Page 74 of Hostile Rival
He wanted me and I wanted him. So, what’s stopping me from crossing over onto his bed and putting my hands all over the guy?
Trust.
Matheus isn’t just any guy. He’s powerful, influential, and gorgeous, a lethal combination. The guy is an elite god and I’m a scrappy demon.
In theory, the two should play well together, but in reality, we’re not a good match.
However, I’ve flirted with men, used them to get what I needed. Even fucked them and easily walked away. But never once did I want to lie beside a guy. Kiss him. Nuzzle into his neck. Or simply sleep beside him.
For the first time, I desire company and not just sex. This bad decision would likely be my ruin. My mind is made up though, and tomorrow I’d deal with the fallout.
I cross over from my bed to his, my insides buzzing from the rush of it. He doesn’t move, other than letting his arm fall to the pillow and his head turn ever so slightly to watch me settle next to him.
When I set my hand on the carved planes of his abdomen, tracing the contours with my fingertips, his skin prickles, and raises a few degrees. He sets his large hand on top of mine and strokes small circles on my wrist. Electricity shoots up my arm and tingles prickle across my scalp.
I’ve lived through heavy times. But this––right here, next to him—this seems to be where I’ve found my happy place.
Staring at the ceiling, he sighs. “You should leave Blanco,” he announces in a low rumble. “You don’t need to work for him, Dani. I can’t change who my brothers are, but you can walk away from him. We could be on the same side.”
I stay quiet, thinking. When we first met, my heart was full of war, yet he came to me in peace. But I always made my allegiance clear to him. I’m on Blanco’s team and always would be.
In the silence, his sleepy chestnut eyes find mine and he angles himself around to face me, both of our heads on the pillow. We breathe together, slowly and in time.
Strands of dark hair fall over his brow and tease his pretty lashes. His straight white teeth peek out from behind his perfect lips and his smooth, tanned torso is temptingly bare except for a thick gold chain.
“You don’t know me, Matheus,” I reply simply, staring at him. “Working for Blanco isn’t just a job, it’s my life. He helped me when I hit rock bottom, put a roof over my head, and paid for my mother’s funeral. I owe him.”
“Don’t you want more from your life than doing his dirty work?”
I make a face at him, feigning detachment. “Nope.”
People like me don’t get softness and companionship. Everything is sharp and cold, ending in a brutal death.
“What about sleepy morning sex every day? You’d like that, right?”
“No.” I fire back.
The blacks of his pupils blow wide and a halo of chestnut burns like fire. “Wild sex every afternoon?”
I hold my breath, the throatiness to his voice a turn on. “No,” I whisper the lie and look away.
“What about beingmylittle firecracker permanently?”
“No…” The word sticks in my throat.
“You’re a fucking liar, Dani.” His statement is quiet, definitely not harsh, but the absolute truth. “Kiss me, then look me in the eye and deny it.”
28
MATHEUS
“Do it!” I demand, angry now. Not at her hesitation, but with her lies.
Her gorgeous face contorts as she glares at me and all of those frosty barriers we’d somehow melted freeze again.
“Fuck you!” she grits out and tries to pull away.
Too late. I’m all in, and she’s testing my limits. “I said kiss me.”
