22. Arianna
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ARIANNA
I hustled enough that it took me exactly ten minutes to reach the building. The gloomy dark sky above thundered, threatening showers at any second.
Inhaling deeply, I walked inside the building, through the dimly lit hallways, until I reached the room where I found him.
He was dressed in a three-piece suit, looking very much like the mafia boss he’d become one day. I swallowed, remembering how perfect his abs were. Although his face wasn’t any less perfect. But it was so much more than just that.
Everything about him called to me.
I’d known Matteo almost my whole life, and it was strange to feel all these butterflies fluttering in the pit of my stomach and trembling in my chest.
A loud metal clunk yanked me out of my sentimental momentum. It was only then I noticed a portable mini-kitchen that certainly didn’t belong in the planetarium. Matteo was moving efficiently around it, arranging ingredients all over the counter.
My thoughts drifted away as I made my way into the room.
“What’s all this?”
Matteo turned to lean against the counter, looking at me with a big smile. “We’re having a date night.”
“Kind of late for a date, no?” I strode toward him, and he watched every step I took.
His big hand came around my waist and he pulled me into him, my breasts pressed against his abs.
“It would have been a dinner date if I hadn’t been searching for Eric and Simon,” he mused.
I snorted, then burst out laughing. “You seriously need to get up to speed with fiction.”
His hand roamed down my body, over my hips, then to my ass. “This will be hard.”
I tilted my head back slightly, watching his beautiful face. “What will?”
“Baking with you.”
“So that’s what we’re doing on our first date? Baking?”
“Baking, dancing…” I frowned, but before I could ask a question, he pushed a button on a remote that sat next to him and a loud noise above us had me looking up. “Then I’ll eat your pussy under the stars.”
My cheeks heated.
“Matteo—” To my surprise, the dome above us started moving, each tile folding over until it disappeared altogether. “What? How? What?”
“It was my little contribution to the project.”
His gaze burned into me and I lowered my eyes to him. “And what do you plan on doing to me tonight?”
A small smile touched his lips. “Tonight we’re having a date.”
“Will it end with us… together?”
He watched me with a half-lidded stare that conveyed so much yet not enough. “Not necessarily.”
My lips pushed forward in an exaggerated pout. “Don’t tell me you’ll make me wait after putting a school-wide ban on me.”
Surprise flashed across his face. “How—who told you about that?”
“You said you wouldn’t let anyone touch what was yours?” I tried to backpedal, but somehow I knew it wouldn’t work.
“I never told you about that.”
I stepped on each of his shoes and rose to my tiptoes, then pressed a kiss on his lips, hoping to distract him. It worked. He thrust his tongue between my lips, ravaging my mouth.
Pure lust erupted inside me, and I roamed my fingers over his shirt and along his abs.
Sliding a hand up his neck, I pushed my fingers into his hair. I was ready to skip over the date and go straight to what came next.
His tongue slid against mine, and with a rough sound from deep in his chest, he sucked on my tongue. Then abruptly, he nipped my bottom lip and I yelped.
When I pulled back, both of us were breathing heavily.
“We’re doing this date, Ari.” His voice was like red velvet while his eyes darkened with enough heat to melt the polar ice caps. “If I have any say in it, we’ll have nice stories to tell our children, not just fucked-up ones.”
Staring at him, my mind was spinning. Whether from his strange words or the kiss we shared, I wasn’t sure. Either way, I had no business feeling such a carnal need to jump his bones. Maybe this business of being a virgin for so long was finally backfiring.
I had to clear my throat to find my voice.
“Isn’t it a bit too early to talk about children?” I said, ignoring my throbbing core.
He brought his hand to my neck, his fingers caressing my fluttering pulse. “Let’s get this date started, then, because I can’t wait for my dessert. And, Ari?”
I gulped. “Yes?”
“I’m not talking about cookies.”
“It’s the best cookie I’ve ever had.” I threw another Nutella cookie into my mouth and chewed on it, stroking my hand over the picnic blanket. While we were working on the cookie dough, he’d discarded his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves, and I couldn’t help but admire his strong, veiny arms. In fact, I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed them before.
It was the best date I could have possibly wished for. Matteo recreated our first time together in the kitchen as children. We even made the same cookies.
“I’m just grateful my nose didn’t have to be broken for you to bake for me.”
I nudged him with my shoulder. “Come on, I’ve baked for you many times since.”
“True, but that was the last time you did it next to me in the kitchen.”
“Because you almost ruined my batch,” I reminded him, unable to keep my grin under control. “I said a pinch of salt and you dumped the entire container of it into the mix.”
“It meant we could spend more time together that day.” I stared at him in disbelief and he shrugged. “What? Don’t tell me you’re surprised.”
“I broke your nose that day,” I reminded him. “I would have thought you’d want to spend the least amount of time possible with me after that.”
“Absolutely not. I was proud and impressed with your self-defense capabilities.” I gave my head a subtle shake. No wonder it was so easy to fall for this man. “Besides, it was the first secret we shared and the true beginning of our friendship.”
My chest twisted in guilt, reminding me of our deception. I would have to talk to Hannah eventually, but I refused to dwell on it now.
My gaze darted around the dimmed space. The portable kitchen was a mess while the glittering stars above us played peekaboo between the clouds, the soft breeze teasing my strands. The weather had been on our side, delaying the showers that the soft rumble of thunder in the distance promised.
“How did you get the equipment in here?”
“I have my ways.”
“If you get caught?—”
He chuckled. “I never get caught.”
I rolled my eyes. “One day you will.”
He jumped to his feet, then extended his hand. “Not today. Now, how about a dance?”
“There’s no music.”
But I still put my hand in his and let him pull me to my bare feet, my kicked-off sandals somewhere by the kitchen. I stepped on his black loafers and we started dancing, the sound of our breaths, thunder, and soft pitter-patter somewhere in the distance.
“I like you in the kitchen.”
I pursed my lips. “That sounded very?—”
He chuckled. “Sexist. It’s not how I meant it though.”
“How did you mean it?”
He shrugged. “I like when you cook and bake for me, but I like it even better when we do it together.”
I feigned a gasp. “Matteo Vitale, what will the mobsters say if they learn you like to spend time in the kitchen with me?”
He grinned.
“They’ll remain silent or I’ll cut out their tongues.” I stared at him, trying to figure out whether he was joking. His expression told me he wasn’t.
“Well, your secret is safe with me.”
He bent his head, the tip of his nose brushing against mine. “You’re the one person outside of my family who I’d never hurt.”
Our bodies moved together, the muscle beneath his clothes hard against me, the heat of his body and his heartbeat against mine. Our gazes held and I waited for him to kiss me, my lips tingling in anticipation.
I wanted— needed him to kiss me.
Yet he wasn’t making a move.
He must have read my hesitation because in the next breath, he pressed his mouth to my ear.
“Want me to kiss you, Ari?” I nodded. “Use your words.”
“Kiss me,” I breathed out.
As his lips lowered on me, the first raindrop landed between our faces, but that didn’t stop him. Instead, he deepened the kiss, our tongues dancing together. I wrapped my hands around his neck, my fingers gripping his strands.
Each kiss we shared put me on the highway to addiction. Unlike the two we’d shared before, this one was gentle. Slower.
The wind picked up as the raindrops fell faster around us when a soft hum filled the space as the glass dome started to close. But we never stopped dancing, the plinking against the glass creating the best kind of music for us.
And I couldn’t help but think this was the most romantic thing I’d ever experienced.