His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)

Pain woke me in the middle of the night. My ankles, knees, and hips screamed at me, and my head was splitting. I whimpered as I threw my arm across my face, cursing myself for using my rollator instead of my wheelchair while shopping. I had been stupid and vain, but Sienna was so perfect and beautiful. After spending the day with her, I couldn’t imagine she’d judge me for using a wheelchair, but it was impossible to know that when I first met someone.

I was paying for my decision now.

I grabbed my phone, squinting against the bright screen light, and groaned when I saw it was two a.m. I needed my meds and heating pad, but that meant getting out of bed. I almost started crying when I realized I’d left my heating pad in a kitchen drawer. I’d been using it earlier this evening and, for some inexplicable reason, thought I should keep it out there.

I didn’t know how many minutes passed before I got up the courage to sit up. I wiped away a few tears as the movement exacerbated the pain in my joints. My rollator was by the bed, but I’d left my wheelchair against the wall. Ever since being measured for my new chair, my old one felt even bulkier and more uncomfortable.

“God, you’re so stupid,” I said to myself.

Well, there was nothing to it. I reached out and grabbed the rollator, pushing up to a standing position. I couldn’t stop myself from crying out, my vision going spotty from the pain. I took a halting step, another whimper slipping through my lips. My wheelchair was a few feet away, but it felt like a yawning chasm.

“Stop being a baby. Just keep walking.”

Sweat dripped down my back at the exertion as I took another step. My knee felt like it was on the verge of dislocating, but before I could decide if I should try to sit on the floor and scoot to my chair, my ankle gave out and I crashed to the ground. My rollator flew forward, hitting the wheelchair with a metal clang so loud I could feel it reverberate through my bones.

I didn’t have the energy to get up, so I curled up on the floor, tears streaking down my face. I was being a baby, but I’d always had Mila with me during bad flare-ups, and I missed her desperately.

My bedroom door crashed open and I cried out. I twisted my head to see who it was. The light from the hallway illuminated a large male figure. My heart pounded in fear until I realized it was Matteo.

He flipped on the overhead light, and I shut my eyes as the brightness sent a dagger through my head.

“What the fuck is happening?” he growled.

I should have apologized for waking him up, for making so much noise, but I knew if I opened my mouth, all that would come out was a sob. So I clenched my teeth and silently willed him to leave me.

“Shit. Did you fall?”

I cracked my eyes open to find Matteo crouched over me. He must have come home sometime after I went to bed because I hadn’t seen him since this morning. His chest was bare and covered in tattoos, although my vision was too blurry to make out what they were. His pair of dark sweatpants hung low on his hips.

“Sofiya,” he said, his voice stern, “did you fall down?”

My lower lip trembled, but I managed to whisper out a “yes.”

“Okay, let’s get you back in bed.” Strong arms surrounded me as he lifted me off the floor and gently laid me on the mattress.

My face burned with embarrassment at him finding me like this. “I’m sorry,” I croaked. God, this was not the way to get my husband to like me.

“What were you doing?”

“I was trying to get my heating pad and meds.”

He brushed my hair from my face in a move that was surprisingly gentle. “Where are they?”

“Meds are in the bathroom and the heating pad is in the kitchen. The drawer by the fridge.”

He nodded before glancing at the lamp by the bedside table. He turned it on and headed for the door, flipping the overhead light off as he went. My eyelids fluttered closed in relief at the softer light.

It wasn’t long before he was back, supplies in hand. He stayed silent as he set a glass of water on the nightstand and plugged in the heating pad. I winced as I sat up, and Matteo quickly moved to help me, arranging a few pillows behind my back.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice hoarse as I took the medication bag.

He just grunted.

I took my pain meds and a muscle relaxer before setting the bag down. “I should be fine now.” I glanced up at my silent husband. “You can go back to bed. I’m sorry again for being a nuisance.”

He crossed his arms across his muscular chest. He practically glowed in the warm light, and I felt the urge to trace my fingers down his skin. I quickly averted my eyes before I embarrassed myself further. Why did he have to be so freaking attractive?

“Why did you fall?”

I chewed my lip. “I was stupid and left my wheelchair too far away. My joints are hurting and my ankle just gave out while I was trying to get to it.”

Matteo glanced at the few feet between my chair and the bed. “You’re in pain?”

I must have imagined the strain in his voice. This didn’t seem like the right time to tell him I was pretty much always in some level of pain, so I just nodded.

“What else helps?”

I blinked. “Oh, um, I don’t know.” At his stern expression, I huffed. “A hot bath with Epsom salts can sometimes help.”

“Okay.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Right. Okay. So anyway, sorry to disrupt your night. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Matteo pinned me with another unimpressed look before turning around and striding into the bathroom. My confusion built when I heard the water running. Was he really running me a bath?

He stormed back into the room, dropping an armful of bath products on the mattress in front of me.

“I don’t know what Epsom salts are. Will any of these work?”

There were colorful bath bombs and oils in beautiful, expensive-looking containers.

“Are you sure I should use them?” I glanced up at my husband. “They look fancy.”

Matteo rolled his eyes. “Choose one, Sofiya.” He looked and sounded irritated, but I cocked my head as I observed him and wondered if there was a chance I was reading him wrong. He could have easily left me alone, but he was still here… as if he cared about me.

I picked up a small floral and gold container of bath salts. “This should work,” I said, handing it to him.

He nodded and then, before I knew what was happening, I was back in his arms. I let out a squeak and clutched at his shoulders.

“As if I would drop you,” he huffed, stepping into the bathroom.

“A little warning would be nice,” I snapped back.

He just sat me down on top of the vanity, his arms caging me in on either side. “Can you sit here? Or will you fall?”

I scowled at him. “I’m not going to fall.”

He smoothed his finger across my forehead. “Whatever you say.”

My lips parted as he turned to the almost-full tub to put in the bath salts. I could have sworn I saw the corner of his lips twitch as if he was teasing me. I didn’t understand my husband at all. He was so cold and closed-off, but in my short time here, he had already been kinder to me than most of the people in my life. Who, besides my sister, would ever care for me like this?

He turned off the tap and then spun around to face me. “Alright. Arms up.”

“What?”

“Do you have a habit of getting in the bath clothed?”

“But you’re in here,” I said indignantly.

“Indeed, I am. Arms up, Sofiya.” He stepped between my legs, his fingers teasing the bottom of the oversized shirt I was wearing.

I crossed my arms. “You can’t see me naked.”

He huffed, running his hand through his hair, which was falling messily in his face. There was the hint of a five o’clock shadow lining his jaw.

“You are my wife and I’m your husband. You’re in pain, so I’m going to fix it.”

“You said we were just roommates,” I bit back. I would never have dared talk back to my father like this, and I wasn’t sure why I was doing it now when Matteo was trying to take care of me. But the idea of him seeing me naked, at my most vulnerable, when I wasn’t sure he even liked me, was too much to handle.

He just met my gaze with a stern, silent scowl. How was I supposed to understand any of this if he wouldn’t use actual words?

A wave of overwhelm washed over me, and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward and resting my head on his chest. I was so tired and my meds hadn’t kicked in yet. “I’m so confused,” I whispered.

Matteo’s arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me closer.

“Come on, tesoro. I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

The tenderness in his voice made a lump rise in my throat. I lifted my arms above my head as tears streaked down my cheeks. He slowly pulled it off, keeping his eyes fixed on my face.

My cheeks burned, waiting for his judgement, but he just cupped my cheeks and wiped away my tears. My breasts pillowed against his chest as he maneuvered me enough to pull off my sleep shorts and underwear. And then I was sitting completely naked in front of my husband for the first time.

This was not a flattering position. My belly rolls were evident, my thighs were spread against the counter, and I hadn’t shaved… anything. The last time I’d shaved was the morning of my wedding day. After his whole “roommate” talk, I didn’t see the point of keeping it up. But now he was staring at me like… well, I wasn’t sure. His face was so freaking stoic all the time. Did he find me ugly? Attractive? Was he thinking all the nasty things my mama’s friends said about my body when they came to visit? His jaw clenched as he took me in, and I wished more than anything I could hide.

I jumped when he gently ran his fingers across a bruise on my leg. “What’s this from?”

“I don’t know. I bruise easily.”

He nodded and then stepped back, pulling off his sweatpants in one swift movement. Apparently he didn’t wear underwear because now he was naked in front of me. My eyes were drawn to his cock—his hard cock—which looked impossibly big and intimidating. When I realized I was staring, I tore my gaze away, cheeks burning.

Matteo just leaned in to press a tender kiss to my forehead. “Consider this your warning.” His voice was low and sultry. Before I could decipher his words, I was back in his arms and lowered into the bath. I moaned at how good the hot water felt on my aching joints.

“Move forward,” he said.

“What?”

“Sit forward.”

I scooted forward and Matteo slipped in behind me. I sat stiffly as his body cradled mine. This was more physical intimacy than anything I’d ever experienced. It was simultaneously everything I craved and feared.

His breath skated across the top of my head as he wrapped his arms around me, guiding me to rest back on his chest.

“What are we doing, Matteo?”

“I’m taking care of you.”

I waited to see if he would say anything else, but my confusing husband stayed silent. I took a deep breath and allowed myself to relax back into him.

“Good girl,” he murmured. “Is the water helping?”

My stomach lurched. Good girl? A spark of arousal shot through my stomach. I wasn’t sure how I could be so turned on while also being in pain.

“Sofiya?” His lips skimmed the side of my face.

“Yes, it’s helping. Thank you.”

“Does it get bad like that often?”

I trailed my fingers through the water. “No, but I did more walking than usual earlier today.”

“You didn’t take your wheelchair?” There was censure in his voice.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Why?”

“I didn’t want to be a nuisance. Or embarrass Sienna.”

Matteo made a noise deep in his throat. “You have to take care of yourself. Or I’ll be forced to do it for you.” He traced a finger across my shoulder. “But maybe I wouldn’t mind that.” He spoke the last words so softly I thought I must have misheard him. I tried to turn around to see his face, but he held me fast. “Just rest, tesoro.”

It was the same thing he’d called me earlier. “What does that mean?”

He stayed silent until I was sure he would refuse to answer me. “Treasure,” he finally said.

A smile teased at my lips. My medication was kicking in, making me sleepy and easing the sharpest of my joint pain. I let my eyes drift closed, feeling surprisingly safe in my husband’s arms.