I chase the thoughts away as my mouth claims hers, our bodies melting into each other.
This, the physical connection, is all this thing can be with her…I can’t risk either of us getting hurt.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
JADE
“Julian Hart looked at me as if perhaps my flesh was as malleable as the clay beneath his palms.” - Clara Foss, Painted Inferno
Ican’t believe I actually did it. My first draft is officially finished.
A sense of peace settles over me as I stare at my laptop. I just typedTHE ENDand feel like I can finally breathe. I still have to self-edit and get it ready to send to my editor at the publishing house, but the hardest part is done.
I sit back in my seat, a deep sigh escaping me as I tilt my head back and cover my face. “Holy shit,” I say to myself, laughing as I shake my head.
Pulling out my phone, I findhisname first.
Jade
I finished.
Matteo
Without me?
Jade
My book, Matteo.
Matteo
Holy shit, no way.
I haven’t seen Matteo since I spent the night at his house last weekend. I was afraid it would feel weird waking up in his bed, but he woke me up with the best blueberry pancakes I’ve ever had before he had to leave for a morning skate.
Matteo
That means I can finally send you these.
Jade
Huh?
Matteo
Two tickets to my game.
I’ve been waiting until you were finished, just so it didn’t feel like an obligation or set you back in some way.
My throat constricts as I read over his message three separate times. With the way he’s been with me, there’s a part of me that refuses to believe his reputation wasn’t just an exaggeration.
A link comes in his next message and it’s two tickets to a game later this month.
Matteo
Bring whoever you want, as long as it’s not another guy.
Jade
