you would be my family. Forever and always.”
His voice is musical enough that even the most horrific imagery lacks the necessary impact. Only the intensity of his gaze gives the boast the edge of a threat. A promise.
My heart is pounding so hard I can taste blood reverberating through my tongue. I feel like my chest will explode, but rather than arrange for medical attention, he’d just fuck me in the gaping hole. I can see the intention in him, so clearly, my entire body goes cold. Paralyzed.
Then he blinks, and his smile widens, displacing any hint of malice.
“You know, Ada-Maria, I will admit that I had you all wrong. The way Dom-Dom spoke about you, I thought you were a dumb little cunt. He made you sound like a puppy on your daddy’s tight leash—” he taps the tip of my nose playfully and chuckles. “I knew he always wanted to fuck you, though. Dom-Dom isn’t subtle when he’s being greedy. Selfish. I’m surprised he waited until recently. He did, didn’t he?”
Whatever my expression must tell him makes him nod in agreement.
“He waited five long years to stick his cock in that tight little cunt. I think he’s a… What’s the word? Masochist? He gets off on control or some shit.” He flattens his palm against my jawline, eyeing me more closely. “I was never as patient as he was. When I want something, I just take it. To be fair, most women want me just as quickly.”
His grip tightens, urging me toward him, and I panic, blurting the first thing that comes to mind.
“Alexi. H-How do you know—”
I see stars and taste blood for real. When the world comes back into focus, I’m hunched over the cushions beside Jaguar, eyeing a strange series of red splotches speckling the white fabric. Then I press my hand to my lower lip and realize why.
He hit me.
“Remember, Ada,” he says, almost gently. Like a teacher trying to enforce the rules of his classroom. “You speak only when I tell you to. I suggest you try to pick up on that rule quickly. We don’t believe in second chances at the Guarida. You strive for excellence, but I see it now...” He grabs my chin, turning me back to him. I’m bleeding freely, not that he seems to care as the drops of scarlet drip down onto his shirt. “Those cucks are gonna bust a nut for a girl like you. Sassy and bold, but still obedient. None of that overly mouthy shit.”
He means it, I realize with abject horror. To him, those vile terms are compliments. Virtues he prizes.
“I’m sure Dom-Dom has had plenty of fun with you. On second thought, I might keep you a little bit rougher around the edges than I typically like. I can see the appeal in it. And now I’m even more curious as to what other talents you might have. I heard from Lexi-Lex that Dom-Dom has a preference for bitches who give good head.”
I fight to keep my expression clear. I honestly don’t know if I fail or succeed, but somehow I manage not to hiss in disgust out loud. Does it hurt me that he lied so easily to my face—yet again?
Yes.God, yes, it does. It’s a rusty knife stabbing through my chest, striking the one open wound on my psyche that Domino Valenciaga seems to enjoy poking. Vanity and jealousy.
He fucked Alexi. Or Jaguar seems to believe so.
“Hmmm.” He makes the low sound in the back of his throat, drawing my attention to him. One look at his face, and I realize that once again, I’ve made a mistake.
If only I knew how.
“He’s claimed you,” Jaguar says, drawing out the word to convey a meaning that goes completely over my head. Something that surprises him. And irritates. His eyes gleam, turning inward as if he’s processing some internal puzzle that’s been on his mind for a while. Finally, he’s able to solve it, but the resolution leaves him frowning, his brows furrowed. “He’s told you that you were the only woman he’s been fucking. Hasn’t he?”
I blink, more confused than ever.
Somehow, Jaguar seems able to glean an answer, and he purses his lips, an eyebrow raised.
“Dom, Dom, Dom.” His voice deepens with every iteration of the name, ending in a growl. “That’s not very friendly, is it? Promising you to me and then wiping his dick all over you, marking his territory and planting dangerous lies inside that pretty little head. It makes me question his integrity, you see,” he says, but his voice is raised, his anger palpable. “How can we have a fair trade if someone is already poisoning the merchandise? I’ve been good,” he adds, stroking my cheek again, but he’s rough, straining my tender lip until my eyes water. “I’ve upheld his little feud against Roy Pavalos. I’ve supplied him with my resources. I’ve kept our family business running in the background. By my fucking self, mind you, while Dom-Dom was off playing toy soldier and wiping your daddy’s ass.”
He grabs my throat, curling his fingers around my windpipe with just enough pressure so that I feel my flesh graze his palm with every breath I take.
“I always had his back,” he continues, regaining his composure. Now he sounds eerily calm, almost monotone. The way Domino used to while carrying out my father’s orders, no matter how heinous. “Always. Because family means something to me. Honor means something to me. Promises, Ada-Maria… They mean something to me. I wouldn’t take for myself that which I already pledged to another man. It’s just not fucking polite.”
He’s implying something. Something dealing with whatever issues lurk between him and Domino, but I can’t keep up. Fear floods my veins slowly as the pain in my lip sets in. The cool casualness with which he uses violence shocks me, and I don’t think part of my brain has still registered the blow. There’s something impulsive and wild about his rage. He can smile while making someone bleed and never miss a beat.
“I always knew he had a soft spot for you, though,” he muses, still smoothing back my hair, his expression contemplative. “The things we initially planned to do to you…” He chuckles darkly, and my breath catches in my throat. “But then little Dom-Dom kept changing his mind, always moving the goal post. I thought, at first, that he just wanted you for himself, but now I think I can see what he was really after. I can tell just by looking into your eyes, that you aren’t like my Lexi-Lex—good for fucking, but not much else. No… I think you’re a little smarter than that, Ada-Maria. Smart enough to know at least some of your daddy’s secrets. And if I were a selfish bastard of a man, looking to betray his only family… I would desperately want to know those secrets.” As he speaks, he lets his fingers crawl up to my scalp, sinking into my hair to graze the tender flesh beneath. Slowly, he starts to squeeze from both sides. “I have to wonder what lies our precious Dom-Dom has been putting into your head. Or what answers he’s been trying to beat out of you—”
I think of Pia and his obsession with the past. Her body.
Jaguar grunts, letting his hands still. “You won’t be a mean girl and try to keep anything from me, would you?” he wonders softly, his smile widening into a beautiful, chilling mask. “Because then we can’t be friends if you deceive me, Ada-Maria. And that, you see, would be a damn fucking shame—” Abruptly, he cuts his eyes to something behind me, and his posture shifts, becoming defensive as he moves his hands to my waist, utilizing them like lead weights to keep me pinned against him. “It’s about damn time,” he snaps, and from the corner of my eye, I see Ines scramble to place a bottle of wine and two glasses on the low table behind me.
Jaguar snaps his fingers, his gaze cold. “Pour it.” To me, he flashes another icy smile. “Ines here has served my family for decades. She practically raised my little brother and me modeling what I thought was the perfect example of loyalty and honor. But then, Ines made her choice. She chose against me, the man who saw her as family, the closest thing to a mother he ever knew.” He speaks in such a level tone that the anger conveyed by those words is only visible in his eyes which glint more dangerously than before. “I suggest you think more carefully than dear Ines, Ada-Maria. I would very much like to be your friend—” Cutting his gaze back to the old woman, he snaps, “Leave us. Though, I’m sure you stalled long enough to ensure that your master is well on his way. I guess that doesn’t leave myself and Miss Ada-Maria long to get acquainted, then.”
He leans forward, jostling my body against his chest, to snatch a filled wine glass from the table. Rather than drink from it himself, he brings the rim to my mouth, and his expression loses all shred of feigned cheer. He’s stern, inspecting me carefully. “Drink.”
I don’t hesitate, slurping right from the edge of the glass.
As I swallow, he stares me down so intently my heart races, my palms sweating. It’s like he’s waiting for something. A reaction?
When he’s seemingly waited long enough, he sits back, satisfied.
“I hope you weren’t fooled by Ines’ subservient act. She’s a wonderful actress, but she is no shrinking violet. In fact, I’m sure she’s been filling our Dom-Dom’s head with devious little ideas from the start. I wouldn’t put poison past him—” He nods to the wine. “How he loves to spike drinks, I’m sure he’s been drugging you while you’ve been here, dulling your senses to make you more susceptible to whatever he demands. We do the same at the Guarida, mind you,” he adds, “but at least you’ll be well accustomed to it.”
It’s getting harder to hide my disgust. The worst part is that he’s right. All those times I woke up dazed, feeling high. I assumed he’d injected me somehow whenever I was asleep, but now I can see how he could have drugged my wine all along.
“Drink up,” Jaguar commands, tilting the glass toward me again.
I have no choice but to take another sip, analyzing every drop that floods my tongue for a trace of anything out of the ordinary. All I taste is a damn fine vintage, and when he seems convinced that I’m not poisoned, Jaguar takes his own sip.
“Dom-Dom isn’t like the rest of us,” he continues, laughing softly. “He has a much higher tolerance to most benzos, opiates, and the like. It would take a hefty amount to down someone like him. I’m sure he told you all about his tragic backstory.”
He waits as if prompting me to agree. When I don’t, he laughs. “Well, it seems our little Dom-Dom is more shy than I would have thought. Especially with someone I would assume might be a kindred spirit.”
Every muscle in my body goes rigid. Is this his way of hinting that he knows about my attempt to inject Domino with a taste of his own medicine? I can’t tell if he’s merely speaking to hear himself talk, or testing me purposefully to gauge my responses—and I don’t dare ask him to clarify.
In the resulting silence, he takes another sip and sets the glass aside. Then he sighs.
“Alas, our private fun has been cut short,” he says. “Though, now more than ever, I’m looking forward to seeing exactly what you have to offer. You’ll make a fine addition to the club, isn’t that right little brother?” He raises his voice, seemingly for the benefit of the figure who comes storming across the terrace from the direction of the house.
I turn just in time to see him reach our level of the terrace, dark hair flying out behind him, hands in fists.
