Oh my god.
My heart stutters inside my chest. He slides his hand around my neck, cradling the back of my head. His free hand lifts, his fingertips grazing against my skin as he brushes the hair from my face. Anticipation hangs in the air and I swear, my heart is going to break through my ribcage.
My breath catches in my throat. “What are you doing, Matteo?”
His eyes slowly search mine. “What I should have done earlier.”
His face dips and my eyelids flutter shut. My heart’s a mess, pounding against my ribcage. I reach for him, my hands gripping his white T-shirt. He pauses, his lips a fraction of an inch from mine, his warm minty breath fanning across my mouth.
“Do you want me to stop?” he murmurs, his lips brushing mine.
I inhale sharply. We’re crossing that line we drew in the sand. And once we cross it, I don’t know if there’s any way we can come back from it.
“No,” I exhale, tugging him closer. I don’t care about what happens after this moment. All I know is I want him. I want this. “Don’t stop.”
He lets out a soft breath, his lips grazing mine. He pauses for a beat, my eyebrows tugging together as his mouth lingers, unmoving against mine. His fingertips dig into my skin, as if he’s grasping for his slipping self-control.
And then it’s gone.
He groans, the sound wrapping around my brain, sliding down my spine, and his mouth crashes into mine. His lips are hot and soft and he kisses me with an intensity that has my core melting. His mouth melts into mine, lips moving, tasting and teasing.
My hands slide around his torso and his left hand falls down to my waist, pulling me flush against his solid body.
“Goddamn, Sunny,” he moans against my mouth. His tongue slides along the seam of my lips and I part them, letting him in.
The kiss deepens. His tongue dances with mine, the heat spreading along the nerves throughout my body. I’m on fire and he’s the flame. His fingers tangle in my hair, his other hand grips my hip.
I slide my hands down the sides of his torso, feeling his taut muscles beneath the thin layer of cotton between us. He moans into my mouth, rolling his hips as he presses his erection against me.
My fingers twitch with the urge to reach between us and grip him. I want to feel him in my hand. I want to feel the length and girth of his hard cock.
He presses his leg between mine, using it to push me farther into the apartment. At some point, we spin around, so I’m theone guiding him. With the open concept, we make it into the living room with minimal damage to anything in my home.
We reach the couch. Matteo spins me back around, his arms snaking around my lower back as he eases me down onto the couch. He follows me, hovering above as he stares down at me.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.” His voice is hoarse, thick with need and my heart skips a beat, my stomach fluttering with his words. His mouth crashes back into mine, stealing the air from my lungs as he kisses me deeply. Our tongues meet, dancing together as our lips move.
I’m so wrapped up in him, so lost in the moment. If I had a choice, I don’t think I’d ever come up for air again.
Matteo Ford can never be anything more than this to me, and I know that. I knew that when we came up with our arrangement.
He’s simply fulfilling his end of the agreement and I’m doing it for the plot. This is only research. It’s burning inspiration.
It’s just a deal.
He kisses me until my lungs are screaming for oxygen. His mouth leaves mine, both of us sucking in deep breaths as we struggle to fill our lungs with something other than each other.
“Jade.” Matteo breathes my name as if it’s the only word his brain can formulate. “Sunny, baby, we gotta stop.”
Sunny, baby.
I don’t let myself get caught up on the words that fall from his swollen lips. I stare up at him, my hands still linked together around the back of his neck. “Says who?”
“Do you want me to fuck you?”
Every single syllable vibrates through my body. He grinds his hips against mine, his hard cock pressing between my legs. I think I might fucking explode.
“Yes.”
