Chapter 31
Present
Upper-East Side, New York City
I woke slowly, like the morning didn’t want to rush me.
White sheets tangled around my legs, warm and soft. Sunlight spilled through the windows in lazy gold ribbons, dust dancing in the air like it was part of a dream. Everything felt suspended – quiet, intimate, unreal.
I shifted slightly and became aware of him.
Matteo was already awake. I could feel it in the way his chest was steady beneath my cheek, in the gentle, unhurried circles his fingers were tracing on my bare skin. Possessive. Present.
He was watching me, I realized. Watching me sleep like it was something precious.
I tilted my head up, meeting his gaze.
His expression softened instantly, like he’d been waiting for me to wake up.
A warm smile curved my lips. “Good morning…”
His answering smile was slow and devastating. “Good morning, baby.”
Something fluttered low in my stomach. I lifted myself just enough to kiss him, intending it to be sweet, lazy – morning-soft.
Matteo’s hands slid firmly into my back and he pulled me over, onto him, deepening the kiss until it stole the breath right out of my lungs.
My palms braced on his chest as his mouth claimed mine, slow at first, then fuller, unhurried but sure.
Like he had all the time in the world. Like he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
I melted into him with a soft whimper. He answered it with one of his own groans, low and pleased, his arms wrapping around me completely as if to say there was nowhere else I needed to be.
The kiss stretched – warm, lingering, intoxicating. His lips moved against mine with a familiarity that made my chest ache in the best way. He kissed me like morning sunlight felt. Like promise. Like home.
When we finally pulled back, I stayed right there on top of him, breathing him in, smiling without meaning to.
If this was how the day started, I had a feeling neither of us was getting much done.
He brushed his thumb along my shoulder. “How does breakfast in bed sound, mi amor?”
I smiled back, lazy and warm. “Perfect.”
He pulled away. “Alright. You stay here and relax. I’ll get it done.”
I pushed myself up on my elbows, sheets sliding down my waist. “Wait,” I said, suddenly alert. “You’re leaving?”
He glanced over his shoulder as he pulled on his boxers, amused. “To get you breakfast. Yes.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
He shook his head, that sexy frown settling on his face. “You should stay here and relax. We had a long night.”
A slow smirk curved my lips. I reached out, caught his bicep, and pulled him back to me. “Not long enough…”
His answering smirk was immediate. “Dangerous thing to say,” he murmured, but let himself be pulled down easily, his weight falling back onto me with a soft laugh. The sheets rustled as he landed above me, one arm bracing his weight, the other sliding to my waist.
We kissed – deep, unhurried, full. The kind of kiss that made the world shrink to just breath and warmth and the quiet sounds we pulled from each other.
I wrapped my legs around him instinctively, drawing him closer, feeling the slow, deliberate way he pressed into me, careful and controlled, like he was savoring every second.
There was no rush. Just heat building under skin.
Just the steady rhythm of us moving together, mouths meeting and parting, foreheads touching, breaths mingling.
His hand slid up my side, grounding, intimate, while mine traced the lines of his shoulders, memorizing him like I hadn’t already done so a hundred times.
I bit his lip. “I can’t get enough.”
Matteo groaned. “Goddamn… Baby, you’re killing me over here… Have mercy.”
“Do something about it, then, Capo.”
“You’re not gonna trick me into this again.”
“Matteo…”
“I already fucked you too hard last night. And then slower but much, much longer after the shower.”
“I want more,” I argued back, reaching down to palm his dick through his boxers, but he stopped me. He had to stop doing that.
“Don’t even think about it. I want you to eat some breakfast and relax. Maybe then, I’ll take care of this greedy, little pussy.”
I grinded into him, pouting. “Fine…”
He pulled back, straightening to his knees, but holding my eyes.
I bit my lip.
Matteo didn’t look away as he wrapped his arms around my thighs and pulled me down the mattress.
“I thought…”
“You’re still sore, aren’t you?”
I blushed. “A little…”
“Let me kiss it better then, mi amor.”
I barely had time to enjoy my victory before Matteo pressed his face to my pussy, inhaling me deep before opening his mouth wide and starting to eat me out – hungry and desperate.
He knew my body so well, my orgasm came fast, rocking through me withing minutes. And he didn’t stop until he licked me all clean.
He wiped his mouth as he pulled away. “Better?”
I smirked, stretching my arms. “Much…”
Slapping my ass, Matteo stood and nodded towards the door with a smirk. “Let’s get you something to eat.”
Two days.
Two entire days of Matteo and me tucked away in our home like the world outside didn’t exist.
No calls. No meetings. No business. Just us.
We cooked when we got hungry, though half the time we ended up on the marble counter instead of at the dinner table.
We played cards and argued about who cheated more.
We showered together and didn’t bother pretending it was innocent.
We barely slept – only collapsed into each other for a few hours before finding an excuse to touch again.
I’d never known something could feel reckless and safe at the same time.
But my favorite part, the part I never admitted out loud, happened every morning, after waking up in his strong arms.
The rooftop was cold before dawn, the kind of sharp chill that woke every nerve. A massive blanket draped over our shoulders, heavy and soft, smelling faintly of Matteo’s cologne. The city below still slept, washed in navy blue and silver.
I felt his arms tighten around me as I leaned back into his chest, sinking between his legs on the outdoor sofa. His body was a furnace against the late winter air, all solid muscle and slow, steady breathing.
He had asked me to join him to watch the sunrise when we first moved in. I always said no. Thought it was too intimate.
Now I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
The horizon burned from deep blue to honey gold, light spilling over skyscrapers and glinting off windows like scattered coins. Snow on the terrace railing caught the glow, turning it into diamonds.
I lifted my gaze.
Matteo was already watching me.
Those brown eyes softened in the way that made something inside my chest unravel. Like I was the sunrise, not the ball of fire on the horizon.
“What?” I whispered, barely a breath.
He didn’t answer. Just dipped his head and brushed his lips over mine with ridiculous tenderness for a man who could break skulls without blinking.
Warmth bloomed under my skin – hotter than the sun touching our faces.
I kissed him back, slow and lingering, letting the new day pour gold around us. The city woke, cars honked far below, but up here it felt like the world held its breath.
Just me and Matteo.
No pretending.
Only us.