Page 62 of My Ghost

I blink at him, shocked by the tone of his voice.“Excuse me?You don’t get to decide that for me!”I start to get pissed now.

“I already spoke to Lily.”

“You what?”I screech, jaw dropping.

He goes on as if he were talking about the weather.“I called Lily and informed her that you won’t be going back to the clinic because you are too busy helping me tracking down the Manticore.She said she’ll inform the staff and tells you not to worry.”

“Y-you called Lily?”I whisper.My mind hangs on that bit of information.Suddenly, I see red.“You can’t just decide this kind of thing for me!That’s my decision to make, this is my life!”I scream.

He takes my chin in his hand and turns my face toward his, letting me see the darkness in their depths.“No, little ghost, your life is what you’ll lose if you keep being reckless.I won’t take any risks.And if I have to keep you locked in here until Manticore is in ashes, then I’ll fucking do it.”

My breath hitches in my throat and my head spins.But more than anything, my anger is burning so hot it threatens to break me.I start to struggle on his lap, desperation and fury warring within me, pulling me into a pit where my mind shuts down and my instincts kick in to fight for escape.However, his hold is absolute and all I am able to accomplish is to have him grab my wrists in his hand while his other hand pulls me tighter against him.I thrash and pull against his hold until I am sobbing from the helplessness I have been forced into.

Matteo holds me silently against him, waiting for my anger to fizzle out.

After what feels like an eternity of helpless struggle, I finally slump against his chest, drained and breathing hard, and he holds me to him with my face buried in his neck.I can smell his cologne and the scent of his skin underneath, so achingly familiar and intimate that tears gather in my eyes.He strokes my side in slow, steady caresses.

“Are you done,amore?”The low rumble of his voice is soothing, grounding.After a few heartbeats, I can breathe again.

I sniff against his neck.“You can’t just bulldoze into my life and take away everything from me, my job, my freedom, my free will…” I feel his grip tighten.“I need to feel in control again, I need a purpose.”

He shifts and drops a kiss on my forehead.“Then let’s give you a purpose, let’s hunt.But you’ll do it with me and on my terms, or not at all.”

I lean back to look up at him.“You’ll let me go to the office?”

“Depends.Will you behave and not run off on your own again?”he asks me, face serious.

I huff.“I’m not an unruly child you can bully into behaving with threats.”

He narrows his eyes at me with mock sternness.“That doesn’t sound like someone who wants to go back to work.”

“Fine,” I grumble.“I won’t go anywhere, unless I inform you about it.Happy?”

“Very.”He grabs my jaw to tilt my head back and smirks down at me.My heart stops when my eyes collide with his.Then it soars when his lips brush against mine in a lingering kiss.

* * * *

On Sunday, the driver pulls his car over at Lily and Damiano’s mansion for our weekly brunch.My nerves are frayed and I chew on my thumbnail, feeling tension coiling around my spine.

“Relax, little ghost.”Matteo leans over from beside me on the backseat and presses a kiss to my temple.But I can’t seem to shed my tension.

When we step inside, everyone is already sitting around the dining table, laughing and talking.The conversation slowly dies out when they spot me.Correction, when they spot us.

Matteo’s hand never leaves the small of my back as we walk up to the table.He pulls out a chair for me and I sit.He cups my jaw to tilt my head back and drops a lingering kiss on my lips as if to lay a public claim.Then he takes the seat next to mine without letting go of my hand.

Everyone is watching us in stunned silence and I feel my face heating.

Lucas lets out a slow whistle.“Well, would you look at that,La dolce vitain action.”And with that the tension is broken, Lily and Chiara chuckle, Damiano smirks around his espresso and I want to sink into the ground.

Lucas leans over the table from the other side and whisper-shouts in a conspiratorial tone, “Erin, blink twice if you need rescuing.”

I let out a breathless laugh, as does everyone else around the table.

Well, almost everyone.Matteo’s sharp voice cuts through our laughter like a whipcrack.“Shut the fuck up, Luc, and mind your own damn business.”

Lucas puts his hands up in mock surrender.“Touchy.”And everyone erupts into snorts of laughs again.Brunch passes in a blur of laughter and banter.Matteo is glued to my side, never letting me drift further than an arm’s reach away.Every time I move, he is there, his hand on my thigh under the table, lips grazing mine when he places slices of fruits onto my plate, eyes watching me like I will disappear if he lets me out of his sight for a single second.

When we finally scatter into the garden, Lily catches my hand and gently steers me to the outdoor lounge on the deck where we sit to sip our sparkling water.