Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 135364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Him kissing me like -
My thoughts cut off when his lips move against my throat, slower now, softer, his fingers trailing along my bare shoulder like he’s memorising every inch of me.
“Come on,” he says. “Let’s take this upstairs.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Daphne
I raise an eyebrow as Matteo leads me through his home.
When we reach the top of the staircase, he opens a heavy, carved door to reveal his bedroom.
A king-sized bed dominates the centre of the room, dressed in crisp linens and a scattering of plush pillows. Heavy curtains frame a window that offers a breathtaking view of the city lights twinkling far below, and he gently places me down in the room as the door clicks shut behind us.
“Your home is so beautiful,” I find myself murmuring as I look out of the large window.
“Thank you,” he murmurs, his voice low and inviting. “I wanted somewhere to get away from all the chaos.”
It’s then that he steps closer, his fingers trailing down my waist in a caress that makes my skin tingle, and I’m thoroughly distracted from the beauty of Rome.
“You drive me fucking crazy,” he murmurs, his accent rich.
“Trust me, you’re equally insufferable,” I tease.
“Maybe,” he laughs. “But either way, tonight, I’m all yours.”
"Matteo," I whisper.
He hums against my skin. "Mmm?"
I should say something snarky. I should tease him.
But I don’t.
Because the way he’s looking at me right now - dark eyes full of something almost too intense to name - makes me forget how to do anything but feel.
I’m lost in the intensity of his gaze, my breath shallow as I try to collect myself.
His dark eyes are filled with something that both excites and unsettles me as his lips hover over mine, and I can feel the tension building between us, thicker than ever before.
It’s like every time I think I’ve caught my breath, he pulls me under again.
“Why do you always do this to me?” I murmur, barely able to keep my voice steady.
He grins, that cocky, devil-may-care smile lighting up his face as he leans closer.
“Do what? Make you want me?”
I roll my eyes, trying to maintain some semblance of control, but when one of his hands slides around my neck and fists into my hair whilst the other trails up the expanse of my thigh, all sense of reason flies out the window.
“Exactly that,” I whisper. “You make me lose my mind.”
Matteo chuckles against my skin, his hands skimming up and pushing my dress higher as he walks us backwards towards his bed.
His touch is firm - possessive in the best way possible - and my body responds before I can even process it.
“I love that I can do that to you,” he murmurs, his voice all gravelly and teasing. “And I think you love it more than you’ll admit.”
“Maybe I do,” I admit.
My voice is low - barely above a whisper - and I can’t quite believe what I’m saying.
“Maybe I like the way you make me forget everything.”
Matteo’s grin widens, and he lowers his head again, his lips finding mine with a renewed urgency.
He pushes me back against the bed before he joins me there. I lose myself completely; in the taste of him, in the way his body presses against mine as he pushes me further against the mattress, in the way his large, tanned hands roam with a mixture of tenderness and hunger.
Every second without him feels like fire burning through the space between us, and when he offers me reprieve, it’s far too easy to give in.
When he pulls away just enough to catch his breath, I’m dizzy, my chest heaving.
“I want you so much.”
The words hang in the air between us, and for a moment, I’m frozen.
It seems silly given everything that’s happened between us, but the weight of his words lands on me, and my chest tightens.
It’s one thing to feel this chemistry between us, but to hear him say it so simply, so matter-of-factly... it shifts everything.
Before I can respond, his lips crash into mine again, and this time, it’s like an explosion.
There’s no stopping it now. He’s pulling me closer, his hands gripping my waist, his body aligning with mine in a way that makes it impossible to breathe.
My thighs squeeze tightly around him as my clit pulses, and I don’t quite know how I’ve managed to contain this fire so far, can’t quite make sense of how on earth I’ve been resisting the urge to practically pounce on him, but I can’t fight it anymore.
I raise one of my legs a little higher over his waist as I shift below him, effectively lining myself up with where I know his hard cock to be, and groan into his mouth as I rock my hips upwards.
I know that when I look back on this, there’ll be a part of me that’s slightly mortified at the memory of dragging my panty-covered pussy over him like this, but it feels too good to care.