The Italian Billionaire’s Nubian Queen

Chapter 8

Alyssa thought the storm was clearing, and so was her head. She didn’t know what madness had descended on her, exactly, but she was now lying naked with Matteo. Who was also naked. Very definitely naked. She snuck a look and was glad to see that he had, at least, remembered to put a condom on. She hadn’t thought of such things. Sure, she was on the pill to avoid cramping from hell every month, but a hot piece of ass with many billions had probably slept with more people than she could’ve managed even if she had accepted every single proposition that had been thrown her way.

Oh God. What had she been thinking? He’d just walked in and she’d had s*x with him. On the floor of her shop.

She was going to have to sanitize herself and her floor now.

Why was she even thinking about the floor? She’d had s*x with Matteo Colombo. That had to rank up there in the top ten most stupid things she’d done in her life.

Alyssa sat up slowly, and saw that Matteo was looking at her with a lazy grin that showed that he had no intention of getting up. He also had no regrets. Very obviously.

“You’re beautiful.”

“You get very Italian when… You know.”

His grin widened. Did he have absolutely no sense of self-consciousness? Because she did. Good heavens, where was her dress? Where were her bra and panties? She was apparently still wearing her shoes. So, she saw, was Matteo. That was all he was wearing, though.

That and a lot of confidence, apparently.

“Do I? But you can’t draw conclusions from just once. Do you want to come over here and try again?”

“What? I… No, I think I’ll pass. I mean… We’ll just… You wouldn’t happen to have seen my dress, have you?”

“I think it’s on that shelf over there.”

“Oh… Oh, right. Strange place for… It’s soaking wet.”

“I thought it might be.”

“I… Well, I’m just going to go into the office and change.”

“I need to change, too.”

“Do you… have anything to change into?”

“I don’t, but I was hoping you could come up with something.”

Alyssa shook her head because what on earth could you say to something like that?

“I… Well, not here, obviously, but I might have something that will fit you at home.”

“That works for me. The rain is still quite heavy, but I’m sure you can navigate it.”

“Wait, you’re coming home with me?”

“Unless you have an objection and plan to kick me out, I hoped I might be able to go home with you, yes.”

Alyssa gave up and ran for the office, where she thankfully kept her workout clothes. Now she was very glad that she rarely used them, because they were definitely clean, and thank heavens, they included underwear. She dressed quickly, checked her hair and winced before trying to get it to calm down a little, and finally went back out again.

She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed to see that he’d managed to find his pants and pull them on. He wasn’t wearing his shirt, though. She felt extremely plain in her yoga pants and her loose t-shirt, but he looked at her as if she was the answer to all his prayers.

“You look lovely, Alyssa.”

“I… Thank you. Well, I guess we’d better get going, then.”

“I know you’re closed, but could I buy a bottle of wine? I thought we might share it, to celebrate.”

She wasn’t entirely sure what they were celebrating. She wasn’t entirely sure just what the hell was going on, either. Well, she would have to just play it by the ear and figure it out, she decided, and nodded.

“Sure, we can take a bottle. No, please, you can’t pay for it. It’s for me, too, isn’t it?”

He beamed.

“Of course. It’s for both of us. I like the sound of that.”

All right, this was getting more than a little weird. She could handle it, though. Or so she thought.

Alyssa found a bag for the bottle, managed to find her purse, gathered up their clothes for the washer, and considered.

“Maybe you should put your shirt on.”

“You ripped the buttons off.”

“Oh… I did?”

“You did.”

“Well then, maybe the coat. And… Oh God, look at that. I’ll just mop that up before it stains.”

She grabbed a mop, and efficiently cleaned the floor. She considered sanitizing it, too, but she thought perhaps it might come across as rude. Well, she could do it the next day. Whatever it turned out to be like, because she had no idea what was going on in her life at the moment.

“You look very sexy with the mop in your hand, too.”

Exasperated, she turned to him.

“Look, that’s enough. Knock it off.”

He looked surprised.

“Knock off what?”

“Knock off the ridiculous compliments. Anyway, what do you mean I look sexy with a mop in my hand? What next? I’d look better pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen making you a sandwich?”

“Would you like that?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. If you keep that up, next time you can do the mopping.”

“I’m so pleased you think there will be a next time.”

Alyssa bit her tongue because he sounded like he had an answer to everything, and anyway, thinking of next time was beginning to give her stomach butterflies.

“Would you be more comfortable barefoot when you’re pregnant?” he asked, as if he was asking how she liked her coffee, as she pulled her coat on. He had, thankfully, put on his coat. At least the abs of steel were out of sight. They did strange things to her self-control when they were visible.

“What? I have no idea, I haven’t thought of it. Why would I? I don’t plan to be pregnant for ages!”

“You do want a family, though, don’t you?”

Alyssa shrugged.

“Sure, I mean… Later, when there’s time to spare, and I won’t have to worry about running the business into the ground when I take time off to raise children. I’m sure there are women who can do both together but I really don’t know if I’d be able to stay sane doing that. Then there’s the father. You can’t really have children without a father for at least the first part of the process, you know? And I’d like to be a in a good relationship with a good man who wants to be a loving and responsible father before I have children. I remember my father. He was a lovely man. I miss him even now. I know I can’t control everything, but I want my children to have a chance to remember their father fondly like I do, at the very least.”