“You don’t know that.”
His eyes softened.
“If there is one thing I know for certain,Donna…” He murmured, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek with a touch too gentle for the threat beneath his words. “It is that.”
His certainty wrapped around me like smoke – thick, suffocating, impossible to ignore. I stepped back, enough to breathe, not enough to escape him. The penthouse suddenly felt too warm, too intimate, like the walls themselves were closing in.
“You lied to me.”
Matteo’s jaw flexed once. “I’ve never lied to you.”
“You didn’t tell me the truth either.”
Silence stretched between us, heavy and electric. Rain started outside the window, catching city light like falling glitter. He stood there, still and devastatingly patient, waiting for the next strike.
I stared at him – the man I married for business.
The man I let into my bed, my body, my heart.
Before I even realized it was happening.
“Why?” My voice cracked, anger and heartbreak mixing like ice melting against fire.
His brows drew together. “Why what, Francesca?”
My throat felt tight. “Why.”
He moved closer again, slow as a tide. One hand lifted to my jaw, fingertips grazing gently, like he thought I might shatter beneath them. His eyes were darker up close – espresso and sin.
“I would’ve taken any chance to be with you,mi amor.”
Soft. Raw. Too honest.
“Why?”
His gaze didn’t waver.
“Because I’m crazy about you. Because I love you. Because I haven’t been able to think about anything elsebut your gorgeous face and smart mouth ever since I’ve met you. Because I can’t sleep anymore unless you’re right there in my arms.”
I felt the world narrow to the space between us.
We stepped forward, erasing it.
He pressed me against the wall, caging me in with one arm above my head, his other hand sliding to my waist like he had every right to touch me. My pulse was a drum in my throat.
“You lied to me,” I whispered against his lips.
“Do I make you happy?” he asked, eyes burning into mine.
The truth slipped out without thought. “Yes…”
“Would you rather be with someone else?”
The idea sent something violent through me. “Never.”
His voice dropped, possessive and tender in the same breath. “Are you still mine, baby?”
My knees nearly gave out. “Of course.”
