Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“Evie.” He whispered my name. “What has gotten into you?”
“You,” I replied, kissing along his scruff. “You, Matteo. I want you.”
With a low growl, he jerked me closer, running his hand up my leg and under the skirt I had worn.
“Jesus, you’re bare under here.” His eyes widened. “And so wet, my wife. You want me.”
I yanked on his belt, fumbling with the button on his pants. “Please,” I whispered.
He pushed my hands aside, his pants falling to the floor. He spread my thighs and drove into me, making me whimper.
“I don’t have much time,” he managed to grit out.
“I don’t need it,” I replied, meeting his powerful strokes. I clung to his shoulders, burying my face into his neck. He gripped my hip with one hand, anchoring us to the counter with the other. He uttered curses in a low voice, growled his pleasure into my ear, and took me hard and fast—exactly the way I wanted. I orgasmed quickly, shaking around him, and he followed not long after, his deep groan muffled in my hair. A long, shaking breath left him, and he leaned heavily on me for a moment, before capturing my face in his hands and kissing me again.
He got dressed quickly, smoothing my skirt down. “I’ll be all over you today,” he murmured.
I smiled. “Until I go swimming.”
“Wait until tonight. I’ll swim with you.” He tapped my nose. “I like knowing you’ll smell like me all day.”
“Okay,” I replied, noting how his eyes lit up at my words.
I cupped his cheek. “Thank you for my Kindle.”
He smiled, his voice affectionate. “It amuses me that your reaction to the Kindle was far more enthusiastic than the diamonds.” He rubbed my earlobe, touching the glittering gems. “You are a special woman, Evie.”
“I loved the earrings,” I assured him. “This gift seemed more personal somehow.”
“If my gifts are going to get this kind of reaction, I’ll wake you up before I leave in the morning so you can thank me in the privacy of our room,” he said, trying to look stern and failing.
“I’d like it if you woke me, but I don’t need a gift.”
He studied me for a moment, then kissed me again. This time, his lips were light, sweet, and playful.
“I’ll remember that.” He smiled. “I’m glad the Kindle made you so happy.”
“It did. So do you.”
“Then my work here is done—at least for now. I’ll come to the library at lunch, and we can eat there, yes?”
“How did you know I’d be there?”
He chuckled. “It’s raining out, and I already know your second-favorite place is the chair by the fire. It’s cool out, so I had Marcus switch it on. Enjoy your Kindle, and I’ll see you later.”
“Thank you again.”
“It is my greatest joy to make you happy, Evie.”
I watched him leave, thinking how empty the room seemed once he’d left.
The next morning, Matteo was there when I woke, and my gift was him. Naked, passionate, and hungry for me. It was my favorite gift of all.
After, we showered, and as I was getting dressed, he studied me in the mirror.
“You look lovely.”
I glanced down at the skirt I was wearing. I loved how pretty I felt in the clothes Roza picked for me, but I wanted to choose a few things on my own. Including the dress I needed for tomorrow night.
As if reading my mind, Matteo sighed and met my gaze. “Roza and Lila will take you shopping this afternoon. Julian insists on a meeting with all of us, and I have no time this morning.”
I felt the flutter of excitement, but I remained calm.
“All right.”
“You get a dress, and you come home. That is an order, not a request.”
I nodded.
“I don’t like it,” he said. “I want to send someone else with you, but I’ve been told by a couple of people I’m being overbearing.”
I bit my lip, wondering who dared say that to him.
“To the world, you are the wife of a successful businessman. You and I know different. But as Marcus pointed out, outside my very tight circle, no one else does. He agreed that you need some normalcy. So, I am allowing this.”
“It’ll be fine, Matteo. It’s just shopping.”
“Apparently you are getting pedicures as well. Roza has arranged it.”
I tamped down my delight and nodded.
He tugged on a jacket, smoothing down the sleeves. He stopped and kissed me, his mouth lingering. “Do your shopping and come home.”
Then he left.
Chapter Eleven
Evie
The house felt odd without Matteo and his team in it. There were men outside and one in the large room at the other end of the house, but it felt bigger—emptier. I smiled as Roza came into the kitchen, a small frown on her face.
“Lila is ill.”
“What?”
“One of her migraines hit her unexpectedly. Geo is coming to get her.” She worried her lip. “I’m not sure Matteo would be happy with just us going.”