MATEO

by K. L. Savage

  When it closes, I fall against the bed and groan, covering my face with my hands.

  Mateo laughs and the sound causes a chain reaction, which makes me chuckle too.

  “She’s going to want every dirty detail. Libby loves details.”

  Mateo throws the blanket off me and pulls me back against him, his cock sliding inside me again. “Then we better work on those details, Stellina.”

  Well in between those details is the devil.

  Mateo Moretti.

  Wrapped in sin and bad intentions.

  It’s the next morning and Nora is in my bed, naked. The sheets have fallen to her hips and I’m left staring at her back. I take a minute to marvel the beautiful creature in my bed. Her spine curves down her back, leading to two dimples settled above her ass. I have the wildest urge to kiss a path down the elegant line, but I can’t. I have a few things to do and I know Nora has class soon, which my driver will take her to.

  I might not use my driver, but that does not mean I do not have one for purposes such as these. I won’t have my lady going to school in a taxi. That’s despicable.

  I tug the sheets up her body and kiss the top of her head, which causes her to rouse. Her turns to her side and lifts those curly brown lashes and slays me with the piercing blue of her eyes. My pocket buzzes, telling me Zio is waiting for me down in the new club.

  Club Lussuria.

  I can’t fucking wait for it to open. All the inspiration came from my Stellina. The entire resort is changing. She didn’t get to see it last night when we got here because she was asleep, so I carried her to our home.

  The vibe has changed in my business. The outside of the building is painted black, and a blue neon sign says ‘Lussuria’ in cursive. It’s beautiful. Already the foot traffic has increased and profits are up. The inside got made over too. I added long curtains of purple silk to hang down the walls and the lights in the chandeliers have been changed to blues, violets, and whites. The environment has changed. The theme, of course, is seduction.

  Now, I feel like this place is mine.

  “Good morning,” she says sleepily. She stretches her arms above her head and stretches, which causes the sheet to fall below her breasts. A rumble of pleasure sounds in my chest, vibrating my throat and my hands fondle the mound. My cock stirs, which is surprising considering how much I’ve come in the last twelve hours.

  “Good morning, Stellina,” I greet her, watching as she becomes breathless from my touch. Frustrated, I yank my hands away and readjust my cock.

  “You don’t have to stop.” She reaches for my belt, biting that damn lip, and rubs my shaft with her palm.

  “Amore mio, I wish I could stay, but I can’t. I have so many things to do today and I have a meeting with my second—” I let slip, then press my lips together to stop me from saying anything else. I’ve been nothing but open and honest with her, but she does not know that I am the head of the mafia here in Las Vegas, that it is a family business, and I do not want to give her reasons to be afraid of me.

  “Your second?” she asks, pushing herself up. She leans against the headboard.

  Cazzo.

  I exhale and take a step away, shove my hands in my pockets and debate if I want to tell her the truth. I’m starting over, building the mafia from the ground floor again after everything that has happened. I can’t promise her there will not be danger.

  And if she chooses to leave me…

  Well.

  That can’t happen. She’ll learn to love me over time.

  “Does this have to do with you being in the mafia?” she asks. “It’s weird to call someone your second.” She reaches for the glass of water on the nightstand and takes a sip.

  Can she read minds?

  I tug on my suit sleeves, unaware of how to answer the question. My cufflinks sparkle in the light, the diamond letter M’s catching the morning rays of the sun.

  “I figured. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. You’re a rich, badass Italian who is very powerful. I put two and two together. Common sense and all. You’re in the mafia.” She takes a swallow of water. “That’s cool.”

  “Cool?” I echo her words.

  “Yeah, cool. So what do you do?”

  “I’m… the boss.”

  She sputters her water, and it drips down her chin. “The boss? Like the head guy?”

  I cage her in with my arms and lean forward. “The one and only, Stellina.”

  She bites that damn lip and curls her arms around her legs. “That’s—”

  “—A lot, I know. I’ve done things, I do things, that society frowns upon. But it’s my way of life, Nora. You are still safe with me. I meant what I said. The safest place you can be is with me. My life can be dangerous, but I swear, Stellina, I will never let the danger touch you.”

  “I know,” she says, pressing her cheek against my hand. “I… trust you.”

  When she says that, a twinge of guilt hits me in the chest and the letter in my coat pocket burns like a flame to wood. I should tell her I have it. I don’t want our relationship built on lies, but until I can do something about her mother’s situation, it’s best if I don’t tell her that I know about her past.

  A horrible experience she has yet to tell me.

  I don’t blame her. It’s not a topic I can imagine she ever wants to talk about and she doesn’t have to. I understand and I will be there for her, fighting her demons silently so she can rest like she deserves. She’s suffered enough.

  “You have no idea how much that means to me,” I state, darting my eyes over her face to memorize every inch. “I won’t let you down.”

  “Come back to bed. I’ll skip school today and we can hide under the covers all day and night.” She pulls on my arm and it is a tempting offer to lay in bed with her all day, make love, fuck, and feel my come drip from her tight cunt that’s only known my cock.

  Oh, that sounds so fucking good.

  “I wish I could, Stellina. Oh, how I wish I could, but I can’t. I have multiple things to do today and you can’t miss your economics exam. It’s thirty percent of your grade.”

  She holds the blanket to her chest as she throws her legs over the bed and stands. Her front is all that is covered, and the sides of the blanket hang on either side of her body. A reflection in the window teases my peripheral. When I set my eyes on the glass, my temptation to have her grows.

  Her back shows, the round curve of her ass seducing me, and a hint of a faint pink handprint still lingers on her skin.

  Dio mio.

  “How do you know my class schedule and what I have to do?” she narrows her eyes at me and tilts her head to the left as she analyzes me.

  “Stellina, there isn’t anything about you that I don’t know. Get ready, I’ll have Diego take you to campus.”

  “You can’t?”

  “I wish I could, but I have a meeting. I’ll see you later, at seven, okay? Come back here and get dressed. I’m taking you out tonight.” It’s the grand opening of Club Lussuria and there are some last-minute touches that need to be completed. It’s why my presence is needed there. “I can’t wait to see you tonight.” I wrap my arm around her waist and yank her against my body. “There will be gifts waiting for you here in my absence.”

  “Oh, I love gifts,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck. “What kind?”

  “The secret kind.” I slap her ass and watch the flesh bounce in the window. “Fuck, I need to get away from you or I’ll never work again, and I’m the kind of man that can live a poor life. Go get ready, I’ll have Zio come get you in thirty minutes.”

  “Zio?”

  “My Uncle Giovanni. He will escort you through the resort and ride with you to campus and then walk with you to your class.”

  “I don’t need him to take me to class,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes at me as she rubs her chest against mine before turning right and striding toward the restroom. “I’ll be fine.”

  I lunge forward and gr
ip her wrist, then spin her around. Her body slams against mine and the breath is forced out of her lungs. “He will be taking you to class.” I yank the blanket off her and unzip my pants.

  Fuck the meeting. I can be late.

  I don’t give her time to argue or sass me. I’m turned on and a little mad. I take her arm and fling her around until the front of her body hits against the bathroom door. With the back of my hand, I cup the back of her head and apply pressure, then grab the base of my aching cock and slam into her. She’s still wet from all of our love making last night into the early morning hours.

  She moans and I begin a brutal, fast pace, slamming into her tight cunt without regret. “And don’t you dare fucking roll your eyes at me again.” My right hand grips her hip to keep her still as I thrust. I stare between us at the connection, watching my cock saw in and out, becoming coated in her juices. This is going to be quick.

  Usually, I love hours and hours of foreplay, but I don’t have time for that today.

  I bury myself as far as I can, my eyes glued to us. Her ass shakes and her whimpers drive me to pound into her harder. “Fucking roll your eyes at me like I don’t know what is good for you,” I sneer, slamming into her over and over again. “I know what is best for you and you will listen to me. Do you understand?”

  She doesn’t say anything but remains silent, her pleasure taking over.

  “Are you listening to me?” I bring my hand down on her ass. The tingle at the base of my cock warns me that I’m about to lose it. I hook my hands onto her shoulder, slamming her body down as I punch forward, flexing my hips as hard as I can. “Every time you roll your eyes, I’m going to fuck this cunt without apology, without care, and I’m going to make you fucking feel me between your legs every time you walk,” I grunt when my orgasm barrels through me, planting myself as deep as I can inside her.

  Feeling the hot spurts of my come bathing her walls, she tosses her head back and milks my cock. She pulls my come into her womb, drinking every drop as if she’s dying of thirst. She sags against me and I press a kiss to the side of her neck, humming when I feel how warm she is from her orgasm.

  “You drive me insane, Stellina,” I say, groaning when I pull out of her heat to tuck myself back in my pants.

  “If not listening to you means you fucking me like that, I might make a habit of it.”

  I squeeze a hand around her throat and lift her head until her lips are just a breeze away from mine. “Next time, I might not let you come.”

  She gasps, cheeks flushing, and when I look down, I notice my seed dripping down her thighs. I’ll have to invest in a plug to make sure I’m always inside her with no escape. “I think you might like that,” I notice, and with every ounce of will power I have, I step back and double check to make sure I don’t have fluids on my pants.

  I’m in the clear.

  “Maybe,” she says honestly.

  “I want to explore everything you desire, and I wish that could happen right now, but it can’t.”

  “It’s okay. For the longest time I didn’t think I was capable of being attracted to someone like I am attracted to you. You’ve made me want.”

  “Dio mio, when you say things like that it makes me possessive. You don’t know how much it turns me on that I’m your first everything and you’ve only wanted me.” I crash my lips against hers, shoving my tongue into her mouth when I feel my cock stir again, I know I need to find the strength to walk out this door. I’ll be in here all damn day if I don’t.

  “You. Get in the bathroom. Get to class. And Zio will be there to protect you. Don’t roll your eyes.”

  She’s struggling to listen, but she does, and eventually nods her head.

  “And you better hope Benji doesn’t speak to you again. Things won’t end well if he doesn’t leave you alone.”

  “You can’t tell me who to be friends with!” she raises her voice, but it’s hard to fight with her when she’s standing naked in front of me.

  The look I give her must place a hint of fear in her heart, because she takes a step away from me. “He wants to fuck you. No one else fucks you but me.”

  “He’s just a friend!”

  “Does he know that? If not, I’ll be sure to tell him myself,” I snarl.

  “Oh, don’t you dare be a controlling bastard about who I can and cannot be friends with. If you intimidate him or harm him in anyway with your… mafia men—” she waves her hand over my body “—I will not talk to you and we will not be together.”

  “Do not threaten me!” I sneer. “You are mine, and nothing you do or say will change that and you know it.”

  Nora stomps into the bathroom and slams the door. It shakes the entire room, and my hands fall to the either side of the wall and I hang my head. I don’t like fighting with her. This fucking sucks. “Stellina,” I sigh her name, a heavy ache clenching my heart. “I don’t like fighting with you.”

  I hear her sniffling behind the door, crying, and I lay my hand against the door. “Please, open the door. I don’t want to go on about my day knowing you’re mad at me.” I wait a moment and every second that passes by without her opening the door has me debating to knock the damn thing down.

  Finally, the click of the lock sounds and the door swings open. Her blue eyes are blinding, shot from crying, and the tip of her nose is red.

  “Perdoname, amore mia,” I apologize first, knowing it was me that was being unfair. It’s been too long since I’ve been in a relationship. “I’m a jealous, possessive asshole, Stellina. I only want you for myself.”

  “You have to trust me,” she says, clutching the towel to her chest to hide her body. “I’ll tell him I’m in a relationship, but don’t threaten him. He said if I wasn’t interested, he was glad to be my friend, and I want friends, Mateo. I’ve never been the type to just have them. So please, let me do this my way.”

  I cup her face with my hands and kiss away the tears crashing against the apples of her cheeks. “Si, Stellina. You have my word. Zio is going to go with you to make sure you’re safe, okay? Being with me might bring my enemies forward and I need to know you’re safe. Please?”

  “I can work with compromises,” she says, agreeing with my terms.

  “Grazie, Stellina. Thank you.” I pepper one last kiss against her lips then yank the towel off her to get one last look at her gorgeous body before I leave.

  “Mateo!” she squeaks, reaching for the towel in my hand.

  I lift the towel in the air so she can’t reach, then throw it above her head until it hits the floor of the bathroom. “I had to get one last peek to get me through the day.” I back away from her and this time bite my own lip. “Seductress,” I call her.

  “Stop it,” she says, suddenly coy.

  “Never, Stellina. I’ll never stop telling you how beautiful and tempting you are.” I blow her a kiss and open the bedroom door. “Good luck on your test today. I…” I almost say I love you for the first time, which silences me. I haven’t said those words since Lucia died, not even to my second wife. “I’ll miss you,” I say instead, knowing it’s too soon to tell her that I’m in love with her. She’d run scared.

  Love is the only feeling that can explain this need inside me, this passion, the overwhelming urge to protect her at all costs.

  If that isn’t love, what is?

  “I’ll miss you too.” She leans her head against the wall and watches me walk out the door.

  I’m happy I got to leave on better terms with her but leaving her regardless sucks. I’d rather just have make up sex all day, but adult life doesn’t allow that option all the time. She has school, I have work, and money is what makes the world go ‘round. Without money, where would we be as individuals?

  Nowhere good.

  I pat my pockets and double check to make sure I have everything I need for the day before heading out the front door. When it closes behind me, it automatically locks, keeping my most precious and important thing in my life safe.

  Heading
down the hall, I let out a long breath I didn’t realize I was holding. The day suddenly feels heavy and I can’t wait for it to be over. I get to the door at the end of the hallway and push it open, then watch it lock to make sure no one can get in. Only people who are approved in the system can get past the scanner against the wall to allow them down the hall to my front door.

  My phone buzzes and I fish it out of my pocket, then press the button to the elevator.

  “I’m coming,” I snap at my Zio, stepping on the elevator.

  Hmm, I’ll let the cleaning crew know to clean this elevator again. The gold is filthy.

  “I’m just curious if you were coming to the meeting. Now that you have a reason not to come to work…”

  “Rompicoglioni, Zio. Always the joker,” I crack as the doors slide shut. I hit the lobby button and the elevator descends. “When the meeting is over, you need to be with Nora today at school.”

  “I’m not a fucking babysitter.”

  “You fucking are today. It’s an order. You will make sure she’s safe. Do you understand?” I don’t have patience for intolerance today.

  A dial tone greets my ear just as the ding sounds telling me I’ve made it to the lobby floor.

  He fucking hung up on me.

  Curling my lip, I tuck my phone in my pocket and the rustling of paper reminds me of the letter I stole from her dorm room.

  When the doors part, the mood changes when the purple silk drapes greet me. The room darkens and the soft lights change from blue to violet. People seem to be having a good time, drinking more and spending more. Katherine sees me as she walks by and hands me my drink.

  Perfect timing.

  Whiskey neat. Top shelf. Only the best.

  “Grazie, Katherine.”

  “Prego,” she answers with a wink at me.

  “Learning quick,” I notice.

  “Have no choice when my boss speaks Italian, right?”

  I lift my drink to her in silent appreciation and walk toward Club Lussuria. It’s in the middle of the hotel, curtains blocked off with purple ropes. It takes less than five minutes to reach the entrance. The doorway is lined with black glass and Club Lussuria is illuminated in light blue to match the sign outside the resort.