Page 25 of The Cost of Corruption
“You make it sound like we have a choice,” I snapped back. “Just bringing me into this house has put your whole family at risk.”
“You’re perfectly safe here,” he said as if it were some kind of indisputable fact.
“Why won’t you understand?” Frustration welled up inside me. Why was he refusing to see reason? “My father is a very powerful and dangerous man.”
“Not as powerful as the D’Angelos,” Matteo said. “And not as half asdangerous as me.”
God, it was tempting to believe him. Especially when his shoulders pulled back in pride, expanding his chest. A sight like that was enough to make me think he was every inch the superman he made himself out to be.
It also made it very hard to keep the thoughts in my head from spiraling off in a totally different direction. One that was a hell of a lot more tempting.
No, I chided myself.You need to give up this obsession. Not dive even deeper into it.
Maybe it would be easier if I turned away.
I shifted my gaze to the right—but found myself staring at several close-up black and white artistic photos of bodies entwined together in erotic embrace.
The left side of the room wasn’t any better. Not only were there more pictures, but Matteo’s bed as well—wide and inviting.
Apparently, there wasn’t any direction in this room that was safe to look.
“But even if you’re right,” I huffed in exasperation, finally casting my gaze toward the floor in defeat. “Why would you even want me here? You don’t know me. Not really. I’m nothing to you.”
“I wouldn’t saynothing.”
Even if I wasn’t looking at him, Matteo’s deep voice still wrapped around me, rumbling through me and stoking the fires deep within my core.
The exact same ones I was trying so desperately to stamp out.
“Oh please,” I groaned. “It was only a couple of kisses. I might be innocent, but I’m not naive. You can’t expect me to buy that a man who employs half the sex workers in Manhattan believes in love at first sight.”
“Who said anything aboutlove?” he asked with a laugh that was loud enough to cause me to lift my head. “But don’t sell yourself short. The emotion thosecouple of kissessparked in me was powerful.”
“You’re talking about lust.”
A part of me hoped to shame him by naming the base urge so plainly, but I should have known the move would fail. The blaze burning behind his eyes only grew stronger.
“You felt it too,” he said, stepping closer. “Don’t deny it.”
He was right. It would be pointless to pretend otherwise.
“I’ll admit that I was weak and caved to temptation,” I said, lifting my chin and refusing to show shame. “But it won’t happen again.”
“Why not?”
I blinked. What did he mean? Wasn’t it obvious?
“Because I’m about to give my life over the church.”
He was close enough now that I had to crane my head back to keep looking him in the eye. “But is that what youwant?”
“Please stop asking me that,” I begged, shuffling back one step and then another. But I didn’t make it very far before my back flattened against the wall.
“Why?”
It was a simple question—one I could’ve answered a thousand ways.
I don’t owe you an explanation.
