Bound by Hatred

by Cora Reilly

  Matteo crossed his arms over his chest. He was still gloriously naked and was getting a boner again. The bastard was turned on by our fight. “You shouldn’t tempt me.”

  I shrugged. “Even if you showed the sheets to your family, nobody would believe you anyway. They think I’m a slut, remember? They’d probably think you faked the stain with your own blood like Luca did in his wedding night.” I tensed. This was a secret I was supposed to keep. Nobody knew. Why couldn’t I ever keep my stupid mouth shut?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Matteo

  Gianna’s eyes widened when she let Aria’s and Luca’s little secret slip. Did she actually think I didn’t know? Luca and I would die for each other. He knew he could trust me with every secret, even one that revealed that he wasn’t quite the cruel bastard he and everyone else thought he was. Somehow by some stroke of luck our sadist of a father had made the right decision when he’d chosen Aria for Luca. I didn’t think he’d known how well those two would get along, or he wouldn’t have agreed to the match. He’d always strived on the misery of others. “Don’t worry. Luca told me. Your sister has warmed his cold heart. You Scuderi women have a talent for it.”

  Gianna relaxed. No matter how tough she thought she was, her body gave her away. She wasn’t very good at hiding her emotions¸ which would make it easier for me. Her gaze returned to the stain on the sheets. Seeing it actually gave me a sick kick, so had the fine smear of blood on my cock. I wasn’t like some men in our world who would have refused to marry Gianna because she might have messed around with other guys during her flight. Not that I didn’t hate the thought that any guy had ever laid a fucking finger on her beautiful body, but I wanted Gianna too much to care, and I found the whole obsession with purity in our world ridiculous anyway. The best sex I’d had in my life definitely had been with women who knew what they were doing, but I had a feeling Gianna was a quick learner. Still after the initial shock when Gianna had cried out in pain, I’d felt a rush of possessiveness and fucking joy.

  Gianna glanced at me, suspicion tightening her kissable lips. Her hair covered her pale shoulder like a veil and I couldn’t resist brushing the strands from her shoulder, marveling at their silkiness. Only Gianna’s skin was even smoother. I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of touching her. My fingers found her pulse before I started stroking her throat lightly. For a moment Gianna held her breath and actually leaned into my touch before she seemed to catch herself. She took a step back so I had no choice but to drop my hand. I had to stifle a smile. She was so very predictable. At least, in her reactions to me. Sometimes in the past she’d managed to surprise me, which wasn’t something other people managed often.

  Gianna narrowed her eyes at me. If she knew how hot she looked when she was angry, she’d smile more often. I was already hard again and wanted nothing more than to fuck Gianna. Her eyes flitted down to my cock and she huffed. Shaking her head, she brushed past me and disappeared in the bathroom before slamming the door shut with an audible bang.

  I released a small laugh before heading back to the bed, dropping on my back and crossing my arms behind my head. I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. After months of frustration, I had been rewarded, even more than I’d hoped for. I waited for the sound of running water but silence reigned in the bathroom. I sat up, suspicion filling me. There wasn’t any way Gianna could escape from the bathroom, but what if she decided to end her life rather than spend it with me?

  Gianna seemed to love life too much for such an action, but I wasn’t sure she wouldn’t do it to spite me. I moved toward the bathroom door, ready to tear it down when it opened. Gianna stepped out, her eyebrows shooting up when she spotted me right in front of her. Her eyes weren’t puffy, so at east she hadn’t been crying, which was a relief.

  Her nose crinkled. “What? Don’t tell me you’ve been spying on me while I was in the bathroom?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest with a smirk. I definitely wouldn’t tell her what I’d thought. “We both know you need supervision.”

  With a sigh, she walked past me and climbed under the covers. After a quick scan of the bathroom, which looked the same as it had before, I joined Gianna. She had her back turned to me, and the blankets pulled up to her chin. I pressed myself against her back, my arm sliding around her naked waist. Having her naked body so close to mine was giving me all kinds of ideas and my cock was digging insistently against her butt. I couldn’t wait to take her like this, to have her in front of me on all fours, to have her riding me. I wanted to fuck her in a thousand different ways.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Gianna said quietly, warningly. “I’m tired and I don’t owe you more than one go in our wedding night.”

  I laughed against her neck before pressing a kiss to her soft skin. “You are such a romantic, Gianna. Your words always warm my heart.”

  “Oh shut up,” she muttered.

  I tightened my hold on her. She didn’t try to pull away, which surprised me, and again raised my suspicions, but I blamed her demureness on the long day both of us had had. It had been more than twenty-four hours since I’d slept.

  Still, I fought off sleep until I heard Gianna’s breathing deepening and her body softening against me. I didn’t trust Gianna, not after what she’d done. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever trust her completely. I knew she’d run the moment I left her out of my sight. I wouldn’t give her another chance to evade me. I didn’t care what I had to do to keep her in New York.

  Luca had thought I’d lose interest in her once I’d fucked her. Part of me had hoped for it, but I could already tell that it wasn’t the case. I still wanted her, probably more than before.

  I was completely and utterly screwed.

  Gianna

  The next morning I woke to Matteo moving around in the bedroom. I didn’t give any indication that I was awake, instead I listened to his sounds. I didn’t want to face him. He’d be smug about last night, definitely intolerable. Before a long shower and a strong coffee I wasn’t in the mood for that particular kind of confrontation. When his steps finally moved away and the door clicked shut, I exhaled and opened my eyes. The skyline of New York was hung with heavy clouds. Maybe I could simply stay in bed, but I had a feeling Matteo might try to join me if I did. My traitorous body tingled with excitement at the idea of having his hands on me again, maybe even allowing him to go down on me for real.

  I quickly sat up, slid out of bed and hurried into the bathroom to splash cold water into my face. I winced at the burning in my lip. I peered at myself in the mirror. My lower lip was swollen dramatically and the skin below it was bruised. I looked like I’d been in a fight, which wasn’t that far from the truth. I opened my mouth to take a look at the stitches. Disgusted, I quickly snapped it shut again. The events from yesterday flashed through my mind.

  I hadn’t even had nightmares about what happened to Sid. I still felt horrible for his cruel death, but my dreams had been empty, a black void of nothingness. Maybe I did belong into this world after all.

  My eyes slid down to a spot on the side of my neck where Matteo had left a hickey. The bastard had marked me like I was his property, and to him that was probably the case. I touched the bruise.

  Grimacing, I turned away from my reflection, and took a quick shower. When I returned to the bedroom, I found my bags on the floor. Matteo must have carried them in while I was getting ready. Sneaky bastard. How could he move so quietly?

  I quickly put my clothes into the drawers that Matteo must have cleared for me. Somehow it annoyed me that he’d made space for me as if he’d known all along that I’d eventually move in. He must have done it long ago. There hadn’t been any time last night or this morning. Putting away the clothes that I hadn’t worn in six months also made me realize that I desperately needed to go shopping. My old clothes felt like a relict from an old life. In our rush to leave my apartment in Munich, I hadn’t been able to grab any of my new clothes.

  Afterward, fully-dressed I headed do
wnstairs, pausing every so often to listen for Matteo. It was silent in the apartment and as I walked through the living room toward the open kitchen I didn’t encounter anyone, not even a bodyguard. Suspicion flared in me. Matteo would never leave me unsupervised after what I’d done. My eyes scanned the ceiling, the corners and every other possible place for security cameras, but I found none. I hesitated in the middle of the kitchen for a moment, eyes darting to the massive coffee maker. Screw it. I needed caffeine. If Matteo wasn’t there, for which I was grateful, I’d pretend this was my home.

  And I didn’t even need to pretend. This was my home now, or it was supposed to be. Of course it didn’t feel like it. It had been a long time since any place had felt like home. In the last few months of my living there, even my parents’ house hadn’t felt like one anymore. There was no use thinking about it now. I’d never forgive Father for how he’d treated me, nor Mother because she’d let him. Maybe I was dead to them, but they were dead to me too.

  My finger hovered in front of the button that would turn the coffee maker on. This eerie silence was driving me crazy. Scolding myself for my ridiculous caution, I finally pushed it. I grabbed a cup and selected a Cappucino. I wasn’t on the run anymore. The worst had already happened.

  With a satisfying fizz, the hot liquid shot out. The moment it was done, I cradled the cup and took a long sip, feeling how the warmth and familiar taste cleared my mind further. I leaned against the counter, letting my eyes wander through the apartment. I actually liked the puristic design, the sleek black leather couches, black hardwood furniture and white walls. I wondered if Luca and Matteo had hired the same interior designer because their furniture was so similar. I could see myself looking for art pieces that would fit in, could see myself shop for pillows that would bring some color in, could see myself decorating a large tree for Christmas. I walked around the counter, perched on the stool and turned my back on the place I could so easily see myself living in.

  This wasn’t what I wanted. Or at least something I hadn’t wanted six months ago, something I shouldn’t want, not after risking so much to escape it. I closed my eyes and inhaled the comforting scent of my coffee. I needed to see Aria again, but was I even allowed to go one floor up to her penthouse? The idea that I had to ask Matteo and maybe even Luca for permission whenever I wanted to see my sister drove me up the walls. It was a good reminder of why I’d run in the first place, something I could never allow myself to forget.

  A warm breath ghosted over my neck, followed by a low, “Good morning.”

  I cried out in surprise and sent my coffee cup flying off the kitchen bar. It broke into dozens of sharp pieces and spilled coffee everywhere. My head whirled around and I found myself face to face with a smirking Matteo.

  “Fuck. Why the hell are you creeping up on me like that? You scared the hell out of me,” I hissed.

  He shook his head with an amused expression. “All those nasty words pouring out of your sweet mouth, is that really appropriate?”

  He was making fun of me. His eyes took their sweet-ass time wandering over my curves, lingering on the hickey before moving a bit lower again. And the worst thing was the way my body was reacting to his closeness, his scent, his muscled chest. Thankfully, my face didn’t feel hot, so maybe I hadn’t blushed.

  “Since when do you care about being appropriate?” I muttered. I slipped past Matteo and knelt beside the broken remains of my cup. I hoped Matteo didn’t suspect what his proximity was doing to me. I picked up the pieces but Matteo came to my help. I wasn’t sure if he was doing it to be nice or if he knew about his effect on me and was trying to play with me. From what I knew about him, I guessed the latter. I was trying not to look his way as he squatted beside me. He was giving me a good view of his perfectly shaped ass. Goddammit, why did he have to look like that?

  Without warning, he brushed his finger over my swollen lip. “I really should have killed your father.”

  His touch was so gentle, it made me want to nuzzle my face against his neck and have a good cry. “Do you have a mop?” I asked casually.

  He shrugged, dropping his hand. “I’ve seen Marianna run around with one on occasion.”

  I rolled my eyes. Of course he had no clue. He probably had never even done his own laundry. “Do you at least know where Marianna keeps the cleaning stuff?”

  His gaze lingered on my cleavage. With a sigh, I rose to my feet and stalked off in search of a storeroom. When I finally returned to the mess in the kitchen, mop in hand, Matteo was talking on the phone. He was leaning against the counter, legs casually crossed.

  I tried to listen to the conversation as I wiped the floor. I had a feeling it was about me.

  “Come over now. I want this done a.s.a.p.”

  With that he hung up, and turned back to me. I leaned the mop against the wall, then asked. “Who was this? A new bodyguard you want to keep an eye on me?”

  “Something like that. I’m going to put an ankle bracelet on you.”

  “What? Have you lost your mind?”

  “On the contrary, but we both know you’ll use the next chance you get to escape again, so until I can trust you to stay with me, you’ll have to wear the bracelet.”

  I stared, completely stunned and so angry I was worried my head would explode. “So you admit I’m your prisoner. You’re treating me like one after all.”

  Matteo advanced on me. “Without the bracelet I would have to lock you into this apartment, but with it, you can spend time with Aria, walk around New York, and live an almost normal life.”

  “I guess you want me to thank you for your kindness?”

  The asshole actually chuckled. “No. Knowing you I didn’t expect you to like the idea.”

  “Nobody would like that idea! And you don’t know me, Matteo.”

  He moved very close and without warning he slipped his hand under my shirt, pushed aside my bra and twisted my nipple. At once, my core tightened with need. “I know that you love it when I do this with your perfect little nipple,” he growled.

  I wanted to deny it, but the way his thumb and forefinger teased me, I couldn’t find the words. Matteo’s dark eyes bored into me as he leaned very close. “I know you are wet. I know your pussy wants me even if you won’t admit it.”

  He dropped to his knees and shoved down my tights and panties.

  “What--”

  I didn’t get farther. He leaned forward and kissed my heated flesh. I sucked in a startled breath. Matteo freed one of my legs from my tights and panties before he lifted it and draped it over his shoulder. His eyes found mine as his tongue parted my lower lips and licked slowly. I shivered, pressing my mouth together from fear of making an embarrassing sound.

  Matteo pulled back a couple of inches. “See, I knew it. Wet for me,” he said in a rough voice. He pressed a few kisses against me before suckling lightly. My eyes wanted to roll back in my head from the sensation.

  “Has anyone ever done this to you?” he asked fiercely.

  I couldn’t even find the power to lie. I merely shook my head ‘no’.

  “Good.” He rewarded me with a mind-blowing kiss, his tongue tracing my opening, then darting back up to my clit.

  “Oh God,” I whispered.

  Matteo released my throbbing labia. “You taste perfect, Gianna.” He parted me and brushed a kiss over my clit. “Do you want me to stop?”

  I gritted my teeth. I had never wanted anything less. It took all my self-control not to grab him and shove his face against me.

  “The silent treatment?” Matteo asked in a teasing voice before he nudged me with his tongue, sending spears of pleasure through me before he captured my clit between his lips and suckled lightly.

  I gasped and gripped the counter behind me, needing something to support me. My head fell back as Matteo did the most amazing thing with his tongue. With slow strokes he brought me closer and closer to the edge. I could tell this time it would be even more intense than yesterday. Without intending to, my hand
gripped Matteo’s head and my fingers tangled in his dark hair. Matteo rewarded me with a flick of his tongue against my clit.

  “Yes,” I whispered. I didn’t even care anymore that I was admitting how good this felt. My entire body screamed for release. I was so close, my legs started shaking, my breathing quickened. And then the bell rang. I jerked in surprise and my eyes flew to the elevator. Nobody could come up without Matteo granting them access.

  Matteo pulled back from what he was doing. My fingers on his head tightened. “Don’t stop,” I demanded. I couldn’t hide the need in my voice.

  Matteo straightened and wiped his mouth with an annoyingly cocky grin. He leaned in to kiss me but I turned my head so his lips brushed my cheek.

  “Patience, Gianna. I’ve had six months to practice patience, now it’s your turn, but don’t worry I’ll eat you out later. You taste too good to resist,” he murmured before stepping back and heading toward the elevator. “You should get dressed. We don’t want to give Sandro a show.”

  I couldn’t believe him. I quickly scrambled to put my panties and tights back on, before I washed my hands and straightened my skirt. My blood was boiling with fury. Matteo smirked as he pressed the button that allowed the elevator to stop on our floor.

  This wasn’t the end of it. Two could play this game.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Matteo

  Gianna was trying to kill me with her eyes. Not that I wasn’t used to that look from her by now, but I had to admit it was still turning me on. I wished Sandro had waited a few minutes longer to show up, even if his early appearance gave me the chance to teach Gianna a lesson. Unfortunately I was punishing myself as much as Gianna with my little lesson. She’d tasted fucking perfect. I couldn’t wait to lick her again, to have her screaming my name and rake her fingers through my hair. I was already getting a fucking boner again. Fuck this.