Page 96 of The One
In slow-motion our heads move closer together. Mari tilts her head up just a little, her breath flirting over my lips.
Wham!
The slam of a door and a burst of laughter shatters the moment like glass.
My head jerks toward the sound.
Damn, Rom and the other guys are here for their hour of training.
Fuck their timing!
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Mariella
Mateo grabs my hand, pulling me behind him as we quickly slip through a side door. He gives a quick wave to Romeo just before we step outside.
Soft rain greets us, falling in a gentle, cooling mist. I can’t explain why, but it fills me with a sudden rush of happiness. I’m on a high from what almost happened, again, in the gym.
Tilting my face to the sky, I let the cool droplets calm my overheated skin. Laughing, I stretch out my arms and spin, feeling freer with every turn.
I startle with a laugh when a single arm wraps around my waist from behind and I’m lifted off the ground. Mateo keeps spinning us in a circle, his chuckle filling my ears, and I can’t help but smile even wider.
This closeness, the strength in his grip, sends a rush through me.
For a split second, I consider applying what he just taught me, twisting to free myself. Is that what he wants? Is that why he grabbed me?
If it is, I don’t care. I want him to hold me.
So I relax my body, sink further into his embrace, and absorb his heat. The contrast with the cool drops of rain on my skin is like being caught between fire and ice, and every nerve ending tingles with life.
We’re both soaked by now, but neither of us cares. My attention drifts to his large hand and how easily it spans my abdomen. I fit so perfectly against him.
Sighing happily, I lean my head back into the crook of his neck, close my eyes, and let myself believe, just for this moment, that this is where I belong.
It feels so right.
I rest my hand lightly on his forearm, and even that soft touch sends a tingle through my stomach. The air between us dances again, my body reacting before my mind can catch up.
Sparks crackle where our skin touches. And Mateo? He shudders like a jolt of static hit him out of nowhere.
He stops moving and carefully sets me down on my feet. I spin in his arms, staring up at him.
So close.
A wet strand of hair has fallen onto his forehead. Somehow, it makes him even more handsome. His usual air of power seems amped up too.
Everything about him seemsmore.
I’ve certainly registered his all-masculine scent no water could wash off him. I’m so tempted to nuzzle into his neck to breathe him in, but I don’t move.
His eyes hold me captive. Did his chocolate brown orbs always have those golden flecks?
The rain is coming down heavier now, but it might as well be non-existent as Mateo slowly takes my face into his hands, his thumbs tracing my cheekbones. I lean into his touch, my body swaying toward him of its own accord.
It’s like we’re picking up exactly where we left off moments ago in the gym.
My stomach somersaults as he lowers his head, a gazillion beautiful butterflies fluttering their wings.
