18. Matteo

18

MATTEO

T he elevator dings, letting me off on the main level of my penthouse. I've been here more in the last week than I have in the past month combined.

I typically stay at my family's secluded estate, which sits on sixteen acres of land located outside the city. It's large enough to hold my family home, a pool with a pool house, and a gym, while still being small enough to keep secure. The concrete wall perimeter around the entire property, twenty-four-seven surveillance, along with several armed guards on at all times makes sure no one can get in or out of the property without my knowing.

Voices come from the living room as I make my way down the hall. Rounding the corner, I see Enzo and Luxtyn on the couch.

"I don't know, Enzo," she says. Her shoulders sag and her gaze drops to her fidgeting fingers in her lap. I can hear the defeat in her tone from here and it does things to my heart that it really fucking shouldn't, but I'm beginning to figure out that when it comes to Luxtyn, my mind and body will act on their own volition.

"What if we don't find her?" she asks.

Enzo slides his arm around her on the back of the couch in a comforting way. I swear she leans into him slightly, and that's when I see red.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" I demand. This doesn't look like she's going stir-crazy. This looks like my brother's going to be fucking slaughtered for touching my wife.

Enzo glances up. "Well, look who's finally back," he says with a hint of a smirk drawing up on his face. He leans back into the couch looking comfortable as fuck.

Luxtyn's gaze shoots to mine, and there's a slight ease in my chest at the innocent sight of her. Her face is void of any makeup and her dark hair is pulled up on top of her head in a messy bun. However, that innocent look on her face quickly disappears and is replaced with a scowl as she jumps to her feet, and stomps toward me.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demands. "You force me to marry you and then leave for three days and give me nothing about my mom?"

Just when I think she's going to stop in front of me, she doesn't. She barrels into me, shoving me with all her strength. It doesn't sway me in the slightest, but I commend her on her effort.

"What is wrong with you?" She shoves me again, but I remain rooted in place, which seems to irritate her more.

"You said you'd hold up your end of the deal, so what's going on?" She attempts to shove me once more, but this time I take her small delicate wrists in my hands and pull her close to my chest.

It's not until now I realize the "outfit" she has on, which immediately has me in a damn rage. "What the fuck are you wearing?"

The little minx gives me a sly smile like she just remembered. "You haven't let me leave this place, so I'm wearing my comfy clothes."

Her comfy clothes consist of a baggy shirt I know for damn sure is Enzo's, short ass shorts I can only see because she has Enzo's shirt tied up in the corner, and no fucking bra. Her nipples brush against me when her chest rises and falls, nearly in sync with mine. And hell, it feels so damn good.

"Besides, it was warmer out today than it has been, so my usual sweatshirt and leggings were out of the question. It was hot."

"If you're hot, put on the damn air conditioning," I grind out. She's been prancing around in this getup all day with Enzo here? I'm going to fucking kill him.

"Enzo knows how to control the thermostat. Don't you, Enzo?" I call out from over Luxtyn's head, but my eyes remain glued to hers.

"Sorry. Must've forgotten," Enzo calls out from the couch. I snap my gaze to his, and he's smiling. Definitely going to kill him.

"And why the fuck are you wearing Enzo's shirt?" My voice is harsh, but Luxtyn doesn't show if it's affected her. In fact, she seems happy. As if she finds enjoyment in getting under my skin.

"I was wearing mine originally, but I spilled my coffee on it this morning, and since I didn't bring a surplus of clothes with me to NYC in the first place, Enzo was generous enough to lend me his for the time being while I wash my stuff."

She gives me a sardonic smile as she wiggles to free herself from my grasp. I let her struggle for a few moments, relishing the way her body feels as it rubs up against mine .

"This'll be the last time you ever have another man's shirt on. You need something to wear, Little Lux, you come to me." Her breath catches in her throat as she stops moving and her eyes stare up into mine. I drop my gaze to her lips, and her delicious pink tongue darts out to moisten them.

She falters slightly but attempts to pull the shirt down as if it'll cover anything with it tied at her hip. I rake my gaze down her frame, taking in her toned legs. Legs I've been fantasizing about having wrapped around me.

"So," she says, pulling me from my intrusive thoughts. "Do you have anything on my mom?"

I let out a sigh. "Nothing other than what Enzo told you."

"You said you would help me find her."

"I know."

"Then why haven't you figured anything out?" she yells. Stepping back, she lets out a long breath as if she's trying to calm herself down. "Put yourself in my shoes. If your mom was missing, wouldn't it drive you crazy? Wouldn't you want to do everything in your power to get her back?"

Yes. Not being there to help my parents is something I regret every single day.

The sadness washes over her face as her eyes grow glossy. "Can I at least help? Please. I want to help. I need to help."

Nothing but silence encompasses the air around us as I contemplate my options. Running a hand through my hair, I finally speak. "I'm not sure why it's been this difficult to find your mother. Silvestri can be cocky, and he can be messy. If he's the one who kidnapped her, I should've heard about it by now with the tactics I've been using."

"Okay. . . so, what does that mean?"

"You don't think Silvestri's behind taking Lux's mom?" Enzo asks as he pushes himself up off the couch and walks over to us.

When the fuck did he start calling her Lux ?

The way he says her name is so. . . comfortable. Like they're best friends who've known each other for years. I don't fucking like it.

I shake my head. "Not exactly. Mancini's theory with Mauricio behind it is strong. I need to gain access to Mauricio, but if I do, that'll put us in the limelight and has the potential to start a war."

Silence fills the air once more. "What if I do it?" Luxtyn asks. "What if I can get close to Mauricio?"

"Absolutely fucking not," I say at the same time Enzo responds, "The fuck, no."

Luxtyn bounces her gaze from mine to his and back to mine again. "Fine. That would probably be too obvious anyway, but what about Elena and Giuliana?"

"Another terrible idea," I say while Enzo asks, "Are you insane?" at the same time as me.

Rolling her eyes, she continues. "Angelo brought up wanting me to meet them." She points at me. "You even said you wouldn't be surprised if Elena knows something about my mom's disappearance. I think I should go and see if I can figure anything out."

"No," I say with finality.

She lets out a frustrated breath and mutters, "So ridiculous." She folds her arms across her chest, causing her shirt to ride up and her tits to lift.

Fuck this.

I stalk over to the couch and pull the throw blanket off it, tossing it to her. Her eyebrows furrow as she barely catches it at the last second. "Wrap it around your body," I order, answering her unspoken question.

"I'm not cold."

I close the distance between us and lean down, inhaling the delicious sweet scent of her body wash. "Either you wrap this blanket around your body now , or I'll bend you over the back of this couch and give my brother an even bigger show than you already have."

A spark flares in her eyes before a smirk pulls at the corner of her lips. "What makes you think I wouldn't like that?"

She pushes the blanket into my chest as she walks away. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. When I get back, I expect you guys to have a real plan for finding my mom, and if you don't." She pauses as she glances over her shoulder, her eyes focused on mine. "We're going with my plan."

Turning back around, she saunters out of the room, and I drop my gaze to that tight ass of hers. Round and perky, just waiting to be spanked. Waiting to have my teeth sunk into it.

Fucking hell.

Enzo's voice pulls me out of my daze. "Man. I bet you guys are going to have some fucking fantastic sex."

"Why does my wife feel comfortable enough around you to be prancing around in nothing but her underwear and your shirt?"

"Would you rather I have her walk around with no shirt on?" Before I can answer with what would've been wrapping him up in a chokehold, Enzo holds up his pointer finger. "And one, she wasn't in her underwear. She was in a T-shirt and shorts." Adding another finger, he continues. "And two, Lux and I are practically best friends now. I've been the girl's only human interaction in three days. Three days, Teo ."

"You say it like it's been a fucking month," I say, bored. Three days is not that long. "Besides, you could've taken her somewhere. You both decided not to leave the penthouse."

"Oh, I've tried. Trust me. She hasn't wanted to go anywhere because all she's been thinking about is her mom. Do you know how often that girl paces? She could break a damn world record for it."

He lets out a sigh. "The point is, you can't keep ignoring the girl. I know finding her mom is proving to be more difficult than you anticipated, but you can't keep coming home at one in the morning just to be a fucking creeper and check in on her while she's sleeping, then leave by five. What's the point of even coming here at that point? You might as well stay away."

I should stay away, and if I was smart, I would, but every night I come back to the penthouse late and find myself drawn to Luxtyn's room, spurring a feeling inside of me that I never thought I'd experience in my life. Her dark hair sprawled across her pillow has been incinerated into my brain. Knowing I get to come home to the same image, it's fucking pathetic and it's ruining me, slowly chipping away at the stone wall I've built around my heart.

My phone rings, so I pull it out of my back pocket and see it's Mancini. I've been dodging his calls the past few days. He's been wanting to see Luxtyn, but the idea still doesn't sit well with me. We might be working together, but the protective instinct that comes out of me when it comes to her is overpowering anything else. She's mine, and I'll keep her safe. Even if that means needing to keep her away from her father and his family.

"Let me get this real quick," I say, bringing the phone up to my ear. "Mancini."

"When are you going to let me see my daughter, Matteo?" He's irritated. Good. The old man waited nearly twenty-three years to have a relationship with her. He can wait a little longer.

"That depends. Have you figured out where her mother is?"

He clears his throat. "I haven't heard anything from Mauricio. I've had a few guys I trust keep their eyes and ears open, but that hasn't turned up anything. What about on your end?"

"Nothing," I say.

"I want to see my daughter, Matteo. We're having a family dinner at my house tonight. I would like for her to come." His tone has a hint of desperation, like he's been longing for this moment his entire life.

Luxtyn walks back into the living room, and I'm pleased to see she has a pair of leggings on this time. I'm not pleased to see she's still galavanting around fucking braless.

"She's busy. Maybe another time," I grind out before hanging up the phone and stuffing it into the pocket of my slacks.

Luxtyn slows her pace as she approaches, eyeing Enzo and me with a wrinkle in her brow. "Who was that?"

"No one."

She crosses her arms in front of her chest, pushing those tits up nice and high once again. She's far too much of a distraction for me.

"Obviously that's a lie. So who was it?"

"It's none of your business, Luxtyn."

"You were clearly speaking about me, so who was it?" Her eyes widen. "Angelo. It was Angelo, wasn't it? What did he want? Does he want to see me?"

Her excitement doesn't go unnoticed, and it kills me. Why doesn't she get this excited when it comes to me? Oh, right, because I'm a fucking asshole who's been trying to convince us both that I want nothing to do with her.

I should lie to her about it being Angelo, but my heart shatters thinking about doing that. I don't want her to see him, but I don't want her to think he doesn't want to see her. To feel rejected.

Isn't that what I've been doing, though? Rejecting her. Our situation is different. This arrangement is a business transaction, but there's no rule that says we can't enjoy each other's company. Maybe I've been going about this all wrong, keeping her away as much as I have. Pushing her directly into my brother's hands. We'll be husband and wife for the rest of our lives and instead of embracing it, I've been avoiding it. That's all about to fucking change now.

"Yes, he was asking about seeing you," I say to her.

She drops her hands to her sides. "This is perfect. I can see if he wants to have that dinner with Elena and Giuliana."

"You're not going." She opens her mouth, surely to argue. "And that's the end of that," I say with finality. I go to walk past her, but just when I'm about to, she grabs ahold of my arm. Not too tight, but it still stops me.

She stares up at me with pleading eyes. "Please." The single word squeezes my chest so tightly it hurts. "Let me do something." She swallows deeply while she waits for my response.

I close my eyes and tilt my head up to the ceiling, letting out a long sigh. This is not what I want to do, but I say, "Fine," and the excitement on her face is immediate. A smile pulls at her lips, and I love that I put it there.

"Thank you, thank you!" she squeals before reaching up to place a light kiss on my cheek. The act was so innocent, so comfortable for her, she didn't even falter when she did it. "I'm going to go get changed," she adds before scurrying back down the hallway that leads to her room, leaving Enzo and me in silence.

The silence is broken a few seconds later when Enzo claps a hand down on my shoulder and says, "Well, looks like you're pussy whipped now," before walking off toward the kitchen with a stark laugh. And at this point, I can't deny it. But do I even want to?