Accardi Chapter 43

Genevieve’s stomach twisted further with nerves as Leo drove the SUV through the security gate and straight onto the tarmac. The lights of New York twinkled in the darkness surrounding the airport. She hugged her carry-on tighter to her chest as Leo waved at a different SUV heading in the opposite direction. 

“So, private jet, huh?” Gen asked, hoping to alleviate some of her nerves through idle chit chat. A weekend away? With Matteo? In Austin? What was she thinking?

“Mhmm,” Leo confirmed.

“So, how does he do it?”

Leo chuckled. “Mr. Accardi is a wealthy man.”

Gen laughed. “No shit, I meant more along the lines of how does a man terrified of heights, get into a plane that goes six miles into the air?”

“The old-fashioned way.”

Leo pulled the SUV up beside a small private jet. She gulped when she could count the number of windows with her fingers. She wasn’t a huge fan of flying herself, especially in something that looked like it would break apart with the slightest bit of turbulence. The door opened, causing Gen to jerk and Leo to raise a brow. He ushered her toward the stairs of the jet as he pulled her neon pink luggage from the trunk. She took the first step only for Leo to grab her by the elbow. 

“Wait for me. I don’t know how far he’s gone,” he told her. 

While she tried to figure out what he meant, Leo handed their luggage off to a tarmac worker who put the it under the plane. He walked back up to her and bobbed his head for her to go first. She stepped up the steps as the engines revved to life. She walked inside and stifled a gasp. There were four large armchairs, two sofas, a small kitchenette, a table, a door with a restroom sign and another door beside it leading to the back of the plane. Everything was polished white leather, gold accents and reeked of wealth. It looked as if someone designed a penthouse and decided to add wings to it.

“We’re all here,” Leo informed the pilot who gave them both a cursory glance before locking himself in the cockpit. 

Gen glanced around again, confused. “Where’s…”

The back door slammed open, revealing a heavily intoxicated Matteo Accardi. He slumped against the doorframe, a shaking glass tumbler pressed to his lips. He threw his head back, finishing off the last of the amber liquid and made a hissing noise. She felt Leo take hold of her elbow again, as if bracing for something.

“Accardi, how much have you had?” Leo asked.

Matteo’s red-rimmed eyes swiveled to face them. His narrowed eyes widened and his pursed lips pulled into a predatory smile. “Nearly enough,” he slurred. He cleared his throat. “Glad to see you didn’t back out, Miss Sinclair,” he drawled. “Care to sit?” he asked, gesturing toward one of the armchairs. 

“Okay…” She eyed him carefully as she walked toward the armchair, all the while feeling his gaze tracking her like a lion. 

She sat down and watched as he pushed off the door and stumbled toward her. Just before he collapsed beside her, Leo caught him by the upper arm. 

“Hey,” Matteo whined.

“Careful,” Leo warned. 

Matteo pulled his arm out of Leo’s grasp. “I’ll be out in less than two minutes. What could I possibly do?” Matteo asked, falling into the armchair beside Gen’s. 

Leo sighed. “I’ll go get the hammer.” Leo turned to Gen and stooped so he could speak to her in a lower tone. “Don’t listen to what he says.”

“Sure. He doesn’t mean what he says when he’s drunk, right?” she guessed, having had plenty of experience with men who get lost in their liquor. 

Leo eyed Matteo who was still struggling to clip his seatbelt. “No… he does.”

Without further explanation, Leo turned on his heel and went to the kitchen. She looked back at Matteo who was already watching her with glazed eyes and a lazy smile. 

“So,” she began. “You have to drink in order to withstand…”

His hand covered her mouth with a surprisingly gentle touch. “If you say it, my adrenaline spikes and I have to drink even *more*. I drink more, I get horny, a bit handsy and before you know it, I’ve got you on all fours in the back bedroom begging for me to keep going.”

“That’s true,” Leo said, holding a refilled glass in front of Matteo’s face, forcing him to go cross-eyed. “Remember last time?” Leo asked Matteo with a wink. 

Matteo’s eyes narrowed first at Leo and then Gen when she started to laugh. “Cock block,” Matteo mumbled as he sipped the whiskey. Leo touched the bottom of the glass and forced Matteo to chug the rest. When he was done, he took the glass away and patted Matteo on the head. Matteo flung his arm out, batting Leo away. “Thanks, *Dad*,” Matteo mocked with a smile. 

“Sure thing, Kiddo,” Leo said, completely stoic. Once Leo put the glass away, he returned to one of the two remaining chairs and strapped himself in. He leaned across the aisle toward Gen. “Don’t worry, he’ll be out within a few minutes.”

“Don’t talk about me,” Matteo warned, his eyes already shut and his head leaning back against the headrest. 

“Is it just us?” Gen asked, looking around. There wasn’t even a stewardess. 

Leo nodded and pulled a crime novel from his backpack. “He doesn’t like people to see him like this,” he said, bobbing his head in Matteo’s direction. 

“You’ve seen me like this hundreds of times,” Matteo mumbled, his voice already fading. 

“Yeah, one of four, Man,” Leo argued with a grunt. 

A serene smile spread across Matteo’s face. “One of five,” he corrected before his face went slack with sleep. 

Leo glanced over at Gen and gave her a knowing smile. 

Four hours later, the plane touched down at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. While Gen gathered what energy she had left from her long day, Leo poked and prodded Matteo trying to get him to wake up. 

“Want me to try?” Gen asked. 

“Hiding a pitcher of water in your pink luggage?” Leo asked with a laugh. 

“No, mine’s much more simple than that,” she said. 

Gen walked up to Matteo. She looked at Leo and spun her finger in a circle, telling him to turn around. He rolled his eyes but did as she asked. She bit her lip as she sat down on Matteo’s lap. She ran her hands up his chest and lowered her lips to his ear. 

“Wake up, Matteo,” she whispered before biting his earlobe. “Wake up or you’re gonna miss me stepping out of the bath. My hair dripping, water running down my bare skin…” Gen moaned and rocked her hips against him. “I’m about to put my robe on. You better…” His right hand suddenly grabbed her waist in a punishing grip. 

Gen gasped as the fingers of his left hand tangled in her hair and yanked her head back. His eyes ventured over her body, sleep-logged and barely focused. “Liar,” he hissed, causing her to laugh. 

“Got him up for you, Leo,” Gen said as she pried herself out of his grasp. 

“Don’t worry, I have a punishment in mind for you,” Matteo threatened, his lustful eyes dissecting every move she made as she disentangled herself. 

“We’ll see about that,” she teased, walking away from him and out of the plane. 

They all rode in silence toward the hotel. It was nearly two in the morning their time, and Gen felt laden with exhaustion. All she wanted to do was crawl under the soft, clean sheets at the hotel and pass the fuck out. Matteo’s mood shifted as they grew closer to the hotel. Every few minutes she could feel his hot gaze on the side of her face. When she would look back at him with a raised brow he would merely smile and wink. He was up to something, she just needed to figure out what. It wasn’t until they were standing in front of the receptionist that she figured it out.

“So, you’re all booked up for the weekend, huh? No vacancy?” Matteo asked, his soft smile focused on Gen rather than the pretty blonde fluttering her lashes at him.

“Yes, Sir,” she said, her voice thick with the trademark Texas drawl. 

Gen raised a brow at Matteo. “That’s good. Means a lot of people will be at the event tomorrow.”

“Lucky for us… maybe not for you.”

“What are you…”

“Name’s Accardi. I have just the one room, I believe? I’ll be needing *two* cards,” he announced with a final wink at Gen.

*Oh,* she thought to herself. *So that’s what it is.* He was hoping for a little forced-proximity? Something devilish flashed in his eyes as he waited for her reaction. Gen smiled brightly at him and pulled her ID and credit card from her wallet. She slapped them down on the desk. 

“Genevieve Sinclair,” she announced.

Matteo’s smile slowly faded as the receptionist handed over a key card for her own room. Gen held the card up in front of his face. “Looks like someone got to Alexander before you did, Mr. Accardi,” she said with triumph. 

His eyes narrowed. He took one of his cards and pulled her closer with a startling jolt. He slipped a card into the back pocket of her jeans, seemingly undeterred. 

“You’ll still need it. I’m sure of that,” he vowed. 

“You’re still drunk,” she whispered, looking deep into his red-rimmed golden-brown eyes. 

He lowered his face until he was only a hairsbreadth away from their lips touching. “Maybe.”

She could smell the whiskey on his breath. So much so that she could feel herself getting drunk by the fumes alone. 

“Accardi!”

Gen stilled. The voice was so familiar it brought forth a flood of memories that caused her knees to shake. She looked toward the hotel entrance and gasped. Paul stopped in his tracks. He looked just as he did the last time she’d seen him: all blond hair and sunkissed skin. His blue eyes were shining as he took her in. That trademark, quarterback smile grew brighter. 

“Mr. Brooks, I’ll be with you in a…”

“Gen?” Paul asked, ignoring Matteo completely. 

“Paul? That can’t really be you.”