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“Other than sending him Christmas cards each year.”
“Right.”
“How did you meet?” he asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it. Can we try and find Snuggly and Roger? I need them!”
“After I make something clear.”
She sighed. “Another lecture?”
“Pequeña, you are getting close to having your butt spanked.” Something filled his face. Something that looked like regret. “Fuck. I won’t ever do that.”
“What? Spank me?” Now she was confused. He’d already threatened to spank her several times. Seemed like he got great enjoyment at the thought of spanking her.
Which seemed a bit rude if you asked her.
“Sí ,” he gritted out. “Obviously, I never would have threatened to spank you if I’d known you feared I might hit you. That you’d been abused.”
Oh. Okay.
What did she say to that? She couldn’t find the words.
“But that’s what I want to make very clear to you. I would never hit you. Ever. Do you understand me? I have spanked women in the past. But I’ve never harmed them. All of that was consensual. They all agreed that spankings could be used as a punishment.”
Women?
Who the hell were these women? Why was he spanking them when he was hers?
Okay. Stop.
She was definitely having delusions.
“I need to find Snuggly and Roger.” If she found them, then she might be able to think clearly again.
Because it kind of felt like she was going insane.
She should be scared of Alejandro . . . but she wasn’t.
She shouldn’t be attracted to him . . . but she was.
And in no way should she want to tackle him to the floor and kiss him.
But she really, really did.
He eyed her for a long moment. “All right.” He glanced around. “Was the bed always here?”
Why did he want to talk about the position of the bed? Couldn’t he see that she needed something . . . and she wasn’t sure if that something was Snuggly and Roger.
Or him.
“Are you into feng shui or something?” she asked.
“What?”
“What does it matter where the bed is positioned? The bed is ruined.” She grasped hold of his shoulders, staring into his eyes. “We need to focus.”
He muttered something under his breath. “I’m asking about the bed because if it’s been moved, then it might not be over the same floorboard anymore.”
Oh.
Crap. Well, she guessed that made sense.
Turning, she looked at the bed.
He was right. The bed had moved. Which likely meant she owed him an apology for just acting like a complete idiot. How had she not noticed that the bed was in a different place? What was wrong with her?
“It was over here.” Moving several feet, she kneeled and felt around for the board. There!
She lifted the board and then reached in, pulling out Snuggly first. Snuggly was getting kind of worn, though she tried not to wash him too often. He was deep green with gold stars all over him.
She let out a small cry of happiness as she hugged the blanket to her. Then she grabbed Roger. Roger was looking a bit worse for wear too. He had a patch over one eye and a wooden leg as well as stringy black hair.
Falling back on her ass, she buried her face in them.
It was silly.
They were just objects. She’d tried so hard not to get attached to things . . . but she’d failed. A sob broke free.
“Oh, Preciosa.”
This wasn’t going to break her. This was a good thing. They were here. Untouched by whatever maniac had done this to her apartment.
But it wasn’t just that she’d found them . . . it wasn’t that everything else was gone . . . it was the fact that someone had been in her apartment.
They’d destroyed her safe place.
23
Cat was lifted and settled into a warm lap as two arms banded around her.
A familiar scent tickled at her nose.
“Hush, mi Pequeña. Soy yo. Just let it go. Let it all out.”
And although she didn’t need his permission to cry, it was like those words broke the dam inside her.
And out it all came. The fear. The stress. The anger.
Why was this happening to her? Why had the Deity wanted her? And why did Mama leave? Why did Vince target her? Why had someone destroyed her apartment?
Sure, there was nothing in it that she really cared about. But the violation was something that she felt deep inside her.
This place could never be hers again. She wouldn’t feel safe.
“I’ll find who did this and make them pay. Do not worry about that. They won’t go free.”
She forced herself to calm down, to take a few slow, deep breaths. She rubbed her nose against her shoulder. Oh wait, that wasn’t her shoulder, it was his.
Whoops.
Well, maybe he hadn’t noticed.
“Did you just wipe your nose on my shirt?” he asked.
“Nope. Not me. No idea what you’re talking about.”
“Cat,” he said warningly.
