Page 81 of Pucking Your Best Friend

“I know.” She nodded patiently. “So talk. I’m not going to run away. Honestly.”

“Good.” He nodded, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth…but he no longer knew what it was he wanted to talk about. What their argument was about. What exactly his plan was.

Instead, he stood there and stared at her, catching her expectant look. Not knowing if he wanted to end something or start over, if words could even do justice to how he felt.

Was Maddie aware of how damn beautiful she was?

The thing was, he needed her in his life like he needed hockey. No matter what. He would take what she gave him. And yes, he should be scared, but instead, he suddenly felt relieved: He finally knew what he wanted. Something and everything.

Right then and there, he forgot why exactly he’d been angry with her. His hands took on a life of their own. One hand slid to her neck, the other to her waist, and then he bent down and kissed her. Long, gentle, and deep.

Her skin was soft under his touch, just like her lips under his. She tasted of red wine and Maddie. And his heart ached because she returned the kiss. His heart ached because it wasn’t enough. It ached because it was too much. More than he was actually willing to give, to risk.

Was it possible to long for something even as you were doing it? Possible to miss her touch and her kiss, even though her hands were still on his stomach and her lips were opening beneath his?

His chest was tight and heavy, filled with desire and regret at the same time, with joy and fear. He was hot and cold. He wantedmorebut was afraid of gettingnothing. Maddie dug her fingers into his shirt as he ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her up onto her toes, and pressing her against him…

Was it a beginning or an end?

He had always found it difficult to tell the two apart. They were so similar, so sweet and bitter at the same time.

Maybe he should just never stop kissing her, drag this moment into eternity until it was thin and brittle, until he could finally see through it…no, finally see clearly…

“Matty, where are you?”

He winced and abruptly released Maddie. She sank back onto the balls of her feet and stumbled backward a step. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes widening as she brought her fingers to her lips. He saw her pulse pounding in her neck. She swallowed several times.

“Matty?” Sandra Payne’s voice echoed through the house again. “We want to dance, come on out!”

He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. He couldn’t think clearly. The last thing he needed right now was his nosy mother. This wasimportant. More important than anything else.

“Give me half an hour, Mom,” he shouted back, and then added with a groan, “I have to use the bathroom.”

“Fine, I know bowels don’t wait!” she replied cheerfully. “But hurry up, and use the toilet brush.”

He narrowed his eyes. Wow. Being home was so sexy.

“Let’s go upstairs,” he muttered with a sigh, reaching for Maddie’s hand to pull her toward the stairs. “I…I can’t argue like this.”

“You… That was arguing?” she asked, perplexed, but wrapped her fingers around his. “Because, man, it turns out I’ve always misunderstood the concept of arguing.”

The corners of his mouth rose. “See, it’s not that bad, is it?”

She snorted and chuckled slightly, but seemed confused. Uncertain. And he hated that he was the reason. “Matt, I don’t quite understand.”

“Upstairs. Wait a minute,” he replied quietly, hearing someone fiddling around in the kitchen. He didn’t want to be interrupted. He pulled her up the stairs, breathing deeply, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew they should talk first. But he wasn’t done kissing. Touching. Tasting. Feeling.

“Matt,” Maddie whispered, pulling her hand away from him when they reached the landing in front of the door to her bedroom. “From now on, you can’t kiss me every time you’rejealous of a guy who wipes eyelashes off my cheeks. Just because you have a Neanderthal heart, that’s not okay.”

Shit. He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and middle finger. So, talking first.

Chapter 21

Maddie could still feel his lips on hers, as well as the heat deep in her stomach, which hadn’t faded in days.

God, it was so awfully…masculine. Andstupid. Granted, the words could be used synonymously sometimes. Kissing her when he wanted to talk to her. It was as if he wanted to take away her power of reasoning, so that he could have the upper hand in an argument!

That wasn’t okay, especially because it was working.

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