It was Matteo, and I wanted to sigh in relief, but I didn’t know what mood he was in from his stoic expression or what I could see of it.
“Ah, bella, you are awake,” he said, stepping closer to me. He lightly trailed his fingers over my swollen cheek while his oddly comforting scent enveloped me.
I didn’t want comfort from him, but I couldn’t help the way my body reacted to him. He was my owner, the man I was to please. If only I could figure out how. If only I could know what had happened to cause the scene that resulted in me being back in the basement.
His fingers dropped to trace my collarbone then circled my nipples, which were beaded from the cold in the room.
I flinched when he pressed me against the wall and pressed his lips to my neck.
Dropping his hand, he pushed it between my thighs and filled me with two fingers while his teeth scraped along my throat. As he fucked me with his fingers, he rubbed his erection against my thigh and moaned in pleasure.
My thighs trembled as I tried to breathe through the fear closing in on my throat.
When he stepped back, I hoped he was done, but he wasn’t. He dropped to his knees in front of me and flicked his tongue against my clit. Lifting one of my legs, he rested it on his shoulder, opening me more for his assault on my body. For long, endless minutes, he ate at my pussy as if it was a meal he hadn’t had in a long time.
Pleasure rose unbidden in my stomach, gathered, pushing me toward the edge of release. I yanked on the chains holding my wrists, needing more than he was giving.
He kept me right on the precipice and laughed with his mouth still against me. Once he had his fill, he wiped his face on his black coat sleeve before standing again and pulling his erect shaft from his pants. He pressed me against the wall hard enough I felt the rough surface scrape my flesh.
Holding the base of his cock, he lined up with my core and plowed into me.
A cry broke free of my throat as I stretched around him.
His pace was jarring as he moved in and out of me, grunting with the force he put behind each thrust. A hand came up to wrap around my throat as he continued.
“Yes, bella,” he said, cutting off my blood and oxygen flow with his tightening grip.
Surprisingly, my pleasure skyrocketed and threw me off the mountain of ecstasy unexpectedly. As I pieced myself back together, I felt his teeth once again break through the skin on my neck, causing me to scream out.
I’d been given a brief moment of relief or distraction from the hell my body was trying to recover from, but the tearing of his teeth brought it all crashing back around me.
He rutted against me a few more times before finally losing his control and coming deep in me. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he leaned against me, crushing my face into his chest. After a few moments he pulled out and shoved himself back in his pants. Instead of leaving as I anticipated, he pulled the chair the other man had once occupied in front of me and sat. The front of his pants glistened from moisture with the sex we’d just had.
Staring at me, he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He stayed that way until another set of shoes sounded on the stairs. A loud sigh left his chest as he shoved the chair back and moved to intercept whoever was coming down. He spoke in Italian as he opened the door and the footfalls halted immediately.
Matteo walked back to me and licked a line from the top of my breast to my neck where he’d bitten me. Using his finger, he forced me to lift my head and meet his gaze before he kissed me. His tongue slipped into my unsuspecting mouth, bringing with it the copper taste of blood.
“Behave, bella,” he said before leaving me alone in the room once more, flipping the light off as he went.
Standing in the dark, I felt something trickle down my inner thigh. I figured it was just his come, but it didn’t stop. It stayed steady even as it dried and crusted in some parts, only to be covered again. The only thing I could think of was that it had to be blood.
While I didn’t know much about pregnancy, I knew bleeding was bad. How bad? I had no clue. From what felt like a never-ending stream down my leg, I’d say pretty bad.
Did it just start? If not, how had I not noticed it before? Matteo had put his mouth down there. Did he know I was bleeding?
I concluded that the pain had to be at least getting mildly better for me to notice such a mundane thing as moisture on my leg, so maybe it was that I was too out of it to notice before. If Matteo had known, I doubt it would have deterred him. He liked blood mixed with his sex.
Since I couldn’t do anything and my knowledge was lacking, I tried to lean against the wall and rest. There was no telling how long I’d be left where I was or what was coming next.
My stomach growling roused me some time later. It was still dark in the room so I had no idea how much time had passed.
The only thing I could tell was that it had seemed like the bleeding had stopped. I needed to use the restroom, but after holding it as long as I could, I gave in and let it go. A shiver of disgust rolled through me at being forced to do such a thing.
With nothing else to do, I studied the dark room. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could make out shapes, or imagined I could. I tried to think of what I was “seeing” and how it had come to be placed there. Anything to pass the time. Who would have thought I’d actually be missing the drivel Matteo had given me to “keep me up to date with current events.” All they were was gossip magazines with people who starred in shows I’d never seen doing things I would never be able to do.
My hunger grew to a level that passed from discomfort to painful. I’d experienced it the previous time I was in the basement. It was just as miserable as I remembered. The knots filling my stomach, the sharp shooting pain and ache as my body ate itself, seeking any nourishment it could. Not to mention the never-ending thirst. It felt like I’d eaten sand and it hurt to swallow the very small amount of saliva I could produce.
When I thought I’d literally pass out from the hunger pains, the door opened. I hadn’t heard anyone coming, but I wasn’t surprised. I was too focused on the many pains that filled my body, not just the thirst and starvation.
Squinting against the bright light she’d flicked on, I was surprised to see it was Aida who’d joined me. She had a bucket and a washcloth in her hands.
Without a word, she washed me from head to toe, scrubbing extra hard to remove the blood from my legs.
I watched the water turn from clear to pink to red as she went. It only confirmed what I had thought.
Once she finished, she stood and moved toward the door.
I figured she’d leave, but she glanced at me with a clear frown on her face.
“We will do a test to be sure, but I’m quite sure you’ve lost the baby,” she said before slipping back up the stairs, leaving the light on behind her.
I waited for sorrow or some emotion to take hold of me, but it didn’t. The pregnancy hadn’t been wanted anyway, at least for me, so it was almost a blessing I wouldn’t have to deal with it.
In fact, I was more upset she hadn’t brought food. At least she’d left the light on. However, when the empty-eyed man returned, I wished she hadn’t. I’d rather not see him and whatever he had in mind.
Slithering up to me, he smiled, tracing his hands over my breasts and hips.
I could feel how turned on he was, but refused to give him any satisfaction by making a noise of disgust.
He pulled me flush against him and held me in an embrace like we’d been intimate. His scruffy jaw scraped against my throat as he kissed a path from my ear to the corner of my lips.
I wanted to bite him, fight him, but I was chained up, and he was more than twice my size so all it would gain me was more punishment. I’d had enough of that to last the rest of my life.
When footsteps reverberated down the stairwell through the door he’d left cracked open, he pulled back and reached for my wrists, releasing one just as Matteo entered the room.
M
y arm fell uselessly to my side as I cried out with the fresh rush of agony that ran down it as blood returned. It only doubled when my opposite wrist was released.
Looking through my eyelashes, I saw Matteo was standing with his arms folded across his chest, watching us.
The man hefted me up before tossing me carelessly onto the cot.
A blood curdling scream left my throat as the pain burst through me from the jarring move. Every injury flared to life, as if the movement had undone any healing that had taken place in the time I’d been chained up.
Before I could catch my breath and clear the black haze of pain from my eyes, I was chained to the wall again, this time with the longer chains that allowed me to move about a bit like the first time in the basement.
I groaned thankfully, but it was short-lived when the man straddled my chest and leaned heavily over me. Struggling to breathe, I looked into his cold eyes.
He was there, constricting my air flow one second, gone the next.
I lifted my eyes, shocked.
Matteo had the man by the hair with a gun pressed to his temple. He spoke low and in Italian to the man while jabbing the metal barrel hard enough against him to make his head tilt to the side.
I didn’t understand a word, but the tone made it clear Matteo wasn’t happy, and the gun showed he wasn’t kidding around about whatever it was he was talking about.
Using his grip in the man’s hair, he shoved him towards the door before firing off a round.
The loud sound made me shrink in on myself, my ears ringing. As much as I didn’t want to see another dead body, I had to know. Slowly, I opened my eyes to find the man standing wide-eyed at the door.
Matteo said a couple more words in his lethal tone before the man disappeared and he tucked his gun away so it was hidden again.
“Bella, bella, bella,” Matteo said, shaking his head as he turned back to me, as if it were my fault. “What am I going to do with you?”
It was a rhetorical question, that much I knew. He didn’t really expect me to answer so I didn’t. I kept my eyes down and waited for him to continue.
He knelt next to the bed and ran a hand over my still-bruised face.
At least I could see out of my once swollen-closed eye. A bit anyway.
His touch was tender, soft even. He pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead before standing.
I was left alone again. Still without an explanation about anything.
Chapter Eleven
Time seemed endless while I stayed chained to the wall. Every once in a while, Aida would bring me a piece of bread and a tiny cup of water, but that was the only interaction I had with anyone.
I felt like I was going crazy. I’d talk to the wall, chair, anything just to feel like I had company. It got to the point where I would try to talk to Aida out of desperation, but she simply ignored me, threw my bread at me, and set my cup down before leaving again.
The meager piece of food was never enough to fill me, but enough to keep me from dying I supposed. They weren’t trying to kill me, but punish me.
Slowly my face no longer hurt; it didn’t hurt to breathe, so my ribs must have healed. My fingers still ached and didn’t look quite right, but I could use them enough to eat and that was all that mattered.
When I’d given up hope of ever seeing the outside of the basement again, I was released. It was surreal when Matteo came to me that day. He walked in and went to my chains. One stern look was all it took to let me know he expected me to behave as he unlocked them.
Immediately, I fell to my knees and lowered my chest to the floor saying in the only way I knew how that I was thankful.
“Come,” he said before leading me from the basement.
I stayed close as we passed through the house and back to my room. I moved to climb onto the bed to present myself, but his heavy hand on my arm stopped me.
“You will no longer be expected to present to me. I no longer require your services in that way. Do your chores and return to your room. Do not expect my visits. Do not speak to anyone you see, including me from this point on. Understand, Gia?” Matteo lifted an eyebrow at the end.
I nearly collapsed at his use of my name. He never called me that. I was always bella to him. It felt like a kick to the ribs to be denied the single affectionate term.
“Yes, sir,” I choked out.
“Good. You are expected to resume your duties tomorrow.” Then he was gone.
I fell to the floor in a heap and cried like I never had before that point. It was the worst punishment he’d ever given me. I wasn’t good enough to be in his bed, to pleasure him, to be called bella. I’d been downgraded to the cleaning staff.
The sun set and rose to find me still on the floor where he’d left me.
The bright light filtering in through the window was all that forced me to stand and pull on a dress from the closet. The dress that had once hugged my curves hung loosely from my frail, much thinner frame. I didn’t bother with a shower since I wouldn’t be seeing or speaking with anyone, so what did it matter?
Trudging down the stairs to the kitchen, I found my list waiting and Aida in her usual place.
“What is today’s date?” I asked quietly. When she told me, I was stunned. I’d been in the basement for over six months. Nodding, I folded the list and walked away. There were literally no words to express how I felt. Was I happy to be out of there? Would it be better to endure more of the torture if it meant I wouldn’t be banished from Matteo’s arms? I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything.
Instead of letting my confusing thoughts take over, I went about what I did know. Cleaning. Checking off one item at a time, I was surprised when I got to the last item on the list to find it said “garden.” That had never been on the list before.
Cautiously, I walked to the back door I’d never been out of and glanced through the window at the view I’d spent so much time enjoying. It was hard to believe I was going to be permitted outside, let alone to spend time in my favorite part of the yard.
I took a deep breath and held it as I pushed open the door and stepped out.
The sun beat on my face, and I couldn’t hold back the smile that flitted over my lips. It’d been so long since I’d felt the glorious rays on my skin. I nearly skipped over to the garden, holding back only because I knew it would likely be frowned upon.
Kneeling next to the lovely bushes that looked slightly overgrown, I breathed deeply. I sat there for a long time just breathing the freedom, the scents of the yard, and letting the sun soak into my soul. Finally, I shook myself free of the trance I was in and started pulling out weeds that had sprouted between the plants. I didn’t know much about gardening, but I would do my best to take care of it since I was allowed such a privilege.
I stayed in the garden until the sun had completely set. If I could have, I would have stayed longer because I feared that I wouldn’t be allowed back out the next day, but in the dark it was useless to even pretend I was doing anything so I returned to the house. As I put together a sandwich, I heard an unfamiliar female voice followed by a high-pitched laugh.
It was tempting to look and see who it was, but after just regaining my freedom, I wasn’t willing to risk getting caught. Once my sandwich was finished, I wrapped it up in a paper towel and headed for the stairs. I stopped mid-step when a beautiful, graceful woman walked from the sitting area. I instantly dropped my head, but I wouldn’t forget her perfect face and perfectly coiffed hair.
She tilted her head as she looked over my dirty dress and likely disheveled hair. Scoffing, she moved to walk around me just as Matteo filled the doorway she’d appeared from.
“Ignore her. She’s just the help,” he told the beauty while glaring at me.
I slumped my shoulders even more and turned to my room.
The woman made a remark about how pathetic I looked before disappearing down the hall.
“Why are you out of your room so late?” Matteo demanded quietly.
“I�
��m sorry, sir. I spent more time than I realized in the garden so I am late returning to my quarters. I didn’t mean to be spotted or interfere,” I answered promptly as my body trembled. I couldn’t go back to the basement so soon.
He sighed, and I heard the scratch of his scuff against his fingers.
“Go on. Don’t let it happen again. You are lucky I have a guest or I would punish you for it,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder and forcing me toward the stairs. “And for heaven’s sake, shower. You smell terrible.”
I scurried up the stairs and into my room as fast as I could. Sitting at my small table, I ate only a few bites of my sandwich before I felt too full to continue, so I went to shower as directed. Once I was under the water, I realized just how much I’d missed long, hot, relaxing alone time under the cascading spray.
After I finished, I wrapped a towel around me and decided to try to eat a few more bites of the sandwich so it wouldn’t go to waste. However, after another bite, I realized it was a horrible idea that sent me straight back into the bathroom to expel all of my dinner into the toilet.
Despite the fact I had brushed my teeth, I ate two bites of the sandwich, then tossed the rest in the trash. I had to eat something and keep it down or I’d have no energy for the next day. I wasn’t surprised I couldn’t eat much, not after having so little food for so long.
Once I folded my towel over the bar in the bathroom, I climbed into bed naked. The dress I’d worn all day had been so uncomfortable, which I found interesting because it had been so luxurious when I’d first arrived at Matteo’s. Then again, I’d gone half a year without a stitch of clothing, so it had to be more that I wasn’t used to something rubbing against my skin all the time.
The bed was heaven, though. I enjoyed the plush supportiveness of it compared to the flat, hard plank I’d slept on before. I fell asleep with thoughts of who the woman had been and why she was there.
In the morning, I pulled my hair into a bun and dressed, eager to get the day started and see if I’d be blessed with more time in the garden. When I picked up my list, I read it quickly and smiled to myself when I saw it was the last thing on the list again. This time there was a note in Matteo’s scrawl telling me not to lose track of time.
Matteo (Dark Erotic Mob Romance) (Rossi Family Book 1) Page 11
