In Love

by Brook Greene

  “No worries. Just as long as she got the message and I’m the only one you’re fucking,” I say, trying to mask my worry with humor.

  He wraps his arms around me, lowering his face to mine. “I promise, my manwhore days are over.”

  “So why are you here?” I try to put a bit of space between us, but he’s not having any of it and pulls me back to him.

  “Thought I would take you to lunch.” He says cocking his head to the side.

  “Great. Just not Lloyd’s,” I say glancing back over my shoulder to the ladies who are walking into the bar.

  “Agreed.” He offers me his hand, leading me to a smaller sandwich shop further down the street from the popular eatery and bar.

  ~~~~~~

  We settle into a small table with our sandwiches and drinks, and even though I’d acted calmly on the street, the more time that passes, the more my stomach twists up in knots.

  He reaches and takes my finger away from my mouth, not even realizing I’d been chewing on the nail. “Tessa, I’m sorry about that.”

  I look at him and digest his words. The look on his face tells me he’s being sincere, and he truly is sorry for the encounter, and the fact that I’m going to have work with the woman.

  “You’re sorry that you froze? Or that I’m working with her?” I ask as I study the best way to pick up the large sandwich, not wanting him to see the uncertainty in me.

  He takes my chin in his fingers and pulls my face to his. “Don’t do that, Tessa.”

  “Do what?” I try to act innocent, but it’s too late. He saw it.

  “Act like it didn’t bother you.” I feel him take my legs and pull the chair I’m sitting in closer to him, I look up at him as he takes my sandwich from me and lays it back into the paper lined basket. “Yes, she’s one of them.” He waits a beat, and when I stay silent, he continues. “One night, bad decisions were made and she happened.” It eats at my insides to think of him being with Angela, or with anyone but me for that matter. The fire of this unfamiliar feeling burns through me. At some point, I’ll have to acknowledge the name of the feeling, but I don’t have the right to feel it now.

  “And that’s how they all were?” I ask again, not sure what else to say, or if I really want to know the whole truth about him.

  “Not all of them are like her. Most can get the hint I’m done with them and can leave me alone.” He looks almost pained with the admission. The Matthew I know would never be rude, would he?

  I swallow hard and chew my lip before I speak. “Is that all? She just wants more?”

  “They all want more, but I have nothing more left to give them, ’cause it’s all yours.”

  ~~~~~~

  Matty

  I hold my breath, hoping she understands the words I’ve just said to her. I don’t have a fucking thing left for any other woman except for the one sitting right in front of me. She lifts her hand, resting the palm on my cheek. I lean into it and kiss her wrist lightly. “Another thing while I’m spewing truth,” I say.

  “Yes?” She has a slight hesitation in her voice.

  “Aerial.” She looks at me, confused. “The woman from the restaurant Saturday night.” She nods her recognition. “She came by the garage this morning.” She lifts her eyebrows at me, but still stays agonizingly silent, her face impassive. “I found her in my room, naked, waiting for me.” Her eyes grow wide and I can feel her tugging back from me, but I don’t let her. “I didn’t do anything. I made her get dressed and leave. She isn’t coming back, and the boys are aware of it too.”

  I see worry in her beautiful green eyes, and I hate the fact that I’ve put it there. “Can I ask you to do one thing for me, Tessa?” Hell, I’ll get down on my knees and plead if I have to. “Tessa?”

  She nods. “Yeah?”

  “Please, if this were to happen again, come to me first.” We sit in silence, just staring at each other, and with each passing second, the want and need I have for her grows. She could’ve blown up and made a scene, or just walked away. She had the right to do both, but that’s not what she did. She controlled the situation and handled it like a true lady. But I fear this is only the beginning of her being bombarded with the fact that I’ve been unable to keep my dick in my pants for the past two years.

  And the fact that she works with Angela is a whole other shit storm that after today, and how she had simply dismissed the woman is going to hit the fan faster and harder than either of us are prepared for.

  “Please, Tessa?”

  “Like I did today?” Her voice is soft and her eyes unsure.

  “Yes, just like that. Please, always give me a chance to explain.”

  The silence closes in and the busy restaurant and people around us falls away as I wait for her to understand. I want this, and even though my past will always be right behind us, it’s just that—behind me, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let it poison what I could have with her.

  “Okay.” She smiles and caresses my face. I kiss her palm and hold her hand as we eat our lunch with much lighter topics of conversation between us.

  ~~~~~

  We walk back to the courthouse hand in hand, no sign of Angela anywhere. Thank God for that. But I could still see the apprehension on Tessa’s face of having to return to an office she shares with the vile woman.

  We stop at my bike, and I want nothing more than to just throw her on the back and ride away with her sweet thighs tight around my hips.

  “Thanks for lunch,” she says, looking up at me, then glancing back to the large marble building behind her. “I need to go back. Don’t want to be late from lunch on my first day.”

  I pull her into my arms. “Have a great rest of the day, and I’ll see you this afternoon.” I lean in for a kiss.

  She breaks the kiss with a beautiful smile. “And you’re so sure I want to see you again tonight?”

  I lean in, my lips at her ear. “I know for a fact you do.”

  She jerks her head back to look up at me. “Oh, really? And how’s that?”

  “Because of the way you begged me to never stop fucking you last night.” I hear her gasp and her skin goose flesh. “Or this morning.”

  “Matthew,” she scolds, blushing. It’s good to know I affect her just as much as she affects me. Even though I’m no longer a practicing manwhore, the skills I’ve perfected with all the other women are now directed and can be applied solely to her.

  “You better get in before I change your mind.” I pat her ass, giving her one more kiss. We keep our hands joined until she steps away from me, far enough we have to break the connection. I stand and watch her put a little more swing in her hips as she climbs the few steps up to the entrance of the large building. The fact not being lost on me that even though she’d acted fine, her mind is full of doubt, and I’d just let her go back to a woman who knows enough to ruin everything.

  I lean back against my bike and take out my phone to dial Eno.

  “Yeah, man?” he answers.

  “We have to find Tessa a new fucking job.”

  “Really? Isn’t today her first day?” he asks with a laugh.

  “Yes, and Angela works with her.” He goes eerily quiet.

  “Motherfucker.” The panic I’m feeling is just as evident in his words. Angela could fuck things up between Eno and Josie just as much as she could for me and Tessa. “Did you say anything to Tessa about our time with her?” he asks.

  “Fuck no. Have you told Josie?” I ask, knowing there’s been no need up until this point to bring up the subject.

  “What the hell do you think?” He sighs. “How did Tessa handle her?”

  “Better than I did,” I laugh. “I fucking froze when I saw her. Freaked me right the fuck out, but Tessa handled it like a pro. Let Angela know we’re together.”

  “And are you two together?” he asks honestly, curious.

  “Fuck yes,” I reply with the utmost certainty.

  ~~~~~~

  Tessa

  I walk
back into the office with my head held high, ready for anything Angela has to throw at me. I’m not letting her pettiness come between the Matthew I know and the Matty Boy who had fucked her. I know they’re two different people. I got the whole man and she just got his dick.

  But I feel there’s more to the story. I could tell he was holding something back, but I didn’t want to push, because to tell you the truth, I really don’t want to know. I’m full-on prepared for her to have her claws out, and she strikes me as a woman who doesn’t care that we’re at our job.

  The rest of the day flows and I don’t see Angela again, but I have a feeling I haven’t heard the last of what went on between them. I won’t let her see how much their history bothers me, because those feelings don’t belong to her, they’re mine.

  Yes, some of the blame can fall at Matthews’s feet, but it isn’t like he’s still doing or plans to continue the actions that have landed him his self-given nickname. And I can’t blame a woman for being a little crazy for not being able to hold onto a man like him. I would lose my damned mind if I knew I could never have him again.

  He’s waiting for me when I reach my car, and all I can do is smile. The warmth at the sight of him starts at my toes and travels up my body fast, like a wildfire in a forest ravaged by drought. He leans against the passenger side fender of my car with a panty melting smile on his face. He reaches for me, taking me by my hips with his big hands, dragging me to him. I settle between his legs and lean into his chest. The smell of sweat and motor oil covers him, and it’s mouthwatering.

  Any thoughts of today are gone. There’s nothing but us—right here, right now.

  I bury my nose in his chest and inhale. “Mmm,” I moan and look up at him. “I love the way you smell after a day at work.” He makes my panties wet with want.

  A low groan comes from his throat and rumbles through his chest as he rubs me back and forth against his ever-growing impressive erection. “We should get out of public right now.” He stands, taking me with him as he walks me around to the driver’s side of my car. Holding his hand out, he says, “Keys.” I place them in his hand, watching as he unlocks and opens the door for me. “Meet me at your house.” He ducks his head and gives me a kiss before I take a seat inside the car. He closes the door after he moves out of my space, leaving me wanting more.

  My body is alive and it zings when I hear his bike come to life beside my car. He throws his hand up in the air, making a circle, signaling for me to follow, and I do. He leads me home, and the whole time I’m thinking about how his body feels when it lays on top of mine. The heat in his eyes every time he looks at me scorches my skin and brands my soul. I fall a little more every time I see him.

  As I follow him, I take in his wide back and shoulders, his strong arms and long legs as they hold the bike up at the last red light before we leave the city limits. Although facing the truth had been difficult, I wanted Matthew more than I was going to allow the hurt at seeing how Angela looked at him had bothered me. But that was just one. How many more are there? And how many more times am I going to have to endure that special kind of pain?

  The way Matthew had responded at seeing her kind of helped me get past the fact that he’d fucked one of the women I have to work with every day. He hadn’t even acknowledged her, his complete focus had been on me. And when I’d called him my boyfriend, he hadn’t shied away or corrected me, just pulled me closer to him. And in some small way, it was him reassuring me that he was done with that life.

  He parks his bike and I pull in behind him. He’s off of it in a split second, stalking towards me with purpose. I don’t even have time to open my own door before he jerks it open and bends down to pick me up, throwing me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. I’m face-to-face with a skull framed by wings, The Knights of Mayhem embroidered in black across the top, North Carolina along the bottom. A smaller patch to the side contains the letters MC.

  I push myself up to watch his fine ass move under his jeans. “Matthew?” I shriek, but all I get in response is an ass slap. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

  “I’m horny,” he growls at me. Using my keys, he unlocks the door and flings it open, then kicks it closed behind us before taking the steps up to my room two at a time. He tosses me onto my bed and begins to shrug out of his clothes. “Naked, now,” he barks at me. This side of Matthew is scary, and is an incredible turn on, making a sick thrill run through me. I jump to my feet and begin to quickly take off my blouse. I’m breathing like I’m running a marathon as I watch him tear his clothes off.

  When he finishes undressing, he stops long enough to watch me slide my skirt down my thighs. He reaches out, snapping my bra off, then my panties follow. He stalks to me, leaving no space between us. He shoves his fingers into my hair. “Been thinking about fucking you all day, Tessa.” He dips his head, taking my mouth with his, shoving his tongue inside, and I part my lips letting this animal in.

  He walks us to the bed as he continues to ravage my mouth. With his free hand, he reaches between us, running his finger through my wet folds. He growls against my lips. “So fucking wet for me. You been thinking about it too?” he asks. I answer with a nod, because I had been thinking about the things he’d done to my body and the way he makes me feel when he’s filling me with his big cock all day.

  “On the bed,” he commands. The sweet-talking man from last night is gone and in his place, a beast laying claim to a woman who’s already his.

  I scramble to the bed on my knees and he takes my head in his hands again, pulling my mouth to him. I reach between us and take his rock-hard cock in my hand and begin to stroke him. I feel him shudder against my mouth as the sensation of my hand on him rocks his body.

  “Roll over and get on your knees.” I move, completely giddy. I hear the tear of a foil wrapper as I back my ass up to him. I feel his hands on my hips, then I jump as he smacks my ass. He runs his fingers through my slit again before I feel the head of his cock at my entrance. I scream as he slams into me. The dark side of Matthew Keagan has come out to play.

  I lay my face down on the bed, unable to keep steady up on my hands. He’s pounding into me like he hates me. He reaches around and begins to rub my clit, and after a few strokes, my body ignites and I scream again as I come around him. He groans as my pussy squeezes him, the pleasure mixed with the pain pulls an orgasm unlike any other from my body. “Fuck, babe.” I’ve never enjoyed the rough stuff or being talked to like I’m a whore, but possessed Matthew is a different story.

  He slams into me a few more times and pulls my ass back into him as he empties himself inside of me. I can feel his body jerking against me. He slumps over and kisses my lower back as he pulls out of me. I shudder at the pleasurable pain he’s created in me.

  I slump over and watch his fine ass walk to the bathroom, my body still humming from the most intense orgasm I’ve ever experienced.

  He reappears in the doorway of my bathroom and stops when our eyes meet. The fury and lust I had just seen there has been replaced with regret. I slowly get up and go to him, but when I reach for him, he steps away from me. “Matthew?”

  He takes my outstretched hand, laying it against his chest and covering it with his. I feel his heart practically beating out of his chest. “What happened today?”

  I can see the pain in his eyes, and I want to take it away and bare whatever burden he’s carrying that put it there. Before I can stop myself, I step to him and wrap my arm around his neck.

  “Nothing happened,” he says, sounding a little regretful. “I just lost it and wanted to make you do it with my cock buried inside you, that’s all.” I know he’s lying to me. “Did I hurt you?” he asks, his eyes softening to the ones he had looked at me with last night.

  “No, not at all.” I can’t keep the smile off my face feeling the delicious soreness between my legs.

  He pulls me to him and walks me backward to the bed. When the backs of my legs hit the side of the mattress, I sit and scoot up
the bed with him following me until we’re laid out naked next to each other again.

  We lie facing each other, and his eyes are vacant. I’m searching them for something—anything that has caused him to shut me out. I stroke his forehead and his eyes slip closed with the soft touch, and eventually, his breaths even out as he drifts off, exhausted.

  I watch him sleep, his hard features softening. I continue to touch him, not able to take my hand away. What a beautifully damaged man, the darkness in him matches the shadows in me.

  Even though it’s just around six in the afternoon, I don’t want to leave him, so I drift off to sleep, smiling at the fact that he’d found his solace in me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Matty

  I’d gotten the phone call right before I’d left the garage this afternoon and it had sent me into a downward spiral. I’d taken it out on Tessa and her sweet pussy. Now I lay with her tucked into my side, fast asleep. The sun has been down awhile, and the dread I woke up feeling has only grown with each passing moment I lay here.

  The things I’m going to have to do in the next few days hangs heavy on me. They’re things I haven’t had to do in a long time. But like then, they have to be done now. I’d brought all that shit home to Tessa. I knew I would have to address this issue eventually, but my hand has been forced and the shit must be taken care of now.

  I hate to leave Tessa, but I have to, and I’m hoping she’ll understand my extended absence with no explanation to go with it. She moans in her sleep and snuggles down deeper next to me. I turn my face to her and bury my nose in her hair, smelling the sweet orchid scent of her shampoo.

  I close my eyes, taking in the feel of her body next to mine, the warmth of the woman who took what I gave, then showed concern about what had brought it on. Her kindness is such a stark contrast to the man I’m going to have to be the next few days.

  I try to get some sleep while I can, but my brain isn’t allowing it, so I roll Tessa to her back, waking her gently. “Tessa, baby,” I coo, drifting my lips softly over hers. Lying next to her has calmed me, but I know as soon as I’m away from her, the tidal wave of anger will crash back over me.