28. Zoe
28
Zoe
“Age is not a number, it’s an attitude.” – Unknown
S omething changed last night.
Noooo? You don’t say!
Who am I kidding right now? No shit, something changed last night. My whole world as I know it flipped over and still can’t find its way back to the normal position.
I have no idea what came over me, but when he told me the cocktails were inspired by Mellie, I felt my heart crack. Or rather, the control I had over it. But I was going to hold onto it cracks and all. Until he said he was Mellie’s father.
And meant it.
The fight was so over it wasn’t even funny. I was done and I’ve allowed my sanity to slip through my fingers.
And now I’m lying here in my bed alone since he stole my daughter sometime early this morning and I’m hiding in my room like an idiot, refusing to get up and face him in the broad daylight, because apparently, late at night it’s easy to pretend I can shake off my fears and just be . It was easy to get lost in everything Matteo.
His voice. His presence. His scent and taste.
His touch and his lips.
Dear God, what his touch did to me. If you’d ask me before last night what I thought about lactation kinks, I’d call you an idiot and to never mention it to me again. Now? I’m trying to fight the urge to run out and beg him to wrap his soft lips around my nipples again.
It was the most soothing feeling I’ve ever experienced, coupled with pleasure so deep, I feel wetness pooling between my legs just thinking about it now.
But it wasn’t just that. Simply being held by Matteo sends a wave of shivers down my spine. His dark, hungry gaze sets me ablaze and when his lips come in contact with mine, I forget my own name.
Fucking perfect. A twenty-three-year-old has messed with my head so thoroughly, I am hiding under the covers.
I cover my face with both of my hands and let out a silent groan. “Get up, make a plan and stop overthinking it. Last night happened and it won’t anymore. It was a fluke. A weird magnetic field misfire crap—if such thing exists but I don’t really care if it doesn’t. I’m still using that excuse.” I keep talking to myself, listing all of the ridiculous things I could blame for what happened when Matteo’s voice filters through the closed door.
“Hmm, how about radioactive spiders?” he asks, and I freeze.
Shit, of course he’s standing on the other side of the door like a sexy creep and heard my crazy rambling. Let’s add yet another item to the list of my embarrassing moments in front of the man.
“Or there is always food poisoning, you know.” He stops, and I presume take a bite of something because his next words come out muffled. “You can blame that too. I personally find that one a bit bland,” he adds nonchalantly. “I mean, if you really want to go all out you have to at least mention alien invasion.”
“I’m asleep, go away.” I throw the cover over my face, knowing I’m being ridiculous, but what else is new these days?
The next instant, the door creaks open. “Perfect, then I can still wake you up properly,” he says, and I tug the cover off my face to see what he’s planning to do, but I’m too late.
Matteo has already lunged at me, throwing his massive, shirtless body over mine, and I squeak, trying to get away from him, but once again, am unsuccessful. He pins me to the bed, trapping my wrists in his hands above my head and lowers his face to mine, while his hair falls over my face, covering us from the world.
I see his intent to kiss me, and roll my lips together, hiding them from him. But do you think that deters him? Not in the slightest. “Silly little Beastie.” He grins. “As if you could stop me.” Matteo kisses me anyway, or more like plants a whole bunch of smooches all over my face.
His lips are everywhere, on my cheeks and chin, on my nose, eyelids and eyebrows. He kisses my forehead and leaning down, just below my ear. He starts moving lower and that’s when I buck, realizing his intent and yell out, “Matteo, stop! What happened to no kissing me until I beg?”
The bastard uses that moment to quickly slide his lips over mine, kissing me, instead of answering and I mumble into his mouth, “Morning breath!”
Finally, he pulls away slightly, but still not too much where I could sneak away from him and grins wide at me. “Mm-hmm, love your morning breath.” And lowers his mouth back to mine, this time moaning as he slips his tongue past my lips.
I swat at his shoulder. “You are disgusting.” But there is zero heat behind my words.
He loves my freaking morning breath …and the thing is, I’m fairly certain he’s not joking.
I’m starting to realize Matteo doesn’t say anything he doesn’t mean. He’s…honest.
The thought sends my mind spiraling because that would mean everything else he said was true as well and he really intends on staying with us. He really does love my daughter. He wants me, us, this.
Pull the brakes woman, before your heart trips over your tongue, running to him.
“And that whole beg for a kiss situation was a one-time password deal. You have unlocked unlimited access to Matteo Land. A lifetime pass.” He smirks. “Feel free to take a ride anytime you’d like.” He presses into me and even through a thick duvet—yes, the one with the cats Joy got me—there is no mistaking how hard he is.
“Oh, really? And how many other women have this special pass?” I quirk and eyebrow at him, and I expect him to make another joke. Maybe even tell me something along the lines of too many to count but instead his teasing features are replaced by a serious, almost grim look.
“One,” he says and crushes his lips to mine right away, showing me instead of telling me how true that is. “Fuck…what you do to me. Maybe I should be the one blaming aliens for your existence.”
His body starts rocking into mine and suddenly I need this blanket off me, I need to feel his body on mine. Need to feel what I do to him, but before it goes there, Matteo pulls away from me, bracing himself on his elbows and to my horror, I let out a whiny noise.
“My needy girl.” He smiles, biting my chin. “Do you need me to play with you? Maybe have my fingers on that little pussy? Or”—he licks his lips and my heart starts racing—“do you need my mouth on your tits, hmm?”
Matteo slides down a little bit until his face is leveled with my breasts and just the feel of his breath on my skin is enough to drive me crazy, but he leans in and takes a lungful of my scent, closing his eyes in pleasure, and letting out a husky, “Fuck, that’s exactly what you need, isn’t it?”
“Yes, yes, God yes,” I chant, my fingers already digging into his hair, and Matteo lowers his mouth to my clothed nipple, biting it lightly through the cotton bra I’m wearing, and I feel the milk leaking right through the thin material.
So much for that fucking plan to never do this again…
Only…Matteo pulls away and one word leaves his smirking mouth. “Later.”
My eyes snap down to his so fast they hurt.
“What do you mean, later ?” I sound like a petulant child and I don’t care.
Matteo jumps off me, bends and twists a bit to fix the hard-on situation in his jeans and strolls to the door. “Later means after you get your pretty ass out of bed, have breakfast and admit how much you like me.”
Oh no, he didn’t! I sit up in my bed, crossing my arms across my chest and glare at the smiling, sexy bastard.
“Get back in here, Matteo,” I almost growl out, and that stupid smile of his turns into a horrible self-satisfied grin.
“God, I love it when you are bossy, Beastie.” He bites his lip teasingly but keeps retreating.
I narrow my eyes at him. “What’s your middle name?”
“Orion. Why?”
I will stop to think about his middle name later, for now I’m too angry and sexually frustrated so all I can do is grab a pillow and throw it into his face while yelling, “Matteo Orion Loverson, you are a dead man walking.”
Matteo catches the damn pillow, sniffs my scent off it as he rolls his eyes and biting that stupid lip. “Ugh, you are so feisty in the mornings. Just imagine how much fun we will have once you give in.”
“Currently, my mind is set on how much fun I will have killing you.”
“Promises, promises.” He winks and sends me an air kiss, and by the time I send another pillow flying his way he already ducks out of the way, laughing as he does.
Reluctantly, I do get up, running through my morning routine that I now have the time for because Matteo has been the one taking care of Mellie in the mornings. That stupidly hot, sexy, considerate, frustrating, sadistic man.
Just thinking about how amazing he is makes me angrier. In another life, if he would be older, I’d call him the ultimate dream.
“Zoe, stop glaring, my dick can’t handle any more blood rushing to it,” he says, sliding a plate with a smoked salmon bagel and other veggies on it and a homemade smoothie he just created especially for me—as he put it.
I would protest eating if he wasn’t such an amazing cook—because of course the man made the bagels himself—and his drinks taste too good to pass up.
“Is this your thing? Put a ban on something I want until I give in to your rules?”
Matteo wiggles his eyebrows. “It gets the job done, doesn’t it?”
Way to go, Zoe, just a few minutes ago you were preaching to yourself about “never again” and “that was a fluke” and “how could I like that,” and now you’re pouting and irrationally angry he didn’t suck on your tits.
Fucking phenomenal.
“No, what it does is make me mad.”
“So, what you are trying to say is you want me?”
More than I ever thought was possible. Not that I will ever say that out loud. Mellie gives him enough encouragement for the both of us with her constant need for him. Even now, she is chilling in her baby cot that had to be situated on top of the kitchen counter so she could see him.
“Come on, Beastie.” He leans over the counter. “Just admit you like me. It’s the truth anyway, you are just a stubborn little cub, refusing to come to terms with it.”
No shit, it’s the truth, but what do I do? I pick up the bagel and stuff my mouth with it, while still glaring, refusing to answer him and Matteo bursts out laughing.
“God, you are the most perfect woman out there.” He puts his hands around Mellie’s ears and whispers, “And I will fuck you so good as soon as I can.”
Sigh, meet Zoe.
“Please remind me who thought it was a good idea to invite Matteo tonight?” I ask the girls around me while still glaring at that frustrating man who is now happily chatting with Alec, Jacob, and Luke.
“Well, seeing as he now grows on your ass, it would be quite difficult to have you here without him, but also no one invited him. The stray just can’t get lost again,” my cheery best friend supplies and takes a long sip of her water.
We are all gathered at the beach, around the bonfire that is in front of our houses and the guys are grilling in our plain view.
With no shirts.
And while usually I would appreciate the fine male specimens in front of me…tonight, I only see one. With no shirt. Did I mention that?
Lord help me.
I stayed strong the whole day despite his teasing touches anytime he was around me. A brush of his fingers against mine as we passed in the hallway, his cheek against mine as he leaned in to take Mel from my arms and even the feeling of his front pressed against my back as he pretended to grab something from the kitchen cupboard where I was standing didn’t do me in.
But it seems my luck is running out with all of that tan, golden skin, peppered with salty water droplets from his earlier dip in the ocean and his damp long hair in disarray on display for my hungry eyes.
What are the chances no one will notice me licking his chest right about now?
“Don’t even think about it,” comes from Joy.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Who me?” Joy mimics my forced-innocent tone, pointing to herself. “I am talking about that look on your face that says ‘From which side should I start licking him up first? The top to bottom or bottom to top?’”
“Definitely top to bottom,” Grace whispers with a giggle beside her.
“Why are you whispering?” Hope asks her in that same whisper while rocking my daughter in her arms.
“Because my husband is keeping track of all the times I talk about other men and that list is already too long.”
“Why is he keeping track?”
“To punish me,” she says with a smile that says she doesn’t mind those punishments too much.
“Okay, we are not here to talk about you and your husband’s perversions,” Joy interrupts. “I’ve heard enough about your broken vagina to last a lifetime already.”
“Keep your jealousy on the downlow, sister,” Grace shoots back. “But I agree. I’d much rather talk about Zoe and her cougar tendencies.”
That gets a groan out of me.
“I hate you. There are no cougar tendencies here. None,” I proclaim vehemently, but Matteo choses that exact moment to come running my way, crouching right in from of me.
“Are you all right, Beastie?” he asks, his forehead creased with concern, taking a lose strand of my hair and tucking it behind my ear and all I can do is nod because just the simplest of his touches, set me on fire. “I heard you groan.”
Dear Lord, for all that is holy do not whimper. Don’t you dare, Zoe.
“I’m fine,” comes out a lot squeakier than I want it to.
“All right then.” Matteo gets up but not before kissing my forehead and there goes my attempt at no whimpering.
Pathetic, I swear.
“Anything you’d like to say to me?” he whispers into my ear. His manly scent mixed with ocean breeze stirring my insides and with yet another whimper I shake my head. Matteo leans back, that sexy half smile of his firmly intact on his lips. “Take your time, Zo, I’ll be standing right there if something. Deciding whether I’ll taste your milky tits or your sweet pussy first. What do you think?” The bastard knows exactly what he’s doing to me right now.
“You are such a little shit.”
“Spank me, Mommy.” He winks, flashing me his wide grin and stands up leaving me up in flames over here. And mind you they are not the embarrassment ones. No, sir.
“Let me take my girl.” He extends his arms toward Mellie and Hope hands him my daughter who immediately nuzzles into his chest, placing her little hand on her favorite human and they walk off with him cooing sweet nothings to her, as if he didn’t just unlock yet another kink I wasn’t aware of having!
“No cougar tendencies, she says.” Grace cracks up. “So, like I was saying, go from top to bottom,” she adds.
“Stop that! I need you to talk me out of it, not encourage me.”
“And why would I do that?” she frowns at me.
“Because I can’t go there. Not with Matteo.”
“And why can’t you?”
“Gracie, he’s not going to stay for the long run. He’s not that type of a guy,” I tell her but even I have a hard time believing the words coming out of my mouth.
“Oh, right.” She nods, heavy on the sarcasm. “He’s just the type of a guy to stay with you through the whole fun that is child labor, jumping right into the role of a dad without running for the hills. The one to show up at your door to help you with the baby who is not his. The kind to keep living there, sleeping on that awful couch, cook for you, create cocktails inspired by you and come running as soon as he hears you groaning. Nooo, he’s definitely not that type of a guy.”
Damn it, why is she making such a good point right now and I have nothing to say back? I look to my best friend whom I can always count on to find the negatives in any situation. “Joy?” But she’s quietly wrinkling her nose. “JOY!”
“I hate it when you say smart things that make total sense, Gracie,” she finally says to her little sister, and I sag into the chair.
“Then how about the fact that he’s younger than me? What are people going to say?” I ask, lifting my hands up in question and all three sisters stare at me with one eyebrow raised.
“Do you want me to call Alec and Jacob over here so they can educate you on how many fucks should be given when it comes to societal norms?” Hope asks.
“God, no,” I groan. Those two have a personal issue with how normal people live in this world. So, they took it upon themselves to spread word that we shouldn’t give a damn about what is acceptable and not in society.
“Then, I really don’t see a problem. I say go for it,” Hope adds, and Gracie raises her hand. “I second that.” They both turn to Joy who’s been quiet, and they have some weird sisterly silent conversation at the end of which Joy rolls her eyes and looks to me.
“Look, I know I have been the one to talk you into kicking that puppy to the curb, but even I must admit that he’s good for you, Zoe.” She sighs as if it’s physically painful for her to admit she was wrong before. “Ever since he strolled into your life, you’ve been different. More alive. Happier. And that’s all I want for you. Life is that simple and not a series of horror films we were used to before.”
I look at her, my mouth agape and not believing that it’s my grumpy cactus of a friend who is saying this right now.
“Damn it, Joy.” I slump into my chair. “I needed you to be my voice of wisdom.”
“I am.”
“Then I’m doomed.”
“Nope, it looks like you are about to be thoroughly satisfied as soon as the doctor gives you a go ahead.” Hope giggles.
“How did it get to this? This should not be happening,” I cover my face with my hands. I still don’t seem to grasp that he really wants me. Us.
I want him. We want him.
“No, that should definitely be happening, because you deserve that kind of a man. Shed your fears off, Zo, they are just shackling you to a world of gray routine.”
She’s right isn’t she? Maybe I am enough for Matteo?
“Now”—she narrows her eyes to the scene in front of us—“what shouldn’t be happening is our husbands getting all cozy with Matteo. There is enough crazy between Jacob and Alec as it is,” Hope adds, pointing to the trio who are all staring at Luke’s crotch.
“Did it hurt?” We hear Matteo ask Luke because his voice is higher pitched than the others at the moment.
“Jesus, please tell me they are not discussing your husband’s piercing again.” Joy sighs, looking over to Grace.
“They totally are.” She shakes her head.
“What piercing?” I ask them at the same time as Matteo calls out to me, “Hey, Zoe, how do you feel about dick piercings?”
“That kind.” Grace points to Matteo and his question while all I can do is sit here and blink.
“Um…” I clear my throat. “Why are you asking me?”
“Because if I’m going to traumatize him, it better be for a good cause.”
“And the good cause being…” I trail off, not really understanding where he is going with this.
“To give you the best orgasms possible, of course,” he says nonchalantly while both me and Joy choke on our waters.
“Matteo!” I cry out while coughing and he runs up to help me, slapping my back lightly. “You can’t just blurt out that kind of stuff.”
“Why not?” He seems genuinely confused about it.
“Because we’re not even dating!”
“Of course we are, Beastie.”
“Did you hit your head when you were jumping off that cliff earlier today?”
“Nope.”
“Then you were probably bitten by a radioactive spider.”
“The same one that got you last night?” He smirks, the smug bastard.
“Why? What happened last night?” Joy pipes out from beside me.
“Yeah, what happened last night, Zo?” Matteo parrots her but with a knowing grin on his face.
I chuck my tongue. “So, about that piercing…”
Matteo tips his head up and starts laughing, “God, you are the cutest.”
“Jacob, are you sure Matteo is not your long-lost brother?” Joy calls out to her husband.
“Um, I’m pretty sure he’s not, Wildflower. Why?”
“Because both of you have no self-preservation skills, thinking you can call us cute . We are not cute, we are menacing.”
“Sure you are, Wildflower.” Jacob winks, and Joy bristles even more.
“Mm-hmm, I do like it when you get violent. You are even cuter then.” I feel everyone watching and listening to our conversation intently.
“Matteo, for the love of…stop talking,” I shake my head at him.
“So, is that a yes on that piercing.”
“Matteo, it’s your dick. So, you can do whatever you’d like to it. I don’t care,” I tell him, but he frowns at me like I’ve kicked his puppy.
He then looks down to his crotch and says, “Mommy is just joking, she does care about you.” He pats his shorts-covered dick, and I wish I could say it was horror I was looking at him with, but nope.
All of a sudden, I have this irrational wish to slap his hand away and comfort his dick myself. With my mouth.
Joy looks from me to Matteo’s retreating form. “You were right, he’s definitely not a stray. The pup has found his mama. And he is definitely Jacob’s long-lost brother. Lord help us all.”
“I am so defriending you.” I glare at her but my whole body is buzzing with desire for that man.
Maybe it’s his nonchalance about the topic or the ease with which he just called his dick mine, but it ticks something off in my head, unleashes a part of me I didn’t know about. Because I might like the idea of him belonging to me and only me a little too much.
“Zoe, take it from someone who was stubborn and stupid to keep the most amazing man at arm’s length for too long.” Hope levels me with a look. “When you find a man like that, don’t let your own fears and insecurities to lead your heart. This—he—is worth the risk.”
He is, isn’t he?