Page 178 of Vicious Intentions
“You look upset,” she says, searching my eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just trying… Matteo, talk to me. Please. I didn’t mean to overstep, but I couldn’t stay here. Not with those devils staring back at you from every wall. I couldn’t, Matteo. I just couldn’t.” I’m unable to say anything since I’m still trying to find my words.
Anna didn’t leave. She could have. She had plenty of opportunities to do so. My car keys are on the table in the foyer, my wallet right beside them. She could have even used my phone if she wanted to. But with all the freedom she had while I was knocked out from exhaustion, she preferred to spend her time slaying all the demons that hurt me in the past.
Before she says anything else, I’m on her, one hand at her waist, the other on her chin, and say, “I love you, Annamaria Donato. With all my heart. I love you.”
I don’t give her the chance to respond, because my lips are already on hers, pulling her into my arms.
If there were any doubts that Anna loved me, they’re gone now. Eviscerated along with those fucking pictures.
Iamloved. More than I ever thought possible. Because my Anna loves me.
Chapter 39
Annamaria
What am I doing? This wasn’t supposed to happen like this. My plan had been to sleep with Matteo, so I could get myself out of his system. All in the hopes that he would lose interest, push me aside once he’d had enough, and eventually send me back to my family after the war was over. That was the whole point when I agreed to come on this so-called honeymoon.
I don’t feel like that’s what’s happening, though. I feel likeI’mthe one who’s being played here, not the other way around. Every soft word from his mouth feels like a trap. And still, I lean in.
The way Matteo was so vulnerable with me last night, the way he stripped himself bare and told me what his stepmother did to him when he was a child, made me look at him in a whole new light.
Matteo’s upbringing explained so much. Explained why he turned out to be the cruel, hard man he is today. However, it was his vulnerability, raw and exposed, that awakened something inside me that I didn’t want to face.
Catching feelings for my captor is the last thing that should be happening right now. I should be fighting for my life and my freedom, yet I keep walking deeper into his snare.
“Shall we go to bed?” he asks, extending his hand for me to take.
I look at it as if it were a grenade, wanting to both run from it at light speed, while also holding it in my hand and cradling it to my bosom. I’m a world of contradiction, and it’s all his fault.
“Actually, I think I’m going for a walk,” I say, standing up from the couch.
Matteo’s brows knit together before pulling his hand back. I can tell he’s disappointed, but he doesn’t say anything to stop me from going. Instead, he grabs his thick, heavy knit cardigan and uses his finger to tell me to spin around.
“It’s cool outside at this hour. Take this. I’ll feel better knowing that you’re warm,” he whispers, his lips at the shell of my ear as he helps me put on his cardigan.
I’m more than warm. I’m a volcano of need and desire, and that’s the problem. All of this is a huge problem.
“Thank you.”
Before I’m able to take a step away, he grabs me by the wrist to keep me in place.
“Should I stay up and wait for you?”
The sparkle in Matteo’s eyes has my core clenching. There’s so much there in his black stare. How could I have ever thought that they were once cold and empty? There is so much life in his eyes, so much promise. So much heat.
“No, that’s okay. We’ve had a long day. You should rest.”
He doesn’t mask his disappointment once again, but he doesn’t argue with me either. No. He does something far worse. He raises my wrist and presses a gentle kiss to the sensitive skin, lingering just long enough to steal my breath. It takes aninhuman effort not to close my eyes and lean into it. Lean into him.
This is his trap. His lips. His tongue. His eyes. All his features are perfectly crafted to pull me deeper and deeper into temptation.Into him.
I yank my hand away before he can kiss me anywhere else. Because if he does, the only place I’m going is upstairs to our bedroom. Before I’m tempted to do just that, I spin on my heel and leave the house through the patio, leading to the beach.
Aside from the soft glow of the patio lights, the moon is the only thing illuminating the midnight sky. I walk toward the water, letting the ocean breeze cool my heated skin. A cold tremor ripples through me, and I wrap Matteo’s cardigan tighter around my body, feeling instantly safe and protected. Even out here, I can still feel him with me. His scent. His warmth.
When I catch myself breathing him in, I frown.
“What am I doing?” I whisper, my question swallowed by the crashing waves, the ocean the only witness to my torment.
