His hands grip my hips, fingertips digging into my flesh as I plant my hands on his chest and start to rock on top of him. His eyes drag down my torso and flicker back to my face as he watches me moving on top of him.
I bounce up and down and he moves with me, his hips lifting to thrust into me every time I sit back down on him. His left-hand slides to the front of my body. He presses his palm against my lower abdomen and finds my clit with his thumb.
He pounds into me the same time I slide down the length of his cock. His thumb rolls in circles over the most sensitive part of my body. My head tips back and I’m losing control as the warmth starts to build in the pit of my stomach again.
“That’s it, Jade,” he moans, his hand gripping me tighter as my face screws up, my eyelids slamming shut. “Come all over my cock.”
One more sweep of his thumb, another thrust of his pierced cock, and I’m losing myself around him. I shatter into a million pieces, my body shaking with pleasure as I rock on top of him, needing every inch. He’s right behind me, chasing after his own dose of ecstasy.
His hand leaves my clit and he pulls me down to his chest, his hands grabbing my ass as he pounds into me. One, two, three pumps and he’s losing himself inside of me, my name falling from his lips as if this is his dying wish.
His grip loosens on my cheeks and he slides one hand over the small of my back, the other moving to stroke my hair. He holds me close against him, my legs straddling his waist with his cock still deep inside me.
“Stay with me tonight?” he whispers, his breath warm against the side of neck.
My heart and my brain are at war with each other. “If I do, it doesn’t change anything. I still need time.”
He kisses the pulse bounding beneath my skin. “I know,” he murmurs. “I just want you here with me tonight.”
My heart crawls into my throat. I know how I feel about Matteo, but I don’t know if I trust him with those feelings. I don’t know if I can trust him with my heart.
“Me too,” I admit, my voice barely audible. I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here with him, cocooned in his familiar warmth. I want to believe this is something we can have. I want to believe he is someone I can have.
I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we have this moment, and for now—it’s enough.
My heart wins the battle. “I’ll stay.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
MATTEO
“The art she created was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was breathtaking—an experience in its own right—yet somehow, it didn’t come close to touching the true masterpiece. Her.” - Julian Hart, Painted Inferno
Istare down at the toes of my skates, biting down on the inside of my cheek as my eyes roam over the scuffs. The room hums around me with music playing at a lower volume and the guys talking about the game last night as we get ready for practice. I can’t hear anything they’re saying. There’s a different replay happening inside my head.
“I’m in love with you.”
The way those five words fell from my lips with zero hesitation is either astonishing or alarming. They weren’t planned. They weren’t calculated. Hell, I didn’t even realize at that moment what my actual feelings were for her.
It hit me out of nowhere… and I needed her to know.
There’s nothing else to it, other than that.
Theo scoots closer on the bench next to me. “Are you good?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Jade left early this morning and I can’t stop thinking about last night. She didn’t say it back. I couldn’t have expected her to. But in a way, there’s a burn of rejection.
Maybe I read things wrong. Maybe I said it too soon.
He nudges my shoulder. “You’re not good. You’re quiet again and you’re only like that when something’s going on.”
“Yeah…” My voice trails off for a moment. I don’t look at him. My gaze is glued to my laces, but I don’t move to tie them. “Jade came over last night.”
Theo chuckles. “When is she not over anymore?” He’s silent for a beat when I don’t respond or laugh. “Did something happen?”
“I—uh.” I hesitate, deciding how honest I want to be with Theo, and my stomach flips. “I told her I’m in love with her.”
