Page 27 of The Cost of Corruption
“Then you take your final vows,” he answered without hesitation. “I’ll drive you to the convent myself.”
“But by then, it will be too late.” I shook my head. “Two weeks is long enough for my father to convince every convent in the country not to let me through their doors.”
Matteo cocked his head to the side. “Your father isn’t the only rich and powerful man in this city. Whatever he pays them to keep you out, I’ll double it to let you back in.”
I believed him…I just didn’t understand why he would bother.
“But why waste your money?” I asked. “What do you get out of this deal?”
“You.” His voice dropped down even lower. Reaching out, he traced the back of his fingers down the curve of my cheek in a feather-light touch that sent tingles racing all over my body. “I get two weeks with your lips and your hands and your body.”
I bit into my lower lip, praying for enough strength to answer and not simply melt into a puddle of desire at his feet.
“But you don’t need me to satisfy your lust,” I said. “You could have any woman in the city.”
“True,” he answered, honest enough not to deny it. “I don’t need you, Chastity, but God help me, Iwantyou.”
Something told me God wasn’t in a rush to help either of us.
“Y-You do?” I asked, my voice shaking almost as hard as my body.
“Hell, yes,” he answered. “I want you right now—naked underneath me on my bed. I want to hear you panting my name as I teach you all the pleasures that have been kept from you. I want to feel your fingers scrape down my back as you experience heaven for the first time.”
“Matteo.” His name came out of me like a breathy prayer. “It’s hard to think straight when you talk like that.”
His laugh was deep and deliciously wicked. “You don’t need to think. All you need is to tell me you want the same thing.”
I’d never wanted anything more.
But my words were gone, swept up and carried out to sea in a current of desire. So, instead of saying it out loud, I did the next best thing.
I lifted myself up on tiptoes, threw my arms around his neck, and kissed him again.
Chapter Seven
CHASTITY
Heaven help me, I couldn’t stop myself. Not where Matteo was concerned. The closer he was, the less clearly I could think. All I could do was act on the dark impulses he awakened in me.
Even though the logical part of me knew this deal of his might very well lead to disaster, my emotional side didn’t care. All it wanted was the pleasure that was promised in the moment.
And not justthismoment, but two weeks’ worth of moments.
Two weeks of raking my fingers through his thick hair and pressing my lips to his. Just touching him set my soul on fire.
That fire only grew as he walked backward, pulling me along with him toward his bed.
I won’t lie—there was a brief moment of alarm when he lifted me up off the floor. My heart fluttered right along with my stomach as I felt myself go weightless in his arms. He carried me like my full weight was nothing to him.
And with as strong as he was, no doubt it wasn’t.
He could have tossed me clear across the room one-handed if he wanted to. He could have done anything. He was in complete control—of the situation, of me, ofeverything.
“Your father said I was your obsession.” His voice rumbled against my ear. “Is that true?”
Oh God.
Of all the things he could bring up, why did he have to choosethat?
