Page 66 of His to Bedevil

I order breakfast while she’s washing up. Once she’s done with the bathroom, I head in there and slam the door shut behind me. I splash some ice-cold water on my face and stare at the man in the mirror. Irma has had the pleasure of seeing the softer side of me. The side only she and my mother can bring out. But right now, I see the monster that everyone fears. The one she’s only seen when we are around other people, but even then, I’m not as menacing with her so near. I don’t want her frightened of me, but I do demand that she submit and understand that I rule with an iron fist.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I find her sitting in the chair at the table hugging her knees and staring off into space. She’s wearing workout clothes, and her hair is piled on top of her head. Her head snaps up as I approach and take my seat across from her, her green eyes wide and alert.

I sit there and stare at her, begging for her to say something. Anything. But she is silent as she keeps darting her eyes in every direction but mine. Taking a deep breath, she locks her eyes on to mine. “You didn’t even ask if I was on birth control last night,” she utters under her breath.

I tilt my head to the side, and my brows furl. “You are, aren’t you?” I didn’t ask, because I didn’t care. I’m not anxious to get her pregnant, but I wouldn’t mind it. We are married after all.

“I am. I told you I have an IUD.” I’m not familiar with that form of birth control. I always wear a condom, so I’ve never asked about that sort of stuff. I’ll have to do my research. “But you didn’t even ask. What if I wasn’t on birth control?”

I shrug my shoulders and recline back in my chair, resting an ankle over my knee. “You’re my wife,mi amor. So what if you got pregnant?” She’ll carry my child sooner or later.

Her eyes widen. “So? What? Um, it’s kind of a big deal, Alejo. It’s one thing to abduct me and force me to marry you, but that’s just crossing the line. This wouldn’t be just me you’re messing with, it would be an innocent child’s life. What kind of life would that be for a child?”

“Our child would have a wonderful life. They would never want for anything and would be protected and loved.”Just like you, mi amor.

“Can we please make just one decision together? It’s clear that you make most decisions for me, not giving me much say, but I will not bring a child into this world until I am ready. This is one fight you will not win, Alejo,” she says with conviction, making the corner of my mouth twitch. I love it when the fighter in her comes out. When she stands her ground and stands up to me. Not that I am at all amenable.

“Okay, my love. I will not stop you from taking birth control. But I will not put on a condom. That is out of the question. I will not have anything coming between us when I fuck my wife.”

She falters slightly at my crass words, then nods her head. “Okay.” She’ll soon in time learn that fighting with me will always be interminable, but I will let her think she has won once in a while to appease her.

We eat breakfast mostly in silence. Small talk about the wedding and what I have to get done today without revealing too much. She’s not ready to know so much about the business and what exactly I do. Iamtrying to get her to like me after all.

I’m waiting for her to bring up Matches, but so far she hasn’t. Not a single word about him all morning. Now, I’m getting up and putting my suit jacket on and kissing her goodbye, and she still doesn’t mention him.

I’m heading for the door when she calls out and stops me. “Alejo?” I stand there unmoving with my back to her, waiting for her to ask abouthim. “Will I see you for lunch?”

“Possibly,” I say, and then take my leave.

When I head downstairs, I go right to the surveillance room. I need to see what exactly happened yesterday. I trust Berto and his word, but I still need to see for myself. Dismissing the two guards in there for some privacy, I sit down and pull up the footage from yesterday.

Sure enough, I see them taking off his restraints, and they thought they would be safe, seeing as there were four against one, but it didn’t matter to Matches. He was bound and determined to die and take as many men with him in the end. I wonder if he really thought his death would’ve stopped me from marrying Irma. I’ve got to hand it to the guy, he fought well. He was a pretty close match for all four of the men. Too bad, really. He could have been pretty useful to our team.

Entering my office, I find Berto and Lucas already there having a heated discussion. “What are you two bitching about?” I grumble as I take my seat behind the desk.

“Seems you may have ruffled the lovely Ivanka Petrofski’s feathers. You and your lovely wife,” Berto accuses in a respectful tone.

I sigh. “She disrespected my wife yesterday. More than once. I had to put her in her place. And what did Irma do?”

Lucas chuckles. “When I escorted her to the bathroom, she needed help with her dress, and Ivanka came out of nowhere and offered to help. Irma told her that if she were to step into the bathroom with her, she wouldn’t be coming out.”

I smile and chuckle along with Lucas, proud of my wife and her guts. Berto grunts, causing my brother and me to get serious. Having a dispute with a large Russian family is not good for us.

Lucas clears his throat. “Well, she ran home to tell daddy, and now he’s trying to renege on our deal, whispering into the others’ ears.”

“Pinche puta,” I spit. That fucking whore and herpendejofather. “But it’s not solely his decision. It was a vote that has long since passed.”

Lucas shrugs. “He wants to reopen it, and it’s possible he can overturn the vote altogether. We need to plan for the worse.”

Rubbing my temples, I growl. “All right, let’s talk.” We need to do damage control and plan out all of our options. I really just want to take out the Petrofskis altogether and be done with it, but it wouldn’t be backed unless he provokes me to take action. Otherwise, I would be cast out of the Russian circle and have an even bigger target on my back. I may have friends around the world and in high places, but the Russians are canny and cutthroat.

Hours later, my head is killing me, and I can hardly see straight. Berto and Lucas left a while ago to attend to other business. My office door is open slightly, and my mother pokes her head in. “Hola, mijo.” She beams and enters my office. Sauntering in as if she owns the place.

“Morning, Mamá.” I sigh.

“Morning?” She arches a dark brow and sits in one of the chairs in front of my desk. “It’s past noon, Alejo.”

I glance at the clock, realizing she’s right.Fuck, Irma.I need to get her lunch. I go to grab my desk phone to call for some food to be sent up to her, but my mother intercepts it by saying, “I just came down from visiting with Irma. We had a lovely lunch together.”

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