Page 36 of Born a Queen

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.

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