Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
"And I didn't mean why are you in Los Angeles," she says before I can call her on it. "I meant, why are you here tonight?"
"Came to see the show," I lie, taking a step toward her. She immediately scurries backward. "Now, who's running?"
"I'm not running."
"Oh, really?" I take another step toward her, and she immediately steps back. I smirk, pretending that shit isn't going to rip my heart out of my chest. "You always were a terrible liar, Nadia."
"Yeah, well, that makes one of us," she snaps, scowling at me.
"I've never lied to you."
"Right." She rolls her eyes.
"What did I lie about? Tell me," I growl.
"Everything, Mateo. Every damn thing," she says, shaking her head. The sad accusation in her eyes fucking kills me. "Thanks for intervening in there, but do me a favor. Stay the hell away from me. You've managed it for years with no problem. Surely you can manage it until you switch teams again."
"Not until you answer the question, butterfly. What did I lie about?"
She stares at me for a long, silent moment, and then she sighs quietly, turning away from me. "As if you don't already know," she whispers, a tremor in her voice that breaks my heart. Fuck me. Was Tyson right? Is there a chance she isn't over it, either? "You made your choice, Mateo. It wasn't me. Live with it and leave me alone."
She's halfway back to the bar before I catch up to her, spinning her around with my hand on her arm. She collides against my chest, crying out softly. Her fingers twist into the fabric of my jacket. I think she means to shove me away from her, but I don't give her the opportunity.
"I never lied to you. Every single time I told you that I loved you, I fucking meant it," I growl, slanting my mouth down over hers in a hard kiss. Even after all these years, she's still so soft, so sweet.
I taste the vodka on her breath as she opens for me with a whimper, letting me in. I take full advantage, consuming her like the long-denied addict I am. Christ, the taste she gave me back then sealed my fate. And this one only reminds me how little I've recovered.
I'm still hers, even if she isn't mine. I always have been.
Her teeth sink into my bottom lip in a sharp bite.
She jerks herself from my arms, breathing hard. Her eyes meet mine, something dangerously wild in them. "Don't do that again," she whispers, her voice shaking. "Don't t-touch me again."
"Or what, butterfly? You already ripped my goddamn heart out of my chest when you cut me out of your life," I mutter, reaching out slowly, carefully, like I'm soothing a frightened deer. I touch her cheek, fighting a groan as electricity surges through me. "There is no pain worse than being forced to watch your life from afar, knowing I'll never be home to you again. There's no pain worse than knowing what I did to you."
"Teo…"
It's the first time she's called me Teo all night. I've been Mateo since she set eyes on me. But now, I'm Teo. Hearing it is heaven and hell. I want to be Teo every moment of the day to her. I want back what we had, back before she decided I was the devil. Back before I destroyed her.
Christ, I just want my best friend back—the one who looks at me like I'm her hero. I fucking miss her. Half the world looks at me like that, but it's not the same because they aren't her. They'll never be her.
"Go back inside," I murmur, brushing my lips across her forehead.
"Teo."
"Go back inside, Nadia. Before someone sees us together." The last thing she needs is to be linked to me in the press. They'd tear her reputation to shreds. A good girl like her with a motherfucker like me? The headlines practically write themselves.
Hurt flashes in her eyes, and I realize a second too late that she misunderstood. But she doesn't give me time to explain. "Of course," she mutters, spinning on her heel. "Who cares if you're called aggressive or violent, just so long as you aren't linked to me? God forbid your football groupies think you have a girlfriend."
Football groupies? What the fuck has she been reading?
"That's not what I–""Save it for someone who cares, Mateo!" she yells, storming toward the building, her round ass swaying in those jeans.
"Fuck," I mutter, watching her go. Because, of fucking course, I do. And then I scrub a hand down my face, wondering how it's possible to screw things up as badly as I do as often as I do. I mean, Jesus Christ. At this point, I deserve a goddam award for it.
Chapter Four
Teo
"Fuck, baby," I moan, throwing my head back as Nadia rocks her hips, taking me deep. Her perfect tits bob in my face as she bounces on my cock, her hot little pussy squeezing me in a vise. "Just like that. Don't stop."