I grabbed the towel from where I’d dropped it on the ground and held it out to Matteo. “Can you cover yourself?”
He surprised me by not making a funny comment as he accepted the towel and wrapped it awkwardly around his waist.
“Can you get up?”
He let out a low sound in his throat, a mix of groan and laugh, and raised an eyebrow.
“That’s a no, I suppose,” I said.
“I’m too heavy for you, trust me. Give me a moment.”
I waited and watched as his back heaved with every breath. He braced his arm against the glass of the stall, muscles flexing, and managed to get one knee up. I reached for him but he shook his head. “No,” he said harshly, then softer, “No.”
I took a step back. His body shook as he propped his arm up on his knee and braced the other against the shower stall. With a low groan, he pushed to his feet, then staggered and fell against the shower stall. The thing vibrated as if it was going to burst. I jumped forward and wedged my shoulder against Matteo’s ribs while I gripped him around the middle.
He let out a quiet sigh. “You don’t have to help me. You owe me nothing.”
“I want to, and I owe you common decency,” I muttered, glaring up at him.
“I suppose it’s my special talent to make you Scuderi women hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Matteo,” I said firmly. “And neither does Gianna.”
He raised his head so I could see his expression and nodded toward the door. “If we go slow, I should be able to support most of my weight.”
It took us several minutes to reach the bedroom when Matteo tensed suddenly.
“Someone entered the penthouse,” he murmured, every muscle in his body taut. I hadn’t heard a thing.
“Luca said Romero would come over.”
“I assume that means nobody’s on guard at the moment.”
I blinked up at him, suddenly worried. The Russians had managed to get into the mansion, so who said they couldn’t get into our penthouse? His hand slid down my back and after a moment of shock, I realized what he was doing. He pulled the gun out of the waistband of my pants and aimed it toward the door, straightening from my shoulder.
“Get behind me.”
“You can’t stand on your own.”
“Get the fuck behind me, Aria,” Matteo snarled, and I recoiled but then narrowed my eyes.
“No.”
Maybe he would have shoved me behind him, but in that moment Romero called out. “Aria? Where are you?”
His voice rang with concern.
“Here!” I shouted, and it took only a few seconds for Romero to burst into the room, gun in hand. When his eyes settled on Matteo and me, surprise crossed his face, and he put his gun back in his holster.
“Matteo thought it was a good idea to pass out in the shower,” I said.
“I didn’t pass out. I stumbled and fell,” he muttered.
Romero came toward us and slid his arm under Matteo’s armpit. I released a small breath when the heavy weight lifted off my shoulder and stepped back.
“I’m taking it from here. Why don’t you go change?” Romero said.
I glanced down. My shirt was see-through from water and giving a view of my white lace bra, but there was also blood on the fabric.
Before I left the room, Matteo’s voice rang out. “Aria?” I turned to him. Romero had hoisted him down on the bed. “Thank you.”
I smiled. “You are welcome.”
Feeling drained, I made my way upstairs into the master bedroom. I took a long hot shower before I slipped into my softest wool nightgown, and lay down in bed.
I was woken by a warm hand on my cheek. Luca’s face hovered over me as his thumb stroked my skin. I blinked. “What time is it?”
“Late,” he murmured.
“Oh,” I said. “I must have fallen asleep. How’s Matteo?”
“Better,” Luca said in a strange voice. I searched his eyes. He was watching me with a look that filled my belly with butterflies. “He told me what happened.”
“I had to help him,” I said indignantly. “I don’t care if you’re mad that I almost saw all of him.”
Luca let out the softest laugh and I frowned, confused by his mood. His hand slid down my side and he bunched up my nightgown and settled between my legs, his warm body covering mine. When his tip brushed my center, I released a surprised breath. He didn’t enter me, only kissed me.
I kissed him back, softening under his heat and strength. Soon Luca’s tongue in my mouth and his body on top of me had me slick with arousal, and he finally eased his tip into me. His eyes held mine as he slid the rest of the way in, and I moaned at the utter fullness.
“I don’t deserve you, Aria.”
He claimed my mouth again before I could protest and soon his expert movements had me writhing and panting, forgetting any word of objection.