Chapter 31

Iwas trapped.

Although could I really call it a trap if, as the prey, I willingly stepped into the cage?

The hard truth was, I could have stopped this madness at any moment by simply telling Matteo the truth.

I knew his kinky games and harsh punishments were only because he had assumed I was my much more experienced sister. And yet, I did nothing to stop them.

Because the obscene truth was, I liked it. I liked being dominated and subjugated by him. There was something about having your sense of control torn from your hands that was both terrifying and thrilling.

Even now, as I lay shamelessly half-naked across his lap, I knew if I truly screamed or cried out, he'd stop.

I moaned as his fingers pressed harder inside my pussy.

Biting my lip to prevent myself from screaming harder… deeper.

I wanted this.

I wanted him.

Fuck the consequences.

My scalp stung as he pulled my hair, bowing my back even further. "Come now, babygirl," he commanded in that dark, authoritative voice of his.

And I obeyed.

A ripple of pleasure ran up and down my spine as my hips ground against his leg, my inner muscles contracting around his fingers. "Oh, God! Oh God! Oh! Oh!"

Lost in the rush of pleasure sweeping over me like warm water, I barely registered it when Matteo shifted me off his lap and onto the cool silk of the bedcover.

His powerful hands gripped my waist as he guided me flat on my stomach. His knees forced my legs open wider. "I can't wait any longer," he breathed against my shoulder.

Although some, I was sure, would think it cruel, I was grateful he didn't turn me onto my back to face him. I didnt think I could do this if I was forced to look him in the eye.

The sound of him lowering the zipper of his jeans was like a buzz saw in the tense silence.

His hips then pressed against the underside of my ass.

I hissed. The skin was still deliciously swollen and sore from his belt.

The head of his cock pushed against my pussy. "This is going to hurt, baby. I can't be gentle. Not now."

"Make it hurt, Matteo." I needed the pain to assuage my guilt.

It burned as he pushed the wide head of his shaft past the tight ring of muscle guarding my entrance. I gritted my teeth, feeling my body stretch to accommodate his thick girth.

My fingers once more dug into the covers and I breathed out in short, erratic gasps.

"That's it, baby. Take my cock."

I moaned as I shifted my hips under him, trying to ease the building pressure.

He pushed in slowly, opening me. Sensations bombarded me. His calloused fingers gripping my hips. The coarse denim on his legs brushing against the soft skin of my inner thighs, exposed above the leather top of my borrowed boots.

My senses were hyper aware. Every touch. Every sound. Every brush of his skin against mine sent a bolt of electricity between my legs.

The head of his cock pushed against my maidenhead.

My body stiffened as guilt, doubt, and fear crashed over me. "Wait! I think…"

He pulled back… was he actually going to stop?

Before I could react, he thrust violently forward, breaking through my inner barrier, tearing my body in two.

I screamed as I curled up on my knees, trying to move into the fetal position.

Matteo covered my body with his as he wrapped his arms around my middle and cupped my breast with his right hand. Holding me tightly to him from behind, he paused for a moment then thrust again and again as I struggled in his embrace. "Hold on, baby. Use the pain."

Tears blurred my vision as my pussy contracted painfully around his cock to force him out of me.

He pulled my body up and back until I was practically sitting on his cock.

The movement forced him deeper inside of me.

My head fell back onto his shoulder as he shifted his head to kiss my forehead. Breathing heavily against my cheek, he rasped, "You're being such a good girl for me."

I whimpered again, trying to get past the pain of having him penetrating me.

His left hand moved over my stomach to tease my pussy as he continued to thrust inside of me.

"Please come," I begged. "Please come. I can't take much more."

"Yes, you can, baby. God, you're so tight."

I collapsed forward onto the bed.

He followed me down with the weight of his body. This time, he moved his hand to grip my hair. Yanking on it, he quickened his thrusts. Pounding into my vulnerable body repeatedly.

The fast rhythm and relentless pace stirred something deep inside of me. A low hum. A vibrating awareness as the hard ridge of the head of his cock seemed to taunt the sensitive nerves deep inside of me.

"Oh! Oh!" I breathed.

"Fuck, babygirl. I need you to come on my cock. Now," he growled with such ferocity, I didn't dare disobey.

My knees bent backward, and I hit him on the back with my heels as my thighs gripped his hips.

My own hips rocked against the mattress as I came a second time.

This orgasm was so fierce and overpowering, I saw stars behind my eyelids.

"God, yes! Yes! Fuck!" roared Matteo as he thrust several more times before releasing his liquid heat inside of me.

His body trembled as he thrust several more times before pulling out and collapsing to the side of me.

I was shocked how quickly I felt empty and cold without the press of his body on top of me.

But that was short-lived.

Matteo rolled onto his side and pulled me into the curve of his body from behind. "Don't start thinking."

My shoulders tensed. "I don't know what you mean," I lied.

He pushed my tangled hair to the side over my shoulder and kissed my cheek. "Yes, you do. I'm going to handle everything. There is nothing to worry about."

Nothing to worry about?

Sure.

Only what my sister was going to say, and her safety.

What my father was going to do.

How Dante was going to react when he found out what I'd done.

Matteo's arm tightened around my waist. "You're thinking."

My brow furrowed as I squirmed in his embrace. "Am not."

His amused chuckle tickled my ear. "Liar."

I let out a long sigh. "Well, there's a lot for me to think about."

He rolled me onto my back and braced his forearm near my head as he leaned over me. "No, there's a lot for me to think about and do. You are going to take a nice warm bath and then I'm going to drive you into town to get some new clothes."

"Antonia's clothes are fine for travel. I'll just borrow a coat or something."

He nodded. "A good plan. If you were traveling. But you're not going anywhere."

"Matteo, I?—"

Before I could finish, he cut me off. Leaning down to kiss the corner of my mouth, he whispered against my lips, "Answer one question and I'll consider letting you leave."

My breath hitched. Later, I would wonder why a sudden sickening weight settled in my stomach at him agreeing to let me leave him. As much as I was fighting it, there was something nice about having him insist on keeping me by his side. I'd be foolish not to admit it was nice to be wanted.

"What's your question?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I want a truthful answer. Remember, I'll know if you're lying."

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 sisters 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.