“Oh my God, I was ready to snap your head off,” I groaned as I bit into the most succulent lobster roll. Was it only last night when I was eating this with a fork and a knife?
This was way better.
We were sitting at an outdoor table. It was a bit chilly. But the view of the waves crashing against rocks was part of the seaside charm. Matteo gave me his jacket since I was unprepared.
“You’ve dribbled butter down your chin,” Matteo said.
I tried to swipe it with my tongue. “Did I get it all?”
His eyes darkened. Slowly, he put down his own sandwich, partly rose from his chair and leaned over to nibble at the corner of my chin, before landing a kiss on my lips. “There, that’s better.”
Trevor was at another table, out of earshot, with a few bodyguards whose names I’d forgotten.
“Are we still pretending?”
Matteo’s laughter rumbled in his chest. “We’re past pretend since I had my tongue deep in your pussy.”
My mouth fell open. This was the first time he’d made direct reference to our encounter last night. His eyes fell on my lips, and before he bit into his sandwich, he muttered something that made my ears burn.
“Matteo? What are we doing?” I asked in a hushed whisper.
He finished his sandwich, balled the wrapper, and dropped it on his plate, and pointed between us. “I wanna see where this goes.”
“And when did you make this decision?”
“On our way here.”
I cocked my head in dubious disbelief. “Really. Getting me to Maine, in the middle of nowhere, wasn’t premeditated?”
“I didn’t plan it,” he said. “You’ve talked to your uncle.”
This was true.
“I don’t like feeling trapped.”
“You make it sound like I have you here under duress.”
“What changed?”
“I’m liking you more than Daniel,” Matteo said. “And you’re not seeing him while you’re in my bed.”
“Wait a minute. That’s not possible. You’re forgetting, they’re my friends first before you.”
“I’m more than your friend,” he said.
“And I’m not in your bed.”
“Yet.”
Before I could say another word, he cut in, “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve grown more possessive of you…”
“Uh-oh, am I a recipient of the De Lucci curse.”
“I wouldn’t believe that bullshit.” He brushed it off.
“Okay, so the possessiveness you’re feeling,” I said slowly. “This has never happened with your girlfriends before?” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear the answer, but the gauntlet was thrown.
He took a big swig from his beer bottle without answering.
After a few seconds, I prodded. “Well?”
“I feel like you’re asking a trick question.”
“I won’t feel bad if you say yes,” I said. That was a lie, but like a masochist, I wanted to know.
“And if I say no?”
“Maybe I’d run the other way screaming.”
“See, it’s a trick question and you’re lying if you say you won’t feel bad because no woman wants to know that her boyfriend was feeling the same way about an ex.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of mansplaining there.”
The corners of his mouth tipped up.
“You’re not answering, are you?”
“It’s too soon to tell. How about you?”
I tilted my head in question.
His jaw tightened. “Are you going to pine for Daniel while we’re trying to see where this goes because that shit is not going to fly with me.”
“Did anybody tell you that you’re a demanding date? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t I be the one making demands?”
In reality, I hadn’t thought much about Daniel ever since Matteo spectacularly marked me with his cum last night. I guess that should have clued me in on the type of boyfriend he was going to be. Shit. Was I considering this?
“I brought you here. To the best lobster shack in Maine.”
Before I could respond, he added, “And you didn’t need to ask me. I paid attention.”
I pressed my lips together in tickled mirth. He did pay attention. Not to mention how endearing it was he learned to make latte art for me.
“Taking me here is sweet, and so was this morning’s cappuccino.”
He quirked his brow in a “see?” gesture.
I rolled my eyes. “Not too long ago we were trying to make Daniel jealous.”
“Did you miss the part where I said I was liking you more than Daniel?”
“No. But something more must have changed.”
He contemplated his words. “You deserve so much more. I backed off when I thought Daniel was interested, but now, with Santino after you…”
I stilled. “Are you saying this is because of chivalry?”
Matteo chuckled in that deep rumble. For that alone, I didn’t mind seeing where this went. I didn’t know why I was fighting it. Here was a man who wasn’t daunted by my family name, who could probably be as stubborn as Luca who was the biggest obstacle to my love life. Plus, Matteo grew up knowing the life.
“Chivalry? I don’t think chivalry had anything to do with marking you as mine.”
“You’re such a caveman.” My cheeks grew warm. I resisted the urge to hold the ice-cold blueberry soda bottle to my skin. This man made me warm all over. Would I have gone all the way with him? Or would I have stopped him?
His eyes gleamed as if he knew the direction of my thoughts. “I didn’t want to fuck you before you were ready.”
“Oh excuse me? And you thought I was ready to have your cum all over me.”
“You were wearing clothes bought for you by another man,” he argued.
“So if it were my own clothes, you wouldn’t have done it?”
“The temptation would be there. It’s been there since the night I brought you back to the apartment. You make me lose control.” He grinned in self-deprecation. “All through dinner last night I dreamt of ways to strip those clothes off you. I was thankful for the tablecloth.”
“Oh my God.” Realization dawned on me. “I was busy eating dinner across from you while you were sporting a hard-on.”
“I should have beat one out in the shower before meeting you.” He smirked.
“Matteo.” I held out both my arms in a helpless gesture. “I don’t know what this is between us. Real or fake?”
“It’s real.” He frowned. “I thought I made myself clear.”
“Not clear enough to me. Honestly, I don’t like the way you say it.”
He seemed taken aback. “Explain.”
“See where this goes?” I shook my head. “It’s like you have one foot out the door before we have even tried.”
“I don’t want to make a commitment…”
“Every time I hear a guy say this… How are you different from Daniel?”
He muttered an expletive. “You’re right.”
“I don’t think I’m cut out for casual,” I said. “I never was. And before you think it’s because of religion, if that were the case, I would have gone up in smoke every time I crossed the threshold of our church.”
He grinned. “You’re saying you’re not a prude.”
I leaned in closer. “I let you come all over my boobs. Prude is not in my vocabulary, but I’m not that way with just any guy.”
“I never thought you were.”
“I think I’m kind of liking you more than Daniel too.”
“I sure hope so.” His brows drew together again.
“I haven’t thought much about him since last night.”
His eyes gleamed in a way that told me he was thinking of the same moment as I was when he started to erase Daniel’s hold on my thoughts. “Good. Maybe marking you is working and I should do it more.”
“Do you always use sex as a weapon?”
He paused, took a sip of his beer, and thought some more. Finally, he said, “Dammit. It only seems it’s with you.”
I preened a little. I was finding I liked it when Matteo was possessive and he was annoyed at himself that he was. There was nothing more satisfying than a man who couldn’t help how he reacted, especially one who calculated his moves like the man before me.
“Where are we staying tonight?”
“The family has a compound in Bar Harbor. We’ll be meeting with a few of our men first.”
“When you mean family compound does it mean family?”
“Dad owns it, but he lets Dom use it for his men as long as it’s not for mob business.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s impressive how your dad has kept De Lucci Transnational’s reputation clean.”
He didn’t say anything again but guzzled his beer.
“You know,” I said. “Sooner or later what we can share or cannot share between us is going to be an issue if we go ahead with this relationship.”
Matteo drained his beer and then leaned in. Something funny crossed his face before saying, “If you’re done, we can meet the other guys, then head to the compound.”
I had a feeling those weren’t the words he’d been about to say.
