Page 80 of LA Reign

His eyes darken, and I can see his pulse pounding in his forehead. “You are my wife and I will not have your ex-boyfriend paying your salary.”

“But Alejandro…”

He slams his fist onto the breakfast bar. “Alana! Can you ever just do as you’re told? You are not to have anything more to do with that prick and if I find out he’s come anywhere near you ever again, I will break every bone in his body. Is that what you want?”

I tilt my head up to look directly into his eyes. I’m just as angry as him now. I don’t want anything to do with Bobby, but I won’t be ordered around like this. I suck in a breath and try to calm myself enough to speak.

“Alejandro, I get that you’re a possessive asshole. In fact, most of the time, I think it’s really hot. But this is a step too far. I have never given you any reason to doubt me. How dare you try and tell me who I can and can’t work with? If Bobby donates money to the shelter to fund my post, then that is all it will be. There is nothing between me and him and there never will be.”

“So why couldn’t you talk to him in front of Hugo then?” he shouts.

“Because there were things I needed to say to him that needed to be said in private. I suspected we might end up arguing, and I didn’t want Hugo there escalating things. The shelter is where I work. The women and kids there have already been through enough; the last thing they need there is any more drama. It was a private matter, and I handled it.”

He narrows his eyes as he stares at me. I can’t read him right now.

“What is this really about, Alex?” I ask as I place a hand on his cheek, risking the contact. “Bobby is in my past. Way in my past. He means nothing to me.”

“You say that now, but if you start spending time with him again…” He shakes his head. “I forbid you to see him again, Alana.”

“Alex, I love you. More than I love anyone or anything. But I am a grown woman. You don’t get to forbid me to do anything.”

“Yes, I fucking do,” he snarls at me. “You are my wife.”

I nod. “Yes, I am. So why can’t you believe in that? Why don’t you trust me?”

He glares at me. “You wouldn’t understand,” he hisses.

“Try me!”

“Because…”

“Because what?”

His nostrils flare as he stares at me. “Because he is the man you should be with,” he shouts.

“What?” I blink at him. I’m so confused right now. He wants me to be with Bobby? No, that makes no sense.

A look of anguish flickers across his handsome face. He suddenly looks tired, almost vulnerable.

“He is a better man for you than I am, Alana. You wouldn’t be in so much danger if you were his wife. If you were married to someone normal. You can’t deny that.”

Shit! He is insecure. The King of LA is worried that he isn’t good enough for me. What the hell! I did not see that one coming.

I place my other hand on his face, my fingers brushing against the dark stubble on his jaw. “But I can deny it, and I do. Bobby Conroy is not the man for me. I could spend one thousand years in his company and there would still only ever be you, Alex. I am yours—body, heart, and soul, remember?”

He presses his forehead against mine. “When Hugo told me he’d come to see you, and you were alone with him…” He closes his eyes.

“What? You thought something happened between us? We were alone for like two minutes. You really think I’d do that?”

“No,” he shakes his head. “Not really. But I couldn’t stop picturing him with his hands on you. I trust you, but I don’t trust him. Why the fuck would he bother to find out where you work?”

I swallow my nerves. I have to tell him everything. He tucks his thumb beneath my chin and tilts my head up to look at him. “What?” he frowns. “Did something happen? Did he try anything?”

“Promise you won’t get mad.”

“I’m already mad.”

“But I know you can get madder…”