Page 73 of Tempting Tessa

His arms tighten around me. “We’ll figure it out, stellina. Together.”

I bury my face in his chest, breathing in his scent. “I’m scared.”

“I know.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “But I got you. Let me worry about Conrad; I have in fact known him longer than you.”

The baby kicks as if agreeing. I take Matteo’s hand and place it on my belly, where our child is making its presence known.

“Feel that?” I ask softly.

He nods, his eyes darkening with a possessive look I’ve come to know so well. “Strong, just like his father.”

“Or his mother,” I counter, smiling despite myself.

Matteo drops to his knees in front of me, his hands framing my belly. He presses his lips to the curve, murmuring something in Italian that I can’t quite catch.

“What did you say?” I ask, running my fingers through his hair.

He looks up at me, his expression raw with emotion. “That I’ll protect you both. No matter what.”

My heart swells with something that feels terrifyingly close to love. “You can’t protect us from everything, Matteo.”

“Watch me,” he says, and there’s no teasing in his voice. Only absolute certainty.

I pull him to his feet and kiss him, pouring all my fear, hope, and confusion into it. When we break apart, I rest my forehead against his.

“I’ll call him back,” I say. “Set up dinner for next weekend.”

He nods, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “I’ll come with you.”

“No,” I shake my head. “I need to tell him alone first. Then you can come.”

His jaw tightens, but he nods. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.” I take a deep breath. “But after I tell him, I’m going to need you. Probably for a very long time.”

Matteo’s smile is slow and devastating. “You’ll have me, Contessa. For as long as you need.”

“Forever, then,” I whisper before I can stop myself.

His eyes flash with something fierce and hungry. “As if any other answer would have sufficed.”

He kisses me again, deeper this time, his hands sliding down to cup my ass. I melt against him, all thoughts of my father and difficult conversations temporarily forgotten.

When he pulls back, his eyes are dark with desire. “Now, where were we before your father interrupted?”

I glance at my desk, where my laptop sits open to a half-answered email. “I should probably finish these⁠—”

Matteo silences me with another kiss, his hand sliding under my shirt to palm my breast. “They can wait.”

And just like that, I’m lost again—swept up in the storm that is Matteo Marino, helpless to resist the pull between us even when I know it might destroy everything else in my life.

As he lifts me onto the desk, scattering papers and knocking my mug to the floor, I can’t bring myself to care about anything except the feel of his hands on my skin and the promise of forever in his eyes.

Tomorrow, I’ll call my father. Tomorrow, I’ll face the consequences of falling for the one man I should have stayed away from.

But today, I’m going to let Matteo remind me exactly why I can’t.

Chapter 24