Chapter 4

Alessio

Striding down the hallway, I hear Maty’s voice drifting out from her office, and something in her tone makes me pause.

“I have to do it. I have to test the service myself, make sure it’s perfect before we launch.”

I freeze, my hand clenching into a fist at my side. Test the service herself? What the fuck does that mean?

“Girl, you sure about this?” another woman’s voice, coming through the speakerphone. “I mean, going on dates with randos… it could be dangerous.”

“They won’t be random,” Maty argues. “They’re carefully vetted, background check, the whole nine yards. That’s our whole thing. And it’s not like I’ll be alone with them. We’ll meet in public, just like any other first date.”

I grit my teeth so hard that my jaw aches. The thought of Maty with some fucking stranger makes my blood boil.

“I don’t know,” the other woman says, doubt heavy in her voice. “It just seems like an unnecessary risk.”

“It’s a calculated risk,” Maty counters. “One I have to take if I want this business to succeed. I can’t ask my clients to trust me if I’m not willing to trust the process myself.”

I’ve heard enough. I burst through the door, eyes locking onto Maty’s startled face.

“Alessio!” she yelps, startled enough to use my first name. Scrambling to her feet.

“End the call,” I growl in a low, dangerous voice.

She hesitates for a second, then reaches and taps her phone screen. “I’ll call you back, babe.”

Maty straightens her spine, meeting my gaze head-on. “What’s this about, Mr. DeLuca?”

“You want to test the dating service yourself,” I say between clenched teeth, the words bitter on my tongue. “Want to go out there and play girlfriend to a bunch of fucking strangers?”

Her eyes widen, then narrow. “Were you eavesdropping on my private conversation, boss?”

“In my own fucking building, on my own fucking time? Yeah, you bet your sweet ass I fucking was. And it’s a damn good thing, too.”

She crosses her arms over her full tits, her beautiful eyes sending daggers my way. “I don’t see how it’s any of your business what I do in my personal life.”

I take a step closer, crowding her space. Maty holds her ground, but I can see the pulse fluttering wildly at the base of her soft throat. Good. At least I’m not the only one feeling this… whatever the fuck it is.

“When it comes to the family business, everything is my business,” I tell her, low and rough. “And I’m not about to let you put yourself in danger, not for some fucking startup, not for anything.”

“It’s market research. I need to know if the service works, that it’s safe and effective for our clients.”

I shake my head, a harsh laugh escaping my throat. “And you think going out with a bunch of jerk-offs from the internet is the way to do that? Come on, Maty. You’re smarter than that.”

Her delicate hands clench into fists at her sides. “I told you, they wouldn’t be complete strangers. They’d be carefully screened, just like any other client.”

“I don’t fucking care if you give them a prostate exam. It’s too fucking risky.”

“Well, I don’t see any other options,” she says, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Unless you want to volunteer to be my test subject.” She scoffs.

But the words hang in the air between us, heavy with implication. For a moment, I can only stare at her, my mind reeling with images of Maty in my arms, her full lips parted, brown eyes glowing with desire.

I take a deep breath, forcing the thought aside. “Is that what you want, Maty?” I ask, my voice dangerously soft. “You want a bad boy to sweep you off your feet, to make all your darkest fantasies come true?”

Her eyes go wide, her mouth parting on a soft gasp. “No, I was just…”

I take another step forward, backing her against the edge of her desk. “Because if that’s what you’re looking for, you don’t need to go out there and find some fucking stranger. You have me.”

She stares up at me, her eyes searching mine. “Alessio, w… what are you saying?”

I reach out, brushing my knuckles against the soft skin of her cheek. She shivers at the contact, eyelids fluttering closed for a second.

“I’m saying if you want to test your little matchmaking service, I’ll be your guinea pig.” I lean closer. “We have history. We have trust. And I can be everything you’re looking for, and more.”

Her breath hitches, her pulse pounding at the base of her neck. “You’re serious,” she whispers, her voice soft with disbelief.

“Deadly.” I hold her gaze, letting her see the heat, the hunger, the fucking need that’s been growing inside me for longer than I care to admit. “So what do you say, Maty? You ready to take a walk on the wild side with me?”

* * *

Maty

I can’t breathe. Can’t think. Can’t do anything but stare up at him, my mind pounding with the implications of his words.

He wants to be my test subject? Wants to play at being my book boyfriend, my fantasy come to life? That’s insane. Ridiculous. Fucking impossible…

And what I’ve been dreaming of for longer than I can think.

But this is Alessio we’re talking about. My boss, the man who holds my entire life in the palm of his hand. If I let myself go down this rabbit hole with him, there’s no telling what kind of damage it could do to my heart, my career, my very soul.

And yet… I can’t deny the heat that races through me at the thought of being with him, even if it’s just pretend. Can’t deny the way my body responds to the dark promise in his voice, the wicked gleam in his eyes.

I know I should say no. Should shove him away and tell him to go to hell, that I’m not some plaything for him to toy with.

But the words won’t come. They’re stuck down my throat, impossible to choke out.

Because I want this. Want him, with a hunger so intense it scares me.

And maybe that makes me a fool, or a masochist, or just a really fucking bad judge of character. But in this moment, with Alessio’s hard body pressed against mine and his blue eyes burning into me, I can’t bring myself to care.

“Okay,” I whisper, the word barely audible over the pounding of my own heart. “Let’s do it.”

The smile that spreads across his face is devastating, a wicked curl of his full, sculpted lips that promises all sorts of delicious sins. “Good girl,” he drawls, his big hand sliding to cup the back of my neck, fingers tangling in my curls.

But even as he leans in, lips brushing against the shell of my ear and sending shivers racing down my spine, I can’t shake the feeling that I already do.

That I’m again making a deal with the devil, and before this is all over, I’ll be lucky if my heart is the only thing I lose.

But then Alessio’s mouth is on mine, hot and demanding and so fucking perfect I can’t think, can’t breathe, can’t do anything but surrender to the heat, the hunger, the overwhelming want. His full lips pressed to mine, delicious tongue sliding inside my mouth. The taste of him exploding on my tongue. His woodsy, masculine scent surrounding me. The heat from his tall, muscular body. The feel of him…

I let myself melt into our kiss, drown in the taste and feel and very essence of him. I can’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe… it might be worth it after all.