Just His Type (Part Four)

by June, Victoria

  "Then why the heck hasn't he done something about it?" I hissed under my breath. Logic dictated that Adam was just a typical newlywed who thought everyone should be in love. Problem was I didn't feel like listening to logic; it could get me into lots of trouble.

  Adam finally began to move to the music again, taking me with him. "Because if you didn't react positively he'd lose you, lose everything. That's a terrifying thought. Surely you understand?"

  I did. Because it's how I felt about it too.

  "If you never make a move and he never makes a move, just how in the heck do you think anything's ever going to change between you?" Adam prompted softly. "Don't expect that every man is going to just march up and take what he wants. It's not as easy for us as women seem to think it is."

  "This is Matt we're talking about here," I sighed as I looked up into Adam's emerald eyes. "You know... Matthew Tanner? The biggest flirt on the north shore? He smiles and half the women in the province swoon. Since when has he not gone after what he wants?"

  "Since it means as much to him as you clearly do."

  The music ended and Adam came to a halt again.

  "Everyone sees it Flick, everyone except you."

  Lilly was at Adam's side before I could respond. He threw his arm over her creamy bare shoulders, and beamed.

  "My dearest, darling wife," Adam said with a chuckle. "Would you please tell Miss Stewart here that your little brother is ridiculously smitten with her, even if neither of them knows it yet?"

  "He is," Lilly assured me through her own laughter. "I just spent an entire four minutes listening to him rave about you. Actually," she mused as a thoughtful expression crossed her sweet face, "he's pretty much spent several years raving about you."

  I opened my mouth to argue, but before the words could find purchase past my tongue, Matt appeared at my side.

  "I know you don't drink champagne," he said as he handed me a glass of pale pink liquid. "So I thought you might like some punch."

  His fingers brushed mine as I took the glass. I couldn't be sure it wasn't deliberate.

  "Kiss him," Lilly leaned over to whisper as she and Adam moved past me, arm-in-arm. "Trust me."

  I sighed and took a long drink of punch.

  "What was that about?" Matt asked.

  I couldn't very well tell him the truth. "Lilly was just giving me some advice," I said, being deliberately vague.

  "About what?"

  I should have figured Matt wouldn't just let it go. He had the tenacity of a bulldog at times.

  You.

  "My dancing."

  He plucked the glass from my hand and drank up the remainder with one healthy swig, and then he deposited the empty glass on the tray of a passing server. "Well there was no need for her to do that. You'll be dancing with me all night, and my dancing is just as good as hers."

  Dancing with Matt was exhilarating. He made it look so easy and led so effortlessly that I didn't have to think at all; I just moved in his arms like I was made to. It felt like flying -- like I was Wendy to his Peter Pan -- or really more like I was Cinderella, caught up in some wonderful, magical spell that was so far removed from normal life that I could have pinched myself to test if I was dreaming. I almost did, but I couldn't bear to take my hand from his long enough for even that.

  Being in Matt's arms... well there aren't words, really. Exhilarating didn't begin to cover it. It felt like my feet never touched the ground. Matt was so strong I wasn't scared at all. He held me up easily and I knew he would never let me stumble. I wanted our dances to last forever.

  I didn't dance with Matt all night. Chuck made an appearance two songs later for his turn around the floor with me. Joe was next and then Reverend Nate came swooping in, claiming that the first dance we had together didn't count since it wasn't for the entire song. And I was flattered when Gerard Tanner shuffled over to me and gruffly asked if he could steal me away for one song too. I danced with Matt's dad in silence, but he smiled shyly at me the entire time, so I took that as a good sign.

  When Matt finally claimed me back from his father, he looked annoyed.

  "Miss Popular," he growled under his breath. "I didn't know I was going to be pushed to the back of the line."

  I chewed at my bottom lip. "Well, perhaps you should have bought me a different dress then; something baggy and floor-length," I teased, knowing full well that the other Tanner men, Nate, and Adam would probably have danced with me even if I'd been wearing my work overalls.

  Matt scowled. "You might be right," he muttered under his breath as he took my arm and led me off the dance floor and down towards the lawn. "My cousin Bill has been ogling your legs all night."

  The sun had set while I'd been busy dancing and the lanterns had been lit. The army of paper lanterns cast an otherworldly glow in the trees. We moved through them away from the other guests, to a small private clearing at the edge of the bluff and stopped a foot or so from the precipice. A crooked sliver of moon hovered above the water, smiling at us like the Cheshire cat's grin. Music and laughter floated to us through the trees.

  "I don't know why," I giggled. "There's not much to ogle."

  "Just because they're short doesn't mean they're not fantastic."

  "You think they're fantastic?"

  "Of course they are," Matt said, sounding surprised. "Why wouldn't they be?"

  "I'm not questioning whether they are or they aren't," I pointed out. "I'm questioning you thinking they are."

  I could have sworn Matt blushed, but it was difficult to tell in the faint moonlight.

  "Of course I do," he said under his breath. "I've told you that before."

  I gaped at him. "No Matt, you haven't. You never say things like that to me."

  Matt crossed his arms over his chest and glowered down at me. "Yes I do, I told you that you look beautiful in that dress."

  "Yeah, in this dress, an hour ago," I reiterated, feeling my temper rise. "I don't want to be beautiful in just this dress. I want to be beautiful all the time!"

  Matt took a step towards me and closed his hands over my upper arms. His fingers felt rough but warm against my bare skin.

  "You are beautiful all the time."

  His response surprised me into silence.

  "How could you think I don't think that?"

  "Because you've never mentioned it before tonight," I replied, still in shock.

  "I should have." His voice had dropped to a low murmur even though there was no one else around to overhear. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." His words caressed my body.

  "Your skin is so perfect it glows. Not a flaw, not a mark, nothing but soft perfection." His fingers moved over my shoulder, up my neck, and across my cheek to trail over the rose tucked behind my ear. "I never liked short hair on women until I met you," he confessed as he brushed the short, dark fringe of hair from my forehead. "But I love how it showcases your graceful neck, your sweet little ears, your perfect face, your beautiful eyes. Other women have to hide behind their hair, but you have nothing to hide."

  I'd gone three long years without a single compliment from the man. He'd just made up for in less than a hundred words.

  His fingertips trailed across my forehead and down my cheek again to brush against my lips.

  "I've had the most terrible urge for weeks now and I thought I could fight it but I can't. What's more, I don't want to..." Matt trailed off, having to stop and clear his throat. I stopped breathing altogether.

  "Would it be okay if I kissed you?" His voice sounded thick.

  I couldn't speak. I could only nod, surprised at suddenly finding myself at the moment I'd dreamt about for so long.

  Chapter Six

  One of Matt's hands framed the side of my face while the other on my upper arm held me still. As if I'd dare leave now. I couldn't peel my gaze from his as he lowered his head, nor could I move when I felt the first touch of his lips against mine. The moment was as sweet as I'd dreamed it would be but nothing prepare
d me for when Matt lifted his head and whispered, "Felicity."

  Not 'oi' or 'hey you'. Not Flick. Felicity. It almost too incredible to bear. I shivered as he rested his forehead against mine.

  "You're cold," Matt whispered a hairsbreadth from my lips.

  I shook my head.

  "Liar. You have goose bumps." He smiled and rubbed my arm, making the predicament worse.

  "It's not because I'm cold," I confessed with a low laugh.

  Even in the semi-darkness I noticed the second Matt's sapphire eyes light up. He'd suddenly become the Matt I'd fantasized about with a slow, flirtatious smile just for me, those beautiful eyes heavy-lidded with want.

  Lilly had urged me to kiss him, so I rose on my tiptoes. I leaned into him, my hands clutching the lapels of his jacket. He wrapped his arms around me and enveloped me completely in his breadth. I'd never felt as small as I did in his embrace.

  His mouth slid against mine and when my tongue flicked against his teeth he groaned and granted me entrance. Our first kiss had been gentle. The second one certainly wasn't.

  Matt kissed me as I'd never been kissed, so completely I felt wrapped up in sensation. Every thought spun around him. All I needed was whatever air he shared with me.

  "Felicity," he groaned as we broke apart, both breathing hard. "What just happened?"

  I was about to answer with something glib and flirtatious when I heard a rustling in the trees behind us. A giggle followed. Matt took me by the hand and pulled me into the shadow of a large pine near the bluff's edge. At first I thought he had hidden me out of shame, but he pinned me against the tree and whispered in my ear, "Someone else stole my idea."

  I bit back a laugh. "It is terribly romantic out here tonight. Must be something in the air at weddings."

  Matt chuckled near my nape, sending tingles down my body. "Must be. Should we retreat and give them their moment of privacy?"

  "Let's see who it is!"

  "Minx," Matt muttered. "Who'd have thought it of you?"

  We peeked around the tree to the small clearing where Matt and I had been only moments before. A tall, blond couple were engaged in a heated kiss.

  "Oh, my!" I gasped. My cheeks flamed as I watched. Adele's head was thrown back while Nate rained kisses along her jaw line, down her neck, across her collarbone and into her décolletage. Her hands gripped his forearms and it looked like she was holding on for dear life.

  I felt Matt's silent laughter. "Go, Reverend Nate."

  "He doesn't kiss like a Minister."

  "How do you know what a Minister kisses like?" Matt teased in a hushed tone.

  "I don't." I shot him an exasperated glance as I gestured towards the clearing. "But I doubt they kiss like that."

  "Tsk...tsk," was Matt's response. His small exhale of breath danced over my bare shoulder. I trembled again, this time partly from the cold.

  "I should get you someplace warm and let those two have their stolen moment. I doubt they get many of them." Matt took hold of my hand again and led me through the trees. He knew every twist and turn in a way only someone raised amongst those trees would know. I followed him as we bypassed the crowded, well-lit lawn and emerged at the back of the house.

  Matt's car was parked by the kitchen door.

  "Let me take you home," he offered as he eased off of his tux jacket and slung it over my shoulders. It hung lower than my dress, skimming across my cold thighs.

  "I don't want to go home." The night had been so magical I didn't want it to end. But I didn't exactly want to rejoin the party either.

  Matt brushed a callused finger against my cheek. He studied me then asked, "Well then what do you want to do?"

  I stood poised on the edge of my chance to grab happiness; to take what everyone else saw but the two of us, apparently. He wouldn't say no if I asked him, I knew that now. What the consequences might be, I didn't know, but the risk would be worth it no matter the cost.

  "Take me to your place,"

  Matt didn't move, didn't speak. I watched as he swallowed.

  "A-are you sure?"

  I nodded. I'd never been more sure of anything in my life.

  He pulled keys from his pant pocket and unlocked the passenger side of his car. He held the door for me as I slid in. I buckled my seat belt with shaking fingers, knowing everything would change after this.

  Neither of us spoke on the drive to the garage. From time to time, I glanced over at Matt and found him wearing a stony expression while he focused on the road ahead. I thought about cracking a joke all the while hoping he'd lighten the mood with his trademark humor. I couldn't get used to this serious, intense version of Matt. It was a side of him I still didn't know what to do with.

  The gravel crunched under the car tires as we pulled into Matt's usual parking spot at the side of the building. I slipped out from the car before he had a chance to come around and help me. My legs shook as I climbed the stairs to his second floor apartment, more from anticipation than nerves. Being moments from everything I'd wanted for so long felt so surreal.

  I stumbled with only half a dozen stairs to go but Matt scooped me up and finished the climb carrying me in his arms.

  "You're going to have to put me down to unlock the door," I pointed out with a breathless little laugh.

  "I can't remember if I locked it," Matt confessed as he chuckled. "Hold on."

  I threw my arms around his neck but I didn't really need to. Matt held me easily with one arm and reached out the other to test the knob. It didn't turn.

  "Or maybe I did." He fished about in his pocket for his keys and then with just one hand, tried to isolate the correct one.

  I couldn't help but laugh harder. "Really Matt, you could put me down; preferably before you drop me."

  "You don't weigh anything at all," he growled good-naturedly, "but I might drop you if you don't stop wiggling." He managed to unlock the door with a triumphant, "Ah."

  I laughed as the door flew open with a bang. Matt carried me into the kitchen and then kicked the poor abused door closed again.

  Instead of putting me down, he carried me through the kitchen and livingroom then down the hall. He paused in the doorway of his darkened bedroom.

  "You're not changing your mind are you?" When Matt didn't answer right away, I feared that perhaps he had. I dropped a light kiss against his neck, determined to change his mind right back.

  He groaned and then still holding me, he kissed me deeply. I was vaguely aware of him taking a few more steps and then without any warning he released me. I squeaked in dismay as I fell, only to bounce on the soft cushion of his bed.

  My laughter was swallowed up as Matt covered my body with his and began kissing me in earnest. My sexiest daydreams couldn't have prepared me for Matt at his most passionate. I'd always imagined making love to him would be rife with teasing and laughter and it was, but I never expected the intensity he unleashed upon me in his darkened bedroom.

  Matt's hands traveled constantly over my body, pushing back the fabric of his tuxedo jacket, exposing my bare shoulders and neck to his mouth.

  "You are so beautiful," he whispered as his kisses led to my ear. He sucked hard enough to make me moan. One work-hardened hand roamed down the curve of my thigh. I was desperate to wrap my legs around him, but the snugness of my dress held me captive.

  Matt didn't seem to notice, or maybe he didn't care. He seemed content to do most of the touching. I buried my hands in his thick, soft hair the way I'd always wanted to.

  "God," he gasped as his head came up and his eyes met mine in the darkness. "You are tiny," he said as his hands spanned my waist. "I'm so afraid I'm going to hurt you."

  His concern was endearing, I kissed the tip of his nose. "I'm a lot tougher than I look."

  "I want to see you. Can I turn on a light?"

  I nodded just as he leaned down to kiss me. My chin bumped his nose. Matt made a soft little "oof" of pain and we laughed in tandem.

  The mood in the room lightened instantly. Bu
t feeling the reverberation of Matt's deep chuckle against my body didn't do much to cool the throbbing heat between my legs though. If anything the familiarity of the sound made me more frantic for him.

  "The bedside lamp is kind of bright," Matt warned as he dropped kisses across the bridge of my nose. "But there's a candle in the bathroom."

  I giggled. "You keep candles in the bathroom? For what - long, hot bubble baths after a tough day at work?"

  He bit my shoulder. "Brat! I don't exactly fit in the bathtub. I don't know what it's for, actually. Mom put it there when she helped me move in."