by J. M. Madden
Anger and confusion battled in her mind, followed quickly by protectiveness. The man was probably two-hundred thirty pounds, but she wanted to stand up and scream at the world on his behalf. And she couldn’t. He could take care of himself, now, obviously, but she wanted to right the unjustness of his childhood. “I wish I had been there,” she told him finally. “I would have done everything in my power to get you out of there.”
Matt didn’t say anything for a long time, just squeezed her tighter to his side. “Thanks, Gina.”
She stared into the darkness for a long time, thinking. Matt’s breathing deepened until he fell asleep, but his arm stayed tight around her. After an hour of staring at nothing, Gina got up and went to the bathroom. She peeked through the blinds over at Gabe’s house, but he was surely long in bed. The window was dark. She felt guilty that she hadn’t checked on him earlier, but things had been a little hectic. Even in the darkness, she could feel her face warm. Other things had definitely been on her mind.
Matt shifted to his side when she crawled back into bed, and he tugged her tight against him when she lay down. Gina nestled into his warmth and prayed he would sleep there, just for a while.
***
Matt was having the best dream. Gina was standing in front of him in a green negligee thing that cinched her waist in tight, but left her hips to flare out, just the way he liked. She faced away and danced in front of him, wiggling her ass. She kept giving him these taunting looks over her shoulder, begging him with her blue blue eyes to fuck her. Grabbing her hips in both hands, he pulled her back and centered her over his cock. He hesitated for a split second, then jerked her down onto him.
Gina cried out, and Matt was suddenly awake. He was lying on the bed on his side, with his cock buried in Gina’s cunt from behind. Her high leg was over top of his.
“Oh God, Matt, I thought I was dreaming.”
She arched her ass into him, urging him deeper. Matt was relieved he hadn’t hurt her, but he hesitated. She was very tight, and he didn’t want to rush her.
He reached his hand across her and slipped a finger between her thighs. Gina gasped and jerked, tightening around his cock, but moaning. Her left hand reached back to clutch his hip, tugging him closer. “More.”
Matt pushed hard, seating himself even deeper. Gina huffed out a breath and pressed back into him, countering his movements. Flicking her clit with his finger, he buried his lips into the hair at her nape, nibbling. Gina twisted in his arms to press her mouth to his. Her breast pouted straight up, so he took a minute to draw it into his mouth. Working his fingertip in a circular motion around her clit, he sucked in time to his movements. Gina cried out, quivering as her orgasm rolled over her, and she was suddenly very wet. Matt lunged into her, but he wasn’t satisfied. He needed it harder. Rolling her onto her belly, he braced himself over top of her and spared just a second to look. There was enough illumination in the room that he could see the paleness of her skin and her hourglass shape.
“You are beautiful,” he told her. He pressed his lips against her spine and across her shoulders.
Her ass arched up toward him, and he couldn’t not sink himself into her again. Immediately, he knew he was in trouble. The sensations were totally different in this position, harder, sharper, and the visual of her body beneath him arching up to meet his and the feel of his naked cock gliding deep in her wetness built him up to orgasm quicker than ever before. Pounding into her, he only had a very few seconds before the orgasm crashed over him, destroying all sense. He slammed himself deep, and Gina cried out beneath him, he didn’t know in pain or release, but he couldn’t control his movements until the orgasm abated. Quivering, his arms gave out. He had just enough control to push to the side and not crush Gina. He panted raggedly, trying to suck in oxygen.
“Gina, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I just couldn’t stop there at the end.”
She twisted around to look at him, and Matt was reassured by her seemingly satisfied smile. “I’m wonderful. That was freaking hot!”
Emotion suddenly clogged his throat. Gina was soft and mussed and looked well loved. The fact that she was in bed with him humbled him to his core. “I thought I had hurt you for a minute.”
She rocked her head on the pillow. “Not at all. You were working my body perfectly, and when you hit deep I came again. I’ve never done that before. Come twice like that. You just manage to drag them out of me.”
She rolled over and slipped her arms around him, pressing a kiss to his lips. “You can wake me up like that any time.”
Matt grinned at her, more light-hearted than he could ever remember being. “Really?”
Gina nodded and rested her forehead against his chest. “Definitely.”
“You know, I thought I was dreaming.” Matt laughed and stroked his hand down her smooth back. “Then I woke up, and I was inside you, and it was better than any dream I could have imagined.” He snapped his mouth shut. That sounded so sappy.
Gina looked up at him with a gentle smile. “Seriously?”
He nodded once.
Tightening her arms around him, she snugged into his front. “Thank you Matt. I’ll tell you, this all seems like a dream to me. You’ve really become important to me in a very short length of time.” She pulled back enough to look him in the eye. “No pressure, though. You know.”
They settled back down together, and Matt let himself soak in the closeness.
***
Gina woke early the next morning and lay in the crook of Matt’s arm, watching him sleep. His dark eyelashes made crescents on his cheeks in the early morning glow, and he snored lightly. Stubble shadowed his jaw, but he was the most relaxed she’d ever seen him. Her eyes traced down his pectoral muscles and the light fuzz of dark hair. He’d lost his tighty-whiteys hours ago, and his cock lay long and flaccid to the right.
The poor thing had to be tired, she thought with a smile. After the rear entry session, he’d woken her up one more time in the night to gently, thoroughly rock her world yet again. She had never been so completely loved.
She slipped out of bed and padded to the shower. They needed to get on the road soon, to her parent’s house. Swallowing a couple of ibuprofen, she trash-bagged her wrist before stepping under the steaming water. She had aches from their activities last night, and her pussy was definitely on the tender side, but on the whole she was more satisfied than she could ever remember being. Matt was a thorough, gentle lover, in spite of what he’d said about not having relationships.
The object of her thoughts stuck his head in the door and gave her a once-over. Gina shook her head at him. “Oh, no, you don’t. I have to get cleaned up. And so do you.”
Matt nodded once. “I’ll be back in a while. What time do you want to leave?”
“By noon.”
Matt flipped a hand in the air and disappeared.
Gina was surprised he didn’t climb in the shower with her like he did earlier. It was okay, though. They probably both needed time to decompress. They had a long, potentially crazy weekend ahead of them.
She needed to let Gabe know where they were going to be. She’d flirted with the idea of trying to take him along, but there was no way his uncle would go for it. Besides, they’d only be gone for a day and a half.
Chapter Nine
Gina had enough time to bake a fresh batch of cookies especially for Matt and make her world-famous pasta salad, which her little sister dearly loved. It was a minor miracle she’d even been able to do that much with her arm in the cast. It was bulky and difficult, so she had to make modifications. Rather than wrap the gift she got Danielle, she stuffed everything in a bag with tissue paper and signed a card. For several minutes, she debated whether or not to add Matt’s name to the card, but in the end she left it off. She could ask him when they got in the truck if he was comfortable with it or not.
At eleven forty-five, he knocked on the front door, but she didn’t hear anything more after that. Curious, she walked
down the hallway to see where he was. Still on the porch. She opened the door with her brows raised in question. He shrugged awkwardly and rubbed the nape of his neck.
“I didn’t know if I should just walk in or not.”
Gina smiled, trying to be reassuring. “Of course, you should. You should always consider yourself welcome here, Matt.” Leaning up on tiptoe, she pressed a kiss to his lips. Broad hands framed her face, holding her to him, before he released her. Gliding her hands down his chest, she let them settle at his waist and looked up at him. Then had to do a double-take.
“You look very nice, Matt.”
Talk about understatement. She stepped back to get a better view. He looked down-right edible. His curls were slicked down with mousse and recently trimmed. The butterfly strips were long gone, but there was still a pale pink line on his forehead from the post. A pretty, hunter-green button-up shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and buttoned at his wrists. Store-creased khakis encased his legs. A brand-new pair of brown suede shoes were planted in her entryway, without a speck of wood dust on them. Gina thought she preferred his old boots and t-shirts. “You didn’t have to get dressed up. My family is pretty casual.”
He winced a little. “I just didn’t want them thinking I was… I don’t know.” His hand motioned in the air.
Gina didn’t like that he felt the need to compare himself to other guys. “Matt, I like you, not because of the clothes you wear or what you do, but because of the person you are. Be comfortable.”
The word comfortable seemed to release something in him, because he tugged at his stiff collar and shifted as if his feet hurt. He cleared his throat and looked down at his shoes. Swallowing heavily, he met her gaze. “I didn’t want you to be embarrassed to be seen with me.”
She looked at the shirt again and realized he’d worn long sleeves to cover up the tattoo. Gina felt her throat close with emotion. “I would never be embarrassed to be seen with you. I’m proud to be seen with you. Anywhere or anytime. I, personally, think you’re gorgeous just the way you are. And I have a feeling I won’t be the only one. There are going to be a dozen giggling teen-agers at this cookout who are going to think you are the cat’s meow.”
Matt grimaced, and Gina giggled. She reached out and hugged him around the waist. “Come on, big man. I’m ready to go. Let’s swing by your place on the way out of town, and you can change.”
Twenty minutes later, Matt guided the truck into his driveway.
“Wow,” Gina breathed. She’d actually seen this house before, many times. She just hadn’t realized whom it belonged to. On lazy days, she drove past it after work just to look at all the detailed cornice work and the wide wrap-around porch. The house looked immaculate, but the gardens had always needed work. They were overgrown. Several rosebushes dotted the property, but they desperately needed pruned and shaped.
“I’ve driven by this house before. I love it. I can’t believe you own it.”
One side of Matt’s mouth tipped up in a smile. “Sometimes I wonder why I own it. It’s a lot of work to maintain.”
“I bet.”
Curiosity pushed her out of the truck and to follow him into the house. She didn’t ask; she just followed. Matt seemed surprised, but accommodated her. “Just watch. The rooms are kind of full right now.”
Gina gasped as she stepped into the entryway. From wall to wall, heavy pieces of wooden furniture were stacked, sometimes one on top of another, sometimes singly. Matt wove through a path just wide enough for him if he turned his shoulders. Gina tried to take it all in. She knew her mouth hung open, but she couldn’t seem to help it. She had known Matt was a carpenter, but she hadn’t known he was this…industrious. “What are you going to do with all of these?” she asked, finally.
Smiling at her over his shoulder, he led her to a staircase and up to the second floor. “Well, I’m waiting on a truck to come from Cincinnati to pick these up. It’s why everything is crowded into the front. About once a year, sometimes twice a year, a company I consign with comes for stock.”
Gina followed his broad back down the hallway and tried not to feel bad for him. It must be so lonely not having anybody other than a crotchety old man. He said he went out with buddies occasionally, for ball games and such, but she could tell he wasn’t especially attached to any of them. What better than work to fill his time?
There were several closed doors along the hallway, but he led her to the very end to the only open door. Inside was a man’s room. Dark, masculine colors on the bed and furniture, nothing decorating the walls. For some reason she expected clutter, but there wasn’t any. The room was plain and almost sterile. The one piece of Matt in the room was the oversized bed and headboard. It was handmade, obviously, and darkly beautiful. It looked extra-long to accommodate his size. “Now that’s a bed.”
Matt smiled slightly, and his gaze tracked her movements as she walked across the room to sit on the edge of the mattress. She bounced experimentally, leaned back on one arm and folded the casted arm across her stomach. She lowered her voice deliberately. “Somebody could have some fun in this bed.”
His eyes darkened, and he took a step toward her.
“Matt, you probably ought to take those clothes off. It looks like they chafe.”
The shirt was tossed one way, the pants another. The shoes thumped to the floor out of sight. Within seconds he stood in front of her in his plain white briefs. His erection stretched the cotton, and her mouth watered at the thought of pulling that cloth down and swallowing the tip of him into her mouth.
Hell, why not? Crooking a finger, she urged him closer to the bed.
An hour later, they left the house. Matt was in jeans and a nice, more casual, polo, he had his favorite ball cap on and there was definitely a swing in his step. Gina knew she walked more loose-hipped as well, and the smile just wouldn’t leave her face. Matt carried his repacked bag in one hand and had his other hand around her elbow. After they’d made love in his oversized bed, he’d gently washed her clean in his walk-in shower. Gina felt positively pampered. Loved.
She snorted to herself. It wasn’t love. Surely, on his part it had to be fascination. If he’d never had a relationship before, the first time he did had to be stunning, and thrilling. She would actually be worried about it if he did proclaim his undying love.
George sat on his porch at the house next door and called out a greeting. Gina waved, but Matt didn’t give her a chance to stop and talk. He handed her up into the truck and tossed the duffle in the back, then circled around to climb behind the wheel. He glanced at her sideways. “We may be a little late.”
She shrugged. “I can’t imagine any better reason why. Although we may not tell my mother.”
Matt chuckled quietly and relaxed back into his seat.
Highway 9 was quiet as they headed north toward 70 eastbound. Yellow Springs was one hundred fifty miles away, so they had almost two hours worth of travel time. Gina eyed the expanse of bench seat between them, and wondered what he’d say if she slid over. She chickened out at the last minute. She didn’t want to appear too clingy.
Matt wondered how he could get her to slide across. Setting cruise at seventy-two miles per hour, he raised his right arm to rest along the back of the seat, trying to look accommodating. Gina looked at him and smiled, but didn’t slide any closer.
He wasn’t too put out, because it meant he could still look at her across the seat. At the doctor’s office, he’d only ever seen her wear scrubs. The jeans she seemed to prefer suited her so much better. She had on a frilly, flirty shirt in shades of blue that did fantastic things for her eyes. She’d applied make-up, but one eye had a smudge of black beneath it, probably from their play.
Reaching up, he flipped the sun visor down and motioned to the mirror. “Your make-up’s messed up a bit.”
Gina peered into the mirror and wiped the blemish away, then beamed at him. “Thank you for telling me. I’d have felt foolish finding that later.”
; “You’d have still been beautiful.” The words were instinctive and heartfelt, but he felt exposed saying them.
Gina smiled, though, and seemed to come to a decision. She unfastening her seatbelt, tossed her purse on the floor and shifted to sit beside him. Matt dropped his arm down around her shoulders and snugged her closer.
“My arm’s not too heavy, is it?”
She shook her head and fastened the middle seatbelt across her hips.
“I wanted to do this earlier, but I didn’t want to crowd you.”
Matt appreciated her consideration. She really was trying not to push him too fast. What they were doing was not too much though. He didn’t feel overwhelmed. Actually, if anything, he felt more addicted to her and wanted more closeness. “You’re not crowding me.”
“Well, if I ever do, just tell me to back off and I will, okay?”
He nodded, appreciating her words. “So, where am I going?”
“Yellow Springs. It’s about a half hour east of Dayton.”
“Is that where you grew up?”
Gina nodded her head against his chest. “All my life. It’s a nice little college town, not too big but decent sized. Columbus and Dayton are within driving distance, and it’s actually become a bit of a tourist spot in the past few years. Trendy little shops downtown and stuff.”
“Sounds nice. You didn’t go to school there, though, right?”
“Right. I wanted to get away from my family so I headed west for school. Indiana State.”
Matt couldn’t blame her for wanting to get away. If he could have gotten away from Rick sooner he would have.
They talked about inconsequential things all the way to Ohio, and it was one of the most relaxed times he had ever spent in an enclosed space with anybody. As the highway signs began to tick down the miles, though, his anxiety ratcheted up. He had no idea who these people were or what they would think about their daughter dating a tattooed reject. Gina seemed to think they would accept him with open arms, but he knew otherwise. They would look at him with suspicion, lightly concealed by civility.
