Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,274

of my current pseudonym. I was me again.

“You don’t look fine. Please tell me what happened. I drove Luca crazy with my anxiety last night.”

That made me smile. Everything that soured Luca’s mood did. “I slept with Matteo.” My mind returned to the feeling of him inside me, of his intense gaze, his strong body, his touch, and my core tightened again. I wasn’t sure how I could stop my body from being so eager for Matteo’s attention but I knew I had to figure out a way if I ever wanted to hold some sort of power in this marriage.

“You look like you didn’t mind,” Aria said with a teasing smile.

“Like you said, Matteo is good-looking, and he knows what he’s doing, so it wasn’t bad.”

“Did he notice that you hadn’t slept with anyone before?”

“Yeah. You were right. It hurt like hell. He was so damn smug about it. I really wish he hadn’t figured it out. I feel like he’s got more power over me now that he knows.”

Aria shook her head. “You need to stop thinking like that. You and Matteo need to find a way to get along now that you’re married. It’s a good thing that he knows the truth.”

“Matteo doesn’t exactly make it easy for me either. He’s always so arrogant. And he’s the one who started with the games. And do you know what else he did?” I lifted my leg with the stupid ankle bracelet. I still couldn’t believe Matteo had actually put that thing on my body, like I was a dog who needed a collar. Of course from his standpoint it was probably the normal thing to do. He was a controlling, possessive, power-hungry killer after all, but that didn’t mean I liked it.

Aria grimaced. “I know. Luca mentioned it to me this morning. It was his idea.” She paused with an apologetic expression. “I tried to talk him out of it, but he said he won’t risk any more conflicts with the Outfit by letting you roam free.”

“As if Father or anyone else in the Outfit would care if I ran off again. I’m not their problem anymore, remember?” I wiggled my fingers, showing off my wedding ring.

“Luca and Matteo would look weak if you managed to get away again, and that would weaken their position. Things between New York and Chicago haven’t exactly been going smoothly in the last few months.”

“Because of me?”

“Not just because of you,” Aria said. “Luca and Dante don’t get along very well. They are both alphas who aren’t used to working with equals.”

“I don’t suppose you know of a way how to get rid of this thing?” I tipped my finger against my black shackle.

“No. Is it very uncomfortable?”

I shrugged. “Not really, but I hate it. And I can kiss short skirts and dresses goodbye unless I want everyone to think I’m a criminal.”

Aria touched my arm lightly. “I’m sure Matteo will take it off soon.”

“I doubt that.” If I were him, I wouldn’t trust me anytime soon. Probably never.

Aria’s eyes darted to my hair again. She’d been doing it since she’d first seen me with the new color.

I smoothed a hand over my hair. “You hate it, right?”

“I’m not used to it. Maybe it’ll grow on me. But I miss your red hair.”

“Me too,” I said. “Matteo hates my brown hair as well.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to stay a brunette because you want to annoy him?” Aria asked with a knowing look.

I wasn’t that childish. Maybe six months ago that would have been my reaction but being on the run had helped me grow up. I wouldn’t keep my hair in a color I didn’t like to annoy Matteo. There were other ways I could make his life harder and I hoped to explore as many of them as possible. “I’ll change it back to my natural hair color as soon as I get the chance. Do you think Matteo will freak out if we leave the apartment in search for a hairdresser?”

“Probably. You’ve been married for less than a day. Maybe you should try to stay on your best behavior for today at least.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said sarcastically.

Aria got up. “It’s almost lunchtime. Let’s grab something to eat and I’ll give my hairdresser a call and ask her to come over to do your hair, okay?”

I pushed to my feet. “Perfect. I’m starving.” I followed Aria toward the kitchen area. Romero put his phone down on the counter,