Once this was all over, I wouldn’t be his manager anymore anyway, but part of “operation bury our heads in the sand” was apparently pretending that wasn’t a thing either, so I went along with it, gladly.
“Fine. We might as well get bacon then, too.”
I picked up the hotel landline and he snatched up the ice bucket and headed out. As I dialed, I used my free hand to tug the file folders from my pants and set them on the nightstand. They stared at me the whole time I was ordering and, after I disconnected, I picked them up again. Hardening my heart, I opened the drawer and shoved them inside, right next to the Bible.
One more night. Eight hours before everything blew up. No matter what was in those files, the past week working with Matty had made me realize something that the initial shock had made me too blind to see.
I trusted him.
Fully and completely. He didn’t lie to me, and whether we had proof or not, I knew Mickey was guilty. This was semantics. We had enough to nail him, or we didn’t. Either way, my relationship with my father was over and done with, and I was leaving Boston. There was too much pain, too many memories here. I knew that now. All that remained to be seen was whether Mick would wind up behind bars or not before I went.
Matty came back a minute later with our drinks and we sat at the miniscule round table in the corner to wait for our food. He had turned on the TV so we could flip through the movie selections.
“What about Ninja Warrior Seven?”
I shook my head. “No way. I love martial arts as much as the next girl, but that’s too cheese-tastic, even for me.”
He flipped through the list for a while longer and we settled on an old Adam Sandler movie. Our food came twenty minutes into it, and by the time the closing credits were rolling, I was filled to the brim with pancakes and the warm familiarity of an evening with Matty.
The tension that had been MIA as we ate and watched the movie came back with a vengeance. I stood, suddenly full of nervous energy, and started cleaning the table, clearing away our plates. “I’m going to pick up here and leave these outside the door for the maid,” I mumbled.
It was almost three AM. Surely, he would want to go to sleep now, and then what? I couldn’t really make him sleep on the floor.
But, more importantly, I didn’t want to.
What I wanted, more than my next breath, was to strip down to my underwear, climb under that ugly comforter and curl into Matty’s arms, the way I used to before everything was terrible. I wanted to kiss that sexy mouth, and curl my fingers into those warm, hard muscles, and pretend that we were the only two people in the world.
I set the dishes onto the hallway floor and closed the door. The resulting click was so loud, it seemed to echo in the room.
“Mind if I take the sheet?” he asked softly, fishing around under the blankets for one of the pillows.
“You’re not sleeping on the floor, Matty.” I sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and tugged off my shoes before tossing them onto the beige carpet. My heart was pounding like a scared rabbit’s, but I pushed forward. This might be the last night we ever spent together. As long as I was honest, as long as I didn’t lie to him…
“It would be silly. There’s plenty of space-”
“I appreciate the offer, Red, but I can’t control what I do in my sleep.” He held up both hands and shook his head slowly, the pained expression on his face like an arrow through my heart. “And something tells me no amount of space in the world is going to keep me from getting my hands on you if any part of my subconscious knows you’re nearby.”
I stood then, sure of nothing except the fact that I couldn’t let this night pass me by. I needed this. I needed him. “What if I don’t want you to?”
He took a step toward me and held out his arms. “I already told you, Red. Whatever you want.”
I nearly leapt that last yard into his embrace and he lifted me high and tight against his chest.
I was leaving Boston soon, but I would have one more night with Matty to take with me. Memories that would have to last a lifetime.
Chapter Six
Matty
As I crushed her to me, I closed my eyes and breathed deep, allowing myself to take in the sweet smell of her. The slight weight of her pressed against me.
When I finally let her feet touch the floor again, I still held her close, but I lifted one red lock of hair and curled it around my finger, trying to focus on it rather than on her face. I knew once I looked down into her amber eyes, it would be with the knowledge that whatever we did tonight, it might be for the last time.
She pulled away from me gently. "You know I can’t stay-"
"I know." I swallowed hard and then curled my hand behind her neck to bring her close. I didn't want to talk about it. That's what tomorrow was for. Right now was for us.
She relaxed against my chest and I ran my hands up and down her back. It wasn’t long before she was pressing closer. I ran my fingers over her shoulder blades, trying to ignore the temptingly slender strap of her bra, and her breath hitched. It was an exercise in willpower as she arched beneath my touch.
"I don't want you to think-" she started again, her voice muffled against my chest.
"I don't think anything. I just want to know what you want," I said.
"I hate leading you on."
I tucked my hand beneath her chin and crushed my lips to hers, cutting off the rest of her sentence as it turned into a low moan beneath my lips. I cupped her jaw and moved to deepen the kiss. Pulled her closer to me. Tasted the minty sweetness of her mouth.
When I finally pulled away, her breathing was shallow again, but a sad smile curved her lips.
"Sometimes," I said, "you need to learn when to stop talking."
Her sad grin became a genuine one, and she slapped my arm.
"What's that saying about pots and kettles?" she shot back.
"I’m happy to stop talking as soon as you tell me," I said.
“Tell you what?" Even as the words left her lips, I knew she’d already figured it out. Her hips ground into mine and when she lifted to her toes to wrap her arms around my neck, she pressed herself against my still-hardening cock.
"Exactly what you want."
She seemed to hesitate but then met my gaze. "I just want you, Matty,” she said simply.
“What are you waiting for, then?”
Apparently, the answer was permission. Permission to do this even though we both knew it was going nowhere. Permission to take this night and wring every ounce of joy from it while we still had the chance.
The hesitation was gone now as she gripped the edge of my shirt and tugged it over my head.
"I love your chest," she murmured, tracing the line between my pecs. Trailing her hands over my abdominal muscles. Running her finger over my belly button and lower.
I closed my eyes as she unbuttoned my jeans, allowing visions of her to fill my head. Kayla on her knees in front of me. My fingers threaded through her silky red hair. Pulling her in deeper as she ran her tongue over my thighs. Teasing me until--
I swallowed hard. It was tempting, but that wasn't what tonight was about, so when she yanked at my jeans, I stepped back and shook my head.
"Not tonight, Red. Get on the bed."
"I thought this was about what I wanted." She cocked an eyebrow, but got on the bed all the same.
I didn’t have the wherewithal to argue. Between the blood pounding in my ears and the pulse in my groin, it was a miracle I could still breathe, let alone speak. That didn’t mean she was going to get her way in this, though. Maybe I had misspoken.
I was going to give her some of what she wanted.
But I was going to give her everything she needed.
I lowered myself onto the bed, half-covering her body with mine. Heart in my throat, I lifted her shirt to run my tongue over the tender skin around her belly button, teasing just above the hem of her low-cut jeans until her back arched at every tiny movement. All the while, I ca
ressed her ribcage with my calloused fingertips before sliding beneath her bra to cup each breast in turn.
She moaned my name and I closed my eyes, trying to bottle the sound so I could keep it with me always. I needed to hear her say it again. To make her keep saying it so that I could play it like a record on repeat for the rest of the time we’d have apart.
I plucked at her hard nipples and she groaned, wriggling in an effort to take off her shirt but I shook my head.
“When I take off your clothes, I’m going to take in every inch of you until it’s burned into my memory.”
She released her shirt without complaint and stared as I tugged the black jeans over her hips. I tossed them aside and leaned back to look at her. A pale blue scrap of lace covered her and I dropped my head low to kiss her pubic bone beneath it.
"Matty," she sighed as I moved, kissing her through the fabric covering her heated skin. It was already wet, and I closed my eyes, fighting the need to yank them away and bury myself inside her until neither of us could see straight.
"Christ," I whispered. The pull was too strong and as much as I wanted to tease her, I couldn't help myself. I pulled the thin fabric to the side and plunged my tongue into her sweet, wet folds, tasting and lapping at her. Drinking in the way she arched against my touch.
I ran my tongue over the length of her slit, gaze locked on her beautiful face, watching the way her lips formed an “o” as she strained against me. The way her eyelashes fluttered when my tongue massaged her clit.
"God, you're gorgeous," I ground out, before dropping one last kiss to her center and rolling away from her to stand.
I pulled off my pants so quick, it was a miracle I didn’t rip them in the process. When I was completely naked, I held out a hand to her. “Stand up.”
She swung her legs off the bed and stood.
“I told you I was going to see every inch of you and I meant it.” I pulled her shirt over her head and then made quick work of her bra and panties, letting them drop on the floor between us with a soft rustle.
My pulse hammered and I swallowed hard. “I was starting to think my memory must be skewed.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, arching a questioning brow.
“I thought, after not being with you for so long, maybe I’d imagined how gorgeous you looked naked. Like maybe it was some of the fantasy mixed with reality.” I shook my head and gave her a grim smile. “It’s not. You look just like I remember. Perfect.”
Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink and I cupped her hips in my hands, pulling her toward me with one swift move. Just feeling her skin against mine made me harder than a baseball bat, and I knew that if I didn’t have her soon, I might seriously drop dead from lack of blood flow to the brain.
"Kiss me."
It was practically a whisper, but it shot through me like a dart, and my heart thundered. I crushed her lips to mine and moved her backward toward the bed, savoring the feel of every inch of her skin as it heated against my touch. Her nails scraped down my back and I took the kiss deeper, pressing her to the mattress, circling my tongue against hers until her thighs spread to make room for me.
I braced myself above her and took my cock in hand, rubbing the thick head against her slick folds, circling her clit until she bucked beneath me. I felt every gasp and shudder against my mouth, but I wouldn’t let up.
“Please,” she mumbled against my lips.
Even though it killed me. Even though every second I went without pushing myself inside of her, my cock throbbed nearly to the point of pain, I held out. Because as soon as I did, it might be the last time. The last time I slid inside her. The last time I made her scream. The last time I ever touched this body in that way again.
And I wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.
I dropped my lips to her throat and trailed kisses along her skin, pausing at her earlobe to nibble and tease her.
All the while I could hear her breath getting shallower, and she let out a low, slow moan.
“Matty,” she breathed. “Please. I need you.”
And there it was. I had made a promise.
Everything she needs.
I gripped myself more firmly, and then, with one thrust…one silken slide, my mind splintered apart.
She was the best kind of tight, the most perfect kind of warm, and in an instant, I was torn between the urge to go slow, feeling her sweet pink pussy pulse against me, inch by inch, or to push myself deeper, filling her to bursting with each thrust until there was nowhere else to go.
All I knew for sure was that I didn't want this to end. But after all this teasing, my cock was a cruel master and would never allow me to hold perfectly still, as much as I wanted to savor the moment.
I moved mindlessly, working myself in and out of her in slow, dragging strokes.
She clenched around me, and I watched as color flooded her cheeks and trailed down her neck.
“You feel perfect,” she whimpered and then wrapped her legs around me, pulling me deeper.
It was all just so natural, the way our bodies moved together, and when I dropped my lips to her throat again, I found myself filled with a new kind of desperation. Like, if I kissed her fiercely enough, I might be able to make time pass a little slower.
Her heels dug into my ass and I swallowed hard, trying my best to focus on anything other than exactly how wet and tight and warm she felt. To think about baseball or something other than the way her soft, full breasts pressed against me.
Jesus Christ.
I pushed up onto my knees until I could see all of her. Her pink nipples, tight and hard. Her flat stomach and rounded hips. The juncture between her thighs where I slid in and out of her, hard and glistening.
I fought it, growling deep in my throat, but the second I caught sight of the way our bodies moved together, I couldn’t hold back any longer.
I gripped her hips and pounded forward, wincing in pleasure pain as her tight channel gripped me. Her breasts bounced with every move, pulling me into a trance, and I cupped them, pinching one nipple between thumb and forefinger until she cried out. There was no more taking it slow. The finish line was near, and neither of our bodies were willing to wait. She pulsed around me, trembling, her grasping heat a siren’s song.
Her gaze locked with mine and I saw something there that made my whole body tense.
Love.
She might be too wounded to say it, but Kayla James was in love with me.
Relief and sadness and joy flowed through me all at once. It was a hell of a time for that revelation and the bittersweetness of the moment almost too much to handle.
I slowed my thrusts and slid a hand between us, stroking her swollen clit with my thumb. “Come for me, Red,” I murmured, nearly out of my head with the need to feel her come apart around me.
“Oh, God!” she cried out as I pushed deep.
Her legs flexed and I closed my eyes, taking in every quake and jerk of her shuddering muscles as she came. What I wouldn't give to bottle this feeling. Knowing, in that moment, she was satisfied. That I’d made her forget, and remember, and fly.
With that thought ringing through my mind and the sounds of her final, gasping release in my ears, I let the world slip away and go white before my eyes. Allowed the sweeping, shuddering release to tingle through my fingers and toes and coil deep inside me. Every muscle in my body seemed to expand and contract all at once as I came in long, hard spurts inside her.
Chapter Seven
Kayla
Morning had never come faster. It was all I could do not to wake him up. I just laid there with my head on his chest, listening to his even breathing, wishing I could rewind.
But the angry red glow of the alarm clock blazed on the nightstand next to me, and I knew the reprieve was over. It was Wednesday, I was due to be at work in a couple hours, and we needed to figure out where to go from here. That meant cracking open the files we’d taken and plugging that flash drive into a computer and seeing what we’d turned up.
Regret and sadness eating away at my insides, I pressed a kiss to his jaw. His arm closed tighter around me and I realized he’d been awake too, probably for most of the night like I had.
“You ready?”
I nodded and gently disengaged myself from his grasp, swinging my legs over the side of the bed until I was seated.
“He’s going to wonder where you are if you don’t show up to work, so we’ve got to make some decisions. I say we go through what we have and work from there. If we feel like we have enough to take to the police, then that’s what we’ll do. You can call in sick until he’s served with a search warrant, and that will get the ball rolling.”
I shot a glance over my shoulder at him, noting with a twinge how tired and sad he looked.
“And if we don’t find enough?”
I could tell by his expression he’d spent a long time contemplating that question and had come to the same shitty conclusion as I had.
If we didn’t find enough, there were only two options. For me to go back to work and pretend everything was all right. Spend some more time there and hope I could find something without giving myself away in the meantime. Or, to let it go. To leave Boston-- and Mick-- in my rearview mirror and never come back.
“We’ll find something,” Matty said softly.
Waiting to find out which way this was all going to end was killing me, so I stood and tugged open the drawer. “I’ll start here and try to make some sense of this, okay?” I set the folders on the little table. “You see what you can do with the flash drive.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t watch as he rolled out of bed and padded to the bathroom. Seeing him in just his boxers wasn’t going to make any of this easier. I’d save those memories and the ones we’d made last night for when he wasn’t there to witness my misery.
I sat down at the table and stared at the file on top for a long moment before I opened it. This. This stupid collection of paper was…everything right now.
Meticulousness was the name of the game. We couldn’t afford to miss a trick here, and I took out each sheet and read it carefully. Every hand-written note, every receipt, jotting down any discrepancies in amounts or dates.
Trust Me: Matty and Kayla, Book 3 of 3 (The McDaniels Brothers 7) Page 5
