Page 46 of Dare To Free Us
That was about as vulnerable as it got for Matteo. He was raised to neverneedanything. To rely only on himself, always. But when it came to me, he needed me as much as I needed him. His strength gave me strength and my belief in him gave him confidence.
I nodded feeling tears in my eyes but I held them back for once. For a man like Matteo to say that so easily was no small thing. Outside our private moments Matteo never showed emotion. His father never allowed it and until me he’d never let them out.
“Ok,” I whispered before giving him another quick kiss. “Now can you please find something to clean this up with? We should probably get going.”
He looked down and chuckled at my predicament. If I moved an inch I would have a mess dripping down my sides. After putting himself to rights Matteo did a quick search of the car. Finally he pulled some gauze and wet wipes out of the first-aid kit.
After cleaning up and struggling to get my leggings back on in the confined space— and the pain coming back now that I wasn’t… coming— I followed Matteo out of the car. Our driver was standing next to the driver’s door and even though the SUV was heavily tinted and armored, I had no doubt he knew what we’d been doing.
My face heated with embarrassment, then turned bright red when Matteo held out his hand and our driver handed over a pack of gum— who did not make eye contact. Matteo looked at me and smiled as he popped a piece in his mouth. I gave him a smack on the arm and climbed into the back of our new ride, wanting to melt between the seats with embarrassment.
* * *
I’d never beento this particular area before but it didn’t look much different than many of Boston’s streets lined with town houses. After circling around back Matteo stepped out first before offering me a hand.
As we walked up the steps to the back door Matteo’s head swiveled to take in the surroundings from top to bottom. We hurried inside as a guard opened the door. Chris followed with the bags of supplies I’d sent the maid out for.
The house was plain. White and cream colored walls with no decor of any kind made the space feel unwelcoming to say the least.
Immediately I heard voices coming from the living room.
“I’m tired of takeout.” An angry female Russian accent stated. “It will make me fat.”
“I bought you groceries.” A frustrated male shot back.
“And who will cook them?”
Matteo and I stepped into the living room that contained the bare minimum of furniture and again empty walls. A TV sat on a simple stand that currently had some kind discovery channel playing.
Thats where I got my first look at Vasilisa. Hair the color of fire— much like her attitude at the moment— pale skin and taller and leaner than I would have expected, and very pretty.
“What is going on?” Matteo asked and the room fell silent. Everyone turned.
Ice blue eyes that were way too similar to her brothers hammered into me.
“Matteo. Tell this idiot I cannot live on crap. I need food that won’t turn me into cow.” I almost laughed. The girl was a rail, her long legs and arms were on full display in her little shorts and tank top. For all her beauty with that forever-young rounded face and big eyes, she was tiny.
“I told you to get her whatever she needed,” Matteo growled at the man arguing with Vasilisa.
The guard’s jaw ground together. “I did. But when I brought it back she said she doesn’t know how to cook and expected me to cook it for her.”
Wow.
Matteo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Vasilisa, my men are not going to cook for you.”
“It is least they can do for me having to put up with their bad moods all day.”
“Would you rather I sent you back to Shura?” Matteo shot back. Vasilisa clamped her mouth shut. It was an empty threat but at least it got the result he wanted.
“I’m Arianna.” Stepping forward I offered my hand but Vasilisa refused it with a crossing of her arms. I tried not to take it personal, if I were her I wouldn’t have taken it either.
“Vasilisa,” she snapped. “Why are you here? Who are you?”
“This is my wife. She wanted to talk to you and make sure you are ok.” Matteo placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Ok as I can be, I guess.”
“I had some things picked up for you.” Chris handed me the bags. “Some salon hair products, makeup, I had to guess on the color based on what Matteo told me, and some bath products.”