Page 22 of His to Bedevil

“My mother is most likely dead. Overdosed and died somewhere lying in a gutter.” I pause for a moment to question why I’m disclosing such personal information to him, but why stop now? “She wasn’t always trash. There was a time when she would give me baths and then wrap me up in a big fluffy towel and carry me to bed. I used to dream of becoming as beautiful as her. I adored her long, dark hair the most. I would run my fingers through it for comfort.” I open my eyes for just a second to reach up and do just that to Alejo’s soft, dark hair. Closing my eyes again, I feel Alejo place me down on the bed, and I snuggle in, relishing this dream-like state. He unwraps the towel from around me and uses it to dry my hair some. I’m much too fatigued to fight him on it or tell him to fuck off. And I can’t lie and say that I don’t enjoy this. It’s nice. For a moment, I can forget where I am and who I’m with.

“When’s the last time you saw your mama?” Alejo asks as he covers me up with the blankets, tucking me in.

“I was eleven. Told her to fuck off, and she did.” I yawn, and when I feel the bed dip behind me, I anticipate his arms wrapping around me this time.

“I’m so sorry,mi amor,” he whispers, and that’s the last thing I hear before I fall into a deep sleep.

Alejandro

Igot the best sleep I’ve had in years last night, and I have no doubt it was because of the beautiful woman I held in my arms. Typically, I only get a good night’s rest after a good release or two with a woman. I didn’t even touch Irma the way I was dying to, and somehow I went to bed satisfied and slaked. I never knew this was what I wanted, and now that I do, I will stop at nothing to have it. I know I will have a long and onerous road ahead of me trying to win over the heart of such an audacious woman, but the outcome will be every bit worth it.

We need to get back to the estate in Cuba soon. My mother is worried and getting restless. I should’ve pulled Irma out of her prison sooner so that I could’ve begun to prep her already. If my mother thinks I am holding a woman against her will, she’ll have my head. Benita Martinez is a woman not to be trifled with. She was my father’s biggest supporter, and without her, he wouldn’t have been able to take our empire where it is today. She’s a ruthless businesswoman and a cunning woman.

Now, I have to figure out how to get Irma on board. The problem is, she might not have anyone that I can use against her. She’s made it clear she doesn’t care if her mother is dead or alive, her father is already dead, she has no other family, and I still don’t know who this Matches is or what he means to her. I’ll soon find out though.

I rise before she does. I’m sure she’ll be sleeping a lot for a while still. At least until I get her back to a healthy state. She lets out a little moan when I press a soft kiss to her bare shoulder. My cock is already painfully hard, and typically I would just take what I want, but I happen to like my women willing, and my Irma won’t be willing for some time. Not until she understands the life I’m about to give her. She’ll never need to steal money again. She won’t need to ever use any other name than the beautiful one she was given. I’ll continue to care for her every single day. She’ll never want for a thing, and I’ll make her my queen.

Tearing myself away from her, I roll out of bed. The sun has just come up, and I have a lot of work to catch up on. After washing up and throwing my suit on, I call Berto and tell him to bring my laptop up here and to send up breakfast for both Irma and me, making sure the food for Irma is from the list the doctor recommended.

Berto comes knocking on the door not much later, and I answer it right away so that it doesn’t wake up my sleeping beauty. I stand in the doorway, blocking Berto from entering or even seeing into the room. Irma is still naked from when we got in bed after the shower, and no one will see her naked. No one but me.

When Berto realizes I’m not letting him in, he grumbles, “The Russians want to see you in person.”

“Pinche putas,” I hiss as I take the laptop from him.

Berto shrugs knowingly. It’s not surprising they want to meet with me in person. Most deals like this need to be handled face-to-face, and since I’m the one that wants something from them, it’s only respectful that I go to them. Right away, I’m thinking about what I’ll do with Irma. She’s not ready yet. I’ve hardly gotten any time with her, and I was hoping to have Matches by now so that I have some kind of leverage on her.

“We got a hit on Matches.” Berto reads my mind.

“Why the fuck am I just now being told about it?” I’m instantly vitriolic and fuming. I specifically told them to alert me as soon as there was a hit on him.

“I was just informed less than an hour ago, and we only have it narrowed down to the country as of right now. But we’re closing in on him. I’m going to get the team together now so that we’re ready to move out as soon as we get a better idea on his exact location.”

“Where is he?” I glance back to make sure Irma is still sleeping and that she hasn’t moved.

“Siberia.” He half smirks.

“Of course. Go get your team together and alert me when you’re ready to move out. The Russians will have to wait.”

He grunts in frustration but knows better than to argue. “Alejo.” He dips his head and leaves. The housemaid steps up behind him, but I just take the tray from her and close the door in her face.

Taking the tray over to the table I have near the window overlooking the terrace, I arrange our food on the table and leave the silver dome over Irma’s to keep it warm for her. Sitting down, I open up my laptop and get to work.

After about an hour of working, the sun is up and my head is throbbing. I have a lot of work I’m behind on because I’ve been obsessing over the sleeping woman in my bed. When she was locked away in her prison, I only visited her six times, but my mind was always on her. I sat in the surveillance room for too many hours, ignoring my duties that fell in my lap only two years ago when my father died.

Before my mind can wander too far into the past, my phone rings. I answer it immediately so that it doesn’t disturb Irma. Glancing over at her to make sure that it didn’t, I speak. “Yeah.”

“Excusame, Alejandro?” My mother’s tone is sharp.

“I’m sorry, Mamá.” I sigh and rub my temples. “I didn’t see it was you.”

“What’s wrong,mijo? You sound stressed.” My mother’s tone switches into her maternal one. Both my mother and father were professionals at being able to maintain both parental and business qualities seamlessly. They were firm but kind. Knew how to flip their switch at any given moment.

“Nothing, Mamá. No more stressed than usual.” I close my laptop and lean back.

“Alejo, when are you coming home? We need you here. I don’t understand what is keeping you in Miami.”

Letting out a deep breath, I realize I need to tell her. “I met someone, Mamá. I’m bringing her home with me.”

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