by Sherri Hayes
“No,” Matthew said. “I want everything from the outside to appear that we are still in separate rooms. Of course, you will be aware that we’re not.”
He was asking for her agreement. She sighed. “Fine, fine. Have it your way.” She turned back to the sink. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
***
When they arrived at the office, Matthew followed the same routine as last week.
He escorted her up to her office. Leaving the door open, he nodded to Lisa and repeated his instructions that Cali was not to be alone with anyone.
Matthew’s day went faster than he thought it would. The time he’d been away from the office last week meant that his workload had piled up beyond reason.
He’d spent the entire morning deep in paperwork with Mariana adding more about half way through.
Keeping tabs on Cali was fairly easy. She had just as much work to catch up on as he did, so she’d confined herself to her office. He kept his phone close and, via the camera in her office, checked on her every fifteen minutes.
His plans to have lunch with her ended up in the trash when the production manager called, saying they needed to talk as soon as possible. So, instead of spending an hour with the woman who constantly occupied his thoughts, he spent it going over the shipping and route schedules for the next three weeks.
At three twenty, the alarm on his computer sounded, reminding him of his security briefing with Miss Stanton. He closed the reminder and picked up his things. His mind drifted to the changes that had occurred since the briefing last week: the two of them sitting at her conference table; Cali insisting on joining him at the jewelry shop; someone trying to run her over with a car hours later.
Matthew felt the tension fill his body and knew he needed to calm down. He couldn’t afford to let someone see the effect this was having on him, not even Cali. With a deep breath, he exited his office and let Mariana know where he was going.
Riding up in the elevator, he went over the details he needed to discuss with her.
The production manager had heard that another shipment was going to be hijacked. It had been a rumor, not from a direct source, and they weren’t able to track it.
He was trying to stay focused, but he kept getting sidetracked, knowing he was going to see his girlfriend, his lover in a few short minutes. He was not sure what to call her.
When the doors opened, Lisa greeted him with a smile, “Hello, Matthew.”
“Lisa,” he nodded. Matthew looked over and saw Cali’s door was open, but that didn’t mean anything given his instructions. “Is Ms. Stanton available?”
Lisa was startled at his use of Ms. Stanton, but he couldn’t help it. It was what he’d called her before everything had changed, and he needed to keep up that same appearance. Seeming to collect herself, she replied, “Yes, she’s expecting you.”
He nodded and smiled, hoping that it was enough to convey his thanks for not making a big deal out of his name choice.
When he entered the office, he closed the door firmly behind him. She looked up and their eyes met. It felt as if they’d been apart for more than a mere eight hours.
Cali moved from behind her desk and strode toward him, stopping with only an inch between them. “Are we alone?” she whispered.
Matthew answered by leaning in to press his lips against hers. Her hands came up to grip his arms. He tried to keep it chaste; he really did, but feeling her again was just too much.
The folder he’d been holding fell to the floor as he circled her waist with his arms.
His tongue licked her bottom lip, and she opened for him almost instantly. Tasting her again was heaven.
He felt his body respond to her closeness, as it always did, and knew he had to put a stop to this. It took all the strength he had, but he did it. Matthew slowed the kiss and moved his hands to the side of her face gently putting some air between them. She looked up at him through veiled eyes. “Hi,” she whispered.
He smiled. “Hi.”
They did manage to get some work done, but he wouldn’t exactly call the way in which they did it professional. Cali insisted they sit together on the sofa instead of at her desk or the conference table. Matthew spread the reports on his lap, and Cali rested her head on his shoulder while they had their meeting. It may not have been professional, but it was perhaps the best meeting he’d ever had.
***
When they arrived home that evening, they found two place settings at the table with candles in the center waiting to be lit. The obvious set up of a romantic dinner for two made Cali feel nervous. She had no idea what Matthew’s feelings were about the boundaries of their relationship. Were dates even an option?
Cali glanced over at Matthew. He unsuccessfully suppressed a smile while his shoulders shook from holding in his laughter. She took a deep breath and relaxed.
Matthew’s gaze met hers, and Cali’s lips turned up in a smile to match his.
“Sorry.”
At that, Matthew did laugh. “Why are you sorry?”
She cringed a little. “Jessie…seems to be a little…excited.”
This got another laugh. “That’s okay.” He took a step closer and placed his hands on either side of her face. “I can think of nothing better than to spend a romantic evening with you, Ms. Stanton.”
Closing the gap, he pressed his lips lightly to hers. “Shall we see what she left us?”
“Mm,” was all she could manage as she looked up to meet the eyes that sent her heart flying.
The refrigerator only added to the setting. The housekeeper, who was clearly setting herself up to be matchmaker, had prepared salads for each of them and attached a note stating there was lasagna and bread in the warming oven. With another smirk from Matthew that she couldn’t help but return, they worked together to move everything to the table.
Their meal was pleasant. They talked a little about their time apart that day, but mostly it was just random information. She was learning so much about him and none of it was run-of-the-mill.
He was a patriot, and she wouldn’t be surprised if his blood ran red, white and blue with the way he talked. It reminded her of their conversation during their first meal together in that cozy little Italian restaurant just days after they’d met.
They were just dipping into the chocolate pudding Jessie had made when she decided to ask him, “You mentioned before that you used to be in the military. What exactly did you do?”
Swallowing the delicious chocolate, she scooped up another bite before looking up. Matthew wasn’t looking at her. He wasn’t looking anywhere really. His gaze was unfocused, and she reached out. “Are you okay?” Taking one last large spoonful of his pudding, he stood and took his plate to the sink.
Cali didn’t understand it. Did she saying something wrong? Was his job classified?
“Matthew, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I understand if you’re not able to tell me.”
He looked down then. “No…no, it’s fine.” Matthew said, cautious as he placed his plate in the dishwasher.
Walking back over to her, he asked if she was finished. He was stalling and she knew it. She just didn’t know why.
Then casually, as if the last few minutes hadn’t happen, he said, “I was assigned to a special forces unit six months in and stayed with them until I came home.” He turned away from her. “I think I’m going to work in the study for a while before turning in. I’ll see you upstairs?”
It was phrased as a question, but he hadn’t waited for an answer before leaving her sitting in the room, trying to wrap her mind around what had exactly happened. Clearly he hadn’t wanted to talk about his past, but why? And the mask. That mask of professionalism, indifference, whatever it was had shown its ugly face again, causing Cali’s stomach to clench into knots.
As she stared at her food, the feeling in the pit of her stomach didn’t ease.
Getting up, she placed her own plate in the dishwasher and left the kitchen.
/> Before going upstairs, she stopped to look at the man bent over the small laptop computer in her father’s office. He still wore the blank look from a few minutes before, and she knew approaching him now while he was in work mode would not be for the best. She would wait until later tonight.
With that thought, she walked up the stairs.
***
Matthew stayed in the study for as long as he could justify. He knew his past would come up sooner or later. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his time serving his country overseas; it was more that he didn’t know how she would respond to the information. The fear of her taking it badly and banishing him from her house, her life, was something he didn’t think he could handle. She was important to him. Even if she was only his for a short time, he didn’t want to make their time together any shorter than it already was. With a sigh, he powered down the computer and went upstairs.
There in his bed with a book on her lap sat Cali. Her hair pulled back away from her face, revealing the graceful curve of her neck and shoulders. The silk chemise rested softly over her body, showing the outline of her breasts, and he felt his body temperature rise.
He must have moved or made a sound because she looked up. Cali’s eyes held questions, and what he thought was concern. Any hope he had of her letting the subject drop faded, and he reluctantly made his way over to the other side of the bed, stripping to his boxers. Pushing the covers back, he slid in and leaned back against the headboard.
Cali marked her place and set the book on the nightstand before she turned back to Matthew and waited. He knew well enough what she was waiting for, what she wanted from him. It took a few minutes, but then he started.
“After my mom died, Jason and I spent a lot of time with my dad. Not that we hadn’t before,” he clarified, “but it was just…more.” He turned to her then, “He had started his security firm five years earlier. Jason remembers when he was a cop, but I was too young. To me, Dad was always the man in charge, the one with a plan.”
“When I turned ten, he bought me my first rifle,” Matthew smiled at the memory.
“We went hunting the weekend after my birthday, just the three of us.” His eyes locked with hers. “It was one of the best weekends of my young life.” Cali nodded and he continued, turning his head away slightly. “By my sixteenth birthday, I was helping my father with everything from paperwork to surveillance. If I wasn’t at school or doing homework, I was helping Dad.”
She interrupted then, “Where was Jason? Was he helping your dad too?”
Matthew shook his head. “No. Jason went to college at Dad’s insistence for four years and then joined the Marines. He wanted out of Chicago and felt that was the easiest way to do it, I suppose.”
“Is that why you joined? Because of Jason?”
Matthew smiled. “No.” He paused and reached for her hand. She took it and gave a squeeze of encouragement. “Do you remember me telling you about the friend I saw that night at the gala?” She nodded. “He owned another security firm and used to work on the force with my father. They were best friends, Charles and my dad.”
“Were?” Cali hadn’t missed the past tense.
“Hm,” he mumbled and then chuckled. “You’re making me get ahead of my story, Ms. Stanton.”
Cali laughed, and it felt good to break some of the tension. “Sorry.”
He sighed. “When I graduated high school, I went off to college. As I mentioned before, it was sort of a requirement with my dad.” He smirked. “I graduated with a degree in business administration.” Seeing her eyebrow go up in question, he smiled. “I know it’s hard to believe, but yes I have a degree in business of all things.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help herself.
Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. “Go on,” she said, waiving dismissively with her free hand.
He gave a small snort. “After college, I was at a loss. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I’d considered going to work for my dad; that was part of the reason I’d chosen that field of study. Joining the police force was another option. I was an excellent marksman and knew with my dad’s connections I’d have no trouble.” He hesitated. “That was part of the problem though. I was twenty-one and had never been away from home, never been out on my own.” He looked over at Cali. “Charles…well he helped me figure it out.”
***
Matthew sat at his father’s desk going over the month’s receipts. He hated filling out expense sheets, but his dad hated it more, and if there was one thing his father was good at, it was delegation. The bell over the door rang, letting him know someone was here moments before he heard the approaching footsteps.
“Nathan?”
Seconds later, he saw the head of his father’s friend. “Hey, Charles.”
“Matthew,” he said, sounding surprised. “I didn’t expect to find you here on a Friday night. Don’t you have something better to do?” he joked.
He got the joke, but the sad thing was he really didn’t have a social life. He never really had. “No. Just going over some end-of-month financials.”
“Ah.”
Matthew waited for Charles to continue, but he didn’t. “Dad left about an hour ago. I think he was heading home. I don’t think he’s coming back in tonight.” Charles waved a dismissive hand. “That’s okay. I kind of wanted to talk to you anyway.”
This surprised Matthew. “Me? Why?”
Laughing, Charles took a seat in front of the desk. “Your dad told me you’re trying to decide what you’re going to do now that you’re out of school.” Matthew just nodded. “I think Dad’s hoping I stick around here. That way he’ll have someone to do all the dreaded paperwork that he hates.” Charles snorted. “True. But I’m not interested in what your dad wants. What do you want?”
***
“The next day I got a letter from Jason telling me about his latest mission. I’d received mail from him before. He sent something almost every week, but for some reason, it was different this time. I realized how happy he sounded because he was doing something he loved.”
Rubbing his hand absently on the blanket, he said, “So I started asking questions, talking to people. Talking to Jason, Charles…I tried to talk to my dad, but as soon as I mentioned the military, he shut me down.
“Two months later, the opportunity presented itself. I was at the firing range and ran into an army sergeant who was home on leave. He saw me shoot and asked me to have lunch with him. I agreed, and we ended up talking for three hours.” Matthew looked up at her again, “I guess you could say everything after that was history.”
Confused, Cali sat up a little more and looked at the man beside her. “Wait a minute. Your dad isn’t friends with Charles anymore because you talked to him about your future career?”
“No. That’s not quite all of it.” He shifted and then continued. “More that when I told Charles I was going to join the Army, he didn’t tell me not to.”
“Oh,” she said. Cali sat for a few minutes considering what Matthew had told her and wondered how his relationship with his father was now, considering his return several years before.
He watched as she processed all the information he’d told her. Then he waited, knowing Cali would not miss that he’d omitted the answer to the question that had led to this discussion in the first place. He wasn’t disappointed.
Her head came up quickly, and she turned her body so that it was totally facing him. And he had nowhere to hide.
“You said Special Forces earlier. So…” Her voice trailed off.
“It was a unit with five guys. Each one of us had a specialty, and we worked as a team.”
Cali waited, but he didn’t finish. Her next words came out softly. “What was your specialty?”
His eyes held hers as if waiting for her disapproval. “I was a sniper, Cali. It was my job to assassinate people.”
Matthew watched her face as several emotions crossed it. He didn’t recognize all of them, but h
e was sure he saw shock in there somewhere. There was nothing he could do. He knew she would not like how he’d spent nearly four years of his life. She was a doctor after all. It was her job to heal people. What if she rejected me based on my past profession, on four little words? I am proud of my time in the army, but what if it cost me Cali?
Then her eyes cleared and focused upon him again. Matthew continued to watch, but instead of pulling away or closing herself off, she leaned in ever so slowly and pressed her lips to his.
The shock of her response held him still. The thought that he must be dreaming crossed his mind. She moved to straddle him, pulling him closer, and he realized that he was not imagining this.
She embraced him, holding him close as she pressed her hips down. Joy rose in his heart. Cali wasn’t upset. She wasn’t holding his past against him.
He couldn’t help his own response; he never could when it came to her. With fingers itching to touch her, he slid his palms up her bare thighs and under the silky material. Cali shivered, pulling him closer still.
As Cali leaned into his touch, her heart filled with so much emotion. She knew what it was like growing up without a mom, wanting to please the only parent you had left and failing.
Gently, he removed her nightgown, leaving her clad in only a thin scrap of silk and lace. Their eyes met, and the raw emotion she saw there sent a thrill of anticipation, heightening her senses. She wanted to show to him just how special to her he was, how important he’d become to her in such a short time. It caused an ache deep inside her to think of him not being part of her life. Cali arched her back into his roaming hands, parting her lips as the sensations flowed through her.
How I love this man.
It took a few seconds for the thought to register, but when it did, she knew it was true. Knew he’d been chipping away at her heart for days, weeks, and it was now his.
This newfound knowledge brought with it a renewed determination to show him what she couldn’t bring herself to say. She hastily removed the rest of the clothing separating them before pressing their naked chests together and demanding his attention with her mouth.
