Page 52 of Ruthless Mr. Ricco
“Marry me, Brook.”
Reality crashes down on me.
I roll out of his arms and hide my wince as his cock slides free.I lament losing his hard, thick warmth, but I stumble to my feet and shake my head.He reaches for me.I shuffle backward.
“No,” I say.
He rises and stands on the far side of the bed.My heart gives a heavy thud as he stands naked before me for the first time.
“This was fun, but it won’t happen again,” I force the words from my throat as I turn toward the door.
Matteo stalks around the foot of the bed and grabs my arm before I reach the hall.I hiss as my still healing bruise throbs.He releases me but shifts his body to block my retreat.
His cum trails down my inner thigh.
“Don’t try to run away from me, little rabbit,” he growls.
“You left me first!”
We both freeze.For a moment, I don’t understand my own words, but then memories flash through my mind and I relive the worst moments of my life.The world fades away, and I’m right back in the halls of our high school.
“I kissed you and then you shoved me away, called me a shallow, selfish bitch, and accused me of missingonetest questionon purposeso you’d have a better score.”I can’t stop the tsunami of words any more than I can stop the hurt barreling through me.“Then you turned your back and walked away, just like my father did only six days before.”My breaths saw in and out of my lungs as acid eats through my veins.“I needed you, but you ignored me.You literally looked the other way every time I walked into the room.”I step forward and shove him with all my might.He doesn’t budge.My fury increases tenfold.“It hurt worse than when my father threw us out because Mama had cancer.He didn’t want us anymore, but you?”I shove him again.He grabs my shoulder but doesn’t push me away.“You hated me because I didn’t live up to your expectations.”I slam the side of my fist against his sternum.“You treated me like I was worth less than the dirt under your shoes.Just.Like.My.Father.”I punctuate each word with an angry thump against his chest.
He pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me.Held against his naked body, all the fight drains from me, and I cover my face with my hands and cry.
When I finally stop sobbing, he rests his cheek on the top of my head and tightens his arms around me.
“I didn’t know anything about your father, Brook.I thought you were choosing my brother over me,” he says.
Incredulity flows through me.I wipe the tears from my face and lift my head.
“Your brother?I hardly spoke two words to Angelo throughout all of high school.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw, but he runs his hand down my spine as though to soothe a wild animal.
“I saw you together in the hall.”
I scoff.
“What, on the rare occasion I walked past him?I—”
“You were clinging to him.”Bottomless fury swirls in his eyes, but his hold remains comforting, not stifling.“He threw his arm around your shoulders, tugged you close, and walked away.You went willingly,” he says through gritted teeth.
“What?Nothing like that ever happ—” A vague memory tugs at the edge of my mind.The bell rang.Noisy halls.My phone buzzing in my pocket.
My mom’s voice.My world came crashing down.Someone took me to the counselor’s office.
“I didn’t choose him.I didn’t even realize it was him who helped me that day.”
At his skeptical eyebrow lift, I push against his chest.He doesn’t let me go.I use my anger to hide my relief.
“My mother called and told me she had stage-three breast cancer.I stopped processing.My brain just shut off.The next two days were a blur.Then my father kicked us out and you—”
I squeak as Matteo bends, hooks an arm behind my knees, and lifts me off my feet.Cradled to his naked chest with my body aching in new places from his sensual mastery and my heart raw and exposed, I tuck my face against his shoulder and dig my nails into his flesh.
He wraps me in the comforter and settles me in his lap as he sits on the edge of the bed.
“I’m sorry, Brook.I failed you.Let me make it up to you.”
