Chapter Five

Who the fuck is this woman? Matteo wondered. She’d fallen asleep against him nearly an hour earlier when he finally managed to wrangle his chaotic grief. The day had been one of the worst in his life, besides the one in which he’d been told his mother and Antonio had been murdered. Watching both caskets get lowered together beside his father’s gravestone had sent his mind spiraling into a vengeful haze of blood and hatred. He wanted to find the people responsible and take each of their organs out through their ass until they were empty skin bags.

Bonnie grumbled in her sleep as she tried to move away from his tightening grip. He forced himself to relax and a moment later she did the same. She sighed and rubbed her cheek against his neck before falling back into her deep slumber. He ran his hand over her mahogany hair again. God, she was breathtakingly beautiful. The only downside to her being asleep atop him was that he couldn’t see her stunning ice-blue eyes that saw straight through his mask and set his heart on fire.

If it had been a week ago and she had approached him, he wouldn’t have waited a second before taking her to the bar bathroom and fucking her senseless until she vowed to be his forever. Even if she turned out to be a nasty viper, he could stomach it for the claim of her curvy feminine body that called out to his primal side. To find out she also had a heart of gold and a wit as sharp as his favorite knife meant he was a goner… Except he knew what this was. A one night thing. She’d said so herself. She only went home with him to avoid facing another payment. His eyes went to the ring on her right hand. He’d seen her fiddling with it while he watched her out of the corner of his eye all night. When she’d walked over and offered him a light, he figured God must have decided to grant him a sliver of pity.

Of course he’d known who she was the moment he’d spotted her with Mallory and Louis’ fiance. It was protocol when one of his men wanted to marry that an extensive background was done on the future in-laws. He’d breezed through the report his second-in-command gave him, until he came across the step-sister’s picture. He honestly couldn’t remember her name, but he would recognize those eyes anywhere. The photo he’d been given was of her and another man who held her tightly by the waist. He’d stared so hard at the man with such burning jealousy, he was shocked the piece of paper didn’t catch on fire.

“You’re still awake,” the woman whispered, causing him to flinch. She curled her arms further around his chest, burying her hands between his back and the soft mattress.

“Mhmm,” he replied, letting a slow breath out as to not give away his reckless train of thought.

“I thought you said this always works,” she murmured, still half asleep.

“I’ve never tried it,” he admitted.

The body atop his stiffened. He tightened his hold to keep her from sitting up to look at him, but she pushed herself up on her elbows nonetheless. She narrowed her eyes at him and he stifled a laugh at the expression meant to intimidate.

“You said…”

“I lied,” he interrupted with a slight shrug.

“Why?”

“I’m a boy scout. I saw a woman in need of assistance and I acted accordingly. It’s part of my oath,” he said, brushing his thumb across her cheek.

A red heat crawled up from her chest to her cheeks and he stifled a groan. He shifted his hips to keep her from feeling the evidence of his desire for her. The last thing he wanted was for her to run.

“There were hundreds of ways to fool those women into thinking I went home with you.”

“None of which were comparable to you actually coming home with me,” he told her.

She huffed, but laid her cheek back down on his chest. He hoped she didn’t feel his heart thud against his ribcage at the gesture. “So what was the plan? Wait til I’m dead asleep to make your move?”

“I wasn’t going to make a move,” he assured her, unable to keep his fingers from gliding down her back.

“Then what do you want, Matteo?” she asked.

Matteo’s mouth went dry and his hand stilled on her back. He shut his eyes, relishing the sound of his real name on someone’s lips. How badly he wished he could hear it over and over preferably followed by a deep moan of completion. He knew what this was. He may not remember her name but he did know she didn’t live in New York. Nothing would come of this. He would be lucky to get to taste her lips before she ran off to her sister’s wedding tomorrow.

“Matteo?”

His name again was enough to shatter the last of his mask to pieces. He swallowed and gripped her tighter as if hearing the truth would send her sprinting through the door.

“I didn’t want to be alone,” he finally admitted.

A few moments of silence passed. Just when he was beginning to think she’d fallen asleep she spoke. “What were their names?”

Matteo swallowed the lump in his throat. “Valentina and Antonio.”

The woman shifted her head so her chin rested on his chest. Her eyes shimmered as she studied his face. “What is your favorite memory of them?”

Matteo looked up at the ceiling. He thought for a few minutes and she didn’t rush him. “Cooking. My father was always busy with work but my mom always made time for us. We would cook together almost every single night. Even when I was a hormonal teenager, she would grab me by the ear and order me around the kitchen while brandishing a rolling pin.”

“What was your job in the kitchen?” she pressed.

“I would always be in charge of the meat,” he whispered.

“And Antonio?”

Matteo cleared his throat as he suddenly recalled his younger brother standing on a step stool in order to reach the counter. “Tony would always do the cutting. He loved knives.”

“Sounds like a dangerous young man.”

“No, not Tony. He was never meant for the darker side of life. He was in Paris training to become a pastry chef when…” He couldn’t say it.

“What would your mom always get on to you for?”

Matteo furrowed his brows and looked down at her. “What?”

“Everyone has their thing. Mine was sneaking out at night. ‘You’ll get snatched!’ Is what my mom would always say. What did your mom say?”

“Are you a shrink or something?”

She smiled and his heart clenched painfully. “Accountant.”

“No you’re not.”

“I have the certificate to prove it,” she argued. “And you’re stalling.”

Matteo cupped her cheek and wished he could kiss her. That would certainly help change the subject. He let out a breath. “Don’t end up like all the other men in the family. You’ll end up alone.”

Matteo broke the eye contact that threatened to gut him alive. Her throat worked as she tried to think of a way to comfort him. There was no need. It wasn’t possible. He stared at the window where the lights of the city never dimmed.

“The last two people who really knew me are gone and I couldn’t give them what they wanted for me.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” she whispered. He looked down but she was looking out the window now. A moment later her icy blue eyes locked with his. “That’s not true. I know you now… A little bit anyway… Enough. Go to sleep, Matteo. You’re not alone anymore. Not tonight.”