Page 65 of Good as Gold
“Oh.” Leila’s eyes widen. “I suppose you would be.”
And now she looks troubled, so I change the subject. “Want to watch a movie?”
“Of course I do.”
* * *
“Hey, Matteo?”
I turn to look at Sean. “Yeah?”
We’re on top of a mountain peak, but I can’t tell which one. It’s unfamiliar, and very,verytall.
“Lissa’s birthday is coming up fast.” Sean leans over and checks the binding on his snowboard.
“What? Not until November, yeah?”
He stands up. “Don’t forget to make a restaurant reservation, though. You know how it gets.”
“Hang on,” I say, inching toward the lip of the peak. When I look down the mountain, it’s so steep and rocky that I can’t even see the bottom. “Dude, I don’t even see a line here. What’s your plan?”
“She likes surf and turf for special occasions,” he says. “The Catch, or maybe 316, if you can get in.” He hops his board toward the lip.
“Wait, Sean,” I say. I look down again, and the view suddenly gives me vertigo. “That’s like a fifty-foot drop. There’s nowhere to land.”
He gives me a big, bright smile. Then he leaps over the edge.
CHAPTER24
LEILA
This isn’t the first night I’ve spent in a bed with Matteo, but it’s the first one where I’ve slept so lightly. I keep opening my eyes to marvel at the sight of Matteo sleeping next to me.
Naked.
So when he suddenly jerks in his sleep, my eyes fly open.
He sits up very quickly, dropping his head into his hands for a gasping breath.
“Matty,” I whisper. “What’s wrong?”
He doesn’t answer right away, and when he does, “Sorry,” is all he says. Then he lies back down again, and I realize it’s the only answer I’m getting.
Outside, it’s still pitch dark, but there are no sounds from the bar’s parking lot. So it’s probably between two and four a.m.
We should both be sleeping, but I roll toward him instead, placing a hand on his chest. He covers it with his own, his heart thudding eagerly beneath my fingertips.
Slowly, I stroke my thumb across his pec, with the impish thought that he might be ticklish.
When he moves, though, it isn’t to get away from me. Instead, he rolls onto my naked body in one smooth maneuver. He stares down at me, his dark eyes shining in the near blackness of my room.
“Are you okay?” I whisper.
Once again, he’s not in the mood to answer questions. He sinks his hips purposefully onto mine and kisses me. Hard. And then he does it again. And when I part my lips and lick his lower lip, he actually growls.
After that, he kisses me like he’s on fire, and I’m the only source of water. I’m a hundred percent onboard with this, caressing his skin everywhere I can reach, while our feet tangle beneath the sheet.
When he shifts his hips, his shaft thickens against my thigh, and I spread my legs, the invitation unmistakable.
