Because by God, I still wanted her.
“I’m going to ruin you, Sophia,” I muttered against her mouth, and I felt her breath hitch as she sucked in a startled breath. “I’m going toruin you and watch your parents’ empire crumble. I’m going to take away everything you care about because—” another kiss, this one harder than the one before. “Because that’s exactly what you did to me.”
Chapter Seven
Matteo
The words had barely left my mouth before I slid my lips back over hers, silencing her. This time, there wasn’t one ounce of gentleness in my kiss.
I took her mouth like I owned it. With passion and need and more hatred and bitterness than I wanted to admit.
What was it about this woman? How did she get under my skin so easily?
Around her, I couldn’t think straight. I hated her with what felt like every atom of my body, and I wanted her with even more.
Over and over again, I brushed my lips against hers, and she remained completely still under my onslaught. Her lips remained soft. She let me part them so I could swipe my tongue against hers, but she didn’t reach for me.
She didn’t even kiss me back. She just sat there like a statue.
“Kiss me, Sophia.” I nipped at her bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth and sucking on it. This time, her eyes widened, and she moaned slightly. She tried to hide it, but I felt it against my face.
Capturing her lips again, I deepened the kiss even more.Scrambling for the belt around my waist, I unbuckled it and pushed her back into the seat.
“Fucking kiss me like you used to,“ I moaned against her mouth.
I didn’t understand why I was so desperate for her when only seconds before that, I had been furious with her, but that’s the effect she had always had on me.
Well, not always. For years, I’d looked at her like a sister. For years and years, right up to that summer where everything changed.
“Is that?” My breath rattled in my chest as I glanced over the pristine lawn to the girl standing under one of the many gazebos. A glass of what looked like champagne was in one hand. Her dress was white and had tiny pale flowers all over it, and her long, slightly curly dark hair was braided across her shoulder to curl around her breast.
My eyes locked on those small but full mounds, perfectly outlined by the white, flowy dress.
“Yeah, she got back from school yesterday.” Completely oblivious, Gio snagged a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. “Daddy wanted her here so he could show her off.”
Show her off? Over the rim of my glass, I watched as she smiled and laughed and flirted. Was Sophia flirting? The man in front of her wasn’t that funny, and yet, she was laughing away and touching his arm.
“Wait.” Tearing my eyes away from her for a second, I met her brother’s eyes. “He wants to find her a husband?”
He shrugged like he didn’t really care what happened to his sister. I knew that wasn’t true. He loved Sophia.
We both did. We protected her.
And that was going to get a whole lot harder to do now because she had left for college a girl and come back—
My eyes raked over her.
She had come back all woman.
Like she could feel my eyes on her, she half turned. A small frown pinched her eyebrows together for a second before she met my eyes, and then she smiled.
Not the smile she had been throwing around all day. This one was genuine. It made her eyes sparkle.
“Yes, I guess so. Someone…”
He didn’t get to finish.
“Gio.” A dark-haired beauty slid in between us, kissing first his cheek and then mine. “Matteo,” she cooed. “My two favorites.” She giggled, and I rolled my eyes, but as usual, Gio ate it up.
