Valentina.
“Trust no one.”
The house was still when I returned, the silence settling over me like a heavy blanket. My heart pounded in my chest as I walked into the kitchen, each footsteps heavier than the last.
The conversation with the man in the woods replayed in my mind, his warning echoing in my ears.
I didn’t even know his name.
Luca wouldn’t go down easily. Once I step into his world, there’s no turning back.
But I had no choice.
I needed to save my sister, and I would do whatever it took. However, lying to Matteo, sneaking out in the dead of night, was a betrayal I wasn’t sure I could forgive myself for.
He’d hate me for it, after everything we talked about some days back, but I couldn’t tell him the truth.
Not now.
Not yet.
The door to our bedroom stared at me from ahead, slightly ajar, a sliver of moonlight casting a pale glow through the crack. I pushed it open quietly, hoping Matteo would still be asleep.
He wasn’t.
He lay on the bed, propped up on one elbow, his blue eyes sharp and alert, fixed on the door as if he had been waiting for me all night. The dim light caught the hard planes of his face, casting shadows over his chiselled features. His gaze pinned me in place, intense and filled with questions.
“Valentina,” his voice was low, a rough edge to it. “Where have you been?”
Fuck.
My heart leapt into my throat. I hadn’t planned for him to be awake, had hoped for the opposite. I swallowed the lump in my throat, struggling to keep my expression neutral, though my pulse raced under his scrutiny.
“I just…. I needed some air,” I said, my voice soft, almost too quiet. I hoped the darkness of the room would hide the guilt in my eyes, but I could feel that gaze digging into me.
Searching for the lie.
“Air?” He raised an eyebrow, his tone sceptical. “In the middle of the night? Out in the woods?”
I nodded, stepping further into the room, trying to be the epitome of calmness through my nerves were all over the place. “Yes. I couldn’t sleep. Everything has been so…. overwhelming.”
Matteo’s eyes never left mine, the weight of his stare making it impossible to breathe. He knew something was off… he always did. There was no hiding from him.
For a moment, the silence stretched between us, thick with tension. Then, Matteo sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His expression softened just lightly, but the hardness in his eyes remained.
“Everything’s going to go wrong, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice quieter now, almost vulnerable. “This plan… everything we’ve been working toward… it’s all falling apart.”
Oh… that wasn’t what I expected.
Matteo, always so controlled, so confident, was admitting doubt. In the few months I had known him, it still shook me to see him like this – unsure, questioning everything.
I moved closer, standing by the bed, my fingers twisting together. “What do you mean?”
He looked down, his hands gripping the edge of the mattress. “I can feel it, Valentina. Things are slipping out of control. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Luca. And you… you need your sister.”
I froze.
He had noticed more than I thought. Matteo was always attuned to the smallest details, the slightest shifts. And now, he was worried about more than just Luca.
He was worried about me. About us.
“Matteo…” I sat down beside him, reaching out to gently place my hand on his. “Nothing’s going to go wrong. We’ve planned for everything.”
His fingers twitched under mine, and for a moment, he didn’t speak. Then, he turned to look at me, his eyes dark with a mix of emotions I couldn’t quite decipher.
“Don’t lie to me, Valentina,” he said quietly, his voice rough. “I can’t lose you too. Not now.”
My breath caught in my throat. The vulnerability in his voice made my heart ache. He wasn’t talking about the mission anymore. He was talking about me, about us. He was afraid of losing me, just like I was afraid of losing him.
“You won’t,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His eyes searched mine, and for a moment, neither of us moved. The tension between us shifted, becoming something different-something deeper. Slowly, Matteo’s hand lifted to cup the side of my face, his thumb brushing over my cheek with a gentleness that surprised me.
“I don’t know how to do this,” he admitted, his voice hoarse. “I don’t know how to keep you safe and keep everything else from falling apart.”
I leaned into his touch, my heart breaking for him. Matteo, always so strong, so in control, was finally letting me see the cracks in his armour.
“We’ll figure it out together,” I said softly, covering his hand with mine. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
His gaze darkened, and before I could say anything else, he pulled me closer, his lips crashing into mine with a desperation that took my breath away. The kiss was hard, intense, and filled with everything we couldn’t put into words. I could feel the fear, the anger, the need all tangled up between us, and I kissed him back just as fiercely, my hands gripping his shoulders.
Matteo’s hands roamed over my body, pulling me closer until I was straddling his lap. His lips never left mine, as if he was afraid that if he let go, I would disappear.
I could feel the heat building between us, the tension that had been simmering since we came back from the estate.
He broke the kiss, his forehead resting against mine as we both gasped for breath. His hands slid down to my hips, holding me firmly in place as he looked up at me, his eyes blazing with desire.
“I can’t lose you, Valentina,” he whispered, his voice rough. “Not now. Not ever.”
“You won’t,” I promised, leaning down to kiss him again, softer this time, pouring all of my feelings into that one kiss. I wanted him to know that I was here, that I wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what happened.
Matteo’s hands moved under my shirt, pulling it over my head in one swift motion before his mouth found my neck, his lips trailing down to my collarbone. I gasped, my fingers tangling in his hair as he kissed his way down my body, his touch igniting a fire inside me.
I tugged at his shirt, needing to feel his skin against mine, and he quickly shed it, his hands returning to my hips as he pulled me closer. Our bodies moved together, every touch, every kiss driving me closer to the edge.
Matteo’s mouth found mine again, his kiss hard and demanding as he lowered me onto the bed, his body covering mine. I could feel his heart pounding against my chest, matching the frantic rhythm of my own.
“Tell me you’re mine,” he growled against my lips, his voice thick with need.
“I’m yours,” I whispered, my hands gripping his back, nails digging into his skin. “Always.”
That was all he needed to hear. In one fluid motion, he rid us of the remaining barriers between us, and then he was inside me, filling me completely. I gasped, my back arching off the bed as pleasure surged through me, every nerve ending igniting in fire.
Matteo’s movements were slow at first, his gaze locked on mine as he moved within me, his expression fierce with emotion. But soon, the intensity between us built, and his pace quickened, our bodies moving together in perfect rhythm.
Every kiss, every touch was filled with an unspoken promise-one that went beyond words. I was his, and he was mine, no matter what happened next.
As we reached the edge together, my hands tightened around him, and I cried out his name, my body trembling as waves of pleasure washed over me. Matteo followed soon after, his grip on me tightening as he buried his face in my neck, his breath hot against my skin.
For a moment, we stayed like that, our bodies intertwined, our breathing heavy. And for that brief time, the world outside didn’t matter. There was no Luca, no danger, no lies.
Just us.
Matteo rolled onto his back, pulling me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me protectively. I rested my head on his shoulder, my fingers tracing the lines of his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my hand.
“I love you,” he murmured, his voice soft in the quiet room.
“I love you too,” I whispered back, my heart swelling with the truth of the words. And despite everything, despite the lies and the danger, I meant it.
Tomorrow, the battle would continue. But tonight, I was his, and nothing else mattered.