Chapter 3

ISABELLA The silence between us stretched. The sound of the music around us faded. All l could see, and hear, was Matteo. My hands began to shake, and my knees felt weak. I waited for him to tell me he was joking, but the face that stared back at me, said something completely opposite. Somehow, I opened my mouth, and found words. "Hell No!" I slammed him. "I would not be used as a fucking pawn in whatever business you want to do with my father. You want me to be your wife, in exchange for money? Youa re buying me? What the fuck do you think this is? The 1900's? I will not_" Matteo didn't let me finish as his grip tightened around my wajst and arrms It was not painful, but firm enough for me to know not to move an inch. His expression had changed and now had a dangerous edge to it. "Funny you think you have a say in this. And try moving an inch and see how the world would be swept away from under your feet in a blink of an eye." I stilled then, my hands and feet growing cold. This man, who seemed to elicit the craziest sexual reactions from me, also at the same time, scared me to death. "Let me explain this to you clearly. am not asking." His gaze held mine. "You will be my wife, Isabella. And as for your father, before you even walked into this door, Alberto already threw you to the wolves. So if you feel like going to him, then be my guest. But let me remind you that it won't change anything. You have worked for Iglesias, you know we don't bluff." he tilted his chin to his left. I turned then in the direction he was gesturing at and saw the expression on my father's face. I knew that expression. He even gave e a warning stare. I didn't need to be told twice. I was doomed. My father had sold me to he devil. "if you so much as try to refuse, or escape, lsabella, I would take everything from your family. Every fucking thing, even your future assests." He didn't look like he was buffing. Didn't sound like it. I could only stare at him in silence a a ghost of a smile played on his lips. "Now how about we start our little show now, and seal our deal with a kiss? I know you have been wanting to kiss me all night.." Before I could even react, his lips crashed into mine. My whole body grew still from shock. Was this real? Was this really happening? So many thoughts raced in my head as I tried to process what was happening. Matteo De Santis was kissing me! And his lips were so soft.. I wanted to resist, but I felt his teeth tease my bottom lips, sending delicious bursts of warmth down my belly. My eyed closed on their own accord and every thought of resistance flew away as I melted into the kiss. No. Not a kiss, but a delicious assault of my lips. One that had me craving for more, so much that my hand slipped over his shoulders, and entwined themselves around his neck, while Matteo put both arms around my waist, pulling me closer. I felt drugged. His tongue pushed past the seam of my lips, urging me to open up for him, which I did, with no hesitation whatsoever. I swear by my damn shoe, that if he hadn't been holding me like he did, and if my hands weren't around his kneck, I would have crumpled to the floor from how weak my knees went. He tasted like wine, and man. Our tongues clashed, and I didn't want to stop. My nipples grew harder, pressing againt the material of my dress, and against Matteo's chest, and in turn, sending delicious bouts of arousal straight to the area between my thighs. If he could affect me this way, just by kissing me, I wondered what It would feel like when I had him inside of me. The thought send another bout of shivers down my spine. Speaking of....I could feel his hardness press into my abdomen. Fuck..I wished we weren't on a damn dancefloor. Dancefloor.....The haze in my mind wiped so quickly as the word registered in my head. Shit. Shit. What was I doing? Slowly, the sound of people murmuring, and the slow music playing in the background reached my ears. Oh dear God.. I tried to pull away fast, but Matteo didn't let me, taking his sweet time to withdraw, but his hands still kept me in place. His hair looked slightly tousled, and I struggled to remember at what point my hands had gone in his hair, but failed. And his eyes... they were dark...filled with lust. And while that sent a hum through my now overly sensitive body, I stumped hard on the thought. "Wow, I knew you were not going to disappoint." Matteo said easily, rubbing my back ever so slightly. At my questioning glance, a sly smile appeared on his lips. "Don't worry. We will talk about it later. After the announcement." I frowned. "What announcement?" Was he going to announce that he was taking over as the new head of the company? The thought didn't sound so bad now, and I didn't dwell on that. "The one where I announce that you and I are getting married." he said like it was the most obvious thing and without giving me a chance to say anything, signaled to a man behind us, before walking to the podium, with one hand clamped around my wrist, and dragging me with him. I felt like the ground should open and swallow me. No I wanted an angel to come whisk me away. My cheeks were red, and I could feel all the eyes on me as the guest parted, so we could pass. "Welcome, everyone..." Matteo started, but I wasn't hearing him as my mind drifted. How was I going to cope with this? My father had literally just betrayed me, and for what? How easy was it to just hand me over like that? And Matteo? I had crushed on the man for a while, and never in a million ways would I have imagined this, to be our way of being together. I didn't need to stay with him another minute to know that he was cruel. A man so good at taking what he wanted, and when he wanted, without a care in the world. Why me? Oh I hated him. Hated what he had just done, but most of all, I hated my body for being so weak against him. I blinked, trying to comport myself enough to not break down in front of the crowd. There were fellow employees here. What would they think of me now? I tuned in just in time to hear Matteo drive in another nail on my fate. ".....and also, Many of you know me as a man who makes calculated decisions, a man who never takes risks unless the reward is undeniable. Well, it turns out, the greatest decision I’ve ever made wasn’t in a boardroom. It was saying yes to the woman standing beside me." I heard the gasps, and the murmurs and I also saw the shocked faces across the room. I really wanted to die. The man whom he had signalled to earlier, brought a tray with two glasses of champaign. Matteo took one, then passed the other to me. "Yes, you heard me right. I’m officially off the market." He pulled me closer. If they hadn't been looking at me before, they certainly were now. "Let me introduce you properly, to my fiancée, Isabella Moretti." he paused dramtically. "She is my greatest deal, my biggest win, and the one person who makes even a man like me believe in forever. So, raise your glasses, to the future Mrs. De Santis." I almost laughed from the irony of it all. God... he was so good at this. Cheers erupted, champagne glasses clinked, and the room filled with applause as Matteo pullsed his me closer, then placed a kiss on my temple. My life was over. I mea, how worse could it get than this?