Resisting Mateo (Morelli Family, #5)

by Sam Mariano

  Amusement dances in his eyes. “Can’t get enough of me already, huh?”

  He’s teasing, but I can’t. This is so bad. Also, when he teases me he makes it so much worse. His mischievous side does things to me. My body is already trying to convince me I should coax him back inside, but when he gets playful my heart overflows like a volcano of tenderness.

  “Well, I thought it was a good plan,” I inform him.

  Nodding once, he says, “It is a very tempting prospect, but I have to go make money.”

  “Money is stupid. Staying here with me is a better idea.”

  Mateo smirks, dropping a kiss to the corner of my mouth, then the other corner, then he claims my lips. My hand moves to his back and I pull him close as he lazily deepens the kiss, but even his half-interest is enough to get my blood pumping.

  Instead of fucking me again, he pulls back. “I need to make money so I can buy you more presents.”

  “I don’t need presents. Just you.”

  Everything I say seems to please him today. He rewards me for this one with another deep kiss, rolling me onto my back and moving on top of me. After a few more minutes of kissing, he stops and just looks down at me, watching me.

  “I need to get up. I’m already behind schedule. I’ll come back tonight. We can come to bed as early as you want. I’ll have to sneak out for bedtime stories, but I’ll come back after.”

  Bedtime stories.

  Just like that, my blood cools.

  Bedtime stories with his kids. That he has. With Meg.

  That’s right.

  Sharing.

  He isn’t mine; he’s ours.

  Looking at his chest instead of his face, I ask, “How does this work, exactly? You sort of sprung the sharing thing on me when I would’ve agreed to a kidney extraction; I didn’t get to ask questions.”

  Faintly amused, he remarks, “That was the idea.”

  I roll my eyes lightly. He’s such a manipulator. I don’t care; I would’ve agreed to it regardless, since it’s the only way I get him. Still, I have questions and concerns. “What happens when we leave this room?”

  “As many calories as we’ve surely expended, I suggest breakfast.”

  I bite back a smile. “I’m serious. I’ve never done anything like this before. I have no idea what the rules are. Is Meg going to be normal?”

  “Probably. She’s Meg.”

  “I don’t see how she can be okay with this,” I say.

  He raises an eyebrow. “You’re okay with it.”

  I damn sure wouldn’t be if I had him locked down enough that he proposed to me. I probably shouldn’t say that, though. Instead I shake my head. “Meg’s a weirdo.”

  “Meg’s practical. I like that about her.”

  Jealousy tries so hard to emerge, but I try harder to keep it at bay. I don’t want to talk about Meg anymore. I know we’ll have to go over the realities of this situation eventually, but maybe this morning is not that time. I want to stay in my happy honeymoon bubble for a while longer.

  His last comment also makes me feel a little needy. Since I don’t want to give it life with words, I just tug him back down for another kiss. It’s not like I need verification that he wants me after he’s spent all night fucking me, but I still like having it. I want him to fuck me again.

  When my hands move to his ass so I can pull him between my legs, he breaks from my lips and shakes his head at me. “You’re very distracting.”

  “I’m very fond of your cock.”

  He groans, burying his face in my neck. “Adrian is going to kick my ass.”

  I laugh. “Why?”

  “I was supposed to meet him twenty minutes ago.” Rolling off me, he shakes his head. “I have to go take a shower.”

  I wrinkle up my nose with slightly exaggerated displeasure, my hungry gaze raking over his magnificent form as he climbs out of bed. I tug the sheet up around my breasts. He glances back over his muscular shoulder, catching me admiring him.

  Then he quirks an eyebrow. “You coming?”

  I brighten, shoving the bed sheet away and hopping out of bed, following him to the shower.

  ---

  Adrian is, in fact, unimpressed when we walk into the dining room together. His gaze darts to my wet hair, then to Mateo’s. Now he looks really aggravated. His gaze lands on Mateo and stays there, heavy with disapproval.

  Mateo heads into the kitchen to get his coffee. It feels weird to expect him to make his own plate, so I grab two and make one for him. His gives me a kiss in the kitchen when I hand it to him, then we head back to the table. Presumably we will not kiss anymore, otherwise Adrian’s head might explode.

  Once we’re seated, Adrian addresses Mateo. “You weren’t at the gym.”

  “Overslept,” Mateo says easily, taking a sip of his coffee.

  “You never oversleep,” Adrian states.

  I take a sip of my orange juice, glancing at Mateo to see what he’ll say.

  As casually as can be, Mateo replies, “I do when I’ve spent all night fucking.”

  I shouldn’t have taken that drink. I did not expect Mateo to share that much, so I choke on my orange juice, forcing it down my throat but covering my mouth as I cough, my face turning red. I guess if there was any doubt I’m the person he was fucking, there isn’t now.

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” Adrian mutters, half hanging his head, half shaking it.

  “We’re sharing,” I volunteer hastily, before Adrian decides to hate me. “Not cheating. Meg knows. It’s fine.”

  His face goes blank, but I guess that’s better than clear derision. “Sharing?” he questions, more than a little skeptical.

  I nod vigorously, more interested in defending myself than Mateo apparently is. I glance over at him, but he’s eating his eggs like nothing is amiss here. Turning my attention back to Adrian, I tell him, “All on the up and up. Meg is okay with it, we have permission… nothing shady going on here.”

  “Is that right?” he asks silkily, raising an eyebrow. “Then Vince is also okay with it?”

  That sinks my defense. Guilt hangs heavy in my chest, and I realize I kinda forgot.

  Now Mateo is paying attention. His gaze on me, he says, “I can handle that for you if you want me to.”

  I shake my head, staring at the eggs on my plate. My appetite is gone, but I don’t want Mateo to notice, so I scoop up a forkful. “It’s okay. I’ll handle it. Just… maybe not today.”

  “I won’t be mean,” he adds. “Unless he makes me. I’ll try not to.”

  I shake my head again, offering a close-lipped smile. “It’s okay. Thanks, but… I have to do it.”

  “This is going to go over well,” Adrian remarks.

  “That’s enough,” Mateo says, glancing at Adrian. There’s no heat behind it, and Adrian still scowls at him, but at least he stops bringing up things that make me deeply uncomfortable.

  ---

  “Hey, lady friend.”

  My stomach sinks at the sound of Meg’s voice. I tell myself it shouldn’t—I didn’t wrong her. She knew he was spending the night with me. She gave him permission. It’s hard to wrap my head around that, though, as she takes her seat across from me for lunch. It’s hard not to feel fault when memories of her fiancé making me scream with pleasure all night long and into this morning litter the floor of my brain.

  I kinda figured I’d feel awkward when I saw her for the first time after being with Mateo, but I want to crawl out of my own skin. Like Mateo predicted, she doesn’t seem to share my tenseness, flashing me a smile as she pops a veggie chip into her mouth.

  “What’s up?” she asks.

  I blink, searching my mind for something to say to that. I attempt a smile that feels more like a grimace. “Nothing?”

  Snorting lightly, she lifts her wrap and takes a bite. She watches me while she chews, and I squirm. Once she swallows it, she grabs her glass of water and takes a sip, watching me over the brim. Then she sets it down, casually asking, “Have
a good night?”

  “I did.” I watch her face more carefully, searching for some sign of trouble. I know Meg insists she’s not a jealous person, but I still don’t understand how this works. I felt a little twitchy just hearing him remark on something about Meg he liked while in bed with me, and I love Meg. I don’t want to steal him from her, but hearing it still rubbed me the wrong way.

  It’ll probably take some getting used to.

  “Good. You don’t have to look so guilty, you know,” she adds with a friendly smile.

  “It’s just… I wasn’t sure if this would be weird.”

  “Well, it’s a little weird, but that’s all your fault,” she says good-naturedly.

  I crack a smile, glancing down at my food. Now I look at her, even if my face is burning up with embarrassment. “I wouldn’t have done anything without your permission, you know. I wouldn’t have hurt you to have him.”

  Now she smiles a little more easily, a little less intentionally casual. “I know. That’s why you’re here. Only room for one wily bitch in this relationship.”

  “We didn’t really talk about how this works,” I tell her, since it’s hard to get any solid information out of Mateo. “Did you guys talk about it? I’m kind of in the dark.”

  “We talked about our relationship, not yours,” she tells me. “I think he’s going to keep them separate. You’ll have your room where he visits, I’ll be in his room like always. You’ll have time with him alone, I’ll have time with him alone, and obviously we’ll be around him together. He’s already dropped several threesome hints though, and I’ve learned he apparently doesn’t drop idle hints, so prepare for that eventuality.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  Meg laughs before taking another bite of her wrap. “It’ll be okay,” she assures me.

  “I don’t think I can watch him… and you,” I say, more than a little awkwardly.

  “We don’t have to work out all the details of who fucks who just yet. I’m sure he’ll go easy on you. You’re his little gum drop.” Waving her hand to dismiss the subject, she says, “Anyway, don’t worry about that now. You’ve got bigger problems. Are you heading home tonight?”

  “I think I’m just going to hang out here for today, if you don’t mind. Vince and I fought last night, and obviously we’re going to fight more when I have to tell him about this.”

  Nodding her agreement, she says, “Makes sense. On the bright side, if you lead with ‘I fucked Mateo again last night’ maybe he’ll dump you.”

  That doesn’t make me feel any better. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  My phone vibrates in my pocket, and my stomach sinks with dread. Vince already texted me once this morning and I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how. It was nothing confrontational, he just asked what I wanted to do for dinner later, but I wasn’t sure if I should answer. Somehow it made me feel even worse realizing he thinks everything is normal. I hate knowing everything has changed and him being in the dark, but I’m too big a coward to face it head-on.

  I open my phone to answer him now, but the new text message isn’t from Vince, it’s from a phone number that isn’t saved in my phone.

  “Are you home?”

  I frown at the screen, typing back, “Who is this?”

  “Mateo.”

  Now a swarm of butterflies band together to assault my tummy. A helpless smile claims my lips and my heart works overtime. He’s never texted me before.

  “Yes, I’m still at your house.”

  “Good. Go to your room. I’m coming home for lunch.”

  I bite down on my bottom lip, quickly typing back, “Should I make something?”

  “Make yourself naked,” he shoots back. “The only thing I want to eat is your pussy.”

  The pussy in question throbs, very much interested in being on the menu.

  I don’t respond to that one. Now anticipation courses through me and I can’t stop smiling. Eager to get to my room, I push back from the table. I only ate half my sandwich, but I don’t know how far away he is, so I don’t take the time to finish.

  “Done already?” Meg asks mildly as I stand and collect my dishes.

  “Yeah, I’m not that hungry.” I don’t know if I should or shouldn’t tell her he texted me, so I don’t. I do pause before I leave the dining room though, my hand resting on top of the chair I just pushed in. “Thank you.”

  Her perfect eyebrows rise and she holds my gaze. “For what?”

  “For sharing him with me.”

  She smiles kindly, then cracks a joke, because she’s Meg. “If I ever want to borrow your shoes, I don’t want to hear any complaints.”

  I grin, relieved that she’s so awesome. “We’ll have an open-closet understanding from here on out.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  It really is. I just need to remain open-minded and not get sucked into a possessive mindset. Mateo is mine, and also hers. He loves me, and he loves her. I want him as much as my next breath, and she probably feels the same way.

  We both love him. We both want him. The only way no one gets hurt is if we share, so it’s a no-brainer. It may not be the easiest thing I ever do in my life, but if Meg can be okay with it, surely I can, too.

  ---

  I'm dimly aware of the sound coming from my phone on the bedside table. I'm sleeping lightly enough to listen for my alarm clock, so the text message sound wakes me up just as effectively.

  It's not enough to get me out of Mateo's arms, but he apparently doesn't feel the same way.

  "What are you doing?" I murmur sleepily as he shifts me underneath him. It's probably too early for morning sex, and his attention isn't on me, anyway. I roll my eyes as he grabs my cell phone off the night stand and blatantly checks the display. "Morelli men have no boundaries. None."

  He smirks as he drops back into his spot and hands me my phone. "I wanted to know who was texting you at three in the morning."

  I shake my head as I check the message myself, swiping it open. "I would never check your text messages."

  "Not even if Sal's sister was texting me?"

  My jaw drops open as he smirks and I whack him lightly in his toned stomach. "How dare you. I'll send Adrian after that bitch. Don't tempt me."

  His smirk turns to a grin. "I love that you think you can dispatch Adrian."

  "Adrian doesn’t like troublemaking hoes. Watch me," I tell him. I know he was just teasing, but now that he's brought it up, I narrow my eyes at him. "She doesn't really have your phone number, right?"

  Chuckling, he shakes his head. "No."

  "Good," I mutter, looking back at my phone. "Do you want to see the pictures your sister sent me, or would you rather inspire some more homicidal thoughts?"

  "The latter sounds sexier," he admits.

  I shake my head as I scroll through Francesca’s honeymoon pictures. "It's all fun and games until I get arrested. I'm not a pro like you; I’ll just stab her in the face with the heel of my Louboutin right in front of a bunch of witnesses. Good luck getting me out of that one."

  "Eh, I could do it. Pay off some people, kill off the Good Samaritans. We should probably avoid it though. Sounds like a hassle."

  “Agreed. You don’t really wanna bang Sal’s stupid sister anyway,” I inform him.

  Quirking an eyebrow, he asks, “No? What makes you so sure?”

  “Several reasons. One: you love me and you know that would make me very sad.”

  “That’s a pretty good reason,” he acknowledges, nodding.

  “Two: you don’t want me to get arrested or restart a mob war. Sal would probably be pissed if I killed his skanky sister and it would be wholly your fault. You know I’m a crazy possessive psycho because you know I was jealous of Cherie before I knew she was Vince’s sister. You have this face, this body, and you consistently deliver multiple orgasms; assume it will be a thousand times worse with you.”

  Mateo grins again, enjoying my jealousy and probably the accompanying ego stroke.

&nb
sp; “And three: if you require more sex than you get between me and Meg, you need to check yourself into a treatment facility. I could keep up with your sex drive without any help, and you have a second sister wife to deal with, so it would be frankly insulting.”

  “Those are all sound reasons. I’ll add that Sal’s sister is brunette, and Beth sort of put me off brunettes.”

  “Well, at least she did one thing right,” I mutter, tilting my phone so he can see the picture on my screen. "I don't know where they are, but look how beautiful it is."

  He glances at the picture. "I think they're in Sardinia. It is beautiful."

  I sigh happily, looking at a picture of them grinning with a beautiful beach in the background. "I'm so glad she's with Salvatore. He’s great. I told you that you should let them get married. I make great decisions."

  Rolling his eyes, he says dryly, "Yes, I married her off just to please you."

  "Obviously, what other reason was there?" I scroll to the next picture and show it to him. "Have you been to Italy?"

  "I have."

  "I haven't," I volunteer, though I'm sure he could guess that. He probably doesn't even have to guess. He probably has a folder somewhere with a detailed account of my life up to when I met him. I smile faintly, shaking my head at his crazy. "Francesca has sold me on it, though. Italy is going on my bucket list."

  "You don’t need a bucket list, you have me," he says, securing his arm around me and tugging me into his side. "I like the Amalfi Coast; we can go there anytime you want, take a yacht out on the water. I'll buy you a new bikini to sunbathe in—though I expect you’ll be naked most of the time. I have multiple orgasms to deliver, after all.”

  I grin. "Oh, yeah?"

  He nods. "I normally give vacations for birthday presents anyway. Another year older, another stamp on your passport."

  "I don't have a passport," I inform him.

  "We will remedy that right away."

  I text Francesca back and drop my phone on the bed, snuggling up against him. "Birthday vacations, huh? I like that a lot. I don't know how I'm supposed to compete with that, though. How am I supposed to get you something comparable for your birthday? I don’t have your resources."