I had successfully been managing to avoid any run-ins with Nico after leaving his apartment the other morning. Phillip switched up our assignments so I only saw Nico while he was playing. We’d been talking, but I had been able to avoid hanging out with him, even though he had asked a few times.
The other night scared me. The way he was with me—the way he made me feel. I never had an experience with anyone else like I did with him, and it confused the hell out of me. I shouldn’t have been involving myself with him in the first place. Not with my job at stake. Yet I couldn’t help myself.
And it was really hard turning him down every time he tried to see me this week.
I knew there needed to be some distance between us. I couldn’t let myself get involved with him on a personal level and I felt like we were already toeing that line. If we kept things superficial and at face value, there was no reason to go forming any attachments.
Phillip assigned me at the players’ entrance again and I couldn’t help but feel a mixture of excitement and dread. There was no way of avoiding Nico if I saw him while walking in. I tried to get Ava to switch with me, but she told me it wasn’t allowed. Once we had our assignments, they were ours. Do or die, I had to get the shots, and unfortunately for me, I had gotten some that the organization really liked.
It was a true compliment but I didn’t want to come face to face with Nico. He had kept things pleasant when we talked through texts the past few days, but seeing him in person was a completely different story. He had a way of drawing things out of me. And I had a feeling he wasn’t going to let me go until he got what he wanted… whatever that might be this time.
My phone vibrated as an email came through and I quickly checked it as I had a few minutes before anyone would be walking in. It was someone Ava put me in contact with that was looking for a wedding photographer. They were highly impressed with my work and wanted to hire me. A smile pulled on my lips as I sent them a quick response back with the promise of connecting and going over details next week.
As the guys came rolling in, I was already sitting on the floor with my camera in position. I got a few of the guys laughing and talking as they walked together. Some were very serious, some had headphones or earbuds in and were working on their mental game. It was an experience in itself, just getting to witness their own habits as they got prepared to go out on the ice.
In typical fashion, Nico and Wes came walking in and were toward the back of the pack. They were never late, but they were always one of the last ones here. Wes had another wrinkled outfit on and I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh as I took a few shots of the two of them. Wes was talking on the phone this time and Nico already had his eyes on me.
I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole so I could avoid his piercing blue eyes. He stopped in front of me and Wes nodded as he walked past. He didn’t glance back at Nico, which was unusual. The two of them were stuck together like glue. Nico’s eyes were on mine and he waited until the door closed behind the guys before parting his perfect lips.
Lips I’d already touched and tasted.
My mouth went dry and my tongue darted out in an attempt to wet my own lips. Nico’s gaze dropped down to my mouth, lingering for a moment. I watched his throat move as he swallowed and he slid his hands into the front pockets of his suit jacket before bringing his eyes back to mine.
“You’ve been avoiding me, love,” he said, his voice low yet soft. “I think I have an idea why, but I want to hear it from you.”
I slowly set my camera down in my bag and rose to my feet to face him head-on. “You could have asked me this before today. You knew that if you had me cornered here, there was no way I could avoid answering you.”
Nico stood perfectly still and simply smiled. He didn’t need to answer me as we both knew it was the truth. He wasn’t an erratic, uncalculated person. Everything he did was thought out and planned. I didn’t know if I would want to see what an unhinged Nico Cirone looked like. I saw him on the ice in fights, but even those looked like he had run through a game plan in his own mind of how he was going to conduct himself.
He was always controlled and never out of line.
“Tell me why, Harper.”
I stared back at him for a moment. “If you already think you know the reason, then there’s no reason for me to say it.”
“I need you to confirm it. That way I can chase away your fears.”
His words spread a warmth through my body and my heart did that stupid little thing it did when he was around. “I can’t get attached to you, Nico. I need things simple with no strings. I just got out of a bad relationship a few months ago and I’m not looking for a rebound.”
“I would never be your rebound, love,” he said as his eyes stared directly into mine. “There wouldn’t be anyone after me.”
My heart did that damn thing again and skipped at least four beats in my chest. I couldn’t let myself feel anything with him and I needed him to give me the same in return.
“It wouldn’t ever work, Nico. You know we can never be anything.” I paused for a moment, watching a shadow pass over his expression. “We’re friends, but nothing more. We might do things we probably shouldn’t, but that’s all it can ever be. You already know the risks we are running by doing that.”
Nico was silent as he stared at me with ice sliding over his eyes. “You’re right. We’re nothing.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I told him in a rush, instantly regretting saying anything. It was clear I had offended him or hurt his feelings. I shouldn’t care. I didn’t want these feelings and I didn’t think he did either.
He shook his head and gave me nothing with his blank expression. “I know exactly what you mean, Harper.”
I didn’t think he really did. Hell, I didn’t even know what I really meant or what I wanted. He was already clouding my brain and I needed the fog to be lifted so I could see clearly.
“I’m not going to ruin your career or fuck up your life because I enjoy spending time with you. Being inside you was just an added benefit.” He paused for a moment, his chest rising as he inhaled deeply. “You made yourself crystal clear. If you decide to change your mind, you know where to find me.”
He went to walk past me, but my hand instinctively darted out to grab him. “Nico, wait.” I pulled him back and he turned to face me. His eyes slowly searched mine. “I don’t want whatever this is between us to be done.”
His eyes stopped moving as he focused in on my gaze and took a step closer to me. “Then what do you want, Harper? You’re giving me fucking whiplash with your mixed signals. One night you’re in my bed, the next you’re giving me short responses and then telling me we can never be anything more than friends.”
“You know I can’t afford to lose my job.”
He slid his hand to cup the side of my face as he ran his thumb across my bottom lip. “Fuck your job. Come live with me and let me take care of you.”
“Absolutely not. I won’t be some kept woman—ever. I need to have my own thing too.” His face was inching closer to mine and my heart was pounding erratically in my chest. “What are you doing, Nico? Someone might see us.”
Nico looked around us and was suddenly backing me up until we were stepping through a curtain that blocked off an area that had workout equipment. Some of the players used it for conditioning, or if they were recovering from an injury, they worked out down here during the game. There was no one in the area right now and Nico walked me backward until my back was pressed against the concrete wall.
“Is that better, love? No one will see us here.”
“Someone could walk in at any time,” I countered.
Nico chuckled softly and pressed his finger to my lips. “Shh. You don’t want anyone to hear us, do you? They’d definitely find out about us then.”
I swallowed roughly as he dragged his finger down both of my lips. His eyes searched mine once before his mouth was crashing into mine. I leaned my head back and he ran his hand down to my throat as he lightly wrapped his hand around it. He had me pressed against the wall and his cock was hard against my stomach.
He inhaled me, draining the oxygen from my lungs as he kissed me with an urgent need. His tongue traced the seam of my lips and I parted them as he entered my mouth. Our tongues were tangled together and my head was swimming from the ecstasy of him kissing me. His hand was still around my throat and mine were around the back of his neck, pulling him closer.
Anyone could have walked in and I didn’t even think I would have fully cared. Fuck my job. Fuck it all. Nico Cirone had me under his spell and there was no way I was getting out of it now. Like a spider with a web, he already had me tangled up in him and he was ready to devour me.
He abruptly pulled away, leaving me completely breathless. His eyes were back on my mouth and he ran his thumb along my bottom lip. “I’m going to end up fucking you against this wall if we don’t stop now.”
“Then don’t stop,” I told him even though my brain was screaming at me for being a fucking idiot. His eyes jumped to mine and I knew he wasn’t joking.
“Don’t want you to lose your job,” he said with a bite in his tone. I felt his absence the moment he stepped away from me and a shiver slid down my spine. I wanted him to come back to me, but instead he was turning around and walking the other way.
“Where are you going?” I asked him, my voice barely audible as I stayed in place where he left me against the wall.
He glanced at me over his shoulder. “I’ve got a game to play, love.” He smirked with a wink. “We can pick up where we left off later.”
“I’m supposed to go out with Ava after the game.”
Nico lingered for a moment with mischief dancing in his eyes. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll find you.”
Without another word, he turned back around and pushed through the curtain. I was frozen against the wall. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest and I was still struggling to catch my breath. I had no idea where any of this was going with him, but I was willing to roll the dice and see where we would end up.
He was about to turn my entire life upside down.
I just didn’t know it yet…
