CHAPTER 6: So scared. Terrified. That's what I was. He was close I could feel it in my bones. I clutched my teddy bear tighter and pushed myself further down into my blankets. Maybe he would forget. Maybe he wouldn't notice me. Maybe mommy would hear. The door creaked open and blood roared in my ears as silent tears ran down my cheeks. I could see the glow of my ballerina nightlight from just under the white of the sheet. A shadow walked in front of it and I bit back a whimper. "Natalie..." The voice purred and I wanted to scream. I knew when he was drunk like when mommy was. I could practically smell the yucky musky scent from here. Bile rolled in my stomach and burned the back of my throat. A hard grip shot out and grabbed my ankle. I let out a choked cry as the blankets were torn off me and he was standing above me with a disgusting and scary, gleeful grin on his ugly face. Please, no. Not again. "Hey baby girl. I missed you tonight. Come give me a kiss." He growled and began to crawl on the bed, pulling me underneath him. I bucked under him as he held my wrists above my head. "Please! No! I don't wanna." I cried as he moved for my pajama pants. "PLEASE!"
Natalie woke with a choked cry, her body sheened with a fine layer of sweat. Memories plagued her, nightmares plagued her, like a big black wave just waiting to grip and pull her under. She willed the erratic beat of her heart to slow and took in gulps of air.
It was only a nightmare, I'm not there anymore, she told herself but couldn't help the pit of lingering terror and dread in her stomach. She didn't think she would be able to sleep so she stretched and swung her legs over the large bed, letting her feet his the floor and letting the coolness of the marble ground her as it nipped at her exposed feet.
Sighing, she pulled on the robe and tip-toed over to the door and pulled it open.
Surprisingly it wasn't locked and she let out a breath of relief. All she wanted was a cold glass of water. Natalie walked down the large spiral of stairs and after about 15 minutes she finally found the kitchen and had to stifle a gasp at how large and beautiful it was.
Shaking off her shock, she walked over and rummaged through the cabinets until she found a glass and then walked over to the sink and filled it up.
She took a sip and sighed with soft pleasure when the crispness of the water rolled over her tongue and down her throat.
"Natalie?" A voice asked and she jumped, almost dropping the glass.
She turned and found Giovanni standing there, a frown on his face.
He was also only in a pair of black silk pajama pants.
She swallowed hard, watching the way his muscles flexed under the soft olive-colored skin. She licked suddenly dry lips and met his gaze, cursing herself when she saw him smiling with pure male satisfaction.
"What are you doing up, mi amour?" he asked as he took a step forward.
"I...Um...had a nightmare." She whispered and tore her gaze away from the very yummy and fascinating abs.
He walked over to her, tipped up her chin so that she met his gaze.
Worry flashed in his eyes before it was gone a split moment later.
"Nightmare...or memory?" he asked in a whisper, his blue gaze intense.
She swallowed hard as the black wave threatened to get closer. She removed her chin from his grasp and forced a light shrug.
"Oh you know." She said half-heartedly.
He watched her, his lips thin.
"No... I don't." He said and in that instance she knew he was lying.
"Why are you up?" she asked and reveled in the way his eyes narrowed with irritation.
Score one for her.
He walked around her and took the glass from her, filled it up, and handed it back to her.
"It might help to talk." He said and after a moment of hesitation she sighed and walked over to sit in a barstool.
Giovanni took the spot next to her and her skin tingled with warmth at how close he was.
Bad thoughts, she told herself.
He was her KIDNAPPER for hell's sake! But, maybe it would help.
"My mother...she had boyfriends." She muttered darkly and his eyes grew angry as he realized her meaning. He waited for her to explain.
"Usually she was home and she caught them. Other times, she was passed out and she...didn't." she whispered sadly.
She looked over to notice Giovanni clenching his fists.
"She had this one. He was the worst. He knew exactly when to do it, knew when he could get away with it and not get caught." She said and he let out a growl as his eyes flashed with rage.
His muscles bunched and for a minute she thought he was mad at her.
"Anyways..." she mumbled and it took him a few minutes of deep breathing to finally manage words through the rage running through his system.
"What happened to this man?" He asked and she shrugged.
"I...don't know. My mom caught him...during once and kicked him out. Told him never to come near me again." She said and he didn't seem satisfied with her answer.
Why? She didn't know.
"I should get back to bed." She whispered and stood.
He stood, too. She began walking when he stopped her with a hand on her arm. He opened his mouth, but snapped it shut a moment later.
He looked like he was having an internal debate and Natalie could only wonder what was on his mind that was making him so tense.
He gave a curt nod and let her go.
"Goodnight mi amour." He said softly. She nodded and made her way back to her bedroom.
As she lay there on the silk sheets, she wondered why she told him. She hadn't ever told anyone about that and she didn't know why when Giovanni-her kidnapper- asked her once and she suddenly spilled her guts. She had the feeling that he understood her pain a lot better than most people would.
Her eyes soon grew heavy and she could only partly notice how much better she felt after getting that off her chest. Within moments she fell asleep and only dreamt of the blue eyes of a certain man holding her captive...
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The next morning Natalie woke refreshed and surprised at how well she slept after her first nightmare. Usually after one of those she couldn't fall back to sleep with all of the memories that plagued and weighed heavily on her. She stood up, her joints popping back into place. She walked over to the door, wondering what to wear for the day and opened it expecting to find Nicholas so that she could ask, but instead she found boxes and boxes, bags and more bags of designer bags sitting outside of her door.
She could only stare for a moment before she finally began bringing them in.
Valentino, Versace, you name it and it was there...all of it in her size.
There was one box that was a soft light pink with black cursive letters in Italian written on it. She opened it and blushed.
Inside was lacy bras and underwear...all in her size.
She snickered and ended up pulling on a flowy floral skirt and a white blouse. There were boxes of heels, but she would probably break some bones if she did so instead she opted to go barefoot. She made her way down to the kitchen and began going through the stuff inside the fridge.
Finally, she got out stuff to make blueberry French toast, bacon, sausage, toast, and eggs. Her blueberry French toast was her special and she knew nobody could resist. She began making it and soon the wonderful smells filled the kitchen, making her stomach growl.
When she was done, she pulled out plates, a few since she didn't know how many she needed, and loaded them up with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and then the coup-de-gra, the blueberry French toast, doused in heavy cream and sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.
She got a pitcher of orange juice and walked out onto the porch, finding just as she expected, men standing, gun holsters, sunglasses and all.
She smiled inwardly, feeling as if she had entered a bad FBI movie.
Definitely not FBI.
She walked out and stood next to one of them, her hands on her hips and a warm smile on her face.
"Hi. I made some breakfast! Would you like to eat?" she asked and the tall burly once closest to her glanced down at her and then resumed his regular position.
"Boss wouldn't like that." He said and his voice was barely discernable with how thick his accent was.
"Oh, come on. I'm insisting. I will bring it out to you and everything." She said and with a sigh, the men nodded.
She grinned and made her way back into the kitchen. She grabbed the plates and a couple glasses for the OJ before she handed them to the men.
"I hope you like it." She said and they nodded, not sparing her another glance. Guess that was her cue.
With a sigh, and the forced smile she had put on slowly slipping from her face she made her way back into the kitchen and sat down, alone, and began eating. There were still around 4 plates full of food just sitting on the counter.
She let the tartness of the orange juice wash over her tongue and tingle her taste buds before biting into the warm and buttery toast. The kitchen door suddenly swung open and Nicholas stepped in along with a younger man with light brown hair. They were in the middle of the conversation when they stopped abruptly, finally seeing Natalie sitting there.
She stood.
"Hi! I cooked some breakfast. Would you like some?" she asked and they hesitated.
"Oh come on. I insist! I already talked to the guys outside. If Giovanni has a problem with it then he can come to me." She said and raised her eyebrows in challenge. Finally, they nodded in defeat and sat down.
They ate in comfortable silence until the younger man decided to break it.
"Holy shit! That was amazing." He said and patted his stomach.
Natalie blushed and Nicholas chuckled.
"It was very good, Ms. Brown." Nicholas said and Natalie managed a small smile.
"Natalie. Now where is Giovanni?" She asked and both of them closed off immediately, she noted.
She pushed down her irritation.
"We can't tell you." The young one mumbled and Natalie scowled.
"You can't, or you won't?" she questioned and both of them sat up straighter, stood, and brought their plates to the sink before turning back to her.
"If Giovanni wants to tell you, we will let HIM. You will just have to ask him." Nicholas said, his voice stony and hard and bricking no argument.
They left without another word and Natalie suddenly felt so lonely. She didn't know what to do with herself, didn't know what to think. She washed the dishes in silence and finally, she couldn't take it anymore when she noticed a large stereo sitting on the kitchen counter.
She grinned and walked over to it before finally finding a song. 'Jump in the line by Harry Belafonte' turned on and she began swaying her hips as she washed the dishes. She mouthed the lyrics as she spun around and sank low to the floor to swish her hips. She bounced her booty, giggling. She shimmied her shoulders washing the dishes with the tune playing through the kitchen. She turned around after one low shimmy and hip shake and froze, seeing Giovanni grinning lazily from his spot leaning against the door frame.
She flushed and swallowed hard.
"Please...Please tell me you didn't see that." She whispered. He let out a laugh and walked to her and she was beyond surprised when he began to dance too. It was funny since he was wearing a fitted suit and polished Italian loafers. He pulled her close so their bodies were flush against each other and began swaying against her with the music. He twirled her and she giggled as he snapped his fingers. How could this man be someone who ran a criminal organization?
It was as if he was freaking bipolar.
She never knew what to expect with him. In some ways it was beyond infuriating and in others....exhilarating. The music slowed until it stopped. She noticed their close position and swallowed hard.
Acting on bravery, she lifted a hand to caress his cheek but he caught her wrist in a hard grip before her fingers made contact. She gasped as his eyes shut down, and became cold and hard. He let her go and she stumbled back.
"I came to tell you do not order my men. I am the only one who does that. They do not answer to you. They answer to me...as do you." He said in a low voice, his eyes narrowed.
"Now. Go start getting ready for the party. There is a dress in your room. I expect you to be down at 6 PM sharp." He said and with that he turned and walked briskly away.
What...just happened? It was almost as if he shut down as soon as something was happening between them...
She sighed and glared at the spot he had once stood. With one last look, she made her way to her room thinking of his hissy fit.
Yup, definitely bipolar...
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Done!! I hope you enjoyed this chappy! It was fun to write. Anyways! I can't wait for the future chapters to come! Vote. Comment. Follow! XX <3 :)