Page 83 of My Ghost

“Yes, Matteo,” I whisper.“I love you too, and I will marry you.”

He looks at me with serious eyes.“You…love me?”

I nod with a smile.“Couldn’t you tell from the way I tried my hardest to annoy you?”

He chuckles.

Then he exhales slowly and takes my hand to slip the ring on my finger.It fits perfectly.He leans down to capture my lips in a tender, scorching kiss.But then he tenses and slowly pulls back, every muscle coiled as if it costs him.I whine in protest and pull him by his shirt back toward me.

“Little ghost, you’re hurt.We can’t—”

I huff.“Of course we can.I’m not dying, Matteo, I hit my head, that’s all.”

“You almost died,” he growls, intensifying his hold around me.“But I swear, you will never face hell alone again.I’ll never let anything or anyone hurt you.”

“Things happen.Hurt is part of life and you can’t shield me from living.”I pat his shoulder, suppressing a smile.

“Damn well I can, and if I have to keep you locked in here to keep you safe, I will.”He glares down at me, eyes narrowed.

I scoff.“You’re impossible.”

“That’s why you love me,” he says with a smirk.

“Maybe what I love is just your bank account,” I tease with a fake-dramatic eye-roll.

“Then you’re lucky, because it’s…really impressive.”He looks at me with a slow predatory smile.

“Mmmh, now I’m intrigued.”

He pushes me back against the couch and starts to crawl over me with a hungry gaze.

“Let me show you.”

Chapter Forty-Four

Matteo

I fuckinginhaleher.My head is spinning.I am drunk from the scent of her, from the feel of her soft skin under my fingers, from the quiet moans escaping her parted lips.

My heart is beating like a drum in my chest, but the cadence is steady and sure.Because she’s here.And she loves me.

Watching her unconscious in the clinic had been hell, feeling powerless to make her get better has been torture.I’ve only left her side to take care of Rourke then shower and change.Then I raced back to her room, leaving D and Luc to handle the outcome of the investigation.I managed to convince the asshole doc to discharge her the next day, with the promise to call if she felt the slightest discomfort.And now she’s here, wearing my ring, watching me with her violet gaze under hooded lids.

“Mi amore.”My voice is hoarse against her skin as she is lying on the couch under me.I trail my hands over her waist and hike the shirt—my shirt—up to glide them to her chest.Her tits fit perfectly in my hands.Her skin is soft and warm under my palms.

I take her mouth in a possessive kiss, trembling from the strain of holding back.Her mouth opens for me and I slide my tongue in, needing to taste her, to feel her.She returns the kiss and I groan from the sensation of her tongue stroking mine.I am rock hard, I have been the moment I held her against me in the shower.But I can’t let go, I can’t hurt her.Even if it kills me.

“Matteo.”Erin cups my face and pulls back a fraction to look into my eyes.“You’re holding back.”

I exhale.“Amore, you’re hurt, we should wait until you’re feeling better.”

She scowls up at me.“I am feeling better.And I need you.”She senses my hesitation and a slow playful smile tugs at her lips.“I can”—she whispers against my mouth—“beg on my knees, if that’s what it takes.”

Goddammit, I’m going to come in my pants and embarrass myself right here.

“Later,” I manage to rasp out and I crush my mouth on hers.She moans and my resolve fucking snaps.

I grab the lapels of her shirt and rip it open, sending buttons flying everywhere.I feel her laugh against my lips.That minx, she knows exactly what she is doing.She fucking owns me and she knows it.