Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sophia
He had left, kissing me on the forehead before he went, and saying the words I’d thought I would never hear again.
I love you.
Sure, he hadn’t finished the sentence, but that’s what he was about to say, and it had taken all my self-control not to reach for him and say it back. Because I did love him, and that’s what made this situation so impossible.
My brother wanted me to murder the only man I had ever loved, and he was using my daughter to make me do it.
The moment I heard the elevator doors whoosh closed, I had gone into the bathroom and taken the vial from the packet of sanitary products where I had hidden it.
Sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, I stared down at it nestled in my hand.
My brother wanted me to kill his best friend. He wanted me to cook him food and slip this clear liquid inside, and then he wanted me to watch as the life slipped out of Matteo’s eyes.
I would be hunted for the rest of my life if I did it, but more than that, I would be haunted by it. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
And at the same time, how was I going to ever be free of this world if I didn’t do it? What kind of life would Lily have?
Would I ever see my daughter again?
The threat to her life had been clear. I did this for Gio, or I would never see her again. He hadn’t said it outright, but that had been his message anyway.
My brother, whom I’d once idolized, was using my daughter as leverage, and I had to choose who to save.
Her or the man I loved.
There wasn’t even a decision to be made, not really, because I couldn’t tell Matteo. He would wipe Gio off the map, and I couldn’t live with that, either. He was my brother. I might not like him very much, but he was still family, and that had to mean something.
Groaning, I closed my hand around the vial, so the rounded edges cut into my palm.
It felt like enemies were pressing in on all sides, and I had no idea who I could trust.
Except Nat. I had always been able to trust Nat. Wrapping the vial in tissue paper, I shoved it back into the box and hid it in the back of the cupboard.
I could trust Nat, and she needed to know what was going on here. She needed to be warned that my brother might come after Lily so she could get her to safety,
If I could get a message to them, it would make it easier to think and decide what to do.
I’d gotten halfway across the bedroom before I remembered I didn’t have a phone. And there was no way I could make that call even if Matteo had given me one. He would be checking who I contacted, and any calls would be recorded. Just like he was probably recording everything I said and did in here.
A wave of unease swept through me. Were there cameras? Panic tightened my chest. Had he just watched me in the bathroom?
But no, I knew there had to be cameras, but he wouldn’t put them in my bathroom. I knew him well enough to know that.
I could ask to make a call to one of the guards downstairs, but that was even more of a stupid idea, so that left me with one choice. I could head into the city and try to sneakily make that call, or I could forget it completely and hope that my brother wasn’t actually threatening his niece’s life.
Turning on my heel, I flopped down onto the bed face first. My small hands beat at the covers. And once I started, I couldn’t stop.
A sob ripped its way out of my throat, a wet garbled sound of pure rage. I cried and I punched until there was nothing else for me to give.
I felt spent, completely void of anything but the lack of clarity.
WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO?
Nothing, I told myself and sucked in a deep breath. I wasn’t going to do anything yet. I needed to have a clear head to make such an important decision, and that was one thing I didn’t have.
I’d sleep, and in the morning, when I’d calmed down, I would make a decision.
It was like the moment I had decided I needed sleep, I was suddenly exhausted. All of the drama and emotions of the last few hours had taken their toll on me.
I stripped quickly, throwing my sweatpants and tee toward the hamper, and climbed into bed, nestling down into the thick, downy blankets.
The pillows were cool, and I could smell Matteo on his side of the bed, so that’s where I lay down. My eyes closed, and within seconds, I was drifting.
And honestly, the oblivion of sleep was welcome.
I don’t know how long I slept for. The room had been dark when I had crawled into bed, and it was still dark when I became aware that something warm and wet was trailing up my inner thigh.
Kisses.
Someone was kissing their way up my legs.
It felt good. But not as good as what they were doing between my legs. Soft but insistent fingers slid up and down. And I was already wet.
Moaning, I reached for the head I knew belonged to Matteo. He was tangling fingers into my hair even as he slipped two deep inside of me, curling them against my G-spot with practiced ease.
My back arched off the bed, and his hand came down on my lower stomach to keep me in place.
I was so close already. How long had he been here before I woke up?
How long had he been playing with my body to get me this close?
I should have been mortified, but I wasn’t.
God help me, I wasn’t, because waking up like this was the hottest thing I had ever experienced. There was something thrilling about him having complete control over me, and me allowing it.
The next moan that escaped my lips was louder, and there was no way he hadn’t heard it. But for all I knew, I had been moaning and grabbing for his head all of this time.
Another finger slipped inside of me, and his movements became harder and faster. The sound of his groaning breaths was only slightly louder than the wet, greedy sound my pussy was making.
I would have been embarrassed if it hadn’t been for the murmurs of approval leaving Matteo's lips.
“That’s it,” he cooed. “You take my fingers so good, baby.”
My insides fluttered.
“Matteo…” His name left my lips in a moan before I could stop myself. My orgasm flowed over me, slowly at first. My whole body was tensing and relaxing in bursts that sent stars erupting before my open eyes.
“That’s it, princess.” He didn’t seem to hear me. The bed moved as he shifted his weight. “Cum for me just like that. I love watching you take me, Sophia. I love watching you fall apart for me.”
He continued his movements, harder and faster, until the orgasm deepened.
A never-ending pleasure rocked my body, so intense it bordered on painful. My body twitched and spasmed, and my small, needy moans turned into something wilder because that’s exactly how I felt.
Wild. A woman with no limits.
“I don’t believe them.” His thumb brushed against my clit, just as I was calming down, and my soul left my body. Then, there was nothing.
No me, and no him.
There was only pleasure.
“I don’t believe…”
What didn’t he believe? What he was saying didn’t make sense, but before I could catch my breath and ask him, he dropped onto his stomach, hooking his hands around the tops of my thighs and pulling my greedy and very needy pussy down onto his mouth.
His lips suctioned over me and his tongue swiped and licked everywhere.
My body jerked violently, and my mind scattered. What could be better than this?
I couldn’t do what my brother asked me. I couldn’t. There was no way I could take this much passion away from the world.
So I would just have to find another way.
“Matteo.” My hands tightened in his hair, tangling it between my fingers. I ground against his face, riding it.
Losing myself in it.
Hips bucking, I lost myself in the feel of his hands and his lips and his magically skilled tongue that seemed to know just how I needed to be licked and sucked.
“You taste like sunshine and happiness.” Matteo swirled his tongue around my clit, coaxing it from its little hood.“You taste like the only happiness I have ever known.”
He sucked that little bud into his mouth.
“Matteo!” I screamed his name because it was the only one I could remember. Mine didn’t matter.
There was only him.
Mouth latched over my aching, dripping pussy, Matteo's eyes snapped open.
We stared at each other over the length of my naked body, and I sucked in a breath.
Would he stop now or…
Slowly, he lifted his face, a wild look in his eyes, and plunged two fingers back into me, working them hard.
No, he wasn’t going to stop.
An almost maniacal smile spread across his glistening lips. “I was wondering when you were going to stop pretending to sleep, Sophia.”