Chapter 8
La’Nova woke up slow, not in the way that she usually did.
Normally she’d wake up tense and alert, looking around her camper wildly.
She’d made sure everything was like she left it when she first fell asleep.
Today, the mattress beneath her wasn’t thin or lumpy or familiar.
This mattress cradled her like it had been made for her body alone.
It sunk just enough to hold her weight without swallowing her whole.
Her lashes fluttered open. She eyed the high and white ceiling first that caught the morning light perfectly. Sun poured in through the massive windows dressed in sheer dark gray curtains that moved gently with the breeze through the slightly cracked window.
La’Nova’s heart skipped. She sat up a little too fast, realizing that this was not her camper.
This wasn’t the narrow bed she’d slept in with one foot brushing the wall as she fought to get comfortable by tossing and turning.
This room was expansive, a little too expansive for her liking.
The bedroom stretched farther than her eyes could take in all at once.
There was a plush gray rug that matched the sheer curtains.
A sitting area was next to the huge windows that had velvet yet darker gray chairs with a glass table stacked with different thick leather books.
The room looked too perfect, like it was just for show. What comforted her was the faint smell of vanilla. Her mind went back to the night before when her camper pulled onto the estate. From what she could see, she was on private property with acres of land.
She yelled and cursed out the guard that drove her camper to who she suspected to be Luca’s estate. The guard quietly ignored her and told her to get a good night’s rest. That night, La’Nova stayed up until her eyes grew too heavy. She fought her sleep because she expected to see Luca.
La’Nova expected some sort of terms and conditions.
At least a conversation, especially after the explosive orgasm he made her have back-to-back.
Those powerful orgasms fucked with her sanity, it had her body still sensitive and craving more.
What Luca did to her body, disturbed her.
She thought for sure he would march in her camper and demand for her to come inside of his three-story mansion.
Instead, he let her stay in her camper without ever appearing.
That confused La’Nova even more, making her wonder if she was either kidnapped or invited over.
She spent the entire day yesterday inside of her camper.
She spread crayons and markers across her small fold-out table.
She relaxed her mind by coloring and drawing until that wasn’t enough.
She smoked an entire pack of cigarettes and was down to her last pack today.
She even cleaned the inside of her camper yesterday.
At one point, she’d dumped the camper’s bathroom waste right on his lawn and went back inside of her space with a crooked smile on her face.
La’Nova knew it was petty yet very intentional of her.
She hadn’t cared one bit. Her water tank had been running low too today.
She noticed the warning light and shrugged it off, telling herself that she would deal with it once she got a chance to talk to Luca.
La’Nova was too stubborn to march up to the front door and demand a conversation with him.
She felt like he brought her here, so he should be the one to come and start up a well needed conversation.
She tried calling Lucille, but to no avail, she got no answer. La’Nova came to the conclusion that she was taken against her will when she noticed that her camper keys were missing from the inside of her camper.
She pressed her hand to her chest and exhaled groggily.
Nervousness made her stomach twist in knots as she eyed the huge flat screen TV against the wall.
Finally, her gaze dropped to herself in shock as she looked down at the short lavender-colored night gown.
The gown was soft and hugged all of her curves.
It looked expensive and from the feel of it, she knew it was real silk.
Her throat tightened as she spoke lowly out loud to herself.
“Who the fuck carried me in? I know this nigga didn’t just undress me and redress me.” She frowned.
Her hands went to her chest, and her breasts were free, touching the top of her stomach, and resting comfortably.
“This nigga eat a lil pussy and feel all comfortable with playing dress up with a bitch.” La’Nova shook her head.
Her hands started to shake as several important questions spiraled in her head regarding Luca.
All of the thoughts made her chest tighten.
It wasn’t fear that she felt, but a disorienting vulnerability she wasn’t used to feeling.
She hugged her arms around herself to ground herself.
Before her thoughts could spiral further, there was a gentle knock at the door.
“Miss Reign?” A woman’s voice called out sounding warm and professional.
La’Nova stiffened, her eyes wildly looked around then landed on her pack of Newports.
At least he had the decency to bring my damn cigarettes and a new lighter in… She thought before she answered the lady that was still hiding behind the door.
“Yeah?”
The door opened slowly. A short, chubby woman stepped in.
She wore a neatly pressed black dress with a white apron, hair pulled back into a low bun that didn’t hide the gray at her temples.
Her cheeks were round and her eyes held the calm authority of someone who had run houses like this longer than La’Nova had been alive.
“I’m Mrs. Calder,” she said with a small smile. “Head of the house staff.”
She clasped her hands together politely.
“I hope you slept well.” Mrs. Calder smiled.
Seconds later her smile flipped upside down as she watched La’Nova boldly snatch up her pack of cigarettes from the all black nightstand.
She shook her head no but uttered no words.
La’Nova challenged Mrs. Calder with her doe-shaped eyes to deny her of lighting a cigarette in the massive room.
Her eyes flicked over to the huge window that was opened, blowing in cool air and shrugged.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Calder…Good morning by the way.” La’Nova inhaled her cigarette then breathed the smoke out through her nostrils.
“I don’t know why the fu—hell I’m in here.” La’Nova quickly corrected her language not wanting to disrespect the older lady.
She folded her legs in front of her then bounced the right one impatiently.
“You were brought inside in the middle of the night because you fell asleep in your camper, dear. The night air was pretty cold last night, that’s how it gets in Palmdale.” The lady smiled nervously.
Mrs. Calder was still put off by La’Nova shamelessly lighting up a cigarette inside of Luca’s nice home.
“Palmdale? What the fuck?!” La’Nova covered her mouth.
“My apologies ma’am, but damn! Palmdale is an hour and twenty minutes away from L.A! Why the hell am I all the way out here, and who the hell brought me inside and changed my clothes?”
La’Nova glanced at her shaky hands and felt herself getting pissed off.
“Mr. Bonetti brought you in himself,” Mrs. Calder stated softly.
The sight of Luca carrying La’Nova as if she weighed less than a hundred pounds was an amazing sight to see.
She loved her boss even more after last night.
He treated her along with the rest of the staff nice.
Mrs. and Mr. Calder worked for several estates over the last three decades and Luca was the most generous boss her and her husband could ever ask for.
“We changed you respectfully,” Mrs. Calder said quickly, sensing the tension coming from La’Nova’s balled up face.
“Two women from staff. Nothing improper took place. Your personal belongings are being washed and folded and will be brought back up to you by evening. Mr. Bonetti placed some clothes inside of the bathroom for you after your shower along with your other personal amenities.”
“Well, that’s nice to know…being that I’m being held against my will.” La’Nova chuckled out bitterly.
Mrs. Calder laughed right along with La’Nova nervously as she offered her a confused look. One eyebrow raised higher than the other as her nervous laugh faded out until her face relaxed into a look of concern.
“You’re held against your will? Aren’t you Mr. Bonetti’s fiancée?” Mrs. Calder asked cautiously.
“I don’t see a ring on my finger, so no I ain’t his fiancée. I bet he got guards with guns ready to keep me in this nice ass house. He sends a beautiful older lady such as yourself to throw me off to make me feel comfortable with being kidnapped.”
La’Nova hoovered her cigarette over the nightstand then thumped the top of it, causing the ash to fall.
“My goodness, I hope that’s a joke Miss. Reign. I love my job, and it pays well but I won’t assist Mr. Bonetti in something such as kidnap. I also haven’t seen any men with guns on the grounds. Your purse along with your camper’s keys are in the bathroom as well. Let me go get him—”
“No!” La’Nova quickly cut Mrs. Calder off frantically.
She cleared her throat and straightened her spine.
“It was just a figure of speech, I’m just a little annoyed with Mr. Bonetti right now, and I hate the fact that I’m such a deep sleeper. I missed the chance to speak with him last night while he was carrying me in here like I’m some damsel in distress.”
It was clear to La’Nova that Mrs. Calder was simply here to do her job. She didn’t want to drag her into trouble and cause mishap being that the older lady was green to exactly who her boss was.
“Oh, I understand how that can be. I take melatonin gummies at night and can sleep through a storm.” Mrs. Calder giggled sweetly. “You will get the chance to talk with Mr. Bonetti. He’s here and explained to me that he will be home for the day.” She smiled sweetly.