Page 67 of Hot Receiver

If he walks out that door, we’re done.

Finished.

Over.

I hate those words. They’re so final, so gut-wrenching. A shudder rumbles through me, my mind tripping back to the day he walked out of the college locker room for the last time. My world came crashing down around me in that instant, and the only thing left to provide me with any comfort was the game.

Now, the game pales compared to any of the peace Zak’s brought me, peace I was too stupid and scared to accept.

He knows what I need, and he’s given it to me more times than I deserve.

Our eyes tangle together, lost in a fantasy of what-ifs.

“You want to stay,” I say, cupping the sides of his face. “You know it, and I know it.”

“I’m done playing your games. We’re different people now. We have different goals. We’re on different paths. We have to stop pretending that we can ignore the huge ass elephant in the room.” He pushes my hands away, sending my stomach plummeting into my shoes. “I hope you get everything you want, Matt. Really, I do. I want you to be happy, so whatever that means for you is what I wa?—”

I don’t let him finish because I don’t need to hear anything else.

I wind my fingers into his hair and crush my lips against his. At first, he doesn’t respond. He doesn’t let me in. It’s like he has an invisible barrier set up around him to ward me off because he’s afraid of what might happen if he lets down his guard.

Desperation grips me. I claw at him, raking my hands down his back, pushing him into me, urging him to give in to the lust and desire, to let me ease the ache that mirrors my own.

And then, like a switch flicked on inside of him, he parts his lips, letting my tongue dip into his mouth. It coils with his—hot, hungry, and intense. We devour each other like predators battling for food. Our teeth crack, limbs entwined and frenzied with the need to touch. I deepen the kiss, drinking him in like he’s my lifeline in a sea of uncertainty, the one source of light that illuminates the darkness.

“Don’t leave me,” I hiss against his lips. I tug his lower lip through my teeth. “Please don’t leave me.”

His heart pounds with such ferocity, I can feel it hum against me. I grind my hips against him, sliding against his thickening cock. He grabs me by the hair and pulls my head backward before sizzling my skin with his deviant tongue. Goosebumps pebble my arms and legs, tingles firing like lasers in my groin. My dick strains against my pants, screaming for release that only Zak can give.

A moan escapes from my lips when his teeth latch on to my earlobe because he knows exactly what I like, what can send me over the edge if I give into it... give into him. He sweeps his tongue over the outer shell of my ear and my knees buckle, my body morphing into Jell-O at the command of his mouth.

I slide my hands underneath his jacket and caress his hard, sculpted muscles. I want to tear open his shirt and trace every cut and ripple with my tongue. I want to taste every inch of his smooth skin. I want to feel him inside of me, throbbing, writhing as we connect on a level I could never imagine finding with anyone else.

I hold him close, tight against me, gripping his shirt as if I alone have the power to keep him here with me in our carnal, little bubble.

But it’s not my choice.

I had the choice once.

I made the fucking wrong one.

I can’t screw it up again.

Somewhere in the depths of my lust-flooded mind, a clicking sound registers. Then suddenly the room goes from dim to bright white.

What the fuck?

I jump away from Zak, not missing the look of dejection that follows. Blinking fast, I twist around, almost choking on abreath when I see Anna standing in the doorway, her face twisted with horror.

“I was looking for you because I was about to give my speech. Then, I saw you come in here…” Her voice trails off and she steps backward, pressing a hand to her temple. Her face pales, her deep blue eyes shiny. “I…I can’t…”

She spins and hurries out of the closet, slamming the door closed behind her.

Panic suddenly grips me, clenching.

Fuck…am I strong enough to make the right choice now?

Chapter 28

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