Chapter 29 #2
“Are you sure you’re okay? You seem really…calm about this,” Mateo said as he handed me a steaming mug of tea as I sat on his living room sofa, my legs tucked under me, toes wedged between the cushions.
“Why wouldn’t I be calm?” I asked, cradling the warm mug in my hands.
When I told Mateo earlier this week that I had a ritual of drinking peppermint tea after a competition, I didn’t expect him to go out and stock up on it.
Although, this is coming from the same man who went and bought hair ties to keep around his wrist in case I needed one.
“Uh…our relationship just got announced to the whole world and is currently trending?” Mateo took a seat across from me, watching me like he was afraid I was going to fall apart at any moment when that was the last thing I would be doing.
“Oh. That.” I took a sip of my tea, letting out a content sigh as I wiggled deeper into the couch.
I was seated facing Mateo’s floor-to-ceiling windows, the Buffalo night sky stretched out as far as the eye could see.
It was one of the rare nights where the sky was clear enough to see the twinkling stars above the glow of the city lights.
Mateo sat at the other end of the couch, the lights highlighting his face and making him look even more handsome.
I was still pinching myself that he was my boyfriend.
My boyfriend who ran me a warm bath to help sooth my aching muscles and gave me one of his shirts to wear.
My boyfriend who was now tugging my feet free from the confines of the couch cushions and pulling them onto his lap to give me a foot rub.
He leveled me with a look. “Emmie, I’m being serious.”
“I am, too.” Oh, a girl could get used to this kind of treatment. His thumbs pressed into the arch of my foot, making a moan want to break free as he heaved an agitated sigh.
“I knew our relationship would get out eventually, but I was hoping to have a conversation with you about it before it did.” His baby blue eyes met mine, concern swimming in them.
“This is going to sound cocky as hell, but I’m not just some normal guy you can be with Emmie. There are always eyes on me.”
I couldn’t help the small huff of a laugh that slipped out. “Wow. Not just some normal guy, huh?”
His expression didn’t change. “Emmie.”
“Hey.” I gently poked his side with the foot he wasn’t rubbing. “I get it. I do. I might not have cameras shoved in my face every time I step outside, but I’m not invisible. This isn’t my first rodeo.” My lips curved faintly.
“I know, but I’ve seen how mean people can get online. I don’t want you to have to go through that.”
My chest tightened. He was more concerned over how I’d be treated than himself. That’s who Mateo was—selfless.
I took my legs off of his lap, gently setting my mug down on the coffee table in front of the couch before shifting closer to him. I reached up to cup the side of his face, my thumb grazing the underside of his jaw.
“People talk. They speculate. They always have. And I don’t care.” I ducked my head to make sure he looked me in the eyes as I spoke. “I’m with you because I want to be. Not because it’s easy or private. I’m not some girl who’s going to fall apart because people are watching.”
Mateo’s throat bobbed. I held his gaze, not giving him room to look away. His hand came up like he was going to touch me, hesitating for half a second before his fingers curled lightly around my wrist.
“You make that sound really easy,” he said.
“It is. With you.” I swallowed the small lump that started to form in my throat. “The only thing that would actually scare me is you deciding this isn’t worth it.”
Mateo exhaled quietly, like he’d been holding it in. “You are more than worth it, Emmie.”
We held each other's gaze, an overwhelming sensation building in my chest. It was stronger than anything I’d felt before.
It hit me all at once, stealing the air from my lungs.
I was falling for him. Hard.
I softly rubbed Mateo’s jaw, my chest feeling like it was cracked wide open. The last thing I expected was to fall for him so fast, but how could I not when he was everything I hadn’t known I wanted until now?
“Thank you for being so concerned about me,” I said softly.
“Always.” His expression softened. “Promise me if things get too hard, you’ll talk to me about it.”
“I promise.”
I leaned forward, meeting him halfway, kissing him softly, and pouring everything I couldn’t quite say into it. I wasn’t going anywhere.
Mateo pulled back, the worry that filled his face gone. “This means we can go on a date and not worry who sees now.”
“Exactly. Now I can kiss you anytime I want.”
“Mm. I like the sound of that.” Hands came down to my hips, lifting me effortlessly onto his lap.
I draped my arms around his shoulders, pressing my front to his. Clad in one of his T-shirts, the hem inched up right below my ass as I perched on his lap. Mateo’s hands slipped under the shirt to grab the globes of my ass, groaning when he felt I wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
“You’ve been sitting here naked under this the whole time?”
I smirked. “You were being all concerned and protective. I didn’t want to ruin it for you.”
“I can be concerned, protective, and have you naked in my lap.” His hands kneaded my flesh.
When I shifted on him, I felt him beginning to harden underneath me through his plaid pajama bottoms.
I shot him a look. “If you had it your way, you’d have me naked twenty-four seven.”
“And? Sounds like a win to me,” he joked. I shook my head, my hands playing with the hair at the back of his head. “You deserve to be worshipped every second of every day, Emmie.”
Fingertips dipped between the crease of my ass, moving down to graze my core just enough to make my breath catch. He brought his fingers back up to grip me. Heat filled his eyes, his pupils slowly taking over.
“Do you feel what you do to me?” With his hands, he rocked me forward and back, rubbing my core along his hard length beneath me. “You just need to look at me, and I’m hard.”
“That’s a good superpower to have,” I said, my breath hitched as I continued to grind down on him. His bottoms were the only barrier between us, and I wanted it gone.
“A superpower only you have.” Mateo brought his head forward, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the front of my throat. Knowing I was the only one who could make Mateo hard sent a thrill through me.
My lips parted as he continued pressing kisses along my throat. He nipped at the skin where my neck met my shoulder, making my back arch. I never knew my neck to be so sensitive until Mateo. I never had someone know my body the way he did.
One big hand helped me grind while another came around my front, dipping under the shirt and moving up until he reached my breasts. Using his thumb, he played with a nipple. A gasp left my mouth as he pinched it between his fingers.
“You make the prettiest sounds,” Mateo murmured. “Arms up for me,” he instructed.
There was no hesitation as I lifted them, his own grabbing the bottom of his T-shirt and yanking it up. He threw it over my shoulder, leaving me completely naked seated on his lap.
My skin prickled as he took me in, lingering on my breasts before dipping down my stomach between my thighs. I felt so powerful. So sexy under his gaze. I brought my hands up into my hair as my hips moved in slow circles, his hard length perfectly wedged against me.
“You are exquisite,” he said before he bent his head, mouth finding the skin between my breasts. He planted kisses there then moved up to the tops, completely ignoring my hardened nipples begging for attention.
My eyelids drooped as I watched him suck at the skin above my breasts. Suctioning his mouth with just enough pressure to make my core pulse. I gripped the back of his head with one hand, keeping him pressed against me.
Mateo pulled away with a wet pop, a bright red mark left behind. My first hickey.
“Did you just mark me?” I giggled.
“I did. Now you can look down and remember who’s body this belongs to.” The words had the perfect amount of possessiveness, and my body lit with fire.
We stayed like that for a bit. Mateo took turns sucking my nipples into his mouth, his other hand pinching the other until I whimpered, hips grinding against his cock and soaking through his bottoms.
“Mateo, please. I need more,” I begged.
“Since you asked so nicely.”
One second, I was on his lap. The next, he sat up and gently coaxed me onto my back on the couch, laying me out underneath him as he hovered. My core pulsed at the fact he was still dressed while I was naked.
“Let me show you how proud of you I am.”
My vocal cords weren’t working as he placed a quick kiss to my lips before working his way down. Not an inch of skin escaped his notice as he moved down my body. His tongue licked a path from under my breasts, down my stomach, to my pelvic bone.
I laid there, breathing heavily, as I watched. Transfixed. My body felt like it was on fire and seconds away from exploding.
Mateo’s couch was barely long enough for him to kneel between my legs. Hands under my knees, he grabbed and spread my legs, urging them back until the tops of my thighs touched my stomach. The way his chest rumbled at the sight of my pussy on display had me squirming.
He stared for a good minute before he pressed a soft kiss directly on my clit. A zing went up my spine, my back coming off the couch.
If there was one thing I couldn’t live without in the world it would be this right here. Mateo’s tongue on me, devouring me like I was the last ice cream cone. Every flick, suck, nibble made my toes curl and my breath quicken.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to him kneeling between my legs, eyes taking in every reaction, as he ate me out. It was like he was a god, and I was the throne.
“Mateo.” His name left my lips in a whimper-like sigh. Arms hooked around my hips and thighs, holding me open and pinning me to the couch. I was going nowhere.
I kept one hand gripping his head, the other pulling my nipple as pleasure swirled down my spine. I was so lost in it that it took a moment for my head to catch up with what he was doing.
Mateo changed the angle of his head, his tongue now going from my ass to my clit. It wasn’t the change of angle that made me pause. It was the way his tongue was moving…like he was writing or spelling something.
Our eyes clashed as I glanced at him to see what he was doing. Those endless blue eyes twinkled like he was waiting for me to catch on. His head bobbed up and down, his tongue making the same motion over and over again. Until it finally hit me.
Mine.
He was writing, or I guess licking, that word across my pussy.
Fuck, if that wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever done.
A shudder ran through me as he did it one more time. I knew I was making a mess on his face but not a single part of me cared. Especially not when he slid two fingers inside of me.
Mateo smirked, the only warning I had, before his fingers curled up inside of me and his mouth clamped on my clit. My head fell back onto the couch, one hand fisting his hair, the other clamping onto the side of the cushion.
My legs shook as black spots filled my vision, the pleasure that had been building up seconds away from bursting. I didn’t care if the entire apartment building heard me crying out Mateo’s name as I came all over his hand and face.
As pleasure swirled through me, only one thought came to my head.
This was way better than winning first place.