Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 46

Chapter Forty–Six

Paul rushed out of the closet and Cien followed shodly behind. As she stepped out, she glanced down the hallway to find Len looking back at her few feet away. He arched a brow at his eyes nemt from the supply closet to Paul’s retreating figure.

“It’s not what you think,” she told him.

from only a

Π

Instead of responding, he turned on his heels and walked toward the private box. Leo ushered her inside without a word. The booth was completely empty when she walked in and she sighed in gratitude. She wasn’t one for big parties or socializing for long periods of time. She set her things down in one of the empty chairs and walked toward the railing. She could hear people talking animatedly beneath her and to her right she could see the crowd she’d just been interacting with. She watched as the horses were led out to the field and transferred to the track ponies. While they were put into the starting box, the

crowd started to settle into their seats.

The race was only minutes from starting and she was still alone. She wondered what Matteo could possibly be doing. Why invite her if he had no intention of seeing her at all? Was she really there simply for business? But then, why wouldn’t she be with the people she could use as connections? As her thoughts startled to spiral, she felt a warmth along her back. She froze when two hands colled around the railing beside her own. She smelled the familiar tobacco and honey and immediately relaxed. Then the horses were let loose from the gate.

Genevieve leaned forward as the horses fought to get in the lead. Royal Commander became trapped in a large group of horses before the first turn. She felt Matteo’s breath against her neck and she fought to concentrate on the race below.

“Many people doubt the critics when they tell them who to bet for,” his accented–voice said behind her ear. The pounding of the horses feet on the track mimicked the racing of her heart. “They want to bet on the underdog,” he continued, as if he’d heard her conversation with Paul himself. “They think if they can manage to believe in something hard enough, maybe the underdog will beat out the strongest of the herd, the fastest, the most powerful”

The horses were along the straight away now. Royal Commander was gaining but he was still too far back.

“Many people have their doubts. They’ll throw obstacles in the way, try their best to beat him out. In the end, the strongest will always win. Watch as he enters the second turn,” he told her. His hands twisted against the railing, caging her in further.

“Matteo,” she breathed as his nose skimmed her shoulder. She was still aware of the people in the booth beside their own who could see their intimate

position if they weren’t so drawn into the race below.

“Watch, Genevine.”

Gen opened her eyes as the horses entered the final turn. Royal Commander took to the outside. It was a bold move, creating further distance but allowing him to get out of the way of flying hooves. His stride lengthened, his nostrils flared. Royal Commander started to overtake his competition with practiced ease, Geomare held her breath as he went down the final straightaway. She started to bounce on her toes as Royal Commander took the lead. He got a length ahead, then two, then three. When he crossed the finish line in first place, she was completely awestruck. Her adrenaline raced, her nerve endings

Taking advantage of her excitement, the tuned and threw her arms around Matteo’s neck. He grunted with the impact but recovered quickly, grasping her around the waist in order to haul her more fully into his chest. She pulled away and smiled up at his surprised expression.

*You own Royal Commander, don’t you?” she

the asked.

He smirked. “I’ve never been a fan of the underdogs.

“I’m glad to see you were able to witness it. Seeing as how you’ve been MIA all day.”

“Did you miss me?” he asked with a devilish grin that made her stomach flutter.

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Chapter Forty–Six

She scoffed. “Of course not. I just thought I was here to get laid and yet my wingman is missing

His hand dipped down past her waist,

we can rectify that right now if you’d like. It’s the perfect way to cap off a big win

“is that so” to that why you love these things so much?”

“Uved to be ”

“And nom

His eyes ventured over her face before dropping down to her heaving chest. “I’m sorry I left you feeling lonely. I had a few meetings, and some last–minute amrangements to make before the race started,” he explained.

She smiled and ran her fingers over the tie that somehow matched her dress perfectly. “Ah, so you needed to make sure O’Brien’s men were in line, break a few fingers, and pick which horse to funnel your dirty money through?”

Matteo’s eyes widened along with his smile. He shook his head. “Maybe. How did you sleep last night after, you know?” he asked, skillfully changing the

subject.

“After what?” she asked, her face heating of the last thing she had done before she fell asleep.

After leaving his room that morning, she’d performed her nearly nightly ritual of “what if,” which involved fantasizing about what would have happened if she’d let him have his way: if she’d let him throw her to his desk in his office, if they’d had a few more minutes in the elevator, if she’d agreed to stay with him that morning. He watched her for a moment, clearly enjoying the confusion playing out behind her eyes.

“After you doctored me,” he finally answered, allowing her to let out a long slow breath. His voice dropped an octave. “What were you talking about?”

The door behind him opened and Leo cleared his throat. “Accardi, you’re needed on the track.”

Mattes sighed and cupped Gen’s chin between his thumb and the knuckle of his pointer finger. “Duty calls. You can stay up here if you want or go

the box next door,” he told her.

She shrugged. “I may just go back to the hotel. Can you give me a lift, Leo?”

Mattes tressed her chin. “Okay, gu take a nap and I’ll come get you for dinner tonight at about 6:30. O’Brien’s invited us out.”

“Actually,” Gen said as she walked toward the door. “I told Paul I would have dinner with him.”

Les froze as he held the door open for h

her. She looked up at him in confusion and then followed his gaze back to Matteo.

“Whar?” Matteo asked, his voice gruff. His eyes lacked to feu who gave a quick nod and left the rooms.

“What?” Gen asked.

“I asked you not to go to dinner with him,” he said, his voice quiet and deadly. He widened his stance and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Gen crossed her arms. “No, you told me I wasn’t allowed to. Just because you’re my boss…” Gen gasped as he took three long strides and gripped the back of

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1:06 am

Chapter Forty–Six

her neck.

“Call me your fucking boss again, Gen,” Maiten warned Gen gilped.

“You cannot tell me who I can or cannot see,” she said, her voice smaller than before due to the dangerous glint in his eyes.

His grip on her neck, tightened as he brought her closer. “Is this soome kind of test? See if the new guy is as possessive and jealous at the others? See if he’ll lock you up and throw away the key”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gen hissed.

sking you not to go on a date with him, Genevieve.”

Matte lowered his face. “I’m asking you

“It’s not a date.” Gen pulled free from his grasp and took two steps back so she could breathe. “It doesn’t mean anything. Yeah, we used to have a

relationship but that’s over. I have no desire to be with him.”

“I don’t care. It’ll mean something to him and everyone else who sees the two of you out together.”

“Ugh, Matteo, this is ridiculous. He just wants to catch up, why are you being like this?! I won’t let anything happen. Why are you….

Matteo lurched forward, grabbing her by her upper arms. “Because I’m in love with you!” he shouted.

Cen’s eyes went wide enough to split her lids as she looked up into his eamest expression. Her mouth parted in shock at his words.

“I can wait. I can put up with you hopping back and forth over the lines you’ve drawn. I can stand to be without you at night so long as I know you’re on the other side of the wall. I can wait for you to be ready to love me back, Genevieve, but I am asking you…” He closed his eyes hard and Gen felt a tear roll down her cheek. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. “I am begging you to not go on a date with another man. Please, don’t make me suffer like that.

Don’t do that to me.”

His eyes moved back and forth between hers as he waited for her to say something. She couldn’t. Her mind was whirling so fast every time she came up with something to say it was caught up in the tornado that was her thoughts. A knock came at the door.

d at the door.

hat?!” Matteo bellowed, dragging his eyes away from her to look over her head at

“They need you, Accardi, Leo reminded him.

Matte sighed and dropped his head forward. Matteo ran his thumbs over the skin of her arms before he dropped his hold altogether. He stood up straight. fixed his tir, and walked out of the room, Gen took two wobbly steps backward until she felt the leather of a chair against her calves and sank down into it.

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Accardi