By Any Other Name (25 page)

The torment in his voice struck deep inside of her, squeezing her heart and making her chest ache. Stupid, stupid boy. Her eyes darted around again in shock that he hadn't yet been discovered. It was only a matter of time, though. She had to do something—fast.

"The shed," she said, motioning toward the small building along the back of the property.

His eyes darted that way, his brow furrowing. "You want me to hide in your shed?"

"No, you fool," she hissed. "There's a ladder in the shed."

It seemed to dawn on him what she was getting at. He started that way as she called out to him. "Make it fast! And for God's sake,
be quiet
!"

Her words fell on deaf ears... or maybe just drunk ones. His steps were slow and awkward, and Genna's heart viciously pounded as he made a ruckus dragging the ladder away. It clanked and clattered as he heaved it toward her, and Genna grimaced when it thumped against the side of the house.

He climbed it, his shiny black dress shoes sliding on the slippery metal rungs. As soon as he was close enough for Genna to reach, she grasped his arm and helped yank him over the railing. She stared at the ladder, contemplating.

Ugh
. Hadn't really thought that through.

She considered lugging it up with them, but instead just gave it a push and knocked it into the backyard.
Maybe nobody will notice
.

Matty stared down as it landed in the grass. "Guess I'm staying."

Sighing dramatically, Genna tugged him into her bedroom and out of the rain. She left the sliding glass door open, the cool breeze following them as Matty pulled her into his arms. An odor clung to him, an echo of a bottle of liquor, slightly overshadowed by the strong peppermint melting on his tongue.

"You're drunk," she said, her earlier worries not at all eased with him there. If anything, it confirmed her suspicions. He was a wreck. "Please tell me you didn't drive like this."

"I didn't," he said. "I'm not stupid, Genna."

"Not stupid?" She scoffed. "You couldn't be
more
stupid! You showed up at my house while they're all--"

"Celebrating." His voice shook as he bitterly forced out the word. "I'm grieving, and these people—they're
celebrating
."

"They're… not," she said, knowing it was a lie the moment she said it. They certainly weren't distraught about the turn of events. They would never tell her any of their plans, would never bring her into the business, but she heard the whisperings and insinuations all night long. Now that the Barsantis were distracted, the perfect moment to make a move was upon them. They were going to eliminate the enemy before the enemy even knew war had been declared. If Genna's father had his way, this was only the beginning of the desolation for Matty. They were going to take down his entire family, pick them off one-by-one.

She ran her hand along his jawline, feeling the scruff scratching at her palm. His eyes looked so hollow, red-rimmed and glossed over with unshed tears. Seeing him in so much agony stirred up the same feelings within her. She felt betrayed… but not by him. Not by them. Not the Barsantis. Her own father, her own family, caused this anguish, and she wasn't sure there was any way to cure that pain. The sense of loyalty that had been embedded in her since birth sealed her lips and silenced her tongue from spilling the things she knew.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, brushing her fingers across his chapped lips, wondering what sort of secrets he, too, swallowed back. "So, so sorry. I wish I could've been there for you. I wanted to be there for you. I
tried
."

He grabbed her hand, holding it there as he kissed her fingertips. "You're here now."

"I am," she said. "Whatever you need."

"I need you." He pulled her hand away from his mouth, no hesitation as his lips met hers in a fiery kiss. She gasped, wrapping her arms around his neck as his hands drifted to her hips. He shoved her dress up, hands slipping beneath the fabric as he cupped her ass, squeezing the cheeks and pressing her flush against him. She moaned into his mouth, heat igniting in her gut when she felt his erection straining the fabric of his pants.

He walked her over to her unmade bed as he fumbled with their clothes, breaking the kiss long enough to pull her dress off and toss it away. She gazed at him in the darkness, biting down on her bottom lip, watching as he made work of his clothes.

"Now?" she asked as he unbuckled his pants and let them drop to the floor, leaving him in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. "My dad's here... and my brother..."

"So?"

"They could hear."

"Not if you're quiet… if that's possible for you."

She dramatically rolled her eyes, unable to keep the blush from staining her cheeks. Quiet? With him? Unlikely. Matty pulled her down on her bed. She lay back on it, her heart feverishly pounding in her chest as he hovered over her, kissing her deeply. Her lips tingled from the force of his, the taste of peppermint coating her tongue as she, too, grew intoxicated, but from lust. He awakened every part of her, igniting every nerve ending, as her body instinctively welcomed him in.

He kissed and caressed her exposed skin as she closed her eyes, relaxing into the soft satin sheets. His hands explored before he roughly grasped her side, startling her as he pushed her over onto her stomach. Her eyes opened, questions on the tip of her tongue, but they were halted the moment she felt him settle between her legs. He stroked her thighs, parting her legs and raising her bottom half off the bed just enough for him to thrust inside of her from behind. She cried out, fisting the bed sheets as he filled her. He trailed kisses along her spine before lying down on top of her, his warm chest flat against her back, covering her, enveloping her in his embrace. One arm snaked around her chest as he held her tightly, his hand resting at the base of her throat, as his other hand rubbed her hip before slipping beneath. His fingertips stroked her clit, eliciting a loud gasp from her lips.

"Shhhh," he whispered as he kissed the shell of her ear, covering her body completely with his own. "Quiet, remember?"

"I'm trying," she gasped as he pulled out and slowly pushed back in. "It's hard."

"It is, isn't it?" he whispered. "It's all for you. Only you."

Her eyes rolled back into her head as he increased his pace, each thrust just a little bit harder, a little bit deeper. He held her so tightly she could hardly breathe, but she relished the sensation, savoring the burn in her chest and the heat encasing her. It was smothering, and overpowering, as she let go, handing control over to him, tension and worry evaporating from her body. Sweat coated her, small patches of goose bumps trailing her skin from the cool breeze drifting in through the open outside door whenever he shifted position.

He said nothing else—neither of them did. There was nothing more to say. Genna buried herself into the sheets, choking back her cries of pleasure as he gave himself to her. She could feel it in every thrust, in every forceful slam of his hips into her, every strangled grunt that escaped his throat as he nuzzled into her neck. This wasn't lust. It was something else, something greater. This wasn't want; this was
need
, more so than she had ever felt before. It was despair, a drowning man desperate for air, a starving man scrounging for scraps to sustain him. He clung to her, like he held on for dear life, afraid of drifting away.

No, not lust. This was love.

And she knew, when his breathing grew ragged, his body shuddering, his grip somehow tightening even more, that it wasn't pleasure that drove him close to the edge. This was that agony he so desperately tried to hold back purging from beneath his skin. He cried out as he came, his tears sliding from his cheeks and hitting her damp skin, mingling with their sweat. Genna could feel it as he spilled inside of her, feel remnants of it running down her thighs as he stilled his movements. He violently shook, his arms beneath her trembling so hard it felt like an earthquake shook the bed. And she almost felt it in that moment, her oh-so-stable ground quaking and knocking her off her feet, taking both of them down together.

"I love you," she whispered, wishing there was something more she could do for him, something to ease his suffering.

How long had he been suffering, she wondered?

How much of it was her family's fault?

He barely restrained a sob at the sound of her words, inhaling deeply. His body shifted as he pulled out, loosening his hold on her. Genna rolled over onto her back beneath his body and looked up at him in the darkness. The second their eyes connected he looked away, dipping his head to avoid her gaze. Hiding from her.

Reaching up, she grasped his face and turned it toward her. Fingertips brushed his cheeks before he leaned down to lightly kiss her. The salty taste of tears lingered on his lips.

Something stirred inside of her then as she stared into his bloodshot, watery eyes, an ominous heaviness in the pit of her stomach. It had been there since that day on the street when she heard his name spoken for the first time.

He was a Barsanti…

…but maybe the Barsantis weren't the enemy.

His expression remained serious for a moment before softening, a small smile on his lips. "You really love me?"

"I do."

"I love you, too."

Her heart fluttered, skipping a beat at those words, before she let out a light laugh. "We're so fucking cliché."

"You think?"

"Yes," she said. "The first time we say it's during sex."

"Technically it's
after
sex."

"Same difference." She rolled her eyes. "Next thing you know you'll be running through an airport trying to stop me from leaving you, and then we'll kiss in the rain."

"But not before we break out into song, right?"

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

He shrugged. "They do that shit in movies all the time. They did it in
My Best Friend's Wedding
."

She gaped at him. "Disturbing."

"What?"

"Your knowledge of Julia Roberts movies."

Chuckling, Matty pulled away from her and stood up beside the bed, swaying a bit on his feet, still inebriated. The moonlight streaming through the open glass door cast a soft glow upon his naked flesh. Genna lay there, admiring him in the light as he turned to face her, cocking at eyebrow. He started to speak when a loud bang silenced him. Panicked, Genna's eyes darted toward the door as the knob jiggled and someone knocked, Dante's voice carrying through the flimsy wood.

"Genna, open up!" he hollered.

Her heart thudded like a bass drum in her chest as she sprung to her feet in alarm. Snatching her dress from the floor, she quickly pulled it on as she shouted, "hold on, one second!"

"Hurry the hell up," he said, banging on the door.

Genna started gathering up Matty's clothes, thrusting them in his arms before pushing him toward her walk-in closet. "Hide."

He started to protest, but she silenced him with a quick kiss before launching his shoes toward him. She shut the closet door, concealing him inside, and paused to take a deep breath just as Dante started knocking again. Her hurried footsteps rushed toward the bedroom door as she smoothed out her hair and yanked on her dress. Unlocking it, she swung the door open, halting in the doorway to block her brother from stepping inside.

"What?" she barked, clutching tightly to the door, trying to force a look of annoyance on her face to keep him from seeing her panic.

Dante shoved her out the way to step into the room.

"Don't
what
me," he said, striding past. "You disappeared from the party."

"Well, here I am," she said, shrugging it off as she opened the door even wider, hoping he would take it as an invitation to leave as quickly as he had shown up. "Do you need something?"

"Nah," he said. "Dad was just wondering where you ran off to. I told him I'd come check on you."

Slowly, Genna stepped over to her bed and sat down on it, eyeing her brother peculiarly as he moseyed through her room, glancing around. His gaze shifted to the open sliding door and he headed that way, pushing it open further to step out on the balcony. Genna tensed, holding her breath as he approached the railing.
Please don't look down
.

"Uh, Genna?" Dante said, looking straight down.
Fuck
. "Why's there a ladder outside your window?"

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe the gardener left it out or something. You know I don't do yard work."

Dante shook his head as he strode back inside, brushing the raindrops from his hair while grumbling about incompetent workers. He nudged her as he strode past. "I'll tell Dad you've gone to sleep so he'll leave you be."

"Thanks," she muttered as he started for the door to leave. She watched his back, breathing a short-lived sigh of relief. As soon as he made it to the doorway, a loud thump echoed through the room. Genna inhaled sharply as Dante's footsteps faltered. He turned back around, eyes narrowed at her briefly before turning straight to the closet where the noise had come from. Seemed she wasn't the only one who struggled being quiet. "Are you alone?"