He pulled out, then slid back in. And did it again as he sucked reverentially on my lower lip. His movements were slow, but almost harsh as he located the depths of me, trapped me against the linens, dared me to throw him off.
But I didn’t want to. Matthew wasn’t scared of the fight. I knew that now. Tenacious and valiant, he would fight for those he loved with every fiber of his being. His friends. His family. And me.
I arched as an arrow of need shot through me, violent and true. Matthew slipped a hand around my neck and urged me up to wrap my legs around his waist as he sat back on his knees. Then, with a sudden thrust, I was backed against the wall, my head smacking the plaster as Matthew buried himself even deeper.
“This,” he mumbled into my neck. “You. Me. Oh, God, Nina. You don’t even know.”
“Don’t know what?” I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut as he thrust harder, taking a punishing pace that still somehow set me free. “Tell me.”
“How much—how much I love you. How much I need you, Nina. With fucking everything I am.”
His eyes squeezed shut with anguish, though he continued to move. I threaded my hands into his hair and pulled, urging him to look at me again. When they opened, his eyes were wells of love and fear.
“Yes, I do,” I told him honestly, my voice barely more than a whisper. “Yes, I do, my love. My all. I know because I feel the same. You are my heart, Matthew. You are my everything.”
He groaned, the animal sound visceral and vibrating through us both. His hands gripped the flesh of my thighs hard enough to bruise, but the pain was delicious. His mouth found my breast, bit lightly into the soft flesh. I screamed. With love. With joy. With every unnamable emotion I had ever felt for this man. For everything I ever would.
Chapter Twenty
Matthew
Later, after the sun had fallen beyond the hills and the sky outside our window was black with night, I held Nina in my arms. The room was a mess and our stomachs were empty, but I still wasn’t sure if this was real. I was a damn sinner, and I was pretty sure I was ending up in purgatory, if not hell when I finally croaked.
But if there was a heaven, this would be it, wouldn’t it?
“You’re still awake,” she murmured, her voice huskier than normal. From all the screaming, I thought with a smirk.
Yeah, yeah. I could still get it done when I had to.
I looked down at where her left hand lay on my chest, idly playing over my skin. Nonna’s ring gleamed in the moonlight. Holy shit.
I didn’t know why I’d brought the thing until that moment when Nina had looked at me with fear that tore a hole through my chest. She had been trembling, like a baby deer caught in a wolf’s gaze. I wanted her to know I wasn’t the wolf. Or maybe I was, but she would never be my prey. I’d protect her with every animalistic urge I had. I was hers body and soul.
I wasn’t stupid. She still belonged to another man in the eyes of the law. Just like we’d have to face the mess of clothes and broken lamps in this room in the morning, we’d have the rest of our mess waiting for us still in New York. But those days would come to an end eventually, and then Nina and I would be free. Really, truly free. We couldn’t run forever. But we could still return together. I hoped.
“I’m still awake,” I confirmed after a minute.
“Thinking of what?”
“Of us,” I said honestly. “About tomorrow.”
I picked up her hand and examined it in the dim light. I hadn’t actually expected the ring to fit, given the fact that there was a solid eight-inch difference between Nina and my grandmother. But for all her height, Nina’s bones were delicate. The ring looked perfect on her long, slender finger.
“Tomorrow,” she echoed faintly. But I didn’t tense. That wasn’t doubt in her voice, I didn’t think. Fear, maybe, but not doubt.
“It’s not the ring, is it?” I asked.
Nina’s tastes were at least as particular as mine. I’d be disappointed, maybe, if she didn’t want Nonna’s ring. But it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I wanted her to be happy more than anything. Even if it meant I had to take out a second mortgage to pay for the one she wanted.
“Absolutely not,” she said, holding it up to examine it. “It’s perfect.”
Relief washed over me. “Well, that’s good. I wasn’t sure. It’s an antique, that ring.”
“More than an antique,” Nina said. “This is an heirloom, Matthew. Vintage Damiani. Art deco.”
I frowned down at her. “How did you know that?”
She smiled up at me, preening proudly. “I do know a bit about fine jewelry, you know.”
I raised a brow. She was good, but was she that good? I hadn’t seen much in the way of antiques on Nina’s person.
“All right,” she admitted. “I looked at the marking on the inside when you were in the bathroom.”
I snorted. “I see. Connoisseur, clearly.”
“Did you find it in town?” she wanted to know.
“Ah, no. It was…” I didn’t know why I was so damn nervous to tell her this. “It was Nonna’s. She gave it to me after Nonno died. To give to the woman I was going to marry.” I picked up her hand again and passed my thumb over the familiar stone. “I’ve had it ever since. Never thought about giving it to anyone until I met you. Not even Sherry.”
Nina was quiet for a long time at the sound of my ex’s name. I didn’t talk about her much—you tend not to when the story involves her fucking around while you’re on the other side of the world
