Chapter 25 #2
“Same. I was hoping Peyton would be able to join us, but the twins caught a cold, and I don’t think they’ve slept in days.” She shudders dramatically.
Since we were both shopped out, we’ve stopped at a little coffee shop that doubles as a bookstore, called Lattes and Words. It’s absolutely adorable, and it smells like coffee and books.
“You live with them, right?” I ask as we get in line to order our coffees.
“Yes.” She sighs. “And usually, I love it. Getting to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law and my adorable nephews. But with two babies and a four-year-old in the house, it’s been a little chaotic,” she admits.
“I can’t even imagine.”
I’ve never really spent any time with babies. None of my friends have any, and with me being only twenty-two, the thought of having babies hasn’t been on my radar.
“Good afternoon! Welcome to Lattes and Words. What can I make you?” the chipper woman behind the counter asks.
“I’ll have an iced pumpkin spice latte … and a blueberry muffin,” I say first.
“Really?” Brielle scoffs. “Pumpkin in the middle of the summer? That should be a crime. Am I right?” she asks the woman, who puts her hands up placatingly.
“Don’t bring me into this. It’s my job to stay unbiased.” She extends her hand. “I’m Nicole Vanderbilt,” she says. “Owner of Lattes and Words.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, shaking her hand. “This place is adorable.”
“Vanderbilt?” Brielle says. “As in …”
“Yes”—Nicole nods—“I’m Mayor Vanderbilt’s daughter.” Then, she leans in and whispers, “But I promise, my coffee and book options are way better than his political intentions.”
We all laugh, and I instantly like this woman.
Which reminds me that I need to call my friends and check in.
I spoke to them after Enrique died and gave them the PG version.
They were worried and wanted to drive over, but I told them I was staying with a friend and didn’t have the room, promising once I got my shit together, we would do a girls’ day.
“I’ll have a blueberry refresher with coconut milk,” Brielle says, quirking her perfectly arched brow at me. “A real summer drink.”
I laugh and shrug. “PSL is my favorite regardless of the time of year.”
“Would you like anything to eat as well?” Nicole asks.
“Hmm …” Brielle eyes the selection. “A cranberry scone, please.”
“You got it.”
She rings us up, and I pay for both of us.
“My treat as a thank-you for taking pity on me and dropping whatever you were doing to go shopping with me.”
Brielle waves me off. “I wasn’t doing anything, if we’re being honest. The guy I’m currently dating, Theodore, is a bit of a workaholic, so I won’t see him until later tonight.” She shrugs.
“Matteo hasn’t mentioned you have a boyfriend. Is it new?”
“Yeah, Matteo met him on our first date and tried to scare him off, so I’ve been keeping it quiet, unsure where it’s going. And since I live with Dominick and Peyton, I always go over to his place.”
We take our pastries with us over to a table and have a seat while we wait for our drinks.
“Have you thought about getting your own place?” I ask, taking a bite of my muffin. It’s soft, and the flavor explodes in my mouth. “Or you could move in with Matteo,” I add. “He has several rooms.”
“And walk in on you two banging like bunnies every day?” She scrunches her nose up in disgust. “No thanks.”
“Well, now that Enrique is gone and I’m relatively safe”—I glance at the two guards standing a few feet away—“I need to start looking for my own place. So, if you want a roommate, let me know.”
“A roommate for what?” a masculine voice says, making me jump and nearly drop the piece of muffin I was about to pop into my mouth.
When I turn around, Matteo is standing next to my chair, looking at me with a mixture of annoyance and confusion.
“Hey!” I get out of my seat and wrap my arms around his neck, giving him a chaste kiss. “How did you know we were here?”
Brielle snorts out a laugh, and then I remember … the guards.
“Right,” I say, having a seat.
Matteo grabs a chair from another table and drags it over to ours. “I asked you a question,” he says to me. “A roommate for what?”
“For wherever I’m going to live,” I say slowly, unsure why he looks so angry.
Nicole sets our drinks down, and we thank her. When she asks Matteo if he’d like anything, he shakes his head, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Well, this has been fun.” Brielle stands, grabbing her scone and drink to take with her. “But I’m going to let you two talk.”
“Wait, what? What’s going on?” I ask, glancing from Brielle to Matteo.
Brielle laughs and then bends to kiss my cheek. “Call me later to chat. I had fun shopping. Let’s do it again soon.”
Before I can get a word in, she breezes out the door, leaving Matteo and me at the table alone.
“So, you don’t like my condo?” he asks.
“Of course I do,” I sputter. “What’s not to like? It’s huge, and it has state-of-the-art everything. It could use some color, but …”
“Then, why are you talking to my sister about moving out? If you want to decorate the place, decorate it. I don’t give a shit what it looks like. If you don’t like it there, we can find a new place.”
My mouth falls open at his words, and it takes me a moment to gather my thoughts.
“It’s not that I don’t want to live there. It’s just that we didn’t move in together, Matteo. I encroached on your space after you saved me, and, sure, we’re dating, but moving in together is something that should be discussed.”
“Okay, let’s discuss it.” He places his elbows on the table and leans toward me.
“The only place I want you moving to is the master bedroom. No more of the guest bedroom shit. I want your clothes in the closet with mine. I want you in the same bed as me every night. I want to be able to roll over and fuck you anytime I want. And I want to wake up with you in my arms, with your bedhead and morning breath and—”
“Hey!” I pout. “You don’t even know if I have morning breath.”
He grins, and it lights up his entire face. “I want to find out.”
“Matteo”—I sigh—“I moved too fast with Enrique, and look where that got me.”
His jaw clenches, and I immediately regret my words because comparing Matteo to Enrique isn’t fair.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter. “I just think we should both think about this. Make sure we’re making the right decision. I love you, and I love living with you, but moving in together is a huge step that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
“Fine,” Matteo says. “Grab your coffee and muffin, and let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“Home.” He smirks. “So I can show you why living together is the best option.”
“Damn, they just skipped Jonas,” Matteo says when he stops reading the chapter and glances down at me.
After Matteo showed me twice why living together would be in both of our best interests—once on the dining room table and again in the shower—I hung up the clothes I’d bought in the guest room since I hadn’t agreed to anything yet.
Matteo made us lunch, and once we were done eating, I suggested he read me some of the book.
At first, he was nervous—I think he was worried that it had been a onetime thing. But once he saw the words were still clear, he started reading and has been reading to me for the past hour while I lie on the couch with my head in his lap.
“I’m sure there’s a reason,” I tell him, turning so I’m on my back and looking up at him. “You going to keep reading to find out what happens?”
“Later,” he says, tossing the book and card to the side. “Right now, I want to find out what happens when I read you.”
“Really?” I snort out a laugh.
He runs his finger along my collarbone, and I shiver in response, making him grin.
“That shiver … that’s because you like my touch.”
He lowers my tank top, exposing my breast, and gently blows on the peak, causing it to harden.
He leans over and wraps his lips around my nipple, sucking on it for several seconds before he looks down at me.
“Your thighs are clenching in anticipation because you’re already turned on.
I bet I could make you come from nipple stimulation alone. ”
He goes back to sucking on my nipple while he pulls the other side of my top down and tweaks that nipple, making me moan. He isn’t wrong—he could make me come from this alone.
He moves his mouth to my other nipple and shoves his hand into my shorts, finding my clit. “Fuck, you’re wet,” he murmurs before he goes back to sucking on my breast. “Your body is so responsive to me.”
Between the nipple stimulation and the way he’s expertly massaging my clit, it doesn’t take long for me to come, hard and loud.
Of course, to prove his point, he doesn’t stop until I push him off me and try to sit up. But before I can get far, he’s shoving my cotton shorts and panties to the side and lifting me onto his hard cock.
“You feel this?” he asks as he helps me slowly sink down around him.
I can’t help the moan that escapes me as he stretches me, each barbell hitting my walls in the best way possible.
“We fit so perfectly together,” he says, his eyes locked with mine. His fingers bite into my flesh as he moves me up and down, fucking me from the bottom. “Move in with me, baby. I like you here, in my space … eating with you, reading to you, fucking you.”
He rocks his hips to emphasize his last point, and I gasp loudly, on the brink of orgasming again. He captures my mouth with his, the kiss filled with so much passion and desire that it’s like I can taste every word he’s not saying.
After we both find our release, he carries me to the bathroom to help me clean up, then to bed, where he wraps his arms around me from behind, holding me so tightly, it’s as if he’s afraid I might slip out of his grasp.