by Lynda Aicher
“Thank you for having me,” Kennedy said, putting warmth in her voice. “I was looking forward to meeting all of you.” She spoke the truth. She wanted to know these people who meant so much to Matt.
“So where are you headed tonight?” His mother asked before the silence became awkward.
“We have reservations in the city.” Matt left it at that. He rubbed a hand over the small of her back. “Don’t stay out too late.” He spoke to Dawn, but his gaze covered Ben too.
“I won’t.” Dawn reassured him. “Maybe you shouldn’t either.”
Kennedy’s eyes widened before she could stop her surprise. She didn’t even try to hold back her smile.
“I’ll be home before you wake up.” He leveled a firm eye at his daughter. “And no, you don’t have to wait up for me.”
Ben barked a sharp laugh. “I told her that last time.”
Dawn’s glare would’ve inflicted damage if it’d been possible. “At least I cared enough to be worried.”
“I’ll text you later,” Matt jumped in before Ben could respond. “Are Pat and John still coming over?” He looked to Ben who nodded. “Are they spending the night?”
“Nah. They’ll head home.”
“Wrap it up before midnight, then.”
Ben gave him the thumbs up. “Got it.”
“What do you do?” Dawn asked her when Matt had obviously been winding the introductions to an end.
Kennedy gave Dawn her full attention, aware that she was still being appraised. “I’m the VP of Operations at Keller Pallet.”
“You are?” Her surprise was clear. “Where’d you go to school?”
“I received my BS and MBA from Stanford.” She could’ve gone anywhere in the country, yet she’d chosen to stay close to home so she could remain connected to the family business. She’d worked her entire way through college, despite her father’s insistence that it wasn’t necessary.
“Ha!” Ben grinned at his dad. “She’s probably smarter than you.”
Matt assessed her, his smirk teasing. “I’m pretty sure you’re right about that.”
She gave him a playful nudge. “We’ll have to test that out someday.”
“We need to head out if we’re going to make our reservation,” Matt said. He gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for coming over.”
Love glowed from Roselyn even though she only patted him on the arm. “Enjoy yourself tonight.”
Ben gave another half-snort that was cut short when Dawn elbowed him in the ribs. He flinched, his grin wide as he rubbed the sore spot. They might spar like siblings, but they obviously cared about each other. The whole family was one big bundle of connection and love that both dragged her in and shoved her out.
“You two be good and have fun.” He gave his daughter a hug and Ben an odd arrangement of fist bumps and handgrips that Kennedy had no chance of ever replicating.
“It was nice meeting all of you,” she told them, feeling like she was on a reverse prom date, something she never imagined. She said that a lot when it came to Matt.
They left with little fanfare. Ben took off down the hall. His mother went into the kitchen and Dawn slumped onto the couch, flicking the TV on. That was it. The ending was anticlimactic and completely normal, apparently.
Her laughter bubbled free when they stepped outside.
“What?” Matt asked, slowing.
She wrapped an arm around his waist, leaning in. “That was unlike any family meeting I’ve ever had.”
He shot her a look as he opened the car door for her. “Is that good or bad?”
“Good.” Very good. No pretenses. No show of formality and manners with drinks and small talk and polite exchanges with the appropriate name-dropping. Nope. Just honest love and concern all around.
Matt still had that curious look on his face when he got in the car. “Are you okay?”
She studied him, the darkness providing a softness broken by the streetlights. He was back in a suit tonight, minus a tie. He’d trimmed his beard down to a shadow. Would it still trap her scent? Would it scratch on her inner thighs?
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Better than, actually. “You have a nice family.” And he’d introduced her to them. That was big for him—for all of them. She hadn’t realized how much until she’d seen their family unit in action.
Love beamed in his gentle smile. He glanced at the house. “Yeah.” His easy agreement hid the concerns he’d talked about on the ride up. The ones about Dawn’s growing freedom and how he worried about Ben. About letting go when his instinct was to hang on.
“You’re doing an excellent job with them.” He didn’t need her assessment, but she doubted he got a lot of positive reinforcement given that most parents rarely did—or so she’d been told.
His kiss said thank you for more than her compliment. It soothed through her on that ever-growing whisper of trust that freed too many hopes and even more dreams. The flutter in her heart spoke of things she had a hard time accepting but was further from denying.
He held her hand as they drove to the city, his strength a silent promise she was coming to rely on. That should’ve had her running, but Matt wasn’t looking to manipulate or use her, like so many men had thought they could do.
“I was thinking of heading over to Half Moon Bay on Sunday,” he said. “I was hoping you’d want to join me.”
And just like that, her weekend plans had changed. “That sounds nice.”
Being with Matt made her happy in a way she couldn’t quite define yet didn’t want to lose. Being with him was almost too easy. Why? What about him worked so well with her?
She ran her thumb over his knuckles, letting her worries go. They had the whole night ahead, which would hopefully end in her bedroom again, and now a day at the beach too. And all of it sounded…good. Really, really good.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You add the cheese next.” Matt laid the slices of mozzarella over the cottage cheese layer with a serious precision. His brow was furrowed, that dedication of his applied even to this.
Kennedy leaned into him, amused. “You don’t have to teach me how to cook.”
“You know how to make lasagna?”
“I can cook.” Her defenses went up, but only a little and more as an auto response.
“Such as?”
She propped her hip against the counter, snubbing his doubt. “I’m stellar at warming up meals and mixing bag salads. I can even master a sandwich if needed.”
He stopped mid sauce scoop. “That is not cooking.”
“Then what is it?” She snagged a small crumble of mozzarella cheese from the cutting board and popped it into her mouth. Their friendly banter had become a normal part of their relationship over the past few weeks. From hiking to shopping to movies, they tackled their differing perspectives with a bit of humor and mock disbelief.
“Surviving.” He spread the meat sauce over the cheese layers with quick efficiency before laying more noodles down. “Cooking involves the actual act of combining ingredients to make a dish that is pleasant to eat after it’s heated.”
She fully agreed with him. She’d just never had the need to do it herself. Her meals were delivered already assembled and ready to pop in the oven. “And you’re doing a fabulous job of it.”
“Here.” He held out the bowl with the cheese mixture in it.
“I’m good,” she insisted. “Really.” She snagged her glass of wine from the counter, lifting it to him. “My hands are full right now.”
He shook his head in an exaggerated fashion, but she caught the smile beneath his bewilderment.
She stole a quick kiss that left a nice tingle on her lips before she wandered to the other side of the peninsula. Matt’s kitchen had that same cozy feeling that permeated the entire house. Dark wood cabinets were softened by the quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances. Apparently, he’d done the work himself, with the help of some friends. That impressed her the most.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” she asked, musing.
“I can’t give birth.” His comeback was quick and given without a hitch in his assembly process.
She stared at him for a moment before her laughter broke free. “Good one.”
He shot her a wink as he wiped his hands on a towel. His back muscles flexed beneath his T-shirt when he ripped a sheet of tinfoil off and wrapped it over the finished pan of lasagna. Her smile grew when he bent to put the pan in the oven. His ass was perfection. Round, firm and tucked so nicely into his jeans. The fact that he also looked that good in a suit made him a very dangerous man. He’d be deadly if he had any idea how handsome he was.
“That’ll be done in an hour,” he said as he came around the peninsula. That predatory thing of his emanated from every pore. He trapped her against the counter and set her wine glass aside.
“What are you doing, Mr. Hamilton?”
He eased a hand around the side of her neck to her nape in a fashion that was now so familiar. She closed her eyes, savoring the odd mix of belonging and comfort that came with that simple touch, one that was both possessive and soft.
“I’m kissing you.” His low tone teased her with what was coming.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” Smoky heat filtered from his voice to his eyes and transferred into the kiss. Her knees went weak almost immediately beneath the slow strokes and gentle touch.
She let herself drift in the desire he created with just a look, a touch, a smile. Warmth built in a gentle wave that spread from her chest outward. She’d given up trying to explain it, simply following now.
He lifted her onto the counter in one easy motion. She wrapped her legs around him, the kiss continuing at the same languid pace that had the world spinning out until there was only him. Her breath merged with his on every swirl of his tongue and each little nip, the sting fading beneath the tenderness that flowed with each brush of his lips.
He drew her closer until her crotch rode the hard line of his erection. Their jeans created a barrier that had her cursing her choice of clothing. Yet the lazy build wound its way deeper until her entire body hovered on a slow simmer of anticipation.
“Matt,” she whispered, dragging her nails down his nape to chase the line of his spine. He rocked into her, his breaths deepening. She wanted him. She always wanted him. It didn’t matter where or when, she wanted to crawl inside him and never leave his side.
“I could take you here,” he mumbled along her jaw, his palm scraping over her ribs, his calluses as intriguing as him. He was more than he presented, but then so was she.
And he saw that. He understood that. And he still liked what he found.
As did she.
She dropped her head back, reveling in the swirl of his tongue and hot kisses he trailed down her throat, the ache building in her groin. “What about your neighbors?” She ran the base of her palm down the hard outline of his dick, not at all gentle.
She could still be that way with him. Demanding, teasing, direct when she’d once feared that giving away even an ounce of her control would strip her of all power. But it hadn’t. Not sexually or otherwise.
He nipped the tender skin on her neck, but she only hummed as the sting slithered south. He slid the edge of her bra aside, flicked her nipple. Sensation flared in a sharp dig before it spread over her chest in a rush of tingles. She arched into his touch, silently begging for more.
He could fuck her right there and she wouldn’t care. She was that gone with him.
“They’d get quite the show.” He pulled on her nipple to emphasize his point. Logically, she knew they were both still covered, but she felt totally exposed. More so than she ever had on any boardroom table.
“I thought you didn’t like shows.”
“I loved yours.” He drew back, his hand falling away from her breast. His lids were heavy, eyes dark with hunger. He’d only seen that one show of hers, in the Boardroom. The one that’d changed so much. She hadn’t been back since.
She didn’t need to go back. Not when Matt gave her so much more.
“I could give you another,” she offered, letting her voice fall to a husky purr.
His mouth cocked up at one corner, speculation flaring. He hauled her off the counter and was leading her out of the kitchen almost before she’d processed that they were moving. Her laughter came out in a tumble that lifted her higher, her chest expanding with the joy.
This right here. This light, playful flirting was so much more than she’d expected. Matt had given her a side of romance she hadn’t believed in. But here it was, dancing on her heart and lightening her life.
She barely noticed his bedroom before she was wrapped back in his arms, his mouth claiming hers. She moaned into the kiss, hungry for more. Her lust blazed into full need. God, she couldn’t get close enough, touch enough, taste enough.
What had he done to her?
She’d been embracing her sexuality since her first forays into sex. But this was deeper than sex, more than simple physical release or power displays.
She was falling for him—had fallen for him—with barely a struggle or flinch. Every second thought had been silenced by this crazy, soothing flood of peace. Of joy and exhilaration. Of fear and excitement and love.
Love.
Oh, God.
How did that happen? When? Her instant flash of panic chilled her. She drew back, suddenly uncertain when everything had been so clear just a moment ago.
His eyes narrowed, head tilting. “What?”
She softened the second his look registered, even before he brushed his fingers down her jaw in yet another action she’d grown to treasure. It triggered a response she couldn’t fathom, the one that had her opening to him, trusting what he’d never abused.
This was him. This caring, concerned man. But he was also strong, commanding, possessive yet not obsessive. Could she really love him?
Her heart pounded her answer. It beat at that point on her neck and raced up in a wave of warmth that blew past her cheeks to engulf her entire body.
“What’s going on?” His worry touched that spot buried deep beneath her layers of self-reliance. He truly cared. He wanted to help. He…what?
He was a man of commitment. She’d known that almost from the start. He’d stated his intent long before she’d accepted it.
“Are you sure Ben is gone for the night?” She took the easy out. Talking about the scrambled swell of emotions balled in her chest wasn’t going to happen. She could master them—or ignore them. But spilling them? Not a chance.
Relief dropped over his face, his smirk taking on a darker edge. He drew her shirt up, slipping it over her head with no resistance from her. His gaze dropped to her breasts as he cupped one, lifting it. “I’m very sure.”
She let his desire fuel her own. This she could control.
She drew a hand down his chest to the hard line of his dick beneath his jeans. Her slow caress of his erection was meant to tease. “Are you going to fuck me?” There was the power she claimed. The right to own what she wanted. To declare and take it.
Yet…
It’d never been about just that with Matt. Not even the first time.
He hitched her forward by the waist of her jeans. Her mouth fell open, but no sound escaped. His eyes were darkened swirls of all things naughty and fun. He fisted her hair in his hand, drew her head back until her mouth was lifted to his.
Yes. Please. This. The words pulsed in her mind, building with the truth. This right here was his to claim. If he wanted it.
“I’m going to do so much more than fuck you.” His promise came out with a harshness that was somehow tender too. What did he mean? Could she trust it? Him?
She had so far.
*
Matt drew a naked Kennedy down, her skin scorching his everywhere they touched. He kissed her with the same passionate wonder that continued to stun him. This woman, this amazingly strong yet tender woman was still with him.
Want powered beside an urgency that had nothing to do with the timer ticking down on the lasagna. It left him scrambling to define what he refused to box in. This, what they had and were building, altered every belief he’d laid down after his ex-wife.
He rolled until she was trapped beneath him. Her surprise fled on a sigh that rippled down him. His dick ached for her heat. His heart wanted so much more.
The low glow from the hallway provided enough light to catch her expression, one that shifted from cunning to lust-filled to lost in a matter of moments. He rocked his hips, embracing the desire as his dick rode the firm edge of her mound.
“Matt.”
The breathy plea in his name had become her calling card. She urged him on, her nails cutting a path across his shoulders, her hips lifting in time with his. He gave her what she wanted, while taking what she gave.
She’d teased him about a show, and damn how he’d enjoyed the one he’d seen. But what she really wanted from him—what she’d always wanted—was to let go. For him to take her where she’d never trusted enough to go before.
And damn how he loved that. Loved her trust. Loved her sexual ownership. Loved her strength and softness. Loved her.
Her. Kennedy Keller.
He loved every goddamn inch of her, inside and out, but she wasn’t ready to hear that. Not yet. But he could show her—would show her.
Every nip on her neck, each hard suck on her nipples, the firm holds and silent demands were his declarations to her, her cries his reward. He scraped his teeth down her neck, drew her legs up so he could tease her cunt with his dick. She arched up, begged for more but never took it. Not now.
“You’re so damn hot,” he murmured against her lips before he swept his tongue in. Her wet folds cradled his dick in a temptation so maddening he barely withheld the urgency building in his groin. It burned so damn hot, yet he let it grow, bringing her higher as he held back his own release.
He could flip her onto her stomach, drive in hard and fast, take what she gave while cherishing every second. But she didn’t need the force tonight and neither did he. Not that kind.
He lifted up, his arms shaking with his restraint as he eased himself into her. Her lips parted, eyelids falling with each inch that slid into her. Warmth and softness hugged his dick with the erotic sensation that could never be replicated. Her walls contracted, hips lifting to bring him deeper.
