Chapter Five
Matilde
I wake up alone and confused.
The room is dim, the only light source, a soft glow from the lamp on the bedside table.
I blink, trying to clear the fog in my eyes.
I shift slightly, wincing at the soreness between my legs, my brain lagging to explain why the hell I feel the way I do.
I look around the room, the curtains are drawn, but I can tell it's dark outside.
Did I fall asleep? What the hell happened?
The last thing I remember…
My eyes widen as fragments of memories begin to surface. Luca walking in on me feeding Lorenzo and having a jealousy fit which led to him licking chocolate off my body before carrying me to my room and…
“Well, that explains the soreness,” I mutter to myself, shoving the covers off and swinging my legs off the bed. I bite back a yawn and rub my eyes as I stumble to the bathroom for a shower. I can still feel some stickiness of the chocolate in places that sinful tongue of his couldn't reach.
Christ, what was I thinking? First the bakery and now my kitchen. In the middle of the day, no less.
I try not to think of the man or why he wasn’t in bed with me as I wash up. The kitchen was a mess earlier, and those cookies… I freeze mid-wash.
Oh my God, I forgot about Sally.
I was supposed to take a short break when I came up here, and sweet baby Jesus, she must be overwhelmed manning the place all by herself. The evenings are just as busy as the mornings, not to mention the accounting we do every day after closing.
And she's down there alone.
My heart is racing as I step under the spray, wincing as soap gets in my eyes.
I scrub faster and rush out of the bathroom, nearly slipping on the wet floor.
I grab a towel and quickly wrap it around my hair and bundle myself into a robe before running out of the bedroom to grab my phone.
I skid to a halt when I see Luca leaning against the kitchen counter.
A clean kitchen counter.
“W-what,” I pant, confused as I look around the room. All the baking mess has been cleaned, the counters wiped down, and everything put away where it’s supposed to be.
“You’re up. I heard you moving around and wondered when you’d come out,” he says, pushing off the counter and walking toward me. “Perfect timing.”
"W-what?" I stammer, trying to get my brain to work and process what's going on here. Luca didn't leave, and he…cleaned up my mess. Some of it was his mess, but still… “Sally—”
“I asked her to lock up for you,” Luca says, taking my shoulder and guiding me to a stool. “Don’t worry about her. She had company, and I made sure to tell Santino to drop her off at home."
“Santino?” I ask, still confused. “Who is Santino?”
He laughs instead of answering, and when he leans down to brush his mouth over my neck, I melt. “You smell so good, baby,” he hums before pulling back. “I hope you’re hungry for my world-famous lasagna.”
With the grogginess from sleep now gone, I notice the savory aroma floating in the air, something rich and delicious that makes my stomach growl. Reminding me of the fact that I haven’t had anything to eat all day.
“You cook?” I ask lamely, despite the evidence sitting in front of me.
Luca turns to me and must read the shock on my face because he laughs, the sound so deep and warm that I feel the butterflies in my stomach flutter. I’ve never seen him this way. So carefree and comfortable.
“Are you surprised?” he asks, taking the stool next to mine before slipping a hand under mine and turning me to face him. “My mother is the housekeeper for the Rossi family and practically raised the boys and Gabriella when they lost their mother. She made sure every one of us could cook.”
This part of his family life I knew. In the six months since becoming connected to the Rossis, I’ve met Silvia Conti a few times, and I immediately liked her.
Despite my reservations about the family, Silvia strikes me as a warm maternal figure for the Rossi children.
I chuckle at the mental image of a woman that tiny bossing around the Rossi boys in the kitchen.
She was kind to us on the occasion we visited the Rossi estate, and her food reminded me so much of my own mother's cooking. Made with love.
“If the lasagna is anything like your mother’s, then I am warning you now that there won't be a single serving left when I'm done,”" I say, and I get the pleasure of hearing another one of his laughs. "The tasting will have to wait though. What time is it? Did Sally already lock up?.”
“About an hour ago,” Luca says. “Santino texted—he dropped her home safe.”
“Good.” I’m deeply touched that he went through all this effort while I slept. I’ll have to make Sally her favorite dessert for holding down the fort. “Thank you.”
Luca takes my hand in his, making my heart stutter.
“I told you I'd take care of you, didn't I?
" I flush at his words. To be fair, we were both naked, and he was on top of me when he said those words.
I didn't think they applied outside the bedroom. “I’m more than your bodyguard, Matilde. I assumed we established that this morning.”
“Right,” I whisper, looking away. So much has happened from the moment I met Luca six months ago, but one thing has remained true and sure.
His care for me and the people important to me.
He took care of me even when I made it obvious I didn’t want him around.
He stayed, earning not just my trust but my sister’s as well.
Maybe it’s finally time I let go of all these fears that have been plaguing me for years and just allow myself to…feel. And Luca, he makes me feel a whole host of emotions. Ari was right. I can’t spend forever fearing for a future I have no control over and miss out on my chance at love.
We sit together to eat dinner, and it’s romantic and intimate. It feels like a date, loaded with so much sexual tension but also an easy air I never imagined I would feel around a man.
“So, have you always loved baking?” he asks, pouring me a glass of wine that’s been chilling in the fridge. I lift the glass to my lips for a sip, humming at the sweet, fruity taste with notes of cherry. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I don’t really know much about wine, but I like this one,” I say, taking another sip. “You were asking about baking? I learned it from my mother. While my social butterfly of a sister was out hanging with friends, I was in the kitchen with my mother baking.”
“Did she run her bakery from this building?”
I nod, taking a bite of the lasagna, and I nearly moan. I didn’t seriously think he could match his mother's cooking but this is next-level good. “So good,” I say, closing my eyes to savor the taste. “I need a moment.”
He laughs, and we don’t talk much until there is little more than sauce left on my plate. “I take it as a sign that you liked it?”
I glance at my empty plate and chuckle. “That was beyond my expectations.”
“Now you know how I feel about your baking.”
I flush at the compliment and all the others he makes as we clear the table.
We're cleaning the kitchen together when I remember his earlier questions. “This building has belonged to my mother’s family for generations,” I tell him.
Before her, my grandmother ran a small cafe out of the first floor.
Before that, it was a butcher shop. The business changed with the times, but it always stayed in the family. .”
“And is that what you want? To keep it in the family?”
I nod, already picturing what the place will look like when the renovations are done. “My mother loved this place and refused to sell it for years. I plan on keeping it that way.”
“Someone came looking for you earlier today. A real estate agent.”
I sigh. “Again?”
“He’s been here before?”
“Yeah,” I confess. “Some developers have been looking to buy the place from Ari and me. They started by offering large sums of money, but when we refused, they got pushy. Showed up unannounced, implied we were in over our heads, even hinted they could make trouble with the city if we didn’t cooperate.
” Just thinking about it makes me angry all over again, and I was tempted to use Matteo’s name just to scare them away.
“This building holds too much sentimental value for us. A gift our parents left us.”
I turn to Luca and find him watching me. A part of me wishes they were here to meet Luca. My bet is they would have loved him.
“Let me know the next time that guy shows up,” Luca says, grasping my chin and dropping his lips to mine in a soft kiss. “I’ll take care of the guy for you.”
I flush, missing his touch when his hand drops. I turn away to put the leftovers in the fridge, and my eyes catch on the bowl of chocolate mousse. The flush deepens when I remember what Luca did with it. And just like that, an idea slips in.
“You know…” I drawl, pulling out the bowl and turning to Luca. “You got to taste the mousse, but I still haven’t.”
His eyes darken at my words, and he rinses his hands in the sink before turning to look at me. “What did you have in mind?"
My heart is racing as I walk toward him.
I reach up and slide my hands over his chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath his shirt.
His breath catches when I grip the hem and tug upward.
He helps me pull it over his head, and I take a moment to admire him—all that tanned skin and dark ink, the ridges of his abs, the way his chest rises and falls with quickening breaths.
I step away for a moment, and dip my finger into the bowl of mousse and spread it over his chest. Like he did with me earlier, I stick my tongue out and run it along the streak of chocolate. “Mmm, I agree. It’s the best mousse I’ve ever tasted.”
Luca groans and tips his head back as I clean up my mess. “Biscottina, you’re killing me.”
But I want more and grab the bowl off the counter.
Then, slowly, I drop to my knees. I have the pleasure of watching his eyes widen and his expression turn to shock.
Heat floods those dangerous green eyes, and I find the spot between my legs dampens at the thought of touching this man. I set the bowl of chocolate beside me.
With my eyes locked on his, I reach up and unbuckle his belt and tug down his zipper.
There is a tremble in my hands as I open his jeans and then tug them down.
Before I know it, they’re pooled at his ankles and I’m face to face with his hard length.
He’s so big. Luca’s is the first cock I’ve ever seen, but something tells me he isn’t average. Way beyond that, it seems.
His eyes don’t move from mine, and when I grip him in my hand, he sucks in a sharp breath.
Slowly, I stroke him, watching his expression grow incredibly aroused and pained.
But I want to see more. I want to see him lose control as he made me, so I reach down and dip my finger into the chocolate, then spread it over the length of his shaft, following the path with my tongue.
He jolts, a low growl slipping from his mouth, louder when I run the tip of my tongue over the glistening tip and taste the salt of his pre-cum.
“Mmm, delicious,” I hum, lifting my eyes back to his. I paint a little more mousse over his dick and give it slow licks, lapping at the chocolate until he’s clean.
“Fuck, baby,” he says hoarsely, gripping the edge of the counter as he watches me. “You have no idea how fucking beautiful you look on your knees. Do it again.”
I lean forward and take him into my mouth, making him hiss when I suck on the head. I push forward but overestimate my skills as I choke, forcing me to pull back, gasping and coughing.
“Slowly,” Luca says, sliding his fingers into my hair and grabbing a fistful. “I’ll show you how.”
I nod, relaxing as he takes control and slowly guides his cock into my mouth, pulling me forward before pulling back.
He does it again, pushing deeper every time.
I gag when he touches the back of my throat, but he pulls back to give me time to adjust. We do it a few more times until I take him with a little more ease, and I find myself enjoying it a little more than I thought I would.
I start to moan as I take him in deeper into my throat.
Saliva drips down my chin as he starts moving his cock in and out of me faster, going deeper, but he’s so big that I can’t take too much of him.
This is surreal. Me on my knees for a man I was sure I would never touch. Pleasuring him as he did me earlier. And loving every moment of it.
“Use your hands,” he growls, his cock buried deep in my mouth.
I bring my hands up and stroke his base, using my tongue to tease the tip.
That sends him right off the edge. His fingers tighten in my hair, muscles tense a second before his hips jerk, and then there’s the salt and bitter taste of his cum hitting the back of my throat.
He groans, shaking as he pushes his cock deeper into my throat and pulling back when I choke.
I close my eyes as some of his cum hits my face and throat until the trembling dies down.
His chest is heaving when he looks down at me.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says, brushing his thumb over my cheek before slipping it between my lips.
His eyes fill with heat when my lips part for his finger and suck on it.
He pops it out, and with a growl, he scoops me off the floor and into his arms. His mouth is on mine as he carries me back to the bedroom, and for the first time in many years, I look forward to going to bed.
Tonight, there'll be no nightmares. Only him.