by Eileen Green
Heather picked up a breadstick from the small basket the waiter had left behind and bit into it. The way she enjoyed her food pleased Matthew. He had been on dates where the girl hadn’t eaten anything before the meal arrived, and then only ate a few bites. Women who liked their food and weren’t afraid to eat it made him happy.
Little moans escaped her as she chewed the carbohydrate, and Matthew had to wonder what sounds she made when she came. Was she quiet, or did she scream out her ecstasy?
Matthew took a sip of the wine he had ordered to go along with his dinner. He liked beer with certain foods, and wine with others. His friends made fun of him, but he didn’t care. He was mature enough to know what he liked, and to not be led by peer pressure.
“You really need to take care of yourself,” he suggested. “Surviving on such little can make you sick, especially when you are working so hard.”
A frown crossed her lips. “I know. This is my first job since I graduated, and I want to make sure I do a good job.”
“I have every confidence that you will do a good job,” he said, his own confidence in her growing. “But, if you get sick, you won’t be able to give these ladies the wedding they desire. Remember, they only plan on getting married once.”
“Of course,” she agreed with him before taking another bite of the breadstick. “I’m going up to the club tomorrow to look around. Do you want to come with me?”
“I have to work tomorrow. Can you go on Saturday?” he asked. He wanted to spend the whole day with her. He also had a plan.
Since they both lived with family, it was hard to find alone time. Matthew thought perhaps they could go driving through the mountains and find an out of the way motel. He already had an idea of where to go.
“I suppose we could do that. I’ll have to double check with my mother on that one. I really didn’t want to go there when there could be patrons there, if you know what I mean.” The blush he was beginning to love kissed her cheeks.
“I hadn’t thought about that. But I think they don’t open the club until afternoon. We could go there first, and then spend the rest of the day doing whatever comes along.”
“I guess.”
Heather seemed a bit distracted, plus, she wasn’t as talkative as she usually was. Matthew had to wonder if it had anything to do with seeing her father.
“Does your mother know you know who your father is?” He was curious.
Gwen never spoke of the man. Heather, up until a little bit ago, never uttered a word about the man.
Having grown up with both parents, he was finding it hard to relate to Heather on the subject.
There were friends at school who had grown up with divorced parents. However, and it was usually the father, was still in the kid’s life. There was visitation where the friend went to spend a weekend with dear old dad, or a month in the summertime. He didn’t have any friends where the other parent was totally absent.
“My mother told me who he was when I was younger. There was never any occasion to ever see the man, or run into him. The only reason I was at the bank today was because that is where Siobhan banks, and I was cashing a check she gave me. I need to get some things first thing in the morning for her, and I thought I’d just run in and run out.”
There was a shakiness to her voice as she spoke. He knew he had touched a nerve.
“I’m so sorry I upset you. You can always tell me to shut up if you don’t want to talk about something.”
As much as he wanted to know everything about Heather, and spend as much time as possible with her, he didn’t want to crowd her.
He wanted so much more from this relationship than any he had been in before. The thought of getting married and having babies flitted through his mind sometimes and he hadn’t even kissed her yet. That was how he knew she was the one. It didn’t have to be about sex all the time like his college girlfriends. They were passing fancies, that’s all.
Heather had put the breadstick down on the small bread plate the table setting had. She reached across the table with both hands and cupped his cheeks. A serene smile touched her lips while her eyes went a bit soft in the candlelight.
“There is nothing you could ask that would upset me, Matthew. I want to know as much about you as you want to know of me. Don’t ever think I could be mad because of a question.”
Matthew watched as she raised slightly as she pulled on his face a bit. She let their lips meet in a gentle kiss. There were little pecks and one swipe of the tongue. When he forgot about where they were and began to open to her, Heather ended it with one more peck, releasing her hold on him.
His head seemed fuzzy from the kiss, a bit dazed. When he finally came back to himself, Matthew found Heather had sat back in her chair. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were downcast, as if she was embarrassed by her actions.
Wanting some kind of connection to continue, he reached over and took her hand in his. “That was some kiss,” he said, his voice high and tight. He had to clear his throat. “We’ll have to practice that some more where there aren’t so many people, and there isn’t an open flame that could catch us both on fire.”
“I’m already on fire,” she responded, a breathiness in her voice that usually wasn’t there.
Damn, she was one fine woman! “We might have to have a fire extinguisher with us when we finally make love.”
Her hazel eyes with the reflection of the flame from the candle grew large with his comment and her mouth opened to a perfect ‘o’, however, nothing came out of it. Had he overstepped his boundaries by saying what was on his mind?
Heather lowered her eyes, a small smile on her lips. “You are quite bold, aren’t you, Matthew Campbell?”
At a loss for words, Matthew could only watch her. Had he really just ruined this relationship he had wanted for so long?
* * * *
Matthew had said what was on his mind. Well, he had said what was on her mind also. She was just surprised that he had said it out loud.
There was a lot on her plate at the moment. She had a major job to do, putting together a huge wedding. But she also had a life, didn’t she?
At school, Heather had noticed Matthew Campbell. All the girls did. Yet for Heather, school was her priority. Her mother had given up so much of her own life to make sure Heather had a good education, a good future. She wasn’t going to let her mother down.
There would be plenty of time in the future for fun, and love.
When she had opened the door to the garage at Lily’s house that evening two weeks ago, she was surprised to see Matthew standing there. Heather had forgotten the connection between the two, and now she was going to have to thank the woman for unknowingly bringing them together.
Seeing blood dripping from Matthew’s hand terrified Heather. She wondered if she had lost the chance to get to know him. Thankfully, it had been a small wound, something that had almost healed.
After seeing her father, Matthew had been attentive, not just because of her seeing the man who had given her life, but because she wasn’t taking care of herself. It warmed her heart to know he cared.
Now he was giving her the go-ahead to move on with their relationship.
Matthew looked terrified by what he had said. Is it possible he had changed his mind?
He cleared his voice. “I can be very bold when it comes to you, Heather. As long as I have you near me, I can be very bold.”
Matthew Campbell knew the right things to say, and when to say them. She could get used to having him around.
The laughter bubbled up in her. He could also make her laugh.
Heather couldn’t be certain why, but she knew she had found the man for her, and unlike her mother, he was going to make her happy. She wasn’t going to have to wait years for her love to come along.
Before they could continue their conversation, the waiter arrived with their dinners. She had ordered the lasagna and Matthew had ordered chicken parmesan, but she knew she would get some of his dinner. W
asn’t that the joy of going out to eat? You could share your meals?
* * * *
The hotel room was standard issue. The queen-size bed had a gaudy bedspread on it, but the pillows looked fluffy. There was a small round table in front of the window along with two chairs. The beige draperies were lined on one side for insulation, but there were small holes in the material that appeared to be cigarette burns. Instead of carpet on the floor, they had laminate that resembled hardwood.
A dresser against the opposite wall of the bed had a desk at the other end. Above this was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. She was certain it only got a few channels. The bathroom which was through the door at the back end of the room was going to be non-descript and small.
This was all taken in by Heather when she opened the door. The room was cold because the air conditioner had been left on by the cleaning staff. It was welcome due to the heat still wavering at seven-thirty in the evening.
Heather was spending the night here for she had an appointment first thing in the morning with the baker she had met at the Polson diner a few weeks ago. The ladies were going to meet her there, but since she was in Kalispell, there was no sense in driving all the way back to just outside Polson just to turn around and come back in the morning.
Matthew stepped in behind her and set her small duffle bag on the foot of the bed. When he turned around, he looked at Heather, heat in his eyes.
Electricity seemed to snap around them as the two stood looking at each other. It didn’t matter that the door had been left open and that anyone walking by could look in.
“Are you going to be all right here?” Matthew finally asked as he looked around the room, a touch of disdain in his eyes. “I’m sure we can find a room somewhere a little more…”
“Unhookerish?” Heather asked with a laugh. It was the only word she could come up with at the spur of the moment.
Matthew relaxed. “Yes.”
“It’ll do for now,” Heather answered as she set her purse on the table. “It’s just for one night.”
Matthew seemed nervous as he stood in front of her. She was right, for when he stepped up to her and took her hands in his, she felt them shaking.
“Well, next time if you find yourself in this situation, please let me know. There is a guest room at the house. I’m sure the brother and family will let you stay there.”
A smile kissed her lips. “I’ll remember that.”
Butterflies that felt as big as hummingbirds fluttered around in her stomach as her nerves got the better of her. The uncertainty of what was going to happen right now had her a bit befuddled.
She wanted a kiss from Matthew. The anticipation of feeling his lips, his tongue, making love to hers had been strong since the evening they spent at his house the night he was injured. He had been gentlemanly. On the few occasions they had gone out on a date, they had shared a handshake at the end of the evening.
Matthew had repeatedly shown Heather that he had been brought up to be a gentleman. He opened her car door, opened the door whenever they went into a restaurant, or even a store. He held her chair for her and made sure she was comfortable before he sat. The couple of nights he had gone out to her place to pick her up, he came to the front door, rang the bell, and then escorted her to the car.
While they had been out on dates, or even before they had met and Heather was out with her mother, or friends, she had observed how men acted these days toward the women they dated.
Oh, the men were fair game when it came to the blame. They didn’t act like gentlemen, but the women were to blame also. They acted as if it was insulting if a man held a door for them, or their chair. When the man went to pick the woman up, the woman was out the front door and rushing to the car, not waiting for the man.
Chivalry was dying at an alarming rate. Heather was content to have a man with old-fashioned values. There was only one problem that she had with him at the moment. Matthew was taking a lot of time on making the move to the next step in their relationship.
She didn’t want to rush into sleeping together, but after dating for a couple of weeks, she thought the time had come to take them to the next level.
Matthew raised both her hands up to his lips, kissing the first one, then the other. He held them to his chest and she could feel the heavy staccato of his heart beating beneath the muscles of his pecs.
“I want you so much,” he declared, causing her heart to soar. He looked around the room before looking back at her. “I want our first time to be special, in a nice room. I want to shower you with champagne, chocolates, and flowers, because you deserve it. As much as I would like to pull the bedding down, toss you on the bed, and have my way with your delicious looking body, I’m going to give you more.”
There was one thing that bothered her, and always had whenever she dated. “And you don’t think I’m too plump?” she asked as she had to search her mind for the right word.
Men could be shallow when it came to the shape of a woman’s body. Most men wanted skinny women, but the women needed to have big boobs. Heather never could fathom that one.
If women went for the tall, muscular, good-looking, chivalrous men that were mostly available only in romance novels, most men would never have a date. Women gave in and dated men that were a far cry from those fictional book boyfriends.
Why couldn’t men date the women they really wanted deep down inside? There were too many people in the world to be overly discriminative in their tastes of the opposite sex.
Matthew took another step toward Heather, closing any space between them down to nonexistent. His eyes flared and the medium green eyes he usually had darkened to an emerald green. His nostrils flared, and his cock was large and hard behind the zipper of his jeans. There was no denying his desires.
“You are so beautiful, Heather, and not just with your looks. Your body has curves that define a woman. Full breasts, wide curvy hips, and a bit of a tummy to help protect a baby growing inside. You’re healthy, and your body and demeanor show it.” Matthew raised her hands and he kissed the knuckles of her fingers. “I think you can feel how my body reacts to yours. I just want to make it special. Besides, I will want to love on you all night long. I don’t want to wear you out so that the next morning you can’t perform the work that you need to do.”
“I have a funny feeling these ladies I am working for would cheer me on,” Heather said with a slight giggle.
“That’s true,” he said with a smile. “They’d probably even set you up.”
“You mean like Lily did us?”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Matthew said, a smile playing on his lips. “If that’s what she was trying to do, I probably screwed it up by getting cut up.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think it may have worked in your favor.” It was Heather’s turn to pull the hand he had hurt to her lips. She turned it so she could kiss the area where he still wore a bandage.
“Well, then I suppose I will need to hurt myself a lot around you.”
“Don’t you dare. You have my attention now, and you won’t need to further impress me. Just promise to be yourself,” Heather said as she brought his hand to her cheek. She nuzzled against his palm lovingly.
She would follow his lead, and wait until they had a better place, a special place, to show their love to each other. Of course, she was content with just being with him, holding each other, cuddling with each other, however, showing your love in the physical sense was taking a relationship to the next level. Looking deep into Matthew’s eyes, she knew that’s what she wanted.
It was too soon to say the words that many times were superficial, but she felt them in her heart. She wasn’t sure if she didn’t want to say them because of what her mother had gone through, or it was because she was selfish and wanted Matthew to say them first.
Love was a tricky emotion. You could pour all of it out of your mouth and your body and still get hurt, so Heather didn’t see any reason not to be selfish. She just
had to hope Matthew understood, or felt the same way
“I’m going to let you relax after the shock you’ve had today, and get some sleep. I will call you in the morning.”
Matthew released her hands and placed her hands on each cheek. Turning her head slightly, he tilted her head the other way and pressed his lips to hers.
As he drank from her lips, Heather felt the emotions rolling off him. When his tongue requested entrance by licking across her lips, she relented and opened. His swept his tongue through her mouth, letting it explore the depths. When his tongue settled upon hers, she took the challenge and they dueled until Matthew won.
Heather pulled away from him, her body quaking.
“I really want you to get some sleep,” he said as he released her. “Goodnight, babes,” he said quietly.
Was it the same for him as it was for her, she had to wonder. Did he leave ignoring the signs his body was building up. No. He wasn’t ignoring it, not by the readjustment he had to do in the jeans department. Heather had to hide a smile.
“Good night,” she replied, watching longingly as he moved toward the door.
“Make sure you lock all the locks when I leave.” He wasn’t being demanding, but she knew he was right.
“I will.” She loved that he cared so much.
Matthew began to leave, but turned quickly, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her to him. His mouth smashed down onto hers, his tongue demanding she open to him.
She acquiesced, giving him her mouth to plunder as he wished. He swept his tongue through her mouth, leaving no area untouched. He was thorough, drawing the very breath from her lungs.
Her heart unfurled, pounding out its love for the man before her.
For the first time in her life, Heather Bowers knew what love was.
Chapter Three
“What do you mean she doesn’t have an account here?” he demanded of the frightened woman before him.
The woman was young, probably around twenty-five or twenty-six, mouse-like. Her hair was mousy blonde, twisted into a tight bun, however, tendrils had escaped and stuck up here and there. Her features were bland, nothing that would be attractive to anyone.