Matteo (Dark Erotic Mob Romance) (Rossi Family Book 1) by Rachael Orman

mirror at the pink scars on each of my hips. He’d burned his initials into me, and I lovingly touched them with my fingertips. They were still sore, but it just reminded me of the hard man I was working to win over. It gave me comfort knowing he wouldn’t just throw me away. Not since he’d forever marked me.
    Pulling on a simple cotton dress and a pair of panties, I rushed down to the kitchen in my bare feet to find a sheet of paper with my chores on it. Aida was nowhere to be seen and that didn’t bother me at all. She’d not grown nicer to me as I’d hoped. Instead she’d only grown rougher and harsher with each time she had to help me keep my burns cleaned. I’d been thankful when, just the day before, she’d declared I didn’t need to keep them covered anymore, but still had to be careful to keep them clean. I’d picked up enough to be able to do it on my own.
    Folding the paper into a small square, I slipped it into the band of my panties so I wouldn’t have to return to the kitchen again. After grabbing an apple from the fridge, I quickly gobbled it down and started on my list.
    I didn’t stop until the list was completed, not even for lunch. Aida had even gone out of her way to let me know it was ready, but I refused, saying I wasn’t hungry. She shrugged and left me alone the rest of the day.
    My presence wasn’t requested for dinner so I made a sandwich when I was finished cleaning. I scribbled a short note on the chore list stating that everything had been completed before taking my sandwich to my room.
    I went through three days the exact same way, except one day I was gifted with more magazines. Matteo had written a note saying they were to help prepare me for the next dinner he deemed me fit for. I was just grateful for something to help pass the small amount of free time I had — well, besides starting out the window. I rose before everyone else, ate as fast as I could, and then cleaned until I completed my chores for the day only to take a sandwich to my room and spend the rest of the evening on my own. I spent a lot of time looking out the window, wishing I had a hobby or something that would help me pass the lonely hours, but I wouldn’t dare push Matteo by asking for more freedom than what I already had.
    On the fourth day, I had the shortest list of chores I’d had all week, and when I’d finished, the sun was still up by the time I made it back to my room. I loved looking at the garden and wondered what it would be like to be able to sit in the sun for hours, getting dirty and tending to the plants that provided a lot of the fresh produce the house consumed. It was a massive space that always looked well-tended, but I’d never seen anyone actually caring for it. Occasionally, Aida would go out and retrieve what she needed for a meal from it, but she didn’t strike me as a woman who liked to garden. Or do much of anything, really, except scowl at me between cooking meals and doing dishes.
    The door to my room opened unexpectedly, and I spun around to find Matteo standing in the doorway.
    I walked swiftly to the bed and slipped out of my dress so I could assume my greeting position for him.
    “Hm. Nice,” he hummed with pleasure once I was situated. “Anything in particular you’re looking at out there?”
    I fought the urge to look at him.
    “I was simply admiring the garden, Matteo,” I answered honestly, figuring there was no harm in it.
    “Yes, it is quite lovely. My mother greatly adores taking care of it for me. It was hers when my parents owned this house, and she refuses to let it die while she starts a new one at the house they moved to,” Matteo said as he walked to stare out the window. He’d surprised me with his answer. It was rare that he spoke to me when he came for a visit, but it seemed he was in an unusual mood when he pulled a chair up so he could look at the garden. “Come.”
    I stood and hesitantly walked toward him, unsure of what to expect.
    He reached