How do those words have such an intense effect on me?
“Now tell me why you ran.”
Even though I know I shouldn’t answer a devil like him, it’s the way he says it with such conviction that I feel obligated to obey. As though the mere sound of his commanding voice can persuade me to give up my thoughts freely.
I lick my lips. “When you told me those people at the restaurant died because Lucio wants me back, I felt so guilty. I just couldn’t stomach it.” Tears well up in my eyes. “All of those people died because Lucio wants me. He’ll do anything to get to me. He’ll kill all of your staff. Every last person who works for you. He won’t stop.”
With his thumb, Matteo brushes away the single tear that rolls down my cheek. “None of this is your fault, Tesoro. This was my choice to make. Those deaths are on my hands, not yours. And I would never, ever hurt you. But I also never want to make you cry again.”
I suck in a breath. “I …”
He smiles at me through the mirror. “Every tear you shed on his behalf, I will pay Lucio back tenfold.”
My pupils dilate. “You want to go to war with him and the entire Agostini family? That’s insane.”
Matteo’s nostrils flare as he blows out a breath. “The only thing that matters now is that you’re safe and that you’re here with me.”
Way to avoid the question.
“I don’t understand why you want me so badly that you won’t allow me to leave your house. That you’ll kill people over me, that you’ll go to war with another Mafia family because of me.”
He pulls something from his pocket and plays with it a little, but I can’t tell what it is, only that it’s metallic.
“Because that’s what you’re worth to me, Tesoro. You’re wortheverything, and I would risk it all, even my life, to keep you out of his claws.”
And I don’t know if it is his egotistical need to destroy Lucio that’s talking right now, or if he’s truly become obsessed with me.
He grabs a few strands of my hair and gently slides them aside, brushing my skin near my neck, and goose bumps scatter all over my body. Something metallic slithers around my throat, and I gasp as my own wedding ring is hung around my neck, sealed tightly with a clasp.
“I found this on the floor in your room the other day,” he says. “Since you so quickly discarded my love and refuseto keep it around your finger, I thought it might be easier for you to carry it around your neck.”
He presses the ring down on my clavicle, his eyes blazing with passion. “Close to your heart.”
“It’s just a ring,” I say.
His fingers won’t leave my skin. “It’s notjusta ring. It’s a symbol of my devotion to you, and I hope that you take yours just as seriously.”
He flaunts his own ring in the mirror, the same ring I put around his finger the moment we said our vows and became husband and wife. Something he seems to seriously want to take to the grave, and it’s only now slowly starting to settle with me.
He smiles at me through the mirror. “You look gorgeous with my ring around your neck.”
Even though I don’t want it to, a blush still creeps onto my cheeks.
Could I …
No. Don’t ever give in. He’s just another man looking to own your body in exchange for your safety, Stella.
His fingers trail a line from my clavicles to my neck, the soft touch sending shocks down my body, and my breath shudders. Good God, even this simple touch has my knees buckling.
His head lowers down toward my neck, and when his hot breath fans my ears, I nearly cave to the need to moan as my eyes roll into the back of my head.
Fuck.
What has this man done to me?
“Is this what you want, Tesoro?” he whispers into my ear.
I shouldn’t.
