26 | Look Who's Here
"Don't pull that face, love. I don't like seeing you sad." Rafael brushed his fingers across my hair.
"I'm not sad. It's just too early in the morning." I shrugged.
A hearty chuckle left his lips as he stood between my legs, his palms flat over the kitchen counter.
"Good morning." He mumbled against my lips.
"Bad morning." I smiled before pulling him in for a kiss.
"Ready to leave?" He asked, placing his hands on my waist to put me down.
I wasn't. I didn't want to leave this place. I was afraid this fairytale will end the moment we leave from here.
"Yes." I mustered a small smile.
"Okay then." He walked over to me with my boots, crouching down to slip them on my feet.
He always managed to melt my heart away with these sweet little gestures. The audacity of this man to be so cute!
I swept a last look at the house before stepping out and locking the door along with all the memories. They were souvenirs that I will treasure until the day I die.
"Don't worry, señorita. I'll soon kidnap you back to this heaven." He winked, lacing his fingers with mine.
"Please do." I hooked my arm around his torso as we headed to the car.
He was right. This break was necessary for us. We needed this to clear out our thoughts. I was way more confident now and above all, ready to claim his as mine. No fear, no guilt. Just him. Rightfully mine.
•••••
I stopped breathing.
"Like what you see?" Rafael's low whisper jolted me out of my shock, reminding me to bring my jaw where it originally belonged.
This private jet was worth dying for. The interior was the lightest shade of grey with a beige couch and a few seats of the same color. There was a whole wooden bar inside it. The jet screamed money!
"Welcome sir, ma'am" The blonde flight attendant greeted us with a warm smile.
"Thank you, Janet." I nodded, reading her name on the golden badge.
She disappeared behind the curtains before bringing in a bottle of wine along with some dark chocolates.
"Thank you. Make sure no one disturbs us. You're dismissed." Rafael ordered.
Once given our privacy, he quickly pushed me down on the couch, making me yelp and giggle at his action.
His minty breath tingled against my face as he closed the little between us, gradually shoving me against the hand rest of the couch.
"Impatient much?" I slid my hand up and down the nape of his neck.
"Naah! I was just getting this." His reached out behind me to the small wooden table as he entrapped something in his palm. "What did you think I was doing, naughty girl."
Uh oh! I looked here and there to feel a little less embarrassed.
He smacked his lips to hold back a laugh but eventually gave in. "You should've seen your face."
"Not funny." I turned away grumpily.
"Actually it was. Wasn't it, Janet?" He peered over my shoulder and all the remaining blood in body shot up to my cheeks. I spun back, half worried and half embarrassed. She wasn't there.
This man!
"Rafael, why!" I whined, meaninglessly hitting his chest with my fists while he was on a full fledged laughing spree.
"Can't help it. You look so adorable with that face. Like a tomato's evil twin."
"Rafael!"
"Careful, señorita. The attendants will get all the wrong ideas if you scream my name like that." He poured the red liquid into the glass, handing me one.
I let my shy gaze fall out the window and witnessed breathtaking view of the Alps below us.
The soft ting of the glass perching on the table made me focus back to Rafael and found him crouched down near my feet. He smiled up at me, stroking his fingers along my bare ankle and tenderly lifted my right leg up, placing it on his thigh.
"Raf? What are you up to?" I let out a breathy chuckle.
"This." His smile widened as he extracted a platinum anklet, latching it around my ankle.
"Ra- Oh my god! Rafael! This is beautiful!"
"An early Christmas gift." He grinned cheekily.
"Aw, come here." I held his hand, guiding him back up. He instead kicked his shoes off and laid down with his head cradled in my lap.
"Thank you, Raf." I bent down and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. "But I don't have any gift for you." I jutted my bottom lip out.
"You are my gift. I don't need anything else." He played with the ends of my black hair which had now reached several inches below my shoulder.
"Sweet. But I still wanna give you something." I drew circles on his chest.
"How about a nice three lettered word when I ask you a question once we reach home?"
"Hmm." I hummed dramatically. "I still haven't thought about it, you know."
"Oh you haven't?" He asked, equally dramatic. "How about I ask the pilot to take a u turn so that you have more time to brood over it?"
God! At this point, we both knew the answer. If only he didn't want to rightfully ask me out in front of everybody! I can't wait to start my life with him.
"Vittoria."
"Yes, Mr Mafia King."
"You look so gorgeous from this angle." He said dreamily, making my heart skip a beat.
I blessed my stars, grazing an intricate look at his charming face. The way his hypnotic eyes stared into mine, the way his seductive lips curled up into a heart melting smile, the way his sharp jawline made me swipe a finger along it– it was all so crazy.
And arousing.
The love filled look soon turned into a lustful gaze. I slid my hands over his torso, inching them down at a torturous slow pace and finally palming him whilst performing his favorite lip bite.
"Very naughty." He whispered darkly.
It didn't take him long to get up and trap me under him with my hands pinned above my head. My crop top was pushed up along with my bra and my left nipple was captured between his teeth the very next second.
"Oh Rafael." I moaned, followed by a short hiss when he tugged on it, giving it a painful slap only to suck it and burst a bomb of pleasure within me.
"Is having sex on a private jet one of the items on your bucket list?" He asked between kisses, his voice raspy.
"Why do you ask?" I once again nibbled on my lip teasingly, trailing his hands as he excitedly unbuckled his pants, freeing that erect monster from its trap.
"Because I'm about to strike it off." He thrusted his entire length mercilessly into me in one go.
•••••
Those familar huge stairs stood mightily, welcoming us home. The first thing my eyes registered were the bright Christmas lights running all over the mansion.
"Hey, look!" I grasped Rafael's hand a giggle breaking free from my lips when I saw a decorated Christmas tree in the garden.
"See? There's no need to be nervous. They seem to be happy." Rafael assured.
"Yes. But there's just a small little miniscule problem. I knew my brothers well. Especially Mason."
"Relax." He gave my hand a slight squeeze as we climbed up the stairs. "They're just melodramatic."
"Hey, Jake! I missed you." I smiled.
He returned the gesture but couldn't hide the tense look on his face. His eyes trailed down to our interlocked hands, the uneasiness growing.
"Is it that bad?" Rafael rolled his eyes.
I told him!
Mase and grandpa are going to be mad, mad.
"I hope you enjoyed your trip, boss." He replied warily.
Rafael first smirked, then nodded and then tugged me inside, opposing my idea to spend the next hundred years away from those two angry men.
The sound of Alli and Ollie bickering made it's way to us as we proceeded inside. I was so damn nervous like I'm about to kidnap Shawn Mendes right from the stage.
That'd be cool. Maybe I should do that some day.
Ugh! What am I thinking? I'll blame the nerves.
"Rafael." I whisper yelled, desperately trying to pry my hand away from his. This was only going to provoke them furthermore.
He didn't.
The two squabbling replicas of Toby and Liam snapped their heads at us, going dead silent at our sight.
"Oh my god, Alli!" I gasped, seeing the plaster around her left arm. "What happened?"
"Hey there, lovebirds." She grinned teasingly.
Oliver stood up, looking extremely scary. His face was devoid of any emotion whatsoever. With his hands behind his back, he stalked close to us like that typical old and bald school principal.
I opened my mouth to speak but shut it back when I didn't find words to explain this entire episode.
Honey brown eyes switched between me and Rafael as of expecting an explanation. I pitched my gazes down while Rafael stared dead into his eyes with the signature Rafael smirk on.
"Let go." He commanded, glaring at our laced fingers.
I instinctively tried wiggling away but to no use.
"What happened?" Rafael questioned, noticing the light bruises on Oliver's face as well.
"Let go, I said." Oliver repeated, creepily calm.
"It's okay, Oliver. They don't-"
Alli tried interrupting softly but his penetrating glare dared her to continue.
"Oliver." Rafael sighed. "I'm not going to let go of her hand. Take the hint."
"You!" A raging voice boomed from our left. Mason charged towards us like an angry bull with flared nostrils.
My heart rate went crazy with fear. I hope this doesn't turn bad.
He raised his fist up in the air, ready to plummet I'd down right on Rafael's face. I quickly stepped forward to shield him, the action extremely difficult with our hands still tightly glued together.
"Mase! Please calm down." I placed my free hand on his chest, begging him to not get violent about this.
"You can't just kidnap her to prove your point." He spat at my kidnapper.
"I can. In fact, I did." He challanged.
"What wrong with you, Rafael! Stop this. All three of you, please." I yelled, my voice attracting the twins.
"Vittoria! We missed you!" They both lunged at me, smothering me in a huge bear hug.
"Same." I kissed Toby on the cheek and ruffled Liam's already disheveled blonde hair. I really missed them.
"Did you use protection?" Alli grinned wickedly.
"Shut up." Oliver stated dryly. "She'd never do that. I trust her."
I shouldn't have heard those confident words. My heart dropped at his immense amount of trust in me. How do I tell him I've long lost the path of doing the right thing. I've given in to selfishness.
I'm nothing like how he thinks I am.
Rafael sensed my discomfort and brushed the back of my hand with the pad of his thumb. It didn't help this time.
I never realized when Oliver's palm reached up to my cheek, gently caressing my face. Something changed all of a sudden. His terrifying look switched to a warm one.
"I missed you." He mumbled, an unexplainable pain dripping from his words.
"Oliver?" I narrowed my gaze at him and everyone for that matter. They all had the same poignant look. Even Mason.
"You're scaring us, you guys. What going on in here? What's with these injuries?" I pleaded for answers.
"Allegra's Scavengers attacked us in Canada." Oliver said.
"What!" Rafael and I exchanged surprised looks.
"I killed Viktor." Alli proclaimed.
"What! What!" I yelled.
Alli's Scavengers? Viktor? Canada? Shareholder meeting? How!
"Whatever the hell happened to your gut feeling about something good happening." I sneered, throwing Rafael a heated glare.
"So that's my fault now?" He complained.
"Just so you don't feel alone, even we were attacked by the Invisible Army." He shrugged like it's no big deal.
"What! What! What!" Liam exclaimed.
"Can we give any other reaction than what?" Mason rolled his eyes.
"Vittoria." Oliver shut his eyes momentarily, intently staring into my eyes as if searching for words. Speaking seemed to be impossible for him so he instead engulfed me into an awkward hug, Rafael's hand which was still stubbornly in mine acting as a barrier.
"It's just been a few days, for god sake. Don't worry, your sister is safe and sound." Rafael remarked.
I expected him to yell at Rafael but he didn't. His reaction was a fairly long kiss on my forehead, mumbling some ambiguous apology.
Something wasn't right. I could sense it.
"Uh, Vittoria." Toby chuckled nervously. "You must be tired. You should go rest." He pulled me in the direction of the stairs to lead me up to my room but Rafael's hand tugged me back to him.
"Why are you all behaving like this?" Rafael demanded, his bossy stance back.
They all exchanged awkward glances but no one spoke.
His irritation transposed to anger which further flipped to horror blended with shock with a dash of relief. I was totally clueless as to what was happening. All I could perceive was one drastic change which I suddenly didn't like.
His hand slipped away from mine very easily as he ran somewhere behind me.
A feeling of emptiness made it's way to my heart. It was a very petty insecurity but for some reason it rendered me unable to move.
Allegra's hand rubbed my arm as if trying to comfort me while her worry glazed eyes followed Rafael, causing me to furrow my brows and spin back to look at him.
When I did, my world stopped. My heart stopped.
"Oh my god! I was so scared. Are you okay, Mila?" His voice trembled, his arms holding her tight and his lips pressed against her forehead.
I just watched.