Page 64 of My Secret Bandit

He moved behind me, letting his words tickle against my ear. “I want you, but I’ll settle on that burger for now.”

He sat on the couch and popped open the champagne. The foam flowed over the top and down his hand.

Mateo turned me into someone so free in their sensuality, someone I didn’t even know lived within me until we’d found her hiding deep inside. Before I realized it, I stood in front of him removing the bottle from his grasp and set it on the coffee table next to the two plates I brought over. Kneeling between his legs, I held his arm, licking the drizzling champagne from his forearm and working my tongue until I took his pinky into my mouth.

A husky, heated moan escaped him as I twirled my tongue around his finger and sucked off the remaining liquid.

“I thought you wanted to eat first?”

“Who said I didn’t?” I smiled innocently, taking my seat next to him.

“Who’s the tease now?” His laughter turned into a painful groan as he bent forward for his plate, only to stop a few inches short. He huffed, letting himself fall back against the couch.

“Just sit back, let me take care of you.” I pulled the table closer and set the plate in his lap.

“Thanks.” He smiled, taking a bite of the burger. “Hey. Can you take that plate to the bedroom, please?” He pointed to the one sitting alone on the bottom shelf.

“Why?” I asked, amused.

“You’ll see,” he said with a wink before turning his attention to the ringing phone.

Taking a break from my delicious grilled fish, I took the secret plate to the bedroom.

“Don’t peek,” Mateo instructed as he picked up the phone. I sat the platter on the end table without disturbing it.

“Hello?” The velvety cadence of his voice filled the two rooms. “What’s up? Calling to interrupt us again?”

Mateo’s face turned to me as I leaned against the door frame, waiting for him to finish. His expression went from playful to something serious. Something concerned.

“Mm. That doesn’t sound good. What is it?” Mateo let out a long sigh while rubbing his free hand over his curls, then the back of his neck. “Okay. See you in a minute.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, rubbing his shoulders from behind the couch.

“I don’t know. Xander said he needed to show us something.”

I thought the worst part of my day already happened, but the nervousness from this morning came back full force. The rapidly rolling anxiety ruined my appetite. Moving my plate back to the cart, I took long gulps of the champagne, hoping the alcohol would calm my scattered emotions.

Minutes later, Xander stood at the door again.

He looked different. Instead of a suit, he wore sweat shorts and a tank top. His styled hair was now damp and swept to one side.

No longer hidden under his suit, tattoos showed under his sleeveless shirt. Intricate designs ran across his chest, over both shoulders and down his arms, stopping just shy of his wrist. Beautiful and detailed, you could spend hours admiring it and still never see every intricacy.

His fingers tapped nervously on a leather covered tablet held tightly to his chest.

“I figured you’d want to see this,” he finally said. I took the tablet from his outstretched hand before going to sit back by Mateo. I gave it to him, not wanting or ready to see whatever lived on the screen. Judging by Xander’s flushed face and pacing, it wasn’t good.

Mateo looked over the contents of the screen. After what seemed like forever, he looked up to Xander.

“Can we get this taken down? I told you Jamie wasn’t ready for this.” His eyes were angry, his jawline twitching, but his voice stayed steady as he spoke.

“I’m working on it.” Xander sighed, “I’m sorry, Jamie.”

“For?” I asked, afraid to know the answer.

When neither answered, I took the tablet from Mateo’s lap, unable to control my curiosity any longer.“NFL’s Mateo Linx: Closeted Chubby Chaser”headlined one of the popular gossip sites. A textbook clickbait title, but that didn’t mean it stung any less. A lump formed in my throat, I tried to swallow it down but tears clouded my vision as I read on.

“Houses and bank accounts aren’t the only big things in this baller’s life. If pictures taken earlier today are any indication, Mateo Linx, 26, is into bigger women as well. NFL superstar linebacker was seen in an intimate exchange with the same plus-sized companion before and after today’s game in Atlanta. A source close to the mystery woman has confirmed Jamie Flynn, 25-year-old journalism intern and Linx have secretly been dating for some time. Maybe even since Linx’s infamous but tightly under wraps altercation at The Cove during preseason.

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