Meet Me in the Penalty Box (Orchid City, #1)(28)
Lips I’d already touched and tasted.
My mouth went dry and my tongue darted out in an attempt to wet my own lips. Nico’s gaze dropped down to my mouth, lingering for a moment. I watched his throat move as he swallowed and he slid his hands into the front pockets of his suit jacket before bringing his eyes back to mine.
“You’ve been avoiding me, love,” he said, his voice low yet soft. “I think I have an idea why, but I want to hear it from you.”
I slowly set my camera down in my bag and rose to my feet to face him head-on. “You could have asked me this before today. You knew that if you had me cornered here, there was no way I could avoid answering you.”
Nico stood perfectly still and simply smiled. He didn't need to answer me as we both knew it was the truth. He wasn’t an erratic, uncalculated person. Everything he did was thought out and planned. I didn’t know if I would want to see what an unhinged Nico Cirone looked like. I saw him on the ice in fights, but even those looked like he had run through a game plan in his own mind of how he was going to conduct himself.
He was always controlled and never out of line.
“Tell me why, Harper.”
I stared back at him for a moment. “If you already think you know the reason, then there’s no reason for me to say it.”
“I need you to confirm it. That way I can chase away your fears.”
His words spread a warmth through my body and my heart did that stupid little thing it did when he was around. “I can’t get attached to you, Nico. I need things simple with no strings. I just got out of a bad relationship a few months ago and I’m not looking for a rebound.”
“I would never be your rebound, love,” he said as his eyes stared directly into mine. “There wouldn’t be anyone after me.”
My heart did that damn thing again and skipped at least four beats in my chest. I couldn’t let myself feel anything with him and I needed him to give me the same in return.
“It wouldn’t ever work, Nico. You know we can never be anything.” I paused for a moment, watching a shadow pass over his expression. “We’re friends, but nothing more. We might do things we probably shouldn’t, but that’s all it can ever be. You already know the risks we are running by doing that.”
Nico was silent as he stared at me with ice sliding over his eyes. “You’re right. We’re nothing.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I told him in a rush, instantly regretting saying anything. It was clear I had offended him or hurt his feelings. I shouldn’t care. I didn’t want these feelings and I didn’t think he did either.
He shook his head and gave me nothing with his blank expression. “I know exactly what you mean, Harper.”
I didn’t think he really did. Hell, I didn’t even know what I really meant or what I wanted. He was already clouding my brain and I needed the fog to be lifted so I could see clearly.
“I’m not going to ruin your career or fuck up your life because I enjoy spending time with you. Being inside you was just an added benefit.” He paused for a moment, his chest rising as he inhaled deeply. “You made yourself crystal clear. If you decide to change your mind, you know where to find me.”
He went to walk past me, but my hand instinctively darted out to grab him. “Nico, wait.” I pulled him back and he turned to face me. His eyes slowly searched mine. “I don’t want whatever this is between us to be done.”
His eyes stopped moving as he focused in on my gaze and took a step closer to me. “Then what do you want, Harper? You’re giving me fucking whiplash with your mixed signals. One night you’re in my bed, the next you’re giving me short responses and then telling me we can never be anything more than friends.”
“You know I can’t afford to lose my job.”
He slid his hand to cup the side of my face as he ran his thumb across my bottom lip. “Fuck your job. Come live with me and let me take care of you.”
“Absolutely not. I won’t be some kept woman—ever. I need to have my own thing too.” His face was inching closer to mine and my heart was pounding erratically in my chest. “What are you doing, Nico? Someone might see us.”
Nico looked around us and was suddenly backing me up until we were stepping through a curtain that blocked off an area that had workout equipment. Some of the players used it for conditioning, or if they were recovering from an injury, they worked out down here during the game. There was no one in the area right now and Nico walked me backward until my back was pressed against the concrete wall.
“Is that better, love? No one will see us here.”
“Someone could walk in at any time,” I countered.
Nico chuckled softly and pressed his finger to my lips. “Shh. You don’t want anyone to hear us, do you? They’d definitely find out about us then.”
I swallowed roughly as he dragged his finger down both of my lips. His eyes searched mine once before his mouth was crashing into mine. I leaned my head back and he ran his hand down to my throat as he lightly wrapped his hand around it. He had me pressed against the wall and his cock was hard against my stomach.
He inhaled me, draining the oxygen from my lungs as he kissed me with an urgent need. His tongue traced the seam of my lips and I parted them as he entered my mouth. Our tongues were tangled together and my head was swimming from the ecstasy of him kissing me. His hand was still around my throat and mine were around the back of his neck, pulling him closer.