Beautifully Broken

by Christa Simpson

  He assumes she means having sex with him. “This is very okay, sweetheart. I’ve already told you this is more okay than it's been in a long while.”

  He kisses her neck, allowing her to control the strokes. She’s being careful not to hurt him. That only makes him more sensitive and causes her to tense around him. He senses her impending orgasm. She's really close and she's barely even moving on him, just rubbing him in all the right places. He’s lodged deep inside her, holding her firmly in place, but the tension doesn't lighten. If anything, it only grows more intense.

  "I can't hold off!” she shouts, as she’s swept into a mindless climax. She thrusts downward with a splash of water mounting over the sides of the tub.

  The touch of her lips against his mouth when she crashes back against him ignites flames in his heart. There’s no comparison to the slow burn he’s been suffering all these months. They lie together, linked, for some time. Neither of them seem to feel the need to fill the silence with complications.

  Eventually, she slides off him, but he’s not done with her just yet. She dries her wet body as he steps out of the tub. He dabs his chest dry and then drops his towel to the floor. She stares at him in disbelief.

  Yes, I’m hard again.

  He pulls her against him for a sloppy, wet kiss and then gently guides her to her knees.

  “Ah, it’s cold!” she expresses, when he lays her out on the floor beneath him. “Matty, what are you doing?” she asks with a smile.

  He brushes his lips across hers again. “Making love to you the right way.”

  She’s so soft and ready for him. He eases into her with a slow stroke. He fills her so deeply that she’ll surely be reminded of this moment for days. She takes all of him, with a pussy so tight he’s already closing in on the crest of his mounting release.

  “Making up for lost time?” she gasps.

  He takes her again, and it stops all talking. As long as he’s hard, he’s going to fuck her. When he plunges into her again, her eyes pop open in surprise.

  “Yes!” Her nails dig into his back and she squeezes every muscle within her body, including the long legs wrapped around him.

  “Yes?” he groans, with a chuckle. “Don’t tease me, love.” He continues to tease in and out of her with the occasional snap of his hips.

  Felicia smirks at him when she realizes he’s watching her. “It's okay. I won't hurt you,” she mocks.

  Every muscle in his body flexes. He knows she means she wants it harder, but just the idea of her leaving him again has places aching he forgot he had. “You’re going to kill me, woman.”

  She retracts her nails, taking his flesh with her. She seems to sense his emotions through his eyes. “We have a bit of a history, you and me. I was thinking maybe we should take it slow.”

  “How’s that working for you?” he responds with a smirk, as he fills her body with another long stroke.

  Her mouth opens for an erotic breath. “Charmer.”

  When Felicia closes her eyes, he picks up the pace. He will be hurting tomorrow, but for tonight it is worth it. Her eyes reopen with a flicker of dark lashes that seem to lasso onto his. Their gazes collide as he quietly growls his next command.

  “You’re going to cum for me again, you hear?”

  “No,” she breathes out, in pure ecstasy. “I’m not ready.”

  “I’m in charge of your orgasm now. Not you.” He continues to pummel into her with a repetitive force that shows how well his agility has already returned. “You’ll cum when I say you will.”

  She doesn’t talk back this time. He can feel her body preparing for the finish. He knows she likes it when he orders her around during sex. He sees the way she shivers, although her body is scorching hot. She presses herself upwards and lets him take her as deep and as hard as he can handle. That’s a heady cocktail for a man like him. And he wants to keep all of that for himself.

  At a time in his life when he feels like he has little control, a shift of power like this is just what he needs to boost himself into the next level of healing. He can’t resist the influence he holds over her. Her body craves his orders. He wants her orgasm and he’s going to have it. But he doesn’t have to take it. She will give it willingly on his command.

  “I’m going to count you down,” he tells her, gritting his teeth. “I’m going to cum in ten seconds. So are you.”

  “Yes!” she shouts, barely hanging on as it is.

  His order seems to send her to the edge, but still he counts slowly. “Ten—nine—eight.”

  The sweet build has him panting for air. Her body tightens around him and her emotions spiral out of control, while his voice remains deep and steady, like every set of pumps.

  “Seven—six—five.”

  She cries out on “four” in a haze of ecstasy. Too far gone to wait for the count of “one”, she’s swept up in a climax that seems to send her to another dimension.

  “One,” he states, skipping a few and unloading a fury of passion inside her as he finally allows her to fully accept her release.

  She moans aloud as her body clamps and releases him repeatedly. He slides in and out of her, only intensifying the sensation, as their hot and slippery bodies press into the cold tile floor.

  Chapter 20: Wrong Way

  Felicia jolts to a sitting position in Matt’s bed. “Oh shit. What did we do?”

  She was pretty drunk last night. She can’t even remember the whole of it. She’s probably made a total fool of herself, saying something she shouldn’t have. The way she was feeling last night, she was sure to have let something slip.

  Matt doesn’t move a muscle, including those that open his eyelids. “Go back to sleep, love,” he growls. “It’s much too early to be worrying about last night already.”

  She keeps fretting, not knowing how much she’s told him. “No. Go—I have to.”

  She’s not even making any sense.

  Felicia goes to swing her legs off the bed, not realizing one is intertwined with Matt’s, and yanks him toward the edge. He groans like she’s put him in a great deal of pain.

  “Oh my gosh!” She sounds horrified. “I am so sorry.” She kneels on the bed with her hands hovering over his body as though she’s going to try and fix it.

  Matt finally opens his eyes. “What are you doing?”

  She drops her hands out of defeat. “I don’t even know. What are we doing here, Matt? I really need to know.”

  “I really have to tell you what’s happening here? I thought it was pretty obvious.”

  “I drank so much last night that I don’t know if I said anything to you I didn’t mean. I don’t want to confuse this situation any farther than I already have by spending the night with you.” She’s still sore from their repetitive acts of love.

  “Come here,” he states.

  She squeezes her tense thighs together. “No,” she answers frankly. She knows she can’t possibly make it through another day and night of Matt’s charming antics. She feels trapped. It’s like he knows something that she doesn’t.

  “What are you so afraid of?” he asks her.

  Felicia quickly retrieves her clothes and leaves the room—her room. Shit!

  She wanders the halls in the slip she’d worn under her dress. She knocks on a door to someone she knows will accept her with open arms, since there’s no way her dear friend, Natalie, took anyone home with her.

  Natalie opens her door looking all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She tugs Felicia into the room and then checks the hall.

  “What in the world are you doing out there? Someone might see you. You look like a rape victim.”

  Felicia swipes the wet drips of black mascara from under her eyes, but it only smears it worse.

  Natalie gives her a long hug. “It’s okay, hun. We’ll figure it out. Later. Right now you need to shower and get dressed. Breakfast is in half an hour and Destiny expects us all to be there.”

  “How do I look?” Felicia asks.

  Na
talie tries to fake it, but the cringe on her face says it all.

  “You can’t even lie to me? Tell me I look wonderful.”

  “You look wonderful.” She plasters a fake smile on her face. It’s amusing.

  “Quit it. You lie worth shit.”

  “That’s because I don’t like doing it. Honesty is the best policy. Speaking of which: did you tell Matty the truth last night?”

  “What truth?”

  “That you’re madly in love with him, of course.”

  “As if! What gives you that ridiculous idea?”

  Natalie laughs out loud like Felicia has told the funniest joke ever. Eventually she stops laughing with a sigh. “You really didn’t tell him?”

  “No, I didn’t tell him. Because it’s not true. At least I don’t think I told him. Gah!” Felicia looks like she’s ready to have a panic attack. “I don’t know!”

  “What’s the worst that could happen? He finds out you like him and he likes you back? Oh no! How horrible,” she mocks.

  “Very funny.”

  “I’m being totally serious. It’s no secret that you two have a thing going on here. You’re the only one unwilling to face it.”

  “I am facing it. I spent the night with him, didn’t I?”

  “Did you have sex with him?”

  Felicia shrugs a shoulder, trying to feign innocence.

  “What a slut. Did you at least talk to him before that?”

  Felicia mumbles a little before she admits it. “A little before, during and after.”

  “You can rest assured that anything you talked about during sex is a no-brainer. He won’t remember a thing. You can’t even remember, for god’s sake! I can’t believe you!” Natalie gives her the third degree.

  “I get it. You’re upset with me. Sometimes you’re worse than my mother.”

  “I’m only looking out for your best interests. This vacation will not last forever. Do you remember what happened last time?”

  Felicia flinches. “Please don’t remind me.” A flashback of the accident scene flickers across her eyelids.

  Natalie snaps her out of it. “All I meant is that you need to talk to him. Talk. With your mouth. You know?” Natalie flaps Felicia’s mouth, in a sad attempt to make her laugh. “No sex.”

  “I know!”

  “Promise. No sex!” She’s literally making her say it out loud.

  “Fine! I promise.” But my legs are crossed, so it doesn’t count. Hah!

  Felicia can’t turn down sex with Matt, even if she is aching from their late night activities. He pleases her in ways she’s only dreamt of and if this is going to be their last meeting, then she’s going to go out with a bang.

  Chapter 21: Fireworks

  Matt’s first to the breakfast table. He downs an entire cup of coffee and starts in on his second when Skylar and Destiny enter the room in each other’s arms. Normally Matt would come up with some witty jab at the couple, but he’s feeling under the weather.

  Destiny notices immediately. “What’s with you this morning?”

  “Nothing,” he grumbles, then stirs more cream into his coffee.

  Destiny flashes an eye at Skylar. It looks like a warning of some sort.

  “I’m going to go check on breakfast and see how long it’s going to be. I’ll only be a minute!” She kisses her husband and crosses the room with a hurried grace.

  “What was that all about?” Matt asks Skylar.

  “She wants me to talk to you. Felicia never came back to her room last night and this morning you’re in a piss-poor mood. What happened?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Nor do I want to stick my nose in your business, but Destiny will be back in a minute, so make it quick.”

  “Fireworks, okay? Fireworks happened.”

  “You and Felicia?”

  “Yes.”

  “Again,” Skylar points out.

  “Yes.”

  Skylar scratches his forehead and takes a seat across from him. “I’m failing to see the problem here. Isn’t that a good thing?”

  In walks the problem, causing the two of them to seize up. Destiny bursts back into the room like a ray of sunshine.

  “Hey!” she cheers, skipping to give each of her girlfriends hugs as they file into the room. “Sleep well?”

  Matt flashes a glance at Felicia, waiting to hear her lie. Neither of them did much sleeping. She keeps her lips sealed shut.

  Natalie fills the awkward silence. “I slept really well. My bed was amazing. Felicia must have had a pea in her mattress. She didn’t rest very well at all.”

  Everyone glances at Matt. “Don’t look at me.” He smirks at Felicia. “It must have been that pea.”

  Felicia doesn’t connect with his eyes, but her face burns scarlet.

  “Oh, stop!” Destiny orders Felicia. “Have a seat. Breakfast will be served in about five minutes.”

  Natalie takes the seat next to Matt and Felicia deliberately sits next to her, just so he can’t meet her eyes without leaning forward.

  “What about you two?” Natalie asks the happily-wedded couple. “Did the love birds get any sleep?”

  “Natalie! When did you get so bold?” Destiny can’t believe it.

  She smiles proudly. “I’m living with Felicia now. I think she’s rubbing off on me.”

  Felicia’s mock laughter is all Matt hears.

  Why won’t she just talk to me?

  “No. Actually, we slept really well. Skylar’s a total sweetheart. He woke me up with butterfly kisses.”

  “Aww,” Natalie mumbles. “You two are so cute.”

  “Yeah, cute,” Matt adds, not sounding very proud of his brother’s sappy transition.

  “One day, Matty. You’ll know what it’s all about.” Skylar winks at his wife.

  Destiny gazes into his eyes and they share a meaningful kiss.

  Matt wants to gag. He can’t even get Felicia to look at him. They’ve shared their bodies and he slowly shared portions of his heart, but Felicia doesn’t seem to get it. She takes off, without giving him an explanation. What is he doing wrong?

  Just as Carter and Kyla take their seats, breakfast starts to line the center of the table. Matt fills his plate and stuffs two mouthfuls of scrambled eggs into his mouth before Jensen enters the room. He takes a seat next to Felicia.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  Destiny smiles at him. “I’m just glad you made it. There’s plenty for everyone.”

  The room falls silent as they all fill their faces with the delicious breakfast foods on display. The entire time, Matt is lost in his thoughts. What does he have to say to get this girl to understand? He wants a relationship with her. When he kisses her, he wants her to know that it’s her he wants, and only her. His heart continues to ache the longer their silence stretches.

  After everyone’s filled their bellies, Jensen excuses himself from the table. Clearly they’re not talking either. Matt can’t waste the opportunity. It might be his last chance to get Felicia alone.

  “Thanks for the breakfast, guys.” Matt smiles genuinely at his brother and his new sister-in-law. “It was a beautiful wedding. I hope I didn’t ugh it up too much.”

  Destiny tilts her head to the side. “You’re a handsome man, Matty. You know that. You looked great. A little slip-up, but you recovered and showed everyone.”

  Matt cringes from the memory. “Thanks to Felicia.” He glances down the long table, forcing her to make eye contact with him.

  It’s clear she’s been crying and has tried to cover it with makeup, but the red creases under her eyes still show through. But why?

  Everything was going so great. She’d fallen asleep in his arms, after talking for hours, and that’s where they stayed until she bolted from the bed. He doesn’t get it. He won’t be letting her leave this time without an explanation.

  She glances away, becoming uncomfortable with his gaze. He feels uncomfortable too. This is way far out of his comfort zo
ne. Relationships? What is that? He doesn’t even know, but Felicia makes him want to give it a fair try.

  “Please excuse me,” Matt says with a nod.

  He reaches for his cane and limps to the end of the table. Even though he’d awakened feeling like a seized-up old man, his heart had felt whole. He’d vowed not to use his wheelchair today, so maybe Felicia would see that he’s okay, or at least he will be in good time.

  “Felicia,” he says, from the doorway.

  All eyes turn on him. Everyone seems curious to hear what he has to say. Everyone but her. Felicia keeps her eyes turned down, like her frowning lips.

  “Can I have a minute of your time? Just a minute.”

  Natalie has to nudge her just to get her to acknowledge that he’s speaking to her.

  Felicia sighs, but she gets up. “Make it quick.”

  Her attitude doesn’t give him much hope as he exits the room and heads outside, but his manhood feels renewed. He can handle it. As soon as she’s within arm’s reach, he reaches out for her hand. She casually slides past him, as if she doesn’t realize what he’s trying to do. He stays standing there and rests against his cane, but not because he’s not able to take another step. She shivers when the cool air reaches her.

  “What?” he asks. “I’m lost here.”

  “Don’t look here, then. I’m not the one that’s going to find you.”

  He scowls, and it takes a great deal of effort to turn his anger off. “Can we please talk, like two grown adults?”

  She shrugs her shoulders, but seems to agree.

  He glances forward, prepared to see to it that his plan move full steam ahead. A carriage turns into the main driveway and slowly heads toward them. She stops in place when she hears the hooves. Then she glances at Matt. He lifts his eyebrows.

  Neither of them speaks, until the man leaps down from his post and opens the carriage door. Matt takes Felicia’s hand and helps her into the cab.

  “For us?”

  He grabs onto the handle and propels himself up behind her. “For us.”

  She takes a seat at the far end of the cab. He groans as he settles down on the soft leather seat and has to wiggle to move closer to her.