Chapter Twenty-Nine
Matteo
Her scent is intoxicating. It takes everything in me not to throw her on the kitchen island and pound into her like a fucking savage.
Seeing her standing there in nothing else than one of my shirts fries my brain and instantly makes me rock hard.
Again. And when she crosses her arms over her chest, unknowingly pushing her tits out until I can make out her nipples through the material, I grit my teeth and fist my hands to not reach out and rip that thing off of her.
Seeing her sneak into my club in that goddamn dress threw me in a state of deep, dark rage.
I wanted to kill that fucker who coveted what’s mine.
I wanted to bash his head on the counter and rip his limbs off his body one by one with my bare hands.
And more than anything, I wanted to rip that ridiculously short dress off her and fuck her into submission.
So I did. She had pushed me too far and now there was no turning back. I couldn’t fight this darkness poisoning my blood anymore, I needed her to submit to me, to be mine.
Last night felt like…destiny. I couldn’t get enough of her, I craved her with every fucking atom of my being. So I took. Unapologetic, ruthless.
Had I gone too far? Probably.
Do I regret it? Absofuckinglutely not.
I need her like I need air to breathe and nothing is going to keep me from her, not even herself.
My eyes are locked on hers this morning, the amethyst depths pulling me in like gravity dragging a falling star. She is glaring at me, unafraid, unbroken. My hands start to shake, like some fucking junkie in front of his next fix.
She needs to eat , I remind myself.
After one last look and a deep inhale of her skin, I retreat. I turn to the counter to pick up what I had been preparing and set it on the island. Then I motion to a stool. She looks wary but sits down obediently.
I should have ordered her to sit on my dick…or my face .
The trembling of my hands intensifies.
Focus, fucker .
I slide the cup of coffee and the plate toward her. She eyes the offering and even though she makes a show of frowning, I see her eyes light up when she sees her usual breakfast—a cup of black coffee and a cream-cheese bagel. I’ve also placed fruits on the side of the plate.
“Eat,” I grind out and seat myself opposite her with my own cup.
She bites into the bagel, still glaring at me. A deep sense of satisfaction spreads in my chest, like every morning when I brought her food and she ate it with delight. It is a primal feeling, intense and all-consuming.
She pauses and looks down at her bagel. She frowns and looks up at me.
“This…bagel. It’s the same one you brought me every morning.”
I shrug, she’s right.
“You…didn’t buy them? You made them, every day?”
Right again. I take a sip of my coffee, weighing my words.
“Technically, I bought them—the bread comes from the bakery that caters for La Corte. The cream cheese is homemade by the Bonetti family in North End.”
She looks at me for several seconds and I practically hear the gears grind in her head.
Then her face shutters and she proceeds with eating.
And I can’t look away, noticing every little detail.
She licks a speck of cream cheese from her lower lip and I almost groan from the sight, fighting the lust-induced madness that is slowly pulling me under. I am rock hard and my throat is dry.
When she has eaten half of the bagel, she puts it down on the plate and I brace for the battle. She lets out a frustrated breath and looks at me.
“Matteo, I don’t know what I am doing here or what you want, but I need to get out, get back to work.”
“You will.” I try to keep my voice even and devoid of the madness that is drowning me from within. “Eventually.”
She frowns. “What does that mean? Later today? I have to go home, shower, dress and then I’ll come back to the office.”
Her eyes sweep fleetingly to the side in a telltale micro expression. Liar. Does she really think I’d let her go and disappear on me? Over my fucking dead body.
“You live here now, this is your home.” She obviously still hasn’t gotten the message.
She gapes at me and collects herself. “We both know I don’t live here, and you can’t keep me locked up.”
“Try me.” She will get used to the idea. In time. Eventually.
Her hand grips her cup so hard her knuckles turn white. As an enforcer, I’ve learned to read people, and right now she is thinking about throwing it at me. Fucking cute. I smirk.
That seems to incense her further and she jumps up, leaning over the island.
“What do you want from me?”
I raise an eyebrow. “I think that’s pretty clear.”
Her face turns bright pink and I have to chuckle. Her eyes are blazing, no doubt that if looks could kill, I would be dead by now.
“Why, Matteo?” She doesn’t back down, and I am impressed by her grit. “Why me? Why now?”
Because you’ve been haunting me from the day I saw you and I’ve been unable to think about anyone else.
Because you drive me fucking insane.
Because I need you more than the air I breathe.
I’ve tried to stay away, to leave you untouched by the darkness shrouding my life. But now that I have you in my grasp, I can’t let you go.
Because you have been mine since the moment I laid eyes on you.
“Why not?” I shrug. Coward.
“Because…” She lets out a long breath, as if preparing to explain quantum mechanics to a toddler.
“For one, it’s illegal to detain people against their will.
Secondly, what you are imagining, this”—she waves her hand from me to her—“thing between us, it’s not real and it’s wrong.
And thirdly, it’s even more immoral with you being in a relationship.
So let’s stop this before someone gets hurt. ”
Me in a relationship? What does she mean? I frown.
“I don’t have anyone except you, little ghost.” How could I? She’s the only one I want.
She sends me a cool look. “You really think I’m dumb, don’t you? Don’t lie, I saw you with Jade. I saw all her clothes in the closet.”
“Jade? I’m not in a relationship with her. Why the fuck would I?” I am getting fucking pissed.
She is glaring at me again. “Well whatever you label your…arrangement, bottom line is, you have someone. And it’s none of my business, unless it makes me the other woman. And I won’t do that.”
“There is no other woman, goddamnit,” I grit out between my teeth. Then it hits me. She saw me coming out of Jade’s apartment the other night. Jesus Christ, what a fucking idiot. Jade was right.
“What you saw the other night was me leaving after updating her on something I’m helping her with. I’m not sleeping with her, if that’s what you’re thinking. She’s my employee and a friend.”
She narrows her eyes at me, and suddenly my heart kicks in my chest.
Is she…jealous? I want to grab her, kiss her, fuck her until she sees that she is the only one for me.
She snorts. “You sure looked cozy for just a work relationship, and you keep her clothes in your condo.”
That’s it, my patience snaps.
I jump up, round the kitchen island before she can move and grab her arm to drag her after me through the bedroom into the closet. I release her so suddenly she stumbles back a step. My hands fly to the rack of clothes, yanking them off the hangers and throwing them to the floor at her feet.
“Do they look like Jade’s clothes to you?” I snarl, my voice low, dangerous. She freezes, wide-eyed and wary.
I can feel myself spiraling, but I can’t stop now. “Look at the goddamn labels, Erin. Jade is, what? Five-seven, five-eight? Does this look like something that would even fit her?”
Her gaze flickers to the tags but she doesn’t move to touch them.
“These,” I hiss, my voice breaking into something rawer. “I had them brought here the day after I found out you were the Ghost. The damn labels are still on.”
She gapes at me now.
I need to fucking breathe, to clear my head before I do something I might regret, like showing her just how deep my obsession with her goes. So I turn on my heel and stalk out of the room and out of the condo.