Beautifully Broken

by Christa Simpson

  Had she tried to fix it with sex in the first place, no doubt it wouldn't have worked. It could certainly have fixed a lot of things, like this infinity headache she’s been rocking all night, for example. And she wouldn't be so stressed out. There's no good reason why she doesn't have a healthy, active sex life right now. Maybe there is one reason: Matthew Knight.

  She has two options here and she's not sure which the best route to take is: accept all the pain and emotion for what it is—a painful history—and give Matt another shot . . . or try to forget and give another man a reasonable chance. She knows which one she wants in her heart, but she's not sure she has enough willpower to get her through it.

  Matt is nothing but sweet throughout the entire dinner and when they’re asked to share a dance in front of all the guests, he obliges, even though he is clearly in pain from being on his feet for too long. He takes her hand into his, with his other sliding over her hip. Every touch sends her into a shiver. He stays just a hair away from her. It’s like a magnet is pulling them together and she has to constantly resist it when he touches her.

  Even though he’s short of breath by the end of the song, not once does he complain. He even manages a smile through a lot of it.

  Speeches go off without a hitch and the party gets into full swing. While he wears a smile for her early in the night, now he’s wearing a different kind of smirk—one she doesn’t like seeing when he’s not wearing it for her.

  She quickly spins away while the D.J. charms the female guests over the loudspeaker. “I need all the single ladies to join me. Come on, ladies. The beautiful Destiny is ready to throw her bouquet.”

  Felicia knows this is an important moment for Destiny, but she just cannot deal with it right now. While most of the women go scurrying across the room to get a good spot, Felicia slips away to hide.

  When Destiny appears with her bouquet raised over her head, all the ladies start to cheer, but Felicia is nowhere to be found. Matt watches her duck into the ladies washroom and then wheels across the floor to see what’s going on. He waits by the door, watching the other bridesmaids prepare for battle, and is shocked when Carter slides up next to him.

  “They’ve got their game faces on tonight.”

  Matt nods to agree with him. “I’m banking on Natalie. She looks all sweet and nice on the outside, but I’d bet she’s a wild child in the bedroom.”

  Carter’s eyes skim past Krystle and flicker over the two ladies wearing bridesmaid dresses. Natalie kicks off her shoes and hikes up her skirt. Still, she looks nothing short of adorable.

  “I don’t know, she looks pretty wholesome to me,” Carter says. “Now, if you were talking about Kyla, I’d believe that.”

  Matt smirks and gives him a knowing look. “Too easy. But Natalie, she’s a keeper.”

  “Natalie it is,” Carter agrees, as they both watch the bouquet fly from Destiny’s fingers. Its trajectory is set to land right in Kyla’s hands, but Natalie doesn’t give up without a fight. She takes a running leap and snatches it right from Kyla’s grasp. Even though Kyla tries to yank it away from her, Natalie refuses to let it go.

  By the time Kyla surrenders, most of the rose blossoms litter the floor. Still, pride shows in Natalie’s smile when she raises her hands in triumph.

  “See? What did I say?” Matt insists, nudging Carter.

  “I have to hand it to you. You were right.”

  Words I never thought I’d hear from my brother’s mouth.

  The center of the floor quickly clears when Destiny takes her seat and adjusts her long skirt. A provocative song comes on and Skylar does a lap dance for her in front of a captive crowd. When Skylar tugs off his jacket like a stripper, all the ladies scream for him, even his cousins. Matt and Carter share a laugh when Skylar disappears under Destiny’s dress.

  It’s not until Skylar re-emerges, spinning the garter around his finger, that Carter gets ready to take his leave.

  “Can I get all the single gentlemen to come up to the front of the room? The lovely Natalie awaits her suitor,” the D.J. announces.

  “I can’t turn up that chance,” Carter admits with a smirk at Matt. “You coming?”

  “Nah. I’m going to sit this one out. You go ahead.”

  Carter saunters to the front of the room to get ready for the garter toss.

  “Matty! Get your butt up here!” Skylar shouts across the room.

  He waves his hands and turns away.

  “Suit yourself,” Skylar answers. He turns toward the guys, who are standing a good ten feet away from him. When he tries to fling the garter like a sling shot it doesn’t work. The garter flops out of his hands like a limp dick and falls a few feet away from him, sending the suits pursuing it like savage beasts. Carter is victorious, being the most vicious of them all.

  Matt bursts into laughter. Felicia is missing out. This has turned out to be rather entertaining.

  “Felicia! Did you fall in?” he shouts. His voice echoes through the barren washroom. “It’s safe to come out now.”

  She instantly peers around the corner. “How did you know?”

  He smirks at her. “I watched you take cover. But this, you cannot miss.”

  She joins him in the reception hall wearing a soft smile. “What did I miss?”

  “Natalie took out Kyla for what’s left of the bouquet and Skylar’s garter toss was a flop.”

  “Who caught the garter?” she asks, showing heartfelt interest.

  “My brother. I hope Natalie’s ready for him.” He turns toward her with a wicked look in his eyes.

  Felicia smiles so hard she has to sink her teeth into her bottom lip to ease it down.

  “Come on. I need a front row seat for this one.”

  When he takes her hand, her heart flutters in her chest. It can’t be easy driving that chair with one hand, but she enjoys watching the bulge of his biceps against his crisp, white shirt. He keeps her hand until they’re at the front of the crowd, when he playfully tugs her onto his lap. She smiles and keeps the seat with her arms looped around his neck. He nods toward Natalie, smirking at her.

  Natalie fidgets while she sits in the chair, glancing over her shoulder to see what Carter’s doing. Destiny hands Natalie another garter and she promptly slides it up to her knee. A memorable Ginuwine song comes on and everyone starts to cheer when Carter approaches her.

  When Natalie’s skirt falls back to the floor, Carter shakes his head and lifts it back up to show everyone how a woman should wear the garter. He slowly teases it higher up her thigh. She blushes profusely and lowers her skirt when strong fingers brush down her leg.

  Carter spins to the crowd and waggles his eyebrows before shaking his ass for her. It’s funny. Everyone laughs hysterically. Natalie’s the only one not smiling. She covers her eyes, but it’s hard for her to avoid Carter, who is now crouched over her lap with his jacket pulled open to give her an up close and personal view of his chest. He whips his jacket at the crowd and gets a few fan-girl screams.

  He then takes Natalie’s hand so she can’t hide from him any longer. Then he drops to his knees and gives her a wicked grin before slipping his hand beneath her skirt. She swats at him and he stops, showing both his hands with a shrug. What happens next has everyone blushing. When he resurfaces, Carter has the garter in his teeth. Felicia cheers the loudest when Carter raises both hands.

  Other gentlemen pat him on the back. Even Matt seems to want to go see him. When Matt starts to roll his chair forward, Felicia leaps from his lap.

  “Not coming with me?” he asks.

  She shakes her head. “I’m going to check on Natalie. She looks like she could use a friend.”

  “Catch up with you later?”

  Felicia nods and watches him join the other Knight men. They’re quite a clan. But even grouped with handsome, strapping, young men, she only has eyes for the one in the chair. Suddenly, a pair of strong arms close around her waist, causing her to spin around.

  “Hey, you.”
/>   She finds Jensen smiling at her.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you abandoned me.”

  She pulls free from his arms, but smiles. “Sorry about that. Crazy night.”

  “Tell me about it,” he admits, when Kyla appears behind him and yanks him away. He looks at Felicia like he has to do what his woman says. That is an interesting turn of events.

  Felicia is smirking when she slides up next to Natalie to tease her. “You dirty dog!”

  “Stop it!” Natalie gushes.

  Laughing, Felicia answers her. “It was all in good fun. Grandma Saunders seemed to enjoy it. Hah!”

  Natalie huffs. “It’s not funny. Being ravished by Carter in front of half of Destiny’s family and all of his is not my idea of a good time.”

  The music resumes and so do the good times. The drinks start to go down smoothly and it doesn’t even matter what song comes on, Felicia believes it is her favorite. Before long, though, she wonders what has happened to Matt. She’s wondering when he’ll finally catch up with her again.

  When she locates him, her eyes stalk his every move. She watches the way every woman makes an effort to talk to him. Even Destiny’s sister has taken a liking to him. There’s a lot to like. He’s funny, kind, and a total gentleman most times. But now seeing him with Krystle infuriates her, making her wonder if she has been reading him all wrong.

  Felicia twists around and orders a shot at the bar, and then another. She chases it with a Long Island iced tea. She’s managed to drink nothing but a glass of wine until now, but she’s suddenly feeling the need for a warm liquid to settle her stomach.

  When she turns around to check up on Matt, he’s standing right there.

  "Bottoms up," he says, with a wink.

  Felicia removes the straw and takes a swig from her tall glass, as Matt tips his bottle up and finishes it off. He then nods toward her drink, like he’s ordering her to finish it off, so she does so in a series of unattractive gulps. Why she allows him to control her is beyond her reach, but the way her body responds to his voice has her understanding a little better.

  He takes her hand even though Krystle, who’s been tagging onto him all night, is right behind him, trying to get cute with him. The girl should really stuff it; acting that way only makes her look dumb and easy.

  Matt lifts their joined hands up and shows them to Krystle, who hasn’t given him a spare minute since he’d finished his dinner. “Sorry,” he tells the girl. “I’m with her.”

  Krystle glares at Felicia. She acts like Matt choosing Felicia over her is a joke.

  Felicia's tempted to slug her. She doesn’t even realize that she is glaring, rather obviously, and Matt has not only caught her reaction but is outright laughing in response.

  Krystle finally gets the hint and takes off in a huff.

  Matt releases Felicia’s hand and smiles at her. "Somebody jealous?"

  Felicia belts out a laugh. "I sure as hell ain't. Look at her. She's . . . she's . . ."

  "Yeah?"

  She can't even finish her sentence. That's how speechless she is. She swipes the wetness from her cheek and then glances up at the ceiling, wondering where the rain is coming from.

  Matt tips her chin up and snares those sleepy, wet eyes. His thumb brushes away another tear. "You crying for me?"

  She's so scared with him this close to her. She wants him to kiss her. The urge to melt into his arms is strong, but she fights it.

  She needs this. She really, truly needs him. But she can't. She can't possibly admit to him how she feels. But the feelings that had her wound into a fit of anxiety while he was in hospital have transformed into an all-over ache that consumes her day and night. Occasional updates from Destiny have been all she’s clung to. Now seeing him alive and well makes her emotional.

  Felicia has to turn away before Matt’s lips do all the luring. When they turn upwards, she has a hard time recovering. But then Matt takes her hip and before she knows it, he’s swaying with her back and forth to a slow song. She clings to his body and melts into him. She rests her cheek on his shoulder as their bodies reacquaint themselves.

  She dares peek up at his eyes. The intensity she finds makes her nervous. When the song quickly ends and they stop all motion, she’s feeling anxious, but happy that he hasn’t let her go. She doesn’t want the amazing sensation to pass, so she closes her eyes.

  The D.J. makes an announcement. “Skylar and Destiny are about to cut their cake. If you want a photo, you’d better get in there.”

  Many of the guests crowd around them and others attack the dessert table. Husband and wife pair up and smile for a couple of pictures before slicing ceremoniously into the expensive delicacy. Destiny swipes her finger over the edge of the cake and Skylar takes her finger in his mouth, then kisses her to give her a taste of it.

  Matt leans forward and whispers in Felicia’s ear. “I wonder how good that must taste.”

  The growl in his voice promises great fun that involves multiple orgasms. The way his body presses against hers has her gasping for breath. His lips brush across the soft flesh of her neck.

  Felicia reaches for the only thing she can think of that will change the seriously dangerous mood enveloping them. Out of nowhere a piece of cherry pie comes flying at Matt’s head. The cherry sauce splatters across his face and bits of crumbs come dropping down his cheek.

  His tongue steals a lick. “Cherry. My favorite.”

  Even that has her insides tightening. She notices Matt reaching for another piece of pie from the dessert table and stares at him, along with everyone else surrounding him, equally as curious to see what he’s going to do with it.

  “I wouldn’t want to ruin this beautiful dress,” he states, smiling at her with his eyes.

  Phew. He’s not going to cake me. He must be hungry.

  Matt smiles deviously at her. “But you’ve asked for it.”

  He slaps the plate flat against her face. The fluffy crust breaks the slam, but now she’s completely covered in it too. Her mouth drops open and the pie fills her mouth. She has a taste. It’s actually really good.

  Destiny decides to take guidance from Felicia and suddenly the hunk of cake she was going to feed Skylar is smearing all over his face. The look on Matt’s face says he can’t believe she’s done that, but his laugh shows how funny he finds it.

  He totally gets in on it, grabbing a slice of fluffy cake and pitching it right at Destiny. She moves just in time for it to smack against Skylar’s ear, covering his hair with a thick white cream.

  “Matthew Knight. You should be ashamed of yourself,” their mother shouts.

  Matt can only laugh. Felicia is laughing too. She can’t remember the last time she’s been this fun and carefree. It feels good.

  Matt ignores his mother and swipes a finger across Felicia’s face. Then he licks it off his finger. “It tastes better on you. But I already knew that.” He leans forward and gives her an indulgent taste of his tongue, cherries and cheesecake.

  Her skin flushes beneath the pie. She wipes it from her face and drops the chunks on the floor.

  Krystle watches them like Matt is a cheating husband.

  Felicia licks her lips and nods toward the girl. “Your girlfriend's watching. She doesn't look real impressed either.”

  Matt takes a quick peek over his shoulder and stares back at her. “Krystle is not my girlfriend. And in case you haven't noticed, it's not her I'm worried about. Why don’t you go clean up and meet me in the dining room in five?”

  He’s gone before she can answer. She can’t say no even if she wants to. Curiosity alone has her hurrying to the washroom with anticipation.

  After wiping off the pie, Felicia stares at herself in the mirror. She’s been standing like this for a good five minutes now. Is this seriously happening? The most handsome man she’s ever met has invited her to the dining room and here she stands fretting about it.

  Her reflection is a haunting reminder of how her body reacts t
o him. No one would accuse her of being busty, but the way her pointy nipples slice the bodice of her dress makes her shiver. He’s to blame for her warm cheeks, but she’s at fault for their extended separation. There was no closure for either of them. That was because of her.

  Just the idea of finding Matt with Destiny’s slutty cousin has her rushing to the private dining room and blasting through the doors. She stops just on the other side. A long, elegant dining table fills the room, with two small place settings arranged at the far end of it. She’s shocked by how intimate it is, with the lights so dim. Then she notices she’s not alone. Matt spins around to face her.

  When he stands still like that, you wouldn’t even know he’s suffered a horrible injury. He’s still thick in the arms and wide in the chest, but when he slowly closes the distance between them, her air supply runs low. Though he walks with a limp, there’s something very sexy about the way he approaches her. Everything about Matthew Knight is irresistible.

  Instead of speaking, he only smiles and that strikes her like a sword across the jugular. She can feel the blood thumping through every inch of her stimulated body. From a smile? What is wrong with me?

  Matt’s hand lands on the small of her back and gently guides her to the end of the table.

  “Would you care to join me?” It’s hardly a question as he pulls out her chair.

  She gasps for breath when he takes her hand and pulls her close. His breath rushes over her neck before he reaches her mouth. His lips brush against hers in a kiss meant to toy with her sanity.

  “Stay with me.” His voice growls intimately. The midnight depths of his eyes glow with confidence. “I refuse to take no for an answer.”

  Felicia tries to open her mouth to be truthful, but he presses a finger over her lips.

  “I let you go once. That’s not going to happen again. Not tonight.”

  She takes the seat he offers her and then she watches him cross the room and return with two dessert plates. He reaches for a special bottle of wine and holds it by the neck of the bottle, supporting it with his other hand. He flashes her the label to give her an idea of how much this gesture is costing him. It’s hardly necessary at this point, but she likes all it represents.