Page 34 of Protection (Mobsters + Billionaires 2)
ANTHONY
The captain'sannouncement wakes me up.
“We are on approach for Vienna. Please bring your seats upright and make sure you’re belted in. We’ll be landing in thirty minutes.”
Wiping the sleep out of my eye, I fumble around, eventually finding the right button to raise my chair. Mads watches me with an amused expression. He’s changed into his gorgeously tailored royal-blue suit, a coffee in his hand.
“What?” I ask, wondering if Mads brought an extra USB cord in his carry-on.
“Nothing,” he answers, still smiling. Grinning like a jackass, more like it. “You're awfully cute when you sleep.”
I narrow my eyes at him and arrange myself better on the seat. Fuck. As much as I enjoy his gamer-boy chic, I can’t deny he looks beautiful in a suit.
“I am not cute,” I intone seriously.
“Well, when you say it all cute and sleepy like that, I have a hard time believing you.”
I blink, wiping my eyes again.
“See? Look at those sleepy blue eyes of yours. So adorable.”
Fine. I see how it is.
“Are you sure you want to aggravate the person in charge of keeping you alive?”
“Is that a threat?” he asks, taking a sip of coffee.
“Just an observation,” I respond, undoing my seat belt.
“Ooh, taking off your seat belt. I thought you were a rule follower.”
“I am. But caffeine is on the line. Rules can be broken for caffeine.”
Mads grins and reaches to the side, where he has a lidded cup of coffee waiting for me.
“Here you go, you scofflaw. Put your seat belt back on.”
I grin at him as I receive his gift of coffee with more gratitude than I'm willing to let on. Even with the comfortable layout, I only got about five hours of sleep, and I need to be on my game for the rest of the day.
Satisfied with my level of caffeination, Mads slides open the window shade and looks out. “Beautiful,” he whispers.
I reach out to open the shade on my side, and he's right, of course. It is beautiful. “Vienna in the spring is hard to beat,” I murmur.
“Oh, have you been here before?”
I shake my head. “No, but it’s on my bucket list.”
“Yeah? Why?”
“I love classical music.”
“Oh really? Who’s your favorite composer?”
I rub my jaw. “I’d have to think about it because I love everything, especially some of the modern remixes.”
“Oh boo. Answer the question.”
“Fine, but it depends on my mood.” Ignoring Mads’ put-upon expression, I answer as best I can. “If I'm angry or frustrated and need something to calm me down, I like Mozart, especially the flutes. If I'm in a happy mood, I think Vivaldi elevates everything.”
