“I don’t like strings,” he says in a hushed voice as he drags his thumb across my bottom lip. “I don’t want you to get attachedbecause I can’t give you any more than that. I told you, I don’t do relationships. I don’t do love.”
A chuckle sounds in my throat. “I never said I wanted any of that with you, Matteo. You’re not my type.”
He lifts a brow. “The way your body responds to me tells me otherwise.”
“I’ve been abstinent for the last year. My body’s desperate for any kind of touch.” A slow smile drifts across my lips. “Maybe Harry would be up to being more than just neighbors…”
“Don’t test me, Jade.” Matteo pushes his thumb past my lips, pressing it into my mouth. I close my lips around it, cradling his thumb with my tongue as I suck on it. He moans, his eyes dark as he grips my jaw with his fingers. “If you want someone to touch you, someone to make you feel good, you call me. Not your fucking neighbor. Not anyone else.”
He pulls his thumb from my mouth.
“Does that mean you’ll fuck me tonight?”
He holds my face, tipping my chin up as his mouth lowers to mine. “No,” he groans against my lips. “This is all you get tonight.”
“Not fair,” I pout, not kissing him back at first.
“Life’s not fair, Sunny.” He nips at my lips. “Get used to it.”
His tongue pushes back into my mouth, tangling with mine as he threads his fingers in my hair and drains the oxygen from my lungs. I don’t need Matteo Ford to protect me from any regret. There’s nothing about anything with him that I could possibly regret—even if it can never be more than this.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
MATTEO
“She had a freckle in her right eye, hidden amongst the shimmering hues of gold and green.” - Julian Hart, Painted Inferno
It’s been four days since I last saw Jade.
“When can I see you again?”
She bites back a grin, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I’ll call you.”
Four days since I finally kissed her.
My brows lift and I breathe out a laugh as I pull her back to me. “This is fun for you, isn’t it?”
“You started it.” She pushes up onto her toes, her lips finding mine in a soft kiss before she swiftly pulls away. “Two can play this game, Playboy.”
Four days since I asked her if she wanted me to fuck her.
I release her, a smirk tugging on my lips. “I’ll win.”
“We’ll see.” She winks, closing the door before I get the chance to slip back into her apartment.
And I can’t stop replaying that night on repeat in my mind.
“Wake the fuck up, Ford!” Cross barks from behind me as I fumble an easy pass in the neutral zone. I shake my head, mylegs pushing. I am awake, that’s the problem. I’ve realized every fuck up I’ve had on the ice all game. It’s been four days and I haven’t heard a single word from Jade.
I can’t text her, not when she said she’d call me. I didn’t think she’d actually call, but I didn’t think it would be radio silence.
I didn’t think I’d be this damn affected by it, either.
I’m a step behind when I get possession of the puck again. I lose control of it at the blue line. It does a weird bounce move, flopping over the blade of my stick and the winger on the other team grabs it and starts racing toward our defensive zone.
“Fuck!”
My blades cut into the ice as I quickly stop and push off to head after him in the opposite direction. I lose an edge and fall a few strides behind him. Cross and Volkov are both beat. The shot flies past our goalie and they score. They celebrate, we deflate. The energy feels like it did when we were on our losing streak.