Page 55 of Bellini Born

The tail end of last night was a blur after receiving a life-altering orgasm, courtesy of a loaded gun wielded by the hottest man I’d ever met. The last thing I could remember was being in the bathwithMatteo.

“Morning.” The single word uttered by a sleep-roughened male voice had me bolting upright in bed.

Big mistake.

It was impossible to contain the pained whimper that flew past my lips when the sudden movement aggravated the soreness between my legs.

My eyes flew immediately to the man leaning against the wall at the threshold of my bedroom.

His brows pinched together as he mouthed,You okay?

I gave a weak nod, and heat crept onto my cheeks as I drank in the sight of him.

Holy hell, it should be illegal how incredible he looked in a T-shirt and flannel pajama pants, his dark hair mussed from sleep. Add in the baby on his hip, and my ovaries were on the verge of exploding.

“Summer?”

Even though Bianca’s concerned voice demanded my attention, it took all my strength to tear my eyes away from the sexy billionaire who—if memory served—claimed me as his last night.

Smoothing a hand over her tangled hair, I plastered a bright smile onto my face. “What’s up, B?”

She blinked up at me with those big brown eyes. “Are you hurt?”

“No, honey. Just sat up too quickly,” I reassured her.

The worry lines on her forehead melted away. Then she looked at her father and declared, “Papa has a boo boo.”

My head whipped around, and the tiniest smirk tipped up on the corner of his lips as he showed off the large bandage covering most of his right forearm.

“Had a little run-in with a set of claws,” he explained.

Wait. Did I mention the cat to him? And if it scratched him that badly, we had a big problem. The people at the shelter told me she was a total sweetheart and would be perfect for young children.

Great, that was the last thing I needed. For Bianca to become attached to an animal that was meant to provide her with emotional support during a turbulent time in her young life, only to have to tear it away.

I’d wanted it to be this big surprise from Santa, but now I was beginning to rethink not taking the girls with me to the shelter so that we could find a cat that would be the perfect fit.

Bianca bounced on her knees, each jolt of the mattress sending a shockwave through my tender lady bits. “Can you do my hair? Like those bow pigtails you showed me?”

“Sure. Go get your brush, the detangling spray, and the hair ties from your bathroom.”

She was off in a flash, leaving me alone—well, alone-ish, considering Serafina didn’t provide much of a buffer—with Matteo.

The sexiest fucking grin was aimed in my direction before he asked, “Sleep well?”

“Uh, yeah, I think so.” My fingers toyed with the ends of my hair. “What time is it, anyway?”

“A little before six.”

At that news, I collapsed against the mattress with a groan.

His deep chuckle had my thighs clenching. “Kids don’t mess around on Christmas morning.”

“Apparently not,” I muttered, throwing an arm over my eyes. I was going to need either a gallon of caffeine or a nap to make it through the whole day.

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why I was wearing his shirt sans panties when Bianca’s voice announced her return.

“I got everything!”