Chapter 24
Matteo
Light filters through the cracks in Raven’s blinds, painting stripes across her naked body as she sleeps beside me.
I wake with her scent in my lungs and her leg thrown over mine, our skin still sticky from the night before. Watching her sleep feels like a privilege I haven’t earned—chest rising and falling with each breath, blonde hair spread across the pillow like spilled gold.
Mine.
The word beats in my blood with every pulse, a truth I never expected to find.
I shift carefully, not wanting to wake her yet. Last night plays through my head in flashes of skin and sound. The way she watched the show below us. The heat of her coming around me.
I should be satisfied. Instead, I’m already hard again, wanting more of her. This hunger for Raven isn’t something I recognize—it doesn’t burn out after being fed. It grows. Consumes.
Her mouth is slightly open, lips full and inviting. I trace the curve of her jaw with my thumb, then lower my head to press my lips to her throat. Her pulse flutters under my mouth, quickening even in sleep.
I take my time, dragging my tongue along the column of her neck, tasting salt and sweetness. Moving lower, I map the dip of her collarbone with my teeth, careful not to wake her yet.
The marks from last night stand out against her pale skin—evidence that she’s been claimed. I add another, sucking gently at the swell of her breast until the skin flushes red.
Her nipples are already hard, the metal bars catching the morning light. I’ve been obsessed with these piercings since the moment I saw them. I lower my mouth to the left one, dragging my tongue across the metal before sucking the hard peak between my lips.
My teeth scrape against sensitive flesh, and Raven wakes with a gasp that turns into a moan halfway through. Her back arches immediately, pushing her breast further into my mouth.
“Morning,” I murmur against her skin, looking up to find her eyes heavy-lidded and dark with want.
“Don’t stop,” she breathes, one hand sliding into my hair.
I circle my tongue around her nipple before grazing it with my teeth again. Goosebumps erupt across her skin, and she shivers beneath me. Her breathing comes faster now, her body responding to my touch with an honesty her mouth sometimes lacks.
“Not planning on it, Little Thief.”
I move to her other breast, giving it the same attention while my hands explore lower. Her stomach jumps under my palm as I slide it down the plane of her abdomen. Her legs part for me without hesitation, and I find her already wet.
“Fuck, you’re always so ready for me,” I growl against her breast.
She laughs, the sound catching on a moan when I circle her clit with my thumb. “Maybe I was having a great dream.”
I bite her nipple harder in response, making her yelp and then laugh again. “What were you dreaming about?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“You,” she admits, gasping when I slide two fingers inside her. “Your mouth.”
“Here?” I ask, kissing her throat. “Or here?” I move to her mouth, catching her lower lip between my teeth.
“Lower,” she breathes against my lips.
I grin, something feral and hungry. “Show me.”
Her hand in my hair tightens, guiding my head down her body. I go willingly, trailing kisses down her sternum, over her ribs, dipping my tongue into her navel. She squirms beneath me, impatient as always, but I take my time. I want her desperate by the time I reach her cunt.
When I finally settle between her thighs, her scent hits me like a drug—musk and sweetness and something uniquely Raven. I press my mouth to her inner thigh, biting hard enough to make her gasp before soothing the spot with my tongue.
“Matteo,” she groans, her hips lifting in invitation. “Stop teasing.”
I look up at her, meeting her gaze over the landscape of her body. “Make me.”
She pulls my face to where she wants me. I allow it, my tongue finding her clit as she guides me. The taste of her floods my mouth, and I groan against her flesh.
Her thighs tense on either side of my head as I lick into her, alternating between broad strokes and pointed flicks of my tongue.
“Oh God,” she moans throatily. “Just like that.”
I slide my hands under her ass, lifting her slightly for a better angle. The new position lets me push my tongue deeper, and her whole body jerks in response.
Her grip in my hair tightens to the point of pain, the sting only making me harder. I work her with relentless precision, reading every twitch and gasp until I find the rhythm that has her trembling.
Then her thighs begin to shake, her breathing turning ragged. I can feel her getting closer, her body tensing like a bowstring about to snap. I suck her clit between my lips, flicking my tongue across it while sliding two fingers back inside her.
“Fuck, Matteo, I’m going to—”
Her words cut off in a cry as her orgasm hits. Her body arches off the bed, her cunt pulsing around my fingers. Then something new happens—a rush of warmth floods my mouth as she comes harder than before, a gush of arousal that soaks my chin and the sheets beneath us.
Raven’s eyes fly open, shock and embarrassment warring with pleasure on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
I cut her off by licking my lips, making a show of tasting what she’s given me. “Don’t you fucking dare apologize,” I growl. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Relief flashes across her face, followed by something wilder. “Do it again,” she demands, pulling me back down to her.
I laugh against her sensitive flesh, making her shiver. “Greedy.”
But I obey, working her with renewed enthusiasm. When she comes a second time, another flood wets my face and throat, and I’m so hard I could shatter. I crawl up her body, positioning myself between her thighs.
“My turn,” she says, trying to flip our positions.
I catch her wrists, pinning them above her head with one hand. “Not today,” I tell her, guiding my cock to her entrance with the other. “I’m not done with you.”
She struggles halfheartedly, a grin playing at her lips. “Control freak.”
“You like it,” I remind her, pushing inside in one smooth thrust that has us both gasping.
I set a ruthless pace, driving into her with enough force to rock the bed against the wall. Her legs wrap around my waist, heels digging into my lower back as she meets each thrust. I keep her wrists pinned, maintaining control even when she bucks beneath me.
“Mine,” I growl against her ear, biting the lobe hard enough to make her gasp. “Say it.”
“Yours,” she moans, the word breaking on a deep thrust. “God, Matteo, right there.”
I angle my hips to hit the spot that makes her eyes roll back, feeling her tighten around me as another orgasm builds. She’s so fucking perfect like this. Hair wild across the pillow, lips swollen from my kisses, body flushed and marked with my possession.
When she comes for the third time, her entire body convulses beneath mine, her inner muscles clamping down so hard it’s almost painful. The sight of her completely undone, the feeling of her squeezing my cock is all it takes to push me over the edge.
“I love you,” I groan as I follow her into oblivion, emptying myself inside her in hot pulses. “Fuck, Raven, I love you.”
For several moments, there’s only the sound of our breathing, harsh and uneven in the morning light. I release her wrists, letting my forehead rest against hers as we both come down. Her eyes are closed, her expression unreadable.
“I have to work today,” I say finally, reluctant to break the moment but knowing I can’t stay.
She opens one eye. “Mhmm, okay. I’m going back to sleep,” she murmurs. A slow smile spreads across her face, lighting something in my chest. “You’ve worn me out.”
I kiss her one more time before forcing myself to get out of bed. Real life waits, but for once, I find I’m eager to get through it just to get back to her.
The moment I close Raven’s door behind me, I feel the shift in me. Maybe change isn’t the right word. It’s like the ruthless part of me merges with the side that just nutted while whispering confessions of love.
Huh, maybe both sides can coexist better than I ever thought possible. With that happy thought, I whistle as I make my way outside to my car.
My phone rings as I slide behind the wheel. Vito’s name flashes on the screen.
“Talk to me,” I answer, pulling into late morning traffic.
“The warehouse is secure,” he reports. “And I’ve got men watching the docks for tonight’s shipment.”
Even though he can’t see me, I nod. “Good. And who’s on Raven duty?”
Cleveland blurs past my windows while he tells me about the rotation I’m pretty sure he’s already explained, my mind sorting through the day’s priorities. A shipment is coming in tonight. Meeting with Rafe. The second explosion is still unsolved.
“Sounds good,” I say when Vito’s done talking. “Keep me updated if anything changes.” I end the call without waiting for a response.
At my building, I nod to the security guard, who straightens visibly when he sees me. The private elevator whisks me to the top floor in seconds. Inside my apartment, everything is exactly as I left it. It feels emptier than usual after Raven’s chaotic space.
I strip and step into the shower, letting scalding water sluice over me. Steam fills the glass enclosure as I scrub away the scent of sex and Raven. As soon as her smell is gone, I miss it. Luckily, I plan on getting it back tonight.
Dressed in a black suit that fits like armor, I check my appearance in the mirror. I fucking hate looking at the empty eye socket, so I quickly put on my eyepatch.
My mind takes me back to breakfast with my Little Thief where she wanted to see beneath the patch. Fuck me, I claim to love her, but I’ve never even shown her my weakness. My… imperfection, so to speak.
I wonder why that is. Is it because Raven’s attracted to shiny and pretty things? No, she’s not that shallow. If she was, she wouldn’t give my burned face the time of day. What she is is compassionate.