Page 65 of Unleashing Mayhem
Dominico leaned in close, looming over Matteo, his breath hot in Matteo’s ear. “So quiet in the dark,” he whispered, the soft croon of a lover. “But don’t worry, Matteo. We’ll fix that. You’re going to scream and scream and scream.”
With a final pat to Matteo’s cheek, Dominico rose from the bed. “Time to make my report to dear Luca. But I’ll be seeing you soon.”
A crack of light illuminated the room as he opened the door. Enough for Matteo to see the bulge in his pants as he made his way out.
He did so love to make Matteo afraid.
Matteo stared into the dark of his silent room, feeling each second slip away. Dominico would make his report, and then Luca’s men would come for Matteo. They’d take him down to that horrible basement and tie him down, and Dominico would meticulously reopen all Matteo’s wounds, no doubt adding a few more to the collection.
It would hurt. Matteo would cry.
He always cried.
Luca might watch, or he might let his psychotic dog do it all on his own. It didn’t seem to matter much to Luca either way. All that mattered was that Matteo had refused to do whathe was supposed to do. Refused to kill a weeping woman who hadn’t done anything wrong except choose a stupid husband.
And in the dark, with his back still burning from the last time he’d disobeyed Luca’s orders, Matteo couldn’t even decide if it had been worth it. Couldn’t figure out if it was morals or cowardice that stayed his hand each and every time.
It was probably cowardice.
And that made him just as bad as any of them.
Matty blinked at the wall.He didn’t know why he’d let his mind go there, back to that dark time. He couldn’t even blame the influence of sleep. He hadn’t been dreaming; he’d been remembering—one night like so many others.
Nightmare’s arm tightened around him. “You think of dark things, little mate.”
Matty shuffled to face him, peering up at his demon in the midmorning light. Nightmare had done exactly what Matty had asked the night before: he’d fucked and fucked him until Matty had fallen asleep with Nightmare still inside him. Matty had woken up in the middle of the night to Nightmare withdrawing carefully from his body, his shadows trailing over Matty to clean up the mess.
It had been the exact kind of comfort Matty had needed—or, more accurately, demanded. And yet the morning still seemed bathed in foreboding now that he was awake.
“Dark memories,” Matty told Nightmare.
It was obvious why they were bubbling up, even if Matty didn’t want to admit it. Because tomorrow night was the night Dominico would come for him. Matty was sure of it, despite the fact they didn’t have any confirmation. He couldfeelit.
“I could take them from you,” Nightmare offered, his white eyes flat as they bore into Matty. “The dark memories. I could do it with very little pain.”
Matty considered for only a moment before shaking his head. “Too much of myself is wrapped up in them, I think. I wouldn’t be me without them.”
“Who you are has nothing to do with that scum,” Nightmare hissed, his shadows swirling around him, as if in agreement.
Their ire had Matty feeling weirdly calm despite the dark memories. “Maybe. Maybe not. But one day, a long time from now, they’ll be so distant they won’t mean a thing to me. They’ll have no power.” He scooted up in the bed until he could plant an easy kiss on Nightmare’s frowning mouth. “It’s something to look forward to.”
Nightmare stole another, deeper kiss from Matty before letting out a sigh. “The incubus is here with his mobster. I can hear them all chattering.”
Matty wanted to sigh too. He was loath to leave this cozy cocoon they’d made, one that was full of Nightmare’s warmth and his smoky scent. Loath to let time move on and take him that much closer to tomorrow.
Because one day, yes, those memories of the pain he’d suffered would be distant. But Matty had to face Dominico first, and that thought still made his throat dry and his palms sweat, even with his demon close at hand.
But staying in bed wouldn’t actually stop time, would it?
“Okayyy.” Matty dragged himself out of bed, tugging Nightmare by the hand up after him. He whirled with a sudden thought before they reached the door. “He doesn’t flirt with you, does he? Nix?”
Nightmare’s lips twitched up at the corners. “He doesn’t dare.”
Matty let out a breath, his shoulders slumping with relief. “Good.”
Nix was basically a gorgeous supermodel of a demon, and Ivan was incredibly protective of him. Matty didn’t want to make any moves that would piss Ivan off, but he also might not have been able to stop himself from snarling if Nix acted all flirty and seductive with Nightmare in front of him.
Matty led them down the stairs to find everyone gathered in the living room. Sascha and Ivan were sitting next to each other on the couch. Nix was next to Ivan with his legs slung over his mate’s lap. Kai was standing at the arm of the couch by Sascha, his big arms crossed. Chaos and Cooper were on the other side of the room in one of the armchairs together.
