Circle of Deception 2

by Skye, M.

  “I know,” Meg smiled.

  “Lele,” Gio turned his attention to her. “Are you going to tell me what’s going through your head regarding Matt?” She went to speak, but they were interrupted by the chatter of the children requesting they join them on the large bounce house slide.

  Marco looked to Gio sternly when he agreed to join the children. “Gio, are you sure getting on that slide is the wisest idea?”

  “I’ll be fine Marco. My niece wants me to play with her, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ve already missed so much.”

  “Then don’t let me stop you.” Marco smiled and stepped aside.

  Meg and Gio made their way to the slide with the kids at their side while Marco looked on. When Maddie and Nathan joined them at the top of the slide, it looked like the picture perfect moment. The only thing that was missing was him; him and Melia. She had wandered off a few minutes previously and was nowhere to be seen.

  ***

  “What are you doing, Melia? Just open the door. No, just go back downstairs. You want to see him. No, you want to wait. You just don’t know what you want.” She he had been standing outside Matt’s room for the past few minutes arguing with herself, and finally decided to just go back to the party before she made a fool of herself. Just as she turned to walk away, the door opened, and he appeared looking sexy as all sin.

  “Mel, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

  “Yes... I mean no... I...I... was just checking on you. Everyone is downstairs and I noticed you weren’t there.”

  Matt chuckled and touched her shoulder. “Thank you for checking on me. I was just making some important calls. I was actually on my way down.”

  “Oh, great. Well, I guess we can head down.”

  “If you don’t mind, could I speak to you about something? It’s been on my mind for a few days, and I was looking for a good way to bring it up.”

  “Yeah, what is it?”

  Matt stepped aside and motioned for her to join him. She walked in and he took a seat on the bed, patting the space beside him for her to sit. “Well, I don’t quite know how to discuss this, so I’ll just jump right in. I was thinking of getting a place of my own.”

  She swallowed hard and blinked rapidly. “Why do you want to do that?”

  He placed his hand on her lap. “I’m trying to respect your wishes by backing off. Although I don’t want to see us end, I can’t keep my life on hold, and I can’t impose on Alex and Meg any longer. I think it’s for the best that I move out. The calls I made were to find a small place for now, and there is a condo for lease on your side of town. I think it would be perfect. I could be closer to Cici, and you could bring her by anytime.”

  Melia looked like she had been slapped across the face. She knew she had no right to be angry, but she was. She needed him, they needed to be a family. There was no way that could happen if he was in his own place. That would only push them further apart. She had to end this silly notion of his once and for all.

  “No! You can’t get your own place. I won’t allow it.”

  Matt huffed and sat up straight. “Melia, what’s going on here? First, you want me to go, so I do. Next, you want a divorce, and I agree to make you happy, and now you’re telling me I can’t get my own place? What kind of game are you playing? You can’t keep jerking me around. Make up your mind, either you want to end us, or you don’t. Which one is it?”

  Melia felt her temper rising and she jumped to her feet. “I know what this is about. You want to move out because you want to see other women. I’m not stupid, I know you have needs. I just want you to be man enough to admit it.”

  “Yes, Melia, I have needs, and one of them is to be happy. I love you, but I can’t wait forever. You’ve told me that you don’t want me. What am I supposed to do?”

  “You’re supposed to fight for me, fight for us.”

  “Sweetheart, I’ve fought for us, but you have to get in the ring with me. Love is a two way street, but I’m the only car on the road.”

  Dropping her head, she let her guard down. “I love you, Matt, I do, you just hurt me. What you said... it really got next to me.”

  “I’m sorry,” he placed his hand on her cheek. “I made a mistake, but I need you, I need Cici.” A single tear rolled down her cheek, and he wiped it away and kissed her cheek. She then turned his head to her and claimed his mouth. It felt so good to feel his lips on hers and this time, it was all her doing. She had kissed him first, and when her hand moved down his chest, he shivered.

  “Mel, what are you doing? Are you sure about this?”

  She pulled him closer and kissed him with such passion, he had to place his hands on the wall to keep his balance. “Matt, we need this. It’s been so long since you really held me, I need to be in your arms.”

  Matt drew her to him and moved his hand to the small of her back. She was wearing a short sundress with thin straps that he lowered and kissed his way across her shoulders. She moaned in his ear, and he dropped down before her and pushed her to the bed in front of them.

  Matt had waited to have her willing and ready for him, and now he was going to make the most of it. He moved his hands to her feet and pushed her sandals away one by one and kissed the tip of her toes. He kissed all over her body and she closed her eyes tightly in anticipation.

  Slowly, he crept his fingers and tongue up her legs, kissing and nibbling gently as she moved beneath him. When he reached her panties, he stopped and she opened her eyes and he caught a glimpse of the woman he fell so deeply, madly, and passionately in love with, and pulled them off, throwing them behind him. She was so warm and ready for him and he needed to feel her.

  As he moved his fingers inside her and she moaned his name, he slid up to kiss her intimately. Fumbling over her body, he found her breasts swollen and erect, waiting for him to pleasure her further. Sliding his tongue across her breast, he loved how she grabbed the back of his head, and then drew her nipple into his mouth. Still twirling his fingers and sucking gently, he heard her whispers growing into low moans. Gripping him tighter, she drove him crazy and he added another finger to her already moist center. While they both climbed their way to no return, he switched over to her other breast.

  Continuing his seductive assault, he felt her body begin to shake, and when she fell flat on the bed, he moved off her. Once he stood and began to strip his clothes away, she sat up and watched. She grinned at him lovingly, and when he rejoined her on the bed, she pulled him between her legs. Parting them wide, she pulled him deep inside her, eliciting a loud groan from him, and a deep gasp from her.

  Her body felt great, but he had to get adjusted to the feel of her again. It had only been a few days since their last encounter, but she was tighter than he remembered and the feeling was indescribable. Maybe it was the anxiety of their situation, whatever the cause was, he had her gripping the sheets in preparation of his strong thrusts.

  Placing his hands on her breasts, he thrust so hard that she flew into the headboard. When she smacked her head, he stilled instantly, and she laughed at his concern and bucked her hips forward to accept him fully. Glad that he hadn’t hurt her, he went back to pleasing her in all the ways he knew she loved.

  He originally wanted to take things slowly with her, but it was clear she had other plans. He was still inside her, and when she pulled him deeper, he grabbed the headboard and let out a deep moan. Wrapping her legs around him she held him closer, forcing him to keep his strokes deep and steady. He continued to hold on to the headboard and pushed himself in and out as she moaned his name loudly.

  Clutching her hips, he sat her up and leaned forward and they were now in a sitting position with her legs wrapped around him. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her against him, crushing her breasts into his chest. When she mumbled to him, he ran his tongue down her neck. “What did you say, baby?”

  “I love you. I’ve been so stupid.”

  “I’ve been stupid too, and I’m g
lad you’re sorry, and I’m sorry too. Now we can get our lives back.”

  “Yes!” she screamed. “Yes!”

  Feeling her getting closer, he placed his hands on her hips, clutched tighter, and spread her legs wider. He pulled back and surged deep within her and she gasped against his neck. He lost himself in her completely, and let go of her hips to grab her neck. Holding her to him, he sent one last thrust, pushing them over the edge.

  He sat with her in his arms, holding her tightly against him with his head buried against her neck. With her head on his shoulder, he basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking. When he sat back to look into her eyes, he saw the content look and sighed. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in a while, until she began to speak. He knew they had things to iron out, but he wanted a little more time to just sit.

  “I’m glad you’re coming back home. Now that you’ve apologized and made things right, we can put all this mess behind us and go back to the way we used to be.”

  Matt was overjoyed that she wanted him home, but he had to be sure they were on the same page. “Mel, I would love to come home, but things do have to change. We are in love and I love our family, but we had problems way before I made that stupid comment.”

  He could tell she was growing agitated with the turn the conversation was going. They had just made love for the first time in weeks, and here he was pushing. “Matt, do you want to argue with me, or do you want to drop this and come home?”

  “I want to settle this before I come back. We can’t just bury it and pretend like we didn’t have a major issue. Baby, I love you, but I need you to acknowledge how I was feeling as well. I felt neglected and I needed you, but you weren’t there.”

  “I am always here for you,” she sat up and let a tear fall down her cheek. “I just can’t put you over her.”

  “I’m not asking you to. I just want you to be my wife again. I need you to love me that way you used to. We used to be so crazy for each other, and I need that back. I need you, Mel. I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you can do that.”

  “What do you want from me? I love you, I make love to you, and I give you everything you need.”

  “Not everything,” he sighed. Matt looked in her eyes and saw that everything he had just said escaped her. She wasn’t understanding what he wanted, and he wasn’t sure she ever would again. “Up until this point, I thought it was just your issues with your mother, but now I see you just don’t know how to love me anymore. Somewhere along the line, you started to pull away from me emotionally, and now I think it’s far too late for you to try and step back. You’re already gone in your heart, you’re just trying to convince your head that you’re still here with me. You don’t want me, you just want the idea of me, and I can’t live with that.”

  “What are you saying, Matt?” she asked tearfully.

  “I’m saying that I won’t be coming home with you, it isn’t my home anymore. We should contact the lawyers, I want the divorce.”

  Melia looked at him blankly and put her hand to her mouth. “You’re just giving up? After all, we’ve been through, you’re just saying goodbye?”

  “Melia, we should be able to be happy. It’s obvious we don’t make each other happy anymore, and it doesn’t have to be this way. I will never love another woman the way I love you, but I can’t force you to pretend that you love me the same way. It’s not fair.” Matt leaned to her and kissed her cheek gently. “You will always be in my heart, but it’s over. Let’s just pick up and move on. I’ll give you whatever you want if you promise me you won’t keep my daughter from me. I may have messed up somewhere with you, but she still loves me with all her heart; I can’t ruin that.”

  He picked up his clothes and began to get dressed while she sat on the bed watching. He kept his head down the whole time to hide the tears emerging in his eyes. This was the hardest thing he ever had to do, but he didn’t want to keep her in a marriage he knew wasn’t working. He loved her more than anything, and if that meant letting her go he would do that to allow her the happiness she deserved.

  After getting dressed, he gave her one last look and placed his hand on the doorknob to walk out. Once he was in the hallway, he shut the door and slid down the wall in tears. Inside the room, she was crying uncontrollably with her head buried in a pillow.

  Melia was convinced that he was just upset about their fight, but it still hurt to hear him accuse her of not loving him enough. Matt on the other hand, was crying for the loss. The loss of his marriage, the only woman he ever loved, and the family he thought he would always have. He knew getting over her would be hard, but he had to, she was already halfway to her goal of getting over him.

  ***

  Alex kept watching the door, looking to see when Matt would emerge. He had watched Melia go inside over an hour ago, and was waiting on a report. He had to admit, Matt had really impressed him with this whole divorce business. He had her just where he wanted her, eating out of the palm of his hands, and now all he needed was to seal the deal. As he continued to watch the door, Meg appeared next to him, startling him out of his spying mission.

  “Sweetheart, you know it’s not polite to stare. He will tell you what happened when he’s ready. Until then, we need to get over here and bring out the cake. Our daughter is getting antsy about opening her gifts.”

  “I bet she is. Mom showed up with this monster load of gifts, showing us up at our own party.”

  “Yeah,” Meg chuckled nervously. She hated keeping secrets from Alex, but she knew if he figured out that Ben had them sent over, he would be livid. She knew this was for the best. Besides, how would he ever figure out that Melissa hadn’t brought them in the first place? She figured she was just worried for nothing.

  “Hey, babe, I’m not happy with the secret you’ve been keeping from me,” Alex huffed as he linked their hands to lead her inside. They were on their way to get the cake from the kitchen, and suddenly she felt the need to rush back to the others. When she turned abruptly, he held her hand tighter and twirled her back around. “No, you’re not going anywhere until you come clean. Tell me everything now.”

  Oh god, Meg thought. Am I that transparent? Could he really know about the gifts? She was obsessing what to say in her head when she looked over at him and saw that he was waiting on a response. She decided then and there what course to take, deny, deny, deny. “What secret are you referring to, Alex? I swear you’re the most paranoid man I ever met. You really should look into that.”

  “You see, Angel Face, I can tell by the way you came out swinging that you knew. You’re horrible at secrets, so just come clean now, and maybe I can forget all about this betrayal.”

  “Betrayal? Seriously, Alex? It was just to protect your fragile ego. It’s really not a big deal.”

  “You and mom keep your little secret then. The next time she shows up on our doorsteps with a man, I’m going to grill him. How long has this sorted affair been going on?”

  “Affair?” Meg was about to put her foot in her mouth, and then she realized he was fussing about her and Rogelio. “To my knowledge it just started. This is their first day going anywhere together. Stop your complaining, they make a handsome couple, and she looks happy.”

  “Yeah, yeah. They look okay together, I just don’t like the fact that he’s a detective. What if one of his cases puts my mom in danger?”

  “Really, Alex? Your mom was married to your dad, you don’t get more dangerous than that.”

  Alex raised his hands in concession and pulled her to him. “I’m glad she’s happy, but if he messes up, I know how and where to find him.”

  “And he definitely knows how and where to find you,” she laughed.

  “You can really be an ass sometimes. You better be glad I love you so damn much.”

  “You don’t just love me baby, you love what I can do,” she smirked and snatched him towards the house. They walked hand in hand, laughing at Meg’s silliness until they hit the back door and saw Matt. He lo
oked like hell, and they could tell he had been crying. “Matt,” Meg touched his face gently. “What’s wrong?”

  Seeing the sincerity, the fear, the concern she felt for him, and he wasn’t even hers made him drop down in the doorway. “I’m sorry you guys. This is Alli’s day. I can’t get into this with you. I just need to hug my daughter. I need to let her know that her daddy loves her above all else, and I’m so sorry I ever put anything or anyone above her.”

  Anyone? Alex thought. Something had to have happened with Melia, and from the looks of things, it went awfully wrong. He wanted to get into it, but he knew this wasn’t the time or place. Matt seemed to need more than he could offer right now, and they needed to get his daughter’s celebration underway. “Matt, clean yourself up. You’re a mess, and I won’t let you be seen this way. Go to your room and freshen up.”

  “I can’t go in there,” Matt yelled in protest, catching both Meg and Alex off guard. It was then that Alex knew what had gone down.

  “Well, if you can’t go there, go into our room, and get in the shower. Borrow a fresh set of clothes and come back out here looking like the man mom raised you to be.” Alex walked up to him and wrapped his arm around him to whisper in his ear. “You are one of us, and we always come out on top. Whatever happened, we will fix it together.”

  Matt hugged Alex tight and allowed a few tears to escape his eyes before heading back up the stairs. Meg watched as Alex straightened up and turned back to her. He went back to his cheerful expression immediately and she was puzzled. “Alex, are you okay?”

  “Yes, baby. Things are not going as I hoped they would, but right now, we have our family to worry about. I’m going to help him, but my wife and my children have to come first. Putting other things ahead of you guys could land me in the same mess he is in, and I won’t allow it. You and the kids are my first priority, everything else can wait.” Alex took her hand and led her to the kitchen where they got the cake and proceeded to take it outside. When they arrived in the yard, Maddie and Emily had gathered all the children and were standing around the big table waiting.