“Yeah, you too,” he said. His eyes struggled to leave Mateo, but he offered her a brief smile. She’d never seen him act likethis before, so outwardly angered by another man’s presence. As Mateo turned toward the back of the yard, Etienne swiftly leaned into Ophelia without Mateo’s notice.
“Don’t trust him, Ophelia. Talk to Jade. She’ll tell you,” he whispered before turning away and disappearing into the crowd.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Something was off, and she couldn’t put it into words.
But it was the same feeling she had in the car, at his house, and now again. She needed to get away from him,now. Her instincts had been warning her, and now she had an outside source steering her away as well. But Jade? How did Jade know him other than from the art world? Ophelia hadn’t even had a chance to tell her that Bathroom Guy and Mateo were one and the same.
Jade should be back from her work trip, so Ophelia would call her first thing tomorrow. She was absolutely getting to the bottom of this.
Mateo led Ophelia to a tub under a smaller oak tree that was more secluded than the others. He tossed a couple of the bohemian-patterned pillows out of the tub to make room. Ophelia stared at the discarded pillows sitting on the grass. She was trapped in her thoughts, trying to figure out how to get out of the situation.
Mateo stepped into the tub and sat down. It became immediately clear to Ophelia that there was only room for one. She needed to leave. It all felt so wrong all of a sudden. She rattled her brain for an excuse.
“You’re going to have to sit between my legs,” Mateo said, patting the bottom of the bathtub between his legs.
She took a step backandopened her mouth to tell him that she needed to leave. But Mateo stood in the bathtub and leaned over, placing both of his hands on her hips. She could feel the warmth of him through the thin material of her dress.
“O-phe-li-a,” he whispered in her ear. “Get in the tub, wild one.”
Ophelia inhaled from the shock of his touch, her nostrils flooded with his nauseating scent again.
With disbelief and horror, her body began to move against her will. Ophelia allowed Mateo to sit down fully first, and then she squeezed in between his legs. It took a while for her to get comfortable with the limited space. No space, really, and no air. None but the heady oxygen around him, and with every inhale, she absorbed that sickly sweet scent into her lungs.
It was so wrong.Leave. Her body would not respond.Who is he? Who could he possibly be? Why did Etienne warn me? Why do I feel so stuck right now?
Ophelia’s mind was reeling as her body yielded to his touch. The moon was full, and a couple of stars shone through the clouds and city lights, the light iridescent.He’s wrong. Something is wrong with him,she tried to tell her body.Don’t lose yourself, Ophelia. Don’t. But she was falling deeper and deeper with each breath.
Mateo was stroking her arm slowly, and she felt her body sinking into his touch. Her thoughts were screaming to stop giving in to him. She didn’t want this. She didn’t wanthim. Yet her body wasn’t hers. It was his. He was controlling it. He gathered her long, golden-brown tresses into his other hand and pulled her head back toward him.
“My wild one,” he whispered intently. “Who was that guy who looked like he wanted to take you from me?”
The sting from the pull on her hair felt good yet dangerous. She tried to open her mouth to respond, but she couldn’t. Her grip on reality was slipping.
Mateo laughed bitterly. “Oh, Ophelia, we’re all simple men, and we almost always want the same thing. He won’t take you from me. You’re mine.” His hand moved from caressing her arm to squeezing her waist, and pure lust shot through Ophelia’s veins. Her eyes felt heavy, and she closed them, her body giving into the soothing feeling of being held and touched.
“Look at me,” rumbled Mateo, his hand still fisting around her hair, tilting her face to his. At his command, her eyes fluttered open.
“I like your beauty mark right here,” he said, running the top of his lip over it. Ophelia gasped. Another surge of his smell hit her. Heady. Her body was languid and submissive, her mind numb.Please stop, her thoughts whispered. He went in again, this time fully pressing his lips to hers and parting them with his tongue. She heard herself groan, and Mateo pulled back, releasing her lips. She was disgusted with herself.
He tugged her hair tighter and stretched out her neck, her face tipped up to the night sky. Swirls of lights danced in her vision as he sucked on the sensitive flesh of her neck. She twisted from the delightful feeling and shifted her ass, seeking out his erection.
“Do you know how long I've waited? It makes me think that you're going to be the best I've ever had. I had to work extra hard for you. You're my wild card, Ophelia." Mateo groaned in her ear. “It’s why I call you 'wild one.'”
Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she was still pleading with her body to stop, but it was gone, lost to his touch. She could feel his hardness through his gold pants. Mateo ran his fingers up her arms and traced them down the neckline of her dress. Her nipples pebbled, and Mateo nibbled at her ear as he whispered, “I want you to come for me.”
Ophelia’s legs fell open as wide as they could in the narrow tub. Mateo tracked the curve of her legs through the light green fabric of her dress.
“Lift your dress.”
Mindlessly, she obeyed and pulled the sheer fabric up aroundher waist, revealing the bottom half of her bodysuit. Mateo pressed his erection into her back. “I’m gonna make you feel so good.” He reached down and unsnapped the crotch of the leotard, exposing her bare pussy. “No panties, wild one? Is this raw cunt just for me?”
Eyes glazed over with arousal, Mateo teased the sensitive flesh around her clit before he pressed his index and middle fingers into her slit.
“Mmmm, I’m going to devour you,” he growled and nipped at her ear.
Devour?The word managed to break through the heavy haze of lust, reminding her of something. Suddenly, the dream she’d had of him surged through the fog. He had said those exact words in her dream. He had also said that on the night Jolie caught them and made fun of him for it.
