Coming Home (Morelli Family 6)

He looks as handsome as ever relaxing on the bed with his hands crossed behind his head. He still has his dress pants on, but he didn’t put his shirt back on. I didn’t bother putting my clothes back on either, I just tossed them in the dirty clothes. Now I climb into bed naked, flushing with pleasure as his gaze moves over me. He sees me naked roughly four days a week, but he still manages to look at me each time with heated interest.

I climb on the bed and curl up under the blankets. I love how cool the sheets and underside of the covers feel against my bare skin. I sigh with pleasure and curl up on my side so I can look at Mateo.

“You know that winter gala you wanted me to take you to next Friday?” he asks, casually.

I nod my head. “The one you said you were too busy for?” I ask lightly. “Yes, I do remember that.”

“I found a little room in my schedule. Still want to go?”

I raise an unimpressed eyebrow. “The tickets sold out. No brownie points for offering when you already know we can’t go.”

Smirking at me, he reaches over and snakes his arm under my body, yanking me against his side. “I don’t need brownie points,” he reminds me.

I roll my eyes, but snuggle up against the bastard anyway.

“Anyway,” he continues. “I made a couple calls. Talked to the coordinator. Turns out they found a couple more tickets to sell me.”

Now I grin up at him. “Really? You intimidated someone into letting you donate money to charity? That is some contradictory badassery, right there.”

“I’m well-rounded,” he deadpans.

“You’re my hero,” I inform him, still grinning.

“Hey, if my woman wants to go to some stupid charity gala, that’s what we’re going to do.”

I glow at being called his woman and curl up closer, my lips moving like a magnet to his bare chest. Just by being him, he’s made me forget my earlier annoyance. I want to move along to more enjoyable activities.

Before I can effectively seduce him, he reaches over toward the bedside table and grabs a box. A jewelry box, if I’m not mistaken.

“I was going to save these for Christmas, but they pair well with the dress and shoes you’ve got coming tomorrow.”

Now I push myself up, eyeing up the box eagerly. “For the gala?”

He nods and hands me my present.

I crack it open and nestled inside are gorgeous, glimmering sapphire and diamond earrings. “Wow,” I say, flashing him a grin. “These are so beautiful. Thank you.” I lean in to give him a hug. He holds onto me longer than I expect, and then his hand skates down the curve of my back. He can’t resist grabbing my ass, and it reignites my desire for him. A little sigh of pleasure escapes me. God, how I crave this man.

My womb may be empty, but now my head is filled with fantasies of next weekend, going out on his arm, publicly, visibly his. Meg usually gets to go with him to public things like that if he has to attend.

Even though I’m aggravated with her tonight, I feel a stab of guilt. That’s going to make Meg mad. Not only is he stripping her of any nights with him this week (she’s already had one, but she should have a couple more coming), now he’s taking me to the kind of society function he would ordinarily take her to. It’s maybe an excessive punishment, considering I really don’t think she had any ill intentions. We were talking, apparently everyone else in the damn house knew already, and she happened to mention it. If anything, it’s probably his fault for not telling me right away.

I don’t have it in me to say any of that, though. I don’t want to step on her toes, but I’m not about to turn down extra dates. Regardless of his insistence that I get my own family time with him, Meg gets far more of it than I do, and like Adrian pointed out, it’s unlikely she’s going to change her mind anytime soon.

This sort of thing probably makes it even less likely.

Surely Mateo understands that.

Then again, he only respects anyone’s rules as far as he wants to. He already promised me he would give me a baby when I wanted one. I just didn’t want it to be a war. I didn’t want it to hurt anybody; I wanted Meg to come around to the idea and let me have an equal share of everything she has.

But I guess she doesn’t get everything I get, either.

I have the larger slice of Mateo’s heart. He’s never punished me for not playing nice with her, not one single time. This isn’t the first time he’s done it to her. I’m sure it won’t be the last.