Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
With thinned lips, I nodded, then huffed. “Fine.”
His dark eyes bore into mine. “In all those frenetic thoughts that just raced through your adorable brain, did you, for even a moment, think of yourself?”
I blinked as I opened my lips to answer, then closed them. His question caught me completely off guard. My gaze shifted away from his probing one. “Why are you asking?”
“Just answer the question. Did you think of your own situation, or were you more worried about how your sister and father would react?”
I swallowed as I shifted my hips. “You’re crushing me.”
“No, I’m not. And you’re stalling.”
I let out another frustrated breath. “Well, so what if I thought of them first? Most people would consider family loyalty a good thing.”
He tapped the end of my nose. “And I’m one of them. Your fierce loyalty and protective nature are some of the things I adore about you, but what I see as a strength, your family is exploiting as a weakness.”
My hands pushed at his shoulders, but he wouldn’t budge. “I don’t need you judging me or my family situation. You don’t know me. Until a few hours ago, you thought I was my sister!”
His hand cupped the left side of my face. “Let’s get a few things straight right now. If you think this ridiculous plan of yours and your sister's would have lasted beyond today, you are sorely mistaken. The only reason you fooled me this long was because of my guilt.”
I shifted my head away from the distracting warmth of his hand. “I don’t understand.”
Matteo rose off the bed and zipped his jeans.
I took that moment to snatch the bedcovers over my naked shoulders.
He rubbed his eyes as he paced away and then turned back to me. “I wanted her to be you.”
His words were so unexpected I was certain I didn’t hear him correctly.
His hand moved to rub the back of his neck as he clearly chose his words carefully. “You talk about family loyalty. As much as I detest how much you have sacrificed for your family, I am guilty of the same thing. Your sister didn’t want to marry me? The feeling was mutual.”
I scooted back deeper onto the center of the bed, drawing my knees up and wrapping the blanket more securely around me. “So why did you agree?”
His rough hands moved to his hips. I stared at the dark smudges on his right hand. Had he tattooed my skin with his touch?
He continued. “I’ve told you. Your sister was in danger, and my family owed Dante a favor in return for his protection. It was as simple as that. That night on my boat…”
Once again, he paced away, then returned to stand before me. “I shouldn’t have treated you so brutally. The harsh truth is, I thought a silver lining in this whole clusterfuck of a mess was I’d be getting an experienced bride who liked it rough and kinky in bed.”
And just like that, the cold emptiness returned.
I swallowed past the thick, swollen sensation in my throat as tears threatened. Bowing my head to cover my face with my hair, I leapt off the bed, not caring about my nakedness, and ran to the bathroom as I tossed over my shoulder, “You don’t have to say anything else.”
Slamming the door behind me, I choked back a sob as I reached behind me and turned the lock on the doorknob.
Second to my sister… again.
Matteo pounded on the door. “Ella? What the fuck?”
“Just go away.”
The doorknob rattled.
“Open this door.”
I glimpsed my reflection in the mirror. At first, I was confused, genuinely not realizing I was staring at myself. I looked like a discarded rag doll. My makeup was smeared. My hair a tangled mess. The red scratches from that terrible bra were still visible along my ribcage.
And then there were his marks.
Black smudges around my neck and a distinct handprint over my left breast.
Then there was the faint smudge of blood and come across my inner thigh.
Oh God!
I jumped when the door rattled as Matteo pounded on it. “I’m giving you one second to open this damn door.”
Instead of answering, I moved to snatch a large cobalt-blue towel from a neatly folded stack in a wicker basket below the white marble sink.
"Sciatiri e matri!" I shrieked, jumping and almost dropping the towel as the locked door splintered and flew open.
CHAPTER 32
MATTEO
Iwas fucking this up.
The problem was, I couldn’t afford to fuck this up.
After kicking the door open, I stormed inside the bathroom. “You’re going to listen to what I have to say.”
She wrapped the towel around her middle and clutched it between her breasts. “I get it. You were hoping to get the sexy sister, and you got the nerdy one instead.”
My bark of laughter echoed around the bathroom.
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin, preparing to do battle with me.