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His gaze was wild and intense. “I’m a monster. I’m a bad man. And I will always want to be in charge. I can’t change that. But I never want to make you unhappy. I never want you to fear me. Ever. Promise me that you won’t let me do that.”
“I won’t. I promise. You’re not like him, Alejandro. I know that. The Deity had a knack for ferreting out any weaknesses. You know how I hid Roger and Snuggly under the floorboards in my apartment? Well, that was because I got used to hiding them from him. If he’d known, he would have taken them from me.” She shuddered. “I don’t have to hide myself from you, I don’t have to hide my weaknesses, because I know you’ll guard them better than I ever could.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her lightly. “I’m so fucking sorry for everything that asshole did. I love you, Catarina Pérez, and I swear to always keep you safe and happy to the best of my ability.”
She grinned at him. “So does that mean I get all the bread and butter I can eat? That I get to leave the house whenever I want? Ooh, and can I have a skateboard? No, a hoverboard!”
He shook his head. “Keeping you happy doesn’t mean giving you whatever you want.” He ran his thumb along her lips until they parted, then he pressed it into her mouth. “Being mine won’t be easy, Cat.” He slid his thumb free again.
“It will be worth it though.” She grinned. “And I’m not promising I’ll always be good. So long as you understand that.”
“Is there anything else you need to tell me? Now is the time to come clean.”
She bit her lip.
“What is it?” he growled.
“I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
He gave her a shocked look. “My feelings?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How would you hurt my feelings?”
“Um. Because . . . it’s the bunnies!”
“The bunnies?”
“They scare me! They’re smiling! It’s not natural.”
“The bunny wallpaper in your playroom scares you,” he said slowly.
“Uh-huh. And, well, all that pink isn’t me. Don’t get me wrong, pink is a nice color but it’s just not me.”
His shoulders relaxed. “We can take care of the bunnies and the pink.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to sound ungrateful.”
“Preciosa, I want you to be comfortable. To feel like this is your home. The playroom is your safe space.”
She sighed. “The bunnies go.”
“Yes. I want you to be happy. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. Including looking for your mama and welcoming your friends into the family. I will need to talk to them about yelling at you, though. That cannot continue.”
She winced. “Yelling is kind of Sampson’s love language. He only yells because he cares.”
He hummed. “I understand.”
Whew.
“He still isn’t allowed to yell at you.”
Crap. She’d just call them when he wasn’t around then.
“Do you want them to come live here? I know you miss them.”
“I do. But they have their own lives. They can’t come live here.”
“They can if I make them,” he promised.
“Ah, no. That won’t be necessary! Really!” Yikes. She moved on top of him, straddling him so she could stare down at him. “I love you, Alejandro De Leon, even if you are crazy possessive and protective.”
“That’s just the way you like me.”
She couldn’t argue that.
47
“Cat? Where are you?”
She held her hand over her mouth as she giggled. She was crouched behind the large chair in her playroom.
Two weeks had passed since Alejandro learned the truth about her, and a lot had happened. Including to this room. While they were staying at his mansion in Southampton, he’d had someone come in and redecorate.
Now, the walls of the playroom had two murals. One was of a dragon with hazel-colored eyes and a golden sheen to its scales. It was breathing fire.
The opposite wall had a pirate ship. A female pirate with long dark hair was at the Captain’s helm, while ahead of the ship was an island with a giant X on it.
The cover on the bed had been swapped out for a deep green one, and Alejandro was talking about getting a pirate ship bed built for her.
He’d also bought her a huge green bean bag that took up an entire corner of the room. She loved curling up on it under a fluffy blanket and reading a book or listening to music. Now all she had to do was convince him to hang a swing from the stairs in the foyer.
“Shh, Roger,” she whispered to her pirate toy. “Don’t let on what’s about to happen.”
Roger gave her a solemn nod.
Well, in her imagination he did.
Everything was ready. The door was slightly open and she was well hidden. And she’d put in some extra precautions, just in case he discovered her role in the prank.
But mainly, she was going to blame Roger.
