Page 64 of Phantom Mine

“What the hell is your problem?”

Matteo’s nostrils flare in bad temper. “Why don’t you take a wild fucking guess?”

“Why don’t you explain it to me?” I snap back.

A dangerous growl shreds his throat. He grips the back of my neck roughly and tugs my head back, sneering into my ear, “Why the fuck were you flirting with that asshole?”

The fucking audacity. “Maybe because I wanted him to touch me?” I taunt. “Maybe Ineededhim to, so I could forget the way I was just groped.”

His face goes slack with rage. “And Brian’s touch is the one you wanted?”

“You let your brother touch me, Matteo.” I shake loose of his hold and turn away from him. “You didn’t stop him.”

“I was trying to protect you from him!” he snarls, yanking me off the barstool and into his chest like I weigh nothing. “You think Iwantedhim to touch you? You think it didn’t absolutely fucking gut me to see the look on your face when he put his hands on you?”

I laugh but it’s empty, the sound hollow. “You told Rocco I was nothing.” Frustration carves deep lines into Matteo’s face. “I’m a person,huevón.You don’t get to treat me like I’m disposable, even if that’s exactly what I am to you.”

Matteo’s gaze holds mine captive. His eyes stroke over my face but remain impossible to read. Finally, he straightens until he’s towering over me.

“That’s what you think you are to me? Disposable?”

“Yes.”

His hand scrubs over his mouth before his jaw settles squarely. He nods sharply, like he’s made a decision I’m not yet privy to, and flicks a volatile look down at me. “I spent ten minutes watching my brother touch you, thinking there was no way I could ever again reach the levels of anger I experienced in that moment. Then I got out of there, found you flirting with someone else, talking about going home with him, and discovered that I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of just how mad you can make me, Valentina.” His voice is sinister in its emotion, sending an apprehensive shiver scorching through me. “You can’t blame me for anything I’m about to do to you,cara mia, you pushed me to this place.”

With that, he grabs my arm and jerks me across the club.

“Mat—” I push against his grip and try to free myself, but he starts dragging me after him. “Matteo, stop! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Shut up,” he grits out, pulling me through the crowd. “You’re coming with me.”

The spaces between the ticking of my heart grow shallow when I recognize the intent in his voice.

“I-I don’t want to.”

Matteo stops abruptly in the middle of the dancefloor. He turns towards me, his face highlighted by colorful strobe lights. The music pounds around us, the crowd jumping along to the song, but it’s as if it’s just the two of us.

“I don’t believe that for a fucking second.”

“That’s not—”

My words abruptly cut off when his hand wraps around my throat. He lowers his face until his lips brush against mine.

“You want me as much as I want you. Don’t make me feel for your dripping cunt right here to prove that I’m right.”

My mouth thins down to an angry line. His triumphant grin makes me take a swing back at him.

“All that would prove is that Brian knew exactly what to say to make me wet, Phantom.”

The kick I get out of wiping the smile off his face disappears the moment he yanks me against his hard body by my throat. Desire coils tightly in my belly when I feel his angry heart thumping against my chest.

“Keep talking while you can. I’ve got plans for this smart mouth and they involve fucking it raw.”

I scoff even though my pussy clenches at his filthy words. “I’m surprised you didn’t say ‘until you can’t speak anymore’.”

Matteo runs his thumb softly over my lower lip, the gentle touch in complete opposition to the aggression crashing off of him in waves.

“I have no interest in silencing you. Quite the opposite actually.” His lips brush softly against the side of my face. “I want to make you sing every single secret you’re keeping from me.”

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