“What is it?”
“You were the first person who ever said that to me.” His lips tried to smile but didn’t quite make it. “And the last.”
She swallowed hard. “Your parents never told you they loved you?” No other woman had, either?
He laughed. It was the same humorless sound he used to make when people told him he was lucky to be a Harper. Was it possible she was the only person who’d ever said she loved him? Even Tía Nona told her that on occasion. Her cousins did, too. Henry said it every night when she tucked him in. If nothing else, Julia always knew she was loved. People cared.
Her heart tore. “I...I don’t know what to say.”
He shrugged, as if he could toss the sadness off his broad shoulders. “What’s to say? You taught me what love is, Julia. Before then? All I knew was psychological and verbal warfare. My parents never loved each another. Maybe they didn’t know how. Or they were both too stubborn to try. They taught us kids how relationships can turn toxic and ugly. They destroyed my family.”
When he was a teen, he hadn’t talked about the hell he was living in. RW was tough, but Matt’s mother was a nasty, cold, overbearing woman who had a particular dislike for Latinas. Juanita had told her things and Tía Nona had confirmed them. Matt? Not so much. He’d just show up at her bedroom window, clearly upset, and start kissing her. She was sort of okay with it because...hot kissing, but she’d wished she knew how to help him. Even as a young girl, she knew that talking about what bothered or hurt her made things better. Matt couldn’t or hadn’t known how to share his feelings back then. But he was doing a pretty good job of it now.
He made a cracker-and-cheese sandwich and handed it to her. “Eat.”
Holding the cracker sandwich in her hand she said, “Your father was hard on you. I saw the bruises and I didn’t say anything. Now that I’m an adult, I know that was wrong. I should’ve called the cops.”
“It wouldn’t have done much good. He paid their salaries.” He munched on a piece of cheese.
“I could’ve gone to the authorities outside Plunder Cove. Someone like...like...” She waved the cracker in circles, unsure who she would’ve contacted.
“The governor? A congressman? RW pays them all with donations. Don’t worry, babe. You didn’t do anything wrong. Besides, you were a teenager, too. Who would’ve believed us?”
It didn’t ease her guilt. She took a bite and chewed solemnly.
He draped his arm over her shoulder. “Seriously, he wasn’t bad all the time. I held my own with RW, mostly.” He pulled her closer and took a breath, as if making a decision. “I gave in when he found the one way to control me.”
She pulled a few grapes off the vine and popped one in his mouth. He kissed the palm of her hand. It was far more delicious than the snacks. “One way?”
“He had intel.” Matt ran his hand through his wet hair, seeming to choose his words carefully. “Information that could’ve hurt your family. He threatened to release it.”
“What kind of information?” That monster had used her to control his own son?
He didn’t look her in the eye. “I don’t know. Do you?”
“Me?” An idea niggled at the back of her thoughts. Did RW know something about her parents? Were they in jail? Criminals? Dead?
“It was probably a lie,” he continued, “but I couldn’t risk it. Harpers are good at manipulation. Must be part of the pirate gene. But my dad wasn’t as brutal as my mom. That’s why I’ve never wanted kids. What if I became like them?”
“You’re nothing like them.”
What would he say if she told him Henry was his son? Would he continue with his plans to leave Plunder Cove?
Would he stay?
Emotions, so many of them—confusion, grief and anger—mixed into a burning pressure behind her eyes. Rubbing his glorious, muscular back, she held her tongue.
“My parents took a lot of their frustrations out on me. I know that now, but as a kid, I only worried about two things. Keeping the damned information about your family safe, whatever it was, and protecting my brother and sister. I took their punishments, even when I wasn’t at fault. I had to. Jeff and Chloe were so young and I was strong enough to take it because I had you.”
Tears ran down her face.
He wiped her cheeks with his warm hands. “I had no idea the other side existed. Goodness? Kindness? Love and family? Those were words that had no meaning until you showed me the light. I’m so damned grateful to you, Julia.” He kissed her shoulder, sending delicious shivers through her belly. And now...” He kissed her neck. “You are mine again for the weekend.” His voice was husky and deep. “My sexy, gorgeous woman.”
That was it. She kissed him hard.
Their warm, damp bodies collided. Matt fell backward on the comforter, pulling her on top of him. The tray of food went flying, scattering grapes and crackers across the bed. He held her against him as she did her best to devour his lips. His tongue pressed inside her mouth and hers rushed to meet him. He sucked on the tip of her tongue and she nearly had an orgasm right there.
Her hands roamed over his naked chest, shoulders, biceps. She wanted to touch him everywhere.
“You are so big,” she said.
He grinned. “Why, thank you.” His penis twitched as if she’d spoken directly to it.
She rolled her eyes. “I meant your muscles.” She played with the hair on his chest. When he’d left her years ago, he’d only had a small patch. Now he had beautiful dark hair on his chest and a sexy V running into his shorts. She squeezed his right biceps. “And your height. You grew so much. I’m pretty much the same size.”
He cupped her breast. “I beg to differ. You grew in all the right places.” He reached behind her head and untied the top part of her suit. “Let me look at you.”
It was unnerving to straddle him while his gaze took a nice, easy stroll over her. She forced herself to breathe normally, to act casually, and not to pull the covers over herself. She knew she was heavier than he remembered. Her belly was softer. Her hips had spread a little during the pregnancy. Her breasts were heavier, too.
“Julia. You are so damned beautiful.”
He lifted himself up with his toned abs and took one of her nipples in his mouth. Pleasure shocks rolled through her. She arched her back and pressed into his hard-on. He sucked and a moan ripped out of her.
“You like that?” He rolled his tongue around her nipple. The cool air and the wetness combined to give her goose bumps. The good kind. Closing his eyes, he tugged gently. It drove her wild. She bucked on him, rolling over his engorged penis.
“Oh, babe. That’s good.”
He sucked on the other nipple and the moan turned into a small, begging cry. Everything about her screamed for more. He reached around her and wiggled his fingers under her swimsuit bottoms. As he sucked, he dipped a finger inside her.
Her mouth opened. She was all but panting.
“Matt, I want you.” Her voice was husky, laced with need.
He kissed the side of her breast. “You have me, Julia.” That long finger was dipping in, out and waking up places in her that had been asleep for years.
“That’s...oh. That feels amazing.” She bit her lip. Where’d he learn to do that? “Um, no. I want you naked and inside...ahhh.”
He laughed. “Just hold your horses, woman. I’ve got this.”
Boy, did he. His thumb joined the party and pressed against her most sensitive spot. The finger tugged, the thumb pressed in tiny circles, and she was lost in glorious sensations. She tossed her head back and held on to his shoulders as electrified waves sparked and rolled through her.
“That’s it, babe. So beautiful.” His voice was full of awe.
Her closed eyes flew open when he held her waist and flipped her over. He kissed her, sucking on her bottom lip. Her body hummed.
“Your turn.”
“Not so fast. We’ve got time.”
Except we don’t. A day and a half from now he would be gone.
“Matt! Take your swim trunks off already.” She started untying the string to his striped board shorts.
He lifted his finger. “Patience.”
And then he started nuzzling her belly. His beard felt so good on her skin. He kissed his way down past her belly button. When he got to her hip bones she wiggled.
“Still ticklish, I see.” He nibbled gently and she squirmed.
“Matt...”
He kept kissing until his lips hit the waistband of her bathing suit. She expected him to take her suit off but instead he kissed her through the fabric. The sensation of his warm mouth sucking through the cold, damp suit brought her to the brink again.
She moaned.
In one mighty tug, he pulled the suit down past her knees. Lifting her legs over his head, he paid a little attention to her petite feet. “Nice red polish.” He rested her feet on his back. The suit locked her legs in place.
He stared at her bareness as if he was looking at a chest full of treasure. Gently, he opened her and ran his tongue over the silky skin. She gasped.
“You like that?”
She nodded. She’d never felt anything like it.
He did it again, slowly, deliberately. She almost couldn’t breathe.
His tongue flicked her nub and her back arched again. Electricity shooting up from the base of her spine. She was so close. Again.
He sucked and the world exploded.
Thirteen
Pure magic.
Hell, why had he always been in such a hurry when he was a teen? He should’ve taken his time to really enjoy her soft, sweet-smelling body. To think he could have memorized the texture of her skin, the shades of her body—the pretty pink especially—and replayed those pictures in his head all those lonely nights in the Air Force...
Why hadn’t he stopped to listen to the sounds Julia made when she felt good? What an idiot he’d been. Making her happy was worth far more than getting laid. He just hadn’t gotten it as a kid. Watching Julia come undone in his hands now was by far the most beautiful thing he’d ever witnessed. He couldn’t imagine anything more important. More pure.
He wanted to do it again.
He kissed her hip bone once more, only this time she didn’t fidget. Was she too spent to be ticklish? He made his way back up and kissed her lips. Her eyes were closed but her mouth was turned up in the sweetest smile.
“I want to take your picture. Just like this,” he whispered in her ear.
Her eyes were still closed but she was able to say, “Don’t you dare.”
“Matt! You in there? Whoa!” Jeff stopped in the doorway, getting an eyeful before Julia could scramble to pull the sheet around both of them.
Matt said, “This is not a good time.”
“Yeah, I got that. I thought you were alone.” He covered his eyes. “I want to talk to you.”
Matt threw a pillow at his brother before he rolled off Julia and covered her completely with the sheet. She pulled it over her head.
“Everyone decent now?” Jeff peeked.
Matt crossed his arms. “Can this wait?”
“No, not really.” Jeff leaned against the door frame. “We need to figure this thing out before you leave Plunder Cove. I’m afraid the old man is losing it.”
Matt let out a deep breath. “Fine. Grab a beer from the fridge and I’ll be out in a minute,” Matt growled and Jeff closed the door behind him.
Matt pulled the sheet off Julia’s face and kissed her pink cheek. “Should I kill him?”
“No. But I didn’t get to, um, kiss you like you did to me. That was the first time... I liked what you did. A lot.”
She was really blushing now. No one had ever gone down on her before?
“Ah, babe. There’s plenty more where that came from. I was just getting started.”
“More?” It came out squeaky. “But you didn’t get to...you know.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Later. We’ve got plenty of time for me. But if you want me to send my little brother away, I will.”
“Little? Jeffrey is huge.”
“Watch it, sweetheart,” he warned. “I only want you to think about my bigness.” He was still hard.
She chewed her lip as if indecisive. “You promise we’ll have more time today for ourselves?”
“I promise.”
She nodded. “You should talk to your brother.” She needed time to recover and to get her emotions in check. “He might know what you father is planning. Besides, Jeff acted like he really wanted some brother time with you.” She pressed her forehead to his. “Until later.”
* * *
He gave Julia time to get dressed while he padded barefoot out to the game room to meet Jeff, buttoning his favorite Hawaiian shirt as he went.
Jeff offered Matt a beer from the game room minifridge. “Sorry, bro. I had no idea she was here.”
Matt hoisted himself up to sit on the counter. He popped open his beer.
“Picking up where you two left off, huh?”
Matt looked around the corner. The bedroom door was closed and Julia was still getting dressed.
“It’s just a weekend thing.” A lump grew in his throat. He gulped his beer to force it down.
“You sure? Didn’t look like it when you two were dancing last night. Sure didn’t seem like it just now.”
“She’s got her life here, going to law school and raising her boy. Her goals and dreams don’t include me. And mine don’t include staying here.”
Jeff studied him. “Huh.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means you’re fooling yourself if you think she doesn’t want you.”
No, he wasn’t fooling himself. Julia wanted him, just not the way a part of him wished she would. She still mourned her dead husband and he would be a fool to think she felt that way about him after all these years apart. If his parents had taught him one thing, it was to not stick around for people who didn’t care.
If he changed all his plans, if he stayed...it would only eat at them both until they hated each other. No. Hell, no. He wouldn’t do that to Julia or to Henry.
Matt couldn’t stay with a woman who could never really be his.
He ran his hand through his hair. “Why were you looking for me?”
“Change of subject. Okay, I get it.” Jeff started chalking the pool sticks. “Doesn’t it bother you that our father is not acting like himself? Opening up the family home as a resort might make sense if he hadn’t been a recluse for the past few years. Now it’s just weird. Giving profits away to the neighbors? That’s insane. Plus, what did he mean that he might not be around to see it through? Chloe thinks he’s dying.”
Matt rubbed his beard. “This is RW we’re talking about. He’s too damned stubborn to die.”
Jeff frowned. “What do you think he’s up to?”
“A con. I don’t know what or how, but he’s doing what he’s always done—using people to make money.”
Jeff cocked his head. “He’s using us?”
Matt laughed. All these years and his brother still didn’t know how manipulative their father was? “Yeah, man. Always.”
Jeff frowned. “Something about him is...different.”
“Listen, Jeff. He booted us out of the house. I was dragged off to the Air Force academy and you were sent to the other side of the nation to go to boarding school. Chloe was sent to live with that witch we call ‘Mother.’ I swear Chloe got the worst deal. RW doesn’t care about us. Never has. Don’t let him get inside your head.” Matt drank his beer.
“And now he’s brought us back. Why?”
Matt shrugged. “Million-dol
lar question.”
Jeff was silent for a moment, sipping his beer.
Matt glanced around the corner again. Still no Julia. Was she ever coming out of there?
“I want to ask you something,” Matt said quietly. “Did RW ever mention information he had on Julia’s family? Something that could destroy them?”
Jeff’s eyebrow raised. “No. Is that what he had on you? I assumed you and Julia would elope or something. I couldn’t figure out why you went into the Air Force instead. I always thought if I had someone to love me like you did...” He lifted his hands. “Hell, Matt. I would never give her up. I’d fight.”
What his little brother didn’t know was that he’d given her up to save her from his father. “RW gave me an ultimatum. I could leave or he’d release the information he had against Julia’s family. He isn’t known to make idle threats.”
“Bastard.”
Matt raised his bottle in agreement.
Jeff’s brow creased. “What could it have been?”
“Julia never knew her parents. I wondered if RW dug up something incriminating on them. I didn’t want RW to hurt her. So, yeah, I left.”
“You went into the military to protect this girl.” Jeff grinned. “Are you sure it’s just a weekend thing?”
The door opened and Julia walked out. She was dressed in her cream-colored short pants and pink T-shirt. The sandals she wore had large, sparkly, fake gems and a sexy heel. Those red-polished toenails really got to him. Her eyes met his and a secret, sexy message passed between them.
Hell, he wanted her so bad.
“I thought you guys would be playing pool already,” she said.
“Nah. We waited for you.” Matt jumped down from the counter and took her hand. He laced his fingers with hers and drew her close. She’d pulled her damp hair up in a band she must have brought with her. He took one of the loose tendrils at her neck and coiled it around his finger. “I like the ponytail.”
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