Matteo (Dark Erotic Mob Romance) (Rossi Family Book 1) (6 page)

“Suck it. Make me come down your throat.” He grabbed the base of his cock to direct it toward my lips.

I took him deep and he groaned, fisting his hands in my hair.

“Yes, good little
bella
. Take it all. Only my cock belongs in your sweet mouth, your sweet pussy. Can you taste it? Taste yourself around me? Fucking delicious little cunt you have and it’s all mine as long as you behave.”

A few more thrusts and he pulsed against my tongue before his hot release shot down my throat. I swallowed rapidly.

“Don’t upset me again. I don’t like sharing you, but I will if that’s what it takes for you to learn your place,” Matteo said, releasing me. He left the room, leaving behind his clothing strewn about everywhere.

I took the time to neatly fold all of his clothes and place them on the chair in the corner and his shoes under it in case he needed them. I didn’t know where his gun had gone, but I didn’t care as long as it wasn’t in my room.

Returning to the bed, I cradled my aching hip in one hand while covering both my abused breasts with the other. My entire body still burned from the roughness of the scrubbing I’d received. The cut on my hip throbbed, but the thing that bothered me the most was the sight of the dead man — I couldn’t get it out of my head. I’d never seen someone dead before and certainly not by the hand of the man that owned me.

What was it exactly that Matteo did? He was armed at all times, it seemed, or at least when anyone else was around. He seemed not to come to me with firearms. I knew it was none of my business what he did, but I couldn’t help but be curious.

For the rest of the night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. My body ached. Every time I looked at the floor, wondering if I could find comfort on the harder surface as I had the entire time I’d been at Matteo’s, I could only remember the man on the floor as he bled from the hole in his head.

When the sky started to lighten through my window, I got out of bed. After fixing the sheets, I showered and was happy to find that my skin was much less tender, but my hip and elbow still hurt. Since I was up early, I took the time to blow-dry my hair straight as they’d done in the salon before dressing in another of my new panty sets.

Figuring I wouldn’t see Matteo in the morning, I sat cross-legged in the center of the bed and waited for Aida to bring my breakfast. However, when the door opened and I saw the larger form fill it, I flung myself backward and assumed my expected position.

“Very good,
bella
. You please me this morning,” Matteo said, closing the door quietly behind him before sitting next to me. “Seeing how you’ve been cooped up in this room all week as I dealt with business, I thought I’d allow you a bit more freedom. You behaved well last night in front of company and deserve a reward for it.”

“Thank you, Matteo,” I said, keeping my chin to my chest and my eyes focused on the foot of the bed.

“Aida has a list of chores for you to complete during the day so you don’t get bored as well.” He moved quickly so that he was straddling me with his hand wrapped around my throat, forcing my head up. “You do anything stupid and you will be punished worse than anything you can imagine. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Matteo.” I nodded my head as much as I could with his hand constricting my airflow and movements. Anything to get out of the damn room I’d been stuck in for so long.

“Very well. I will be gone well into the night. I expect you to be dressed and waiting for me tomorrow night for dinner. We will have guests.” He shifted and pressed his erection into my stomach. Something flashed in his eyes but he moved off me and toward the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “Don’t disappoint me,
bella
.”

I slowly sat up and rubbed at my neck once he was gone. After regaining my breath, I went to the closet and looked through the wide variety of clothing that was hanging there. All of them were dresses. He’d told me I was not permitted to wear pants at all, so not to bother asking for them. It took me a few minutes before I pulled out a lightweight, form-fitting white cotton dress. It was the least flashy of the bunch and the closest to what I was accustomed to wearing.

Bare-foot, I walked down to the kitchen, where I assumed I’d find Aida. She was in the middle of putting ingredients into a bowl when I walked in.

“There is your list. You are to have them all completed by the time dinner is served. If you don’t, I am to report to Matteo right away,” Aida said emotionlessly.

I picked up the paper, which was quite long, and eyed it. There was a stack of magazines under it. Stunned, I read a note at the bottom that was in a different handwriting than the rest of the list. It was from Matteo and he told me to read through them so I’d have something to talk about should I absolutely need to. Gathering the magazines, I took them to my room before starting on my tasks.

I sighed. Good thing I had until the evening because it would take me that long, if not longer, to get everything completed in time. I’d have to work swiftly to get it all done.

Returning to the kitchen, I memorized the first few items, set the list back down and went in search of cleaning supplies.

By the time lunch came about I was starving, as I hadn’t taken the time to eat breakfast. After shoving the fresh fruit and bowl of soup that Aida made in my mouth, I washed my dishes and went back to work.

I’d have to return to the kitchen throughout the day to check what was next to do, but I still managed to make it through the list by the time Aida let me know dinner was almost ready.

I couldn’t believe how quickly the day had passed. Exhaustion was setting in, but it felt good to have accomplished something and to prove my worth to Matteo.

After eating dinner alone, I returned to my room to shower and fell into the bed. I was fast asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow for once. I’d meant to at least flip through the magazines, but my body had different ideas.

The next morning, since I knew Matteo wasn’t going to be around or at least looking for me, I put on another lightweight dress and went to the kitchen to find my chore list. It was only half as long as the day before. With the paper in hand, I turned to Aida.

“It’s much shorter today,” I told her, holding it up for her to see.

“Yes, we will have guests tonight and Matteo expects you to take the time to prep for them. He gave you plenty of time so that you won’t be late greeting them,” Aida said, kneading a round of dough.

“Oh... okay,” I answered, even though I was confused. I didn’t think it’d take me hours to get ready, but then again, I didn’t know what to expect of the evening so maybe it would.

I quickly went about completing my chores before showering. As I was blow-drying my hair, I heard a soft knock on the door to my room.

“Gia, I’m Alessandra. I’m here to help you get ready,” a petite woman with a bag over each arm said when I opened the door.

I stepped back and opened the door farther for her to enter. Relief washed through me that at least someone was going to be helping me prepare. While I could scrub a floor until you saw your reflection in it, I didn’t know how to do makeup or anything other than blow my hair straight.

The woman went about setting up, pulling numerous items from her bag as she went. Finally she turned to me and instructed me to sit in the chair that still held Matteo’s clothes from the other night.

After moving the clothing to the foot of the bed, I sat in the chair.

“Right, now, take a deep breath and close your eyes. I’ll take good care of you, doll,” the woman said with a smile as she pushed my hair over my shoulders.

I let my eyes roam over her face before I deemed her worthy of a small amount of trust. Matteo wouldn’t allow someone into my room if she wasn’t harmless, or I believed he wouldn’t.

Chapter Six

A long period of time passed as she put numerous items on my face until it felt caked and heavy, but before I could even get a glimpse of what I looked like, she packed up a portion of her items.

“Now sit on the bed with your back to me,” she told me.

Once I settled on the bed, she proceeded to do my hair without asking how I’d like it. Finally she tapped my shoulder.

“Follow me into the closet so you can get dressed.”

I followed behind her, still wearing only my towel. While I stood in the doorway, she quickly went through all of the clothing hanging up. Pulling out a floor-length white gown, Alessandra looked from it to me then back.

“This will do. You’ll have to go without a bra or panties as both would be visible.”

I looked at the dress and figured I’d have to take her word for it since I had never worn anything like it before.

“Step in,” she instructed after unzipping the back.

With her help, I managed to wiggle into the dress and get it secured on. Once it was zipped up and I ran my hands over my hips, I realized what she meant about no panties. It was tight enough the lines would protrude out. There was a slit up one thigh that went high enough that I would have to be careful when I sat not to flash my girl parts to anyone.

Turning in a slow circle, I realized that for the first time in my life, I felt sexy. The satin fabric brushed along my legs as I moved; the top was tight enough that I didn’t feel like my breasts would pop out of the strapless cups. There was a low dip between them that showed off quite a bit of cleavage, but the cut of the dress was perfect. Surely that had something to do with how much it’d cost.

I may not have bought or worn expensive clothing before, but it was evident the dress wasn’t cheap. Not that Matteo would have anything cheap near him. The man emanated power and cheap clothing didn’t go with that image.

“All done. Now to put on your shoes,” Alessandra said, grabbing a pair of glittering heels from a shelf. She set them on the floor and helped me step into them.

I nearly fell when she released me. I coughed, embarrassed.

“Not used to walking in heels? Don’t worry, it gets easier.” She smiled and held out a hand for me to hold before escorting me from the closet and around the room a few times. I was just starting to get the hang of it when there was another knock on the door.

“Is she ready, Alessandra?” Matteo asked in a soft voice I hadn’t heard from him. His eyes locked on me as soon as he pushed open the door. “Wow, I knew you could fancy her up. She’s just perfect.”

He talked to Alessandra like I wasn’t even there.

I lowered my head, feeling shame that even as dressed up as I was, he still didn’t deem me important enough to address.

“Well, you gave me a great place to start. I simply enhanced. She is quite lovely,” Alessandra said as she dropped my hand and went about gathering the last of her supplies.

“Come,
bella
. I got tired of waiting for you downstairs so I came to retrieve you myself.” Matteo waved an arm toward the door.

“Yes, Matteo.” I swallowed my fear and walked toward the door, proud of myself for making it without one mishap on the heels.

He opened the door and then surprised me by offering his elbow to hold onto while we descended the stairs.

“You do look quite lovely,
bella
. However, tonight you will act as my date, nothing more. Don’t speak unless spoken to and answer as briefly as possible when you must. You are not to mention that you are my slave or anything else about how we came to meet to any of the people that will be here. If you do, you will be punished severely. Understand?” Matteo spoke in a hushed voice.

“Yes, Matteo. I understand completely.” I wasn’t sure how I’d avoid questions that might be asked, but I would do my best to follow his stipulations. It was a bit unnerving that I didn’t know how many people would be there — I didn’t even know what I looked like. I knew my hair flowed freely around my shoulders and felt soft when it moved, but my face felt heavy and very unlike my normal self. Then again, I was playing a part so it was a good reminder to use all the knowledge I’d learned from Madam on how to act like a lady.

Matteo led me into the sitting room. I couldn’t help but focus my gaze on the table and the spot where the dead man had lain not so long before. Panic ratcheted up my pulse and my breathing accelerated.

“Don’t think about it,” Matteo breathed.

Right, don’t think about it. That was so easy. Maybe for him.

When the doorbell rang, I was distracted from my inner horror show. I looked up to see Aida rushing to greet the guest. Moments later, she escorted a finely-dressed couple into the room. Matteo introduced me as his date for the night, and I was practically brushed aside by them after that. However, I found as more and more couples arrived, the thoughts of the last time I’d been in the room were pushed to the back of my mind.

Even though the first couple had ignored me once they found out I was simply a one-timer on Matteo’s arm, many other couples hadn’t seemed to care and tried to chat with me. Thankfully, I had plenty of techniques to keep the conversation on them instead of me. When they tried to ask me anything personal, I would murmur an answer and ask them another question. There was a time or two when I’d wished there had been time for me to read the magazines so I had any idea of some current events, but I managed to fumble my way through the stilted conversations.

Matteo stayed at my side, although he mostly carried on conversations with someone else. Conversations that were conducted in quiet, hushed tones and even being right next to him, I couldn’t pick anything up. Sometimes he spoke in Italian, other times in English. I supposed it didn’t really matter as it seemed most of the people there could speak both languages fluently.

Aida called everyone to dinner and we were directed to a long table in a room I hadn’t been in before. Matteo sat me next to him, and a woman that had been particularly hard to divert sat on my other side with a broad smile. It took me a moment to remember her name. Then it came to me.
Allegra
.

“I was hoping I’d be able to get the seat next to you!” she exclaimed, nearly jumping in her seat. “There’s so much about you I want to know! Matteo never brings dates to things like this! You must be pretty special!”

“I guess.” I returned her smile as Matteo’s hand landed on my thigh and squeezed in warning. I glanced up at him, but he was talking to the man on the other side of him. “So you come to many gatherings like this?”

“Oh, of course. It’s part of the lifestyle. Italians. We love big get-togethers. You get used to them after a while. Plus this specific group seems to do them at least once a month,” she said before taking a drink of her wine, which I noticed I did not have at my place setting. I smiled at the information she’d given me without meaning to.
The dinners were monthly. Were they business or family?
If I was going to get along in his world, knowing as much as possible would be helpful and he didn’t seem to be willing to share a whole lot with me.

“So, you come to them all the time?” I asked, hoping I might at least have a friendly face to look forward to.

“Mmm. Some of them. I’m not always invited. It’s a man's world, you know.” She leaned close and lowered her voice. “At least in this crowd. The men rule here and don’t think for one second it's not the truth.”

I nodded.

“How long have you known Matteo? Where’d you meet? Where are you from? You don’t have the Italian accent so it must be somewhere else.” Allegra blurted out rapid-fire questions.

“We haven’t known each other long and it wasn’t far from here we met. It’s a long story,” I answered as briefly with as few details as I could manage. “You?”

“Me and Matteo? He’s part of my extended family. Never thought he’d settle down. At least he never brought a woman around the family, anyway. We all figured he’d be a bachelor forever.” She laughed and slapped my thigh as if it was incredibly funny.

I forced a smile, not sure why it was so funny or even humorous that I was at a dinner with him. He’d not said a handful of words to me since guests had started arriving.

“I... I meant the man you are with,” I stuttered, trying to shift the focus back to her instead of the incredibly awkward situation I was in. Sure, I’d been schooled in all things formal by Madam, but carrying on a conversation with a woman who clearly had no problem prying into people’s personal lives was turning out to be quite difficult. There wasn’t much I could share with her about my past or even my present.

“Oh, he’s just my date. We’ve been together for a few weeks. Nothing serious.” She shrugged and looked over my shoulder toward Matteo.

I glanced at him, but he was still deep in conversation with the man on the other side of him.

“What makes you think we’re serious? You brought someone you’re seeing casually.” I hadn’t meant for the question to slip from my lips, but it was out before I could stop it.

“As I said, he doesn’t bring just anyone to these events.” Allegra’s attention was drawn to her date just in time for Matteo’s fingers to painfully dig into my thigh.

“Stop digging,” he growled into my ear before turning his attention away again. The pressure lessened on my sensitive skin.

I dug into the bowl of soup that was delivered shortly after and tried to keep my head down, hoping Allegra would leave me alone, since obviously I was failing to please Matteo.

It didn’t work. After the soup we were given appetizers to nibble on, and once the plates were taken away, she bumped my shoulder with hers.

“You’re so quiet. It’s so refreshing. I’m so used to all the noisy Italians. Plus, most of the women are… well, bitches. You’re different though. I can tell. We’d get along so great. I bet if we got away from all of these men, you’d open up so much more. We should do a spa date or go shopping sometime,” Allegra said, smiling brightly at me.

“Uh, sure. Sounds great.” I smiled back, but Matteo’s fingernails were digging into me, causing me to squirm. “As long as Matteo says it’s okay.”

“Oh, hush. He doesn’t control you. If you want to go, we’ll go.” Allegra waved off the absurd idea of having to get approval from anyone to go anywhere.

Delivery of the salad cut her off from speaking further. Matteo wrapped an arm around my shoulders and sank his hand into my hair to clasp the back of my neck as he leaned close.

“You are in big trouble,
bella
,” he whispered into my ear before biting the lobe hard enough I feared it would be bleeding. “I suggest you stop talking immediately.”

“Yes, Matteo,” I murmured.

His fingers twisted in my nape painfully. From the outside, it probably appeared he was being affectionate and whispering sweet nothings.

Inside, I felt like dying. I’d failed more miserably than I could have ever imagined, and the idea that there would be a punishment waiting at the end of the evening loomed over me. If I could I’d excuse myself, but knew that wouldn’t go over well either.

Thankfully Allegra got caught up in a conversation with one of the men across the table from her about a sport of some kind that I knew nothing about. It wasn’t until dessert was served that she started in on me again.

“So, where do you work?” she pried again.

I looked from her to Matteo, then back to her.

She sighed loudly, having spotted my hesitation.

“Fine. I know, I’m
so
curious and full of questions. I’ll leave you alone. I know Matteo is very private and probably wouldn’t want any of us to know too much about his date.” She spoke the last part loudly enough to make sure he heard.

To my surprise, he rolled his eyes at her before turning away again. I’d expected anger or threats, but he’d looked like he was used to her ribbing and simply let it roll off his back. Maybe I wouldn’t be getting too bad of a punishment after all.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the dessert plates were collected, thinking the evening was coming to a close, but when glasses filled with amber liquid started being passed out, I realized it wasn’t.

The men took their glasses and started to exit the room while the women stayed seated. I looked to Allegra for what to do. She nodded and put a hand on my thigh.

“Be there in a moment,” Matteo spoke to the gentleman he’d spent most of the evening conversing with before holding a hand out for me. “Come with me,
bella.
”

I stood with his assistance and followed him from the room. He ushered me through a door across the hall, locking it behind us.

“Oh how you disappoint me,
bella
. I told you to stay quiet, not make friends. Yet there you go, blabbering away. I have business to take care of now and you are not invited. However, you are not permitted to wait with the women, seeing as how you can’t seem to control yourself. You shall go prepare yourself for me in your room and think about your punishment until I come to you.”