by HELEN HARDT
Which didn’t matter anyway, because Matt had already moved on.
Oh, but his kiss…
When I’d stripped away all my baggage and allowed myself to enjoy it…
It had been nirvana.
True nirvana.
Could sex with Matt be even better?
Could I forget how ruined I was and live in the moment?
Again, didn’t matter.
Matt had moved on.
Adriano set my wine down next to me. I smiled and thanked him. Then I took a long sip.
Not bad for a house red. Basic and flavorful.
Just what I needed tonight.
Now, if I could just enjoy the rest of the evening and forget that Matt and his date were a few tables away.
18
Matteo
“She’s not going to turn around,” Leena said to me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I closed my menu. Pepperoni and mushrooms, my old standby. I never wavered from it.
“You’ve got your eyes glued to the back of her head, Mattie.”
“No I don’t.” I purposefully looked down at the napkin in my lap.
“I get it. She’s gorgeous. But she’s not your type. She doesn’t even live here.”
“So? That’s never been a requirement.”
“If it’s a romp in the hay you want, I can give you that.”
I resisted an eye roll. “Not interested, Leena. We’ve been through this ad nauseam.”
I couldn’t help it. My gaze strayed back to Riley’s head. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, and her neck…so long and silky, so ready for my kisses…
For fuck’s sake. If there’d been one place I thought I wouldn’t run into Riley Mansfield tonight, it was Rosati’s. She was hardly the pizza type. Then again, she’d gorged on Mrs. C’s carnitas and enchiladas.
“Hey, Mattie. Hey, Leena.” Adriano strutted up to our table. “What can I get for you tonight?”
“You can tell Mattie here that his silver spoon at the back table over there isn’t on the menu.” Leena laughed.
Adriano met my gaze. “You know her?”
“She’s renting my cabin this week,” I said.
“Man, she’s hot.” Adriano smiled. “I think she might be into me.”
Jealousy’s green head speared into my gut. Most women were into Adriano, including Leena. He was number two on her list, after me, and she made no secret of it. He was half-Italian, same as I was, only he looked the part. My ancestors were from Northern Italy, and I had my Swedish mother’s coloring.
“She’s only here another few days,” I said.
“Have you tapped her yet?” he asked.
My hand curled into a fist seemingly on its own. Easy, Matt. Hell, Adriano and I talked about women a lot. No reason for him to think this particular one was off limits. But thinking of anyone “tapping” Riley made me want to pound some skulls.
“I have not, and you won’t, either.”
“Man, if I can I—”
I stood, exercising every ounce of control I had not to grab Adriano’s collar. I was taller and more muscular, and I could easily pummel him.
“She’s not on the menu,” I said so only he could hear. “Not tonight, and not ever.”
“Easy, Mattie. I’m working here.”
“You’re working, all right. Just don’t work her. She’s been through some shit.” Of that I was certain. I just had no idea what it was.
I sat down. “What do you want, Leena?” I asked.
“What did little miss silver spoon order?” she asked Adriano.
Anger threatened me again, but Leena was harmless. Adriano, however, was not. I didn’t want him bedding Riley. No fucking way.
“She ordered a small mucho macho.”
Leena’s brows nearly flew off her forehead. “She’s so thin!”
“I guess she’s hungry,” Adriano said. “She said she wanted a ridiculously fattening pizza. I believe those were her exact words.”
“Sounds good, huh, Mattie?” Leena said.
“No way,” Adriano said. “Matt’s never ordered anything but pepperoni and mushroom in the three years I’ve been working at this place.”
“Bring me a beer,” I said. “And then we’ll have a large mucho macho.”
“Perfect,” Leena agreed. “Make that two beers.”
Adriano wrote down the order. “Got it. I’ll be right back with your beers.”
“What the hell is on the mucho macho anyway?” I asked Leena.
“Pepperoni, Italian sausage, pancetta, mushrooms, black olives, onions, green pepper, and fresh tomato. Oh, and lots of extra cheese.”
“Sounds like heartburn on a platter.”
“Little miss silver spoon is—”
“Riley, Leena. Her name is Riley.”
“Geez, Mattie. I’m just teasing. You’ve got it bad.”
She wasn’t wrong. Riley Mansfield had gotten under my skin. Very rarely, I’d tried bedding a woman and she turned me down. I never gave it a second thought.
But I was giving Riley a lot of second thoughts, and I hadn’t even tried to bed her.
This was my fault. I’d pushed her too hard. I rose.
“Where are you going?” Leena asked.
“I’m going to talk to her.”
“Little miss—”
I glared at Leena.
“Okay, okay. Riley. Tell me, Mattie. What does she have that I don’t?”
“She’s not a stalker, for one.”
“Neither am I. Luke just took my interest the wrong way.”
“Leena, you followed him around for months.”
“Like I said, I was interested. Apparently he wasn’t. I learned my lesson. I’ve never done that to another guy.”
“Good for you. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
She grabbed my forearm. “Sit down, Mattie.” Her eyes were serious. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s don’t go chasing someone who doesn’t want you.”
I chuckled. “You haven’t learned that lesson with me.”
“Hey, I give it my best shot when we’re together. That’s just who I am. But I don’t chase you the way I did Luke.”
I couldn’t fault her observation.
Still…something about Riley called to me. It felt almost like…she needed me.
I pulled my arm away from Leena. “I’m just going to say hi.”
“She knows you’re here. If she wanted to say hi, she would.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to, but I do.” I walked to her table.
Riley swallowed a sip of wine and met my gaze.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi.”
Neither of us spoke for what seemed like an hour.
Finally I cleared my throat. “I just wanted to say hi.”
She nodded. “Well, you did.”
Okay, then. This had been a huge mistake. I turned—
“Wait,” Riley said.
I turned back. “Yeah?”
“I’m… I’m really sorry. About the rose. I shouldn’t have thrown it down and stomped on it.”
“Oh. Sure. Okay.”
“I hope you’ll accept my apology.”
Something in her voice made me pause. She sounded sincere, but it was something more than that as well—something that made me sit down in the chair across from her.
“Listen,” I said, “I’m sorry too. I’m sorry I pushed you. We hardly know each other, and I had no right to—”
She reached forward and touched my hand.
Sparks shot through me at the subtle contact. Real tingles that I hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
“It’s okay,” she said. “In fact, it’s nice that you cared enough to prod a little.”
“Still, I shouldn’t have.”
She smiled, and the world was suddenly right again.
“You’re right. You probably shouldn’t have, but I shouldn’t have reacted so strongly. I loved the flower. Truly.
”
I returned her smile. How could I not? Her smile was something amazing, and I got the feeling not everyone got to see it.
I felt privileged.
Even in the darkness of the restaurant, I could see her blush a little.
I couldn’t help myself. “You’re so damned beautiful,” I said.
Her smile widened. “So are you.”
I couldn’t help a chuckle. “I’m not sure anyone’s ever called me beautiful before.”
“You are. I could say handsome. It’s accurate. I could say gorgeous and magnificent. Also accurate. But beauty is the basis for all of those, and you are beautiful, Matt.”
Her hand still rested on mine, and I entwined my fingers with hers. I didn’t know what to say. I was having dinner with someone else, and I was a gentleman. I’d see the date to its conclusion. But I desperately wanted to see Riley later tonight. I didn’t care what we did. If I never got her into the sack, I didn’t care. I just wanted to be with her, in her presence.
“May I see you later?” I asked.
She frowned. “What about your date?”
“It’s not a date, really. I replaced a pipe for Leena and she’s buying me dinner.”
She smiled again. Was that relief in her eyes?
“I’m glad, but there’s something you should know.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need to know anything, Riley. I’m not pushing you for answers. I just want to be with you. We can do anything you want. Get a drink at the Stein. Go home and put a DVD in the player. Play a game of cards. Sit and do nothing. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“But—”
“Shh. It doesn’t matter.”
Adriano arrived with Riley’s pizza. “You eating over here now, Matt?” he asked.
“No. Just saying hi.” I laughed. “That’s a lot of pizza for one person.”
“I plan to make a big dent in it,” Riley said.
“I’ve no doubt.” I winked at her. “Let me finish my dinner and I’ll see you back at the cabin, okay?”
She nodded. “All right.”
19
Riley
Was it fair?
I’d tried to tell Matt I was leaving tomorrow, but he kept shushing me.
I supposed it didn’t matter. If it weren’t tomorrow, it would be several days later. Matt and I had no future, anyway.
I couldn’t escape my life, as much as I wanted to. My brothers deserved better. They were back in Manhattan dealing with the fallout of our bastard father’s death. They needed me. And truth be told, I needed them too. Now that they knew the truth about me, maybe we could become closer. They no longer had any reason to envy me.
Indeed, I had reason to envy them.
In the meantime, a pizza the size of the Titanic awaited me.
Yeah, it was only twelve inches in diameter, but the crust was thick and the toppings were mountainous.
And the aroma was divine as I inhaled.
I couldn’t help a chuckle. Fredricka would have a coronary if she could see me now.
I picked up a piece and took a bite. A little hot but not enough to burn the roof of my mouth.
And absolutely delicious.
After two pieces, though, I was full. I should have listened to Adriano and gotten the individual size.
“Another glass of wine?” Adriano asked after walking back to my table.
“I’d better not. I’m driving.”
“How was the pizza?”
“Delicious, but I should have listened to you. This was way too much.”
He picked up the tray. “I’ll just box this up for you.”
“I’m actually leaving tomorrow,” I said. “So don’t bother. Why don’t you take it?”
“We’re not allowed to do that,” he said. “Health laws and all.”
“I won’t tell if you won’t.”
“Good enough.” He winked. “It’ll make a nice midnight snack. I’ll be right back with your check.”
I itched to look behind me, to see Matt’s face, maybe get a better look at his date.
It wasn’t a date, he’d said. He just helped her with a sink pipe.
He’d forgiven me for being such a bitch earlier, and I was thankful for that.
A new feeling swept through me—something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Anticipation.
I was looking forward to seeing Matt tonight.
Adriano brought my check. I paid in cash, of course. I had one credit card in each of my aliases, but I used them only for travel. I left a handsome tip, as well.
Then I rose and turned.
Matt and Leena were still eating their pizza, and I whisked past them quickly, forcing myself not to meet Matt’s gorgeous blue gaze.
I’d see him later.
I couldn’t wait.
The knock on the cabin door made my heart race.
I hadn’t changed clothes, though I’d considered it. I was still wearing the jeans and tank I wore to the pizza place. My bones were tired from the work I’d done this morning, but the anticipation made my adrenaline surge.
I opened the door.
Matt stood there, his blue eyes burning two holes in my flesh.
“Come in—”
He grabbed me and slammed his mouth onto mine.
I opened.
I wanted to kiss him, remembered how amazing it had been.
But kissing might lead to—
No. Let it go. Surrender to his kiss. He won’t force you into anything.
Just. Let. It. Go.
I heeded the advice of my subconscious.
I couldn’t let Derek Wolfe color my whole life, let him keep me from something that could be beautiful. So beautiful.
I parted my lips, and Matt probed his tongue between them.
We’d kissed before, but this seemed different in a way I couldn’t quite understand.
And I knew…
I knew at that moment that I’d let him make love to me.
I was leaving tomorrow, so I could be Riley Mansfield tonight. Just Riley Mansfield, who didn’t have any of Riley Wolfe’s problems.
I could suppress all my troubles—all my demons—just for this night.
I cupped his blond stubbled cheeks, letting my fingers scrape along the roughness. I wanted to pull him closer to me, so close that we were one being with this kiss.
I let my hands wander down, over his broad shoulders, down his upper arms. So big and muscled. I drew in my courage and then touched his butt—his amazing butt—and squeezed. He groaned into my mouth, pushing his clothed erection against my belly.
And I didn’t back away.
Because I was Riley Mansfield tonight, not Riley Wolfe.
He broke the kiss, inhaled, and then trailed wet kisses over my cheek to my ear, where he softly nipped the lobe. I shuddered, his breath against the wetness an icy cold yet comfortably warm delight.
“I want you,” he said softly, pushing his erection against me once more.
I want you too.
The words hovered on my tongue, begging to be released.
“I…want you too.”
He growled into my ear and then pushed his tongue inside. Tingles shot through me, and my body couldn’t decide if it wanted to be warm or cold.
And I throbbed between my legs. That secret place that I never thought could feel anything again.
“I want to make love to you in the hot tub,” he rasped.
God. The hot tub. Naked. With Matt. In the hot tub.
“Then,” he continued, “I want to come inside and make love to you in bed. All. Night. Long.”
My nipples hardened, extending and yearning for his lips, teeth, tongue. Fingers, anything.
My body had never responded this way. Many times, I’d wondered if it actually could.
He moved from my ear, then, and met my gaze as he licked his swollen lips. “What do you want, Riley?”
A soft sigh escaped my throat. “I want all of that. All of it, Mat
t.”
“Thank God,” he rasped. “I couldn’t think of anything else while I was finishing dinner. Then, you left, and you didn’t look at me—”
I placed two fingers against his lips. “I didn’t want to interfere with your dinner. I was afraid if I looked at you…”
“Afraid of what?”
“I don’t know, exactly. I almost felt like I couldn’t control myself.”
He smiled. “Would that have been such a bad thing?”
“In the middle of a restaurant? Yeah.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m here now. I’m here, and you’re here, and I’m going to explore every inch of you by morning.”
I closed my eyes and moaned. My body was responding in weird fluttery ways—ways I’d read about but never imagined.
Matt kissed my neck and then my bare shoulder. “Your skin is so beautiful. Like a pinkish-yellow rose.” He dropped a kiss between my breasts and then he slid the strap of my tank off one shoulder and then the other. Kisses and more kisses, all over my chest and the tops of my breasts.
My breath caught and wouldn’t let go. I wanted… Needed…
“Matt…”
“Hmm?” He nipped my shoulder.
“Undress me. Please.”
“My pleasure.” He pushed my tank down to my waist and over my hips. Then he unhooked my bra and I shimmied out of it. My breasts fell gently against my chest.
“Fuck. Beautiful,” he breathed.
I flipped off my sandals while he unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans.
A slice of fear—or was it apprehension?—threatened me, but I waved it away. I wanted this more than the fear that wanted to control me.
Derek Wolfe was dead.
He had no more control over me.
And damn it, that would be the last time I thought of Derek Wolfe while Matt undressed me.
He eased the denim over my hips and down my thighs until I stepped out of the jeans and they lay like a blue puddle at my feet.
Only my pink lace boy shorts lay between Matt and me.
He stared, looked me up and down as if I were a side of beef hanging in a butcher shop.
And I liked it.
My God, I liked it a lot.
“You look so sexy, Riley, in those panties,” he said. “I almost don’t want to take them off you.”
