My mind was on the kitchen scene, and not on our direction, when Matteo opened the door to what seemed like a small stonebuilding filled with things for the garden. It smelled earthy, like grass and the faint perfume of lemons. Two steps in, he turned my body toward the wall, pressed me into it, and kissed me. His hands were on each side of my face, and his mouth was hungry.
It was hard to catch my breath, and when I set my hands on his shoulders and pushed a little, he broke the kiss, even though I’d initiated the stop. His eyes, though, were so intense on mine, I wasn’t sure if the separation was going to do me any good. My heart felt like it was trying to climb out of my chest.
“It’s killing me. A sword to the heart. A bullet to the gut. A slow-moving poison with barbs. A disease no doctor has a name for. When I can’t touch you, be inside of you, all these things happen at once to me. You’re the cure to all sicknesses. To all weapons. To all my wars. The antidote to all poison. I will always want you.”
This time I met his eyes and held his stare. “How did you know?” I barely got out. “How did you know that’s how I was feeling?”
“You’re mine,” he said.
I thought I could hold his stare, but it was too hard. I looked down for a few seconds before I could lift my eyes. “Is this…I mean, you not touching me. Is it because of where we are? Is it one of those respect things?”
Ava had told me this family had their own laws. They were big on loyalty and respect and were skilled in the art of finding the perfect balance between ruthless and romantic. It had been so long since I’d been out in the real world, and it would take me time to learn about that too, but this world was going to have a separate set to get used to. I was excited about being able to notice the contrast between them one day.
His thumb caressed the side of my face, then outlined the shape of my lips. “We’re not married. I refuse to disrespect you that way. I refuse to disrespect my parents’ home that way.”
Oh, that explains our night underneath the stars and not in a bed.“Is that why the rush to get married? You’ll get me anytime you want me?”
“Any time. Any place. And I cannot stand the thought of not calling youmywife.” He lifted my hand and pushed it against his heart. “Mywife.”
His heart pounded against my palm, and I couldn’t even put into words how much the feel of it soothed me. “I would think this was all some wonderful dream, you know, but I’ve just watched your parents in the kitchen, and you’ve taken me to heaven, Matteo. A place where love rules.”
His next words were in Italian, and then, leaning in, he whispered in my ear, “Your love will always rule me,la mia stella.”
I closed my eyes as some of the heat between our bodies seemed to move back with him. I took a deep breath, but I didn’t have time for another. His mouth was on mine, his tongue teasing. Mine didn’t need much persuasion to tango with his. Our tongues moved in a slow roll, getting deeper and deeper with each swirl. My hands reached out for his chest, my fingers sinking into the white shirt he’d paired with his black suit slacks.
We only seemed to dress for this moment—to undress each other. We couldn’t seem to get our clothes off fast enough. My skin was crying to be close to his. So close, I wished I could dissolve into his bloodstream. It had only been, what, hours, and I wanted him like it had been centuries we’d been apart.
“Tell me,” I breathed out when his mouth kissed down my neck. “Tell me this is as insane for you as it is for me. I can’t stand to be far from you. I can’t stop thinking about this.”
“Thinking about what,la mia stella?” His tongue licked up a bead of sweat that ran down my throat until we were face to face again.
I moaned. “Call me that again.”
His cool breath fanned across my lips as his caressed mine. “La mia stella.”
My eyes rolled so far back just because of the way he said those words, that for a second, I thought they were stuck. He started to lick and suck the side of my breasts, and I had to hold on to his shoulders so I’d stay on my feet. He bit me and I gasped, but then I moaned.
“Do that again.”
He did, and the sound I made seemed to echo in the stone building.
“Tell me what you can’t stop thinking about.” He nibbled all the way to my nipple, and when he started to suck, it felt like my stomach dropped into my thighs, making them quiver.
The noise I made mimicked what my thighs had just done.
The scent between us was making me rise even higher. It was a combination of him, of me, and a sweet smell drifting from between my legs. His hand barely caressed my leg as a low, pleasurable noise vibrated in his throat at the feel of the wetness coating my thighs. It was like all the desire I had for him was tangible. He dropped to his knees and looked up at me.
My heart rate spiked, and I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath.
“Tell me,la mia stella.”
Tell him…what? He was too close. His cool breath fanned against my overheated skin. This building was bordering on hot. And I might have been smoking. About to combust.
“What can’t you stop thinking about,la mia stella.”
“You,” I breathed out. “Touching me. Being inside of me. It’s driving me crazy.” Then I took his head and brought it forward as my legs parted.
“Yehardgarbledee.” That was what it sounded like when he pressed his lips against my lips…the ones down there. He started to kiss, and then lick, and then suck. I pressed myself evenharder against his mouth, riding his face. That was what he told me it was called when I got on top. Riding him. So fucking good. So fucking gooood! I made a garbled noise as all the pleasure built, then exploded out of me.
