Tormented

Chapter 25

"Where is Taylor?" Leora asks while glaring at him.

Looking at her eyes filled with fire makes Matteo feels proud but worried and the same time. His princess is getting stronger when away from him. That'll make her hard to control and manipulate but strong enough to rule beside him.

"You got fire in you now Bambina," Matteo says while petting her hair.

His action makes Leora burn with rage. She needs to know where Taylor is. While thinking of Taylor makes Leora remember the pictures on the computer. It makes her blood boil. She spits at him and shouts with rage.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" She asks while breathing faster because of rage.

Watching him smirking at her while ignoring her questions makes Leora wants to hit and bite him hard to relieve her anger. Because she can't move and do anything to him, on impulse she spits at him.

Her action makes both of them in shock. Leora feels guilty about it knowing that it will disrespect him. While Matteo for the first time feels anger at his girl. He can't believe she can be disrespectful like this.

"Never ever disrespect me like that." His baritone voice warns her in a low voice while Matteo slaps her hard, trying to give her a lesson.

Leora stared at him in disbelief. She always believes he will never hurt her like this. Even when she knows she's wrong, she always believes Matteo won't touch her.

Matteo looks at her teary eyes. He exhales to let his emotion stable again. He rubs her red cheek slowly as he tries to reduce the pain and say sorry to her. He kiss the check and whispered sorry in her ears.

"I.. I'm sorry too. I don't mean to disrespect you by spitting on you, but you frustrated me. I want to punch and bite you hard because you make me angry." Leora tries to explain her action and tries so hard not to cry but fail as her emotion keep blinding her mind.

Matteo looks at her with gentle eyes. It seems his girl is still in there, she is just getting stronger. He can't help but kiss her red cheek a couple of times. He let her arms go but still kept her body under him.

"Here bite this. You get angry because I hurt your precious Taylor right?" He says and handed his arm in front of her mouth.

Hearing what he says about Taylor makes her emotion gets fluctuate again. Taylor's beaten body flashes in her mind. Just like she wants to do she bites him hard until it's bleeding, but Matteo doesn't show any pain or discomfort at all.

While her attention is on his wound, Matteo grabs his handcuffs and cuffed her hand without her knowing. When she realizes that both of his hands are free, she tries to move her arms but failed and realized that he succeeds to obtain her in his bed.

"Let me go!" She demands.

"Well, it's impossible," Matteo says and laying on the bed beside her.

She tries to break free, but impossible even with her skill to open it. It seems it's a custom handmade cuff that is hard to break.

"Sleep now," Matteo says while Leora still trying to open the cuffs.

"Arrgh!" Leora scream in anger, she gives up and calms her raging heartbeat. She knows she can't win against him like this.

"You know why I came here right? So please tell me where is she?" Leora asks in a calm voice while glaring at his sleeping face.

He continues close his eyes and ignores her questions. She knows that he just pretends to sleep, but still she can't do anything with her arms cuffed except to annoy him.

"You know I can't sleep without knowing her well-being." She grumbles.

"She's fine. Healthy and still breathing. Now sleep!" He says feeling tired and just wants to sleep peacefully.

"That's not that hard, isn't it? Thanks for the information. Well, now where's she?" She asks still trying to annoy him.

"Sleep and I'll consider taking you to her? Deal?" He demands and glared at her.

"Deal." She says and closes her eyes trying to sleep. After a while of trying, she still can't sleep at all.

"You know I can't sleep while my arms are cuffed above my head." She says makes him annoyed. He loosens the chain so she can move her hand but still being cuffed and can't escape.

"Now sleep for real or I'll make you unconscious." He threatens her. 

She smiles satisfied that he still doted on her and likes her. She can't help but blush and close her eyes to try to get some sleep. She thinks being captive by him again seems not that bad. She can't dig more information about Taylor and save her, while she can spy on him and be useful for Charlie and her corporation as well. 

She needs to guard her heart. She doesn't deny that she likes him, even maybe loves him. But she doesn't want to fall in love deep with him more than now. She is scared that she will really be corrupted by him and let all her sanity go just because of her love for him. Despite that, she still believes she can still change him for the better. If she can't shake off her feelings, she will do anything to bring him out from the darkness to the light, where she can love him all she might without being shackled by guilt to love him. If he can change his profession and his dark behavior for her, she trusts they can be free and happy all their lives.

After all, all of this happens not by accident or coincidently, she always believes all things that happen to her are fate. She always believes all thing happens with permission from her God, and He'll always make things better, even when bad things happen she always believe it is a good thing, we human just can't see God's perspective. After all "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". She always believes that her future will be always bright in Him.

Matteo opens his eyes when knowing she's already asleep. He stares at her and can't help to caress her face. He drags her body and embraces her. He steals a kiss from her lips for the first time. The sweet taste in his mouth makes him restless and kiss her harder. He knows Leora is a hard sleeper, once she sleeps it'll be hard to wake her up. So he doesn't have to worry she'll wake up. He restrains himself and stops the deep kiss. He can see her scrunch her face annoyingly because someone disturb her sleep. He chuckled lightly and caressed her furrowed forehead, making her seem to relax and sleep peacefully. He touches his own lips and caresses her sweet taste that lingers on his lips, still smiling that he can see her swollen lips from his kiss. 

Finally, she's in his arms again, the place where she belongs. He applauds his self-restraint to successfully not drag her back to his side.  He always know where she was and what she did in these two years. He never really let her go, he always protects her no matter what. Even when she's on her mission, he always helps her in the dark. After all, after the ball two years ago, everybody in the mafia and the criminal world know that she is his woman. Nobody will dare to hurt her. Until today there is still no match for him, so everybody will always be scared of him and always curry his favor. Well even though there are some idiots that want to challenge his authority, he still can protect her from them.