“Do I get to keep my job?”
“Yes, but the second your life is at risk, you’re not working there. Understand?” he says, his voice stern.
“Sir, yes sir.” I give him a quick salute.
“Jesus,” he mutters. “I’m going to have my hands full with you, aren’t I?”
“Yup.”
I stand to leave the office, but Mateo grabs my arms and eases me back into the chair. He leans down, pinning me in place, his mouth brushing my ear as he whispers.
“I think now that we’re engaged, I’m done going easy on you. When we get back to my apartment—our apartment—you’re going to get punished for the attitude you’ve been giving me.”
A shudder runs through me at his words.
We leave the office and head down the stairs, where Gino is waiting at the bottom. “Did you do it?” he asks.
“There are so many ways I could take that,” I quip.
“You know what I mean,” Gino shoots back.
“If you’re talking about this,” I say, lifting my left hand to show the ring on my finger, “then yes. He did.”
“Don’t look smug, asshole. You know what we talked about,” Gino replies, though his eyes are on Mateo behind me. “Vanessa, you need to understand this is serious. I know it feels out of nowhere, but people are really after you. If they get to you, they know I won’t stop until I find them. And I won’t hesitate to go to war if they hurt you.”
I swallow hard, seeing just how real this is in his eyes.
Mateo must sense how shaken I am. “We’re going to go,” he tells Gino. “We’ll talk about wedding planning later.” He places a hand on my lower back and guides me toward the door. I glance back and give Gino a small wave before Mateo opens the car door for me.
We start down the road, and I can tell Mateo wants to saysomething. He opens his mouth, then closes it again, like he’s weighing his words.
“I know you’re upset, but you don’t get to shut me out.”
I scoff, knowing there isn’t much he can do while he’s driving. That clearly sets him off, because he pulls the car over before we even hit the freeway.
“I am going to pretend you didn’t just do that.”
“You’re an asshole. Can’t you let me be upset about how my entire life just changed?” I reach for the door, ready to get out and walk anywhere that isn’t here, but his hand catches the door.
“You’re not getting out of this car,” he says firmly. “You can call me an asshole all you want, but you will not walk away from me. Not like this. Did you really think you’d walk back to your brother’s house? It’s over ten miles away. And yeah, you could run, but you don’t even have running shoes on. You’d only make it so far before your feet gave out.”
There’s no point in arguing. He’s right. I sit here, staring ahead, trying to figure out what my next move is.
“Before I start driving again, do you promise not to try to get out of the car?” he asks.
I nod. He puts the car in drive and makes our way to the freeway.
As we drive, he rests his hand on my thigh, steady and warm. I don’t know how he does it, but no one else has ever been able to ground me like this. He’s calm in a sea of chaos, and right now he brings that calm to me when I need it most. I place my hand over his and glance at him, giving him a soft smile.
Before we even make it up to his apartment, we’re already getting handsy. I’ve never been like this with anyone, but with him it feels easy, natural. The second he shuts the door, I’m pulling at his shirt, ready to pounce. Before I can do anything else, he moves us, smoothly switching our places.
“Remember what I said,” he murmurs in my ear. “You still need to be punished for that attitude. And now that you’re officially mine, I actually can.”
Why is that so hot?
He scoops me up and throws me over his shoulder. I yelp, half startled, half thrilled, and then he gives my ass a sharp smack, igniting a fire within me.
“I don’t know if you want to do that,” I say, breathless. “I’m still in my scrubs and I haven’t showered since yesterday.”
