Page 70 of Beautiful Sinner

“Good. Help me stitch it up.”

“Matteo, a doctor.”

“No. Not when I just technically kidnapped you. Viktor will be on a manhunt for me. I can’t risk it right now.”

“Then you shouldn’t have technically kidnapped me.”

He takes my hands in his and gazes up at me with a tenderness so sweet, it leaves me breathless. “And leave you to Connor? Not a fucking chance.”

I shiver. I know I’m halfway to being in love with him. I couldn’t resist him even if I wanted to and I don’t want to.

“Ok.” I clean his wound with an alcohol wipe before sterilizing the needle and thread. “You really had a first aid get ready to go.”

“I always keep one nearby. You never know when you’re going to need to stitch up a wound. And I will see a doctor. Later. This is just to stop the bleeding for now.”

My hands shake as I place the needle to his skin. “Do I have to do this?”

“I need you to.”

He’s really trusting me to stab a needle into his skin.

Matteo winces and grits his teeth as I push the needle through his skin and out the other side but to his credit, he holds still. It’s only once I’m done that he lets out a long breath.

“Thank you.” He grabs my hand and places it over his wound. “I don’t regret taking you, Julia. You need to know that.”

“I thought you wanted this war to end.”

“I do.”

“Taking me and upsetting my brother isn’t the way to do it. I need to talk to Viktor. I need to tell him that I’m ok or he’ll think you’re hurting me.”

“In time. But right now-,”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence because the front door bangs open. We hurry into the living room and stop when we see Dante standing there.

“What the fuck, Matteo?” His eyes flicker between the both of us. “What the fuck?”

Matteo places himself partially in front of me. He doesn’t fully trust Dante, I realize. “I did what I had to do.”

“You said you didn’t want Julia to die, not that you were going to kidnap her.”

“I didn’t kidnap her. Right?”

I nod. “I mean… I’m not afraid of Matteo. He won’t hurt me. In another world, I would have gone with him willingly.”

Dante rolls his eyes. “Well, Viktor is going to see it as a kidnapping. Our mission was to kill Connor and possibly Viktor, not take his sister.”

“Is Connor dead?” I ask.

“Why? Worried about your precious husband to be? I don’t trust you, Julia. You’re using Matteo. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“I don’t care about Connor,” I snap. “I never wanted to be with him and I’ve never used Matteo. He means everything to me.”

“Julia has been locked up most of her life. How could she use me, Dante, when she’s as innocent as she is?”

“She’s not innocent,” Dante grumbles. “She’s Viktor’s sister. That alone makes her not innocent.”

“She’s innocent,” Matteo reiterates. “Trust me. If it weren’t for Julia, we never would have known about the wedding.”