Page 124 of Vicious Intentions
I don’t hesitate. The second Anna’s within reach, I pull her into my arms and sink down onto the seat behind me, gathering her against my chest as if she belonged there. As if she has always belonged there.
Raffaele lingers, standing over us, but I don’t look at him. I don’t acknowledge him at all. My entire world narrows to her. The soft rise and fall of her breathing. The warmth of her body pressed against my bare chest. The way her head fits so perfectly beneath my chin, as if she was made for this, for me.
This. This is all I’ve ever wanted. And for a brief second, nothing else in my life could ever measure up to what I’m feeling right now. Not power. Not vengeance. Not even the throne. Just her… in my arms.
I brush a strand of hair from her face, my gaze tracing every familiar line, every detail I thought I might never see up close without a phone screen in the way.
Beautiful. Mine.
“Nothing’s changed between us, Matteo.” Raffaele’s voice cuts into my thoughts, his frame still towering over us. “I will never forgive you for this. For any of it.”
“I know,” I murmur, unable to tear my gaze away from her.
“Fuck.” He exhales sharply before continuing. “You need to get your shit together, brother. You can’t look at her like this when we’re back in New York. If you do, everyone will know you’re in love with her.”
“She’s going to be my wife. A husband can look at his wife however he wants.”
“A husband can,” he agrees, his tone hard. “But not you. She’s a Romano, which means to the families, she’s the enemy. She will always be the enemy.”
I don’t add anything to his statement. I don’t want to think about any of it. Not now. Not when Anna is finally in my arms.
“You’re so fucking screwed, and you don’t even know it,” Raffaele scoffs. “It’s your funeral, Matteo. I won’t shed a tear either way.”
With that, he turns and heads for the cockpit, instructing the pilots to return to New York.
“You hear that,vita mia,” I whisper, softly brushing my knuckles along her cheek. “I’m taking you home.”
Anna’s lashes flutter faintly, a soft exhale leaving her lips as she shifts against me, almost as if she recognized my voice even in sleep.
My breath catches in my throat when her lips part slightly, a faint tremor escaping her as she leans into my touch.
It’s nothing. Barely anything. And yet it feels like everything.
It feels like our beginning.
Chapter 26
Annamaria
My eyelids won’t open. They feel too heavy, as if something were dragging them shut every time I try. My body is also too stiff, like dead weight against the mattress, as if it’s sinking into it instead of lying on top. My limbs don’t respond the way they should either. Even breathing feels delayed, like my lungs are a step behind me. But what troubles me more is how my thoughts feel thick and sluggish, as if wading through fog. Everything feels… off.
When I finally force my eyes open, I’m met with nothing but darkness. Shadows stretch across the room, broken only by tenuous slivers of moonlight slipping through what seems to be tall windows. Beyond the glass, the faint outline of unfamiliar skyscrapers rise into the night’s sky.
My heart begins to pound when I realize that I don’t recognize any of it.
Where am I?
I push myself up slightly, reaching for the memory of how I got here, but there’s nothing. Only silence, still and stark as the room around me. The thought sends a chill down my spine.
Come on, Anna. Think. Think.
The last thing I remember is getting ready for my parents’ wedding anniversary. Yes! I remember how excited I was, because I was going to see Raffaele that same night.
Rafe…
I remember running through the woods, knowing he’d be there waiting for me. And then I see him. The sadness in his eyes.
Why was he so sad?
