The Sweetest Temptation
Chapter 232: Dreaming

Chapter 232: Dreaming

Matteo sunk into his seat in his study. He’d spoken with the client, and just as he thought, he was extremely enraged about the attack. He relayed his need for discretion and his clumsiness when it came to making sure they were safe.

Matteo had spent ten whole minutes trying to pacify him and get him to talk about the deal that got them in the position in the first place. But after he’d ranted about all that agitated him, he concluded the call with a refusal to deal with him at the moment and hung up the call.

Filled with frustration and an unbearable need to lose himself in some sort of distraction, Matteo had decided to sit back in his study and drink himself to calm.

But just as he helped himself to another shot of whiskey, he lost interest completely. His mind was filled with thoughts of Stella.

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. He’d expected it; his eventual need for her presence. But what he hadn’t seen coming was how much he needed it, like the very air that he breathed.

It’d take a different kind of control to keep himself from letting out the emotions he’d locked out after the experience he’d have with a woman whom he’d given the same amount of reverence in the past.

Lorena, his ex-girlfriend, managed to be the bane of his existence. He’d gotten himself prepared to settle down with her, but one unfortunate event brought all of his hopes and imaginations to the ground.

Filled with a loathing for his foolhardiness at the earlier signs he later identified, he’d decided to keep his feelings locked up, never to be let out. But Stella came into his life and from her mere presence, unlocked that oath and bred a need he never imagined himself capable of feeling.

"Goddamn it, Stella, why did you do it?!" He exclaimed suddenly, pushing himself off the chair as he made his way to the door, on his way to his room, where she was.

How he’d manage to keep his sanity intact with her presence, he wasn’t sure, but what he knew at that moment was he wasn’t prepared to let her out of his sight, he wasn’t sure when he’d be able to – probably never.

***

Stella felt a sharp pain sear through her forehead as she fought against the haze that had begun to clear from her vision.

Her eyelids felt like leads as she struggled to open them as slowly as ever. In that slight moment that her vision gave way, she noticed that she was in a strange place, a place that was clearly not hers.

Her heart pounded slightly as she tried to process the nature of her environment, clearly a vast haven of luxury and coziness.

The first thing her gaze met was a canopy bed frame draped with a mix of voile and chiffon fabric. They had colors and designs fit for royalty. But it was the sheets that she laid in that made all the difference, they made her confirm that she was in heaven.

They were the closest she could feel to clouds as she fidgeted in the bed. The silk and contrasting fur duvet against her skin was a divine feeling that caused certain parts of her head to ease.

The less stuffy environment clearly contrasted from her tight space with cool air ventilation and brightness making her experience even more worthwhile – but she needed to know where she was.

She dug her elbows into the mattress, bracing herself to sit up. But when she nudged herself forward, a stabbing pain shot through her side, alerting her to the cause that had somehow led to her current situation.

She fell back into the pillows and begun to brace herself to make another attempt, hissing loudly as the pain sent bolts of electric charges through her nerves, awakening her awareness to the discomforting sensations that it caused.

Just as she was about to give it another shot, "Stop," A familiar baritone broke through the silence that had begun to unnerve her.

She went still as ice at the command and rose her gaze to behold a familiar figure standing majestically at the doorway, eyes stern with silent warning.

That was when it all dawned on her – she had made a stupid move, and she had been shot. But somehow, she managed to escape death, thanks to the man that now closed the distance between them – thanks to Matteo.

Matteo felt his happiness causing an unfamiliar swelling in his chest. He did not imagine he’d feel so much relief and joy from seeing her conscious.

It threatened to break out of him, but his male ego would not allow him to give in to this release. He drew in a sharp breath as he hovered over her, locking his gaze with hers in awe and questioning.

"You’ve only been treated, you’re not ready to leave the bed yet." His voice came in low whispers this time, as if he was addressing a child. He did not need to say it twice, she wasn’t about to leave the bed.

She only needed to confirm where she was and go back to sleep, the pain in her head was intensifying by the minute and the sharp stab in her side wasn’t doing any good either.

Not to mention the growing sense of anxiety that filled her as Matteo stood in very close proximity to where she lay, vulnerable and unresisting.

"Where am I?" She asked him, her voice came out hushed and hesitant, as though she was scared he’d discover what went on in her mind.

He gave his reply in the same voice, "You’re at my house, in my room." This time, he rose his hand towards her hair and began to smooth her locks in lingering strokes.

The sudden gesture surprised Stella so much that she dimmed her eyes, though not completely at will. In the haze of everything that happened, she feared that her sudden decision of charging after him would cause him to end their professional relationship.

And here he was, smoothing out her locks and looking at her with eyes that conveyed more than she thought him capable of feeling.

Am I dreaming?! She thought to herself, as it was too good to be true.