Chapter Thirty-Six
Erin
The apartment is too quiet as I sit cross-legged on the soft leather couch, with my laptop perched on my lap.
I stalk the message board where I intercepted the message to Geryon, hoping to catch another one, but until now there has been none.
With nothing to hold my attention, my eyes wander aimlessly over the living room.
The place is pristine, not a speck of dust or furniture out of line thanks to a very thorough cleaning crew stopping by every day, or other day, when no one is in.
How they know when we are out and how long they have before we are back is beyond me.
Speaking of being out, Matteo has still not been back from his work meeting over at Damiano’s office building.
I put the laptop away and stand up, feeling abnormally restless.
The walls are closing in on me, the silence is stifling.
I walk to the enormous windows and press my hand against the glass, watching the harbor far below.
I briefly consider going out, now that I am not a prisoner anymore since Matteo granted me rights to unlock the door with my palm.
But I decide against it, not because going out isn’t appealing, but because going out with the two huge bodyguards that are now shadowing me as per Matteo’s decree doesn’t sound appealing in the slightest. I tried leaving and returning to the condo at The Atrium once, but it only resulted in Matteo showing up, kicking the door in and hauling me over his shoulder to carry me down to his waiting car and driving back to his penthouse.
The next day he sternly informed me that he had the lock changed and it would be useless to try to return there.
My belongings had been moved to the penthouse the first week I forcibly moved in with my captor.
Sometimes I try to label whatever this…situationship is.
Is he my jailer? Most certainly. My boss?
He is indisputably bossy. Lover? That would mean I had a choice, wouldn’t it?
I groan. The lines are so blurred and I am unable to grasp the whole picture, from what we are, to where we are going.
If we are going somewhere. Maybe he is merely obsessed over a new toy and will kick me to the curb once he is done playing with me?
I lean my forehead on the cool glass, feeling my mind spiraling out of control.
I am once again the little girl that no one wants, the one that gets too easily overlooked or discarded.
But before I can spiral further, I hear the lock of the front door disengage and I straighten, wiping away the tears I hadn’t felt running down my face. Then I turn to the door.
And freeze.
Matteo is standing in the doorway, ushering someone in. A woman. No, not any woman… Jade.
Once he has closed the door, he turns around and immediately spots me. He is on me in three strides, tangling his fingers in my hair to tilt my head back and claim my mouth in a possessive kiss. I stiffen.
What does he think he is doing? Hot red fury is submerging me like a tidal wave and I push him back, glaring up at him. He doesn’t release me right away but curls his other hand around my waist to pull me closer.
“Missed me, little ghost?” he murmurs against my lips and for a moment I wonder if he has lost his mind. He brought his mistress here and acts as if— Wait …
My blood runs cold.
I am the mistress in this scenario, not Jade…
Panic claws its way up my throat, and I feel like I will throw up.
I turn my head toward the door and see Jade watching us with curiosity.
When she sees me watching her, she sends me a smile and a small wave.
This is all too much. I push Matteo back with a cry and stumble backward when he releases me with a surprised look on his face.
“What…what does this mean?” I manage to breathe out through my constricted throat.
Matteo frowns and looks over at Jade, then back at me. “You have met Jade, haven’t you? She told me that you’ve met in The Atrium.”
That’s when I snap.
“You sicko,” I scream. “If you think that I will stay here and watch you and your girlfriend make out, or play whatever vile games you have in mind, you have another think coming.” I bolt to the door, ready to push Jade aside if I have to, but before I reach it, big hands grab my arm and whirl me around.
With a growl, Matteo has me pinned against him, arms caging me in so that I am plastered against his chest, unable to move or run.
“Enough, stop this tantrum now ,” he rasps darkly against my temple. “You don’t hear a damn thing when I tell you, so I brought someone who’ll make you listen.”
He presses an angry kiss on my temple and releases me so suddenly that I stumble. Then he turns and walks to the entrance, sending Jade a meaningful look before slamming the door shut on his way out.
And I am alone with his…girlfriend? Lover? Significant other?
“Hello, Erin.” Jade’s soft voice rips me out of my spiraling thoughts. “It is nice to see you again.”
I gape at her. How can she be so cool with what just went down?
I feel my face heat from shame and anger.
“Hello, Jade,” I mutter and start to walk toward the kitchen.
Coffee. I need a coffee despite it being already late.
I turn on the coffee maker and open the cupboard to retrieve two mugs.
When I turn to the kitchen island, I see that Jade has made herself comfortable on one of the stools and is watching me unravel with an unreadable look on her face.
I hold up a mug to her, but she shakes her head with a smile.
“I’d rather prefer red wine if you have it, please,” she quips, voice amused. I shrug and go to retrieve a bottle of red wine from the wine refrigerator and put it in front of her with a glass and a corkscrew. She can damn well open it herself since she should be the one living here.
Once I have my steaming cup of coffee, I sit on a stool in front of her and deeply breathe in the grounding aroma of freshly brewed coffee. I brace for whatever she has to say. She doesn’t wait for long.
“I asked Matteo to come to talk to you,” she starts.
I don’t reply. Here it is, the moment she will tell me to scram . The worst part is that she doesn’t even look flustered, as if my presence doesn’t threaten her in the slightest. She must be sure of her position in Matteo’s life. Humiliation makes my face burn, even though I try to keep my mask.
“You seem to think that he and I are dating,” she goes on, smiling when she sees my frown. “We are not. Not at all.”
I inhale sharply, my mind blanking out. “B-but… I saw him, and you…” I mutter in confusion.
“Yes, the other night you saw him come out of my apartment, but it was not what you seem to think. He is helping me on a…private matter. And I asked him to tell you why, but he is stubborn, he says he won’t drag you into this. So I’ll tell you myself.”
I remain silent, letting her continue while my brain tries to catch up.
“Matteo is investigating the disappearance of my girlfriend.”
My jaw drops to the floor. I hadn’t seen that coming.
“You’re…” I start, then the main information slams into my mind. “Your girlfriend disappeared? What happened?”
Her eyes cloud over with sadness and worry. “I don’t know, she never came back from work a few weeks ago and no one has seen her since. Matteo is doing what he can to locate her, but so far nothing.”
“I…I’m sorry,” I mumble. God, I have misinterpreted everything and now I must seem like a total heartless bitch.
I let my head drop on the counter with a groan.
Shame crawls up my neck as I lift my head to apologize.
“I am sorry for thinking that you and him… For lashing out at you. God, I feel so stupid.”
“Don’t worry, he should have told you right away. He is my friend, but I must say that he can be a bit stubborn sometimes.” We both chuckle at that.
“Have you known him for long?” I ask after a few beats of comfortable silence of each of us sipping our drink.
“Four years. He saw me in the street when I got kicked out from my former job because I refused to…accommodate a male client who got too insisting. I was alone and frightened. Matteo gave me a place to stay and hired me, although I told him that I refused to let men touch me. He told me that if anyone touched me without my consent in his club, male or female alike, I should tell him so he could take care of it.”
“That sounds like him,” I murmur and look down into my now empty cup, feeling my heart melt. Goddamnit, this man …
Jade reaches over the counter to take my hand and squeezes softly. “He’s crazy about you. Anyone with eyes and ears can tell.”
My eyes snap up to hers and I find them locked on me, a smile playing on her lips.
“A-about that I don’t know…” I stutter, “but he is crazy, that’s undeniable.” I finish with a sheepish shrug.
That has her snort, and suddenly we end up laughing uncontrollably. After I’m able to breathe again and have wiped away the tears from my eyes, I stand to retrieve a wine glass and hold it out to Jade so she can pour me some.
We talk like old friends for over an hour before Matteo comes back in. When he sees us sitting and talking, his shoulders drop as if in relief and he walks over to me to cage me in from behind, nuzzling my neck until I am too distracted to keep track of the conversation.
Jade excuses herself with a sly smile and a wink my way, and leaves after she assured Matteo that she said what she had to say to me. Then she is gone, and I am alone with him. He swivels the stool around so that I am facing him and looks into my eyes, expression serious.
“Is everything all right?” His eyes roam over my face.
I nod, suddenly overwhelmed by his presence, by the scent of his cologne, by the heat radiating off him.
But most of all, it’s the look on his face that undoes me.
There is something raw and unguarded in the way his dark irises are locked on mine, as if I was the only thing existing and I held all the answers.
I slowly reach out, my fingers trembling as they tangle into his hair.
He goes still beneath my touch, as if afraid to breathe, afraid this might vanish if he moves.
I pull his face down to mine and kiss him, trying to convey everything I can’t say into that kiss.
All the longing, the fear, the pull that’s been tearing at me since the first time our eyes met.
The ache of wanting him, the maddening tenderness that’s somehow crept in between the chaos. And love, terrifying and real.