Page 33 of Seductive Desires

“Do you need me to stay, Mariana?” he whispered.

When I nodded, he hugged me tighter to him. He lifted his head. “Con permiso. She needs me.”

I didn’t watch for Liam’s reaction. I knew it was a long shot. They barely knew each other. I–

“Of course. There’s another guest room across the hall from hers as well, if you need it.”

Relief flooded through me and my knees went weak. Mateo scooped me into his arms, nodding at Liam. “Gracias. If you’ll excuse me.”

I thought he’d push to stay in the same room with me but he kept his word from before and didn’t even bring it up. I felt better knowing he was right across the hall instead of all the way downtown. I fell asleep almost instantly after he tucked me in.

* * *

“Anna.”

“We’re meant to be, Anna.”

“You’re going to like it.”

I woke up with a start. All I could see were Stephen’s wide chaotic eyes and his cruel smile. I felt his hands on my skin and I fought the urge to wretch. I was covered in sweat, the sheets soaked. Throwing my legs over the side of the bed, I groaned, scrubbing my face.

It wasn’t the first nightmare I’ve had about Stephen, but it was the most vivid one. It was like he was in the room with me. My chest tightened and I flicked on the lamp on the nightstand, my eyes darting around the room. There was no one in here but me, but I still felt like I was being watched. I shivered.

Jo was nice enough to leave me a couple sets of pajamas, so I quickly changed, hiding in the bathroom. I should try and go back to bed. I could usually shake off the nightmares after they woke me up and get at least a little sleep but I felt restless and anxious. Instead, I slipped out of the room and into Mateo’s.

He sat up when I closed the door behind me. It was dark but he could probably see me fine. He left the curtains open in his room and the moonlight bathed the room in white light. When I hesitated, he called out to me. “Come here, mariposa.”

I tiptoed through the room, crawling into the bed and straight into his arms. He didn’t ask questions, didn’t try to get me to talk about it. He just wrapped himself around me and settled back into bed. I pressed my face against his chest and let out a sigh. No matter what conflicts I had with Mateo and his job, I doubt I’d ever find anyone else who made me feel as safe as he does. His warmth and the steady thump of his heartbeat lulled me back to sleep.

I wokeup with a Mateo blanket. He moved in his sleep until he was almost entirely on top of me, his face buried into the crook of my neck. I tried to wiggle myself free, his soft breath tickling me, but he groaned and tightened his hold.

I seriously needed to get free before he woke up. Feeling his naked torso pressed against me was distracting and I had to resist the urge to run my hands along the sculpted muscles of his back. His legs were tangled with mine. The whole position was too intimate, almost mirroring what it would look like post sex.

Memories of the last time we were together flashed through my mind and a flush of warmth spread across my body. Now was not the time to be thinking about that! He promised he’d wait and here I was, imagining what it would be like if he started kissing down my neck, bunching up my sleep shirt so he could–

He grunted and shifted in his sleep, pressing his very hard erection against my hip. I gasped. My heart was pounding so loud I’m surprised it didn’t wake him. When he groaned, I bit my lip. This wasn’t fair. I was trapped underneath him while he made sex noises in my ear. It’s torture, some kind of cruel and unusual punishment for pushing him away. An ache grew between my legs and I couldn’t even press my thighs together to ease it with his legs tangled in mine.

When he drew in a sharp breath, I felt him twitch against me. Whatever dream he was having must be hot. Jealousy burned through me. Who was he dreaming about? We’ve been apart for a month, he had no obligation to stay away from other women. I was about to shove him off me until he mumbled something.

“What?”

I couldn’t see his face, it was still against my neck, but I didn’t think he was awake. He must be talking in his sleep. I stilled, listening.

He was breathing harder now. Geez, this must be an intense dream. I waffled between trying to sneak away again or something a bit more…

I shifted, putting more pressure against his cock. He let out a low groan. Grinning, I did it again.

“Mariana, por favor…”

My lips parted on a gasp. Did he just–? He shifted again, finally rolling away and onto his back. His eyes were still closed but he was frowning. His erection strained against his boxer briefs. A shiver ran through my body as I ogled him. The man was too perfect, all rock hard muscles leading to a delicious V that dipped beneath the only thing covering him. I nibbled on my lip. It seemed almost cruel to leave him like that.

I couldn’t seem to help myself, tossing my leg over his hip so I straddled him. I hovered above him, debating. This probably wasn’t a good idea. In fact, this was an insane idea. But I was fascinated as he kept shifting and mumbling. And so aroused I couldn’t stand it. He was dreaming about me, groaning and saying my name and I ached to touch him. To have him touch me. I dropped my weight slowly until I was sitting on top of him.

His eyes flew open and I worried for a minute he might not want this. At least until he growled, grabbing my hips and grinding me against him. I threw my head back, the friction making me moan.

“Mariana…”

I was panting as I locked eyes with him. He looked pained, straining to hold himself back. I felt his hesitation, like he just realized what he was doing. I didn’t want him to stop though so I rolled my hips. His eyes actually rolled back, his grip tightening. Shit. That was hot. Having this kind of effect on him was only spurring me on, grinding against him. When I slid my hands under my shirt to tweak my nipples, he sat up, pulling my hands away.

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