Page 61 of LA Reign

I stay still, unsure of what he wants from me. Unsure of anything at all.

“Are you planning on coming to bed fully clothed?” he eventually snaps.

“No,” I whisper. I remove my jeans and tank top but stop at my underwear. His eyes roam over my body, his cock hardening further. He’s still mad, but I guess his eyes didn’t get the memo either.

I unclip my bra and let it fall to the floor. My nipples are hard, and it’s not just because of the cool air. It’s because of him. This glorious, gorgeous, completely unreasonable man standing before me. I take a step closer, his masculine scent hitting me. He still can’t take his eyes off me, but I can still feel his annoyance. Whether it’s with himself for still wanting me, or me for existing, I just don’t know.

His stare is ferocious, his tongue running over his lower lip as his eyes devour me. He looks furious, and I wonder again if he wants to punish me. In the right time and place, his punishments leave me a hot, trembling mess. I enjoy them so much that I have been known to deliberately provoke him into a spanking.

But tonight? Tonight is not the right time.

I’m still reeling from the news I got from the doctors. I still feel guilty about upsetting Lucia and making her feel abandoned all over again. I’m worried about Mateo. Most of all, I’m still upset about the distance between Alejandro and me. Distance I know I helped put there, but he’s the one maintaining. I don’t think I can handle any more hurt right now, even if it is only the physical kind.

Previous times he’s punished me, it’s been followed with such care, such tenderness. With a gentle love that made me feel cherished, even as the skin of my ass was still bright red and stinging. It all balances out.

Right now, though, I’m not sure he’s capable of offering me that. I gulp at the thought of him spanking me or hitting me with his belt and then turning away, leaving me sore and lonely in the aftermath.

I realize after a few seconds, though, that he isn’t going to punish me. In fact, it seems like he’s not going to touch me at all. Instead, he turns away and climbs into bed, lying still with his hands behind his head. I slip in beside him and put my hand on his chest, reaching out in a gesture of peace. He immediately stiffens, tense with even that small contact. It hurts, feeling him recoil from me, and gets even worse when he removes my hand from his body.

It’s like our time together on the plane never happened.

“Alex, why did you ask me to come back here if you’re just going to ignore me?” I ask. “I can spend the night with Kelsey or in one of the other guest rooms if being around me upsets you so much.”

“I can’t sleep when you’re not here,” he growls. “And I really need to fucking sleep.”

He sounds exhausted, fraught, and miserable. I take a deep breath and remind myself of everything he’s been through in the last couple of days. Finding out we couldn’t have kids was a blow to him, too. And then I did my magical disappearing act. How much it hurt me just now, when he didn’t want me to touch him—what I did to him was even worse. Then to top it all, his dad almost died and is still a long way from being out of the woods. He has so many responsibilities, and I need to try and set aside my own anxieties and help him. As he said to me in New York, marriages should be strong in the tough times as much as in the easy times.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“What for?”

“For running away.”

He doesn’t reply. Stares at the ceiling.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I truly am.”

“I do believe you,” he says quietly, taking me by surprise. “I know you wouldn’t do it again.”

“Then why won’t you touch me?” I ask, trying to control the emotion that’s surging through me. We’ve faced many challenges in our relationship, but a lack of physical desire has never been one of them. What if something’s switched off inside him now? I blink back tears, remembering what he said about me crying earlier. “Don’t you want me anymore?”

He turns, his face twisted into a deep scowl. “You think I don’t want you? My cock is weeping for you. God help me, I always want you.”

Thank god.

“I want you too Alex. So, what are you waiting for? I’m right here. I’m yours.”

“Alana, I can’t right now. I’m so fucking angry, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“That’s never stopped you before,” I remind him. “We’ve had sex when you’ve been mad.”

“No, we haven’t. You think you’ve seen me angry? Sometimes I think you’ve never seen the real me. The me I keep inside. He’s a devil and he will fucking devour you.”

Oh lord. A rush of heat floods through my whole body, and my pussy walls throb. I want that. To be devoured by this devil. This man who I love and want more than anything. I run my hand down his chest, and a low growl vibrates through him “Then show me, Alex. Show me the real you.”

He moves before I even finish my sentence, flipping me onto my back and pinning me to the mattress with the weight of his body. “Don’t tempt me, Alana,” he snarls. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“I do. And I trust you. You could never hurt me,” I say as I stare into his eyes. “Not like that.”