Page 71 of Playing Dirty

“Theo, I—”

His hand covers my mouth before I can get anything else out, and he shakes his head. There’s a pleading look in his eyes as he stares at me, and it gives me enough pause to hear what he has to say without interruption after he pulls his hand away again.

“It was the circumstances that brought you deeper into my life that I hated. My father having an affair, my entire life falling apart.That’swhat I hated—what I still fucking hate, all things considered. Not you. It wasn’t ever you,” he insists gently. “And like I said a few weeks ago, I know you didn’t play a role in any of this happening either. So it wasn’t fair to takemy frustrations out on you.”

“Okay. I believe you.”

His smile is tiny, but it’s still there when he whispers, “Thank you.”

A slow grin creeps across my face when I recall the last thing he said, having mentioned something similar to him at one point.

“So you finally admit to taking it out on me, huh?”

He rolls his eyes and mutters, “I’m going back to my reading now.”

He’s reaching for his laptop when I grab him by the waist and drag him toward me, not letting him get away with deflection. A faint, adorable little yelp of surprise leaves him, but it’s quickly smothered when he’s beneath me again, my lips finding his.

I can’t stop kissing him. It’s like anytime I’m within arm’s length of him, I need to feel our mouths pressed together. I’d find it pathetic if it didn’t make me so goddamn happy.

“We all deal with shit in our own way,” I tell him once I pull away, brushing my nose along his. “And for the record, you can take your frustrations out on me anytime.”

“You promise?”

I nod vehemently. “If it means getting your mouth wrapped around my cock again? Definitely.”

He lets out a low groan and drops his head back against the mattress.

“God, I knew having you here while I try to study would be a bad idea.”

“You’re the one who suggested it,” I remind him.

“Yeah, because you supposedly have this infamous self-control. Which inconveniently disappears whenever we’re together on a flat surface, apparently.”

“Most people would argue it’s actually convenient.”

But since he wants to argue…

I tightenmy hold on his hips and roll us so he’s the one pinningmeto the bed. He sits up, straddling me at the waist, and there’s a question in his eyes—brows crashing together in confusion—while he looks down at me.

“If you’re so insistent on studying, by all means. You’re free to get up. I won’t even try to stop you.”

To prove my point, I lift my hands, holding them up in mock surrender. And like I expected, Theo makes no move to get up. All he does is stare, a little dumbfounded, before scoffing.

“I lied earlier. I do fucking hate you.”

But then his mouth drops to mine, his fingers clutching the front of my shirt, pulling me in closer. My hands find his waist again and slide beneath his cotton tee, feeling the smooth heat of his skin on mine.

Things kick up a notch when his tongue spears between my lips, coaxing mine to life and sending a jolt of electricity to my already thickening cock. He takes notice, smiling into our kiss as his hips start rocking back and forth, grinding his ass over the ridge of my erection.

Oh, this shithead.

My hands slide down, slipping into his sweats and grabbing the globes of his ass over his underwear. I knead them in my palms, gripping and massaging them before allowing a finger to stray toward his crease.

His phone buzzes on the nightstand while we drive each other crazy, but we both ignore it in favor of continuing this. That is, until the buzzing becomes incessant, his phone going off in constant intervals, killing the mood.

“Oh my God, will you turn that damn thing off?” I gripe, fingers tightening on his ass. “It’s hard to enjoy making out when I hear it buzzing every five seconds.”

Theo’s soft laughter brushes over my lips before he peels himself away to check his phone. He’s still grinning as his eyes fly over the screen toread the messages, but as more time passes, the smile fades into something more like a frown.