Page 41 of These Wicked Games (Wicked Sins #1)

When we’re done it looks like we have dozens of dumplings.

“I freeze them. Easy dinner for a while. The last thing I want to do after traveling is cook.” He puts half of them on a plate, then puts the others into a freezer bag.

We go to the stove as the water begins to boil.

“About five minutes. They’ll start to float.

” He dumps a few into the boiling water then grabs a skimmer and waits.

“I just want you to know that even if we had very little growing up, I never missed out on anything,” he says softly.

“She worked so much, but I always remember her being there for me. We used to have movie nights, went on hikes. When she had a little extra money we’d go to home games for the Vipers.

One day, for my eleventh birthday, she must have saved for a bit and she bought me your father’s jersey.

” I feel as if all the blood in my body pools at my feet. My hands are cold, my stomach clenches.

Just calm down, he doesn’t know. This is why he can’t ever know. My father means too much to him. How can I break that version of him in his mind? “Expensive.”

“I know, right. She told me that every day for a year she set aside a dollar so she could afford it. I still have it.” Oli pulls the first batch out onto a plate then drops another in. “I had him sign it when I got signed to the Titans.

I remember that day like it was yesterday.

Seeing Oli standing in our locker room for the first time confirmed the things I’d already been questioning about myself.

He was nearly half the size he is now, but seeing him for the first time it was like all the pieces I couldn’t figure out finally fell into place.

I was going to do it. I was going to tell him how much he meant to me that night. I was going to confess how much I felt and how crazy it was making me not to tell him what he meant to me.

After I dropped our cups off, I’d paced the front lobby just waiting for him, thinking about what I was going to say.

I didn’t think Oli would return my feelings, but I didn’t care.

I just needed him to know. But he was taking too long, and I remember walking back down to my father’s office and seeing him come out like he’d been struck by lightning—disheveled, seething—then his eyes locked with mine.

I never, ever want to see that look again.

The rage and hatred that dripped from those ocean eyes I loved so much hurt worse than his fists, even when he broke my nose. I didn’t care. Physical pain was something I was used to.

The heartbreak that shredded my soul afterwards nearly ended me. I was so confused. “Oli failed his drug test.” I couldn’t believe it. I insisted there had to be a mistake. “He’s under a lot of stress, Andre. This happens. What I won’t have is him assaulting my son.”

I almost laughed. The hypocrisy was and always will be astounding.

“Alright, done.” Oli pulls me out of my thoughts as he plates me some dumplings then some for himself. Mixing up sour cream with sriracha, he shrugs. “I like spicy food.”

I smile as he sets up the island, putting out a dish of regular sour cream then some of the spicy version he made. I take a bite and my eyes widen. “That’s really good.”

He shrugs, eating a few before getting up to pour me a glass of wine, and doing the same for himself. “It’s simple, but that’s what makes it good.” I take a sip of my wine and think about all the things that have led here to this moment.

I don’t want to let go of any of it.

After dinner Oli leads me up to his room.

I’m getting tired, but I don’t want this night to end, and I’d really like to put my mouth on him.

He peels off his shirt and I drink in those gorgeous black and gray tattoos that cover the wide expanses of his chest and back.

His eyes seem heavy and I’m sure his mind is still on the meaning of today.

Still, he let me in here, into his home, and maybe if I’m lucky a little piece of his heart. “What?”

“Huh?”

“You’re staring at me.” Was I? Well, I can’t really help it.

Not with how things are turning out lately.

The hatred and rough sex I can handle, but whatever this is .

. . it’s new to me, and I don’t know what to do besides soak it in.

I don’t want to poke at it too hard. I don’t want him to think I’m pushing things that don’t exist.

What if they do exist, though? “Nothing.” I smile, swallowing all the feelings bunched in my gut. Even when we were friends I could never have conjured what’s become of us now. This is a happiness I’ve only ever imagined for myself. “Come here, Oli.”.

Oli doesn’t hesitate, coming toward me and kissing me hard. Harder than the moment calls for. This heat, though, is what I desire from him. I want to turn up the burner. I don’t want gentle, I just want him—raw and unyielding. I want the heat that comes from his kisses.

“Are you going soft on me?” I taunt him, and his blue eyes blaze on me before he dives back against my neck. “Fuck, Oli.” I fist his hair, hissing with the sharp sting of teeth. I’ve uncaged a tiger, and I’m ready for the full force of his wrath and fire. I crave it.

He pulls back, looking like a wolf in heat. It’s one thing I loved about him, even when he hated me. Oli looks like he’s either going to kill me or fuck me into orbit .

Really banking on that second one right now.

“Are you too sore?” he whispers against my throat, then lays a soft kiss against my Adam’s apple.

His hands caress my skin, and my body sings everywhere he touches.

I shake my head, just ready for whatever he can give me.

Things are changing, and I don’t know what this looks like without the hatred between us, but I’m dying to find out.

“You want me to fuck you?” I swallow, thinking about the car.

The way he filled me. The way I didn’t want to move. “You sure?” he asks.

I want to feel it again, this time without anything between us. “I need it.” I’m not above begging for what I want. “Don’t go easy on me.”

Oli smirks, and I love the cocky look. I love the drunken haze his eyes hold.

“I’d never go easy on you.” Oli takes my bottom lip between his teeth.

His large hand smooths down to slip into his sweats that I’m wearing, and I groan as his rough palm gives me a slow jerk. Precum is sticky against my thighs.

“Come on, Oli. Give me a break.” He squeezes me lightly. A pathetic little whimper escapes my lips. I’m a needy bastard.

Oli’s lips graze against mine. A little kiss here, a nip there.

“I’ll give you something, but it won’t be a break.

" He dives back into my throat, kissing and licking. It’s scorching.

I feel my knees give way, and I hold on to his thick biceps for leverage.

He bites my earlobe. His fingers slip out of my sweats, and I don’t have a second to protest before he’s diving into the back to grab my ass.

“I want this pretty pussy begging for my cock.” The low growl sets me on edge. My ass clenches with the filthy words.

I’m not small by any means, at six two I’m only a couple of inches shorter than him, but Oli Kulivov makes me feel small. Like I’ll break under the weight of his stare. This man is larger than life. “You know what’s funny?”

“How not naked you are right now?” He goes to devour me again, but I push him back. The thought has taken root.

“Think about it. Every time we fuck around we win the following game.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Landon played a couple of games and I’m not fucking him.”

My fingertips are still wrapped around his delicious biceps. He’s so close, the heat of him soaking into my skin. It feels like we’re cosplaying lovers. “I am a man of science.”

His hand slams over my mouth. “Can you stop speaking, please?”

Removing his hand, I laugh. “I’m just saying, it’s funny.” His teeth sink into my neck. “We’re going to win our next game. Think about it. A science experiment.”

Oli’s eyes narrow to slits, and his frown deepens as he nods.

“Okay, I do like science,” he growls. Every single game after we fuck, we win.

It’s science. I fucking love science. Or magic?

I mean his dick is magical. I almost laugh, thinking about explaining this to our teammates.

I don’t actually think they’d welcome Oli’s and my ritual of hot and hard hate sex.

Only lately, the hate part is getting a little blurred.

At least for me.

I don’t hate him; I never have. I just hate how fast he turned on me.

How quickly he believed I betrayed him. I have him where I want him right now.

Well, not exactly where I want him. My pants are still on and all.

“Where did you go?” I look at Oli, noticing his intense blue eyes on me. “What’s going on? ”

“Huh?”

“You look spacey.”

Anger slams into me and I don’t know why. I don’t like the way he’s looking at me. “You’re taking too long. Are you going to fuck me or do you want me to grab a talking stick so we can share our feelings?”

His fingers snatch my chin, forcing my eyes to his. “Watch your mouth, or I’ll bend you over my knee and spank this gorgeous ass raw.”

I tsk. “Oli, you’re very chatty tonight. Are you going to fuck me?” I think for a moment, and I’m really playing with fire now. “You know, if you’re not up for the job, I’m sure someone else would—”

His other hand comes up fast, wrapping around my throat and pinning me to the wall. “Don’t finish that fucking sentence,” he snarls. “If anyone lays a finger on you, I’ll break their fucking hands.”

Oh, I am in trouble. My dick thickens behind these sweats. I need them off.

Oli backs away from me, his eyes not leaving mine, and slowly tugs off his hoodie and shirt in one swoop, displaying his beautiful chest. I sink to my knees and look up.