Resisting Mateo (Morelli Family, #5)

by Sam Mariano

  “Hey, so, Mateo and I were discussing your sex life the other night,” I begin.

  She blinks a few times. “That’s weird.”

  “Is it?”

  Nodding, she says, “We never, ever discuss your sex life.”

  I shrug. “You’re more territorial than I am. Anyway, we were discussing your sex life and I had a thought. Obviously things are good now and I’m really happy about that, but since he has put you through the wringer twice in the last year, it stands to reason it could happen again.”

  “He promised he wouldn’t do anything this bad again,” she volunteers.

  “Right. And I’m sure he totally means it—until he doesn’t anymore. He’s not the most stable man in the universe, but he’s also difficult to manage because, well, he’s him. So sometimes you have to get creative with your problem-solving in regards to Mateo. Me, I’m a creative problem solver. I can mostly deal with his various levels of heinousness, but there’s one that consistently sticks in my brain and causes me anxiety. Not right now, because things are good, but next time he makes you hate him… the mother hen in me wants to do what I can to protect you. Without, you know, actively getting in his way, because I don’t want to get murdered.”

  Smiling slightly, she looks at her lap and shakes her head. “I’m fine. Honest. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “I tried to convince him to give you a safe word,” I tell her. “He wasn’t into it. I didn’t push the issue because, well, a safe word is useless if he wouldn’t listen to it anyway.”

  Now she squirms, still not looking at me. “We really don’t have to talk about this.”

  “Now, I’ve obviously never witnessed whatever you two do behind closed doors so maybe I’m overly worried, but after he fake-killed Vince and stayed in your bedroom anyway, I had pretty much non-stop anxiety about it for a week. I know, I know, you both insist he would never hurt you, he apparently thinks you trust him—whatever, it’s your business. But in the interest of extra caution, let’s just say he got caught up in a lusty fog and, I don’t know, didn’t realize you wanted him to stop.”

  Mia’s head falls back against the back of the seat like I’m implementing cruel and unusual torture techniques. Or a mom trying to give her an awkward sex talk. Same deal, really.

  “I have an idea for a makeshift safe word. It does the same thing—makes the sex stop—but doesn’t require his willingness to listen. You can say a certain thing and he’ll stop, even if he wants to keep going.”

  “I don’t need this,” she informs me.

  “So he says, but can you guys just—for me, okay? For my peace of mind, just take my makeshift safe word and promise me you’ll use it if you ever need to.”

  “Even for you, this is so awkward,” Mia states.

  “Shh,” I say, waving her off. “Okay, so, purely by accident, I figured out something that turns Mateo off.”

  “Oh, my God, I don’t want to hear this. Maybe you don’t mind talking about my sex life, but I do not want to hear about yours.”

  “No, no, we weren’t having sex. I was trying to keep him out of your bedroom and I said something off-handedly. Both clothed, nothing sexy about it, I swear. Would you just let me get this out?”

  “I hate this conversation,” she tells me. “I hate it more than anything.”

  “If Mateo ever gets out of hand in the bedroom and you need to pump the brakes, call him daddy.”

  With a half-horrified grimace, Mia says, “What?”

  “Really sell it. Affect a cutesy voice, something like, ‘I’ve been a bad girl, you wanna punish me, daddy?’”

  Covering her ears, she says, “Stop! No. Stop, stop, stop.”

  I shouldn’t enjoy her discomfort so much, but it brings me a small measure of joy. I love her, but this is fun. “He feels the same way, so if you say that to him during unwanted sexual relations, my hypothesis is that his sex drive will promptly plummet, thus eliminating the problem.”

  “Oh, my God,” Mia says, covering her face with her hands.

  I think I catch a snicker from the front seat so I look at Adrian, but he’s not snickering, he’s laughing his ass off.

  “What?” I ask, a bit defensively. “You guys. It’s a good plan.”

  Nodding, Adrian says, “It is a good plan. I’d say I wish I would’ve thought of it, but strangely I’m not familiar with Mateo’s turn-offs.” Then glancing at Mia in the rearview mirror, he lifts an eyebrow. “You should file this advice away for future reference.”

  Mia shakes her head and refuses to look at either of us as she tucks Rosalie’s dress back into the bag. “I don’t want to turn him off. Yuck.”

  “But now you have a strategy, just in case you ever do,” I offer. “I’d like to keep us all from going to dark places again. My Mateo sort of disappears when yours emerges, and your Mateo is a living nightmare. If anyone’s going to murder one of us, it’s going to be your Mateo.”

  “He isn’t going to murder us,” she mutters, protective, as ever.

  “Well, Beth probably thought that once, too. I’ve had too many close calls, and I don’t even drive him crazy the way you do, so, you know, let’s be vigilant.” I shoot another look at Adrian. “Beth drove him crazy, right?”

  “Out of his fucking mind,” Adrian verifies.

  I nod, raising my eyebrows knowingly at Mia. “So do you. So, let’s be smart. Let’s keep ourselves safe.”

  Mia wrinkles her nose up at me, displeased with all the reality I’m raining down on her today. I’m not surprised. Mia needs to retreat into a version of reality only viewable with rose-colored glasses so she can stay soft and loving for him. I used to have rose-colored glasses, too. The main difference is, when he stomped on mine with the heel of his loafer this time, I did not go shopping for a new pair. Mia clearly has an entire cabinet full of rose-colored lenses placed in various fashionable frames, and every time he smashes a pair all to hell, she just slips on a replacement pair.

  And that’s fine. For Mia, there is no choice about being with him. Her options are “be happy with Mateo” or “be miserable with Mateo” and she’s making the same choice I made under those circumstances. That works for her. But that doesn’t work for me—not now. My eyes are open, and I still love him, but I don’t trust him the way she does—not anymore. Maybe she’s fine hoping for the best and entrusting her survival to him, but I can see the danger in him more clearly than ever before; I can see what a gamble that would be.

  And me? I’m no gambler.

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Mia

  I have had way too much wine, and Mateo is looking way too sexy sitting beside me in the Escalade. He’s wearing a lighter gray suit tonight, not the darker colors he usually favors. My dress is black and gray, so I kind of match him. I’m trying to remember why I need to keep my hands to myself, but Jesus, he’s so lovely to look at.

  He finishes up whatever he’s doing on his phone over there and slips it back into his pocket, reaching his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to drop a kiss on top of my head. “Having a nice night?”

  “I’m having a wonderful night; thank you.” I turn into him, running my open hand across his chest, fingering the buttons of his dress shirt. “You look so good in gray.”

  He smiles, running his finger up under the strap of my dress and tugging it down my shoulder. Then he leans in to drop a kiss in the newly bare spot, telling me, “You look so good in nothing.”

  “For future reference, we should only go out to restaurants that are within ten minutes of the house so we’re never too far from a bed.”

  “Who needs a bed?” he asks, planting his hands on my hips and pulling me into his lap, easily adjusting my legs so I’m straddling him. He yanks me closer, flush against him, and I throb with need at the contact. Returning his attention to my exposed shoulder, he drops a few kisses there, making his way in toward my neck. Once his perfect mouth makes contact, what’s left of my self-control evaporates. I g

rind my pussy against him, desperate for friction. A faint growl rumbles through him and he grabs my waist, pulling my chest flush against his.

  Desire shoots through me, but the lust is wrapped up in all my other feelings for him now—the adoration, the affection; it’s all amplified by the alcohol also moving through my veins. All mixed together, I’m a cocktail of yearning for this man and this man alone.

  I’m frustrated as I move against him, then he makes it worse, catching me by the back of my neck and pulling me in for a kiss. My heart pounds in my chest, excitement interrupting its normal rhythm as his tongue sweeps into my mouth, as his desire intoxicates me. Being wanted by this man is the single most exciting thing I’ve ever experienced.

  He tugs the side of my dress down even further. I’m not wearing a bra with this dress, so there’s nothing in his way now. He ducks his head and his mouth closes over my nipple. A moan slips out of me. I arch closer as he sucks, pleasure fluttering through my core.

  “God, why does it take so long to get home?” I mutter, pushing my fingers through his hair, cradling the back of his head and keeping him against my breast. “I need you inside me.”

  His hand leaves my waist, moving between my legs. He groans when he realizes I’m not wearing panties and I grin in response. “I know a way to make the time pass more quickly,” he murmurs, pushing a finger inside me.

  Excitement gathers in my tummy, but then I’m tilted a bit sideways as we take a turn and I remember we’re in a car, a moving car, and Adrian is driving.

  Sighing, I regretfully pull away, dislodging his hand and climbing off him, scooting back over into my seat. “We have to wait.”

  “I vehemently disagree,” he states, his eyes alight with a predatory gleam as he moves over to my seat, bracing one hand around my waist. His other hand comes toward my face and he pushes his index finger between my lips. I meet his gaze, closing my mouth around his finger and sucking on it, long and hard. “I hope you’re well-rested,” he states, watching me.

  I give his finger one more forceful suck before popping off. “Oh, I’ve had two nights to rest up. I can go all night long.”

  He grins, pulling me close enough to kiss. Before his lips land, he murmurs, “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

  He sweeps me up with his mouth again, his hand wandering between my legs, but I hold onto enough presence of mind to catch his hand, trapping it against my thigh. I try to break the kiss, but as soon as I pull back, he moves closer and starts again.

  “Mateo,” I murmur, pushing uselessly against his chest.

  “I can’t think of a single good reason not to fuck you right now,” he states.

  “I can,” I argue, biting back a smile as I jerk my head in the direction of the driver’s seat. “Adrian is right there. We can’t have sex in front of Adrian.”

  “We’re not in front of Adrian, we’re behind Adrian. See, no problem.”

  I roll my eyes, glancing up at Adrian in the rearview mirror. “Sorry about all this, Adrian. I’m very tipsy and he’s very sexy. We’ll behave less like godless sex fiends for the remainder of the ride.”

  Adrian shakes his head, eyes on the road. “Doesn’t matter to me.”

  “It’s impolite to have sex in the backseat while you’re driving us around,” I state, raising my eyebrows at Mateo and shoving him back.

  He finally eases back into his seat, but he stays close. His hand settles on my thigh again, but then the devious thing moves between my legs. “Adrian’s no prude; he just said he doesn’t care.”

  “He’s just being nice,” I state, biting back a grin as I catch his hand and lace my fingers with his to keep him from trying to touch me.

  “No man in this family is overly worried about being nice,” Mateo informs me.

  “It’s true,” Adrian says, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. “Fuck until your heart’s content. I’ve listened to men die; I doubt you’re gonna traumatize me. As long as there’s consent and no one’s getting hurt, I don’t give a damn.”

  Rolling his eyes, Mateo leans in to comment, “Adrian takes all the fun out of sex.”

  Adrian gives him a dead-eyed look in the rearview mirror, but Mateo is already grinning at him in anticipation. I chuckle, elbowing him in the side.

  “You’re terrible,” I tell him, but with so much affection, you’d think I’m delivering a compliment.

  “Don’t act like you don’t love it,” he says, draping an arm across my shoulder.

  I turn into his embrace, burrowing into his chest but keeping my head tipped back so I can gaze up at him. “I love you.”

  Mateo rewards me with a rare, unguarded smile and tucks my head under his chin so he can at least hold me. “I love you, too,” he murmurs.

  I catch Adrian glancing at us in the rearview mirror, and though at first he was as gruff as ever, even he doesn’t stifle a faint smile before turning his attention back to the road.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Mia

  “Does everybody have their ticket?” Meg asks, eyebrows rising as she looks over the line assembled in the hall outside the media room.

  “I do,” Lily volunteers, waving her printed movie ticket in the air.

  “Me too,” clamors Isabella, joining in the waving.

  I glance over at Mateo standing beside me, a hand resting lazily on my hip as we wait in line for the movie theater in our own home, courtesy of Meg.

  “Do you have your ticket?” I tease, waving mine in front of his face.

  Mateo rolls his eyes. “My ticket to get into my own media room in my own house?” The way he says it, it definitely sounds like he’s going to say no. So I grin when he holds it up to show me. “Of course I do.”

  I look behind us at Adrian and Elise. “What about you guys?”

  Adrian shakes his head. “This is stupid, so no, I do not.”

  Elise flashes me two tickets. “I’ve got him covered.”

  “Good thing.” I nod. “I’m pretty sure Meg would actually kick you out otherwise.”

  “And my heart would be literally shattered,” Adrian deadpans.

  Elise leans in and gives him a kiss. “You know you want to watch Beauty and the Beast.”

  “I really don’t,” he replies.

  I look back to the front and see Meg finally beginning to take tickets. Lily and Isabella go first, then Mateo and I are up.

  Handing over my ticket, I say, “There you go, ma’am.”

  Grimacing apologetically, she says, “You look underage. I’m gonna need to see some ID.”

  “For Beauty and the Beast?” I ask, eyebrows rising.

  Mateo shakes his head, reaching in front of me to hand over his ticket. “Let’s move this along, crazy.”

  Isabella and Lily have moved on to the popcorn station, grabbing striped plastic containers full of popcorn and dropping some all over the floor.

  Mateo sighs at the sight. “I don’t know why I agreed to this.”

  Handing back our ripped tickets, Meg shoos us along so she can take tickets from Elise.

  “Because you love us,” I inform him. “Just wait, she’s going to make us do this for Christmas movies next month, too; she told me.”

  “Your first Morelli Christmas,” he remarks.

  “I’m pretty excited. You buy me $800 shoes for dinner, so I’m pretty ready to see what you get me for Christmas. My current guess is an island.”

  Grinning, he lets his eyes wander over my ass. “It seems like I need to buy you some new clothes. These aren’t even real pants.”

  I look down at the black leggings with “love” scrawled in gold script all over the legs. “These are comfortable. Meg said we should dress comfortably.” My eyes move over his body, still in his dress shirt and slacks, though he did take off the jacket. Tweaking one of his buttons, I say, “You’re always so put-together and sexy.”

  His gaze narrows and he looks me over again. “Are you wearing panties?”

  My cheeks flush slightly and I smile. “This is a family event, mister.”

  His hand drifts casually across my ass. “I feel like you’re not wearing panties.”

  I hold out my ripped ticket stub and let it fall on the ground in front of us, then I stretch forward to pick it up, giving him a nice view. I stand, smiling as I feel him move up behind me.

  “Does it look like I’m wearing panties?” I murmur.

  He grips my hips, tugging me back against him. He’s hard, and I can’t help grinning even as desire spirals through me. “That’s not nice,” he tells me, bending his head to nibble on my ear.

  “Hey, it’s not my fault you’re not coming to my room after the movie,” I say innocently.

  His grip on me tightens. “I want you right now.”

  “Right now we have to watch a movie,” I tell him, wiggling my ass against him anyway, just to be mean.

  Growling in my ear, he leans in, pushing my hair to the side and dropping a kiss along the curve of my neck. “Don’t tease me, Mia.”

  “What are you going to do about it?” I murmur back, glancing around for Meg.

  “Come on.”

  I laugh as he grabs my hand and tugs me back toward the door. “We can’t—the movie.”

  “I don’t care about the movie.”

  “Meg does,” I argue, pulling back with more power.

  “I can be quick,” he says.

  “Mateo…”

  Meg spots us on our way out and flashes us a smile. “Whatcha doin’?”

  “We forgot your gummy worms,” Mateo states.

  “My gummy worms?” Pointing at the popcorn station, she says, “We have popcorn. And the movie is starting in a few minutes.”

  “Five minutes,” he says, tugging me along with him.

  Her gaze moves from me, to our entwined hands, then back to him, nodding once. “Gotcha. Well, you’re both so thoughtful. We will be here waiting for the gummy worms.”

  I grimace apologetically, but she rolls her eyes good-humoredly and shoos me.

  “We need to be quick,” I tell him, still holding his hand as we hustle down the hall. “This is cheating. I don’t think we’re supposed to do pre-movie quickies when you’re spending the night with Meg. Do you do this when you’re coming to me?”

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