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“I’m sure I wouldn’t be the first body to be wrapped in a sheet inside your car.” I keep my eyes closed as I smirk.
“Not too early for sarcasm I see, and don’t be so pathetic…” I feel his lips press against my jaw. “…We have trucks for that kinda shit,” he whispers, pushing his body off the mattress.
“You now have ten minutes,” he calls back at me as he makes his way out the door.
I manage to haul my ass out of bed and pull on some clothes. Since Raoul thinks jeans are appropriate for where we’re going, I grab a pair from the dozen that Claude picked out for me, then throw on a cami top and some converse. After brushing my teeth and taming down my hair, I head back down the stairs.
“You're two minutes late.” Raoul strides out of his office and slides his shades on top of his head, he’s holding a set of keys in his hand and I’m surprised when he leads me outside to a waiting car. A very fast, expensive, looking car.
“Sweet ride, Mr. Burlusconi. Do you actually know how to drive?”
“Get in the car,” he sniggers, opening the passenger door and gesturing me inside with his head.
“No cable ties today?” I tease.
“I always have a few handy, it can be arranged,” he warns, smirking at me as I slide into the passenger seat.
“So where are you taking me?” I ask as he pulls out of the gates.
“Somewhere I’ve never taken anyone,” he confesses, making the short drive up to the top of a hill, then parking up near the edge of a cliff that overlooks the whole city.
“Pretty enough to take a photo of?” he asks, getting out of the car, resting his ass on the hood and sliding his hands into his pockets.
“It’s beautiful.” I stare out at the scenery and lift up my camera. It’s not the kind of thing I’d usually photograph, but anyone with an artistic eye would want to capture the way the orange and yellow lights are rising behind the tall silver structures of the city.
“Most of the city is sleeping this time of day, they miss LA at its finest,” Raoul tells me, stepping up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “I run up this hill at the same time every morning and not once have I met another living soul up here. I like that.
This is my place. I come up here when I need to make important decisions. Looking at my city this way helps me reflect.”
“Your city?” I turn my head to look at him, but he forces me to look back out at the view by sliding his cheek against mine and resting his chin on my shoulder.
“Burlusconi run LA, you know that. You’ve known it since you were a little girl and your daddy never came home,” he reminds me, his whisper soft and regretful.
“I remember that day.” Tears start to burn my eyes when I think back to when I was eight years old. The sun had been so hot that day, and Raoul had promised my mama he’d take good care of me if she let me go with him and Rhett.
As soon as I came home from playing on the Burlusconis’ private beach, I’d known that something bad had happened. The sparkle in her eye was gone, and it never returned. That night the doctor had to give her something to help her sleep. And Raoul snuck into my room, got in my bed, and held me all night while I cried.
The sun has almost fully risen and I breathe in the air of a fresh new day. Another day here with him, and another day closer to losing him.
“I want you to tell me what happened between you and your mother.” His voice suddenly becomes more authoritative.
“Raoul, don’t.” I close my eyes, and the tears trickle out of them.
“You always used to be able to tell me anything.” He grips at me a little tighter.
“I don’t like to talk about it, I don’t even like to think about it, so can we just drop it and enjoy the day.”
Raoul spins me around to face him, sitting back on the hood of his car and holding me between his legs.
“What happened?” He stares at me, his brow furrowed with concern. I like the fact that he cares so much, and for that reason, I decide to tell him the truth. The truth I’ve never told anyone.
“When Dad died, Mama wrote out to his friends and family to tell them what happened. One of his friends was in prison at the time, and after he replied, they got real friendly.”
I close my eyes and take a breath, not sure if I should continue. I know this is gonna make Raoul mad, and I don’t want to spoil the way things are between us right now.
“He was the reason Mama left the cottage, he convinced her she didn’t need your family to take care of her and as soon as he finished his sentence, she moved us so she could be with him.”
Raoul nods his head as he listens, and I can feel the tension building in his fingers where they’re resting on my hips.
