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Grrr.I leaned into his space—so close, I could see the vein pulse at his temple. Unfortunately, I also noticed that his eyelashes were ridiculously long and that his lips were full and lush and—Stop.

I clung to anger, stabbing my finger at Mateo’s chest. “Nice one, but I don’t need you. Unlike you, I’ll figure it out myself. Must have been sweet to have a business handed to you, but gee, my daddy didn’t give me a shop to run or?—”

“You fucking prick.” Mateo raised his fist as if to punch me.

I dodged him and collided with the desk. He spun around with his dukes up again. No thanks. I’d made a career out of wrestling on the field and had the battle scars to prove it. I had no intention of adding more. Besides, this wasn’t how real adults dealt with frustration, for fuck’s sake.

I captured Mateo’s wrists and pulled him against me to keep him from using his legs or body weight as a weapon. He was strong, but I was stronger, not to mention bigger and thicker all over.

“We’re not doing this,” I growled.

“Like hell we’re not. You don’t know anything about me or my family or my…”

Shit, Mateo was on a roll now, and he didn’t seem to have noticed that my grip had loosened in his tirade. I couldn’t follow what he was saying. Something about family and pizza and blah, blah, blah.

Hey, it was probably interesting info, but the more fired up he got, the more I noticedhim—his thick brows, the flecks of gold in his brown eyes, his chiseled cheekbones, and that mouth—so angry, so tough, so fierce, so goddamn hot. I was staring and I knew it, but I couldn’t look away.

After what felt like twenty minutes, he finally shut up.

I had to let his wrist go and say something…anything. I was frozen, though. So was Mateo. He didn’t bother shaking me off. He narrowed his gaze slightly, lips parted.So damn sexy.

Heat rose between, us and wave upon wave of something potent yet undefined rushed in like high tide. I couldn’t tell if I was in danger of combusting or drowning or in some kind of freefall, unmoored and unhinged. All because of him.

It pissed me off.

And just like that, my mouth was on Mateo’s. And he welcomed me.

He thrust his tongue inside, my fingers in his hair, his fist clutching at my shirt. I couldn’t think, and I could barely breathe. It was as if there were a system malfunction and I no longer had control of my body. This was all instinct—like it had been when I was in uniform, wrestling an opponent to submission. I didn’t want to tackle Mateo now. I wanted to own him.

He dragged my bottom lip between his teeth and ravaged my mouth again, driving his tongue so deep he hit the back of my throat. He eased the pressure but not the intensity. I lowered my hands to his ass and drew him close.Holy fuck.Yeah, I’d been hoping for friction, but the feel of his hard cock through two layers of denim was too damn much. I was gonna come in my jeans.

I’d had some hot and uninhibited sexy times, but I’d always been in control. Neither of us was now. The only saving grace was that I knew without a doubt that Mateo felt it too.

I held his face still in an attempt to resurface, licking his jawline and biting his earlobe. “Stop. We’re not doing this here.”

He blinked as if in a daze. “I—you. I didn’t know you were…”

“Yeah. I am.”

Mateo went perfectly still before pulling away and glancing toward the door. “This is…a new one. My cousins are probably debating which one of us is walking out of here alive.”

I didn’t know what to say to that or what should happen next. My God, I’d just tongue-fucked my neighbor-slash-rival and former teammate…who hated me. Talk about awkward.

“Right. Um…”

“I’m not gonna tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he assured me in a softer tone.

“I’m out. I mean…not all the way out, but it’s in the works.”

Mateo cocked his chin curiously. “In the works?”

“According to my manager, if I intend to come out publicly, I should tell the story myself and avoid giving someone ammunition to use against me. ‘Pro linebacker, gay…read all about it.’ ” I shrugged uncomfortably. “I’m not sure who’ll care, but I’ll do it when I’m ready.”

“Oh.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m out. The people who matter know, anyway. I stopped worrying about the rest of the world a while ago. I’m not a football star anymore. I’m just a boring guy who works in the family business. The same business you can’t decide if you want to crap on or shamelessly copy.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re very fucking difficult?”

Mateo widened his eyes comically and gave a self-deprecating shrug. “Once or twice. But you’re the one playing the big-shot card.”