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Because making sure she was safe was the only thing I fucking cared about.
I finished my drink and said in a voice that was hard, unyielding, and one I used for everyone around me, “I’m going to let her go after the two weeks are up because she doesn’t belong here.”
Chapter18
Liliana
For the next two weeks, the sex with Matteo was constant. Intense.
He introducedme to sexual experiences I didn’t even know were possible.
My body was covered in light bruises from his firm grips. The impressions of his teeth marred the sides of my neck.
I couldn’t help but feel they were a mark of ownership. I stared at them in the mirror and ran my fingers over them.
And the closer it got to the end of our agreement, the stranger I felt. I couldn’t describe what exactly it was, but it consumed my thoughts day and night.
With each passing day, I got caught up more in his web. And a part of me knew he felt the same. The way he looked at me, especially when I caught him off guard, or when he didn’t think I was watching.
The way he touched me…as if he were afraid I’d be taken away from him.
And then there were the whispered words he said against my ear right before I fell asleep. I never understood what he said, the phrases in Italian, but sounding proprietary, as if they sealed that moment in time.
And here I was, at the very end of those fourteen days, I felt anxiety claim me in a chokehold.
But my time here had finished, and I knew I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
I wanted Matteo and I would tell him just that. Today. On the day I was to leave and never look back.
Luca, the big and burly guy, who I learned was Matteo’s most trusted man in his underground army, had come and gotten me.
We said nothing to each other as I was led into the library. The significance of this space—where Matteo had fucked my ass for the first time—wasn’t lost on me. I knew it wasn’t an accident Matteo wanted me here.
Luca left and shut the door behind him, and I walked around anxiously. I finally sat in one of the overstuffed chairs and bounced my leg, staring at the door and willing it to open so I could get this over with.
And after what felt like an eternity, the door opened and Matteo stepped inside.
He walked right to the bar and poured himself a drink, but I didn’t miss how he swayed slightly and had to balance himself with a hand on the wall.
Brows knitted, I said, “Matteo?”
Matteo’s shoulders stiffened. But he didn’t look at me, not until a solid minute had passed.
“I think we should talk.” I just got right into it. “I want to talk about this…us.”
“There is no us,” he responded right away.
That hurt far stronger than I thought it would.
“Will you please look at me?” My voice shook, and I didn’t even try to hide it. “Please.” God, why did I have to sound so desperate?
Because I’ve fallen in love with him, that’s why.
He turned around after he threw back a shot. The first thing I noticed was how drunk he truly was. His eyes were glossy and red-rimmed. He crossed his thick arms over his wide chest and stared at me.
“What do you want to talk about?” He cocked one of his eyebrows. He sounded so bored, so irritated with me.
“I want to talk about us,” I whispered.
