Dear Shy Guy: The Matchmaker Series

by Powell, Laney

  “Can I help you?” she asked pleasantly.

  “May I please speak with Nat, if she’s here?”

  She appraised me, looking me up and down. “She’s out in the back office. Are you here about a job?”

  “No. But I do have business with her,” I added.

  One eyebrow went up. “All right. Follow me.” She walked out the front door and led me around the side of the house. A path made of red pavers led to a small shed on the side of the back yard. The door was open, and I could hear music playing inside.

  “Nat?” the woman called out. “You have company.”

  “’K,” came from inside the shed. Nat stepped out. She was wearing leggings and a tee shirt, and her hair was up in a bun.

  She looked at me and her mouth fell open.

  “So you know him?” the woman said.

  “What are you doing here?” Nat asked me.

  “All right then. I’ll be inside if you need me,” the woman said and walked away.

  “You said I needed to come to you. I’m here.”

  She looked at me again and then walked back into the shed office. Her head popped out. “Well? Are you coming in?”

  I followed her.

  She rounded on me. “I cried over you.”

  “I am so sorry,” I said.

  “Say it again.”

  “I am so sorry. I should have…”

  “Stop.” She held up a hand. “I have been over and over this in my head. I want to call you names and carry on, but while you did hurt my feelings, I’m a big girl. I can get over it. I just wanted to hear you say it again.” A grin crept onto her face. It faded as she continued: “I don’t think I can know how hard that meeting was for you. Part of me says you shouldn’t have asked me to meet you, but then, I think, you were trying to change things. I want to be mad.” Her head dropped. “But I can’t stay mad.”

  “I can be apologetic as long as you’d like,” I said. A spark of hope, the spark of hope that had been there since I’d gotten her first letter, and fizzled out after the one she’d left with Grace, flared up.

  “Well, you’d better. How long can you stay here to grovel?”

  I laughed. “I’m here for groveling for the next two weeks.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “I brought my laptop. I can do what I need to from it.”

  “What if I’d told you to get the hell out?”

  “I would have.”

  She looked down and then came to stand close to me. “I’m glad you’re here for two weeks.” She took my hand.

  I squeezed her hand. Touching her was the best thing that had ever happened to me. “So am I.”

  Nat

  For the next week, I skipped a lot of work. My mom let me off without any real comment outside of, “That’s a nice research project.”

  Christopher stayed at his hotel, and every day, I went and picked him up and we drove all over; talking, walking, renting bikes, and just being together. What had felt slightly awkward in the letters felt completely natural. We talked about everything. His family. My family (I warned him he’d have to meet them while he was here). Our businesses. I confessed that I worked out in the office shed in my pajamas a lot. He laughed and said that was one of the perks of working at home.

  We talked about our fears. Why we’d gone the matchmaker route. Why it was so hard to find someone. Each day, we held hands, and twined our fingers together. It wasn’t a big deal on the touching scale, but it felt intimate and personal and like it was a promise of some sort.

  I avoided everyone else though. This was my time with Christopher. I didn’t know what would happen at the end of the second week when he had to go home. The fact remained that we didn’t live anywhere near one another.

  I ignored that fact and continued to enjoy my time with him.

  Not once did I see his stutter come out. On Saturday, when he’d been here a week, I mentioned it. “Are you enjoying being here?”

  “With you?” He took my hand. “Yes. More than anything.”

  “You haven’t stuttered at all. And you haven’t been hiding out at home,” I added. He’d been holding my hand all week. I liked it. We’d kissed goodnight, tentatively at first, but the last two nights, I’d had to drag myself away from him. He seemed to have the same trouble.

  He looked surprised. “No, I haven’t. But then, we haven’t had a meal with your family. It’s okay.” He held up a hand. “I figure it’s coming.”

  “My mom has been pretty good about holding my dad off. My older brothers are busy with their lives, and Aleks basically lives at Cate’s, so it’s not as bad as you think.”

  “You say that as a woman who doesn’t have to face the protective family.”

  “What about you? You’re an only child. What’s your mom like?” I teased.

  He laughed. “About what you’d expect. When she realized I had problems talking, she got all kinds of protective. It was my dad who said that I had to learn how to get along in the world.”

  “Well, don’t worry about it. This is time for just us. No one else.” On impulse, I pulled his head down to mine, and kissed him. It was the first time we’d kissed outside of goodnight kisses.

  The kiss deepened as his tongue probed my mouth, and I felt my entire body go up in flames. I wrapped my arms around his neck, oblivious to the fact that we were out in public. Granted, it was on a fairly deserted walkway in a marshland park, but it was still public.

  “I wish we were somewhere private,” he muttered against my lips.

  “You have a hotel room,” I pointed out.

  Christopher let go of me and, still holding my hand, towed me toward the car. “You drive. It’ll be faster.”

  We rode in silence, although his hand was in mine, the fingers caressing my palm and twining in and out of my fingers. His other hand was in my hair, brushing against the shell of my ear, my neck, and down to my collarbone.

  “Driving here,” I said.

  “Are we there yet?” He laughed a little.

  “Almost.”

  Within minutes, I’d pulled into the parking lot of his hotel. We practically ran to his room.

  This was right. I wanted him. And he wanted me. This was the right, the perfect time. He opened the door and the moment it closed behind me he picked me up. I wrapped my legs around him, loving the feel of his muscles against me.

  He was so tall that I felt small. I loved it. He carried me to the bed, kissing me as he walked. Then he set me on the bed, and as I lay back, he crawled up between my legs. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes. I have never been surer. And if you stop kissing me, I’ll die.”

  Christopher laughed. It was the easiest, most relaxed laugh I’d heard out of him. “Then we need to lose some of these clothes, Miss Dragomirov.”

  I scooted away and pulled my shirt off.

  “Let me,” he said. He took the shirt from me and tossed it aside. He looked at me for a moment, not saying anything. Then, “You’re so beautiful, Nat. I can’t believe you’re here with me.” He peeled off his shirt, and it followed mine to the floor.

  I tugged at his belt buckle and then unbuttoned his jeans. He stood up for a moment and slid off his pants and his boxers.

  “Wait!” I said.

  He stopped with one foot still in his clothes. “What?”

  “I wasn’t planning this. I don’t have anything.”

  He stared for a moment and then his face cleared. “Oh, I’m prepared. No worries.”

  “Well, aren’t you hopeful?” I laughed.

  “I was. I am,” he added.

  “I am so glad.”

  He laughed and I could hear the relief.

  “What are you waiting for? Grab what we need.” I pulled him close to me and kissed him hungrily. “We’re going to be here a while.”

  “You got that right,” Christopher said, reaching into his duffle bag. He set a few foil-covered packets on the bedside table and slid next to me so
that we were lying side by side. He ran his hand down my side, coming to rest on my backside. Then he cupped my ass in his hand, giving me a squeeze.

  I wrapped an arm around his neck, kissing him again. We had been careful around each other this week, getting to know one another more, and not touching a lot. But now, I couldn’t get close enough. His hand moved around to my front in between my legs. He slid a finger inside me, stroking me.

  “Oohh,” I moaned. “God, Christopher.”

  “I’ve been wanting to touch you like this all week,” he whispered in my ear. Another finger slid in, moving back and forth, in and out.

  My hips moved in time with his hand.

  He pushed himself up with his other hand, and rolled me onto my back, hand still in me. Leaning down, he kissed me, and then my neck. He sucked at the base of my throat and then slid down a little and took one of my nipples between his teeth. The feel of his teeth was gentle at first and then increased in tension. It made me arch to him, my legs opening wider.

  I wanted him right this second.

  But I knew that wouldn’t fly. He was on a mission. As much as I wanted to get right to business, I knew that the ride there would be amazing.

  He kissed my navel, and then down between my legs. He spread them a little wider and licked my clit.

  I nearly came off the bed. I hadn’t known how badly I wanted him until he was here, touching me. The entire week, we’d spent most of the days together, and a lot of the evenings as well. I was sensitive to every move he made near me.

  To have him licking, then sucking on the innermost part of me was fantastic. I was flying. As he nibbled on my clit, he pushed his fingers back into me. He had such long fingers that he was making me crazy.

  I couldn’t control myself. I could feel the release building, getting closer. Christopher didn’t stop, but increased his speed as I started to move around and buck my hips.

  “Oh, God, oh, Christopher.” My voice didn’t even sound like me.

  Christopher

  She was close. Her head thrashed back and forth, and she kept saying my name in a way that was just made to make me come, right here like a boy who’d never been with a girl before. She got me that hot.

  I kept sucking her clit, nibbling at it every couple of seconds. She liked me using my teeth. I liked me using my teeth. To see her like this, to know that she was like this because I’d given her this pleasure—it was the best aphrodisiac ever.

  “Oh, Christopher,” she whispered, and then she came. It was a strong orgasm; I could feel her knees shaking on either side of me. Then they relaxed, falling away from me.

  “Oh my God. I don’t think I can move,” she said.

  “You don’t have to.” I slid up next to her and pulled a condom off the bedside table. Tearing the packet, I rolled it on, our eyes locked on one another. Then I moved back between her legs. She put her hands around my waist, pulling me into her.

  I’d have to take this slow. She felt so good, and I’d been dreaming of her ever since I’d gotten here—to say that I wanted this badly was the understatement of the century.

  Her legs came up, her heels resting on my ass. Slowly, I pulled out of her, and then moved all the way in. Every inch of her was delicious. I began to move faster, and her heels dug into me. Her hands moved up to clutch at my shoulders as we came together harder. I could hear the soft sound of our skin meeting, and it made my cock even harder than it already was. If we kept this up, things were going to be over soon.

  I wanted this to last. I wanted to be here with her all night. I stopped and withdrew from her.

  “What—where are you going?”

  “Turn over,” I said. My voice sounded hoarse.

  She looked at me for a moment without saying anything and then rolled onto her stomach. I spread her legs and entered her from behind.

  Shit. This felt even better. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea — She arched her ass up toward me, and I found that I could drive further into her. Nat was making mewing sounds that were sending waves straight to my cock.

  I took her hands and stretched them over her head, clasping my fingers in hers. With an anchor, I began to drive deeper into her. She arched into me even more, her knees tucking up slightly. I could feel the slippery curve of her back, and taking one hand from hers, I reached around to the front of her, finding her clit.

  When I touched it, she gasped. I increased the intensity. She pushed her ass right into me, panting loudly.

  The crest began to build, and I could feel it getting closer with each thrust. Everything was in high definition. The feel of her pussy in my hand. Our hands holding one another’s tightly. Her back against my chest, the roundness of her ass against my thigh.

  I shouted as I came, and Nat said something but I didn’t understand it. I thrust hard into her, emptying myself.

  She stayed still, practically glued to me as my heart rate returned to a more normal rate.

  I let go of her hand and then eased myself out of her. “I’ll be right back,” I said. I made a quick trip to the bathroom. When I came back to bed, Nat had settled in under the blankets.

  “Can I stay with you?” Her voice was sleepy, dreamy.

  My cock twitched at the tone. Jesus, she could get me hard with just her voice. “You’re not going anywhere,” I growled, spooning myself behind her. She snuggled her ass next to my cock, making me doubt that we’d actually get any sleep.

  Who cared? Not me. This was one all-nighter I was all in with.

  Despite my prediction, we did sleep. I woke with Nat moving away from me, and then I felt her hand putting a condom on me. Without words, she spooned herself in front of me, and I slid into her.

  It was like coming home. This was the woman I’d been waiting for my entire life. She was perfect. I pulled her top leg close to me, opening her up and pounding into her, wanting more, wanting to be all the way inside her. When she came, she whispered my name, and I let out a slow breath as my release washed over me.

  When we’d both relaxed into boneless heaps, it was another trip to the bathroom, and then back to curling around her. This time, she turned into my chest, snuggling against me, my head resting on hers.

  “You make me happy,” she said.

  “That makes two of us. You make me happy.”

  Twice more, we dozed, and then woke up reaching for each other in the dark. I kissed every inch of her body, reveling in the feel and smell and taste of her.

  As the daylight began to shine behind the curtains, she rolled to me and kissed me. “Good morning,” she said.

  “It is a very good morning.” I smiled at the smile I could feel on her lips.

  “I don’t want to get up.”

  “Well, I’m on vacation. Can you be on vacation as well?”

  “Yes,” she sighed, happiness evident in her tone.

  We stayed in bed all day Sunday. We ordered room service, and ate, feeding each other, naked in bed. When maple syrup dripped onto her breast, I pushed aside the napkin she’d raised to wipe it and sucked it off.

  Which led to me sucking on her nipples.

  Which led to Nat on her knees, holding onto the headboard as I took her from behind.

  Which led to us collapsed on the bed, entwined with one another.

  It was the best weekend I’d ever had in my life.

  On Monday morning, when I got out of the shower, Nat, who had showered before me, was reading on her phone.

  She looked up. “I need to go home. My mom said it’s time for me to resurface,” she laughed.

  “I think your dad already hates me,” I groaned.

  “Probably. But that will pass. Listen, I’m going to head home. I’ll call you, and plan on coming over for a late lunch, early dinner kind of thing.”

  “Time for the inspection?”

  She nodded. “Yep. You’ve reached the point where it has to happen. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you,” she said as she pulled me to her for a kiss.

  “Then I have n
othing to worry about. I’d put my money on you.”

  “You would?” She looked pleased. “Good choice. I’ll see you later.” One more kiss, and she was out the door.

  I collapsed on the bed. Reality was here again. Time to get ready to face the dragons of the Dragomirov family.

  Nat

  The smile stayed on my face the entire drive home. Christopher was everything I’d hoped for and more. He was hot. And tall. And blond. I hadn’t told him about my thing for blonds, but I would at some point.

  He was careful, and thoughtful, and completely focused on me in bed. He wanted me to get my satisfaction. He made me feel cared for and cherished. Adored.

  I loved that he was a mix of the perfect boyfriend and all man. He seemed to anticipate when I wanted him to drive me into the bed, and when I needed more tender touches. I’d never experienced that with the few boyfriends I’d had before. Any previous awkwardness was long gone.

  I called my mom to tell her we needed to cook. “Hey,” I said when she picked up.

  “Where have you been?”

  “With my research,” I said, the smile on my face again.

  “All weekend?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your brothers are coming over tonight, and we want to meet him.”

  “Not just Dad?” I teased.

  “No, not just Dad. I don’t count letting him in the house as really meeting him. Besides, neither of you introduced him to me.”

  “Fair enough,” I replied. Nothing could bring me down.

  When I pulled into the driveway, my dad was in the front door. He waited until I got in front of him. “Nice to see you come home.”

  “Dad, I’m not getting into this.” My brothers could be gone for days, and my dad wouldn’t say a word.

  “I missed you,” he said easily. “Now tell me about this research. I think your mother is making a little joke. Since your research is joining us for dinner tonight, I’d like to know about him.”

  We walked into the kitchen together. The kettle was heating up water, and my dad began to make tea without even thinking about it. That’s how the problems of the world were solved in my house—over a hot glass of tea.