by Lea Hart
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Friday, February 17th
Bree sat in her car in front of Matt’s house and felt like her head might explode. The conversation she’d just had with Grayson made her wonder if he was playing with a full deck because the crap he was slinging suggested he wasn’t.
The man was smart, so how he was fooling himself into believing what he was saying was possible was a mystery. His threat of keeping a close eye on her brother’s and her clients’ drug test results was utter bullshit. USADA wasn’t some fly-by-night operation. It’s not like he could get away with abusing his position. Or could he?
She heard a car horn and looked up to see Matt pulling into the driveway. Shaking her head, she tried to clear her mind because she didn’t want to pollute their evening with Grayson’s bullshit. Opening her door, she stepped out. When she heard a whistle, she turned and saw Matt walking toward her. Or more accurately, stalking toward her. His hungry gaze made her shiver.
“Why do you look like a tiger who’s about to take a bite out of me?”
“Because that’s what I am.” Opening his arms, he engulfed her in a hug. He must’ve taken a shower at the gym before he left because he smelled like soap. The soft cotton of his T-shirt rubbed against her cheek and she thought she could stay in his arms for…a long time. When she felt his hand move down her back, she knew he was about to grab her tush. The man did it as often as he could get away with. Which should have been offensive, considering he did it no matter where they were.
His possessive actions, unfortunately, turned her on. It was embarrassing and something she would never admit to another living soul. His big hand covered her behind and he gripped her with a growl. Neanderthal. Gawd…she loved that he wanted her and let her know.
“I missed you,” he said as he brought their bodies together.
“It was two days, Matt.”
“Seemed longer. Good thing it’s Friday and we’re spending the weekend together.”
“What do you want to do?”
“How honest do I have to be when I answer that?”
Looking up into his pretty eyes, she smirked. “Very.”
“I’d like to take you into the house and get naked with you and stay that way until Monday morning. I went to the grocery store yesterday, so we have plenty of supplies. No need to go out for any reason.”
Laughing, she pushed him away. “I thought you were going to take me to the beach, and then your brother’s birthday dinner?”
Sighing like he was suffering, he responded. “Okay, we can do those two things, and the rest of the time we stay in the house naked.”
“We’ll see.” Stepping away, she opened her door and pulled out her briefcase and her overnight bag. When he took them from her, she gave him a smile. “I finally brought a bag to your house.”
“I hope there isn’t much more than your toothbrush in there because I’m not thinking we’re going to be wearing a lot of clothes.”
Following him up the sidewalk, she laughed. “Yeah, I got that. You mentioned it two or ten times.”
“Just want to make sure I’m clear.”
He opened the front door and Bree followed him in. They had decided to hang the photographs in the living room and she thought they looked terrific. His house was a Craftsman that had a lot of Polynesian details. It didn’t really make sense, but it worked. He had embraced his surfer aesthetic and the house was warm and simple.
After dumping her briefcase and his workout bag in the dining room, he went into the bedroom and called her name. “Bree, let me show you something.”
Standing in the middle of the living room, she tried to decide how hard she was going to make it for him. When he called her name again, she decided not to bother. Truth was, she wanted him. And to pretend otherwise was simply a waste of time. “Coming,” she called out. When she walked into his bedroom and saw him sprawled out on the bed with his hands behind his head, she laughed. “What are you going to show me?”
“How much I’ve fallen for you.” He gave her a wicked smile. “Come here so I can kiss you.”
Sliding her hand up her hip, she gave him her full attention. “I like kissing…”
“I love kissing you. The more we do it, the more I like it.”
Dropping her shoulder, she let her jacket slide off her arm. “Yeah…”
“Absolutely. You are my addiction, Bree. Every taste, every kiss, every time you let me in makes me want more. I’m insatiable when it comes to you.”
She took her jacket off and folded it neatly over the chair. “Kind of like ice cream.”
“Sort of.”
Tilting her head, she studied him. “I love ice cream.” She unbuttoned her blouse slowly and noticed his eyes tracked her every movement. When it hung open, she heard him swallow. “I can never get enough of it.”
“I can never get enough of you,” he replied. “When I press my mouth to yours, I’m getting as close to the stars as I can.”
She placed her hand on her chest and felt her throat constrict. That was the finest thing anyone had ever uttered to her. Looking into his eyes, she knew he meant it. “When I kiss you, it makes me feel whole. Like a part that was missing…isn’t anymore.”
He winked. “You were always mine. I just had to find you.”
The room to seemed to heat and she had no idea if it was because of the setting sun or the raw emotions that were swirling around. Never in her life had she felt connected to another human being like she did with Matt. “I’ve always needed to define relationships so that I could understand what to expect. What’s happening between us doesn’t fit into anything I’ve ever experienced and I think I like it. We don’t need a title because we just…are.”
“I knew you’d get it.”
She took her blouse off, threw it on the chair, and was about to unzip her skirt when she heard Matt say, “Slow. Take your time. I want to see that skirt slide off your skin and enjoy the fact that I’m the only lucky son of a bitch in the world who will have the privilege.”
“I’m not real good at this, Matt.”
He sat up and held his arms open. “Honey, you have to know that I think you’re the most beautiful, most desirable, sexiest woman in the world. There is nothing you can do that is going to make me want you less.” Pointing to his shorts, he lifted an eyebrow. “The evidence is clear.”
She looked at his shorts and laughed. “Okay, it’s just that…”
“Don’t say it. Don’t fucking say anything derogatory about the woman of my dreams.”
Her eyes popped open and she covered her mouth as a tear slid down her face. Before she could swipe it away, he was standing in front of her, holding her tight. “I’ve never had anyone say anything remotely close to that.”
“Well, get used to it. Because I plan on saying it as often as I need to.” He slid down her zipper and moved her skirt over her hips. When it hit the ground, she stepped out of it. He moved away and held up her hands as he let his eyes drag up and down her body. “If someone designed the perfect woman for me, it would be you.”
“Big hips and all?”
“Honey, I’m an ass man and yours is the finest one that I’ve ever seen.” He stepped forward, unhooked her bra, and groaned. “Now, if my mouth watering doesn’t let you know how much I want you, then let me show you so you don’t have any confusion.”
She kicked off her shoes, took her bra off and threw it toward the chair. “I think you need to be taking your clothes off.” She watched him strip in less than a minute and she slid her panties off and jumped on the bed. “Let the naked shenanigans begin.” He pounced on top of her and covered her with his body.
Titles didn’t mean a thing and she knew that better than most. What mattered were the actions that happened within the connection, and she and Matt had that. Husband, wife, boo or bae were all titles that ultimately didn’t mean anything if the mutual understanding was absent. Looking up into his eyes, she knew she wanted to see where this thing
would go between them. He felt like someone she might like to take a road trip with…maybe one that lasted a lifetime.
Then he kissed her and she knew a lifetime might not be long enough.
***
Bree lay across his lap and he wondered if she had finally fallen into him. Their coming together felt different this time and he had a feeling it had to do with her surrender. Something had given way and she was open to him in a way that had never happened. Gripping her hip, he laughed. They were now at day thirteen. He figured he had eight more days to become a habit to her.
She lifted her head and gave him a funny look. “What?”
“Nothing. Are you getting hungry?”
“Uh…yeah. You took me twice and I barely remember my name. I need to be fed.”
Slapping her ass lightly, he grinned. “I have a ton of groceries. Let’s go see what looks good.”
She pushed up and stretched, and he wondered if he could sneak in a third. The way she shook her head told him there was no way in hell. Watching her crawl off the bed and slip a T-shirt over her head made him growl. “Never knew an old T-shirt could be so sexy.”
Twisting her hair into a bun, she laughed. “I figured the beast would be sated by now.” Turning and walking out the door, she called over her shoulder, “Guess once a beast…always a beast.”
He slid off the bed and pulled on a pair of shorts. “It’s good to know what you’re getting into.” Following her closely, he grabbed her hips as they walked toward the kitchen. “Should we have soup and sandwiches?”
“That sounds perfect.”
“I’ll reheat the soup and you can make the sandwiches.”
“Unfair division of labor,” she remarked as she opened the fridge.
“Not really, because I do the dishes.”
When she looked over her shoulder and smiled, he almost grabbed his chest. It was the most open, happy smile she had ever graced him with. Yeah, they had definitely crossed some invisible barrier. They were together. Title or no title…they were attached.
A few minutes later, sitting together at his small dining room table, he admired Bree and wondered what had her worried. Something about the way her brow furrowed made him think that something was going on. “How’s work?”
“Fine,” she replied.
When she tried to pass off a fake smile, he knew something was definitely up. “Okay, you can quit lying and tell me what’s going on.”
Rubbing her finger between her eyes, she shrugged. “My elevens gave me away.”
“Your what?”
Moving her finger, she pointed at the two lines between her eyebrows. “Elevens. The lines that form when you worry.”
He sat back and studied her and realized what she was talking about. “Yeah, I guess that’s one way of describing it.”
“If I had Botox you would never be able to tell when I was concerned.”
“Which is something that I hope you’ll never consider.”
Lifting her glass of wine, she shrugged. “Never say never.”
“Oh, trust me, that is something that I never want to see you do.”
Framing her face with her hands, she pulled her skin back and started to speak. “You mean hanging out with a woman with a frozen face is not appealing?”
When he started to laugh, she joined him and then started snorting. It was the best sound in the world. When she was done slapping her knee, he gave her a napkin to wipe her face.
“Losing my mind,” she commented as she pulled herself together. “I didn’t think it would happen for years. Guess I was wrong.”
“Why do you think it’s going to happen at all?”
“Family history. I have crazy and colorful on both sides. In the South, we consider it a rite of passage and a badge of honor. I’m guessing the rest of the country might not see it the same way.” Shaking her head, she then wiped her eyes. “Actually, I know that for sure. When I brought Grayson home to meet my family, I think he was slightly horrified. He comes from a moneyed family in the city and they consider themselves to be very important and proper. As far as I could tell, they were inbred and supercilious. But that’s just me.”
After draining her wineglass, she set it down. “My family has been in Mobile for a couple of generations and I come from what is considered common stock. Both my granddaddies were fishermen and so were their daddies. My father broke the mold and went to the University of Alabama and became an engineer. He works for a company that builds warships.” Wiping crumbs off the table, she gave him a smile. “Did you know that some of the most impressive ships are built in Mobile?”
“I had no idea.” Watching her nod proudly reminded him what kind of woman she was. His first impression hadn’t been all that accurate because he’d totally missed the small-town girl that was an essential part of her. Her Stanford degrees had made him forget where she was from. Looking at her sitting across from him made him see the girl who she’d been growing up. “Is Mardi Gras a big thing in Mobile?”
“My goodness, yes! This fellow named Joe Cain revived it after the Civil War and he’s obtained mythical status. People still come to throw beads on his grave to this day. Nobody knows how to throw a party quite like the folks from my city. Anyway, I don’t know how I got into all of that. What was the question?”
“I forgot,” he responded with a laugh.
“Oh, yeah, my colorful family. We have a lot of people who live life according to their own song, and some of those songs are quite peculiar. But my mama taught me that if people weren’t hurting anyone, then it didn’t much matter how they found happiness. When I came out here to school, I discovered that not everyone shared the same view. I ran into people who had a lot of rules about what was okay and what wasn’t. It took me a while to figure out that a lot of those rules were a bunch of nonsense. If you were a mean son of a bitch with a good education and family money and connections…you were still a mean son of a bitch. No matter what the outside looked like.”
“Which makes me want to ask about Grayson and what he said to you that made you so upset.”
Her eyes skittered away and he knew she didn’t want to tell him. If she didn’t tell him today, she would eventually, and then he would have a conversation with the guy. He never tolerated anyone pushing one of his friends off a wave. He sure as hell wouldn’t tolerate anyone bothering his girl.
“Grayson has made some remarks that lead me to believe he’s going to use his new position at USADA to make life difficult for my brother and any UFC clients we have. I was upset the other day because I had another reminder of what a dummy I was for agreeing to marry him. The man is a narcissist and I think crazy enough to think he can get away with some bullshit that will make life harder for those close to me. I feel dumb, and I hate that feeling.”
Leaning forward, he took her hands. “He showed you what he wanted you to see and I’m guessing that he did a damn good job of acting. I’ve never met a smarter, more perceptive woman, and I know you did the best you could with the information you had.”
“Oh, Matt. I don’t think I did. I mistook a lesson for a soul mate. He was probably in my life so that I could figure out what I wanted and what I didn’t. He was never the man I was supposed to marry. I’m mad at myself for not figuring that out sooner and then wasting a year trying to get over it.”
“The good news is that you’re on the other side of that lesson and it’s done.”
“You’re right. I just got angry for not figuring it out sooner. The crap he’s spouting isn’t going to happen because USADA is a respectable organization. Whatever power he thinks he has is an illusion. I’m personally going to make sure that whenever one of our athletes is tested, we have a duplicate test done and sent to the WADA lab in Los Angeles. I’m not going to take any chances.”
“What is a WADA lab?”
“It’s the laboratory that performs the analysis of doping tests for athletes using the World Anti-Doping Code. They have to achieve and maintain accredit
ation from WADA. We often have our clients take duplicate tests and send them to the lab. It’s insurance for everyone and it’s been the difference between an athlete keeping a contract or losing it.”
“So, Grayson is blowing smoke and will probably self-destruct. All we have to do is wait and watch the show.”
“Possibly. Make no mistake, he can cause a lot of damage with allegations, because clearing up hinky test results doesn’t happen overnight. The review process is tedious and long. Unfortunately, this may involve you because he spent ten minutes ranting about our relationship. Apparently, the pictures from Vegas are ‘indecent’ and he couldn’t believe we are dating.”
“I’m happy to have a conversation with him and let him know how much I care about his opinions.”
“Is it going to be one of those conversations that your brother told me about where someone ends up in the hospital?”
“I don’t tolerate bullies and that goes double for anyone bothering my woman.” When she tipped her head and smiled, he knew that title or no title, they were unbreakable. Anybody who thought he could succeed at a takedown was sorely mistaken. It had never happened and it was not going to.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Las Vegas
Friday, March 3rd
Matt walked up to the new UFC campus and let out a whistle. The outside looked like a spaceship and he heard the inside resembled one as well. The place was impressive, that was for damn sure. Bet nobody would’ve guessed that an underground sport would turn into a multibillion-dollar business.
Once he was inside, he took a moment to look around. He hadn’t had a chance to see it completed and it surpassed the drawings that he’d seen last year. The center of the building was occupied by a state-of-the-art athlete performance center. Apparently, it could be seen from the cafeteria as well as the offices that occupied the upper floors. When he’d been invited to tour the building during construction, he’d been blown away by the plans.
The center was available to any one of the five hundred athletes signed with the UFC. The company wanted to accelerate the evolution of the MMA athlete while also becoming a leader in the sports performance community. They certainly had the equipment and personnel to make something like that happen.
