Page 105 of Matteo

“You’re unbelievable,” I mutter against his mouth, our breaths mingling.

“You’re welcome.”

“Wasn’t a compliment.”

“Still taking it as one.”’

I'm panting by the time I break away. Body fully aroused again, and desperate for him. His lips are moist and full, his eyes twinkling with desire and amusement.

And there's a very obvious, very impressive boner sitting between us.

“Put in for your leave tomorrow and you'll get it.”

“Are you going to see your mom?”

“Still thinking about it.” He turns pensive. Then, “Are you a bridesmaid or something?”

“No. I'm on the groom's side.”

“You never told me it was a he.”

“You never asked.” I catch his look of surprise. “Does it matter?”

“It doesn’t matter. I just assumed it was a she.”

It’s an easy assumption to make. I drop another kiss on his lips, just to soothe away the awkwardness of the moment.

“How did you meet your friend if he lives in Croatia?” Matteo isn’t finished, or distracted, and his voice has lost its soft playfulness.

“He didn’t always live in Croatia. He used to live here a long time ago.”

“You must be good friends if you’re going all the way there for his wedding.”

“We are.” I feel like he’s waiting for more. “He’s a very dear friend, and he lives there now.”

Matteo looks at me and it feels like we’re in a strange moment now, like I’ve said too much and not enough at the same time.

“He taught me a lot, about things …” I say carefully, wondering at the same time if I should tell him more. As it is he still doesn’t know Vlad’s name.

Matteo doesn’t push. But I can feel that he notices and he’s quietly waiting for me to elaborate, but I’m uneasy again, because talking about what Vlad means to me means exposing everything about my past that I want to forget.

“We could travel together,” I say lightly, watching his reaction.

“We could.”

But his answer sounds automatic and quickly given, almost like he's thinking about something else.

“Though I'm not sure that's a good idea. It would set tongues wagging at work.”

His hand settles over my stomach like it’s the most natural place for it to be.

“I don’t care.”

“That’s because you’re the boss, Matteo.” I look at him. “You get to not care.”

He doesn't reply, and the room feels too quiet again. A question lingers in the back of my mind. “Did you think it was odd that Joel was doing backups that day? He almost caught us.”

He exhales through his nose. “I’ve been thinking about that.” His hand moves gently, almost absent-mindedly, across my stomach. “It’s been bothering me, because he’s never there that late. He said Alex asked him to do the backup, but Alex can do it remotely.”