Page 33 of Wicked Bloodlines

The next thing I felt was Matteo’s hot cum erupting inside me. He hugged me tightly to him, both arms solidly around me while he rode out his orgasm and prolonged my own.

I didn’t let go of Matteo when it was over. Not at first. I clung to him like he was the only thing holding me together. Maybe that was the truth.

Matteo finally set me down, hands steady on my waist. Water still pounded down in a heated cascade. I leaned into Matteo’s chest and let him hold me upright.

When I finally met his eyes, I saw the truth there. Possession. Worry. Some kind of raw, tangled pride. “Can you stand?”

“I think so.”

He turned off the water then got us towels, wrapping one around me before carrying me to the vanity to set me down. He dried me off before giving himself a once over.

When I started to scoot off the vanity, Matteo picked me back up and carried me to the bedroom, laying me gently on the bed and crawling in after. Matteo pulled me firmly against him so I lay draped over his chest. I could feel his heartbeat, steady and slow under my ear.

“You did good,” he said, voice rough.

“I’m still shaking,” I said.

“I know. And I’ll hold you until you stop.”

“Maria—”

“Will be fine.” He kissed my hair, my cheek, my jaw. “You got her out. I’m getting her the best care and you’ll be here with her through everything.”

“Thank you, Matteo. I wasn’t sure who I could trust. I didn’t know if you would help me or just make things worse.”

“I understand. But I’d prefer if we were honest with each other from here on out. It’s the only way we make us work. And, I’ve got to tell you, Sofia, I really want to make this work.”

“This as in… us?”

When I looked up at him, he smiled. “Yeah, baby. Us. Will you trust me?”

I held his gaze, searching his expression for anything to make me doubt him. Anything at all. And I came up empty. Matteo might have been the man who bought me, in a way, but he’d become so much more. “Yes, Matteo. I trust you.”

“Good.” He smiled down at me, covering my hand with his larger one. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he said. “I’ve had more than one of my men request I spank you for that stunt.”

A bark of laughter escaped before I could stop. “Yeah. I can guess which two.”

He sobered then, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “Tell me what you want, Sofia,” he said.

I thought about it for a long moment. “To sleep. With you. Until the world ends.”

He wrapped both arms around me and pulled me closer, my legs tangling with his. “Done,” he said, and I believed him.

I let myself rest, while the sun finished climbing the wall and turned the whole room to fire, and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Twelve

Matteo

Sundown came fast, dragging the October chill across the villa. By the time I hit the west wing, Darrio’s study resembled a war room. Monitors, half a dozen open laptops with our best tech people doing Dario and Alessandro’s bidding. Alessandro had his sleeves rolled and he coordinated everything.

Twelve hours since we kicked open the doors on Marchesi’s pet graveyard. Since then, the house had barely slept. Half the men rotated on rest, the other half locked the place down tight.

Alessandro called the room to order with two knuckles on the table. “Let’s get the board clear before we roll,” he said.

He pointed up at the main screen where several pictures came up. “Transport crew,” Alessandro said. “Vincent sent them to collect the women. They hit the lot inside the hour after we breached.”

Vittorio grunted. “Means Anthony had it in his ear before sunrise.”