Page 73 of Beautiful Sinner

Our entire relationship was built on hidden glances and stolen moments. Now we have this whole house to ourselves and Viktor will surely find out the truth about me and Matteo soon enough, if Inessa hasn’t already told him. Things are going to become more chaotic and dangerous. Viktor will surely go on a warpath to get me back.

I wonder what he’ll think of me if Inessa tells him the truth about me and Matteo. Will he understand? Probably not. I knowmy brother. He’ll think I hurt him beyond repair. That I’m a stranger to him.

That’s why I want to return and explain everything myself but I also know that Viktor will lock me right up and kill Matteo without a second thought and then I’ll never get a chance at happiness.

That leaves me and Matteo, trying to figure out where our relationship stands now that he’s literally taken me from my home.

“Are you hungry?” he asks as both of us stand in the living room, not knowing what to say after Dante leaves.

I’m still in my wedding dress that I was supposed to marry Connor in. This whole thing is surreal.

“I am a little hungry,” I admit.

“I can make us some dinner.” He flashes me a warm smile and instantly makes me feel better. I care deeply for Matteo. I might already be in love with him. But I’m also conflicted over what he did. Taking me has only made things worse.

Matteo starts on dinner while I sit at the kitchen table. “Do you want some help?”

“I got this. You just rest. I know it was a hard day for you.” He starts chopping up cauliflower.

“It was a hard day for you too. You invaded my wedding. Kidnapped me.”

Slowly, he sets his knife down. “Are you angry at me for that?”

“I just wish I had the chance to explain things to Viktor. Now he’s going to think the worst of you and maybe even the worst of me! You weren’t supposed to attack my wedding. You were supposed to kill Connor before we even got to this point.” I motion down at my wedding dress. “None of this was supposed to happen.”

He sighs. “I am sorry, Julia. Like I said, Dante wanted to attack. I couldn’t stop him.”

“But you never had to tell him about my wedding in the first place.”

“Someone would have found out if it weren’t for me and if someone else told Dante, then Dante would have gone in that church and killed every last one of you without hesitation. It’s because of me you’re alive.”

A flare of anger hits me. I’ve never felt anger for Matteo at all before. It’s a strange sensation. “I should be grateful that I wasn’t killed?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Fine. You had no choice to attack my wedding. But you chose to take me here. You chose to throw me over your shoulder and took away my agency. You made this choice for us. For me.”

He roughly tosses the cauliflower into a pan. “If I hadn’t taken you, you would have gone back home with your family and Viktor would have married you to Connor right then and there. You’d be stuck with him forever if I hadn’t taken you. I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

“But Connor still could have been killed.”

“But he wasn’t!” he shouts. It’s the first time Matteo has ever shouted at me. I can’t help but flinch.

Matteo slowly sighs and comes over to me, kneeling before me. “Julia, I know you’re worried what your brother will think. But the reality is, you either would have ended up with another man forever that you didn’t love or the truth about us was going to come out. In the first case, you’re miserable forever. In the second case, your brother is upset. Because of our feelings for each other, it was never going to have a pleasant outcome. We’re together now. We have a chance to actually be together. Let’s make the most out of it.”

I look into his warm, brown eyes and the sincerity on his face and know he’s right. There was never going to be a good outcome to any of this. All I’ve wanted for these past few weeks is to bewith Matteo and now I get that chance. Ineedto make the most out of it.

If Viktor finds us and kills Matteo, then I’ll be upset that I never gave us the chance.

With a sharp inhale, I kiss him. It’s rough and raw. Matteo kisses me right back. Both of us are trying to consume the other one. To live inside the other one. To be as close as we can get.

He pulls me to my feet and wraps his arms around me, making me feel safe and warm. As long as I am with Matteo, I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine. I have to convince myself of that because the alternative is not something I want to even consider.

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” he murmurs against my lips. A flare of arousal hits me.

“We can’t have sex though. I’m waiting for my wedding night and we’re not married.”

“We don’t have to have sex. I just need to touch you.” There’s a desperation in his voice that I can understand.

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