The past weeks had been the best of my life. I’d discovered a very different side to my husband, and I was completely in love with it. With all of him, if I was being honest. His work was brutal and scary, but his reasons did, in fact, make sense to me. The bottom line was, if he hadn’t been there that night, I would probably be dead. I would forever be grateful to whatever higher power brought us together.
I never expected to love Matteo. I knew I desired him, and the passion he brought out in me was new and exciting. But somehow, without realizing it was happening, I fell. Deeply, without limits or reservations. I saw the man behind the cold exterior. Felt the gentleness hidden by the rough gestures and impatient voice. I knew how great a gift that was. He allowed me to see the real Matteo. The human being capable of tenderness and warmth. It was a side few ever witnessed.
And he was mine.
Our days on the island were endless sunshine. We explored and laughed, made love in the ocean, on the sand, by the pool, in the pool, even in the dim caves we explored, our cries echoing off the stone walls. Matteo’s desire was rampant, and all it took was a smile or crook of my finger, and it began. He was possessive and demanding, showing me what he wanted, what he needed from me, right at that moment. He, in turn, gave me pleasure I never knew existed. He was vocal, his movements sure and exact, coaxing orgasm after orgasm out of me, until I was spent and limp in his arms. The nights were spent in the huge bed, where he lavished me with kisses, claiming my body over and again, never seeming to get enough. His voice was gentle, his touch tender. His whispered words were filled with adoration. In the stillness of the dark was when I felt his love the most, when he felt free to be himself.
My husband. My Matteo.
I glanced down at my hand, the light catching the diamond band that resided there. Delicate and lovely, it nestled perfectly with the simple band he’d given me the night we married. He’d surprised me with it one morning, slipping it onto my finger while I slept.
“I didn’t think you would like a large, showy diamond,” he explained. “I had this made for you.”
He was right. I loved the way the diamonds caught the light and how it sat on my finger. The stones were set in white gold, and the circle was endless, much like the way I felt for Matteo. No beginning and no end. It seemed so fitting, and I had felt so sure of my place with him.
But now, we were headed back to reality. To a new life I had no clue how to fit into. I knew he would be different when we arrived. Gone would be the doting, loving husband, and in his place, the head of a secret, specialized division that hunted down and eliminated people who caused harm to “innocents,” as Matteo called them.
I had felt his removal from me as soon as we boarded the plane. He sat across from me, the farthest we’d been apart in two weeks. Conversation ceased almost immediately, and soon, he was immersed in work.
I knew he expected me to join him in his fight. To work with his family members to make sure the money they absorbed went to fighting child porn rings, breaking up sex slave operations, and helping people they had rescued. I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle it or even how I would fit in. I was a stranger. Matteo’s wife, but still an outsider to all his people. I had to learn how to be Evie Campari instead of Evelyn Harper. The wife of a powerful, dangerous man. I had to find my place in his world, but I wasn’t even sure how to begin to do so.
Would his men, his sister, accept me? Would I let him down?
“Evie.”
His voice startled me out of my thoughts, and I looked at him. His work was gone, and he sat, one leg crossed over the other, regarding me as if he was waiting for a response.
“Yes, Matteo. I’m sorry. I must have missed what you were saying.”
“I asked where you were.”
Confused, I offered him a smile. “I’m right here.”
Uncrossing his legs, he leaned forward, brushing back a strand of hair from my face. “No, Evie, you are a thousand miles outside this plane, stuck in some dark place in your head. I’d like you to come back and talk to me.”
“I was letting you work.”
He nodded, his fingers still soothing their way up and down my cheek. “I appreciate that, but I stopped over twenty minutes ago. I’ve been sitting here, watching you, and wondering why my wife is so terrified that she is destroying her clothing.”