Page 46 of Born a Queen

She gave him a tight smile. "Thank you. I’ll speak to Danny and let him know when I'd like to leave and where I'd like to go."

They continued their meal in silence. It was a comfortable silence though. They ate delicious food together, sipped wine, and watched the dying sunlight filtering through the window as it gradually gave way to dusk. The evening meal was becoming something that Raina looked forward to. A time for her to see Mateo with her own eyes, to assure herself that he still existed. She didn't know why she needed to do that. She suspected it had something to do with the feelings that she was developing for him, the feelings that she was still firmly in denial about.

As she finished her meal, she touched her napkin to her lips and placed it on the table. "I think I'll go back to my room now," she told him pushing herself away from the table.

Before she could stand, he reached out and took hold of her wrist. His dark eyes held the intensity that she was becoming used to whenever he said something important to her. She tensed under his grip.

"Your security team belongs to me, Raina. Which means they report to me." His eyes took on a hardness as she waited for his next words. "They report everything to me. Where you go, who you see, and what you do. Do not disappoint me."

She made a face and tugged her wrist away from his hand. He let her go. She preferred the Mateo that would joke around with her, whose banter, while dark, always held that edge of humour. This Mateo was far too serious. This Mateo was the boss and she didn't like it.

She debated on what she would say to him, epic retorts filtering through her mind. Finally, she settled on, "The only person who can disappoint you is you. If my actions disappoint you, then you've set me on too high of a pedestal."

He leaned back in his chair, sitting his elbow on the table as he contemplated her. "Perhaps I do set you on a pedestal. And perhaps you are correct, my expectations are too high." She felt a moment of elation that he was agreeing with her, then he added, "But it’s not my expectations that require adjusting. You will stay on top of any pedestal I set you on. I will make sure of it."

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