Page 57 of Cartel Prince

“I can’t have you starving all the time while we’re traveling.”

That’s better than saying hiding.

“I can think of something I could have for breakfast.”

She looks down at my cock and waggles her eyebrows.

“Maybe for lunch,chica.”

“Humph.”

I offer her a robe that hangs in my closet and stays here permanently. I pull a pair of pajama pants from the dresser, another item that’s here whenever I arrive. When I get home, I almost immediately change out of whatever clothes I wore that day. It’s a leftover rule from when I was growing up.Mamáinsisted Juan and I get out of our school clothes before we sat on any of the furniture. She said it helped protect it and didn’t leave germs on it where we’d later put our faces.

MaybeMamáwas onto something because my brother and I weren’t sick nearly as often as other kids in our classes. The habit allows me to leave work behind and feel like my home is a sanctuary.

As she slips the rope on, she frowns.

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t feel comfortable going out in just a bathrobe if your men will see me. This is huge, and it covers me completely, but I don’t like them thinking I might be naked under here.”

“None of the men come in without an invitation. You heard the guy knock yesterday and wait for permission.”

“Yeah, but they must sleep somewhere. You didn’t show me their rooms, but I know there are a few parts left of the house we didn’t see on the tour.”

“Those were linen closets and snow gear. Stuff like skis and snowshoes. The men have barracks you get to from the garage. There’s a side tunnel that leads to it. It comes out to a buildingon the far side of the patio. They have windows that face out, but not toward that area. There are security cameras out there, but none point toward the hot tub. It allows the family privacy.”

“You said yourpapábuilt this for yourmamá.”

I nod. Her cheeks pinken. I nod again. I don’t want to think about how my brother and I came to be. I’d rather think we were the product of immaculate conception.

“But yes, the cameras angle away so my parents can do whatever it is they want to do out there. Same with mytíasandtíoswho have visited here. When the heat wasn’t on, and it was an ice plunge, my cousins and I used to dare each other to jump in naked.”

It’s not like our men haven’t seen us from time to time when we’ve had to strip out of contaminated clothing that needs burning. But generally, we don’t parade ourselves around in front of our guards and soldiers.

I still need to know what she wants to eat. “What are you in the mood for this morning, baby girl?”

She smiles at me, loving each little term of endearment I have for her. I’ve enjoyed coming up with each of them.

“I can make eggs while you make waffles,Papí.”

As we put away the groceries last night, I showed her around the kitchen. This morning, we work together in companionable silence. Once we’re seated in the breakfast nook, we continue to chat about our childhoods. We get into the things we enjoyed during high school, the sports I played, and the clubs we belonged to. She wasn’t a competitive athlete but loved to cycle. That worries me as I picture her riding her bike in parts of Bogotá that aren’t safe for a woman on her own. I wouldn’t suggest a man without the training I have go alone either.

She reaches across the table. “Daddy, I never went alone. I had guards with me when I cycled. Both of myabuelosinsistedupon it.Mamágrounded me for two weeks the one time I tried to go out on my own. I didn’t even make it.”

She smirks as her gaze slides over me. I wonder if she’s picturing me in tight cycling shorts.

“I have a home gym, little one, and I have a spin cycle in it. So, while I don’t ride on the street often, I do cycle at home. I also enjoy trail riding and mountain biking.”

Her eyebrows shoot straight up.

“So that’s something we can do together?”

“Yes,chica, I’d love that. We could even cycle through Central Park if you wanted.”

She curls her nose at that. “Isn’t that too crowded for you?”

“We’d have our mini peloton along with us only because I’d want you protected. I cycle with Alejandro when he’s around, but not that often anymore. I take a guard with me rather than go alone. If you don’t want to do Central Park, there’re plenty of trails outside the city where we can go.”