Rafael
Waking up with a fucking hangover was a terrible way to start his day. The warmth and rays of sunlight streaming from his open windows made him groan. The throbbing pain in his skull made him squint his dark brown eyes on the grandfather clock steadily ticking, mocking him. Rafael stifled a savage curse. Too early in the morning to be cursing his life.
Besides, he had a lot on his plate. The first was to meet the disguised angel from last night. He didn't trust her. Like recognized like.
She, the Angel was something more.
Fuck! He had to stop calling her that. Her name was...Angelina. An apt name for such a delicate face but she was not from the heavens.
He might have been drunk when he met her, his intuition though had deemed her as a threat. To what? To his sanity. Damn it!
Who was she really? How could a slip of a woman be a threat to him?
Rafael was nobody's fool. He would not be successful and feared by his peers if he was. No one had the temerity to question his conclusions because he always had evidence. And his instinct had never failed him. Yet.
What was it about her that drew him in?
Her fighting skills?
Nah. He was sure she would need pointers from him. No one was that good. Especially, a woman.
Her beauty then.
No. Beauty was skin-deep. He was more interested in what was inside a woman's brain. More like the new tzarina, whom he admired. The new mafia queen. Beauty and brains to match. Lucky bastard!
His usual bed partners were one-night stands. He used them and then discard them. Yes. He was an asshole of the first degree. He couldn't even remember their faces, nor their names.
Before the tragedy, he used to have an ideal woman for himself.
Funny. Intelligent. Soft-hearted. Compassionate. Loyal to a fault. And a lady with a backbone of steel.
One has to be when married to a Cartel leader.
Like what his Papa had with his Mama.
Except that was in the past. He had no plans to marry. Ever.
Rafael's mood turned darker. With a savage growl, he got up from the bed and went straight to his ensuite bath. There he let the warm water wash over him and tried to relax.
Impossible. He had to meet the new addition to his household.
Angelina.
So what was it about her that intrigued him so?
***
An hour later and he still had no answer.
Seated at the head of the formal dining table, he stared at the diminutive female seated two chairs away from him to his right and fought an irrational impulse to scowl. He couldn't read her and it was damning he couldn't figure out what she was up to.
All he could see was the set of her chin and the curve of her pink lips. Her eyes. He wondered what color they might be.
Cursing in his head, he blocked the sudden flare of arousal he felt. He didn't need complications. And if -that's a big IF- she truly was Tia Juanita and Tia Lucinda's niece then she was off-limits. He had too much respect for the only remaining family he had left.
"Where are you in San Francisco, Angelina?" He asked and almost choke when she raised her eyes and met his. Blue-violet. Fathomless. But mysterious. And so magnificent. Puta!
He looked down at his plate filled with chilaquiles and huevos rancheros and waited for her answer.
"Here and there, señor, But mostly San Jose," she whispered. Her voice was timid. So different from the confident woman he met last night. Though her Spanish was passable there was an underlying accent he couldn't place. That is not the real her.
Again, he raised his gaze and observed her.
Head downcast, focused on her meal, he couldn't get much. "And your parents?"
"I'm an orphan. Tia Juanita and tia Lucinda are all I have." Again, she wouldn't meet his eyes. She was too rigid and her shoulders were too tense.
"I see. Tia and tio had discussed your circumstances with me last night and I permitted them to let you stay here for a couple of months. Then, you have to go." He murmured. His voice was devoid of any feelings he was harboring deep inside. His decision was final.
"Yes, señor. I understand. I'll be gone in a few weeks. I'll go back to San Francisco." When she met his gaze they were utterly blank. Nothing to show her true feelings.
"Good." She would be gone and he would be able to concentrate once more. -Then why did it feel like he couldn't breathe? And why was he disappointed?-
"I want to apologize for what happened earlier. It was dark and I didn't recognize you." Angelina said. This time her voice was firm and steady. Nose in the air and full of confidence.
Her play of words almost made him smile. Yes. She apologized but she didn't regret one thing. -Cheeky chit.- "I do hope, Angelina, that I wouldn't find you in my kitchen again at such an hour." He warned. What if it wasn't him? What if a lecher found her enticing form alone in the kitchen? In the dark. And everyone was sleeping. Although he would have killed anyone found abusing a woman. "I usually kill strangers sneaking in my house."
There was no sense in hiding how dangerous he was. Not to anyone. Not even to a lady.
To his surprise, she didn't even flinch at his words. "It won't happen again."
"Bueno." He answered with finality. "Excuse me, tia Juanita, tia Lucinda. Tio, in my study, please," All this time they remained silently observing the exchange between him and their guest.
He mentally scoffed. He wouldn't budge.
His heavy chair scraped the tiled floor when he stood. With a curt nod, he left them.
He needed to avoid HER at all costs. Starting today.
Standing outside his library, he shook his head. He couldn't understand why he was so off-balance. He exhaled heavily. Experience had told him to be wary and distrust anyone outside of his circle.
Rafael said what he had to say. Inwardly grimacing, he turned the nob and went inside his domain. There, he had a lot to do. And there, he could contact an ally who could check Angelina's background.
***
"Buen dia." (Good Day)
He looked up and watched the source of his disquiet walk into the room. His library. Where nobody else was allowed to go inside except the ones he trusted.
She had attempted to tame her unruly luscious blond hair into a neat ponytail, but tendrils had already escaped sprinkling her forehead, cheeks, and alabaster throat. She was wearing a traditional off-the-shoulder white blouse and a sky-blue skirt that made her eyes look bluer.
The result was potently distracting. Beauty, grace, and confidence. He felt like gritting his teeth. It was the way she moved he found so alluring. So irresistible. That ultimately transfixed his senses.
"Who told you to come?" He didn't mean to sound harsh but he needed her out of his way.
She faltered. And that was when he saw the heavy tray in her hands. Fuck! He felt like kicking himself.
"I brought you your lunch, señor. Tia Lucinda asked me to." With those words, she placed his meal on a coffee table, turned without meeting his dark gaze, and walked away.
"Wait." His mama would smack his head if she had witnessed this. He had never been rude to any of his servants. Cold but never disrespectful.
Angelina stopped but didn't look back. Her dainty chin lifted while she looked at the heavy panels of his library.
"Gracias, angel." His rough deep voice became a tad softer, surprising himself. -It's Angelina, idiot!-
She nodded slightly, continued, and closed the door. Leaving him so alone once more.
In all conscience, he couldn't. No matter what his senses were telling him. She was fucking off-limits and she has secrets.
The most important thing of all was, he simply couldn't trust her.
Although the predator in him was salivating, wanting to catch his prey, caged her, savor her, he needed to deny himself.
Too long without a woman. Maybe he could contact one of his past dalliances and fuck his frustrations with one of them or two. Yet his plans displeased him. His dick didn't even respond with the idea of a threesome.
He breathed in, slow and deep, and seize the moment to reaffirm his previous thoughts.
Maybe if he unearthed Angelina's secrets his curiosity would be appeased and he would no longer lust after her.
Yes. Maybe. Time to call the general.
___________
Tia Juanita
"Did he like his meal?" The young beauty before them returned with a frown on her eyes. Her face was pinched and there was a pout on her lips.
-Hay, mijo. You are a piece of work.-
"I don't know, tia. He got mad because I entered his office." Angelina confessed.
"Don't worry, mija. He is a big teddy bear inside." She and her sister will just have to pray and be patient. Soon, El Patrón will see it their way.
"After last night, I don't think he would ever forgive me." Angelina had a thoughtful expression and her brows drew together. Whatever the little miss was thinking, Juanita hoped it was how to make the El Patrón like her.
They knew, since breakfast, with the way Rafael was studying Angelina, and with the way, the girl was blushing and squirming in her seat, there was an attraction between both parties.
All they need was a little push. And Juanita and Lucinda were more than happy to tip them over the edge.
"Come, mija. I'll show you how to make burritos from scratch." She and her sister had planned an even more interesting dinner.
-A way to a man's heart is always through his stomach. Or maybe much lower?- Juanita grinned mentally. She'd ask Ramon later.
________________
So troubled, my Rafael. Poor, baby.
See you in the next chapter, babies!
Adios! 😘😘😘