Torn Between Souls

RIDE

I groaned softly, immediately feeling the burning in my throat as the sunlight streaming in from the windows above me warmed my face. I smelled a smokey, cinnamon scent, and smiled softly, wiggling myself closer to the warm body behind me, the arm around my waist tightening slightly.

The arm around my waist.

My eyes flew open, and I tried to jump away but the strong arm held me in place as I craned my neck, whipping my head around to drink in the sight before me.

Matteo laid behind me. His dark green eyes glinted with an emotion I couldn’t grasp. His chocolate curls were slightly disheveled. He laid behind me in a soft grey t-shirt, and his knees pressed into the back of my thighs. I felt the heated flush over my cheeks, as I stared at him, breathless.

His fingers came up to lightly stroke the side of my face, leaving a trail of tingles from the corner of my eyebrow to my jaw.

“I’m sorry, mio fiore,” he whispered his voice heavy on my ears.

Instantly the tears welled up in my eyes as I scooted away from me. He let me this time, as I sat up, my body screaming at me.

“You just left,” I said, in a scathing tone.

My voice was slightly hoarse, and my throat burned, but I was too angry to care.

“Marianne and Ada just kept telling me you were busy,” I continued, looking to him for answers.

“Because I told them too,” he said, his eyes holding mine, “I told them to keep you busy, to distract you.”

“To distract me from what?!” I almost yelled, incredulously, “From you?! How can I be distracted from you? I ache for you every second! I have no idea what’s happening to me! I’m miserable without you and I don’t know why, and I hate it, and you just don’t care! You just left! You jus-”

In a moment, he was up from where he lay cradling my face in his hands as he stared down at me.

“Yes, to distract you from me,” he replied, “Because I can feel it too, Rose. I feel my body wasting away when I’ve been away from you for too long. I feel the throbbing in my head, in my heart-”

I sharply inhaled, his smell overwhelming me as my anger faded away. I had missed him so.

“I need you, Rose. I need you. But you need to understand that I needed to do everything in my power to try to get away from you. To get you away from me,” I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks, but I was calm, Matteo's thumbs rubbing them away, “I am dangerous, mio fiore, and this, you and I, could be deadly. So I needed to try. I’m so sorry I left you behind. It will never happen again.”

A small sob came through me, and Matteo reached down, pressing his warm lips to mine. As they met, I melted. Just like the first time. The kiss was soft. His lips were effortlessly gentle on mine. Our lips moved together slowly, each of us savoring the taste of the other. This time, Matteo did not jump away from me like I had poured burning water on him. He simply lifted his head and rested his forehead on mine. His eyes were so incredibly dark.

A smile broke across his face, and my heart sang.

“Marianne told me you wanted to ride while I was gone. I thought maybe we could go after breakfast,” he said softly.

The scent of freshly made breakfast wafted through my nostrils, and I noticed the tray on the table. Marianne must have brought it before I woke up. Suddenly I was absolutely ravenous.

I nodded softly, and Matteo freed me from his grasp. I wrapped myself in one of the plush lounge sweaters hung over the bed's footboard, and sat at the table. Matteo watched me as I ate. I drank almost a whole cup of tea before even touching my breakfast and then scarfed down an embarrassing amount of food.

“Where did you go?” I asked, before nibbling on another piece of toast.

“I went back to the office in Olympia. We added some new security after the break-in, and then I went to a friend,” he replied with a shrug, folding his arms over his chest.

My hands clammed up slightly at the thought of the break-in but I tried to shake it from my mind. I didn’t want to ruin this moment. This day, with him.

“Where is Marianne?” I asked, “I need to apologize to her. I wasn’t kind yesterday.”

“You don’t need to apologize, mio fiore,” he chuckled, “Marianne, and Elisa are gone today. We have the day together. Just us.”

A small blush spread across my cheeks, and my eyes fluttered back down to my plate. I took a few more small bites before Matteo stood, and I watched as he walked into the study, and then back into the room, a black box tied with a blue ribbon tied around it. I c****d my head.

“What’s that?” I asked, my blush growing darker, “You’ve given me plenty of things.”

“I will have never given you enough, Rose,” he said with a smile, though his voice was solemn.

I scooted my chair back and took the box from him. When I opened it, there was a tall pair of black riding boots and a pair of dark green riding pants. I inhaled audibly and traced my fingers over the dense, soft leather.

“They are beautiful,” I said with a smile, “Thank you.”

When I was done with breakfast, I grabbed my clothes, tucking into the bathroom. I wiggled into the tight green riding pants, and pulled on a soft, light black pullover on top of a silky camisole, as it was almost all of what my new wardrobe consisted of.

I was so thrilled to go riding. I needed to expend some of this pent up energy inside me. It had been weeks since I had gone rowing or running.

I stepped out of the bathroom and sat on the chest trying to get the boots on. The leather was so tight, so not broken in, it was next to impossible to slide my legs in. Matteo appeared in front of me.

“Let me,” he murmured.

I nodded softly and handed them to him. He sat on the floor in front of me, and his hand lightly caressed my leg from my ankle up to my lower thigh, and I shivered, holding back a moan. I didn’t understand how this god in front of me could elicit such an intense reaction with hardly a touch. I heard him chuckle before he quickly and effortlessly forced the first boot onto my foot with a thump. He repeated his actions on the other foot, and he stood, offering me his hand.

Matteo led me downstairs, and we walked hand in hand in silence to the stables. I had been down a few times while he was gone, but I was excited to not only ride but get to know the horses better. The only sound was the soft crunching of grass below our feet. It was a comfortable silence. I still felt some tension between us, but it seemed to dissipate the more we were together.

When we reached the stables, I beamed with joy, the familiar scent of currycombs, and straw filling my nostrils. I walked toward the doorway, my eyes catching a glimpse of a beautiful beige mare I had visited last week. I reached my hand out confidently, and she hesitated before pressing her head into my hand.

“That’s Bella,” Matteo said, walking a few yards away towards a massive chestnut stallion, “You and her will get along just fine. She’s a quick one, but she has endurance.”

“You act as if we’ll be on them for days,” I said, raising my eyebrow at him.

“No, but we will be going out into the forest,” his eyes darkened slightly, ”And if you were in danger, I’d want you to be able to get away.”

I frowned slightly, and Matteo shot me a smile, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Rose.”

I gave him a small smile back, but something rumbled inside me. A piece of me still didn’t quite trust Matteo. I felt so deeply for him. I so badly wanted to push any other thoughts aside, but I still hardly knew him.

“I want to watch you hunt,” I said suddenly, surprising him, and myself.

Those dark green eyes went black as night for a moment and then flashed back, “No.”

My frown deepened, “ Why not? I know so little about you. I know that you need to feed, to hunt…”

I took a few steps closer to him, closing the distance between us, “I know that you drink blood. I’ve seen Elisa walking around with a glass of it in her hand. I’m a nurse, I’m used to blood.”

I was standing right in front of him now, and he stared at me, an unknown emotion in his eyes, “No, Rose. You will not be anywhere near me on a hunt.”

“Why?” I breathed, resting one hand on his chest and trailing the other up to his neck, before gently brushing his lips with my fingertips, “Because of what you said before? That you want to..”

Before I could finish his hand grasped mine tightly, and his other wound itself around my waist, pressing me closer to him, “Because I want to taste you.”

I met his eyes and saw the tips of his sharp teeth poking out slightly. I felt my heart began to race, but he relaxed, taking a deep breath in. He slowly brought each of my fingertips to his mouth, kissing each one softly, tingles flowing down my arm. His grip on me relaxed, but he didn’t let go of me.

“Because I want to taste you, Rose, and the way you smell to me...I am not sure if I could stop,” he whispered, “I am in control right now. I am well fed. I am happy to be here with you. My emotions are...in check. But when I am hunting, I am not in control. Do you understand?”

I hesitated for a moment, wanting to press, but chose not to. I nodded and he gave my knuckles one final kiss before he let me go. I wanted to be wrapped up in his arms again, but instead, I turned to his horse.

“And who is this?” I asked, extending my hand, but the stallion bucked some, giving out a menacing sound, and I quickly dropped my hand.

“Orrore. He is a mean one. A special breed my father created. Swift, agile, and excellent on the battlefield. Orrore, Buio his brother, and Elisa’s horse, Volo, are the last of their kind,” Matteo explained.

“Orrore means horror,” I said softly.

“Yes, and he has seen many. Buio is “darkness”, and Volo is “flight”,” he continued.

I nodded, smiling softly to myself, “And Bella is beautiful.”

“As are you,” he chuckled.

I blushed softly, and after a moment, Matteo had me step back as he saddled the horses. He held Bella’s reins and brought her to me, and even though I was entirely capable of mounting her myself, he insisted on helping me into the saddle. He was so tall, that even mounted on top of a horse I was only looking just above his head.

He held out a black helmet, and I couldn't help myself, I began to laugh.

“What in the world is that for?” I giggled, holding the reins loosely to keep Bella relaxed.

“You have a penance for danger, mio fiore, so you will wear a helmet when we are riding,” he said firmly.

I shook my head, “I am an athlete, I don’t need a helmet for a ride into the forest.”

He held the helmet out further, “You will wear the helmet, or I’ll take you back inside.”

I scowled, not wanting to leave the forest around me. Finally, I nodded, and he buckled the goofy-looking, bulky black helmet onto my head, and kissed the tip of my nose. I watched as he gracefully, and elegantly mounted the black beast in front of us, before looking at me over his shoulder, and smirking. All at once, he took off towards the forest.

I laughed, after a moment of stunned silence, and clicked my tongue, squeezing my thighs to urge Bella on. She responded instantly, and off we went.

Matteo was right. Bella was fast. We flew through the forest. We never quite passed Matteo and Orrore, but we got close. At some point, Matteo turned us around. We went back slower than we had entered, and he showed me some of the familiar things I could find if I ever needed to. By the time we returned to the manor, I was a sweaty, stinky mess with sore thighs, and crazy hair. Matteo helped me disembark, and he left the horses for someone names Donatello to tend to, promising he’d introduce me soon.

Inside, he gave me a snack, before leading me upstairs. I sat on the chest as he pulled the boots off my feet, all the while I nibbled on a soft peach.

“Elisa is requesting our presence at dinner again,” he said, suddenly breaking through my blissful, peach filled trance.

I c****d my head, as Matteo rubbed some of the life into my slightly cramped, tired feet, and I groaned softly.

“This is as much my home as it is hers...but I think it would be good to go.”

His voice was quiet, and he focused on my feet. I chewed my lip slightly, and then breathed out, “Yes, I think it would be good to have dinner with Elisa.”

He looked up at me and smiled softly. His phone began to ring and he pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the screen.

“I need to take this. Why don’t you take a shower, and find something to wear to dinner? Take your time,” he said.

I smiled and watched as he walked away, out through the study doors, closing them behind him.