Playing Dirty (Leighton U, #4)

by C.E. Ricci

To the ones with the odds constantly stacked against them: Fuck what everyone else will think or say. Use it as fuel to write your own happy ending.

“I can’t promise you fair sky above. Can’t promise you kind road below. But I’ll walk beside you, love. Any way the wind blows.” — Hadestown

Even when I proved, time and time again, to be more than the circumstances I was born from, there was always someone trying to shove me back into that little box.

Unfortunately, after I come out of the bathroom from brushing my teeth, I realize the one massive problem I’ve overlooked. One that’s impossible to ignore now that he’s stripped down to nothing more than a pair of tight-fitting boxer briefs. Theo Greyson is hot as hell.

Unfortunately, Madden’s faster than me—and possibly a mind reader—grabbing my wrist before I can even take a step back toward Camden. His skin singes mine where it makes contact, and there’s an intensity in his gaze as he leans in a little closer. “Don’t worry, Theo. The only guy ending up in my bed tonight is you.”

“Play with fire, and you’re gonna get burned, Teddy Bear,” I utter, the warning coming out barely more than a gruff whisper. “Especially if you keep looking at me like that.”

“I don’t need to read your mind, Theo. Not when your body is screaming.”

But I don’t get the chance, because Theo’s hand lands on my forearm. And those emotions? Well, they boil over the second his lips crash into mine.

I don’t know what caused me to snap, only that the second I do, I realize it’s the greatest mistake I’ve ever made. Because nothing—fucking nothing on this planet—could prepare me for kissing Madden.

And, fuck, does my cock take notice of just how sexy it is to be on the receiving end of a hand necklace.

“I hate that I want you,” I whisper, the words coming out in a snarl. His dark chuckle floats over my skin like satin. “About time we agreed on something.”

He’s somehow invaded my mind, destroying all thought and common sense, and no matter how hard I try…I can’t hate him for it. I can’t hate him at all.

Theo Greyson is in my bloodstream, whether I like it or not.

“What do you—” “You!” I shout instantly. “Jesus fuck. It’s you, okay? I want you.”

I can’t stop kissing him. It’s like anytime I’m within arm’s length of him, I need to feel our mouths pressed together. I’d find it pathetic if it didn’t make me so goddamn happy.

Kiss and tease and fuck him until he’s lingering on the brink of sanity, begging for more, for mercy. For me. Because that’s exactly what he does—drives me insane, makes me reckless and rash, and I don’t know if I love or hate it. Probably a little of both.

He might be the most infuriating person I’ve ever met, but God, do I want him. Even if I shouldn’t.

I can’t sit here and pretend like he hasn’t become one of the most important pieces of my life.

If I’ve ruined him, he’s decimated me. He’s taken me apart, piece by piece, and left me in shambles at his feet. Clawed his way into my very essence, lay claim to the organ beating inside my chest. Plucked every ounce of sanity straight from my being and tossed it aside as if it were never there in the first

place.

Then I kiss him in the hopes that his lips on mine can somehow take us back in time. To any point before tonight—before doubt could creep into my mind. To a moment when lies and deception didn’t tarnish something so pure and vulnerable. Because the thing is, he did have another option: the truth. He just doesn’t see it as one. And part of me wonders if he ever will.

I’m already in love with him. Yet he continues to give me reasons to fall even deeper.

Even after spending hours touching and tasting every inch of his body, I find myself still craving more. Sometimes I wonder if I’d even be satiated by crawling inside his chest, tucking myself behind his ribs, and truly becoming part of him. At this point, I doubt it. Nothing will ever be enough. But maybe that’s exactly what love is.

Every piece of me—mind, body, and soul—belongs to Madden Hastings. And fuck, if he doesn’t belong to me too.

A collision of two things that don’t belong together yet somehow fit perfectly. As if they were the only piece capable of filling the space the other was missing. It’s the only way I can describe this all-consuming desire searing me to the bone—turning me to a pile of ash on the spot. It goes as far as burning the rest of the world away until all that’s left is me, and him, and this, and us.

The way I feel about him transcends all else.

“When it’s your forever on the line, all the codes and rules go right out the damn window.”

Because I love him, and I’d rather have him a thousand times over than win some damn rivalry game.

“You mean something to me, Theo. You do.”

“You’re the one I’d turn around for, Theo. Over and over again.”

I turn to look at him—at this man I never knew I needed—and I know I feel the same. In my heart of hearts, I know I’d go to the ends of the Earth for him, and that includes betraying my team. There’s no other alternative. I couldn’t live with myself if I betrayed my heart.

I won’t let anything, or anyone, stop me from loving him.