The vehicle started to slow and Raina looked around in confusion. It was close to midnight so she couldn't see anything out of the tinted windows, but it seemed as though they were going to stop on the highway.
And then they did stop on the highway. "Why are we stopping here?"
Mateo didn't answer. As soon as the SUV stopped, he opened the door and got out, walking around to her side. He opened the door and helped her out, though she was tempted to smack his hand when he unbuckled her seatbelt. Enough was enough, she was a grown woman. She slid out of the vehicle, but Mateo didn't back up so she was forced to stand flush against him. He slid his arm around her waist resting his broad hand on her hip. They stood that way for a few seconds then he escorted her to the front of the vehicle.
"Get the plane ready," he told one of his men.
Now Raina was really confused. Plane? But they weren't anywhere near the airport. Their small town supported a tiny airfield that could barely land a Cessna. And that was all the way on the other side of the town. There was no airport around here.
Raina was about to tell Mateo that he was somehow mistaken when she caught sight of an airplane rolling toward them up the highway. It was being driven off a side road that led into a farmer's field. Apparently, they had ditched the aircraft to come and collect her. Mateo never failed to surprise her.
"I was expecting something bigger," she said sarcastically.
She hadn't been expecting anything at all, let alone an airplane out in the middle of nowhere on the highway from which they clearly intended to take off.
"The luxury jet’s in the shop." Mateo's voice was so deadpan that for a second Raina believed him, but then she caught sight of his smirk.
Playing along, Raina said tartly, "Well, this will have to do for now, but in the future, I fully expect the luxury jet to be ready and waiting for me."
As the plane stopped Mateo guided her toward it. "Your wish is my command, princess."
Raina noticed Mateo did that a lot, called her all sorts of endearments. Princess, chica, baby. Was he going to pick one, or continue to rotate them? She wasn't sure how she felt about all the endearments. Sometimes happy, sometimes not. She wondered if he called other women by these endearments. No, that seemed unlikely. She couldn’t picture the super serious Mateo casually calling a woman princess. Not unless he meant it.
He helped her onto the airplane and this time when he reached over to buckle her seatbelt, she smacked his hand. "You do know that I've been buckling my own seatbelts for the last twenty years?"
"Your safety will always be my priority. If I do it for you, then I know it's done right."
He sounded so serious the smile fell from her lips as she stared at him sitting next to her.
"I will never stop wanting to protect you. This is something that you’ll indulge me in without complaint. I’ll accept a lot from you, but not this. If I tell you that something is for your safety, then you will listen, without argument, without hesitation."
Raina was generally an argumentative person. She questioned everything. The government, the police, the media, laws, lawyers, parents, both adoptive and birth, doctors; the list could go on forever. In her opinion, questioning was a sign of intelligence. Blind following was a sign of complacency or fear.
But when Mateo laid down this law, she was more inclined to listen. There was something about him. The tone of his voice, his expression, his earnestness. This was one area that she knew he wouldn't fuck around with.
"You’ve probably noticed by now, but I’m not very good at following orders." When it looked like Mateo was about to further lay down the law, she shook her head and interrupted, "This is the one time that I'll try harder. I believe you. I believe that you have my best interests at heart. So I'll try to listen if it's something that has to do with my safety."
Mateo studied her for second. "Don't try. Just do. If you can’t then I’ll make sure it gets done."
Raina tried to hold onto her temper. She didn't appreciate it when she extended an olive branch toward her "future husband" and he rejected it.
"You know, for someone who professes that he desperately wants to marry me, you don't seem to give two shits about what I think. Or how I feel," she snapped furiously. The plane began to taxi down the highway. "You just tell me where to go and what to do. I don't appreciate being talked to like I'm five years old and don't know how to listen. When I tell you that I’ll try to listen to you about things that concern my safety, I mean it."
"So far you haven't once gone where I wanted you to go or did what I wanted you to do," he said dryly.
"Exactly. And I never will if you keep talking to me this way. Give me a reason to listen to you and I might actually do it."
"I doubt that," he drawled, his gaze outside the window on the ground as the plane lifted off.
His hand tightened on his arm rest. It was so subtle that she might've missed it. Was he afraid of flying? She couldn't exactly ask him because two of his men were in the small airplane with them, one flying and the other… she guessed he was bodyguard.
"My point is, if you expect me to play house with you, then I'll need you to stop being the tough guy all the time. Always telling me what to do and scolding me about every little thing. Happy marriages don't work that way." She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and tried hard to not say anything else. She thought she'd ended on a poignant note. But then she couldn't help herself. "And another thing," she turned to glare at him. "What was that at the bar? You can't go around beating up anyone and everyone that touches me."
He didn't turn and look at her; his gaze was still firmly on the rapidly disappearing ground. "Yes, I can."
Well, he had a point. He probably literally could beat up any man that touched her. "Okay, maybe you can, but that doesn't mean you should."
"Yes, it does." Still he wouldn’t look at her.
She didn't know if she should be amused or annoyed at this point. He was definitely the most stubborn man she'd ever met. There was no give in him. He claimed to want her, claimed to want to keep her safe and happy, but she didn't know yet if she could trust him to give her the tools she needed for that happiness.
As she was staring at him, he finally turned to look at her. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. It was big and warm and wrapped over her delicate bones. She didn't know why he did it. Was he trying to comfort her? She wasn't really in distress, she felt perfectly safe with him, if a little annoyed. No, it felt more like a claiming. Possession. He was telling her who she belonged to.
"What are you thinking when you look at me like that?" he asked her.
She was surprised that he asked her something like that in front of his men. Mafia guys had an image to project, but Mateo didn't seem to care what his people thought of him. At least not about anything connected to Raina. He said and did what he wanted where she was concerned.
She thought about giving him a flippant answer, but the moment didn't feel flip. She chewed on her lip for a second and then told him the truth. "I was thinking… that you'll do anything for me.” Though her voice was quiet, only just above the noise of the airplane, it rang with conviction.
He nodded slowly, looking at her, studying her fierce features. "I would do anything for you," he agreed, tipping her chin with his fingers. "Even the things that you don’t want me to do. You belong to me, it's my job to see to your safety and comfort."
"At the expense of everything else?" she replied with a frown. "Conflict is a part of life. You can't disappear all those things for me. Life doesn't work that way."
He leaned over capturing her face and pulling it towards him. They met in the middle, him pressing his lips against hers with a stinging kiss. He leaned back, his face inches from hers. "Watch me."
Chapter Twenty-One
Raina was completely wiped out by the time they were entering the airspace outside of Miami. Her eyes were closing involuntarily and she was constantly smothering yawns. It had to be after 3
AM.
Mateo kept his hand on her for almost the whole flight, switching it from her shoulder to her arm and then her knee. At first his need to be constantly touching her was disconcerting, but she quickly got used to it. And now, as exhausted as she was, her mind barely able to process any thought, the hand on her knee was comforting. As if sensing her need for touch, he squeezed her.
Raina must've fallen asleep in the few minutes it took them to descend through the clouds and land on the small aircraft runway next to the Miami airport. The door was opened, and a rush of cool air slapped her in the face. She breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of ocean into her lungs. She loved that smell. Growing up on a farm she'd become used to dirt, cows, horses, man sweat, and various other scents. The smell of Pennsylvania was the smell of home. But the scent of the ocean? This was where her heart longed to be. When she travelled, she tried to always pick places near an ocean.
Mateo disembarked the airplane first and reached for her, wrapping his fingers around her waist and lowering her to the ground. His men were doing an airplane check before leaving. She stood waiting for them until Mateo tugged on her arm and nodded his head toward a waiting SUV, black with tinted windows, like the one’s he’d picked her up in. What were these? Thug vans? She snickered at her own joke and then yawned widely.
Mateo led her over to the SUV, where Thomas, Angela and another man were waiting. The man she didn’t recognize was taller than Raina, but shorter than Mateo. He was built like a boxer; stocky, big muscles, thick neck, closely shaved hair, and a fuck-off attitude that she could sense for miles. She liked him immediately.
Raina sensed that the man was something more than a regular thug. He wore his suit like he was born in it and his expression was pure professional. Raina stuck her hand out and said, "Raina Duncan."
His lips split into a grin that was so big and shiny that Raina was taken aback. She'd pegged him as a serious mafioso guy, but he was looking at her like she was his lost pet puppy come home. Weird, she'd never met the guy.
He grabbed hold of her hand and pumped with vigor for far too long considering they just met. He covered the back of her hand with his other hand and said enthusiastically, "Danny Russo. I've been wanting to meet you for years. You're the spitting image of your mama."
"You know Vee?" Raina asked, shaking off some of her exhaustion. She'd been dying to know more about the place where her mom grew up. Maybe this guy could give her the scoop.
Mateo took her arm and tugged her hand out of Danny's, giving the other guy a hard stare. "Danny was Vee's second-in-command."
Raina grinned. This was perfect. She could get all the dirt on her famous underworld mobster mama. "And do you work for Mateo now?" she asked Danny.
Danny nodded. "More like work with. When your mom found out that he was heading to Miami to take over, she got in touch. Figures I can show him the ins and outs of the city."
"Enough talking," Mateo growled, tugging Raina away from Danny. "She's exhausted, needs a bed." He put his hand against the small of her back, careful to avoid her injury, and pushed her toward the open back door of the SUV. "Get inside. I'll be right back."
Raina climbed into the vehicle, hesitated, then slammed the door shut behind her. Though it wasn't exactly a cold night, she still felt chilled. Probably because she was so tired.
Danny slid into the driver's seat of the SUV and twisted around to look at her again, shaking his head. "Spitting image. It's amazing. You could be twins."
Raina blushed. Her birth mother was drop-dead gorgeous. Raina was okay with believing she looked like the other woman, though she didn't feel that gorgeous right now. Her glasses were drooping down her nose, her formerly flat hair was beginning to frizz in the humidity and her clothes felt like they fit too tightly. She longed to be in a set of loose pajamas and sleeping soundly between the cool sheets of a bed.
She leaned her head back against the seat and started to fall asleep, only waking up for a few seconds when Mateo climbed into the vehicle. He took one look at her and moved into the center seat, buckling her in, and then himself. He reached an arm around her neck and tugged her against his side until her head was pressed to his chest over his heart. At first, she lay stiff in his arms, but gradually the heat of his body seeped into her hers, encouraging her to melt against him, the steady beat of his heart pattering a soothing rhythm in her ear.
The next time she woke she was being lifted from the vehicle and hoisted up against Mateo's chest. She snuggled into him. She loved the way it felt being in his arms, being held by him, being protected by him. She might be confused about her emotions when it came to her mobster boyfriend, but her body knew it wanted Mateo one hundred percent of the time.
Mateo had a murmured conversation over her head with Danny. It was brief. She didn't really pay attention to the sentences but caught enough words to get the gist. Mateo wanted Danny to come by in the morning to help him outline some kind of plans. Maybe plans on how to take over the city? She didn't know, and at the moment, she didn't care. She was about two seconds away from falling asleep on Mateo and possibly drooling all over his nice shirt.
He strode into the house, his shoes tapping against the marble floor. Raina wanted to care about the house they were in; the house that was going to be her home. She got the impression it was big, beautiful, spacious, and utterly opulent. She'd have to check it out tomorrow. For now, she hoped there was a bed as luxurious as the rest of the house.
Mateo took the stairs to the second floor two at a time. Then it was more marble floor, followed by door after door. How many rooms did this place have?
Finally, Mateo stopped in front of a set of double doors at the end of the hall and pushed them open. He hoisted her up against his body to shove the door wider and strode inside. He deposited her on a bed, which was thankfully big and plush with lots of blankets and pillows.
Perfect.
Raina curled into a ball on her side and prepared to fall asleep, but before she could do that, Mateo pulled her up into a sitting position. She tried to slump back over, but he grabbed her and forced her back up.
"Whyyyyy?" she whined groggily.
Instead of answering, he turned her until she was facing away from him and lifted the back of her shirt. It wasn't until his fingers touched the bandage that was taped to her back that she realized he was checking her wound. He gently pried the tape from her skin, hesitating slightly when she cried out in pain. Once the whole thing was off, he tossed it onto the nightstand and ran his hand over the wound. It didn't hurt, it felt more like heat against her skin as his knuckles brushed the affected area.
"The skin looks healthy," he murmured from behind her. "The stitches’ll need to come out soon. I'll have to find a doctor for you tomorrow."
"You would know, snitches need stiches, right?” she giggled at her own joke and then yawned. “Are you done?"
"Almost." He slid to his knees in front of her and she blinked at him, wondering what he was doing. Was he proposing marriage to her? Seemed a little strange considering he as much as told her he was marrying her, with or without her permission.
Then she realized what he was doing when he reached for her shoes and pulled them off one at a time, digging his thumbs into the arch of each foot and massaging gently. She moaned and flopped back on the bed, a rush of happy tingles running through her body and swirling in her stomach. Okay, this was heaven. A beautiful luxurious bed and a man at her feet giving her the best foot massage of her life. Okay, the only foot massage of her life, but whatever, a kidnap victim had to take what she could get.
When he finished, he stood, towering over her. She thought now he would leave, but he didn't. He reached down, took her hands and tugged her to her feet. She made a complaining sound which turned into a yelp when he reached for her jeans and undid the button. She tried to slap his hand away, but he pushed them aside and finished unzipping her jeans.
"What are you doing?" she asked, covering her lower belly with her hands.
<
br /> "I'm not going to hurt you," he said calmly. “I want you to be comfortable. And you won't be comfortable in these clothes."
"I can take them off myself," she said, her voice high. She didn't want him to see her naked. She wasn't ready for that.
He hesitated and gave her a long look, then nodded his head. "It's probably for the best if you do. I finally have my woman in my home base, I'm not sure how well my control will hold."
She didn't know how to respond to that. She wrapped her arms around her chest and said, "Good night, Mateo."
Mateo took her hands, unfolding her arms and leaning in, pressing his lips hard against hers. His breath was a whisper across her skin as he said, "Good night, Raina."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Raina slept like the dead and woke up feeling disoriented. She yawned and stretched underneath the heavy blanket, squinting her eyes toward the window. It was a bright and sunny morning. She slapped her hand around her night table until she found her glasses. Shoving them on, she looked groggily at the alarm clock. 11:30 AM; almost lunchtime.
Raina sat up, shoving hair out of her face. She looked around and then realized she didn't know where anything was. Had her purse been captured with her? Where was her phone? She was going to be pissed at Mateo if he lost her phone. It was less about the phone itself, though she had some valuable contacts in there. No, she wanted her phone case.
She had found the coolest iPhone place at a Disney store in Paris. It had a picture of Betty Boop on the front riding a motorcycle and Raina's name emblazoned across the bottom. It was silly, but for some reason, that cell phone case was a symbol of her independence. It was the first thing that she bought for herself when she'd been on the run. First time she stopped long enough to shop for something.
Born a Queen (The Queens Book 3) Page 11
