by Claire Kent
For a minute she was paralyzed, shocked and bewildered and unprepared and irrationally hopeful at the sight of him, even slightly skewed as he appeared through the glass.
“Elizabeth?” he asked through the door. “Are you looking out at me through the peephole?”
Of course he would know. The damned man seemed to know everything about her—even things she hadn’t known herself.
With a choked laugh, she swung open the door.
Instead of his faded jeans and T-shirt, he wore gray trousers and a black dress shirt that completely covered his tattoos. She stared at him, trying to take in the fact that he was dressed so unlike himself.
“What are you wearing?” she breathed at last.
He glanced down at himself, almost sheepishly. Then he gave her a little shrug. “I was trying to look presentable,” he admitted, self-deprecation in his voice.
Her mouth dropped open. “Why?”
“Why do you think?”
“For…for me?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Who else?”
She covered her mouth with her hand, bombarded by wave after wave of feeling.
After a minute Matt asked, “Do you think I can come in? I feel strange enough in these clothes as it is, and I’m getting freaked out with you staring at me like that.”
Her stupor dissolved into helpless laughter, and she stepped aside to let him in.
Matt looked around her apartment, which consisted of random furniture that hadn’t been arranged and stacks of unpacked boxes. “I like it.”
“It’s a mess! What do you mean, you like it?”
“I like the general bones of the place. The floors are good, and that’s a great window.” He gave her that small smile she had missed so much. “I assume you’ll get it fixed up soon.”
“Yeah.”
“I live just a couple of blocks away.”
“I know,” she admitted. “But that wasn’t on purpose. I needed a cheaper place.”
“I figured. Although I wouldn’t have complained if you’d moved to get closer to me.” Before she could respond to this tantalizing comment, he added, “You look good.”
She glanced down at her leggings, tunic, and bare feet. Her hair was loose and messy. “I do not look good.”
“Yes, you do. You look gorgeous.” A glimmer of heat awoke in his gaze as it traveled up and down her body.
“How did you know where I live now, anyway?” she asked, suddenly realizing it was strange that he’d shown up at her new place like this.
“I went to your old place and discovered you’d moved. The people living there now thought I was an insane stalker when I interrogated them about your location. I think they were about to call the cops. So I had to do some research.”
“What kind of research?”
He twitched his eyebrows. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
“More than a few, I’d bet.”
Her heart was racing, and she’d broken out in goose bumps, and she was suddenly so excited and terrified at the same time that she could hardly hold herself up. “Do you want to sit down?” she asked, mostly for something to do instead of launching herself at him and kissing him all over.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
He went to the sofa and moved the boxes on top of it to the floor. Then he gestured for her to sit down, and he sat down beside her.
“I have a new job,” she said, rather foolishly.
“I thought you must. They took you down from the Web site of your old place.”
“Yeah. I think it will be good. I’m…I’m almost excited.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “What about you? How are things at Bare Assets? Did you end up having any trouble with the press there?”
Matt shook his head. “No. We didn’t open that first week, and after that most of the interest had died down. There were a few stray oglers, but I stayed out of sight, so it wasn’t any problem. But now that you bring it up…” He paused, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t get it out.
“Now that I bring what up?”
“Bare Assets.”
“What about it? Is everyone all right there? Robbie and Brent and Vinnie and that adorable blond waiter. What was his name?”
Matt narrowed his eyes. “Logan. So he’s adorable, is he?”
Hiding a giggle, she said with wide eyes, “I always thought so. Is he okay?”
“He’s fine,” Matt growled.
She could no longer hide her laughter, especially at Matt’s cool glare. But after a minute she asked for real, “But seriously, everyone is okay? What did you want to say about Bare Assets?”
He cleared his throat, shifting slightly on the couch. “I actually have a partner there now.”
Elizabeth didn’t move as she processed this revelation. “What do you mean? Who’s your partner?”
“I worked out a deal with Robbie. He’s taking over some of the responsibilities, so I can work on expanding.”
“Expanding how?” she breathed. “More strip clubs?”
“No. I’m not really into that anymore. I actually thought about passing the whole thing on to Robbie, just to get rid of it.”
“Why would you do that, after all the great work you’ve done there?”
“It just kept reminding me of everything that has always dragged me down. I didn’t want anything to do with it. But Robbie wouldn’t take on the whole thing, so we worked out this partnership.”
“So no more stripping for you at all?” she asked.
“No. Definitely not.”
“So how are you thinking about expanding, then?”
“I don’t know yet. Just a different direction—something I can really get excited about. I thought about what you said, about not throwing away what was empty before but finding some way to fill it instead.” He looked a little awkward at this admission. “I thought about it a lot.”
Her heart exploded with joy for him that he’d made this decision. “I’m so glad.” She had to hug herself. “You’re really good at management. I know Bare Assets has some bad memories for you, but the staff all adored you there and the place was really successful.” She lifted her head so she could look in his face. “Maybe you can do it again.”
“I can’t run another strip club, baby.”
“I know that! I meant expanding into a different kind of property. A bar or a restaurant or something. I’m telling you, Matt, the staff at Bare Assets would walk through fire for you. That’s not an accident.”
His expression tightened slightly—she thought it was from a surge of emotion. “Thanks,” he said at last. “Maybe I could make a different kind of property work.” He sighed and gave her a significant look. “I guess it will be a different way to…start over.”
She stared at him, hoping now so powerfully and overwhelmingly that there was no way to reasonably talk herself out of it. There was no holding it back. The hope consumed her. Stealing her breath. “So…so…you want to…start over?”
Matt nodded. “I do.” His eyes darted up and then down. “If you’re still…interested.”
She still couldn’t seem to move, to breathe.
Evidently misreading her silence, he said hurriedly, “I know I blew it. I know I hurt you before. I know I was too scared to really open myself up to you. Everything you said about me was right. That’s always who I’ve been—only giving my body, never giving anything deeper. But I don’t want that to define who I’ll be in the future. I get it if you need some time or if you don’t trust me or if you’re not even sure I’m who you want anymore. I get it.” He took a ragged breath and a gleam of dry amusement filled his eyes. “But before you make your decision, I want you to remember that I put on this damned uncomfortable shirt for you.”
She had to stifle a burst of laughter. “I suppose you think that’s enough to make everything okay, do you?”
His expression transformed into something very serious. “No. I really don’t. I know you said you wanted
to try this a couple of weeks ago, but it would be really stupid for me to assume you still want that—after I’ve acted like a selfish, cowardly ass. If you want to throw me out and never see me again, I’d totally understand. But I wanted…” He stumbled slightly on the words. “I wanted to try.”
Her blood was buzzing with feeling, excitement, and terror. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and forget everything else, but she also wanted to make sure it was really the right thing for both of them. She swallowed hard and took a quick look at his face—saw he was nervous, uncertain.
He didn’t know how she was going to respond to him. For some reason it gave her more confidence.
“So?” Matt prompted when she couldn’t manage to get anything said.
“So what?”
“So do you want to throw me out and never see me again?”
She let out a shaky breath. “No. I really don’t.”
She heard him release a loud, thick sigh, and she knew it was from relief.
“But I don’t want to move too fast and jump into something neither of us is really ready for.”
His forehead wrinkled. “Baby, I’m ready for anything with you.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe. But if it’s okay with you, maybe we can start with a date.”
Several different emotions flickered over his face as he processed her words—thoughtfulness, disappointment, understanding, then finally something warm and possessive. “That sounds like a good plan to me. What are you doing on Friday night?”
She felt a swell of joy and hope that was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. It was so different from all of her other romantic fantasies. It was deep and real and tempered by knowledge and so much stronger because of it. She tried to hold the light tone as she replied, “I was planning to do some unpacking.”
“Maybe the unpacking can wait until Saturday. I’d like to take you to dinner and a movie, if that’s something you might enjoy.”
It was a risk. A very big risk. This man had no experience in serious relationships. He’d never given his heart to anyone before. It had been really hard for him to even get this far. He might decide it wasn’t going to work.
But maybe love was always a risk, and she wasn’t going to live her life in a safe, false, pretty make-believe anymore.
She wanted to have dinner and see a movie with him, so she was going to do it.
“I’d enjoy that a lot,” she said. She was about to respond to the smile that broke out on his face, but just then her phone rang.
She reached over to check the caller, deciding she wasn’t going to answer.
She straightened up abruptly when she saw the name on the screen.
“What is it?” Matt asked, his voice urgent as he sat up too.
A different kind of emotion was rising up inside, shuddering through her body. A clench of feeling tightened in her throat as she gasped, “It’s my dad.”
Matt seemed to understand. He reached out to cover her knee with his hand and he said softly, “Well, you better answer it.”
So she did.
—
For the next four Friday evenings she and Matt went out on dates. They also had lunch a couple of times each week, and he called her every day.
By the fourth week it was pretty obvious that both of them were completely into this relationship and that whatever had been holding them back before wasn’t going to get in the way.
Matt hadn’t put any sexual pressure on her at all, other than always looking smoking hot, but as they sat in a cozy booth at a gourmet cupcake place at ten in the evening, Elizabeth was having a hard time keeping her hands off of him.
He seemed to be suffering from the same affliction, since she’d barely finished her red velvet cupcake before he was pulling her across the distance between them in the booth so she was pressed up against his side. His eyes were hot as he tilted her head up toward him so he could kiss her.
She wrapped one arm around his neck, softening her body against his as his tongue traced the line of her lips.
He smiled against her mouth. “The best thing about this place is these little curved booths.”
She stifled a giggle enough to gasp in mock outrage. “What? The best thing about this place is the cupcakes!”
His body shook with laughter as he kissed her again, and it wasn’t long before she felt her body respond. Her pussy tightened and her skin blazed as she felt the hard length of his body against hers.
She wanted to feel it even more.
“What are you thinking?” he murmured, nuzzling her neck gently.
“I’m thinking that we probably shouldn’t go any farther in public like this. Remember what happened last time?”
Matt sounded like he was stifling a groan as he released her. “Good point.” His eyes never left her face. “What are you thinking about after we’re done here?”
She knew what he was asking. If he hadn’t hinted around about it, she would have. Instead of saying she wanted him to fuck her hard—which was actually what she was thinking—she said in a lilting tone, “I’m thinking it was really nice of you to wear that shirt for me again.”
He had on the dress shirt he’d worn a month ago when he showed up at her door. He was obviously trying to make their dates special, and it meant something to her. It meant a lot to her.
He tugged at the collar, giving her a wry look that she was pretty sure hid a flicker of disappointment. “It’s kind of uncomfortable,” he admitted, “but I’d do a lot more than that for you.”
“Good answer.” She pulled his head down into another kiss, and then she murmured, “Here’s an idea. If that shirt is so uncomfortable, maybe it’s time for you to take it off.”
His whole body went still for just a minute. “Yeah?”
She couldn’t seem to stop smiling, even though she was trying to give him a sexy look. “Oh yeah.”
With a muffled groan, he kissed her more deeply than before, evidently channeling an outpouring of desire that he’d been reining in for these few weeks. “Are you sure?” he rasped, sliding his hand down to cup her hip. “I know you wanted to take it slow.”
“This has been slow enough. I just wanted to make sure this was really what both of us wanted, and I know for sure now that it is. No reason to go slow anymore.”
He groaned again but jerked back before he pulled her into another kiss. His eyes were the hottest thing she’d ever seen. “Better not do any more of that before we get home.” He seemed to be telling himself as much as her.
She reached for her purse, her whole body throbbing with lust and so much more. “We should have planned better and not gotten so far away. It’s going to take us at least forty-five minutes to get to either of our apartments.”
Matt opened his mouth as if to speak but then didn’t say anything.
“What?” she prompted.
“There’s a hotel across the street. If you didn’t want to wait that long.”
She raised her eyebrows, strangely excited about the idea. “I’ve never checked into a hotel just for sex before.”
“Me either.”
For some reason that reality excited her even more. “Then let’s do it.”
He was already getting out of the booth, grabbing her hand to pull her behind him. “Good thing. Otherwise, I might have to fuck you in the back of the car again.”
—
“Matt!” Elizabeth gasped an hour later, arching backward and reaching behind her to clutch at the headboard of the bed in the very nice hotel they’d checked into, which, fortunately, had had a room available. “Fu—” But she couldn’t form any more words and instead grunted out a succession of breathless, frantic sounds.
Matt’s mouth was otherwise occupied, but he hummed in response.
Elizabeth whimpered incoherently, her mouth falling open as the vibrations from his voice sent tremors through her hot, wet arousal. She choked on the pleasure as his tongue fluttered over her clit. Her legs had be
en parted and bent, but now she hooked them over his shoulders, unconsciously trying to get his face closer to the source of her need.
She was very wet, and she could feel Matt lapping at the excessive moisture. Her whole body was getting more and more tense—the muscles of her belly and thighs trembling as the exquisite pressure continued to mount.
Matt scraped her pussy gently with his teeth, his hungry eyes focused on her face.
She cried out, much louder than she would have liked. Her entire body was rocking now as she tried to establish a satisfying rhythm with her hips. Matt, however, was keeping her in place with a tight grip on the soft flesh of her ass.
With the fingers of his other hand he held her open, stretching out her flesh to make his task easier and give his mouth better access.
As she squirmed against the mattress, he closed his lips around her clit and started to suck. Hard.
Elizabeth’s arms flew down from the headboard—which was banging against the wall with her urgent rocking—and grabbed at Matt’s head between her legs. Her fingers dug into his scalp, and she started to sob out wordless sounds.
Her thighs tightened around his head, threatening to strangle him, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
Matt adjusted his body so that he could grab her thighs with a ruthless grip and pull them apart again, spreading her open to his hot gaze once more. Then he held her thighs back with his forearms and resumed the suction of his mouth.
After just a moment the pleasure swelling up at Elizabeth’s center exploded into waves of release. Her muscles spasmed beneath his mouth, and she could hear herself nearly screaming as she came.
She had no idea what she was saying.
She was still panting out hot, wet breaths when Matt raised his body and moved over her, positioning himself with his hips between her legs. He quickly rolled on a condom, and then he reached down with one hand to line up his hard cock at her entrance. In one smooth motion he sheathed himself inside her.
Her pussy was still tight from her orgasm, and she cried out loudly as he entered her. Then kept crying out as he thrust, her voice sounding breathless and shrill. Vaguely she hoped the unusual volume of her vocal response wasn’t annoying Matt and wasn’t too loud for a hotel.