Page 21

CHAPTER 20

G iulia

When I came looking for Matteo this morning, I’d already decided to do whatever it took to heal the damage the last couple of days has done to our relationship. I spent most of the night thinking about us and realized that a life without Matteo in it would be unbearably empty. Despite how it began, I want our marriage to be a success.

I expected some hostility from Matteo, perhaps a little aggression. I wasn’t prepared for him to offer to set me free. It was no empty gesture. Having the papers ready to present to me proved he meant what he said. If I wanted to leave, he’d have let me. The fact he was willing to give me what he thought would make me happy means more than I can express. It’s a measure of the sort of man he is. One who loves me so much he’d be willing to do anything to be in my life.

He sets me down on the floor of what I assume is one of his brother’s guest rooms. It’s sparsely decorated with a gigantic bed, a couple of nightstands, and a chest of drawers. There aren’t any personal touches such as pictures or soft furnishings in here. It’s definitely not Alessandro and Emilia’s room, thank goodness. It would be just like Matteo to want to defile his brother’s private sanctuary. The sheets on the bed are crumpled, so I guess Matteo slept in here last night.

“Clothes off,” he commands.

“Should we be doing this here?”

Matteo raises an eyebrow as he goes to sit at the edge of the bed. He’s fucked me at Damiano’s restaurant and Lorenzo’s vineyard. Why should I worry about doing it in a room in his brother’s apartment?

“Clothes. Off.” There’s impatience in his voice now. Matteo does not like to repeat himself.

Knowing there will be consequences if I don’t obey, I bend to unzip my suede ankle boots. I remove them first and then my socks. Then I take off my jeans. My movements are quick, efficient. I’m not attempting seduction here. I don’t need to. The massive bulge in Matteo’s pants tells me he doesn’t require a show to turn him on.

My panties come next. I drop them on the floor. Unbuttoning my shirt takes a little longer because my hands are shaking. It’s not from fear. Nervous anticipation flows through me. Matteo is going to spank my ass and it will hurt, but I know once that’s over he’ll make me forget the pain.

When I finally get all the buttons open, I slip the shirt off my shoulders. I reach behind me to unfasten my bra and fumble over that for a minute. Yeah, definitely not winning any prizes for my stripping technique. I wrestle my bra off and blink in surprise when Matteo holds his hand out for it.

“Give it to me,” he says.

I cross the room and hand it to him.

“Turn around.”

At his command, I give him my back. I don’t have to wait long to find out what he plans. He pulls my arms behind me and ties my wrists together with the bra. I try to move my hands. They’re bound securely, but not tight enough to cut off the circulation. It’s strange but I like it. Got to give him points for improvisation.

Matteo spins me around and pulls me down over his lap. My feet remain on the floor. My torso is draped across his knees and my head dangles over the other side. I notice, absently, that he’s wearing battered old sneakers with dress pants. Odd.

“Twenty should get your ass nice and red,” Matteo says as he helps me to settle into position. Being draped over his lap brings a strange combination of feelings to the fore. I’m vulnerable and yet I’m comfortable. It’s a testament to the trust I have in this man.

Matteo holds nothing back as he spanks me for the first time. His palm cracks off my ass, jolting me across his lap. My nipples rub against his leg and I know already that this is going to be sensual torture. He spanks me five times in rapid succession and then pauses, giving me a moment to register the pain. At the moment it’s superficial, an uncomfortable prickling beneath the surface. It’s matched by a gentle ripple of awareness in my pussy.

“I love seeing my handprint on your skin.” Matteo caresses my bottom lovingly. “It shows who you belong to.”

This time when he speaks of ownership, I don’t balk at it. I realize now it’s not to stifle me, but to give me the sense of security that allows me to be myself, to give free rein to my desires. It’s Matteo letting me know I’m safe with him, that he’ll protect me from harm.

I don’t bask in the warmth of that knowledge for long. Matteo resumes the spanking, delivering increasingly sharp smacks to my sensitized flesh. The burn goes deeper, the ache spreading until I can’t hold back my moans. I wiggle my hips, trying to shake loose the source of the agony, but Matteo puts a hand at the small of my back to hold me down. His dominance sends a jolt of desire straight to my core.

“Just two more, sweetheart. Spread your legs wider.”

I do as I’m told and brace myself, knowing what’s coming when he positions his hand beneath me. In this position, he can’t strike with the same momentum. There isn’t room for him to draw his arm back. It doesn’t matter. With a firm flick of the wrist, he delivers a slap that makes me dance up on my toes as a barely human shriek rips from my throat.

“Son of a…”

“Language,” Matteo chides. “You wouldn’t want to add to the count.”

Matteo doesn’t care if I curse. He’s just looking for an excuse to keep on spanking me. I can feel his cock twitching against my side. He’s getting a real kick out of this. Though I have to admit I’m getting more and more turned on by being draped over his lap and punished, I’d like to move this along.

“Sorry, Matteo.”

He hums, like he’s not convinced by my apology. He shouldn’t be because it’s completely insincere, but he doesn’t call me on it. I think he’s as eager as I am to get to the next phase of his plan.

He delivers the last strike between my legs. I yelp, but I’m not quite so startled by the zing of pain this time. I wait for Matteo to let me up, but he holds me in place while his fingers explore my feminine folds.

“You’re dripping, sweetheart.” His fingers skim over my swollen clit. “You’re soaking my pants. Well, Sandro’s pants.”

Mortified, I glare up at him, my eyes narrowed. “You’d better have them dry-cleaned before you give them back. Better still, burn them.”

“Are you giving orders, sweetheart?”

I suck in a breath as he squeezes my poor aching ass.

“It’s not an order,” I tell him. “Just a suggestion I strongly urge you to follow.”

Matteo grins. “I see the spanking didn’t diminish your sass. Perhaps I need to find a way to keep your mouth busy.”

There’s no mystery as to how he intends to achieve that. Lifting me effortlessly off his lap, he arranges me on my knees on the floor, my hands still bound behind me. I rest back on my heels and watch while he undresses. Although I’m not entirely comfortable on my knees like this, it’s no hardship to watch my husband strip. He toes off his sneakers, revealing bare feet. He rips his shirt open, popping buttons across the room. I’ll bet that belonged to Alessandro too.

When he shucks off his pants, it becomes apparent that while he borrowed clothing from his older brother, underwear wasn’t included. He’s suddenly stark naked. He grabs his impressive erection and strokes himself slowly, once, twice, three times.

“Thirsty, sweetheart?” he taunts, and I realize I’m practically drooling. He steps closer and places a hand beneath my chin. He gently pulls me up so my face is level with his crotch. His thumb rubs across the seam of my lips. “Open up. I’m going to fuck your pretty little mouth.”

I part my lips and he slides his cock between them. His length glides over my tongue and hits the back of my throat. Panic seizes me and my shoulders stiffen, but I quickly tamp it down. I’ve done this before. I can take him. He won’t push too hard . Repeating the words inside my head, I convince myself to relax.

“Good girl.” Matteo strokes my cheek as he slides out and back in. “Swallowing your husband’s cock so well.”

I close my eyes as he hits the back of my throat, and breathe in his clean, masculine scent. He tangles his fingers in my hair. I can’t wait to grow it long again for him. Though he hasn’t said anything, I know he preferred it before. If I had a ponytail, he’d be able to wrap it around his fist and use it to control my movements. Fuck! Just thinking about that makes me wetter.

“Eyes on me, Giulia.” Matteo thrusts deep. My eyes fly open. “I want your full attention.”

I give him what he wants, fixing my gaze on him. The connection is electric. My body thrums with need as he continues to fuck my mouth, thrusting just hard enough to send a frisson of fear through me, but not so forcefully that I choke.

A pained sound escapes Matteo as I suck gently, drawing him in deep. He throws his head back and stills as his cock jerks inside my mouth. A hot jet of cum hits my throat and I swallow it eagerly. Matteo drags his still semi-hard cock out of my mouth, his breathing ragged.

“My turn.” His eyes glitter with dark intent.

Pulling me up from the floor, he shoves me face down over the bed. I wait for him to slide into me, but he doesn’t. Instead, he drops to his knees behind me and forces my legs farther apart. I gasp as he swipes his tongue along my pussy. Already keyed up, it doesn’t take long before my clit is throbbing. Pleasure twists my insides into a knot. The pressure builds and I’m so, so close when Matteo pulls back.

I hiss as he spreads my ass cheeks apart, digging his fingers into the tender flesh. Then he does something I never expected. His tongue circles my tight rear hole. It’s weird, but incredibly hot. I clench my fists, frustrated that I can’t clutch the sheets like I want to.

Matteo gets to his feet behind me, leaving me squirming on the bed, trying to find my own path to release. He unties my wrists, picks me up, and drops me onto the bed. I scramble to the middle. The bed dips as he crawls toward me. I part my legs for him, welcoming him in.

He pushes inside me so slowly, so reverently, my heart swells. His eyes find mine and I read so much in his gaze. There’s love, possession, trust, and fear. I reach up and stroke his face. This should be a moment for tenderness, for taking it slow and worshiping each other’s bodies, but that’s not what I need right now.

“Fuck me, Matty. Make me yours.”

A crease appears at the bridge of his nose. He holds himself still. The stretch is delicious, but I want more. Despite the way he carried me in here and spanked my ass, he’s not sure of himself. I hate that my leaving him placed those doubts in his mind. Fortunately, I know just how to snap him out of it.

“Fuck me, Matteo, or I’ll find someone who will.”

Though I’m sure he knows I’m baiting him, that I’d never seek out another man, anger flares in his eyes. An animalistic growl rips from his throat as he raises himself up onto the palms of his hands and pumps his hips. He hooks an arm under my leg and pushes it up toward my chest, lifting my ass off the bed. I pant with desperate need as he slides out of me then slams back in.

His pace intensifies. I match his thrusts, moving my hips to meet him, but I can’t keep up. He fucks me too fast, too hard for me to do anything but hang onto his shoulders and take every ounce of the furious passion he pours into me.

My head thrashes from side to side as I dig my nails into Matteo’s flesh. My womb clenches and my pussy clamps down around my husband’s massive cock.

“You were made for me to fuck,” Matteo snarls. “Your pussy knows it, you know it.”

“Yes. Oh, fuck, Matty!”

“Come for me.” He punches his hips, driving repeatedly into my quivering body. “Show me what a good little slut my wife can be.”

His words have an immediate effect. It speaks to some deep-rooted instinct to please the man who’s laying claim to me. My back arches off the bed and a low keening sound comes from my throat as my vision blurs.

I sink into the bed as Matteo releases my leg. He pulls out of me and semen splatters across my stomach as he reaches his own climax. For a moment, I can’t think. I barely feel. My body is weightless, floating. Then Matteo drops onto the bed and pulls me into his arms. My head rests on his chest and his heartbeat anchors me.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

I nod as I nuzzle into his chest. For a long time, I enjoy the comfort being close to him brings. Then I shuffle across the bed and roll onto my side to face him.

“Tell me what happened after I left the church.”

Matteo props himself up on his elbow and frowns at me. “You want to hear this?”

“Not the gory details.” I shudder at the thought of the torture he inflicted on those men. “Just what you learned.”

“The Rossis weren’t looking to kill me that day in the village. Sofia Montalbano rejected Mario Rossi, so he sent his men to take her out.”

“What?” The word fires out of me.

“I can’t believe she was the target.”

“Me neither.”

“She was just a kid.”

“Mario Rossi’s a psycho.” Matteo blows out a breath. “Was a psycho. We killed him when we first went looking for revenge.”

“Would you have gone after them if you’d known they weren’t trying to kill you?”

“Yeah, they killed an innocent girl right in front of me in Volante territory.”

I get that. It was a question of honor. That’s what earns these guys respect. “You told me you wiped out most of them.” I recall him telling me that. “So, who attacked us at the church?”

“Some of the cockroaches who scuttled away when we first went after them regrouped.”

“What about the boy? Was he a Rossi?”

Something akin to regret flickers in Matteo’s eyes. He shakes his head. “He had a thing for Sofia. The Rossis manipulated him into believing she was with me that day, that I was fucking her.” I can hear the disgust in Matteo’s voice. He would never get involved with such a young, innocent girl. “They persuaded him the way to get to me was through you.”

He doesn’t elaborate on how they’d have used me, but I know enough to realize it wouldn’t have been pleasant, and I feel a little sick that the boy could walk right up to me in a nightclub, right under Damiano’s nose. I guess it’s proof I need to be vigilant when out in public.

“He seemed so sad when he spoke to me.” I roll onto my back and look at the ceiling. “Did you kill him?”

“No.”

My eyes dart to Matteo’s face. He’s telling the truth, but I know the boy didn’t walk away alive.

“Damiano?”

“Lorenzo, actually.”

“Then he met a horrible end.”

Matteo takes my hand. “Giulia, no matter which of us did it, his death wouldn’t have been quick, it wouldn’t have been clean. You have to understand that. He was a man, not a boy. He made his choices. If he’d had his way, I’d be mourning you right now.”

I nod because I know it’s true. I understand the need to remove a threat in the most brutal way possible. It’s imperative to show the world that we can’t be touched. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Matteo drags his teeth over his bottom lip as he gazes down at me. “Are you sorry you asked me about it?”

I shake my head. “No. I want you to share this stuff with me, Matty.”

He smiles at my use of the name. Our eyes lock and something unspoken passes between us. An understanding that this is a fresh start.

“Come on.” Matteo gets off the bed and holds his hand out to me. “We need a shower before we go home.”

Warmth spreads through me at the thought of going home with him. We step into the shower cubicle and he closes the glass door behind us.

“You know,” he says as turns on the water, “Leo and Vinnie once fucked so hard in the shower they broke the whole damn thing.”

I slap his shoulder. “Leo should not have told you that, and you shouldn’t have told me.” I tut disapprovingly. “And you called your brothers gossips.”

“Yeah, but…” He wraps his arms around my waist and playfully prods my stomach with his erection. Trust him to be hard again. “I thought we could, you know…”

“No, we are not breaking your brother’s shower.”

“Okay, then how about this?” Matteo drops to his knees and presses his lips to my pubic bone. “How about I do what I should have done from the moment I first met you?”

“What’s that?” I ask, breathless as he carefully parts my legs and inhales my scent.

“Love you.” He kisses me softly. “Honor you.”

I grab a handful of his soft brown hair and pull his head back until his eyes meet mine. “Obey me?”

“Maybe.” Matteo chuckles and then grows solemn. “Will you do the same?”

“Yes, I will,” I tell him as he dives forward to lap at my pussy. “I will love, honor, and obey you.”

The words are a solemn vow I intend to keep. For the rest of my life.

The End