Chapter Seventy-Six
Genevieve stilled in his arms just as they entered the cool and quiet environment that was his office. He walked them toward the window and deposited her on top of his desk. He immediately turned away, preventing her from reading his expression. He couldn’t hide the way he ripped his suit jacket off and flung it haphazardly onto a nearby couch, though. Nor could he hide the way he roughly shoved his dress shirt up to his elbows and rotated his shoulders.
“She needed to be put in her place,” Gen stated brusquely while sweeping her eyes around the room.
Matteo didn’t respond. He started opening and closing cabinets on the other side of the room where there were a few book shelves. His office here was in stark contrast to the one at Accardi Industries and the overall aesthetic of his apartment. Everything was dark: from the dark blue walls to the deep brown leather of the couches and armchairs. The only bright spot was his desk. Made of some kind of beautiful quartzite stone, it was somehow backlit causing the clear portions of the rock to glow gold. Matteo’s back was still turned but his movements remained halting and stiff.
“She came after Leo,” Gen continued, wondering why she felt the need to defend herself to the man who had done far worse. “I don’t understand why you’re so angry.”
Matteo swiveled around, his hands loaded with first-aid supplies. “Angry? You think I’m angry?” he asked, starting back toward her with a purposeful stride.
“Well, what other adjective would you use to describe how you’re acting?” she asked, turning as he walked around the desk.
Matteo scoffed and shoved his office chair away with his foot. His dark eyes focused in on her, making her shiver. He set the bandages beside her and placed both palms against the cool stone on either side of her thighs.
“Frustrated,” he offered in a clipped tone.
Gen rolled her eyes. “That’s just a synonym for…”
She squeaked as he hooked his hands around her thighs and yanked her closer to the edge of the table. Her eyes widened as she felt his steel-like rod press against the warmth of her core. Her eyes fluttered shut as he brought his mouth to her ear.
“Frustrated,” he repeated. “Aroused. Horny. Lustful. Hot.” As he spoke he leaned closer to her, forcing her to lower herself slowly to the desk. He ran his nose from her neck down her chest. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to see that side of you, Weakness?” He groaned and pressed himself more firmly against her, making her moan. “Then you decide to unleash it when I’m bound by your archaic rules pertaining to first dates?” Both of his hands slid up from her waist, caressing the silky material of her dress and leaving a scorching heat along her skin. His hands molded around her breasts for only a second before returning to her waist and squeezing. “All that stands in the way of me achieving one of my most replayed fantasies with you is a zipper, a pair of panties… and your rules.”
Matteo stood back sharply causing Gen to gasp at the loss of his heat. She opened her eyes to find him rolling his office chair back in front of her. He adjusted his pants before sitting with his legs spread. She sat up on her elbows. Her eyes dipped to his hips and she bit her lip when she saw the strained material there.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he warned her. She glanced up to find him studiously uncoiling the bandages. “Don’t touch me more than necessary,” he added.
“Or?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Matteo sighed and closed his eyes. “Or I’ll be forced to barricade the door and we’ll be in this room all night,” he told her, setting the bandages aside. “Come here.”
Gen pulled herself up. He held out his hand and she placed one of hers in it. He studied her bloody knuckles closely and tsked.
“How does it feel to be on the other side of it for once?” Gen asked with a raised brow.
“I’m supposed to have calloused knuckles. You’re not. Take your ring off before your finger swells.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Gen said, prying the ring off her finger that had been cut off twice before in prior incidents.
He applied alcohol to the fresh wounds. She hissed and pulled her hand away. He raised his eyes and gave her a look of dubious annoyance. “We both know this isn’t your first time. Give it here.”
Gen narrowed her eyes but did as she was told. This time when he put alcohol on, she bit her lip. “How do you know this isn’t my first time? I’m an innocent accountant.”
Matteo snorted but kept his head bent, focused on his task. “Three separate aggravated assault charges. One assaulting an officer along with numerous disorderly conducts.”
Gen stared down at him with her mouth wide open. “How did… Those files are sealed.”
Matteo stopped what he was doing to look up at her with a pitying expression. He shook his head and chuckled before going back to her hand. “You’re cute.”
“When did you hack my police record, Matteo?”
“Marco did it before Louis and Jada got married. It’s protocol.”
“Protocol?”
Matteo hummed as he pulled tight the bandage of her left hand. He picked up her right hand, the worst of the two and sighed while shaking his head at the carnage.
“It was school. Before we moved to New York… well, most of it,” Gen explained, embarrassed. “Kids can be cruel. After my mom died…” Her throat worked as she remembered the vile words they’d called her mom and dad… her. Matteo stopped dabbing her knuckles with the alcohol soaked cotton ball to look up at her. “Kids can be cruel,” she repeated.
“What reason would they have to be cruel, Genevieve? Your mother died in a car accident,” he whispered.
“She was drunk. She was a good woman, a good mother, but she had problems with alcohol, some drugs. My dad worked really hard to keep it out of the report and the papers but everyone in town already knew.”
Matteo nodded and bent his head to blow on her knuckles. She sighed at the cold feeling along her raw cuts. He applied some cream and started wrapping her knuckles. Once he was finished he stood up and cupped her chin. His dark eyes lightened to their greenish, gold as he tried to discern the thousands of thoughts running through her mind.
“What you went through made you stronger, Genevieve. It turned you into the woman that captivated me the moment you walked into the bar next door. Don’t apologize ever again for defending yourself or one of your men. You belong to me and no matter what happens or what you go through, I’ll defend you as well.” He lowered his head so they were eye level. “Even against kids who can be cruel.”
Genevieve nodded and she watched his jaw work as his eyes dipped to her lips. He licked his own and groaned.
“Just do me one favor?” he asked.
“Hm?”
A smile played on his lips. “Next time you feel like beating the fuck out of someone, let me know? I have a feeling we’d make a killing with you in the ring.”
His attempt to lighten the mood succeeded. She let out a sharp laugh before he removed his hand from her chin and started collecting all of the trash scattered across the desk.
“I’m sorry I interrupted your meeting,” Gen said as he walked away to throw everything out.
“You didn’t interrupt anything, Gen. It’s fine.”
“So, what exactly did the man want to talk to you about?” she asked, hesitantly.
She wasn’t sure how much he would divulge to her. While she’d climbed into his bed, choosing to enter his world, she wasn’t sure what all that entailed. Would he shut her out of these kinds of talks? Would he tell her for the hundredth time that he didn’t want her in that part of his life? Was she just supposed to help him relieve stress and carry on with her normal day-to-day oblivious to his real struggles? Gen watched him throw away each item with great care as if he too was deliberating on whether to disclose this side of his business.
She waited until she couldn’t take the silence any more. “Matteo?