“But you’re going to be my family. I’m going to marry the fuck out of you, Aria. Get used to it.”
His hand isn’t around my throat, and yet several vital parts are threatening to melt.
I steel my insides and stare him down. “I’m going to be your possession, you mean. What makes you think I want to be kept in any way by a m-mafia kingpin?”
He drags a hand down his face, and he looks like all the creatures from hell are torturing him right now. When he speaks, the words are dragged out of a hoarse, ragged throat.
“I’m not a mafia boss any longer. Well, not in the eyes of those outside the family. Gio, if he doesn’t fuck up more than he already has, will assume the position. It’s been like that for close to a year now. But I can’t change who I am or what my family means to me. I’m a Frenelli, angel. I’ll always be a Frenelli.”
“That doesn’t change anything for me. You lied about who you were. There’s no getting past that.”
His jaw turns to granite, and a bleakness invades his eyes. But his gaze never falls from mine. “Then get used to having a shadow wherever you go. I told you when I was balls deep inside you that I’m your firstandyour last. No other man gets close to you. No other man touches you. No other man fucks you into a trance as long as I have breath in my body.”
He stops and swallows, his skin paling a little as if the prospect haunts him. But then he plows on. “I’ll include myself in that list if you truly hate me. But that’s the way it’s going to be.”
The concrete resolution in his voice is humbling. And exhilarating.
To know that I have such power over this man.
The Kingpin of New York’s Underworld.
The man who makes grown men piss their pants.
“Matteo—”
He groans and I freeze. “You have no idea how many times I’ve needed to hear my full name on your lips. No one has ever called me Matt.” He laughs snarkily under his breath. “I don’t fucking feel like a Matt. It’s so good to hear you call meMatteo, angel.”
I want to scream again because he’s messing with my head. But I’m terrified he’ll do something drastic.
Like throw me on the bed and fuck me blind.
When my body starts to respond to even that remote possibility, I cross my arms over my chest to hide the traitorous nipples peaking.
“I want to leave,” I say stubbornly. “I have to get to work.” I look around the room but can’t find anything to tell me what time it is.
When I turn to Matteo, a muscle is jumping in his jaw and his expression is fiercely implacable. “Hell, no. You’re not going back to that place.”
Anger rises, thankfully shaving away a few layers of arousal. “Like hell, I’m not. You can’t tell me what to—”
“Angel, there are many reasons I won’t let you go back there. But the most obvious one is…there’sno barfor you to return to.”
My mouth drops open, but it takes few more seconds for me to compute what he’s saying. “No bar? What does that mean? I…we were both there just last night—”
“Barry’s Bar is burned to the ground. Fucking destroyed. There’s nothing left of it. You don’t need to worry about your friend, though. She’ll be offered a much better job by morning.”
There’s far too much relish in his voice for this to be an accident. “Burned… Oh my god. Did you have something to do with it?”
“Yes.”
The stark savagery of his answer sends a cold shiver down my spine.
“Are you even a little bit sorry that you’ve destroyed someone’s livelihood?”
“When that asshole tried tosellyou to me for a few hundred dollars? Fuck no, I’m not.”
Sick shock ripples through my belly. “He what?”
Matteo shakes his head. “He won’t be taking up any more space in your head. Put that shit stain behind you right now,” he commands tersely.