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His other hand grips my hip, pulling me closer until there's no space left between us. Every nerve in my body screams, alive and electric under his control.
When he finally pulls back, he's breathing hard, and his eyes are dark and wild. "You won't have men," he growls, enunciating each word. "What you have is a jealous fucking husband who will kill anyone who touches you." His words are a fierce declaration, territorial and wild.
"Mattia," I whisper, my voice trembling not from fear, but from the desire clawing at my insides, begging for release.
"You're mine, Aurelia. I don't share."
"I know," I assure him. "I was only teasing." I glance down at my feet, feeling like a brat. "You said what you said and I…"
"Got jealous," he finishes for me.
"Yes," I admit. "I hate the thought of you with anyone else."
"Then I guess it's a good thing there won't ever be anyone else, isn't it, cara mia?" He tips my chin up, pressing his lips to mine. "It's you and me, little mouse. Until the earth chokes on my fucking bones."
"Longer," I whisper against his lips.
"Longer?" He smiles. "How about forever, topolina? Will that please you?"
"Maybe."
He chuckles and kisses me again. "Behave today. When I get home, we have something to do."
"What?"
"You're meeting your brothers."
"I already met them, Mattia."
He tips my chin up until my eyes lock with his eyes. "No, little mouse. You're meeting them as their sister. No more hiding. No more lies."
"But—"
"Brio has taken enough. It ends now, Aurelia. You're meeting your brothers."
He's right. Brio has taken enough. I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of pretending. I'm tired of all the lies. I just want to be free. I want to get to know my brothers and love Mattia and believe that everything will work out.
It has to work out. Because if it doesn't…I'm not just going to lose my mom. I'm going to lose everything. Including Mattia. That thought is way too fucking painful to even consider.
"I'm ready," I whisper. "I'm ready to stop hiding."
Chapter Nine
Mattia
"We have a problem."
Rafe glances over at me as we stride across the harbor side by side. "Tell me something I don't know," he mutters, his brows furrowed.
"I'm not talking about this shit." I nod at the shell of the warehouse marked off with yellow crime scene tape. He's not wrong about this being a problem, though. We've killed more people in that fucking warehouse than I care to consider at the moment. We clean up after ourselves, but let's be honest. When you've killed as many people inside as we have, evidence is bound to be left behind. Having the cops sniffing around is a major problem.
If the fire didn't gut it completely, they're going to do everything in their power to find a reason to scour it from top to bottom. They always do when they're allowed on Valentino property.
"What's the issue?" Rafe asks, his voice pitched low so it doesn't carry to any of the fucking cops milling around.
"Brio Cascella."
A dark scowl crosses his face as soon as I say the prick's name. He doesn't even know the half of it, though. What Aurelia told me last night is an entirely new level of fucked up. He intended to use Rafe's own sister to kidnap his son. And he's holding Aurelia's mom hostage to accomplish it.
