The pain was already beginning to fade, so she nodded and tried to relax underneath him. She lifted her knees experimentally tucking them high up against his waist in a way that felt natural. He kissed her lips and reached around to run his hand from her thigh to her knee, squeezing lightly as if to reward her.
When it became clear that Raina was no longer in pain, Mateo began to move within her, his body undulating on top of her in a rhythm that was beautiful to watch but hard to emulate. At first Raina felt clumsy, trying to lift her body to match his, but then she caught on, gradually becoming smoother with each thrust. She felt proud of herself, then the ecstasy took over.
His possession sent a storm of electricity, emotion and sensation rocketing through her. It was brutal, it was wonderful, and it was perfect. As they continued to rock together, Mateo's movements became more and more uneven, his thrusts harder as his hips slammed into hers. After a few minutes, Raina stopped trying to match his rhythm and clung to him, allowing him to slam her down into the bed over and over again. It felt incredible.
She flung her head back and dug her nails into his shoulders as another orgasm washed over her in a wave of pure pleasure. She rode the wave as he thrust into her one last time, shooting hot semen against the walls of her pussy. Even that felt incredible. The wetness, the heat, his mark.
Chapter Forty-Five
It took a while before the mansion fell into a routine of new normal. Raina was not allowed to leave the premises without a full security detail, which now included her fiancé. At first, she balked at the restrictions, but then she'd seen the livid bruises on Angela's chest. Angela was the one to convince her to take the new security measures seriously.
"She killed your bodyguards and shot me as easily as if I was an annoying fly. She didn't pause. She didn't know me and she didn't care who I was. If she could do that to me, what will she do to you? Someone who she actually has a vendetta against. Don’t underestimate her, and don’t force Mateo to split his focus between a bratty wife, his Miami takeover and his hunt for Desi."
Though they stung, Angela's words sunk in. Raina still blamed herself for Angela's injuries, though Angela didn't look at it that way. Angela was doing her job, the job she was meant to do, and she was proud to be able to take bullets for Raina's sake.
To appease Angela, Raina would accept her near house arrest, learning to accept the new restrictions. Which, for her sanity, now included a more hands-on renovation of Mateo's office and taking on more forgery commissions. Raina busied buried herself in work so that she wouldn't have to think about what her fiancé and parents were doing in the city; ruthlessly bringing Miami under the control of Mateo and hunting for Desiree Navarro.
Vee and Sotza stopped by almost every day. They visited with Raina, updated Mateo and sometimes ate supper with them. Though Raina had a similar routine in Venezuela, she was now two years older and wiser. Life had changed even though the members dining at her table hadn't.
Eight days had passed since Raina and Angela had been attacked. Angela was back on her feet and engaging in her full duties, though she had grown even more protective of Raina and checked in on her often. Since the two women were rapidly becoming friends, Raina didn't mind. Angela gave her someone to vent to, someone who understood both sides of the equation; a person inside the mafia, but also a woman with wants and desires.
Angela understood and sympathized with many of Raina's frustrations, and Raina, in turn, attempted to give Angela an ear to bend if she needed one, though Angela was more tightlipped. Raina didn't know if it was her nature or her job, but she didn't often open up.
Raina and Angela were deep in the middle of one such conversation, when they were interrupted. "Okay, but have you ever actually tortured someone –?"
Angela was saved from answering Raina's gruesomely curious question when a sharp knock sounded at the door. Thomas stuck his head in. "There's someone at the gate, says he knows you."
Raina was surprised that Thomas hadn't turned away the visitor. The mansion was on lockdown and everyone relevant in the city knew it. The only people allowed to come and go were staff and family.
Angela jumped in. "Send him away; no visitors."
"He says he knows both Raina and Mateo and that they would want to see him immediately. He’s insistent that he won’t leave without an audience. His words, not mine. Mateo is in the city on business or I would bring this matter to him."
Angela frowned and Raina figured she was about to snap at Thomas, reiterating her earlier comment. Raina asked, "Did he give you a name?"
"Signore Giovanni Savino."
Raina leapt to her feet, her hand on her chest. Giovanni was there to see her! She grinned and exclaimed, "Let him in right away! I'll meet him in the main sitting room."
Thomas nodded and strode away. As Raina was leaving the room, Angela stopped her. "Mateo won't like this. No strangers in the mansion, no exceptions."
Raina waved her hand dismissively. "Giovanni isn’t a stranger, he's practically like a godfather to me." Raina smirked at her inside joke. Giovanni was the Italian Godfather.
As she was leaving the office, out of the corner of her eye she saw Angela get on the phone. No doubt about it, Angela was calling the boss. As close as Angela and Raina had come, Angela's first loyalty would always be to Mateo.
Raina waited excitedly for Giovanni in the sitting room and grinned broadly as he was shown in by Thomas. "Giovanni!" Raina rushed to greet him, stepping into his embrace.
His arms tightened around her and squeezed for a moment before he set her away from him. He looked her over, his lips curving in a smile. "As beautiful as ever, bella. Domesticity suits you. I am now less sad that you were picked up and brought to this place against your will."
She shrugged, hooking her arm in his and escorting him to the sofa. She sank down onto a chair across from him. "It wasn't exactly against my will. I've known for a while that I would be marrying Mateo, and I enjoyed two years of freedom before he picked me up."
He watched her, his expression musing. He was wearing an impeccably tailored suit, dark, but with flare. In his pocket was a crimson red handkerchief and a set of diamond studded cuff links adorned on each wrist.
"The answer of a dutiful mob wife." Though his words were mild, the meaning was not. Raina understood that this was an opportunity for her to leave if she wanted to. Giovanni was checking on her and if he didn't like what he heard, he was willing to help her get out of there. She knew it was a lot to read into one sentence, but she had connected with Giovanni in Italy. They were two vastly different but kindred spirits.
She reached out, indicating that she wanted his hand. He took hers and allowed her to squeeze him. "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea what it means to have an ally like you. You graciously accepted me into your home, you protected me and then you helped me escape. All this because I am the daughter of a business associate."
Giovanni nodded gravely and squeezed her back. "I did not only do these things because of who your father is, but because of who you are. You remind me very much of my deceased wife."
Raina beamed at him. "Thank you, Giovanni."
Giovanni nodded decisively, released her hand and settled himself back in the chair. He looked around the room. "A very nice place you have here. Perhaps I should take your lead and do something with my monstrosity."
Raina grinned. "I’m more than happy to give you the name and number of my interior decorator… the nice one. I'm sure he would love a trip to Italy, especially if expenses are paid."
The two spoke on a variety of subjects including the mansion renovations and Raina's up-and-coming forgery business. They spoke as though they had been friends for many years, though they hadn't actually known each other very long. Their friendship traversed age, station, and an ocean.
They had been talking for about twenty minutes, sipping on cups of tea that Raina requested from Lydia, when Mateo and several armed men strode into the room. Mateo'
s face could have rivaled a thundercloud as he marched over to Raina, jerked her out of her chair, ignoring the clattering of her teacup and the splash of hot liquid as it hit the floor and shoved her behind him.
He pointed at Giovanni. "Start talking or I will have you questioned in my bunker and then removed from the grounds in pieces."
Raina tried to protest but Mateo grabbed her wrist and held tightly, a subtle threat. Raina bit her lip. She wanted to give him a shove right between the shoulder blades but decided to wait and see if the boys could work it out for themselves.
Giovanni stood and stretched lazily, arranging his suit jacket so that it sat perfectly on his tall lean frame. "I’ve come for a visit. The young lady standing behind you invited me when she was in Italy and I thought it would be rude not to accept. If I'm not welcome, then I will leave. I don’t wish any harm upon your family."
"I don't believe you," Mateo growled.
Raina felt the tension thrumming through his body. She believed he really was ready to shoot Giovanni for arriving unannounced on their doorstep. Once again Raina wanted to intervene, explain that Giovanni was telling the truth and she invited the man for a visit. But Giovanni jumped in before she could speak.
"Of course, I can understand why you would think I mean you harm. You beat my son to within an inch of his life and threatened to kill him if he so much as sniffed near this continent. Any father might be upset by this. But I can assure you, I am not." Giovanni's voice was serious, as though he badly wanted them to believe him. "You did what I would have had to do, only you left him alive. Antonio betrayed me and that betrayal required a response. Though he is my only child, I would have had to beat him or worse, to send a message to the Cosa Nostra. Any challenges to my authority will not be tolerated. You saved me having to do something very painful."
“I took two of his fingers as a trophy. You condone this action against your own progeny?” Mateo’s bald words were meant to prod the older man into an emotional response. It worked on Raina who flinched, but Giovanni continued to look bland.
“We both know that Antonio got off light.” Giovanni’s voice was hard with censure. “I love my son, but he deserved whatever you chose to do to him.”
“You attempted to distract me while your son’s men surrounded my hotel suite.”
“Wouldn’t you have done the same if your family was being threatened? As his boss, I condemned his actions and approved your presence in the city. As a father… I felt I had to do what I could to help him.” There was no doubting Giovanni’s earnestness.
Raina could feel the gradual loosening of Mateo's muscles as Giovanni spoke. Mateo believed the other man. Raina let out a sigh of relief, pulled her wrist from Mateo's grip, bent over and picked up the spilled teacup. She set it on a side table and then slipped around until she was standing at Mateo's side. She would much prefer a united front than cowering behind her fiancé.
"I meant to kill your son; I won’t lie. I beat him, I cut off his fingers in retaliation for harming my woman, then I shot him the way he had her shot." His words were cold and Raina felt his renewed anger as he spoke of her injury. "But as I pressed my pistol against his temple, I realized, I wanted him to remain alive. I wanted my threat hanging over his head every minute of every day. That was more satisfying than actually putting a bullet in his brain."
Giovanni looked grave and then nodded. "I appreciate your honesty. I thank you anyway for sparing his life. I can assure you he will not be a future problem. He’s been banished from Venice, his assets stripped away and his connections severed. He has nothing left but a legacy of idiocy that will follow him and his mangled hand. I’m having him watched at all times. I do this so that none of us will have to watch our backs when it comes to him."
Mateo stared at Giovanni; his brow wrinkled in a frown. "Your generosity surprises me. I would think you’d want to kill the man who mutilated your only child, but I understand you. I would feel the same if I was betrayed in such a way, no matter who was the betrayer."
The two men seemed to settle on a temporary truce. Raina pushed for Giovanni to be allowed to take their evening meal with them. Mateo grudgingly agreed and the three of them set about having a pleasant evening together with good food and even better conversation. Raina suspected Giovanni was somewhat lonely, isolated over in Italy, with no family and few friends that weren’t subordinates and business associates.
Raina begged Mateo to allow Giovanni to stay the night. At first, both men were hesitant, but Raina managed to win them over to the idea. She suspected Mateo was of the keep your-enemies-close camp while Giovanni was grateful not to have to search for accommodations in a tourist city.
Later, after Giovanni retired for the night, Mateo and Raina went upstairs to bed together. Mateo laid her down and set about telling her without words how much he worshipped her. She sighed happily and settled back on the bed, enjoying the embrace of her lover.
Chapter Forty-Six
Over the course of the following week Raina thoroughly enjoyed her time with Giovanni. Even Mateo seemed to loosen up around the older charismatic gentleman. There was a certain joy in Giovanni that was tempered by his profession, the loss of his wife and the betrayal of his son.
While he was still a badass old-school mobster, he knew how to appreciate the world around him.
"You’ve given me a fresh perspective on life, revived this old man.” They were sitting together on the patio next to the pool enjoying a couple glasses of Long Island iced tea.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Not that old.”
He looked at her knowingly. “I have more than thirty years on you, bella.”
"Okay, but I wouldn’t call you an old man. You have more energy than most of us and you seemed pretty content hanging out at Banditos, lording it over all the peasants. All I did was bring a boatload of trouble to your doorstep, show you what a douchebag your son is and then bring Mateo down on you. It's a miracle you didn't decide I was more disposable." Raina took a long sip of her drink and then guiltily glanced around for Mateo.
He would be furious if he knew she was drinking alcohol. Of course, Raina knew exactly how much her body could take, but that didn't stop Mateo from worrying over every little thing.
Giovanni was sprawled out in a patio chair, his finger tapping against the edge of his own glass. "Had you been anyone else, you would have been far more disposable," he admitted.
Raina swallowed hard imagining how close to death she had come at this Italian mobster's fingertips. "Because of who my stepfather is."
He shook his head. "While Sotza is certainly capable of making my life uncomfortable, your affiliation with him would not have swayed me. No, you have only yourself to thank. You are a remarkable young lady. You fearlessly travel the world while building a client base among elite members of the underworld. Your activities are criminal, yet you have an impeccable moral compass. This is something I have always strived for myself; finding that balance between being a decent human being while fulfilling my duties as a kingpin."
“You were born to the mob?” she asked. “Like me, you didn’t have a choice?”
“Yes, that is correct. My father ran the Savino family empire before me, and his father before him. We have a long and proud heritage. It’s not always such a burden. There are many perks to being master of my universe.” He looked at Raina shrewdly. “Do you not find the perks in such luxurious living?”
Raina wanted to deny that the money, prestige and open doors had anything to do with her ease in settling into the lifestyle, but truthfully, she couldn’t. “Okay, you’re not wrong. I like the clothes, the big house, the pool. But it still bothers me that the tradeoff can come at a high cost. There are certain things that Mateo has to do for work and I have no choice but to look the other way. Sometimes, it terrifies me how easily I've fallen for him. Do my morals mean nothing in the face of my feelings for him?"
Giovanni smiled knowingly and took a long sip of his drink. "My wife was mu
ch the same way. She despised what I did for work, but she loved me wholeheartedly and unconditionally. She had no choice but to settle into the life, she understood that there's only one way to leave the mafia. In a coffin."
"Did she find a way to live with it, to live with the things she knew you had to do?" Raina leaned forward against the table, completely invested in his answer.
Giovanni shrugged. "I don't think she ever quite reconciled herself to the life, and part of me believes that it may have led to an early death for her. But she supported me in most everything I did."
Raina smiled sadly and nodded. "Thank you for telling me, I feel better knowing that you were in a similar situation to ours. I love Mateo and I want to support him, but I don't always agree with his decisions."
Giovanni leaned across the table and clasped her hand in his. "You don’t have to agree with him. My wife often disagreed with my actions, but I never lost an ounce of love for her. In fact, having her opinion helped ground me in the real world, kept me from being sucked into the vacuum of complete lawlessness that could too easily lead down a path of no redemption."
Raina spent the afternoon thinking over Giovanni’s words and that night when Mateo came home, she walked up to him in the lobby of their mansion and hugged him. He was late, having missed their supper meal. She didn’t comment though. The tension vibrating through his body told her he probably had a long and tough day. She simply hugged him tight, pressing herself against his body and laying her head over his heart.
Mateo dropped the leather folder he was holding, ignoring it as it hit the floor and papers slipped out. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close against him, dropping his face to her head and inhaling the scent of her hair. It was such a private moment that gradually the men that had come in with Mateo drifted away, leaving the couple in a bubble of their own.
Mateo pulled back enough so that he could look down at her face. "What's this all about? Everything okay?"
Born a Queen (The Queens Book 3) Page 25
