Page 7 of Bones of Revenge and Reckoning

His eyes roll back, and a lazy smile tips the corner of his mouth. He grips my wrist and kisses my open palm. “You’re the devil.”

“You’re the one denying yourself, Matteo. I promised you my virginity; take it.”

He rests his head on the couch and looks at me. “I will … one day.”

I groan and drop my head to his shoulder. This is frustrating. Every moment with Matteo means something to me. We haven’t professed love to one another yet, but the fact that he doesn’t pressure me into sex tells me he genuinely cares about me. Which is sweet, but I’m ready. Is he not?

“Baby…” he whispers against the shell of my ear. “Trust me. There’s a plan in place. I’ll be eighteen next week, and my father is bringing me into the fold of the family business. It will take time to earn their respect, their trust, and that has to be my focus. I’m doing this for you. For us.”

Heat rushes up my neck as my eyes meet his. We’ve had this conversation before, and Matteo is firm on his stance. I understand it, but I feel rejected every damn time.

My heart pounds in my ears, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stow the flash of anger. I don’t handle rejection well, and that’s exactly what this feels like every time we come together. He works me into a crazed frenzy, then lets me down gently by preserving my innocence. How noble of him.

“You’re even more beautiful when you’re angry,” Matteo whispers, as he pulls my mouth down to meet his. I groan against his lips, the lust-driven high suddenly deflated. I pull away and climb off his lap, putting some distance between us.

“Is their someone else, Matt? Be honest with me.”

“Hell no, Ray. Why would you even ask that?” Ray… I hate when he calls me that. I don’t find pet names to be cute. It’s the name he has saved in his phone for me so if I ever call and someone sees the screen, they’ll think it’s a guy friend and not the family’s archrival. Then who’s Frank my mind questions.

“You know I hate that stupid name, Matteo,” I scoff and pull away from his reach. I’m so annoyed, and I can’t bear the thought of being with him right now.

“Renata, you’re being ridiculous. What’s gotten into you?”

“I better go before we get caught.” There’s a harsh bite to my statement, but I can’t hide my annoyance.

“Stay, Rennie. Let’s watch the movie. My father won’t be home for hours, and we hardly get enough time together as it is.”

“I’m not in the mood, Matteo, but thanks anyway.” I stand and turn my back to avoid meeting his gaze, but Matteo is relentless in his pursuit of me.

He grabs my wrist and turns me to face him. He pulls me close and grips my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his. “Are you seriously going to fucking pout like a little girl?” His tone is low and menacing. “Renata, we’ve discussed this. You want my blood smeared on the streets? That’s just the kind of move your shit little brother would make to prove his loyalty to your father.”

“They wouldn’t?—”

“You’d rather see me dead?” he grits between clenched teeth. “Because that’s exactly what the fuck will happen if I touch you. I’ll be lucky I don’t lose a hand if they find out about us before then. I’m obsessed with you, Rennie, and that’s a risk I’m willing to take. But you have to trust me or this—” he motions between us “—it will never work.”

Tears well in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I feel like a little girl who’s just been scolded for sneaking into the cookie jar. This is like that Christmas with the bike all over again. I’m always being denied what I want the most, and it sucks.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Rennie. I promise you on my very breath.”

Why does that feel like a little white lie? Because he’s hurting me in this very moment and doesn’t even realize it. My father is an unforgiving man, and my little brother is already ruthless and hardened to the core. They don’t care about me in any sense of the word, so why do they care who I love? I flinch as if the wind has been knocked out of my lungs. Love? Holy shit.

“You’re right, Matteo. I’m sorry.” I force a smile as I try to tamp down the gnawing anxiety as I realize what I just admitted to myself. I push up on my tiptoes and press a chaste kiss to his lips. “I really do have to go though, and not because I’m angry, okay. Text me later?” I pull from his embrace and take a step back.

Matteo’s jaw tics, but he doesn’t push. “Yeah, Rennie. Let me know you make it home.”

I nod once and turn toward the door, taking quick steps to make my exit. At the first inhale of the summer breeze, I feel like I can finally exhale without Matteo soaking up all my air. We’ve only been seeing each other for a few months; can one fall in love so fast?

Chapter 3

Matteo

I open the text app on my phone to see if Renata has texted me that she made it home. Nothing. Not a damn thing. She left nearly an hour ago, so where is she? I shouldn’t have let her leave upset. I should have insisted on driving her. It’s late in the evening, and that would have been the gentlemanly thing to do, at least. But I know Renata, headstrong and defiant, and she needed that time to herself to calm down. She’s a fiery little thing, which is just one of the things I love about her. Should I text her? Or will that just piss her off further? I begin typing out a message then stop when I hear someone enter the house. I stand quickly, hoping maybe she decided to come back after she calmed down. I head toward the entrance to meet the visitor and pause when I realize it’s just Duncan.

Our security guard nods up at me. Duncan has a pass from my family to come and go in our house as if he’s my brother.

“Oh. Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Expecting someone else?” He chuckles to himself. “Just thought I’d see what you were into.”

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