Page 6 of His to Honor

“Is this what you came for?” I pump my fingers in and out of her. “You want to get fucked? You want me to fill all your holes with my cum?”

“No,” she denies, though her desperate moan says otherwise.

“You sure about that?” I pull her upright, wrapping an arm around her chest. I squeeze her breast as I drive my fingers deep. “Because I think you’re ripe for fucking, sweetheart.”

I release her breast and unfasten my jeans. As I lower my zipper, my little captive stiffens. “Matty, stop.”

My blood chills. I stumble backward as if someone just turned a hose on me. I move to the door and fumble around the side for the light switch. I press it and the room fills with a yellow glow. My worst fear is confirmed.

“Giulia.”

She pulls up her panties, smooths down her dress, and offers me a weak smile. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes glazed. She’s never looked more beautiful, but I can’t allow myself to think of her that way.

“What are you doing here?”

She raises her chin in a defiant response to my harsh tone. “Antonio sent me.”

“Of course he did.” Boss or not, I am going to beat my brother to a bloody pulp when I see him next. I need to fix this disaster first. I almost fucked my best friend, who I’m pretty sure is still avirgin, over a desk. “Don’t you know how dangerous it is to creep about in the middle of the night?”

“I couldn’t find the light switch.” She balls up her fists and rests them on her hips. When she’s pissed, she resembles an angry kitten. It’s hard to take her rage seriously. “But that doesn’t excuse what you did.”

“Fuck, Giulia, you think I don’t know that?” I pace back and forth, trying to get a hold of myself. Anger, desire, and regret all merge to create a tangled knot in my stomach. I glare at the woman before me, trying to find a way to shift some of the blame for what happened. “Why didn’t you stop me sooner?”

“I don’t know.” Her tone is defensive. “You caught me by surprise.”

I scoff at that. “That’s your excuse? Icaught you by surprise?”

“Yeah, you grabbed me and I froze. It’s what you’d expect, right? From a frigid bitch?”

I guess I don’t have to wonder whether Giulia’s still nursing a grudge over the stupid comments I made at Johnny’s wake because she’s just made it clear she is. I’m not ready for a conversation about that yet, so I change the subject. “You look different. When did you change your hair?”

She used to have the most amazing brunette waves tumbling down her back. Now she’s got one of those pixie cuts and her hair is a light purple shade, lavender, I guess. It completely transforms her appearance. It’s no wonder I didn’t recognize her.

Except, a nagging voice at the back of my head says, perhaps I did. Deep down, I think I knew it was her. She smelled familiar.Her voice resonated with me. I recognized Giulia at the most basic level and spanked her anyway. I hardly dare analyze what that means.

“I got it cut about a month ago. It’s liberating.”

“Liberating?” I don’t mean to scoff, but my tone comes off kind of mocking.

“Yes, it feels like a big fuck you to everyone who expects me to look and behave a certain way, just because my father’s in the fucking mob.”

“Stop cursing.” It’s hypocritical of me to pull anyone up on their language, but I’ve always hated hearing such words from Giulia’s pure pink lips. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“You wouldn’t know what suits me.”

“Of course I would. We’ve been friends for twenty years.”

Giulia shakes her head. “We were friends, Matteo, and the more I think about it, the more I realize I was always more your friend than you were mine.”

“That’s not true.” Though Giulia has always been more open about her feelings than I am, I’ve never been shy about demonstrating how much she means to me.

She purses her lips. “I beg to differ. Now, it’s been a long night, and I’d like to get some rest. Show me where I can sleep and I’ll get out of your hair.”

“You plan to stay here?”

Her lips twist. “As per Antonio’s instructions.”

“Since when do you take orders from my brother?”