Chapter 41
Chapter
Forty-One
WREN
I woke up the next morning to an empty bed.
The spot next to me that Matteo didn’t move from all night is cold. The only evidence that he was even here in the first place is the soft indent that his head left on his pillow.
Surprisingly, I’m not disappointed this time. If I’m being honest, I need a minute to get my head together. Last night was a lot. Emotions were at an all-time high, but I think we needed it. I never meant to scare Matteo. I just wanted my fucking stuff. He thinks that I don’t understand the threat that’s out there, but I do. With the exception of last night, the first thing I see when my head hits the pillow and my eyes close is that man attacking me.
Matteo seems to be the only thing that can fully distract me from it. I know this is a normal part of recovering. I went through something traumatic. I didn’t expect to get over it overnight, but I also didn’t expect to relive it almost every night .
I’ve noticed the nights I sleep wrapped up in Matteo’s arms, the nightmares don’t come. I wasn’t lying when I said he’s like a knight. He’s ready for a battle that he doesn’t even know he’s fighting. It’s something that I’ll forever be grateful for, no matter how much his bossy, overbearing, stubborn ass pisses me off because, at the end of the day, under all of that anger and hard exterior, there’s a big softie with an even bigger heart. There’s a man who is one hundred percent okay just cuddling in bed watching cheesy romcom movies. A man who would walk through the flames of hell just to find me.
A yawn escapes me as I stretch my arms above my head. The ache between my legs is a happy reminder of last night's events. Rolling onto my side, I wince. The aftermath of Matteo’s rough grip is making itself known with a dull ache. I don’t mind though. The memory of my inner walls clenching him tight every time he slapped my ass or roughly gripped my hips is still fresh in my mind. The corner of my mouth tips up slowly with a soft smile at those thoughts.
I need to get up and actually do something with my life today. Like call Delaney and figure out what the hell she really has planned for my birthday while Matteo is out and Rob isn’t listening in on everything little thing I say or do. Up until last night, I was convinced that the man was some type of cyborg with his supersonic hearing. I also need to figure out what Matteo actually did with my apartment, and all of my stuff. I’m hoping he can be at least semi-reasonable and understand that we probably shouldn’t just jump into living together after all of this huge mess is over.
I let out a long sigh as I throw the duvet off of me and head into the bathroom to start my day. My whole body aches, but it’s a good ache. I turn the shower handle all the way to the left on the hottest setting. As I wait for the steam to fill the bathroom, I lift Matteo’s baggy T-shirt over my head, letting it fall to the floor in a puddle by my feet.
My eyes look happy still as I keep my eyes on the mirror but angle my body so I have a full view of my ass in the vanity mirror. A deep purple bruise in the shape of a large hand is forming on my left cheek. It’s the same spot Matteo slapped over and over again as I rode him. I angle my body so I can see the edge of my hip. The same color of bruises forms along the bone, except these ones are in the shape of Matteo’s fingers. Doing a half turn, the other side of my hip mirrors the other one. My stomach flutters at seeing his mark on me. It looks good. I looked owned.
“I wonder…” I mumble to my reflection before dashing out of the bathroom to grab my phone off of the nightstand, shower forgotten. I quickly scroll until I find Delaney’s name, calling her immediately on speaker phone. “Come on, come on. This slut is always on the phone.”
I make my way back into the bathroom to study the marks again as I listen to it ring. Just as I thought this bitch was about to send me to voicemail, she picks up. “It’s about time your ass got out of bed.”
“Bitch, shut up.” I smirk. “I know what I want to do for my birthday, but I need you to come over and trace something on my hips in Sharpie. I would do it, but I want it to be precise.”
Delaney doesn’t miss a beat. “I’m sorry you want me to do what? Are you talking to me in the shower again?”
“I’m not in it this time!” I exclaim. “It’s just on because I was about to get in.” Although now that I think about it, I do always tend to call or voice message her when I’m in the shower.
“I swear that’s the only time you call me. What am I tracing on your ass?” Delaney asks. “Oh my god! Tell me you don’t think you caught something. I’ll be right over. ”
She doesn’t even give me the chance to tell her where Matteo’s place even is and that I absolutely did not catch anything on my ass before she hangs up.
I love that crazy bitch.
Thirty minutes later, the loud doorbell echoing throughout the house has me running down the stairs. I rush to the door before Rob can answer, heaving the heavy door, and I open it to see Delaney standing there.
“How did you even know where this place was?” I ask in greeting as Delaney plows in.
Delaney turns and looks at me like I’m stupid. “Everyone knows where Matteo Adduci lives, bitch. Everyone . It’s not my fault you’ve been living under a fucking rock.”
“That mouth is going to get you into trouble,” Rob sounds from behind me, making me whip around. “Who are you?”
I try my best to keep my tone from sounding as annoyed as I feel. I really did. “Rob, this is Delaney. Delaney, this is Rob. You might recognize each other from that night at DD’s.” I flick my hand out in Rob’s direction.
“Ah, you’re the girl that was screaming across the bar. Classy.” Rob’s guarded eyes don’t leave Delaney. I can see them assessing her. Not quite sure what to think. “Does the boss know she’s here?”
My nose scrunches up at the accusation in his tone. “I wasn’t aware I needed permission.”
“I don’t want to be babysitting two ungrateful women.” Rob sneers.
“Excuse me?” Delaney says at the same time I ask, “How the fuck are we ungrateful?”
I always knew Rob was a dick, but this is a new level .
“You’re ungrateful because you continue to defy him day in and day out. He’s taken you out of that shithole you called home, offered you his protection, which I don’t think you can even begin to comprehend what that means, and brought you here. You should be on your knees thanking him.” Rob continues to sneer.
I’m seething.
My hands are shaking with anger.
If I was stronger and knew he wouldn’t hit me back, I would land a punch square to his stupid jaw. He’s always acted like he would rather be anywhere else but guarding me, but this? This is fucking insane.
I didn’t think Rob would ever be like this. Does he have the personality of a potato? Yeah. But this is like a switch flipped and brought out a whole new side of Rob.
“You’ve got some fucking balls talking to her like that,” Delaney snaps as she steps around me so she is now face to face with Rob. “What is your problem?”
Rob’s nostrils flare as he stares down Delaney. He doesn’t say anything for what feels like five minutes, but it was probably only thirty seconds. All I know is I didn’t breathe the whole time.
He’s making me nervous.
The anger in his eyes is new, and I have no idea if he’s going to lash out. Matteo isn’t here, and the house is empty, so basically, we would be fucked if he did do something. Delaney and I can hold our own against your average drunk dude, but I don’t think we would make it against a Mafia dude—babysitter status or not. “Come on, Dell. Let’s go upstairs, “ I say, tugging on Delaney’s arm in an attempt to get her to move.
Delaney’s eyes never leave Rob as she lets me drag her away. I can feel his eyes on us with every step we take. I don’t feel any sort of relief until we’re behind the closed bedroom door.
I flip the lock just in case. I know in reality it won’t actually keep him out, but the sound of it clicking into place slows my racing heart.
“What the fuck was that?” Delaney asks as she whirls around to face me, eyes wide.
“I literally have no idea, but that was fucking weird,” I say as I start to pace. I’ve always been a pacer. Stress and anxiety bring it out. That’s part of the reason why I run. It allows me to actually “pace” in a different sense without someone thinking I’m a freak. “Like, that was weird, right? I mean, Rob’s always acted like he would rather be anywhere else, but he’s never been that… hostile!”
“I was ready to deliver a swift kick to his balls if he took another step closer. You need to tell Matteo to get his men in line. They can’t be acting like that toward you. If it happens again, he and I are going to have a little chat.”
I let out a groan as I flop down on the bed. “I know I need to, but that’s like one of his men. I don’t want to be that girl that rips everything apart.”
“It’s not ripping anything apart. It’s one man out of probably at least a dozen. And if Matteo doesn’t value you enough to even talk to Rob about what just happened down there, then he doesn’t deserve you. Because I’ll be damned if I sit back and watch my best friend be treated like trash.”
She’s right.
And I hate that she’s right.
The last thing I want to do is have this conversation with Matteo, especially after last night's events. I feel like we ended it on a good note, and I’d like to keep it that way.
“Come on, bitch.” Delaney slaps my leg. “Show me that ass. I brought my good Sharpie.” I watch as she pulls it out of her back pocket and pops the cap off. “See? The tip is still perfect.”
Don’t say it. Don’t say it… “That’s what she said.”
We both stare at each other for a moment before we bust out laughing.
“It’s not technically my ass.” I head into the bathroom before pulling my pants down enough so you can see the marks.
“Holy shit,” Delaney says as she leans in to look at them up close. “Are those from his fingers?!” Her wide eyes shoot up to me. “And his hand?!” She’s full-on squealing now. “Oh my lord, that is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. I need to find myself a Mafia man,” she says as she fans her face.
The memory of last night flashes through my mind, making a lazy smile take over my face. “Yeah, it was pretty fucking hot.”
“So what exactly am I tracing? A bad mole?”
I wait a moment before answering, watching her lean in again, looking for what I’m assuming is whatever mole she thinks I have. “I want you to trace his fingerprints on each hip.”
Delaney’s eyes shoot up to me in question. “Why?”
“Because we’re going to get tattoos for my birthday.”
I’m met with stunned silence as she stands up. “Are you messing with me?”
“No.”
Delaney’s mouth opens and closes before she loses it, “But that’s crazy! You hate him.”
“Matteo told me that hate is an imitation of love the other day.” He’s right. Those two feelings ride the same rollercoaster of emotions. Both feelings are full of positive and negative emotions, and I’m choosing to ride the high instead of the low. Is there a high chance of this biting me in my ass and leaving my heart broken beyond repair? Absolutely .
“And that just sealed the deal on ‘Hey, let’s go get bruises he left on my body during sex permanently tattooed?’” Delaney is back to looking at me like I’m crazy. “All because he told you some weird line?”
“It wasn’t some weird line, bitch. I’ve been feeling stuck for a while now. Matteo crashing into my life has made me feel alive. More alive than I’ve felt in a long time. And maybe this high will crash and burn, but I’m not about to sit back and let it pass by without me grabbing on.”
“I get that, but… why can’t we start with like a vacation or something? You’re just going balls to the wall Mafia wife.” Delaney tries to reason with me.
I shake my head. “I’ve never been an idle bitch. It’s balls to the wall or nothing at all with me.”
“So we’re doing this.”
“We’re doing this,” I confirm.
“Alright, bitch. Don’t move. I need to make sure I capture this masterpiece perfectly,” Delaney says as she goes in.
The Sharpie feels cool on my skin as she drags it across. Every little line she traces feels like Matteo’s hands are on me all over again. All that’s missing is his firm grip, but the pain is there. It’s a dull ache that I never want to go away.
“Okay, turn.” Delaney spins me slightly so she can do my other hip. “I just need to know one thing.”
“What?” I ask. You never know what’s going to come out of her mouth.
“Is his John Thomas as big as his hands look?”
I stay silent as my lips turn up in a smirk before I laugh. “What the fuck? Who calls it a John Thomas? I swear I can’t with you.” But to not answer her question, yeah, he’s pretty fucking big and thick. So, so thick.
“I’m going to take your silence as a yes. Which is totally unfair, by the way. I don’t know if you’re forgetting who I am to you, but part of being best friends means we get each get descriptive details of what the other is fucking. This might be grounds for a demotion.”
“And who would replace me? You have no other friends.”
“That’s not true! I have Evan,” Delaney exclaims. “That’s more than you have.”
“I just don’t like people.” I frown, hating that she’s right. In theory, I would love to be a people person, have a big group of friends, and always have some event to go to or a vacation to go on. But once I actually hang out in a group, it’s a big fat no for me. Not having to deal with the cattiness, jealousy, and backstabbing will always outweigh my need for a friend group.
Delaney snorts. “That’s the understatement of the year. Alright, I’m done. Where are we getting these done?”
“Black Raven Ink,” I answer as I check out her work in the mirror. The bruises from Matteo’s fingerprints and hand are even more defined now that they’re outlined in black Sharpie. “You know Ink would lose his shit and never talk to us again if he found out we went somewhere else.”
Black Raven Ink is the tattoo shop in Ravenna Heights. It’s owned by Ink, a member of the Dirty Devils MC. He’s won multiple awards and is constantly raved about. I also kind of think he’ll be the only one who won’t bat an eye about what I want tattooed. If anyone would get it, it’s him.
“Now, normally, I’d agree with you, but do you think Matteo will be okay with another man tattooing you? He seems a little… territorial.”
Oh, he one hundred percent is, but… “I think it’s a good way to keep the relationship spicy.”
Delaney busts out laughing, “I’m so glad I made a crazy bitch my best friend. It keeps things entertaining.”