11. Matteo

11

MATTEO

M atteo's eyes shot open. He stared up at the ceiling, momentarily lost in his surroundings. Then he remembered.

The cabin.

He was at the cabin.

The light from the fire that had burned most of the night had dimmed and now resembled nothing more than a few struggling ambers trying to keep their last bit of hope burning.

He should have added more wood to the fire hours ago. Instead, he'd chosen to sit and drink and torture himself with memories of the past. God, he hated himself sometimes.

Slowly, he sat up on the couch and shivered.

Yeah, he definitely should have thrown a few extra logs onto the fire.

Standing, he stretched, rubbing his lower back to loosen a kink that was beginning to twitch.

Naked.

He was naked.

Oh, yeah. At some point last night, he'd decided that it was too hot to wear pants and a T-shirt, so instead, he opted to lose them both and continued to enjoy the fire with the heat pressing up against his balls.

Classy, Matteo. Real classy.

Bending down, he retrieved his underwear and quickly threw them on.

He turned and stretched out his back, looking like a sad, drunken man trying to do yoga in nothing but his skivvies.

Gone were the days when he could sleep on any surface and not wake up feeling like his body had been put through a grinder.

What possessed him to sleep on the couch?

Oh, yeah. It wasn't a choice. You drank your ass silly, then passed out where you lay.

Stupid fool.

A noise over his shoulder made him jump.

Glancing around, Matteo suddenly remembered that something had woken him.

A sound.

Or was it a dream?

Staring into the darkness, his body began to shiver.

Another noise.

What the fuck? Was someone trying to break in?

Matteo reached for the empty bottle, hoping it would act as a weapon if needed. If someone was trying to break into the cabin, they had a nasty surprise coming their way.

Creeping through the darkness, he made his way through the living room and approached the front door. Raising the bottle above his head, he waited to hear the noise once again.

"Looking for someone?" a voice whispered into his ear.

Matteo spun around, bringing down the wine bottle as hard as he could.

Whack!

The bottle connected with its intended target, striking a solid blow against his attacker's arm.

"Ow! That fuckin' hurt, Matté," an angry man growled.

"What the?" His stomach sank as he recognized the voice.

Reaching for the living room light, he flicked it up only to reveal his worst nightmare standing before him.

Ares.

Rubbing his arm and looking all growly, Ares glared at Matteo.

"What the fuck, man?" Ares barked, walking past him and into the kitchen.

Angry and annoyed, Matteo followed his intruder into his kitchen and continued to glare at him.

"Hello? What the fuck are you doing here?" Matteo shouted, still in disbelief that the asshole had broken into his cabin in the middle of the night. Leave it to Ares to be so bold and disrespectful.

"Apparently, getting my ass beaten with an empty wine bottle. Seriously, Matté, how many bottles did you drink last night?" Ares asked, nodding toward the collection of empties sitting on the counter. "You suddenly becoming an alcoholic?"

"I… uh… that's none of your business," Matteo scoffed, stepping in front of the empties as though trying to conceal his dirty little secret. "You still didn't answer my question. Why are you here? And why did you break into my cabin in the middle of the night?"

Ares dropped the sandwich he was making and turned to face his accuser.

"Well, first off, I figured you would be pissed at me if I knocked on your door at three a.m. I know how much you like your beauty sleep. Second, I would have slept quietly on your couch until you woke up in the morning, but some alcoholic Italian decided to pass out on it himself. By the way, you scratch your ass when you sleep."

Matteo threw the empty bottle he was holding, narrowly missing the smug SOB's head. The bottle exploded into a million pieces once it connected with the wall instead.

Ares smirked. "There's that hot-tempered Italian I fell in love with."

"Fuck you, Ares," Matteo snapped, disappearing from the doorway and heading back into the living room.

He picked up a few logs of wood and tossed them into the fireplace. Ash and sparks flew up into the air, temporarily lighting the room in a murderous red—perfectly matching the mood Matteo was in.

Ares strutted into the living room and plopped himself down on the armchair like he belonged in the place.

Sandwich in hand, he took a bite and stared up at Matteo. "So? This is where you ran off to?"

Light from the reignited fire danced across Matteo's angry face. How did he find him? And why was he here?

Matteo didn't answer his unwelcome guest. Instead, he dropped down onto the couch and glared into the fire.

How was it that a sight that had calmed him only a few hours ago was now having the opposite effect and, instead, fueling his rage and anger?

"Look, I was worried. I stopped by the club last night, and they said that you took off for a few days to clear your head. I tried calling you, but it went straight to voicemail. So, I figured I'd take a chance and see if you were hiding out down here."

Matteo's head snapped around.

"What? How did you even know about this place? No one does. Not even the guys at the club."

The property was purchased under a fake name, as Matteo wanted to keep this property off the books. This was his special place, and he didn't want anyone to know it existed.

"How do I know? Please, Matté. You wound me. I've known about this place since you bought it ten years ago."

Of course he did. Ares knew everything.

There were no words for how irritated and pissed Matteo felt. His private space had been violated. By Ares of all people.

"Okay, so now that you know where I am, take your sandwich and leave."

Ares took another bite and watched Matteo as he chewed.

God, could the man be any more infuriating?

"First, let me at least finish my meal like a civilized human being. Do you have any idea how many calories I burned climbing in through that bedroom window of yours?"

Rolling his eyes, Matteo emptied the last of the bottle of wine into the empty glass before him. He patiently took a sip and waited for the annoying man to finish his sandwich.

"Well, since we have a bit of time, how about you tell me how you're doing?" Ares asked through a mouthful of deli meats.

"Argh. I'm going to bed," Matteo muttered, standing and heading toward his bedroom.

"Want me to come cuddle with you?" Ares asked with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"Want to get stabbed in the eye?"

With that final threat, Matteo closed his bedroom door and flopped down on his bed.

What were the chances that Ares would be gone before he woke up in the morning? Pretty slim, he guessed. It took a while to get rid of rodents.