by Bird, Peggy
Nick looked less than excited to be there, but Stacy had her hand wrapped around Nick’s bicep and was pulling him closer to her and closer to the table. Knowing Stacy, Jade suspected that Nick got dragged around a lot. Not that she was particularly torn up about it. He got what he deserved.
“Hi Stacy, Nick.” Jade stood up to discourage Nick and Stacy from staying too long. Matt stood at the same time and slipped closer to her side. Jade threw him a grateful look. She acknowledged her ex with a tilt of her head and Nick nodded back.
Nick was beautiful. There was no other way to say it. His features were absolutely perfect. Perfectly proportioned, perfectly hewn. His jawline was strong, his cheekbones high, and his nose aquiline. He had blonde hair, perfectly coiffed, if a little stiff. Even this late in the evening, his skin was perfectly smooth with not a hint of stubble in sight, as if his facial hair wouldn’t have dared. He was tall and toned. He had always brought to her mind the image of Apollo here on Earth amongst the mortals. She hated him.
Jade squared her shoulders. “This is Matt.” Jade gestured to Matt, and he shot the interloping couple a GQ smile that had Stacy blinking hard. “Matt, this is Stacy and Nick. They’re … we went to school together.”
Matt extended his hand to Stacy first. “Nice to meet you,” she practically cooed at him. “A pleasure, I’m sure.” What the fuck? Jade thought. Who the hell talks like that? Apparently, Stacy does when introduced to any attractive man whether he was available or not. Matt just lifted his eyebrows and glanced at Jade. She could practically read the thought bubble over his head: Okay, interesting.
Matt extended a hand to Nick and Jade watched nervously as they shook hands. Matt had a presence and confidence about him. He didn’t get into a pissing contest or try to crush Nick’s hand in his grip. It was like watching an alpha wolf approach a lesser pack member. There was no reason to assert himself. Matt’s strength was just there, in every fiber of his being.
“It’s been so long! What a year and a half, huh?” Stacy chatted on like they were old friends. They were anything but.
Not long enough. Eons, epochs, eras, and ages would not have been long enough. Until after Jade was dead and rotted to dust would not have been long enough. Eternity would not have. “Yeah, something like that,” Jade agreed.
Stacy continued her friendly onslaught. “So, what are you up to these days?”
Jade debated being rude. She really didn’t want to pretend that she was perfectly happy to chat away with a woman who had committed the ultimate roommate betrayal: sleeping with her fiancé. Jade took a deep breath. She was here with Matt, who really didn’t deserve to be dragged into the drama and so, somehow, Jade found the fortitude to be gracious. “I’m managing Lakehaven for the winter and working on my jewelry business.”
“That sounds so mellow! I’d kill to have such a relaxing schedule. Nick and I have just been so busy. We’re finishing up our degrees, and Nick just got a fellowship, and of course there’s the wedding to plan. It’s a lot of work, but we’re having so much fun!” Stacy clutched tighter at Nick’s arm and pressed her Barbie Doll breasts against him. Stacy’s breasts were pushed up and out of the neckline of her top, and she kind of leaned forward to wave them around in Matt’s face. Or was it to rub Jade’s nose in them? Nick was courteous enough to look embarrassed.
Jade gritted her teeth and glanced over at Matt. Matt looked amused. Jade looked back to Stacy, who practically oozed smugness. Okay, you want to play? You got it. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”
Stacy laughed. “Oh, God no. You have no idea how many little details there are until you actually have to deal with it all. You’ll know what I mean … someday.” Jade had seen cats lick cream from their whiskers with less smug satisfaction.
Crap. Jade just wasn’t willing to give Stacy the satisfaction of gloating. She hoped Matt wouldn’t be too pissed. “Well, that’s why Matt’s mother found us a great wedding planner. That way we can spend our time enjoying each other’s company.” Jade smiled brightly at Stacy, who stood there, stunned.
Jade held her breath for a moment, hoping that Matt would keep quiet. It was not to be. “Uh, Jade? That’s not strictly true.” Matt stepped up beside her. Oh, crap on a stick. He snaked his arm around her waist and she braced herself for the utter humiliation that loomed. “Remember, honey? We threatened to elope, and that’s when my mother called Lady Carlyle to get her event planner.” Matt then addressed Stacy. “Eve Stanford,” he said, naming the premiere event coordinator in Manhattan. The one Jade had seen mentioned in magazines. Matt bent his head to kiss the top of Jade’s, and she could feel him grinning into her hair, probably to keep from laughing.
Stacy looked ready to swallow her tongue as she glanced frantically at Matt and back to Jade. Matt was completely convincing, but Jade must’ve looked surprised because when Stacy caught Jade’s eyes, Stacy’s gaze narrowed. She looked pointedly at Jade’s left ring finger, where there was a distinct lack of jewelry. And, of course, she couldn’t let it go.
“Really? I guess you haven’t had time to get a ring.”
Matt chimed in again to save the day. “Oh, we’ve bought a stone, but with Jade’s considerable talents, I didn’t want to rule out the possibility of her designing the ring herself. She’s such an amazing artist.” Damn, he was good at this.
Jade tilted her face up to Matt and gave him a beaming smile. It was only pretend, but Matt was giving an Oscar-worthy performance. She snuggled closer to him as his hand at her waist opened and flared down across her hip. His touch sent little licks of heat lower, and her breath hitched. She could feel Matt’s thigh pressed against her, warm and firm. All she could do was stand there feeling all of it as sensation and lust coiled through her. It hung in the air between them until Matt spoke.
“Well, it was nice meeting you both. I don’t want to keep you from your dinner, and Jade and I are eager to get back to our meal as well.” Matt spoke with an authority and finality that had Stacy and Nick docilely drifting away.
Jade stood there pressed against Matt for a moment, enjoying the feel of body-to-body contact. Finally, he cleared his throat and stepped away from her. He grinned down at her, sending another flutter of butterflies through her stomach. Then he spoke: “Really? That’s your idea of uncomplicated?”
Chapter 9
Jade and Matt sat at the table as the waiter brought them each another beer. Jade had a sudden moment of shy apprehension as the waiter left them, so she grabbed the burger in front of her and took a healthy bite. Matt watched with amusement as she attacked her food with gusto. She kept chewing. She wasn’t one to hold back or eat daintily. She saw him watching her and raised an eyebrow at him until she was done with the bite and could talk again. “Are you going to eat that?” Jade gestured at Matt’s untouched plate.
“Why? Do you want mine too?”
“You’re watching me eat. It’s weird.”
“It is weird. Sorry.” Matt shook his head at himself and reached for his burger. They both took a bite and ate for a bit in silence. The burger was good, as usual, but Jade was having trouble enjoying it. She stopped eating and looked at Matt. He was dipping his fries, three at a time, into the plum sauce that came with them and then eating them. He didn’t hold back either. She waited until he was done with his bite.
“So, you aren’t even going to ask about it?”
Matt shook his head no and took another bite of burger, followed by a sip of beer.
“You aren’t just a tad curious?”
Matt shrugged. “Some of it I can guess. The rest I’ll make up, and you’ll correct me when you’re ready.”
Jade tried for a pout, but she wasn’t very good at it. “This is much more fun if you have to drag it out of me, huh?”
Jade sighed, which she was good at. She waited a beat, but Matt was deliberately silent. “Okay, you’ve talked me into telling you the whole sordid story.”
“Ah! Sordid?” Matt fought back a grin. “You didn’t
mention that earlier or I would’ve tried harder to drag it out of you.”
Jade shot him a look that was part very funny with overtones of okay, smartass. Matt just tried to look innocent.
“We were engaged.”
“Really? Stacy just doesn’t seem your type.”
Jade smiled weakly at the joke. “She was my roommate at the time.”
Matt nodded. “She seems the type.”
“To be a roommate?”
“To create soap opera level drama around her.”
“I thought I liked her at the time; I thought I loved him. It seemed a huge betrayal, and yes, very dramatic. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Jade stopped for a moment, tracing a finger down the side of her glass, creating a trail through the condensation.
She tried to put herself back there, back three years. It really had been painful and crazy and dramatic. She tried to recall the exact feelings, the despair, the hurt. They were so diluted now that she could barely remember them. It was like some ball of black emotion buried deep in her belly had suddenly just disappeared. It was such a surprise to her that she jerked her head up and started to laugh. Her eyes met Matt’s. He didn’t seem confused or worried by her laughter. He just waited and listened. “It’s so weird. Seeing them tonight. If you had asked me how I thought I would feel, seeing them together, I would’ve said devastated. Crushed. But it’s not like that. I don’t love him, I don’t miss her, and I don’t even wish a house would fall on them. I can remember that time, how hard it was, but it’s like it happened to someone else.”
Matt smiled at her. “Maybe you were someone else then.”
Jade nodded. “I was. I tried really hard then. To fit in, to belong. I never really wanted college. It was expected of me. My dad wanted it. And Nick, he was a graduate student—really bright and totally hot.” That got an eyebrow raise and a smirk from Matt, but Jade just continued. “We fit together in a convenient way. It was something I thought I wanted for myself, but now, looking back … ” Jade shook her head. “Maybe it was what I thought my parents would want for me. I caught Nick and Stacy leaving a restaurant together, but I told myself that it was just friendly, that he was probably just giving her some advice or tutoring. I was going to head on over to them, say hi. Then he leaned down and kissed her. I mean really kissed her, full on the mouth. Maybe they did me a favor. It shook me out of my … complacency, I guess. It was a perfect excuse to quit school, which I hated anyway. I had been making jewelry between classes instead of studying. After I quit school, I took some courses: metalworking, casting, gemology …”
• • •
Matt had been listening intently to her the whole time. He was gazing at her, his eyes fixed on her face, watching the play of emotions there. She was so vital, glowing and alive. When she started to speak about making jewelry, his gaze shifted downward—down her throat, across her collarbone, and lower. Her skin had a slight sheen and glowed softly in the low candlelight of Tamblin’s. It was a perfect backdrop for the pendant she wore.
The piece was a rough-edged weave of gold with delicate little stones embedded in the junctures. The stones were pale blue, green, and brown. It hung from a black silk cord around her neck. He reached out to feel its texture. The gold was warmer than he expected. It had absorbed her body heat and was the same temperature as the skin beneath it. Her skin was silky-smooth and the pendant was slightly rougher. He rested his hand there for a moment, thinking if they were someplace else … he would keep going.
He could feel her eyes on him, and he slowly looked up at her. Her lips were slightly parted; her eyes looked dark and dreamy. He could feel her heartbeat under his hand, which rested lightly on the pendant, which rested low on her chest. He could almost imagine what it would feel like to have all that warm skin underneath him. And that was a bad direction for his thoughts to take if he wanted to stand up from the table any time soon. Which he did—as in immediately—want to get up from the table, leave the restaurant, and drive like a bat out of hell back to his cabin. Her breath came faster now, and he could feel it in the rise and fall of her chest. He wasn’t sure what she was breathing since it felt like all of the oxygen had been sucked out of room. He knew that she had been saying something. He just couldn’t remember what they had been talking about. He looked at his own hand, dark against her pale skin and at the gold glinting out from behind his fingertips. Bingo! He gently lifted the pendant from her skin.
“You made this.” It was a statement, not a question. Jade nodded. Matt rotated the piece in the half-light of the darkened room. The small nuggets of color winked, reflecting the glow of the candle flame. “It’s beautiful.”
Jade smiled in a flush of genuine pleasure. “Thank you.”
“You’re a talented artist.”
“Don’t stop.” Jade’s grin widened. “No, really, don’t stop!” she insisted.
Matt leaned toward her and spoke in a low tone. “I can think of a couple of situations where I would love to hear you say that.” He sat back and continued. “None of them in public.”
Jade took a long slow sip of beer. “No, really.” She ran her tongue suggestively across her top lip. “Don’t stop.”
Matt held up two fingers and flagged down the waiter. “We’ll have the check now.”
• • •
The drive home went quickly. They talked music as Jade set Matt’s radio to stations that she thought he would like. Their conversation was peppered with silence as they listened to the music. There was a sexual tension in the vehicle that wrapped around both of them, while they both pretended they were not about to have mind-blowing sex. Jade even sang aloud with some of her favorite songs, something she usually reserved for later in a relationship. Matt drummed to the beat with his fingers against the steering wheel. They reached Lakehaven, and Matt pulled his SUV to an easy stop. He walked around to the passenger side to let Jade out. She felt stupid waiting when she was perfectly capable of letting herself out, but she didn’t know Matt well enough to gauge whether he would be insulted or appreciate not having to walk around the car.
“It must be great living in the city,” Jade commented. They made their way up the trail toward their cabins. It was dark, but Jade moved confidently along the path, even in the fuck-me heels.
“It has its moments. But I’m sure you could say the same of living in the mountains.”
“Mmm,” Jade agreed. They strolled along, taking their time, Jade’s face tilted upward as she watched the pattern of moonlight filtered through the branches. “Do you miss the action? I mean, it’s pretty quiet out here. You’d eventually get bored.”
Matt didn’t answer right away. He took his time thinking about it. “Yeah, I guess sometimes you want that energy, but then you start to feel crowded in and want some space.”
They got to Matt’s cabin, and she slowed as they got near his door.
“No, I’ll walk you back to your door,” he said.
“You don’t have to. It’s okay.” She tried to wave him off.
“It’s the least I can do … now that we’re engaged.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and continued on up the trail past his cabin.
“Oh God, I almost forgot that!” Jade put a hand to her forehead. She sighed, and her next words were meek. “I guess, technically, I lost the bet.”
Matt laughed softly. “Yeah, technically.”
“I don’t suppose you could be persuaded …” Jade trailed off as they reached her cabin door. She turned to face him.
“Try me.” The walk back had seemed casual and relaxed, but his next move was anything but. He stepped into her, crowding her. She took a step back until she felt her door at her back. He looked down at her and, despite the teasing tone of his words, there was no ambiguity in his eyes. His intentions were clearly written there, and they were anything but pure.
He moved closer still, and she tilted her head back to look up at him. The planes of his face stood out, heightened by the play of moonlight th
ere. She let herself take him in. Earlier, he had been gorgeous in the candlelight as they ate dinner. Now, his features had shifted, made fierce by the night shadows wrapped around them. There was not a soft line on him, except maybe his lower lip, which Jade could imagine nibbling at and then licking. That thought had her knees turn to liquid, along with other things as she leaned into the door for support.
• • •
Matt watched her eyes go molten, black pools surrounded by a rim of green. Her lips parted slightly, which was really working for him. But he still couldn’t get past the amazing column of her throat, alabaster in the moonlight. It had to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world. He reached out. His fingers traced feather-light touches there, the pad of his thumb circling the hollow at the base of her throat. She jumped and gasped. Her quick intake of breath turned him on a little more, if that were possible. He moved in closer to touch more of her with more of him. His knees mingled with hers. His thighs pressed into hers. Her soft breasts pillowed against his ribcage, and his erection pressed into her belly. She was definitely going to notice that. Not that she was complaining at this point.
He slid his hand around to cradle the back of her neck and leaned in to kiss her. He moved slowly, giving her plenty of time to make up her mind. He wanted her full participation, and if the look in her eyes was any indication, he’d get that and a whole lot more.
As his lips touched hers, she responded. She pushed her hips into him and met his mouth with hers. Her arms came up around his shoulders. She clung to him as they kissed and it was a done deal. She went off like a Fourth of July three-stage firework. Kissing, nipping, gently flicking her tongue at the corner of his mouth. His hand slid down her back so he could mold her more closely to him. He heard a soft whimper and was pretty sure that it was her. It was not helping his self-control at all. They had been kissing for maybe only a minute, and he already wanted to break her door down and tumble her onto the floor of the cabin. Right now.
