"Fiancé?" Rev raised an eyebrow in surprise with a huff of laughter. "I didn't think it'd been that long since we spoke."
"It hasn't," I agreed. "I suspect you'll understand one day."
"It's nice to meet a friend of Teo's," Ivory murmured, pressing a kiss to my cheek and gathering her things. "But I suspect you came to talk business. I'll get out of your hair. Would you like to stay for lunch?" she asked, bringing a smile to my face.
"You're an idiot if you say no," I informed Rev, and he chuckled in that easy, laid back manner he learned from his Southern daddy.
"She a good cook?" he drawled, and Ivory smiled at me smugly.
"A chef actually. The best, but I might be biased."
"Then shit yeah, I'll stay. Won't pass up a good, home cooked meal."
"Great," Ivory agreed with that smile that made my breath catch. She retreated from the office, closing the door behind her and letting us get down to business.
"So, what brings you by?" I asked, sitting down behind my desk and leaving Rev to get comfortable in a chair in front of it. He steepled his hands over his knees, leaning forward to look at me intently.
"I'm retiring."
"Okay," I nodded. Thirty-five wasn't an unheard-of age to retire from pro-sports, and I wasn't an unreasonable man. While Rev's contract with my father had ensured a small cut of Rev's pay came to me, I by no means required it.
I had plenty of money of my own.
"That's it?" he asked, and I chuckled.
"You've more than paid off your school loans at this point. Out of curiosity, what prompted the retirement? I thought you'd play until you dropped dead."
He sat back in his seat, a smile of disbelief flitting across his face. "My kid's in high school, man. My ex just moved to this new town in Colorado, and I ain't gonna miss another minute of his life, you know? Time to settle down."
"Admirable," I agreed. "I wish you the best of luck, Rev. You deserve it. Let's go see what my woman is cooking up."
I wasn't a good man. Was far too hard most of the time. But for a man who did everything he could to hold up his word? A man who worked his ass off and just wanted to spend time with his son?
I could pretend for an hour or two.
Twenty-Nine
Ivory
I was going crazy.
Literally.
I could feel my sanity slowly slipping away the longer I spent in that house. The more days I spent cooped up like a prisoner.
I hated feeling like the world wasn't a safe place and wondering if I'd ever look at it the same. How could I? When I was set to marry a mob boss of Chicago.
Fuck, that still sounded insane.
I shook my head, snapping out of my trance when my engagement ring clinked against the mixing bowl I pulled from the cupboard. I slipped it off my finger, setting it on the bottom shelf of the cabinet for safekeeping while I cooked.
Wearing jewelry was one of those things that I couldn't overlook, even if I rebelled against my culinary training in a lot of ways. Because it was unsanitary and made me feel gross.
Matteo had a sick sixth sense about when I took that ring off.
If I didn't think it would make me paranoid, I'd suspect him of putting a sensor in it.
But that was crazy, right?
Sure enough, he stepped into the kitchen and snatched my ring out of the cupboard in favor of shoving it back onto my finger. He stared down at me, eyes full of rage that we were about to have that damn conversation again.
Yeah, well, I was sick of it too asshole.
I tore it off my finger, shoving it back into the cupboard. "It bumps into everything," I protested. "Not to mention it's gross. Do you know what germs get on rings like that? Nope. Not happening."
Matteo's eyes narrowed on me, studying my face. "You're pissed off today. Are you feeling okay?"
I squinted back, daring him to comment. I'd been hit with sudden spells of nausea the last couple days, at the most random moments. Nothing severe, and the moments passed almost as quickly as they appeared, but I could see the control freak in Matteo rebelling against the notion that something could be wrong with me.
"I told you, I'm fine. I just need fresh air. I need to run, but you won't let me leave the fucking property!"
"Christ, Ivory. The property is huge, you act like you can't run out there."
"It's not the same," I whined. "Please, Teo."
"Not yet," he sighed. "I haven't heard shit about Adrian in over a week. I don't trust it."
"Fine," I groaned, turning back to the counter to mix. If I couldn't exercise, maybe dark chocolate brownies could fix it.
"If you're looking for a workout, I can help with that," he chuckled, stepping into my back and running his lips behind my ear.
"Oh how convenient," I laughed. "I don't think sex is safe anymore. I mean, I could get hurt, you know?" I mocked him, testing his limits. He and I both knew that sex with him wasn't such a workout for me. He put me where he wanted me and took it.
"You can run the show," he whispered, and I froze, turning to face him.
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "For how long?" He twisted his lips in thought, and I fought the rising chuckle. "Don't hurt yourself."
"Ten minutes," he offered.
I chuckled, "thirty."
"Fuck woman, what the Hell are you going to do to me that will take thirty minutes?"
"Should we find out?" I whispered, giggling when he turned for the stairs to our bedroom.
✽✽✽
Matteo lasted thirty minutes on the dot before he hauled me up from between his legs, rolled me underneath him and slid inside me. He fucked me until I came on a scream, only then finally letting himself find his own release.
"I wasn't done," I protested with a pout.
"Woman, thirty minutes was up. You were done."
"What were you, counting the minutes?" I giggled, but the serious look he leveled me with made me roar with outright laughter.
"How the fuck else do you think I managed not to come down your throat?" I bit my lip. I never liked blowjobs, never enjoyed swallowing, but something about Matteo was intoxicating, and I wanted him everywhere I could get him.
His gaze darkened, and he cursed. He rolled off me, muttering about how I would drain him dry as he went to the bathroom. I got dressed, deciding that while my jaw had been the only thing to really get a workout, I would make those brownies, anyway. By the time I made my way back to the kitchen, a tiny, delicate trinket dish sat on the counter. I bit my lip, resisting the urge to smile. Gilded in gold around the edges, it was hand painted in a marbled pattern of icy blue and sea green.
Slipping my ring off, I dropped it in the bowl before washing my hands and starting to work on my brownies. When Matteo emerged from his office a few minutes later, he whispered in my ear briefly. "Back on your finger as soon as you finish, yeah?"
I nodded with a smile.
It wasn't about the dish.
It was about him listening to me, respecting my wishes on something, even if it might seem small.