Chapter 13

13

MATTEO

" Y ou want to know all my secrets, little rabbit?"

"Yes." I can't deny her. I've passed all that. I don't even care anymore if her brother sent her to destroy me. So be it. They could try, but in the end, Mona is still going to be mine. She's been in my bed, my home, for weeks. Now she has my child inside of her.

"Then, you'll have to be my wife." Her tongue comes out, wetting her bottom lip. "Say what you want, Mona." I can tell when she is trying to hold back. "You don't have to ever hold your tongue here." Not that she often does, but I need her words.

"Is this because of the baby?"

"No," I say without hesitation. I shift, taking her with me, so that she's straddling me in bed. "I even told that doctor you were going to be my wife, so to treat you accordingly, before I knew about the baby." A smile tugs at her lips.

"She wondered why I was so worried about you discovering that I was pregnant. She said you'd be happy."

"Very." I brush her hair away from her face. I can't help but wonder if we had a little girl, would she have that same coloring?

"Do you really want to marry me?" I reach into my pocket—another task I tackled this morning when I got out of bed with Mona. If I hadn't needed to take care of things that concerned her, I wouldn't have gone anywhere. "Matteo."

She lets out a small gasp when I slide the ring onto her finger. The emerald reminded me of her eyes, surrounded by diamonds. When I saw it, I knew it was meant for her. Within the first few days of her being here, I had to order her clothing. I might have stumbled into looking at rings even as I denied what was happening between us. Deep down inside, I knew she was my forever. That there was no way on earth I was letting her go.

"Now can you tell me your secrets?" A playful expression takes over her face. This is how I want her. It reminds me of that first night with her. It had all been so easy. It was right.

"When my mother died, she took part of my father with her. He was never the same after." It was difficult to watch him change over time. To see him become a shell of the man he once was.

"You loved him."

"I did. I do." One day, I'll take her to meet him. "I sent him back to Italy. He was drowning himself in alcohol and strings of mistresses." I couldn't bear to see him that way anymore. Plus, I needed to salvage the empire he had built.

"Mistresses?" Her nose scrunches.

"It's what he called them. He was faithful to my mother. He told me that in one of his drunken late-night confessions, when it was only the two of us. He'd go on about my mother all night. Then he'd talk about the guilt of the women he took to bed after she passed."

"Then why did he do it?"

"He said the alcohol made it easier. That he'd turn off the lights and pretend." I always noticed that the women bore a striking resemblance to my mother. Hell, he admitted once that he still said her name in bed. "A woman destroyed him."

"Oh, Matteo." She runs her hands up my chest to rest on my shoulders.

"I told myself I'd never let that happen. Growing up, I saw the lure of women to the men all around me. It was always their weakness. So I avoided it. I never gave in to the idea of having one for myself." Her eyes widen.

"As in, ever?"

"Ever." I confirm what she is thinking. I'm sure she finds it hard to believe. I found my release in other ways. Fighting was one way, and I see the same in Nikolai. "Then, there you were." I sink my fingers into her hair. "I knew you were the one, but I wasn't ready to admit it to myself yet. I was angry with myself for having the very weakness I swore I never would." I lay it all out there for her because it's the truth.

Fuck, I want her. I see my ring on her finger, knowing she already has my child inside of her. It's been too long since I've been inside of her. I pin her to the bed; I can't wait another second.

"I thought about you every day." Her hips thrust up, rubbing her cunt against my cock.

"Need you." We both start pulling at each other's clothes until we are completely naked.

"I want to touch you." She reaches down between us. Her soft, delicate hand wraps around my cock. I'm already on edge. There is no way I will survive her jerking me off. And I want to come inside of her.

"Mona."

"What?" She licks her lips, staring between us.

"Later." I grab her hands, pinning them above her head with one of mine. Using my knees, I push her thighs wider for me. She arches her back, pressing her tits into my chest as I guide my cock to her opening. When I feel how wet she is for me, I nearly come.

"Matteo." Mona wraps her legs around me, her hips trying to rise off the bed. "Make love to me."

I push inside of her, claiming her mouth at the same time. "Let my hands go. I want to touch you," she says between kisses. I give her what she asks for, giving up control for her.

Her fingers trail up and down my body. Mona's lips kiss along my neck and jaw. Her soft touch is unlike anything I have ever known. I had no idea how starved I was for such a thing. Now I'm not sure how I ever lived without it.

I thrust into her slowly, savoring every fucking second of how her pussy feels wrapped around my cock. I take it slowly, wanting this time not to be rushed like our first time together. It's taking every last remnant of my self-control not to rut into her.

"Fuck, you feel good. It's been too long since I've had you." Her hands tighten on my ass, trying to get me to move quicker. "Don't be so impatient, little rabbit."

"Please," she begs. That's when I break and give her exactly what she wants. I thrust into her over and over again, her hips matching my rhythm. I'm not going to last at this pace.

I reach down, pressing my thumb to her clit, and I rub her there as I continue to move inside of her. It's not long before she's coming. Her emerald eyes lock with mine as she screams my name. I thrust deep inside of her one last time, spilling every last drop of my seed into her.

There is nothing on this earth or beyond that will ever compare to her. I now understand why my father couldn't survive without the love of his life. The only difference is I'd never touch another. Nothing will ever taint Mona O'Haire's perfection, soon to be Mona Cattaneo.