Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Alejandro
Ink frowned at me as I made my way out of the kitchen. “What’d you say to him?” he asked.
I shrugged as I took a seat at one of the many tables throughout the room. “The truth. He’s made Elaina think he doesn’t want her here after last night, and I don’t particularly like her being nervous. Not when she has already been through so much.”
“You said something about Adelaide, didn’t you?” he asked, his frown deepening. I didn’t bother answering. At my silence, he sighed. “Their history is… complicated, Garcia. It’s best to tread carefully around that topic.”
I grunted. “If he does not want Elaina here, he should not have agreed to open his doors to us. Again, she has been through enough, Ink. I would like her to be comfortable here. If that’s going to prove to be a difficult feat for your president, then we may move on.”
Ink’s shoulders rose and fell with a deep sigh.
“He doesn’t want that, Alejandro. Just give him time, yeah?
I’m sure looking at Elaina is digging up a lot of painful memories for him.
If there’s one woman in this world that man has always and will always love unconditionally, it is Adelaide.
And when he met her, she was broken. A mere shell of herself.
He saved her in his own fucked up way, but he doesn’t see it like that.
He thinks he ruined her. And he’s terrified of ever letting himself close to another woman who needs healing. He’s terrified he’ll ruin them, too.”
“Every relationship with a woman does not have to be romantic,” I reminded him.
Ink huffed a laugh. “You think I don’t know that?
I’ve been celibate for fucking years while trying to pursue his little sister and get her to fucking trust me and give me the damn time of day.
” It was through mere restraint and a hell of a lot of control that my surprise didn’t show on my face at his confession.
That was the kind of loyalty a woman deserved.
“But Joey? He’s got a fucking soft spot for the damsels in distress, no matter how strong they may be on their own.
And your girl, Elaina? She’s hurting, man.
And Joey’s got a sixth sense for that shit.
He’s freaking the fuck out. Because he knows he’ll latch onto her like a fucking leech.
Or that’s how he sees it, anyway. He loves fast and hard. ”
I didn’t respond, instead contemplating Ink’s words. Seeing that I wasn’t going to respond, Ink turned and disappeared down the hall. I lifted my mug to my lips, sipping at my coffee.
Maybe having Joey latch onto Elaina wouldn’t be a terrible idea.
One, he’d work harder to keep her protected.
But also, that woman needed a fuck ton of love after the shit hand she’d been dealt.
She hadn’t known love her entire life—just pain and suffering.
And while I definitely wanted her so fucking badly it was like an ache in my bones, I found that the idea of sharing her with Joey wasn’t unappealing.
Fuck, maybe even having a taste of Joey myself wouldn’t be such a terrible thing.
But I knew that was just wishful thinking.
Joey had never given any hint that he was interested in men like that.
However, the string of women he’d kept after his split with Adelaide was no secret to anyone.
Some men drowned themselves in liquor after losing the love of their life, but Joey drowned himself in pussy.
Maybe if I got Joey and Elaina around each other enough, Joey would soon begin making time for her.
And during that time, I could wear Elaina down, too.
If she had both of us loving her and taking care of her, she’d never want or need for anything, especially not emotionally.
And I knew with certainty that she’d be more protected than any president or queen.
But for any of that to happen, Joey had to get over his fear of hurting another woman.
Until I knew more about the man personally, rather than just going off what I’d heard about him and his past, all I could do was bide my time.
I was good at reading people, and Joey, while he was a cold as fuck, ruthless president, when it came to matters of his heart, he was an open fucking book, even when he tried not to be.
And I was going to be relying on that to wear him down. And maybe I’d wear him down enough to give me a chance, too.
I was a ruler. A conqueror. And when I fucking wanted something, I went after it until I got it.
Joey had either made the best or worst decision in his life letting me into his clubhouse and offering me his assistance.
Because I had every intention of flipping his entire fucking world upside down.