Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 95

Chapter Ninety–Five

Gen pushed against Matteo’s chest until she could look up into his face. His eyes had lightened from the matte black of anger she’d seen in them earlier. The whites of his eyes, though, remained red and puffy from his hangover. Stubble had sprouted along his jaw and his hair was ruffled from either the way he slept on it or running his hand through it. At just that moment, he ran his hand through his hair and she got her answer.

“What picture?” Gen asked again.

Matteo took a step back seemingly having regained his composure. “Nothing, I was delusional.”

“Matteo…”

He sighed and took a few steps back until he could lean against one of the couches. He crossed his arms and shrugged. “We do a routine background check when a member of the family is getting married. I came across a picture of you.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to the story than that?”

He refused to meet her gaze as he shrugged again. “Maybe it was a picture of you and your ex. Maybe it sent me into a blind rage. Maybe I cut the picture and handed the side with him on it to Frankie with instructions to make sure he wasn’t at the God–damned wedding.”

Gen stared at him in shock. “When?”

Matteo’s eyes finally connected with hers as if he needed to gauge her reaction to what he was about to admit. “About six months before the wedding. When Frankie told me about the side–chick in New York, I called in a favor. A friend of mine offered him a job in the city.”

Gen’s mouth dropped. “You said you didn’t know my name. When we met you didn’t know who I was.”

“I didn’t remember your name. I didn’t want to. I knew you lived in Boston but I wouldn’t let myself know any more than that.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

Genevieve started to walk away, needing space but he followed.

“I had no intention of pursuing you, Gen. I know who I am. I know most women would run for the hills. Then my family died and I was sucked into this pit I couldn’t dig myself out of,” Matteo continued. Gen hurried down the hall toward the bedroom. “I forgot about you. For a few days you were out of my mind. I didn’t think about seeing you at the wedding. Stopped caring about what the fuck I was going to wear or what I would say if I got the opportunity to speak to you.” Gen entered the bedroom but before she could escape into the bathroom, he caught her wrist, spun her around and backed her into the dresser drawers. His eyes bore into hers, paralyzing her with their intensity. “Then you lost that fucking bet.” His eyes dipped to her lips and back. He shook his head. “You were more than I’d ever imagined. I couldn’t let you go. And I never will.”

Gen stared up at him, his eyes now golden–green in their desperation to communicate through a look alone. She licked her lips and his eyes dove down to track the movement,

“Every time I think I’m losing you, the panic grows worse. When you go against what I tell you, or do something reckless, it sends me spiraling. You’re my

enemies‘ dream come true,”

“I’m not going to apologize for meeting with Michele she suddenly said, knowing that was one reason why he’d been so distant from her since returning. He’d barely touched her. He hadn’t spoken her nickname.

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Chapter Ninety–Five

His hand tightened on her waist. “It was suicidal.”

“Beatrice would have done the same for me.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“She knows the risks and is trained for them.”

“Then train me.”

“I intend to but in the meantime you’ll be latched to my ankle and punished in time.”

Genevieve bristled. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You put yourself in danger. Handed my weakness over to a powerful man without a second’s consideration for what that could do to the organization overall.”

“My life is no more valuable than another.”

“Not to me.”

“What are you going to do then? Spank me?” she asked.

His eyes trailed over face, down the slope of her neck and over her chest. “No, I said punish, not reward. I haven’t thought of what I’ll do yet. I’m sure it’ll come to me in the heat of the moment.”

Matteo stepped away, allowing her to take in her first full breath in minutes. She crossed her arms. “I want to see that picture. It must have been the best one ever taken of me to entice a powerful mob boss.”

Matteo smirked. He stepped closer again, stealing her breath. He reached over her shoulder and pulled out his sock drawer. Then he twisted the hidden handle and opened the secret back compartment. He lifted the Playboy he had stacked on top and handed it to her. She raised an eyebrow but walked over to their bed and sat down on the edge. She flipped through the pages of tastefully–done, scantily–clad women until she noticed a picture wedged between two of the pages. She held up the picture he had cut in half that featured her smiling up to where Brian’s head used to be.

“Did you ever…” she raised her eyebrows twice suggestively.

Matteo’s smirk turned into a full–on grin. “What do you think?”

Gen carefully tucked the picture back where it was and stood up. “I think you have a lot of big secrets hidden in that tiny drawer,” she teased, holding the magazine out for him.

His brows dropped a bit as he studied the cover of his magazine with great intent. He tucked the magazine carefully back into his hidden drawer. His shoulders tightened as his hand dipped farther back, past her purple vibrator and the rolled joint to the fourth object he’d stowed away there. His hand retracted and a moment passed before he turned back to face her.

Gen’s eyes shot down to the small, black, velvet box he held lightly in his hands. Her breathing shallowed out as his fingers traced over the fabric. She looked up expectantly only to find his eyes still on the box and a shy smile pulling at his lips. When his golden eyes jerked up and he gave her a lazy smirk her heart exploded. He looked so carefree, so boyish in that moment in the left over suit pieces from the day before. The white dress shirt was wrinkled. Half of his shirt tail hung untucked past his hip. His belt was unbuckled and his pants were sagging slightly from when she’d gripped it tightly to keep from falling.

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Chapter Ninety–Five

Matteo reached a hand out and took one of hers. She studied his face: the content smile, the lightness of his eyes, the way he raked his lip through his teeth… To anyone else he would seem on top of the world. But she could see past the charade.

“You want me to share all of my secrets, Weakness?” he asked, her eyes fluttering closed at the sound of his nickname for her. He pulled her closer. “I’ll tell you my biggest one. I want you to be my…”

“Stop,” she demanded, shoving his chest and making his eyes go wide with worry.

“What?”

“I mean…” She shook her head. “This isn’t how you planned it. Is it?”

Matteo smiled and looked back down at the box. “No. It’s not.”

“Then I don’t want it like this.”

“You want me to surprise you?” he asked. She nodded. Matteo took the box and set it on top of the dresser drawer. He pulled her back into his chest and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Did you see it already?” he asked. She nodded her head shyly. “Did I do good?”

Gen smiled into his shoulder. “Yes, you did very good.”

He lowered his mouth to her ear. “I have it all planned out, Genevieve. The where, the when, the speech, the night after,” he whispered, making her knees shake. “I’ll make it a surprise but I’ll go ahead and spoil the ending for you. You’re going to say yes and I’m going to spend the rest of my life worshiping you for doing so.”

Gen smiled into his shirt while her eyes looked over his shoulder at the ring box, picturing it all so clearly.