Beat of the Heart (Runaway Train, #2)(59)

I growled. “There’s another * I’d like to rip apart.”

Mia laughed. “Trust me, most of the men in my life would like to do that—including Dee. Even though Pesh is a peacemaker, I think he’d probably join in too. He was pretty livid at what his brother did, especially after what I’d been through with Jason.”

We fell into an awkward silence then. The atmosphere around us felt laden down with the admission of Mia’s abuse. I could tell she was still reeling—both pain and embarrassment radiated in her eyes, even though she tried to hide it. But I felt utterly and completely helpless at what to do to help her.

Finally, Mia cleared her throat. “I guess we better get back before they send out a search party, huh?”

Seeing the opportunity to lighten the mood, I grinned. “I’m pretty sure they know what we’re doing out here—or what we were doing.”

She made a face. “Fabulous.”

“Come on,” I said, holding out my hand. We made our way up the riverbank in silence. Although I wasn’t saying anything, my mind was whirling with what I thought I should say or do to ease Mia’s pain. When we got to the four-wheeler, I handed her back the keys. “You drive.”

“I don’t want this out of pity, AJ,” she countered.

Damn, just when I thought she couldn’t get any more stubborn, she did. “Oh Christ, that’s not it at all. Okay?”

She eyed me, and the keys, for a few seconds before she snatched them out of my hand. After she sat on the seat, I slid in behind her. She cranked up as I wrapped my arms around her waist. Peeking at me over her shoulder, she grinned. “Watch it with the happy hands.”

“You mean like this?” I asked, as I reached up to cup her breast with one hand while the other slipped between her legs. She squealed and slapped at my hands. I chuckled and then brought them behind me to rest on the back bar. “Better?”

She grinned. “Yes. But if it gets bumpy, I’d rather you hold on to me than fall off.”

“I’d rather hold on to you, period.”

“Then behave and you can.”

“Yes ma’am,” I replied, bringing my hands back to wrap around her waist. I nestled my head into the crook of her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her damp hair. As we started jostling over the bumpy road, I tightened my grip around her. When we got back to the stables, loud voices and laughter echoed back to us from the fire. In the twilight, I reached out to run my fingers over her tattoo. She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s in Italian, right?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“What does it say?”

“The first line says ‘Ciò che non ci uccide, ci rende più forte’—‘What does not kill us makes us stronger’.”

I rubbed my finger along the next line. “And this?”

“‘Dal buio verso la luce’—‘Out of the darkness and into the light’.”

When I moved to the third, she said, “’La mia famigla e il mio Dio sono il mio rifugio e la mia forza’ —‘My family and my God are my refuge and strength’.” I slid my finger down to rub on the fourth line.

“‘Essere sinceri con se stessi’—‘To thine own self be true’.” Peering over her shoulder, she smiled. “I minored in English, and I kinda have a thing for Shakespeare.”

I returned her smiled. “You and Jake will get along great. He’s obsessed.”

“The next one is Shakespeare, too. ‘Non è scritto nelle stelle per tenere il nostro destino, ma in noi stessi’—‘It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves’. You know, we Italian’s take the stars and destiny pretty seriously.”

Leaning over, I kissed along the dark lines. “It’s beautiful, amorcito mio—the design itself, down to every last word.”

“Thank you.”

After a few seconds of silence, I got off the four-wheeler and helped Mia off. “You ready for some s’mores now?”

Mia nibbled on her lip. “Can you give me a few minutes to freshen up?” At what I imagined was my confused expression, she said, “I don’t want to show up all red-faced from crying.”

“Oh,” I murmured with a nod. “Sure. Come on.” Placing my hand in the small of her back, I led her up the hill to the barn. Grabbing my keys, I unlocked the front door and held it open for her.

Mia stepped inside and gasped. She turned around several times—her expression one of awe. “Wow, the girls weren’t kidding about this place. It’s amazing.”

I gazed around the massive open room. “Yeah, it is. Jake’s contractors did a pretty amazing job transforming it.”

“Can you get my bag from the car?”

“Yeah.” I motioned over to the ladder. “The master bedroom and bath is upstairs. Go on up there, and I’ll bring our stuff.”

“Thanks, AJ,” she replied, before leaning over and pecking me on the cheek.

I hustled down to the car and back for our bags. I was out of breath by the time I got back to the barn. After I lugged her suitcase up the ladder, I found her sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands.

“Mia?”

She jerked up her head up and gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry.” She rose up from the bed and grabbed her bag. “I’ll hurry.”