Chapter 18
Francesca
Who’s sick joke was it to plan this damn meeting at the hotel that held my wedding reception?
Matt’s, of course!
As I expected, my heart sank to my feet as soon as I saw him.
Just the outline of his stupid, perfect body sent shivers down my spine.
A mix of hate, lust, longing, and love, all swirling in my already uneasy stomach. I had been trying to prepare for this very moment, mentally training myself not to react. Not to feel. But it was like a punch straight to the gut, the oxygen being knocked out of me, completely unable to breathe.
Matt’s gaze dropped to my feet before returning, the whole world stopping the moment his eyes locked with mine. Cliché? Not even one bit, because that was exactly what it felt like.
I was frozen by the entrance, completely struck by him. His presence, his eyes that roamed all over me before they rested on my face. In them, I saw a glint of sadness just a second before he looked back down onto the counter into the empty glass he was holding. I wanted to hate him, but that look made me feel nothing of the sort, and it hurt even more.
My uncle made his way up to him as I shook my head out of the daze and walked straight to the front desk, anxiously waiting for the moment I had him out of my sight.
The flight from Detroit to New York was short, but somehow, I felt like I’d been traveling for hours on end now and just needed to rest a little. All the anticipation was taking its toll on me, along with the whirlwind of emotions constantly driving their way through my body, draining the life out of my every cell.
I could feel his eyes on me as I waited for my key card. As hard as I struggled not to peek over my shoulder, at one point, I couldn’t help it anymore. Matt had this magnetism that drew me to him even when I didn’t want to. And so, I looked and saw that handsome, smug face again, looking straight at me with a blank expression as my uncle spoke to him. A year of living with him was enough for me to tell that Matt wasn’t registering a single word he said.
I pushed down the rising pride together with the sheepish smile that threatened to spread. The effort I made to look good was garnishing the desired reaction.
“Mrs. Battaglia, here’s your key.” The sound of that name referring to me was like a knife being stabbed into an already open wound. “You’ll be in the penthouse suite 1905, on the 19th floor.” The friendly voice from the receptionist snapped me from my stare session with my ex-husband.
“Thank you…Um…but it’s actually Miss Amato.” I corrected, my heart squeezing tight as I said those words for the first time. “But my uncle had booked a normal room, not the penthouse suite. Can you please confirm?”
“Yes, ma’am, we know. Last-minute bookings had us all booked, and that means a free upgrade for you. I hope that’s okay.” He replied, handing me the same card.
“Well, yes, I guess so. Thank you. My uncle over there will also be checking in. Will you be so kind as to tell him that I’ve headed up to my room already?”
“Sure, ma’am. No problem.”
I needed to put as much distance as possible between myself and Matt these next few days. I’d already have to face him during the meeting. There’s nothing forcing me to do so outside of it.
I walked over to the elevator, praying it wasn’t too far up. I needed to get out of this lobby and settled into my room. My stomach had flipped and dropped more than I had expected at this semi-encounter, and I was feeling a little queasy on top of the tiredness that had taken over me since I set foot out of that plane.
I was in desperate need of some restoring rest before having to face Matt again.
The meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, giving me some time to be with Alison and Jamie. It’s been two months since I last saw them, and it was extra pain that added to the rest of this whole divorce deal, missing my two best friends.
We hadn’t spoken as much as we normally would have, and that was entirely on me and my solo retreat. My demons needed solitude to be tamed back into submission. So dinner and drinks were planned for tonight. Absolutely no men allowed, even though I held no grudges against Liam.
I finally stepped into the massive suite with an impressive view over Central Park.
A sharp pang of pain cut through my heart as it reminded me of the exact view we had at our first apartment, the one Matt had bought for us before the wedding.
Every little thing here reminded me of him, or should I say, us, making it much more difficult to heal and overcome this dark stage of my life. Was this his plan? Rub the memory of us into my healing scar?
If I had ever regretted going back to Detroit, feeling him in everything around me here made it clear that I’d made the right decision. There was no room for recovery here.
I let my body sink into the comfortable mattress, all my stress and tiredness transferring onto it, but I still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in my stomach. I kicked my shoes off and scooped up into a ball, hoping to fall asleep for a little while, and thankfully, it wasn’t long until I did.
Peaceful darkness swallowed me, helping me regain some of my lost energy, but in a replica of every other night, the dreams were back.
Every damn night, he’d slip into my dreams uninvited. Sometimes, they were light and happy, but most of the time, they were the exact opposite.
Nightmares that fed off of reality, sucking the breath out of me, making me wake up a complete mess. They were so vivid that it was hard to tell the difference between a dream and reality. So lucid that I could feel him, smell him even after I had woken up.
But right now, even as I was sleeping, something was bothering me deeply. I sensed someone was watching me sleep like someone was right there next to me.
I could feel the presence, as if those eyes were physically set on me, gliding against my skin. I suddenly woke up with a jolt, sitting up on the bed, and that's when I saw him.
Lurking in the darkness with just the dim lights from the city below illuminating the room and his hard, handsome features. He was sitting in the chair with his right ankle leisurely placed on top of his left knee.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I quickly spat.
“I came to see you,” Matt replied, as if it was no big deal that he was sitting in my room uninvited, watching me sleep. “I saw how you twisted and slightly moaned. Were you dreaming of me again? He asked, standing up and stalking his way over to the bed.
“No. And even if I was, it would always be a nightmare,” I lied, crawling back towards the headboard.
“Don't lie to me, Gattina .” Matt placed his knee on the mattress, making it dip under the pressure of his weight. My heart raced madly at the dangerous glint in his eyes that matched the exact one I’d seen a month ago.
How far into the deep end had Matt dived that this was him now? So dark, it showed on his features.
“Get the hell out of my room.”
Before I could even finish, he was hovering over me, both of my hands pinned under his to each side of my body. Matt straddled me, completely restraining me from moving a single inch while I fought to free myself of his stronghold.
The more I thrashed, the tighter his grip got, and the more my heart raced.
Just like every other time, it wasn’t fear. It was exhilaration. Anticipation. Raw fucking need.
How stupid can you be, Francesca?
“I'm gonna give you another chance to tell me the truth, Gattina. I suggest you take it.” His voice was merely above a whisper as he lowered his face closer to mine. “Were you dreaming about me?”
“Fuck you, Matt. Get off of me!” I shouted angrily.
In response to my outburst, Matt lifted my hands above my head and held both of them with one of his. I twisted under him, trying as hard as I could to free myself from his grasp, but my body wanted nothing but to be right here under his. I had to force myself to shake him off, but still to no avail.
With his strong frame, Matt held me down with ease, and this little fight was doing a number on my already throbbing pussy.
With his free hand, he traced his fingers down my jaw before settling his palm around my neck and slightly squeezing.
“You should know by now that bad girls get punished. Good girls get fucked. What’s it gonna be, Gattina ?” He whispered against my skin, making my breath hitch in my chest and my skin erupt into a million goosebumps of pleasure.
“Leave me alone, Matt. What the hell are you even doing here?” I tried again, my voice failing to deliver the harsh tone I tried to put into those words.
“I came to show you who you still belong to, Gattina .”
“Don’t call me that.”
“ Gattina. ” He taunted with his lips set against my ear before sinking his teeth into my sensitive skin.
Pushing my legs apart with his, Matt placed himself between my thighs, pressing his hard cock into me, hitting that sweet spot that made my eyes roll to the back of my head.
“I came to fuck you.”
Before I had completely registered those words, his wet lips were on mine, relentlessly kissing me into a heaven of relief. Matt’s kisses were like returning home after years away.
His tongue teased mine with hunger while his teeth grazed my lips, pulling the bottom one into his mouth. I was frozen to this spot, too afraid to move and break this spell.
The hand he had on my throat roamed down my chest and between my breasts while Matt placed hungry kisses all over my neck. I arched my back in pleasure, searching for more of his touch, trying to fuse our bodies together.
In response, Matt thrust his erection into me again, the pressure on my clit making me release a telling moan that I should have restrained.
“You like that, don’t you? That I’m so fucking hard for you it hurts.” He pushed against me again, making me see stars behind my closed eyes.
Between the harsh and breathless kisses and his grinding thrusts, I was becoming a lustful, moaning mess in his hands. I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t push him away anymore because I wanted this. I wanted him.
His rough hand roamed down my body, touching every inch of my skin before tucking his hand under my pants, all the way between my thighs. One prying finger told him everything he already knew to be true. I was enjoying this much more than I should.
“See? You are mine, Gattina . Look how wet you are for me already.” He hissed against my lips as he grazed his fingers up and down my pussy before pulling his hand out of my pants and licking his fingers clean. “Hmm…You taste absolutely divine.”
I couldn’t help but moan at his words and his actions. We did nothing but kiss, and he had me completely undone and wrapped around his fingers. I tried to get out of this state and go back to hating him, but all I wanted was for him to tear my clothes off and do whatever he pleased with me and to me.
“I came to show you that you are mine, Francesca. I came here to fuck you and remind you who you belong to. Most of all, I came here to break your heart again.”
With a sharp inhale, I woke up.