Page 76 of Ravaged By a Devil

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CAIN

It’s been two days since Alexis moved into my estate.

Aside from the insane, unbelievable level of peace it gives me knowing she’s safe behind my security perimeter—knowing I have my eyes on her—it is also, without a doubt, the most agonizingly frustrating experience of my entire life.

Fuck.

Alexis is as infuriating as she is sexy. My attraction to her has doubled since she brought her bags through my front door but so has my irritation.

She pushes every single boundary I set, bends every rule until it snaps, and looks me dead in the eye while doing it. I don’t know how the fuck to handle her at all.

When I woke up again this morning to an empty, cold bed, I almost growled out loud with pure annoyance.

I sat her down yesterday and explicitly told her—in plain, unadulterated English—that I would be driving her to work and picking her up myself every single day until this Devlin situation was handled.

But she clearly didn’t get the fucking memo.

This is the second time in forty-eight hours that I’ve woken up to find her gone. It doesn’t help that my sleep schedule is completely fucked; I only manage to drift off in the early hours of the morning, so by the time she slips out of bed to head to her early shifts, I’m out too cold to hear her leave.

I reach for my phone on the bedside table, my grip almost crushing the glass casing, and drag my thumb angrily across the screen to unlock it.

She’s already set as my speed dial, so I don't waste time scrolling—I just hit her name and yank the phone up to my ear, listening to it ring as I swing my legs over the side of the mattress.

She picks up on the very second ring.

"Look, I know you’re mad I left without telling you, but⁠—"

"There’s no but, Alexis," I bark into the receiver, my voice harsh with anger. "What the fuck? When I tell you something, I expect you to obey."

There’s a sharp pause on the other end of the line. "Don’t yell at me, Cain."

What?

I dig the heels of my palms into my eyes, pressing hard until bright red stars explode across the back of my eyelids.

Oh god. Give me strength.

She lets out a soft sigh over the line. "Look, I didn’t want to wake you up, and⁠—"

"Stop it, Alexis. Don't piss me off."

"I'm safe," she counters, her tone turning soothing. "I’m at work. I’m fine. Don’t worry."

I take a long, deep breath through my nose, forcing the tension in my shoulders to ease. I have a mountain of syndicate business waiting for me at Eden, and picking a screaming fight with her over the phone isn't going to get her back in my house any faster.

"When are you getting off work?" I ask, my voice dropping back down into a low rumble.

"I'll text you," she answers smoothly.

"I'm picking you up."

A soft, melodic giggle echoes through the speaker, light and completely unbothered by my earlier temper. "Okay."

My heart softens in my chest, the heavy knot of anger completely dissolving at the sound of her laugh.

Fuck.