Reckless Envy

by Joss Wood

  Emily gripped his shirt above his heart and twisted it into her fingers to tug him forward. She stood up on her toes and touched her mouth to his, sweet and responsive and oh-so-hot.

  “Make me forget, Matt. Just for a few minutes, make me forget that my life is an out-of-control wildfire,” Emily whispered against his mouth.

  “I can do that,” Matt replied before taking her in a kiss that was as hot as the water swirling around their feet was cold. He wrapped his arms around her and yanked her close, holding the back of her head to keep her mouth on his. He nipped and suckled her lips, teasing her by not allowing his tongue to slide beyond her teeth.

  Emily, surprising him, pulled her mouth off his, gripped his face in both hands, and her voice was rough when she spoke. “Seriously, Velez, kiss me like you mean it.”

  Well, okay then.

  Matt placed his hands under her thighs and boosted her up against his body, the vee of her mound dragging over his swollen erection. He settled her there, as close as he could get her and walked her backward, carrying her under the wooden deck of the restaurant and deeper into the shadows. Placing her against another pole, he leaned into her, swirling his tongue around hers, lost in her mouth, in her sweet ice-cream-and-imp taste.

  Matt anchored her against the pole as he devoured her mouth, needing more, needing everything. Knowing they were deep in the shadows of both the balcony and the pier, he placed one hand on her breast, his thumb quickly finding her swollen nipple. He ran his lips over her jaw, down her neck, sucking and nipping and relishing her breathy words of encouragement. He pulled Em’s shirt from her skirt and traced his hand over her flat stomach. He yanked the material of her shirt up and then his fingers slid into the cup of her bra, pulling it aside so he could see her pretty breast, her pale pink nipple puckered and demanding to be kissed.

  Bending his head, he pulled her bud into his mouth and knew that it wouldn’t take much to make him blow. He hadn’t been this out of control since he was sixteen and in the backseat of his first car.

  Emily made him lose control and, frankly, he didn’t much care. Kissing her, having her in his arms was all that important. Allowing Emily’s legs to drop to the sand, he sucked her nipple onto the roof of his mouth before allowing it to pop out of his mouth, wet and glistening. He blew across its surface and Emily shuddered.

  Knowing he should stop but unable to, Matt tensed when Emily’s hand rested on his bulging erection, holding him through the fabric of his pants.

  He should stop, he really should but she was too tempting, too responsive. He wanted her, no, he craved her. Nothing was more important than kissing and touching Emily right here and right now.

  Matt pulled her skirt up her leg, allowing his hand to curl around her thigh, dangerously close to the band of her panties. He could feel her heat and when he looked into her eyes, he saw only desire there.

  Then she said the magic words. “Please, Matt, touch me.”

  He looked around, saw that they were still alone and still concealed. It was the go-ahead he needed, the encouragement he craved. Without wasting a second, Matt took her in a searing kiss, his fingers sliding beneath the band of her lacy panties into her soft hair and down, down, down into her feminine folds. He groaned at her heat, sighed at her wet warmth on his fingers and he couldn’t resist sliding his middle finger into her, his thumb finding her little bead with alacrity. Emily squealed, lifted onto her toes but Matt covered her mouth with his, not wanting to alert the patrons above as to what was happening under their feet. Not that there were any customers on the deck; he’d checked.

  Matt took his kiss deeper, felt Emily respond and pushed another finger into her slick channel, knowing she was close. He wanted her to fall apart in his arms, needed this brief connection before they went back to their lives.

  “Come for me, imp. But quietly,” Matt told her, her lips against his mouth.

  “This is madness.”

  Matt’s lips curved into a smile. “But it’s fun.”

  “What about you?” Emily asked, arching against his hand, trying to get closer.

  “I’m good.” He wasn’t but there was nothing she could do about that now. Besides, only Emily and her pleasure were important; nothing else mattered. He tapped the insides of her channel with his finger and felt her body tense, moisture gushing over his fingers. Wanting her to have more, to have everything, he pressed his thumb into her clitoris and she whimpered, tensed, gushed again and gripped his biceps with strong, feminine fingers.

  Then her knees buckled and Matt jerked her against him, holding her up with his free hand. He ached for release, needed it more than he needed to breathe but seeing that dazed, befuddled, satisfied-as-hell look on Emily’s face made up for him not having his own happy ending.

  Sort of.

  Matt disengaged himself and rested his forehead against hers, his breath as ragged as hers.

  “You are so incredibly beautiful.”

  A tiny smile touched Emily’s lips and Matt watched as uneasiness strolled into her eyes and across her face. Holding her face in his hands, he forced her to look up, to meet his eyes.

  “Please don’t regret this.” Matt saw that she was about to speak and shook his head. “This has nothing to do with...anyone else and everything to do with us.”

  And that was the hard truth. Right now, no one else was part of this magical moment. They were just two people who were out-of-control addicted to one another.

  Emily looked like she was about to disagree but then she surprised him by nodding. She rested the back of her head against the pole and didn’t object when he pulled her bra back over her breast and dropped her skirt down her thighs. Satisfied that she was tidy, he pulled her into his arms, wrapped them around her and placed his chin on top of her head.

  For the first time in years he felt utterly relaxed, fully at ease. Holding her like this felt right...

  And yeah, good. Holding Emily like this was, terrifyingly, something he thought he might be able to do for the rest of his life. But Matt was old enough not to pay any attention to the fuzzy feelings that rolled through one after good sex; they would fade and reality would stroll back in. Because Matt refused to allow himself to dream, need or want.

  Seven

  Later that evening, in her bed at home, Emily rolled over and buried her face in her pillow. She hadn’t been able to forget, not for one minute, how it felt to have Matt’s hand between her legs, his mouth on her nipple, her tongue in his mouth.

  How he’d effortlessly brought her to her first orgasm.

  Her chest tight, Emily lifted her head, sucked in some air and flipped onto her back, kicking away her bedcovers in frustration. She turned her head to look at Nico’s engagement ring sitting on the bedside table, fighting the urge to toss it out the window. She should feel guilty about what happened between her and Matt on the beach but she didn’t.

  She wasn’t in love with Nico and she had no intention of marrying him. Ever. This was a sham engagement and she owed her blackmailing fiancé no loyalty.

  But she couldn’t allow him to find out that Matt had touched her, with great skill, on an empty beach earlier in the day. If he did, her entire world, and her dad’s and, to an extent, Davy’s, would come crashing down around her. She had to tread carefully, be smart, keep her wits about her and the only way to do that was to avoid Matt Velez.

  Easier said than done.

  Emily still wanted him, here now. In her bed. Leaning over her, sliding into her, setting her on fire again and encouraging her to dance in the flames.

  She’d had one or two boyfriends along the way, both of whom didn’t last long nor knew their way around a woman’s body. She’d slept with men just a handful of times and it had been awkward and bumbling and they’d walked away satisfied while she was left wondering why everyone made such a big deal about sex.

  She now knew. Go
d, how she knew. And she suspected that she’d just had a small taste of how satisfying and fulfilling lovemaking could be...

  She’d love to explore this bright new world with Matt, have him introduce her to, well, more but that was dangerous thinking. She had, technically and in name only, a fiancé and he was threatening to destroy everything she’d worked for unless she gave him what he wanted.

  But, even if Nico wasn’t a factor, Matt was extremely dangerous to her emotional health. If she allowed herself to, she could love him and love never ended well for her. The people who loved her always left and Matt would not be the exception to the rule.

  Emily had no intention of being left behind so she should be concentrating on how to find a way out of that mess and stop thinking about how else Matt Velez could make her scream.

  Be sensible, Emily. Focus on what is important and that is saving Arnott’s.

  Knowing that she wouldn’t be nodding off anytime soon, not with the whirling, swirling sensations sliding through her body—was this what horny felt like? How uncomfortable!—Emily left her bed, walked into her lounge and sat down behind her computer. She needed to trawl the web; if she didn’t find any damaging information on Nico tonight, she would hire a PI in the morning.

  Nico was making noises about wanting to marry soon and she was running out of time and choices.

  Emily heard her phone chime with a message and looked at the clock on her screen; it was just past midnight. Concerned that it was Davy—she’d taken Matt’s advice and given her brother some space—she hurried back into her bedroom and picked up her device, her heart lurching when she saw she had a text message from Matt.

  You awake?

  I am now, she typed back.

  Can’t stop thinking about you, what we did.

  Emily tapped the front of her phone against her forehead, conscious of her heart wanting to jump out of her chest.

  Em? Can I come over?

  She couldn’t say yes but neither could she say no. She wanted to see him but she knew that she should keep a healthy distance between them. She wanted to kiss and touch him—taking time to explore his stunning body—but she was playing with fire. The blaze she was stoking was becoming a little too big for her to handle and, if she didn’t take care, it had the power to incinerate her.

  And she wasn’t talking about Nico finding out...

  No, even if Nico wasn’t a factor, Matt was dangerous. If this was just physical attraction, it would be easier to ignore but she liked Matt, she felt alive when she was in his company. She enjoyed the way he spoke and interacted with Davy, his sharp mind, the unexpected flashes of humor. She wanted to know what had put the shadows in his eyes, what forces had shaped him into being the man he was today.

  She liked his broad hands and his slow smile, his dark hair and intense eyes. The way he spoke and, God, she adored the way he made her feel.

  She liked him, she always had, and Em knew that if she allowed it too, that like could turn into something deeper. Something hazardous.

  Love, as she knew, was dangerous; it was unpredictable and selfish and transactional. And, worst of all, it had no staying power. Love wasn’t something she trusted.

  So no, she would not allow herself to fall in love with any man. She didn’t need affection, she just wanted to be free of Nico and for her family’s reputation to remain unblemished.

  That wasn’t so much to ask, was it?

  Fifteen minutes later, Emily heard the brisk rap and, with a wildly beating heart, opened the door to see Matt holding the top frame of it, his face reflecting the frustration she knew he was feeling.

  “I’m not sleeping with you,” she told him, not bothering with a standard greeting. Was she trying to convince herself or him? Did it matter?

  All she knew was that if Matt made love to her, properly, she might slide deeper into like and be halfway to love. Not happening.

  “Can I come in?” Matt asked, dropping those sexy arms with their big biceps and raised veins.

  Emily nodded and stepped back, gesturing him inside. She didn’t put on a light and they looked at each other in the moonlight, a million unsaid thoughts arcing between them.

  “I won’t sleep with you.”

  “I heard you, imp,” Matt said, sounding weary. He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I just needed to see that you were okay. You were pretty quiet on the trip back to town.”

  That was because she was still riding a sexual high and an emotional roller coaster. “I’m fine,” Em replied. She gestured to the door. “If that’s all, then you can go.”

  “Dammit, stop trying to push me away!” Matt snapped.

  “I have to! I can’t do this!” Emily shouted, her frustration bubbling over.

  “Why? Because you’re engaged to that prick? If you love him, there is no way you would’ve let me do what I did to you!” Matt returned her shout but not for one second did his anger frighten her. Emily knew that Matt would never ever hurt her. Not physically anyway.

  “I never said I loved him,” Emily quietly replied, dropping to the edge of the nearest chair.

  Matt dropped to his haunches in front of her and placed his hands on her knees. “Then why the hell are you marrying him? Explain that to me.”

  She wished she could. Emily could only put her elbows on her knees and bury her face in her hands.

  Matt’s hand landed on her head, his touch as soft as a butterfly. “I wish you’d let me help you, sweetheart.”

  “This is something I need to do on my own, Matteo.”

  “I suspect that you’ve been on your own for too long,” Matt disagreed. “But I’m not going to argue with you about that now. You’re exhausted and you need to sleep.”

  Em dropped her hands before managing a tired shrug. “I can’t sleep. I haven’t been able to sleep for more than a few hours recently.”

  “I bet your sleep problems coincided with His Awfulness putting that ugly rock on your finger,” Matt muttered as he stood up. In one smooth movement, he slid an arm around her back and another under her thighs and lifted her against his chest.

  “What the hell! Put me down.”

  Matt’s mouth touched her temple. “Relax, imp,” Matt ordered as he carried her across the room, down the hallway and into her bedroom. He carefully placed her on the bed and pulled the covers up to her waist. Emily watched, mouth agape, as he shed his clothing, his beautiful body lithe and muscled. God, he was lovely, she thought. Wide shoulders, a perfect amount of hair on his muscled chest, that rippled stomach.

  And a very nice package under a tight pair of black boxer briefs.

  She watched him swell under her scrutiny and she lifted her hands. “We’re not making love and you need to go!”

  “We’re not making love but I’m staying,” Matt calmly replied. He pulled back the covers, slid into bed next to her and hauled her onto his chest. He placed one hand low on her butt and gave her a reassuring pat. “The Asshat is still in Chicago so you can relax.”

  Matt kissed her temple, much like he did earlier, and held his lips there. “Let me hold you while you sleep, imp.”

  “I can’t do this. I’m better off being alone.” But he was so warm and with her cheek on his shoulder, she felt so comfortable and safe. In his embrace, Emily felt like nothing could hurt her and that, one day, everything would be okay.

  “No, you only think you are better off,” Matt replied, his voice a deep rumble. “But let’s argue about that later—for now, just let me hold you while you sleep.”

  Emily didn’t have the energy to argue; she felt her eyes closing and she snuggled closer, her thigh coming up to rest on Matt’s, her knee brushing the underside of his briefs. This was so lovely, but she couldn’t get used to it. This was only one night but it would be a memory she’d hold on to for the rest of her life.

  “Em?”

&nb
sp; “Mmm?” She was so close to fading away, in that delicious state on the edge of unconsciousness.

  “Promise me that you’ll come to me if you start considering doing something dangerous, illegal, stupid or consequential. If you ever get scared and don’t know who else to turn to, turn to me.”

  “Mmm, promise.”

  And then there was just warmth and safety and the blessed relief of sleep.

  * * *

  Work the next day was a disaster and Matt, knowing when to quit, leaned back in his chair and glared at the complicated and detailed spreadsheet on his screen.

  He’d made a mistake on a formula and couldn’t figure out where he went wrong.

  He knew that frustration was part of the deal when you ran a massive company but making mistakes because he couldn’t concentrate was unacceptable. Not being able to concentrate because his brain kept returning to yesterday and time spent with Emily frustrated the hell out of him. He never allowed a woman to distract him...

  It wasn’t who he was or what he did.

  Crap.

  Maybe he was tired. Or horny. Or both. He hadn’t slept much last night and he wanted, no, he needed sex.

  Desperately. Immediately.

  Matt ran a hand through his hair, knowing that he could take care of the immediate problem himself but it simply wasn’t the same. He didn’t want to do it solo, hell, neither did he want to find a willing partner for a little fun.

  No, because life was screwing with him, he only wanted Emily.

  She was the satisfaction he needed.

  He was ass deep in trouble.

  Matt linked his fingers behind his neck and looked across the room when his door opened. Vee, wearing a dress the color of cold custard marched into the room and stopped on the other side of his desk, hands on her hips.

  “What have I done now?” Matt asked, instantly wary.

  “Joshua Lowell has been trying to reach you on your cell but he says it keeps going to voice mail.” Vee reached across his desk and picked up his phone, frowning at the blank screen. “Is it turned off or is the battery dead?”