Page 3

Three

NAT

“Let’s go to my place,” Rizzo says, sounding desperate and…a little nervous? I have no idea where he lives, but unless it’s within a block, I’m going to combust before we get there. That kiss broke the dam. No, it didn’t break it, it fucking demolished it into splinters. It’s not like I’d doubted his skill or anything. I mean, he’s got a different girl in his bed every other night for a reason, right? And even though he’s good about not mixing business with pleasure, there are still enough regulars at the games that I’ve heard the rumors of his expertise. God-like has been used within my hearing more than once.

But even the rumors hadn’t prepared me or done him justice. The man’s lips are soft and perfect and if the way he uses his tongue for this is any indication of how he might use it in other areas…a shudder rolls through me at the mere thought, my toes curling and my stomach clenching in anticipation.

Well, I’m good and fucked, that’s for sure.

“I hope it isn’t far,” I say, trying not to sound breathless and desperate but, well, I am breathless and desperate. I need him to keep kissing me. I need to rip his clothes off and touch those abs he’s so fond of posting all over the internet. Maybe lick them a bit. I need him to make this one night worth the stupidity of going down this road with him.

It’ll be fine. We’re adults. Everything will be fine. We’ll scratch this itch and then it’ll be done, no harm, no penalty, back to friends in the morning.

I could tell him that I have a penthouse suite back at the Celeste, but I’m not ready to answer the questions that will inevitably come up if we head there, so I resign myself to keeping it in my pants until we get to his place.

“Do we need an Uber? I definitely shouldn’t be driving—not that I’m not fully capable of making decisions, mind you,” I add hastily, making sure he doesn’t think I’m too drunk to know what I’m doing. Despite what his reputation might make you think, I know Rizzo would be the kind of guy who would call this night before it even begins if he thought I wasn’t in the right state of mind. “But I shouldn’t be driving.”

“Good to know.” He smiles at me and heat floods my stomach. That thing should be registered as a lethal weapon. “I’ve got a car with a driver waiting back at the Celeste. Come on.” He holds out his hand and we make a run for it, grinning like idiots.

“Ahh!” I cry when I hit a bit of ice and skid a little bit, clutching onto to Rizzo for dear life so I don’t go down hard on my ass.

“Gonna let a little ice take you out, Nat?” he teases. “So disappointing. I expected more from a member of the Sin Bin,” he tsks. “We might have to revoke your membership.”

“Ok, first off, Hattie can’t even skate at all, so there’s that. And I skate just fine, thank you. You try doing it in six-inch heels—hey!” I squeal as he lifts me up and throws me over his shoulder. I break out into a laughing fit as he makes his way quickly down the sidewalk, not having any trouble navigating the patches of ice dotted here and there. I grip the bottom of his jacket to steady myself and take a moment to admire the view.

“Ya know, you’ve got a pretty nice ass, there Thirst Trap,” I observe and he laughs loudly, jostling me in his caveman carry.

“Of course it is. Have you seen me? Everything is nice.” I snort. “Yours ain’t so bad either,” he says, stopping in front of the hotel doors and lowering me down, slowly sliding my body against his. Once I’m on my feet, he uses one finger to lift my chin up to meet his gaze. Why the fuck is that so sexy? “And the sight of it in this dress tonight. Mmm, mmm, mmmm , Natalie Morgan. You chose violence when you chose this little number.”

My lips part on a soft inhale and his gaze dips down, those blue eyes looking…hungry. I shiver and I’m not entirely convinced it’s because of the weather. He seems to shake himself and grabs my hand, pulling me around to the side of the building where several sleek black cars wait. Rizzo signals to one and it pulls up to the curb. He opens the door for me and I mentally give him a few points.

“Well, look at you.”

“I am nothing if not a gentleman, Nat.”

As I step towards the car, I brush his chest and whisper, “God, I hope not…”

He makes a low groaning sound and I laugh as I duck down and scooch across the seat to make room for him to slip in beside me.

“Where to, sir?”

Rizzo hesitates for a heartbeat and then tells the driver, “My place, Jerry.”

“Yes, sir.”

Rizzo slides closer to me but I push him away. He gives me a what gives? look.

“Nope. You stay over there. If you don’t, Jerry is going to get one hell of a show—or possibly need therapy.” The driver chuckles lightly and Rizzo tries to hide his smile.

“You’re probably right,” he agrees as he presses himself as far away from me as he can.

It’s the longest ride of my life despite it only being ten minutes, tops, and I keep my hands clenched into fists in my lap the entire time to keep myself from reaching for him. I laugh when I glance over to see him doing the same thing, his jaw ticking like crazy with effort of holding himself back.

“You know this is torture, right?” he whispers.

“Oh I am well aware…”

“We’re almost there,” he assures me. “Still plenty of time for you to escape though, if you want.” I grin at him.

“I think I’ve met my escape quota for the evening, thanks.”

“Thank fucking God,” he murmurs.

A few seconds later, Jerry pulls up outside of a soaring high rise apartment building.

“Wow, fancy.”

Rizzo helps me out of the car and waves goodbye to Jerry before offering me his arm. I huff out a laugh but take it and we head inside. He nods to a younger guy sitting at the security desk, a spark of surprise flashing in his honey-brown eyes.

“I don’t know if you know this or not, but I’m kind of a big-time star hockey player…” I roll my eyes and whack him playfully in the stomach as we reach the elevators. Everything is very sleek and modern and obviously it costs a pretty penny to live here. I’m weirdly grateful that he doesn’t live in the building across the street instead of this one. That one is a Harrington property.

He reaches out and swipes a black card through the keypad and I know that must mean he has one of the top floor apartments, the kind you need special access to get to. I arch a brow at him.

“Penthouse?”

“Penthouse,” he confirms, grinning, but then he leans down and kisses me softly on my neck, just below my ear, making me shudder. He moves to whisper in my ear, “that’s a lot of floors to pass and keep my hands to myself, Nat…” I swallow hard and turn my head towards him. Our faces are so close that I can see the rings of gold around his irises, the blue dark and burning. Our lips are so agonizingly close again that I can feel his breath tickling my skin and would only need to lean a fraction of an inch to be in heaven again.

“Who says you have to?” I breathe, my entire body suddenly taut as a bowstring, practically quivering for his touch. I need it. I need Rizzo in a way that I’ve never needed anyone. What the hell is wrong with me? I feel like I’m coming out of my skin, like if I don’t have his hands on me soon, I might go crazy. It’s like I’m literally craving him.

“You are trouble,” he says, chuckling low and leaning in just enough that I can feel the briefest contact of his lips against mine, but then he pulls away without actually kissing me, grinning. I want to pout. I want to scream. I want to jump his bones right here in the lobby in front of God and the security cameras. He winks and shifts to stand beside me, waiting patiently and innocently for the elevator, and I narrow my eyes at him. The bastard knows exactly what he’s doing.

Well, two can play at that game.

My lips curl as I think about what’s about to go down. I take off his jacket and drape it over my arm, shaking out my hair. He eyes me, his Spidey sense tingling, I’m sure. I make a show of righting the small diamond pendant at my throat before slowly trailing my fingers down my neck, gently running the tips over the top swells over my breasts.

“Natalie,” he warns and I can’t help but laugh lightly. This is going to be fun. I would say it’s the wine lowering my inhibitions, but really, I think it’s Rizz. I always feel so free with him, reckless in the best way. The elevator doors finally slide open and we step inside, both turning to face the front keeping a tiny bit of space between us. Already the air around us is thick and heavy with promise. As soon as the doors close, he reaches for me but I dance away, dropping his jacket and putting my back against one wall. He moves to follow, but I stop him with my six-inch-heel on his chest. He arches a brow, but looks entirely intrigued, the intrigue turning to something hotter and more dangerous as his gaze skates upward from my ankle, up my calf and leg, over my fully exposed thigh. His chest rises and falls quicker as I trace my finger up that same thigh, shifting when I get higher so that my finger tip whispers along the inside of my thigh, higher, and higher…

“ Nat? ” he breathes, half question, half plea. His pupils expand, the black starting to block out that beautiful blue.

I know we don’t have much time, even going to the eightieth floor—and I just really hope this building doesn’t have those insanely fast elevators that shoot you up a million stories in a matter of seconds—so I don’t waste any time. I hold his gaze, bite my lip, and slide a finger past my thong.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he chokes out, gripping my ankle with one hand, running his other up my calf as he watches raptly while I pump, gasping quietly. I’m half shocked I’m doing this, but wholly don’t care. It’s hot and it’s sexy and it’s Rizzo . I know he’d never judge me for anything, especially right now when he looks like he would follow me straight into hell itself if I asked him to. It just feels right with him, like I don’t have to be afraid or self-conscious. I don’t know if it’s because we’re friends and I already feel comfortable with him, or because I know this is just a meaningless one-off, so I don’t have to worry about pulling punches or doing the whole play it coy at first so I don’t scare him away thing, but either way, I don’t feel even a tiny bit of shame as I delve my finger over and over, rocking my hips slowly, holding his gaze all the while.

“Tell me,” he grunts, voice low and hoarse. “Tell me that you’re wet, Nat. Tell me you’re wet for me.” His words make me shiver and I love that he’s vocal, already knowing that we’re going to get along just fine in this department.

“Soaking,” I pant.

“ Fuck .” He reaches down and runs a hand over his bulge, his erection straining his tuxedo pants and making my eyes widen. He smirks when he sees my eager stare, but before we can do anything more, the elevator slows and the bell dings. He steps away and lowers my foot gently to the ground as I withdraw my hand, but as I reach down to pick up his jacket, he grabs my wrist. I watch in aroused fascination as he guides my hand to his lips and sucks gently on my finger.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, my entire body shuddering like a thousand little shocks are going through it. He releases my finger and gives me a sexy smile.

“You taste fucking amazing, Nat. But I’m going to need seconds. Possibly thirds. Now .”