Page 21 of Tempting Tessa

“You think I care about your little company, about the investment?” His voice drops to that dangerous velvet tone that makes my thighs clench. “I couldn’t care less except for the fact that they are yours. Your business, your passion. That is literally the only reason I give a fuck.”

“Of course you do. That’s why you’re here⁠—”

“I’m here for you.” He cuts me off, his hand coming up to cup my face. His palm is warm against my cheek, and I hate how I instinctively lean into it. “I’ve always been here for you.”

I jerk my head away from his touch. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I want your future, Contessa.” He steps closer, backing me against the wall.

A laugh bubbles up from my throat, high and nervous. “My future? Are you fucking insane?”

“Perhaps.” His smile is slow and predatory. “Insane for you. Have been for years.”

My heart pounds so hard I swear it’s going to crack my ribs. This can’t be happening. Matteo Marino—my father’s best friend, the man I’ve known my entire life—is looking at me like he wants to devour me whole.

“I want you wearing my ring,” he continues, his voice rough with need. “I want you swollen with my child. I want you riding my cock every night until you’re so full of my cum you can’t remember a time when you weren’t mine.”

“Jesus Christ,” I whisper, my face burning hot. “You can’t say shit like that to me.”

“Why not?” He leans in, his lips brushing my ear. “Because it makes your pussy wet? Because you can feel yourself dripping right now, imagining it?”

I shove at his chest, but he barely moves. “Because you’re my dad’s best friend, you psycho!”

“I am that, yes. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re mine. I’ve wanted you since I saw you after you had been gone for a few years. And last I checked you’re a grown woman now. A beautiful, stubborn woman who needs to be reminded of her place.”

“My place?” I sputter. “And where exactly is that?”

“Under me,” he growls. “On top of me. Wrapped around my cock, screaming my name. Wherever I fucking want you.”

My pussy clenches so hard it hurts. What is wrong with me? This man is twice my age, has known me my whole life, and is saying the filthiest, most asinine things, and I haven’t stormed out yet. What the hell does that say about me?

“I’ll pay you back every penny with interest, but this deal is over.”

The words hang in the air between us, and I watch as something shifts in his expression. The playful predator vanishes in an instant. His jaw hardens, eyes turning cold and calculating. Suddenly, I’m not looking at Matteo anymore. I’m staring at the infamous Del Mar enforcer, the man who makes business rivals disappear with a phone call.

“Even if I allowed you to do that,” he says, voice stripped of all warmth, “you couldn’t afford the interest rate.”

A chill runs down my spine. His tone isn’t threatening—it’s worse. It’s factual. Clinical. Like he’s discussing the weather instead of destroying everything I’ve built.

He straightens his cuffs, a small gesture that somehow emphasizes the power differential between us. “I’ll let you leave, Contessa, but this isn’t over. Go ahead and think about what you really want to do.”

I grab my briefcase, clutching it like a shield. My hand hovers over the doorknob as I hesitate, words forming and dying on my tongue. What could I possibly say that would make any difference now?

Nothing. There’s nothing.

I unlock the door and walk out, feeling his eyes burning into my back the entire way.

A chill settles over me as I realize I made a deal with the devil and didn’t fully think it out in my haste to avoid asking my dad for the capital.

I am screwed in more ways than one.

Chapter 7

Matteo

I’ve had to kill a lot of men in my life, but there’s nothing quite like the sweet anticipation of breaking into a woman’s apartment. Especially when that woman is Contessa fucking Gallo.

Her doorman practically bows when I walk through the lobby. “Mr. Marino, good evening.”