Page 16 of Hold Me Closer
She glowers at me, her hands on her hips and her full lips pulled down into a fierce frown. I still want to bite that bottom lip. Hell, maybe I want to bite it more because she's scowling at me.
"You just show up after six years, beat people up, and then walk out?" she demands. "That's how things are going to be now?"
"You're the one who ran all the way to California to get away from me, butterfly," I remind her. "I'm just trying to give you the distance you want."
"Then why are you here?"
"Got traded." I shrug. "I'm sure they'll get sick of me and send me somewhere else soon." I flash her the ghost of a smile. "That's usually what happens with motherfuckers like me."
Her scowl deepens. "You mean players who fight all the time."
She's been keeping tabs on me. Something a lot like satisfaction swirls through me. "You been keeping up with me, baby?"
"No," she snaps. "But the truth is hard to miss when it's splashed all over the news every week, Mateo. And stop calling me that. I'm not your baby." She pauses. "I'm not your butterfly, either. I'm not anything to you anymore."
"Well, damn. Why don't you tell me how you really feel?" I shove my hands deeper into my pockets, trying to control the way they shake.
"I just did."
She's lying. I know it the second her gaze drifts from mine. She's never been able to look me in the eyes and lie to me. She always felt too damn guilty to do it.
"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. "Thanksfor 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…"
