Matteo Read online

  I’m panting and flustered, slowly coming down from the high. He’s next to me, on his side, propped up on his elbow, gazing down into my face. His expression is one of pure frustration. He sighs harshly. “You’re magic, Ellie. Devastating and utterly irresistible.”

  Chapter 35

  She lies on her back, staring up at the ceiling. The light pouring in through the open windows illuminates her beautiful face in the dark. I slide my arm around her waist and pull her closer. I breathe her in. She smells like roses…and sex.

  She presses her body into mine, turning her head slightly, causing her breaths to feather my neck.

  “Y’know the first article I posted was about my father. He was cheating on his wife with an air hostess.” The sudden confession falls softly from her lips.

  “You broke that story?” I say incredulously. I remember when the story surfaced. I remember Elias Parker’s PR team working hastily with our firm’s entertainment law department to bury it quickly.

  Ellie swallows hard and nods. “His mistress – she was just a year older than me. I was so disgusted by him. So disgusted by the way the world seemed to think he was some sort of demi-god. Philanthropist. Business mogul. Family man. Meanwhile, he had a walk-in closet full of secrets. His wife protected them, either because she was dead-set on protecting the façade that he was a good man or because she was too doped up on prescription medication to care. Either way, I was always on the outside looking in. And I wanted to punish him and people like him for their duplicity.”

  I chuckle bitterly. “This generation’s version of vigilante justice?” Gotta find a way to make light of the situation because taking it seriously burns at my chest. Makes me want to bolt out of this bed and never look back.

  Her laugh comes out tight and strained then she falls silent for a while. “I just want you to understand that I never expected that my blog would become something. It started off as a way of getting back at my father. But then, I started getting traffic. People were sharing what I wrote. Advertisers came knocking…Success was right within reach. And then, I said to myself, ‘Look at me – I’m doing this. On my own. My father never gave two shits about me, but still, here I am, a goddamned success.’ It was addictive. The more salacious the story, the more people would read it and share it on social media and the more advertisers became interested in throwing money my way. I got lost in it all. I forgot that real people were getting hurt…That was until I saw the way you looked at me when you found out that I’m Eloise Benoit. That I’m the New York Flame.”

  My chest tightens. This woman’s work has hurt the people closest to me. Still, I can’t just walk away. My heart won’t let me. “I don’t get it, Ellie. I mean – I get it…but I don’t get it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If you want to know someone – really know about them – why don’t you just ask? Why do you stalk them, sneak around, invade their privacy, send paparazzi to track them? You’re an incredibly intelligent woman, Ellie. You should be doing work you’re proud of. Work you want to stamp your name on.”

  She spits a throaty laugh. “It’s not that simple.”

  “What do you mean, ‘it’s not that simple’?”

  “As if New York’s high society would just spill their deepest, darkest secrets to little old me if I merely ask them.”

  “You’d be surprised.” I trace my finger across her collarbone.

  She rises up onto her elbows, her face hovering inches above mine. “Okay. Let’s give it a try,” she challenges. “Tell me something no one knows about you.”

  I pull in a deep breath, letting my chest expand and then fall. I gaze into those spellbinding gray eyes. “I’m in love with a woman I have no business being with, but nothing can keep me away from her.”

  She gasps softly into the air.

  And just to clear up any doubts she might have, I add. “You’re mine, Ellie…So, I’m not going anywhere. I won’t let you go.”

  I hear her sniffle as she presses her lips against my throat. “I want to make a change, Matteo. I’m tired of lurking in the shadows…I want to stand in the sun.”

  Chapter 36

  Catalina was more than a little surprised to find me sitting at the breakfast bar, cutting up apples and pears for Tilly’s lunchbox when she rushed in at 7:45 this morning.

  I explained to her that Matteo was getting Tilly dressed for school and she just kind of rolled her eyes at me and mumbled something under her breath in Spanish. I think it was something about Matteo setting a bad example for his daughter by bringing loose women around…but my Spanish isn’t great so I can’t be sure.

  Within 15 minutes, Catalina is herding a cranky Tilly out the door, lunch box in one hand, umbrella in the other.

  Matteo strolls into the kitchen a few moments later looking like sex on a stick. He wears a pale blue shirt, buttoned all the way to the collar. A silver patterned tie hangs loose around his neck. His hair is damp and inky and brushed back off of his face.

  I tingle all over when his gaze locks on mine and he gives me a delicious smile. It’s not wicked or seductive. There’s no ulterior motive. It’s pure. It’s the smile a man gives the woman he’s in love with when he’s just happy to see her sitting in his kitchen first thing in the morning.

  “Thanks for packing Tilly’s lunch,” he says, bending to drop a kiss against my scalp. The hint of his aftershave warms me all over.

  “It’s the least I can do after I kept you up all night,” I throw him a grin and a wink.

  After making love twice, Matteo and I laid skin-to-skin and talked until dawn began to break. We shared stories about our childhoods, our families, our career goals…the future. I got to know him on a much deeper level. And although I’m not naïve enough to believe that one night of pillow talk means we know each other completely, I do know that that conversation meant a lot. The fact that Matteo would reveal to me some of the most intimate details of his life even after learning what I do for a living means that he trusts me. He’s serious about us and it makes me so happy I want to dance.

  Matteo pours himself a cup of the coffee that I just brewed and takes a seat opposite me at the breakfast bar. “So, what’s your day gonna be like?” he asks as he slides the bagel off of my plate and takes a bite.

  “Um – I’ve got a meeting with my CFO,” I say listing my tasks on my fingers. “Then, I’m meeting a potential hire for lunch. When I get back to the office, I’ll look over the stories going up on the site this afternoon. Then, drinks with one of my advertisers later this evening.”

  A look slides over Matteo’s face.

  “What?” I ask warily, studying his expression.

  “I’d like to see your office,” he says bluntly.

  My brows arch high. “Really?”

  “Yeah – I’d like to see your shadowy little lair where you whip up all that trouble.” He gives me a shallow smile.

  I run my tongue nervously across my top lip. “I didn’t expect that you’d be interested in that.”

  “Why not? I love you. I want to know everything about you. Your work is part of that.”

  I sigh. “You don’t have to do this, Matteo.”

  “Do what?” He takes another bite of my bagel.

  “Pretend you’re supportive of my work. I know that I do a scummy job. I know that you hate it. So, you don’t have to pretend.”

  He loops one end of his silky tie around the other, distractedly forming a crooked knot. “I’m curious about you. That’s all. I want to know everything about you. Ellie – you’re very important to me.”

  “What about your family? They’ll be furious when they find out that we’re still seeing each other.”

  “I’ll deal with my family. Don’t worry about them.”

  I sigh and stare down into the black pool that is my coffee.

  He crooks his finger under my chin, coaxing me to look him in the eye. “Ellie – it’s gonna be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

  I round
the breakfast bar and slide into his lap. “You could have any woman in this city and you choose the one that’s screwed your family over a million times.” I can’t bring myself to look at him as I carefully adjust the knot in his lopsided tie.

  He shakes his head and smiles that dimpled smile. “Before I met you, I was just one of the nine million people wandering aimlessly through this city in search of myself…but when I found you, I found me. I’m not letting you go. No matter what.”

  My heart tightens in my chest as I cling desperately to his every word. “I’m so lucky that I found you, Matteo.” I loop my arms around his neck and gently press my lips into his.

  “You’re worth it, Ellie. You’re worth all the trouble I’m about to go through.”

  Chapter 37

  The office is quiet. Almost everyone except Dove and me have gone home for the day and the few workers who are still around are working feverishly at their desks, headphones on, blasting loud music.

  I tap my fingers against the doorframe and wait for Dove to acknowledge me. “Hey…” she says with a cautious look in her eye. “What’s up?”

  I enter her office, swinging the door shut behind me. This only makes her appear tenser, her shoulders inching up towards her ears. “Hi,” I say as I sink into one of the chairs opposite her desk. I immediately begin to nibble on my fingernail.

  “What’s going on?” Her dark eyes narrow as she grabs a handful of dreadlocks and shoves it over her shoulder.

  “I’ve been thinking about what you said to me a few days ago. You’re right – my heart isn’t in this blog anymore. I’ve grown past it and it’s time for me to move on.”

  Her expression is frozen. She doesn’t say anything. She just stares right at me.

  So, I continue. “I started this blog as a ‘hate project’. I was an angry teenager out for revenge. But I’m not that person anymore. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

  “So, you’re just gonna shut the website down? You’re just gonna close up shop?” she looks incredulous. “Ellie – there are people here who depend on you. For their jobs. For their livelihood.”

  “I know that,” I say, sounding more defensive than I intend to “And, no – I’m not shutting the website down. I’m offering it to you. For sale.”

  Her eyebrows crinkle. “You want me to buy the blog?”

  I laugh at her dumbstruck expression. “Yes. I want you to buy the blog. You’re the best woman for the job.”

  She sits there, glaring at me. “Don’t mock me, Ellie. I can barely afford my rent. You know damn well I can’t afford to buy this business from you.” She’s insulted and it’s written all over her face. She looks like she’s ready to tear my head off.

  I hold up a palm to stop her. “Don’t worry. We’ll work something out. I’ll give you a reasonable price and we can set up some payment terms. Maybe you can start paying me in a few months once you’ve gotten comfortable at the helm of the business. I don’t know – I’ll hire a lawyer to help us figure it out…I want this to be fair for you. I just really need to move on with my life.”

  She purses her lips as she studies me and considers my offer. “I’ve never run a company before...”

  I throw my head back and laugh. “Are you kidding me? Neither had I when I launched this thing. I was just a kid. I’d never even had a job aside from my weekend gig at the burger joint on campus…Besides, it’s felt like you’ve been the one running this place while my brain’s been on coffee break over the past few weeks. I’m convinced that you’d do a much better job than I ever could.”

  She picks up a pen and taps it lightly against the keyboard of her laptop. “I guess we could work something out…” she says slowly.

  I jump out of my seat. “That’s great, Dove. I was hoping you’d say that.”

  She stands too and rounds her desk, her hand outstretched to me. “Deal.”

  Screw shaking hands right now. I lunge right at her and wrap her in a bear hug. “Deal!”

  Chapter 38

  Waking up to find the warm, supple lips of the woman you love wrapped around your cock?

  Priceless.

  I gasp and whimper like a poor sucker as Ellie flicks her tongue back and forth against the pulsing tip. My head feels light and my skin is humid against the tousled sheets. Her nails dig into my sides and she moans when spurts of pre-cum dart into her mouth. My fingers curl at the roots of her wild, messy hair and I’m helpless. She has all the power.

  Despite my foggy state of mind, I take a mental photograph of the visual in front of me. Her naked ass looks divine – it’s sticking up in the air as the rising sun peeks in through the blinds, illuminating her perfect backside. What a way to start the day!

  This image will get me through the day.

  And just when I think that this blowjob can’t get any better than it already is, her pretty gray eyes flicker to my face and shine up at me.

  It’s not even fair.

  It’s all over for me now.

  I grunt out her name as my hips jerk off of the mattress and my entire body goes stiff. She sucks even harder, her head bobbing fast in my lap. My cum shoots into her mouth and she accepts it willingly. Her lips don’t leave my dick until she’s swallowed every last drop.

  That’s my girl.

  I drop against the sheets, panting for air. This woman just blew my fucking mind. She crawls up my body until her face is hovering over mine. She wears a wicked grin on her lips. “Good morning…”

  I smile as best I can manage. “It’s a great morning.”

  She kisses me hard. My cock is revving up for another round. I grab her by the waist and flip her over onto her back before climbing on top of her.

  “It’s my turn,” I say, licking my lips. I’m gonna eat that little pussy up for breakfast.

  She laughs, wiggling her way out from under me. “Can’t. I’ve got a meeting with my new lawyer this morning.”

  Disappointment crashes into me. “What about?”

  She chortles. “Wouldn’t you like to know, Mr. Moretti? Unfortunately for you, you lost that privilege when your firm stopped representing me.”

  I watch as she rolls out of bed and slides into my bathrobe. “Ahhh – c’mon! You’re not still mad about that, are you?”

  She grins widely. “No – I’m not mad. But I can’t tell you why I’m meeting with the lawyer. At least, not yet. It’s a surprise. You’ll like it. A lot.”

  I groan. “You aren’t gonna make me guess, are you? Because I’m awful at guessing.”

  “No, I won’t make you guess. I’ll tell you – no, I’ll show you – at lunch. Are you free around 1:00?”

  I smile at the idea of seeing her in the middle of my day. “I’m free.”

  “Great! I’ll text you the address!” She grabs a pillow from off of the floor and giggles as she tosses it at me before stepping into the bathroom.

  Chapter 39

  The printer next to my desk rumbles to life, spitting out page after page of the letter of intent I asked my new lawyer to prepare outlining the terms of my offer to sell the New York Flame to Dove. I’d told that woman to keep the document simple but from the looks of it, ‘simple’ hovers around 35 pages.

  Lawyers…

  Once the printer stops vomiting out paper, I scoop up the document and shoot Dove a text message, telling her to stop by my office.

  Within a few minutes, she’s standing in my doorway, a mug of coffee in hand. “Hey,” she says as she drops into a chair. She looks utterly exhausted.

  “Whoa – you look like you were up to no good last night,” I remark. “Hot date?” I throw her a suggestive wink.

  “I wish,” she groans, rubbing her fist against her tired eyes. This is the first time I’ve seen her with bags under her eyes and without a bright shade of lipstick painted on her lips. “I was up all night reading and researching and trying to absorb all I need to know to run this damn company.”

  I nod at her. “Hmm. Good thinking.” I staple togeth
er the corner of the letter of intent and slide it across the desk to her. “The lawyer emailed me a draft of the sale document. Read it through and let me know if we need to change anything.”

  Dove nods as she quickly scans through the document. Her palm slides over her mouth as she tries, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn.

  “I’ll call her to set up an appointment at her law firm next week so we can sign this baby and get it over with.” I reach for my cellphone and check the time. I’m meeting Matteo for lunch in 25 minutes.