CHAPTER 23

Jamie had expected punishment from Matteo. He wanted him to combust into flames.

He had expected anger.

He had expected retaliation.

What he hadn’t expected—

Was laughter.

It started small.

A breath through Matteo’s nose. Barely there.

But Jamie caught it.

He was standing in the doorway of Matteo’s private study, arms crossed, watching the slow discovery unfold.

The whiskey bottle sat on the desk.

Perfect.

Untouched.

Except it wasn’t whiskey anymore.

It was mayonnaise.

Jamie had gone to ridiculous lengths for this. Slipped out during the maid shift change. Memorized patrol patterns. Slid into the office barefoot. Swapped the liquid carefully.

It had felt awesome doing this to Matteo's favourite bottle of whiskey.

Like reclaiming something.

Matteo uncorked the bottle.

Poured it.

The thick, pale substance slid into the crystal glass waiting.

Silence.

Enzo was in the room too.

He noticed first.

His expression turned lethal.

Matteo stared at the glass.

Then—

He laughed.

He freaking laughed!

Not dramatically.

Jamie’s stomach dropped.

That wasn’t supposed to happen.

“That’s disgusting,” Enzo muttered.

Matteo lifted the glass slightly, examining the viscosity.

“Creative,” he said calmly.

Jamie stepped further into the room. “You’re not angry?”

Matteo looked up at him.

There it was again — that faint amusement in his eyes.

“No.”

That single word felt like a slap.

Jamie felt heat crawl up his neck.

“It took you forty minutes to realize,” Jamie snapped. “Your security is terrible.”

“I knew you were in here,” Matteo replied casually.

Silence.

Jamie blinked.

“What?”

Matteo set the glass down deliberately.

“You walked past two security cameras. I simply let you continue.”

Jamie’s pulse stuttered.

“You—”

“Yes.”

Enzo’s eyes shifted between them.

He wasn’t amused.

He was assessing.

“You let him contaminate your office. Your scared place” Enzo said flatly.

Matteo shrugged slightly.

“It’s mayonnaise.”

Jamie felt the ground tilt beneath him.

He had wanted chaos.

He had wanted reaction.

Instead, Matteo looked entertained.

“You’re not taking this seriously,” Jamie said, frustration bleeding through.

Matteo tilted his head slightly.

“You think this is about the whiskey?”

The room felt warmer suddenly.

Enzo stepped closer to Matteo, lowering his voice but not enough to exclude Jamie.

“You’re encouraging him,” Enzo said quietly.

Jamie pretended not to listen.

Matteo’s eyes never left Jamie’s face.

“He wants me to react,” Matteo replied.

“And?”

“And I won’t.”

Jamie’s chest tightened.

He hated that.

Hated that he felt seen.

“Stop talking about me like I'm not here. You’re insufferable,” Jamie muttered.

Matteo’s mouth curved slightly.

“I know.”

That smile.

That controlled, deliberate restraint.

It was worse than anger.

Jamie took a step closer to the desk.

“You think this is funny.”

“Yes.”

The honesty stunned him.

Jamie’s jaw clenched. “I’m not a joke. If you don't let me go I'll make your life hell.”

Matteo’s amusement faded just slightly at that.

“I’m not laughing at you.”

“Then what?”

Matteo leaned back against the desk, crossing his arms.

“You are in a cage,” he said evenly. “And instead of begging, or breaking, or retreating… you’re vandalizing my house with condiments.”

Enzo let out a short breath that might have been a suppressed laugh.

Jamie shot him a glare.

Matteo continued, voice steady.

“It’s defianace and childish. So much recklessness.”

Jamie bristled.

“But it’s at least I'm entertained.”

The word hung there.

Entertained

Something shifted in Jamie’s chest at that.

He didn’t like it.

Didn’t like that it sounded almost… approving.

“I am not your pet monkey.” Jamie said again, more quietly this time.

Matteo stepped forward slowly.

The air between them tightened instantly.

“More like a poddle.”

He stopped close. Not touching. Just close enough that Jamie felt the heat of him.

“You think if I lose control, you win.”

Jamie didn’t deny it.

Matteo’s eyes darkened slightly.

“But you misunderstand something.”

Jamie’s breath hitched despite himself.

“I’m not holding back because I’m weak,” Matteo said softly. “I’m holding back because once I stop—”

He paused.

For the first time, there was something unreadable there.

“Once you stop what? Holding back? What will happen?” Jamie whispered in a rapid fire of questions.

Matteo’s gaze flicked briefly to Enzo.

Then back.

“I won’t like who I become. Neither would you.”

The tension spiked so sharply Jamie almost stepped back.

Enzo cut in then, his tone sharper.

“Why are you indulging this behaviour?”

Jamie glanced at him.

Enzo wasn’t looking at Jamie.

He was looking at Matteo.

Hard.

“You know why,” Matteo said quietly.

Enzo’s jaw flexed.

“Say it.”

Silence.

Jamie felt like he was intruding on something he wasn’t meant to witness.

Matteo didn’t answer.

Enzo’s voice lowered further.

“You’re getting attached.”

The word landed like a crack in glass.

Jamie’s stomach dropped.

Matteo’s expression went still.

Cold.

Controlled.

“Careful,” Matteo warned.

But Enzo didn’t look intimidated.

“He’s destabilizing you,” Enzo continued. “You should have ended this weeks ago.”

Jamie’s breath caught.

Ended this? Ended what?

Matteo’s eyes sharpened.

“You are making baseless presumtions.”

Enzo’s gaze flicked briefly to Jamie, then back.

“No. I know you.”

Silence stretched.

Jamie suddenly felt like prey between two predators.

Except one of them was pretending not to care about his sharp teeth.

Matteo stepped away first.

The shift broke the moment.

“He’s not a threat,” Matteo said calmly.

Jamie scoffed. “You sure about that?”

Matteo looked at him.

There was no amusement now.

Just something deadly.

“You’re a disruption,” he corrected. “Not a threat.”

Jamie’s chest tightened again.

“I can be worse,” Jamie said defiantly.

Matteo’s mouth curved faintly looking at him fondly.

“I hope so.”

That did it.

Frustration boiled up in Jamie’s throat.

“Stop doing that,” he snapped.

“Doing what?”

“Looking at me like I’m entertainment.”

Matteo’s gaze softened almost imperceptibly.

“You are not entertainment all the time.”

“Then what am I those other times?”

The question slipped out before Jamie could stop it.

The room went very still.

Enzo watched closely.

Matteo didn’t answer immediately.

And that silence was louder than any threat.

Finally, he said:

“You’re an anomaly.”

Jamie’s heart thudded unevenly.

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting.”

Enzo stepped forward then, breaking the charged space between them.

“This is a mistake,” he said to Matteo.

Jamie noticed something subtle.

Enzo wasn’t angry at Jamie.

He was worried about Matteo.

Matteo’s expression hardened slightly.

“I don’t make mistakes.”

Enzo held his gaze for a long moment.

Then nodded once.

But the tension remained.

Jamie stood there, breathing too fast, too aware.

Matteo picked up the glass of mayonnaise and walked past him toward the door.

As he passed, he murmured quietly enough that only Jamie heard:

“If you want me angry… try harder...kitten”

Jamie turned sharply.

Matteo didn’t look back.

The door closed behind him.

Enzo lingered.

He studied Jamie with something unreadable in his expression.

“You don’t understand what you’re provoking,” Enzo said quietly.

Jamie forced a smirk. “Seems like he’s enjoying it.”

Enzo’s gaze sharpened.

“That’s what should scare you.”

Then he left too.

Jamie stood alone in the office.

The prank had worked.

And it hadn’t.

Matteo wasn’t cracking.

He was adapting.

And worse—

He wasn’t pushing Jamie away.

He was… allowing him.

That realization unsettled Jamie more than confinement ever had.

Because if Matteo wasn’t fighting this—

What did that mean?

And why did part of Jamie feel something dangerously close to disappointment that Matteo hadn’t exploded?

He wanted anger.

Instead he got a laugh.

And a laugh from such a dangerous man was so terrifying.