“Stop calling me that.” I hated how I sounded; wounded and broken.
“Fine,Frankie. You don’t get to hit me. I don’t care how fucking angry you are with me. It’s not you.”
“You don’t know me at all. If you did, you’d know how much you’ve hurt me.”
Matt’s eyes darkened, his moss colored eyes looking almost black. He kicked his foot out backward, slamming the door to my suite closed. His proximity after all these weeks made my body throb, but my rage fought hard to extinguish my desire.
Spinning me around, he pushed me back against the door. Pressing his hands to the wall on either side of my face, he leaned his body into mine, but not so close that we were touching.
“Matt—”
“Shut up, Rogue, for one fucking minute.”
“Matt, get away from me, pl—”
Forcing his hand over my mouth, stopping me mid-sentence, he leaned in closer and whispered in my ear. “You never do as you're told, Rogue. I swear you were put in my life to test me.”
I glared at him, trying to break free of his hold, hating the fact that I could feel my pulse hammering between my thighs at having him so close.
“How can you say I don’t know you? I know everything about you. I know that you like your room as hot as an oven. I know you sleep like you’re dead. I know that you like to eat at least twelve times a day and if it’s green or healthy, you break out in a sweat. I know you have ranked the Avengers in likeability order with Ironman at the top and the Hulk at the bottom because, again, you don’t like green things. I know you love sweet over savory every time. I know you use your song writing like a diary.” He paused, and I watched his Adam’s apple move in his throat as he swallowed.
“I know me bossing you about makes you go weak at the knees and you like your sex rough, your yoga hot and your steaks rare. I know that you long to be loved and to find a place where you feel accepted completely. I know all this because I fucking love you, Rogue, and I have loved you for years. There isn’t a thing about you that I don’t know. This isn’t what you think. I want to explain, but I can’t… I just need—”
Dragging his hand off my mouth, I spoke. “Let me guess, you need time.” I hated the sneer that slipped from my words. “You’ve had years, big man, and nothing. I still don’t know a thing about you other than the few things you’ve let me see. You can list all those things about me because I’ve let you in, but you… I don’t know anything about you.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “You know plenty about me. Fine, I’ve not told you about my past, but you know plenty and if you stopped hating me, you’d realize that.”
I let out a short, sharp laugh. “But that’s the point, Matt. I do hate you. I hate you with all my heart.” I pulled my head to the side, trying to break the connection between us. Matt grabbed my jaw, holding me in place, his mouth against my ear.
“No, Rogue. You love me. You still love me.”
I shoved him, hating how huge and solid he was. “You wish, big man. Now, excuse me, I have to get ready for this party. Do me a favor, stay out of my way.”
“Not a chance, Rogue. It’s my job to protect you.” He stepped back from me, moving me from against the door before opening it.
“Great. Can’t wait.”
And with that, he turned and left, leaving my body aching for his touch, but the cracks in my broken heart reminded me why that would never happen.
Matt
Jesus,whatisshewearing?
I swore she’d dressed like that just to spite me. When she walked out of her room, everyone gasped, because she looked stunning. Dressed in a bright red, sleeveless jumpsuit that accentuated her breasts and hugged her hips, looking as if it had been custom made for her and then I remembered who she was and realized it probably had been custom made for her.With the sole purpose of tormenting me.
Despite how hot she looked from the front, it was seeing her from behind that made me know for certain that she was out to punish me.
The jumpsuit was backless, the scooped material skimming the top of her ass. But what burned the most was seeing what was spread across the small of her back. In the space that I’d loved to touch so much, where I'd felt tethered to her, she’d had a tattoo.A fucking tattoo.It was beautiful. Huge, but beautiful. A shooting star, flying through a water coloured cosmos. It couldn’t have been more her. But I hated that I didn’t know she’d had it done, when she’d had it done, or even who had laid their hands on her to do it.
It was like a punch to the gut. The ultimatefuck you. I forced myself to calm down by clenching my fists at my side, so I didn’t rush to her and fling myself at her mercy. Leaning on Mav while she slipped on her heels, he whispered something to her, making her laugh loudly.
When was the last time I’d heard her laugh or she’d offered me her beautiful smile?
She turned, ignoring me completely. “Neo, I’m ready when you are.”
We took the private elevator down to the cars and Frankie made sure she rode in a different car to me. I sat in with Tanner and Gray who chatted away, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than that tattoo.When did she get it? Was it for me?
“You could talk to her, you know, Matt?” Tanner whispered while Gray was distracted by a phone call.