Chapter 27 Matteo #2
“Thank fuck,” I said kissing her again, punishing this time for being a little brat.
Her tongue tasted like espresso and sugar, and it danced with mine.
I backed her against the door, before I slid both my arms under her and whispered, “Hold on,” hoisting her up.
Her legs immediately wrapped around my hips.
I was barely thinking anymore; I wanted to live in this moment, be fucking consumed by it.
“I’ve been losing my damn mind,” I rasped, voice rough in the dim glow of the room, my hands gripping her waist like she might disappear if I let go. My thumbs pressed into the soft dip of her hips, and she arched into me, breath catching.
“It’s been fourteen days of pure misery without you.” I dragged my mouth along the curve of her neck, savoring the way she trembled. “Since I’ve had you in my arms.” Her moan nearly undid me. “And I’m fucking starved, Princess.”
Everything I’d kept on a leash since the second I saw that photo—the lace, the teasing smile she wore just for me—came crashing down like I’d been holding my breath underwater.
She threaded her fingers through my hair, tugging just enough to make my pulse stutter. I kissed my way down her jaw, over that spot just beneath her ear that made her gasp like I was a sin she shouldn’t want this badly.
“You wore it for me,” I murmured against her skin, voice low and reverent.
She didn’t answer with words—just pressed her chest to mine, the delicate lace of that blue bustier brushing my shirt, and it made my brain short-circuit. My hands glided up her sides, fingertips tracing the boning of the corset, feeling the tremble beneath her breath.
“I did,” she whispered finally, her lips grazing mine. “But you better take your time with it. This set’s too pretty to rip.”
My laugh was half-growl, half-despair. “You’re killing me.”
She tilted her head, smug and sweet and everything I’d been craving. “You started it.”
I backed her toward the couch near the back of the room, slow, savoring every second of this like a man finally letting himself feel again. “Trust me, Amore, I plan to finish it too.”
She shivered, knees hitting the edge of the couch, and I leaned in—mouth ghosting over hers—as I slid my hands down her thighs. For a moment, I just looked at her. Cheeks flushed, hair tousled, a smile that knocked the breath out of me.
Not just the woman I wanted in my bed—but the one I couldn’t stop picturing in my future.
“Matteo,” she said softly, fingers catching the hem of my shirt.
I kissed her before she could say anything else. Slow at first. Reverent. Then deeper, hungrier, because I had missed it. Missed her.
She tasted sickly sweet. Like something I’d give everything to keep, happily addicted forever.
Clothes were pulled off in a blur of heat and hands and breathless laughter. Every sigh, every soft gasp was mine. I worshiped every inch of her like I’d been waiting my whole life for that moment.
And maybe I had.
Because when she clung to me, nails digging into my back, and whispered my name like a prayer—there was no circuit, no podium, no championship in the world that came close to the way that felt.
Like home.
“I have to tell you something,” Nicola whispered between kisses. I paused at her words and pulled back.
“Are you okay?” I asked. It was easy to see her anxiety now, her eyebrows creased, and her eyes looked stormy.
She nodded, and her voice was barely audible. “I got a promotion.”
I blinked. She was grinning so wide it was almost painful to look at. “The promotion. It’s chairwoman of the board for the Foundation.”
My heart stuttered, then pride slammed into me, knocking the air clean out of my lungs. “You’re serious?”
She nodded, biting her lip like she was trying to hide her smile. Pointless. It only made me want to kiss her senseless.
“Nic—” Her name broke out of me, rough, and I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything except touching her, holding her, making her feel what was storming through me. “You’re incredible.”
She cocked a brow, smug as ever. “So now I’m technically your boss? Or at least higher up than you.”
My voice dipped low. “Well, you’ve always been better than me. Smarter. Sharper. More stubborn. And now? Officially promoted. Which means”—I dipped to her ear, my lips brushing the shell—“I get to brag I’m dating the Nicola Moretti.”
Her laugh cut off in a gasp when my hands slipped under her bra, fingers spreading across warm skin.
“Matteo—”
“You have no idea how proud I am of you,” I murmured, pressing my forehead to hers. “How lucky I am. I could spend forever telling you, but I’d rather show you.”
Her breath hitched, her hands fisted in my shirt as she yanked me down into a kiss.
Hungry. Familiar. A year of bickering between us twisted now into something hotter, deeper, unshakable.
She wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me closer with a wicked smile.
“Guess you’ll have to listen to your boss, then. ”
I grinned against her mouth, already lost, already hers. “Baby, I’ll follow your orders all night.”
Her breath stuttered, her nails digging into my shoulders as I mouthed down her throat, then her collarbone, sucking hard enough to mark her. She gasped my name when I bit lightly, my hands already working open the button of her pants.
“Matteo, we need to be quiet—”
“Fuck that,” I growled, spreading her legs with my hips, dragging her panties aside so I could slide my fingers against the wet heat waiting for me. “Fuck, baby…already dripping for me.”
Her head fell back, a strangled moan tearing out of her as my thumb circled her clit and two fingers pushed inside, stretching her tight around me.
“You get a promotion,” I rasped, curling my fingers until she cried out. “And I get the privilege of watching my brilliant, gorgeous girl fall apart on my hand.”
She bucked against me, nails clawing my skin, her panting breaths breaking on my name. I pressed my mouth to hers, swallowing every sound as I worked her harder, faster, my free hand gripping her thigh tight.
“Matteo—God, I’m gonna—”
“That’s it, Princess. Let go for me.”
Her body bowed against mine, and she shattered—trembling, gasping, clenching hard around my fingers. I kept working her through it, kissing her like I’d never stop.
When she finally collapsed against me, trembling and spent, I slid my fingers free and sucked them into my mouth, groaning at the taste of her. Her eyes went wide, cheeks flushed scarlet.
“Promotion looks good on you,” I said with a wicked grin. “But I’m not done celebrating yet. Not even close.”
Her chest was still heaving when I popped the button on my jeans, her eyes flicking down as I shoved denim and briefs out of the way.
“Matteo,” she whispered, breathless, almost warning.
But she was already spreading her legs wider, already tugging me closer. My cock pressed against the damp heat of her panties, and I nearly lost it right there.
“You sure?” I rasped, though my body was already trembling with the need to be inside her.
She bit her lip and nodded, whispering, “Always.”
That’s all I needed. I hooked my fingers in the lace and dragged the panties aside with a bit more force than I intended, the fabric ripping.
I needed her now. I could replace the lace.
Hell, I’d buy her hundreds. I sank into her in one hard, desperate thrust, my need to be inside her taking over any rational thought.
“Fuck—Nic.” My forehead dropped against hers, a guttural sound tearing out of me as her tight heat clamped down around me. “You feel…so fucking perfect.”
She gasped, nails digging into my back, pulling me deeper. “God, Matteo—move—”
And I did. My hips snapped forward, hard and relentless, the slap of skin on skin echoing in the quiet room. Her moans rose with every thrust.
“You’re mine,” I growled into her mouth, teeth catching her bottom lip before kissing her hard. “My beautiful girl.”
Her hands fisted in my hair, tugging me closer, gasping against my lips. “Yours,” she panted. “Always yours.”
That undid me. I shifted, angling her hips up so I could hit her deeper, and she cried out, her head falling back. I mouthed down her throat, sucking another mark into her flushed skin, every part of me aching with how badly I needed her to come undone again.
“Matteo—oh God—”
“Yeah, that’s it, baby. Take it. Let me feel you squeeze me.” My thumb found her clit, circling tight and fast as I fucked her harder. Her thighs locked around my waist, pulling me impossibly closer.
She was trembling, eyes fluttering shut, moans spilling out of her like music. “I’m—fuck—I’m gonna—”
“Come for me,” I gritted out, teeth clenched, fighting to hold on as she writhed under me. “Give it to me, Nic. I want all of it.”
Her body bowed, every muscle straining as she shattered, pulsing tight around me, her cry muffled when I swallowed it in a kiss. The feel of her squeezing me sent me over the edge—my hips slammed forward one last time, and I spilled deep inside her with a groan that ripped through me.
For a long moment, it was just ragged breaths and the sound of her heartbeat pounding against my chest. I pressed my forehead to hers, still buried inside her, both of us shaking from the high.
“Promotion celebration,” I muttered with a weak grin, brushing my lips over hers. “Think we did it justice.”
She laughed, breathless, tugging at my hair until I kissed her again, softer this time.
“Matteo?” she whispered against my mouth.
“Yeah, baby?”
“You owe me new lingerie,” she sighed, gesturing to the ripped blue lace panties.
I chuckled, kissing her harder, still not ready to let go. “Worth it.”