Page 60 of Born a Queen

They hung up and Mateo set his phone back down.

"Thank you," Raina said quietly, fidgeting. Now that the drama was over, she was back to feeling awkward. She really wished he would finish zipping up his pants. Her eyes kept straying to where she was positive she could see a hint of man stem. "Thank you for believing me and doing something about it."

Mateo inclined his dark hair head. "At best, you’re wrong about this Velazquez woman and she's simply an interior designer. I would rather you come to me with your worries than ignore your instincts and get hurt. Thank you for trusting me enough to come to me with this.”

Raina's heart ached at his words. He could be so wonderful sometimes. So heartfelt, that she wanted to grab hold of him and never let go. But it was the other times, the terrifying Mateo times that she didn't know how to deal with.

"I should go back to my room," she said in a near whisper, backing slowly away from Mateo's bed, toward the door.

"Stay with me." His words halted her in her tracks.

Why did he want her to stay? Did he want sex? Did he want to talk to her about Daniela? Her heart thumped in both anticipation and fear, though her good sense told her she needed to leave the room and leave quickly, because the heat was beginning to ratchet up.

He took a step toward her and she retreated a step. He didn't reach for her as she half feared, but he held her still with nothing more than his voice. "If you stay, I promise to be a perfect gentleman. I won't demand anything of you, but that you sleep next to me where I can see you."

It said a lot that Raina was beyond tempted. She was slowly trying to feel this new relationship out, and she sensed the thinning of Mateo's patience over their days and weeks together. He wanted her to warm up to him faster. She knew that it was only a matter of time before he lost patience completely. But when he asked her like this, telling her that he would respect her boundaries, her heart melted. She couldn't protect herself from this side of Mateo.

"Why?" she whispered.

What would he gain by having her in his bed when he couldn't touch her? Wouldn't that be torture for both of them? Because truthfully, Raina wanted him as badly as he seemed to want her. She was just more cautious, less experienced.

Mateo stepped up to her as though approaching a wild animal. He tucked the hair behind her ear and then touched his finger to the edge of her glasses. There was a strange expression on his face. She realized it was tenderness, not something she'd seen from him before.

"I want to see what you look like when you sleep. I want to lay next to you, inhaling your scent. I want you to rest your head on my pillow, inhaling my scent in return. I want you to wake up in the morning knowing that you spent the night next to the man that will become your husband. I want you to get used to me."

Her mouth was dry and her hands were sweating. She didn't know what to do. Go to her own room and spend a restless night alone or give in to the undercurrents of dark desire that were permeating the air around them? Though he wasn’t asking for sex, sexual tension vibrated through both of them.

"Will you stay?" His voice was husky and his eyes smouldering.

"Yes."

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