Page 49 of Bellini Born

“If I hurt her, I’ll hand you the gun.”

Brown eyes widened, and a surprised exhale rushed past her parted lips.

When the shock wore off, she said, “I’ll hold you to that.” Then she was gone.

Summer looked to me in question, but I shook my head, silently asking her to let it drop. Thankfully, she granted my request, because I didn’t think she was ready to hear that I valued her life more than my own.

Hell, I was barely ready to hear it myself, but that didn’t make it any less true.

My obsession with Summer Reynolds had officially reached an all-time high.

Chapter 12

Matteo

Iwasnobetterthan a child, unable to sleep on Christmas Eve. But not because I was anxiously awaiting Santa’s arrival. No, my insomnia could be traced to the woman living under my roof, lured here under the guise of caring for my daughters.

Fuck, she drove me insane.

Ever since I first peeked in on her pleasuring herself, I’d become addicted to watching her come. She had no clue that when she turned out the lights each night, I was lurking nearby, stroking my cock as she starred in my new favorite show.

And every night, it became harder to resist the pull to join her, especially when it was my name that spilled from her lips when she reached the peak of ecstasy.

It was pure fucking torture holding back, knowing she wanted me just as much as I wanted her.

By the time I put the girls to bed and placed a mountain of wrapped gifts beneath the Christmas tree, I figured I’d already missed Summer’s sexy solo playtime. Which was unfortunate,because after over a week of getting off while acting the voyeur, my cock had been trained to get hard at this time of night.

Since my preferred outlet for the lust coursing through my veins was off the table, I decided to burn it off in my home gym. Maybe if I pushed my body to the limit, I’d be able to coax it into falling asleep without the physical release it had grown accustomed to.

Ninety minutes later, I was drenched in sweat but no closer to cooling my heated blood.

It was borderline terrifying that Summer had me so twisted up that I literally couldn’t sleep unless I was afforded the chance to spy on her while masturbating.

The treadmill’s speed and incline were maxed out. If my body didn’t give out soon, I was pretty sure my heart might explode.

My pulse pounded in my ears like someone was beating a drum inside my brain. But it wasn’t enough to drown out the loud crash that sounded in the distance.

Hitting the emergency stop button, I was instantly on high alert.

Someone was in the house.

There were hidden safes in every room, and I rushed toward the one inside the gym. Disengaging the fingerprint lock, I pulled out a gun, checking to ensure it was loaded, before creeping into the hallway.

Letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, I strained my ears to determine the location of the intruder. Whoever thought it was a good idea to break into my home while my daughters and Summer were upstairs sleeping would learn a fatal lesson tonight.

I would grant no mercy. You didn’t fuck with my family.

Silently padding toward the main living room, where I could hear the shuffling movements of the dead man walking, I heldmy gun at the ready. This room didn’t have a door, so I paused outside the open threshold.

When I peered around the edge of the wall, my defenses lowered as confusion set in.

“What the hell?” The words were said at full volume, eliciting a feminine shriek from the person whose body was hidden behind the massive, decorated evergreen.

A few hours ago, there were two distinct piles of presents. Now, there was some kind of train constructed from boxes, and packages peeked out from the open tops.

“Matteo?” My head whipped around, startled by the fact that Summer never uttered my given name outside of those moments when rapture overtook her—moments that were never meant for me to witness.

“Uh . . .” I shook my head to clear it before gesturing toward the gift train. “What’s all this?”