Page 16 of Hated Vows

At this he blinks. “You talk too much. Should have fucking gagged you and kept you locked up.”

“I talk because I’m freaked out and nervous and kidnapped. I just witnessed a brutal murder, you jerk. Then I had to clean it up! And I want to know what happened to Tatiana because no woman deserves that.” And to be honest my pulse is all over the place with shock and with fear and with him.

Matteo grunts a sigh. “Fuck me. At least we agree on one thing.” He takes me by the arm and marches me into his bathroom, which is overly masculine in black marble. My eyes are drawn to the beautiful black bath that stands center stage. There’s space for two in that one. “Now strip and get in the shower.”

“No!” I jerk away and he’s forced to let go of my arm. I’m not sure what is going on in my head or why I’m defying him. It’s as if I have a death wish or something and want to get it over and done with. But I know that deep down I want to push him to see how far he’ll go with me. I’ve done everything he wanted me to do, but this is where I draw the line.

“What did you say?”

“I said no.”

“Do you want me to help you?” His tone tells me it won’t end well for me.

“No, I want you to leave so I can shower in private.”

At this he drops his head back and laughs. It transforms his face. Laughter lines cup his mouth, and I can’t help but stare at his perfect teeth. His dark eyes spark as he folds his arms over the wide expanse of his chest and leans back against the double vanity and just stares at me. “You, kitten, are playing with fucking fire,” he says as the laughter dies from his eyes, his mouth still pulled into a cynical smirk.

“I figure I’m dead if I do, and I’m dead if I don’t.”

Matteo doesn’t move from where he’s settled against the vanity, arms crossed, in a perfectly cut dark wool suit and black shirt that doesn’t show blood at first glance. I’m standing in front of him, chest heaving, freckled with all kinds of gunk, at an impasse. And he says nothing.

Oh God. I’m so dead.

I watch as the shadows on his face somehow darken and when he leans into me, his eyes burning into mine, I have the urge to run and hide. My question took him to a place I don’t want to go.

“Understand this, kitten.” A chill shoots down my back at the tone of his voice. “We work on a need-to-know basis at Il Consiglio. You don’t need to know that Tatiana wasn’t that guy’s first, or his last. You don’t need to know that the doctors did what they could for her, but that she has permanent damage that makes it hard for her to walk. You don’t need to know that she’s addicted to painkillers and meth and will most likely overdose at some point.” Matteo uncrosses his arms and reaches for a strand of my hair. “What you do need to know is that he didn’t only break her body, he broke her spirit too. And for that, he got fucked up the ass. If he didn’t die today, we would have gone at him again tomorrow until he did.”

I nod, sensing the residue of his anger at Tatiana’s fate vibrating in his touch. I don’t want to show any weakness in front of this man, but the day has been too much. I want to weep for Tatiana but force down my frayed emotions. Still, tears which have been sitting shallow for hours push up and I blink. I’m overly conscious of his fingertips playing with my hair, the gentleness of his touch, always incongruous with everything he says and does. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Me too.” He gathers my hair away from my neck and his gaze drops to where he left a hickey earlier. He brushes his thumb over my cheek, catching a stray tear, and runs it down to the bruise on my neck. “Now be a good girl and strip so you can shower. It’s late.”

I bite my lip to compose myself, his incessant request jerking me back to the present. “I won’t. I’m naked underneath.”

“You are?” Clearly this is news to him. “What happened to your bikini?”

“Burley confiscated it earlier. It has too many strings, apparently.”

Matteo nods. “Yup. He’s a pro.” He pushes off the vanity. “Don’t be shy. Most college girls nowadays have an OnlyFans going on the side to pay for tuition.”

“I’m not most college girls.”

“True. Living the high life with Daddy owing Il Consiglio two million dollars, if you wondered how you got here.”

That same rage that swept up from out of nowhere when I tossed his phone across the living room hits me. “I have no life at all,” I hiss, my voice strained. “And now I’m as good as dead, thanks to you.”

“Well,” he says, unfazed, “let’s do something about that.” He reaches for the hem of my shirt, but I fight his hands off, grossed out by the texture and smell of dried vomit and the blood caking the soft fabric that grates my inner arms. I reek.

“Don’t. Please.”

“You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before, kitten,” he says, hands on his hips, feigning patience.

He’s toying with me.

I drop my gaze, too embarrassed with no clue where to look. Earlier all five brothers were there and stared at me when I crawled out of that safe room in my bikini, but somehow it was different. I was in fight-or-flight mode and couldn’t think beyond the next second’s survival. Somehow I’m still alive and this is much more intimate, one on one, just us.

“I’ve never been naked in front of… of anybody before.” Never mind a man. A man like him. Who looks like he eats pussy for breakfast. And right now there’s a glistening of moisture between my legs that will give away way too much.

“Fuck me. I think I just lost ten thousand dollars,” he grunts as he rakes his hands through his hair. “Why not?”

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