Chapter Twelve
Matteo
M y pulse only begins to level out once the door is closed behind Melody and she’s safely on the other side of it. Even then, I know that her safety is nothing but an illusion.
Images of Susana’s mangled body flash through my eyes. Now that Rocco is aware of her existence within my orbit, Melody is in danger. There’s unfortunately no backtracking. The best I can do is to downplay her importance and make him believe she’s inconsequential to me.
Rocco faces me and the look in his eye stiffens my spine. It’s one I know all too well, cruelty mixed with interest, and I want it pointed in any other direction but hers.
“What’s her name?”
I shrug, affecting indifference. “Not sure. I picked one at random from the group.”
“So she’s not yours then?”
Everything in me screams to answer that she is mine. That he better not look at her, let alone lay a fucking finger on her. That if he does, I’ll rip him to pieces, plan and consequences be damned. But possessiveness will work against me in this situation. It’ll only fuel him further in his sick, twisted games. So I shake my head disinterestedly.
And it fucking costs me.
“Nah, she’s nobody, I told you. Just someone I picked to scratch an itch.”
His sadistic eyes are searching as they land on me. He picks me apart, trying to see the truth behind the lie. Eventually, he says, “I’m not sure I believe you, brother. Since when do you have itches that need scratching? Father and I were starting to think you were a eunuch.”
Ever since Susana, I’ve been purposely discreet, keeping them far from his prying eyes to spare them her fate. The psychotic bastard has always wanted what was mine, but nothing more than my woman specifically.
My answering smile is sharp. “Some of us prefer quality over quantity.”
His features drop, his gaze hardening into his usual mask of brutality. “Then perhaps you’ll share said quality with your dear brother, won’t you, Matteo?”
I hide the way my fists clench from him.
“Like I said, I’ll let you know if she’s worth it.”
“Subconsciously, you must want to share. What other reason could you have for fucking your prize in my office?”
My teeth grind together so painfully, I’m surprised I don’t accidentally crush them into thousands of pieces.
The meeting my father called turned out to be entirely pointless, as most of them have been the past few months. When it’d ended, I’d ducked out, avoiding the customary post-meeting drinks and rushing back to Firenze . I was hoping to find something in Rocco’s office that I could use against him in my continued quest to sow seeds of doubts against him and our father.
Instead, I’d been shocked to find Melody looking through his drawers, seemingly engaged in the very same fact finding mission I’d set out on.
Logic, as well as every law in the Famiglia code of conduct, demanded that I kill her immediately for her betrayal.
The idea flashed through my mind for barely a second before I’d strangled it to death, disgusted by the very thought. I’d stayed away from her for two fucking weeks to cool the obsession that’d taken root inside me, and in a half hour, I’d fucked it all up.
Self-preservation doesn’t seem to exist where she’s concerned. No, the only thing my brain seems to give a shit about is that the bruising around her throat is gone, the perpetrator dealt with.
Our conversation is far from over. Melody is going to tell me who she is, why she’s here at Firenze , and what she was looking for in my brother’s study.
Rocco’s face twists into a nasty smile. “Oedipus has nothing on you when it comes to fucked up family dynamics.”
“Let’s not pretend you’re a stranger to fucking people in places that belong to me.”
Rocco’s eyes widen in surprise. And then he laughs. A raucous, hoarse, vicious laugh.
“Oh, so this is you getting even ten years later?” he asks, a mean twinkle in his eyes. “You’re right, Matteo. I’m no stranger to fucking in places that belong to you. Or fucking people that belong to you, for that matter.” His evil grin stretches and my fist itches to wipe it off his face. “It’s a good thing that girl doesn’t belong to you then, isn’t it?”
Refusing to rise to his obvious bait, but also unable to remain in his office with him for a moment longer without putting my face through his fucking jaw, I stalk past him and to the door.
“Matteo.” His voice stops me. He’s standing behind his desk, his arms spread out and his palms flat on the surface as he stares back at me with a look devoid of any emotion. “You know, I could have sworn I locked my office before leaving.”
Unease trickles down my spine, but I don’t show him any reaction except an uninterested shrug.
“You must be misremembering.”
He straightens and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a lighter. He lights a cigarette and I tense. He smirks.
“I must be.”
I walk out and slam the door shut behind me.
???
There’s the smart things I know I should do, and then there’s the dumb shit I actually do.
I should fire Melody immediately. Failing that, I should at the very least stay the fuck away to avoid bringing more unwanted attention to her. I should focus on continuing to weaken the Famiglia from the inside. I should set up an introduction with the woman who’s going to be my fiancée.
I should do a half dozen other things except seek Melody out, which is why when I settle in one of the private VIP rooms the next day and ask Enzo to send for her, he gives me a dark look.
“Just say it,” I sigh. “You look like you might explode if you don’t get the words out.”
“You’re playing with fire.” He, more than anyone, knows the weight that analogy carries with me.
“I’m going to question her about why she was in Rocco’s office yesterday.”
“Cool,” he retorts, dropping into the chair next to mine. “I’ll stay and help.”
“No.”
He shakes his head, laughing humorlessly. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think you do.”
I grit my teeth. “I’m not engaged yet, cugino .”
The look he gives me is beyond unimpressed. “This is about much more than just the engagement. It’s a lifetime’s worth of patience spent waiting for the right moment, and you’re finally poised to get everything you’ve ever wanted.” His words are heated, passionate. “I wouldn’t stand in your way if I thought this was just fun and nothing more, but I don’t think that’s what this is.”
“It is.” Melody is an itch that needs scratching. Once I have her writhing under me—and up against the wall, and riding me, and on her hands and knees, and about a dozen other positions I’ve dreamed of putting her in—then I’ll be able to forget about her and focus on our future.
“You forget I’ve been at your side every day since the night you met her.”
The next part goes unsaid. He’s witnessed enough of my actions since to doubt that I could easily give her up.
“You have my word.”
“Make sure she knows what this is too then,” he grunts. “She’s not half bad, I'd hate to see her get hurt in all this.”
“Are you developing a soft spot for her?”
“Relax.” Enzo rolls his eyes at the tension in my words. “She’s stronger than she looks. You know I respect a fighter.”
“She’s absolutely a fighter.” I rub my jaw and smile, remembering the way she punched me. “Question is, what is she fighting for?”
“If she’s willing to risk her life for it, then it must be as important to her as yours is to you.”
I hum in acknowledgment and he leaves.
When I left London, I moved in with Enzo and his family in Rome. We’d been close since childhood after I’d saved his life during a botched kidnapping attempt. He’s been unfailingly loyal to me since.
A month into my stay, with some time and reflection behind me, I sat him down and told him I wanted revenge. That I wanted Rocco and my father dead, the latter’s bloody crown ripped from his dead fingers and placed on my head.
Enzo had simply nodded and smiled.
“I’ve been waiting for this day,” he’d told me. “I’m with you until the end.”
And he has been. Every step of the way.
Melody won’t make me lose sight of our objective. Nothing will get in the way of my revenge or my ascension to Don.
I won’t let it.
However, I can’t deny that I am momentarily distracted. I barely slept, unable to think about anything other than Melody. The intoxicating taste of her skin on my lips had kept me awake through the night, with my hand wrapped around my cock and my head completed fucked with thoughts of her.
Staying away is no longer possible. Getting her the hell out of my system is the only option. The itch is getting scratched tonight, then I’ll be able to focus.
The curtains to the left of the stage move and the woman in question appears, wrapped in a two-piece red lace set that throttles my blood pressure. Possessive fury flames to life in my veins. It’s not one of the outfits I approved.
Melody’s eyes widen when she sees me. She spins, clearly intent on disappearing back behind the curtains.
“Stay.” The order whips from my lips and freezes her in place. The view of her ass in those red lace cheeky undies hardens my cock to stone. “Look at me.”
Melody turns slowly. When she faces me, her chin is jutted out in that defiant stance I’ve come to know from her.
She tries to hide it, but the fear is clear in her body. It’s there in the way she trembles almost imperceptibly and in the way her gaze wavers as she stares back at me.
It pisses me off. Unlike my brother, I don’t get off on fear.
“Come here.”
She hesitates, eyeing the distance between us critically and coming to the conclusion that she prefers her chances standing where she is.
“A hundred thousand pounds.”
Surely, that'll —
Melody swallows thickly, but ultimately decides I have a point. She walks off the elevated platform and down onto the main floor where I’m sitting. I spread my legs in the velvet chair, motioning for her to come stand between them.
Her teeth dig into her bottom lip, a pretty flush coloring her cheeks as she glances down at my parted thighs. I wonder if she knows I’m about fifteen seconds away from pinning her to the floor and making myself at home in her pussy. My cock throbs angrily against the band of my trousers, demanding release and access to the pretty girl in front of me.
“Why did you lie for me?” She sounds genuinely bemused. “Why didn’t you give me up to your brother?”
My eyes trace over the heat lingering on her cheeks.
“I probably should have.”
Her throat works. “Yes.”
“But I didn’t.”
“No. You didn’t.”
“Incredibly stupid of me,” I murmur, reaching with a hand to cup the back of her bare thigh. When my fingers make contact, an answering tremor runs through her. “Are you still afraid of me?”
Her jaw clenches decidedly. “I’m not afraid.”
Liar.
“Should I expect to have another knife pressed to my throat if I touch you?” She shakes her head slowly. “Should I search the mere suggestion of clothing you’ve chosen to wear today to confirm you’re as unarmed as you say?”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t armed, just that I wasn’t planning on using it on you.” Her lips twitch in amusement. “Although, the night is young.” Taut sexual tension fills the air and I make a low noise in my throat. “Why did you lie?” she asks again.
My hand inches slowly up her thigh towards the curve of her ass. Her eyes burn on mine. Her gaze has me so addicted that I’d commit a crime just to get her to look at me.
“If I knew the answer to that question, pavona , then maybe I wouldn’t lay awake in my bed at night, thinking about you.”
I should be questioning her like I told Enzo I would, but those thoughts are so far from my consciousness right now, I can’t even access them. The primal, animal part of my brain is in control and it’s clamoring for her , regardless of who she is or why she’s here.
Melody gasps when my fingers make contact with the curve of her ass. With my gaze still pinned on hers, I curl my fingers under the fabric and reach beneath it to cup her ass, watching with greedy eyes as her pupils dilate and expand.
“What’s your name?” I growl. The thought of calling her by a name that isn’t hers as I touch her body is suddenly unbearable to me.
Her eyes darken, moving between mine. I’m not sure what she needs to see in my gaze to make a decision, I’m not sure if she finds it, all I know is that I’m hooked before she’s even said a word.
Then her lips part and she says, “Valentina.”
Her answer is breathy and soft and shoots straight to my dick. My hand tightens on her ass and she moans softly.
“Another lie?” I ask, hooded, heavy eyes dropping to her lips. I need to know.
“Obviously,” she whispers.
A startled gasp escapes her when I yank her to me. She grabs on to my shoulders for support.
“That’s too bad,” My voice vibrates as I peer up at her. “It’s beautiful. It suits you.”
And it does. She looks like a Valentina. Beautiful and lethal at the same time, like a prickly red rose.
Valentina. Valentina. Valentina .
I want to chant it aloud, to see how it feels on my lips and on my tongue. Even if it isn’t her actual name, it’s closer to her real one, that I’m sure of.
She was never a Melody. But she’s a Valentina.
Sweet and pretty and thorny.
Already mine .
The muscles of my stomach constrict, the greedy ache to possess her overwhelming now. I grab her other cheek with my free hand, enjoying the way her eyes flutter closed.
If she’s this reactive to an initial caress, what will she be like when I thrust my tongue in that wet pussy of hers and fuck it until she’s riding my face and coming on my mouth?
“I don’t like this outfit, pavona ,” I growl, glancing my thumb over her covered slit.
“Blame Enzo,” she gasps at the contact. “He told me to change into it before I came out here.”
A rumble rolls up my chest. So she wasn’t going to wear this for another man’s eyes. Just for me.
I’ll have to give Enzo a raise. He really is my best friend, even when he’s pissed at me.
“Why… Why did you ask for me?”
I drop my hands from her ass and lean back into my chair, chuckling softly when she stumbles forward a step after I release her. Dark, twisted satisfaction swirls proudly in my stomach seeing the way I affect her.
Valentina’s gaze tracks my hand as I reach into the pocket of my suit. The money clip lands on the table next to my chair with a loud metallic noise, the weight indicative of just how much money it contains.
Searching eyes stay on the clip for long moments before her gaze drags back to mine, a probing question pulsing in them. A slow grin stretches across my mouth, making her drag in a heavy breath.
“I want a dance.”