Page 51 of Fool Me Once

“Can’t make it look like we’re fighting, baby,” I coo into her ear, and she shivers.

Her eyes seem glazed over, but not with emotion. Between that kiss and the shots, she’s a perfect storm right now.

A smile takes over her face, and her eyes widen.

“We should dance.” She claps her hands together, and that’s when I know she’s officially drunk.

Sliding off the stool, she grabs my hand. “Come on, big shot. Let’s give those reporters something to talk about.”

She leads us through the crowd until she finds a spot and turns toward me. This isn’t what I was anticipating, and I probably shouldn’t let it happen because she’s been drinking, but the thought of her ass grinding against my cock is too tempting. The way she’s looking at me right now, biting her bottom lip as “Pillowtalk” by Zayn blares through the speakers, I’m a fucking goner.

She spins around, backing her ass up to me and putting her arm around my neck. Carefully, not wanting to push things too far, I slide my hands down her body, wrapping them around her stomach as our bodies sway together to the music.

Her ass feels so good and pushes against my dick, and I have to tell myself not to get hard, but I know it’s useless.

She smells like sweet vanilla, making me wish I could run my tongue over every inch of her skin. And when she cranes her head to look up at me, the last thing I’d ever expect is for her to kiss my neck, but when her lips touch my flesh, my cock quickly hardens, and there’s not a damn thing I can do to stop it.

Every ounce of me has missed her. Body, mind, soul—I fucking want it all. But I don’t know if she feels it, too, or if she’s just playing the game.

She presses her ass harder against my aching cock, making it fucking throb with need. Her lips kiss my neck again, but this time, she drags her tongue on my skin, too, before giving me a small bite.

Jesus Christ, I want to fuckher so bad.

The song is nearly over, and she spins toward me, pressing her body to mine and wrapping an arm around my neck. “I’m drunk.” She smiles, dragging her fingers down my chest. “I’m drunk, and I’m really, really turned on.”

Fuck. Me. Sideways.

I have waited for this moment for so long, but I can’t fuck her, not when she’s been drinking. She’s been through too much for me to do some stupid shit like that.

“Oh, yeah?” I manage to croak out, my cock rock hard and pressing directly into her stomach.

“Mmhmm.” She bobs her head up and down, looking up at me withfuck meeyes. “Take me back to the room, Smith. Show me everything I’ve been missing.”

Her blinks are long because she’s buzzed, reminding me that I can’t take advantage of her when she’s in this state. Telling her no is going to be hard, but I’d never forgive myself if I had sex with her tonight.

“Firefly, I want that more than anything,” I rasp. “But not tonight. Not when you’re drunk.”

That earns me a laugh, and she drags her fingers lower, playing with the waistband of my jeans. “Come on. Don’t be the good guy right now, Smith. Just be the guy who gives me what I’m asking for.” She reaches up, bringing my face closer to hers. “I want you to fuck me, Smith. I want you to fuck me and make me forget the past few years.”

There’s sadness in her tone at the end of her sentence, showing that, despite her being intoxicated the pain is still there.

I take her wrist in my hand and press a kiss to her forehead. “Not like this, Gem. Not tonight.”

She’s instantly angry, but the last thing I want is for her to throw a fit. If reporters got videos of us fighting tonight and if Richie ever did anything stupid, they’d probably spin it and say she had a history of causing issues with men.

That’s how fucking messed up the world is these days.

“Don’t act pissed or throw a fit, Gem,” I murmur against her ear. “Remember, there are always eyes on us when we’re out, especially with the team.”

Even though she’s drunk, when I pull back to look at her, she’s embarrassed.

“I’m going to find Saylor,” she says, looking away from me and stumbling slightly. “She’s leaving soon for the airport.”

She steps back from me to walk away, and even though I want to chase her because I know she’s mad at me, I don’t because I don’t want to risk scaring her by being too aggressive, and I know there’s a camera around every corner, taking pictures of the team. I can’t make it look like there’s trouble in paradise.

So, instead, I hang back and watch her every move to make sure she’s safe. Begging my cock to settle down because, right now, it’s so hard that it hurts.

Saylor didn’t stay long, which prompted me to want to leave, too, so I decided to catch an Uber with Saylor when she went to the airport, and then I got dropped off at our hotel. Like a coward, I had her deliver the message to Smith that I was going back to the room but wanted him to stay. I knew if I did it myself, he’d just insist on coming back with me, and that wouldn’t be fair because he had a great game today, and he deserves to be out celebrating.

---