Page 111 of Ache for You (Slow Burn 3)
“You’ve got that funny look again.”
I make a small groan of desperation. “I’m finding it very, very hard not to fall madly in love with you. Like, now.”
His eyes blaze with emotion. He says gruffly, “Challenge accepted,” and gives me a kiss so passionate and pure and full of emotion I know without doubt it can never be matched by another man.
The entire time, a bell of warning rings in a distant corner of my mind. If the debacle with Brad taught me anything, it’s that things that seem too good to be true inevitably are.
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Matteo once told me.
Was that a joke . . . or his master plan?
THIRTY-ONE
MATTEO
“If you’re going to do this right, Matteo, you have to tell her, and you have to tell her in a way that can’t be misunderstood. Forget about being the strong, silent type. Women need to hear the actual words.”
I’d given my mother an exasperated look when she’d said that over dinner the other night. A man can’t simply charge in with an “I’m in love with you” out of nowhere. Especially with our history. Her history. These things take finesse. Finesse is practically my middle name.
Except it turns out it isn’t.
I charged.
I couldn’t help myself. Being inside her proved too much for my self-control. Judging by her reaction, I’ve made a huge mistake.
Let’s hope it’s not a lethal one.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she says weakly. She sends me an unconvincing smile.
“Then I’ll assume you’re so pale because I’ve just given you the most earth-shattering orgasms of your life. Anything else will crush my ego.”
“I seriously doubt your ego could even be dented.”
It’s getting massively dented right now, but I decline to share that. I also decline to share that her bringing up Brad not two minutes after we had sex for the first time is more than a little disturbing.
She regrets it.
The thought makes my blood run cold.
“I should probably get back to work.”
She’s running away. Trying to avoid my eyes. Fuck.
“Look at me.”
She gives me those big green eyes, and for a moment I lose my breath. Everything I’ve ever wanted is there. It’s all right there.
And I’ve probably screwed the whole thing up by opening my mouth and coming on too hard, too soon.
My voice thick, I say, “I didn’t plan to declare myself like that. It just came out. I’m sorry it made you uncomfortable. I won’t bring it up again.”
A small furrow forms between her dark brows. She stares at me in silence for a moment, searching my face. “Don’t be sorry,” she murmurs, sliding her hands up my chest. “It was beautiful.” She stands on her toes and kisses me, a soft, sweet kiss that almost manages to break my heart.
I can already feel her slipping
through my fingers.
