Surviving Mateo (Morelli Family 2)

Seeing I’m awake, he remarks, “This is mean.”

I crack a sleepy smile, glancing over at Mia. She’s fast asleep in sleep shorts and a navy blue tank top, hugging a spare pillow, but she’s curled up close to me.

“Do you have girl on girl fantasies, Mr. Morelli?” I tease quietly.

“Only when you two do shit like this,” he states, dropping his shirt on the chair. “I’m still sleeping in this bed, I hope you realize that.”

“As long as you don’t torture Vince with this information tomorrow,” I tell him, scooting a little closer to Mia to make room for him on my other side.

“Oh, come on,” he says.

I shake my head. “Nope.”

He steps away just long enough to step out of his slacks and into a pair of sweatpants, then without a shirt, he climbs into bed beside me.

“You’ve given me a brilliant idea,” he informs me.

“I’m usually a fan of your brilliant ideas, but I’m skeptical of any plan this could’ve inspired.”

Mateo grins, leaning in to kiss me. “No, it’s a good one, guaranteed to make you love me forever.”

“Really?” I ask, with exaggerated interest. “That’s the one thing you’ve always accepted you couldn’t force.”

“But I realized I can,” he says, hopefully exaggerating his smugness.

“Let’s hear it.”

“I know you insist you’re not a jealous person,” he begins.

“I’m not,” I state.

“But if you ever stop loving me, I’m stealing Mia back from Vince and keeping you both here as my sister wives. Mia’s much more malleable than you are; I can use her affections to make you love me again.”

Grinning and barely holding back a laugh, I tell him, “That’s a terrible plan.”

He shakes his head. “It would work. If for no other reason, because you’re a mother hen. You’d want to shield her from me.”

“Stop making dastardly plans,” I say, lightly shoving him in the arm. “I’m already yours, you ass.”

“And now I have a back-up plan, in case someday you don’t want to be.”

I shake my head at him, but lean in and kiss him anyway. “You’re one of a kind, Morelli.”

“You love me,” he points out, locking his arm around my waist.

“And nothing’s ever going to make me stop, so you can retire your terrible plan.” Reaching out to run my fingers through his hair, I give him one more little kiss. “Did you find that Castellanos guy?”

“Not yet,” Mateo answers, much to my disappointment. “I’ve got guys looking, but I’ve wasted so much fucking time.”

I offer a sympathetic sigh. Mateo isn’t a man who likes being outsmarted, and boy did they bait him good. “You’ll find him. We’ll get this all sorted. Bring down the hammer on these assholes.”

Smirking, he tugs me up against him. “It turns me on when you get all bloodthirsty.”

“I’m so not fucking you with Mia in our bed. I don’t have a lot of limits, but you just found one.”

“You’ll have to change your tune once you’re sister wives,” he informs me.

“I love your dick way too much to cut it off, so don’t tempt me.”

That surprises a burst of laughter out of him, and I feel Mia stir behind me. Bringing my finger to his lips, I mouth “shhh” to him. Grinning with devious intent, his hand slides down between our bodies. I squeeze my legs together before he can make contact, and widen my eyes at him in a speaking manner.

After a few seconds, I peek back over my shoulder, but Mia is still asleep.

“We need to go to sleep,” I whisper to Mateo, catching his hand and moving it away.

“I have needs.”

“I’ll meet them happily tomorrow, once Mia’s gone.”

“It could be fun. Trying not to wake her up,” he says, trying to entice me.

I shake my head, closed for business. “You move the bed too much.”

“I haven’t heard you complain about it before.”

“I haven’t, but you’ll wake her up. I’m sure it’s weird enough for her to be back in your bed at all, but to wake up to you fucking someone else in it? No.”

“I hate to break it to you, she’s not going to be psyched to wake up and find me in it at all.”

I lean in and give him a lingering kiss. “Tomorrow you can fuck me as many times as you want, I promise.”

“I hope you didn’t have any other plans then,” he replies.

“I’ll cancel all of them,” I promise, winking.

—

When I wake up the next morning, Mateo and Mia are both gone. I hear the shower running in the bathroom, the adjoining door cracked open, so I drag myself out of bed and make my way in there.

I see Mateo’s silhouette in the stall, and thinking of all the sex we’re supposed to have, I decide to surprise him. Thankfully the bathroom is huge, so I can sneak over and brush my teeth first without attracting his notice, then I strip off my clothes and climb into the shower with him.