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I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe him so damn much.
But the perpetual ghost of my relationship with Eric still lingered in my mind, forcing me back into a defensive mode every time my heart threatened to break free from my chest and leap towards Matt.
I wasn’t a fool to believe in things like love at first sight, but something about him spoke to me so deeply that I couldn’t take him off my mind ever since. It became even more evident during our honeymoon. Everything about it was perfect, as if a loving couple had planned their magical escape after a dream wedding. We were far from it, and every day that passed, I fought to keep that fact in the front of my mind.
Forced. I was forced to marry him.
It got harder by the minute.
Eat. Sex. Rest. Repeat.
Even sex was different with Matt. I had never wanted it so badly. And the more I had, the more I wanted. I was insatiable. Everything about him had me coming back for more, needing more, craving more. And slowly, I admitted that it was not only sex. That was the problem.
“Are you still with me?” That gravely voice of his pulled me from my daydream, his hand waving in front of my face.
“Umm, yes. Of course,” I lied, smiling slightly.
We were sitting in the Battaglia jet on our way back to New York, and the insecurity about what our life in the real world would be like was slowly creeping up on me like a dark, evil shadow.
“Good. I was starting to think you were getting cold feet. Because I’d hate to break it to you, but we’re already married.”
Fuck. Was I that transparent?
“No,” I chuckled at his attempt to lighten my mood, but I wasn’t about to tell him the truth behind my absent mind. “I was just wondering about the house and all.” Such a lame excuse, but now I’d have to stick to it. It was clear in his furrowed brow that he wasn’t buying it either.
I was aware that the part of Matt I got acquainted with during the honeymoon was only a very small part of who he actually was. What I saw of him was his relaxed half, far away from the reality of life and the business.
Once this little bubble burst, I was sure I’d be seeing a lot more of his true colors. A part of me wanted exactly that, to know every part of who he was. Every flaw, every quirk, every tiny detail that he’d display only to me. The other part? The burnt part of me, feared that this enchantment I’d fallen into was nothing but deception. A skin made to allure and trap me to better serve his agenda.
“Try again, Gattina,” Matt said, holding my chin between his fingers and making me look him in the eye, “‘Cause I’m not buying.”
Those eyes of his did things to me. They melted every shield I tried to hold up, reaching parts of me I had sworn never to share again.
“It’s nothing, really. I’m just thinking about going back to reality. Living in a different city. A different house…” I trailed off.
“We'll be there in about an hour, and then maybe you can wipe that look of a lamb going into a slaughterhouse from that pretty little face of yours,” he chuckled, placing a peck on my lips. “Maybe we could christen a few surfaces.” That devilish grin on his whispering lips filled my stomach with a ton of flying butterflies, and my nervousness quickly transformed into lustful expectancy.
As soon as we landed, a huge black SUV was waiting for us on the runway, ready to take us home. The same tall man in an impeccable black suit who had driven us to the private strip was waiting for us, holding the car’s door open. Max and the new guy I had learned was named James disappeared into the car parked beside him.
“Signor Matteo, your brother asked you to call him as soon as you could,” the driver said, looking at Matt through the rearview mirror.
“What happened? Why didn’t he call me?” Matt asked, his hand curling into a fist. We hadn’t even left the airport, and life was already hitting us like a damn brick.
“It’s dealt with. He didn’t want to disturb your honeymoon.”
Matt had a worried frown on his handsome face as he fiddled with his phone, connecting the call to Liam.
“What happened?” Matt’s voice had a low, slow-burning anger lurking behind it.
Sure enough, he wasn't used to being kept in the dark, and it was clear he didn’t care for it, either. I couldn’t hear the voice on the other side of the line, but I could see that first hint of anger on his features turning into concern.
“WHAT?” He shouted. “How the fuck did that happen? How is she?” Another pause as Liam spoke, and I found myself feeling just as anxious as the man beside me. “Meet me back at the house in about two hours. Is Don Amato still in town? Ask him if he can be there, too. See you then.”
He cut the call, but the mask of concern and anger was still on while he kept his gaze strained on his blacked-out phone, taking a few minutes before he broke the silence again.
“I’m sorry. I have to deal with this. I know it’s our first day back, but I really need to know what happened and if there is still anything pending,” he said, as if I had any idea what was going on. I looked at him confused. “Jamie was kidnapped.”
“What? How? By whom?” I asked, shocked and confused.
