“I have the same amount on that you do,” she says, motioning to my open suit jacket and shirt. I shrug out of them as she takes off her bra.
She slides her hips forward to take off the thong, and I can’t resist dipping my head for a taste. She arches into me as I lick her over the lace. “I’m going to spend hours eating you, Reina. But first I need to come inside of you.”
“Yes.”
I enter the shower while she removes that little scrap of lace. I clean myself off as I watch her clean off her chest. When she soaps up her tits, and then cups them, it’s all over. I pick her up and slam into her with my fully hard cock. She digs her nails into my shoulder as I set a punishing pace, thrusting in and out hard. I can feel how close she is already, so I twist my hips.
“Come for me, Mi Reina Hermosa,” I tell her as pinch her clit.
She screams my name, and I follow her over, coming hard for a second time in less than ten minutes. I’m nowhere near done for the night, and I’m a little afraid that it might just kill me. Death by sex has to be the best way to go, so I’m not complaining. And I’ll be making sure my wife has no complaints, either.
Chapter 18
Matt
Reina’s been quiet since we woke up. She definitely wasn’t quiet last night. I’ve waited over a decade to hear her call me “Matteo” again, and hearing it all night makes me feel more satisfied than anything else has in a very long while. Even the epic sex we had throughout the night. I know we’re both tired, but I also know there’s more to it than just fatigue.
I should’ve talked to her last night, but instead, I let my lust guide me. It was a dick move, and I need to apologize. I should’ve done it when we got out of bed, or when we got dressed. Even when we were in the car to the airport. Any of those times would’ve been good. On the plane with everyone else is not good.
“I love your ring, Reina. What does it say?” Alex asks her.
Reina stops turning the ring on her finger. “It says ‘peace’ in twenty different languages.”
“That’s beautiful, and perfect for you. Where did you find it?” Jessica wants to know.
“Matt bought it for me in Paris.”
“When were you in Paris together?”
“We weren’t,” I answer. “I had it waiting for her at the jewelry store.”
“That’s so romantic. Leaving her a gift like that,” Alex says.
“He left me lots of gifts, in the different cities. It was very romantic.”
“Yeah?” I ask.
“I told you I loved the stuff in Wales,” she says, shooting me a smile from across the aisle.
“We haven’t talked since then.”
“No, we haven’t.”
“We should talk now.”
“Now?” she asks, looking around at everyone.
“You can go in the other cabin and close the divider. None of us will bother you unless it sounds like you’re killing each other,” Gram says.
“Don’t come even then. We might not be fighting.”
“Matt,” Reina says, her cheeks reddening.
“Come on, Rei,” I say with a laugh, holding out my hand.
She turns to everyone else. “I’m not coming. I mean, we’re just talking. I mean…”
I throw her over my shoulder before she can dig herself any deeper. She’s adorable when she’s flustered, and I love it. I love her. I just need to see how much more convincing she needs before she believes it.
I shift her into my arms, and sit, making sure she’s comfortable on my lap. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“We didn’t get to talk about last night, and everything else we need to talk about. I’m sorry for that. I just couldn’t keep my cock out of you once I had you in my arms again.”
“I wasn’t complaining,” she says, but she looks sad.
“You don’t look happy about it.”
“I’ll just miss it.”
What? No. No, no, no, no, no. “I’m not going anywhere. Are you?”
She shakes her head. “I killed your mother.”
“That’s not on you. I told you to do it.”
“I should’ve found a better angle, shot her somewhere else. She’s dead because I took the easy shot.”
“Easy? 99.9% of people in the world couldn’t have made that shot. I knew you could, and I asked you to do it. It was the only way. In a choice between her and Gram, there was no choice.”
“What if it had been between me and her?”
“I would’ve shot her myself.”
“Matt.”
“I mean it, Rei. Yes, she gave birth to me, but that’s all she gave me.”
“That’s the best thing someone can give. Life.”
“She didn’t give me life. She gave me birth, and then used me as an extra source of income until I was too old for her to get child support anymore. Then I was just an ATM. Gram and Gramps gave me life. Miles gave me life. Jessica gave me life. Nate and Aiden gave me life. The Society girls gave me life. And you, my beautiful queen, have given me more than life since the day I met you. You’ve given me a reason to live. That woman, and the bastard she created me with, have given me nothing that even comes close to that.”
“My sweet Matteo, you deserved better than the parents you were given. I’m glad you had the rest of us to show you that.”
“And you deserved better than the man you fell in love with. You still do.”
“Do you really want this? Me?”
“Yes. It’s all I’ve ever really wanted. You are all I’ve ever wanted.”
“I know. I read the emails, remember?”
“I read them, too, and I realize how they would’ve come across to you. I’m sorry for hurting you all over again. I should’ve told you about Aqeelah’s husband and everything else long ago. I need you to know that not telling you is all on me. You said more than once that I made you feel not good enough, and I take responsibility for that, too. I knew I was hurting you, but I didn’t realize just how deep I was cutting you with my words and actions. I would give all my money to the A Team and Isa if they could build me a time machine, but I know even they haven’t figured that out yet. I can’t change what I did, but I can make sure it doesn’t happen again. You are enough, Reina. More than enough. The most enough.”
“The most enough?”
“Proper grammar can go fuck itself right now. I need you to understand how special, brave, exquisite, brilliant, sexy, compassionate, gorgeous, and enough you are.”
“You mean it?”
“I do. I swear I do. Do you believe me?”
“I want to. I have my own demons, you know.”
“Because of what happened in Mexico? Before?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to tell me?”
“No. I have to tell you if we’re going to move forward, though.”
“You know all my secrets. Yours can’t be worse.”
“It was my fault I was kidnapped.”
“Recently? I know.”
“No. The first time.”
“How was it your fault. Gram and Audrey said that bastard was paid to get you all out, but then he saw you. I can’t blame him for wanting you, but I’d kill him again if I could.”
She looks down, and then tells me her truth. “That’s not exactly what happened. Yes, he was supposed to be transporting us, but when Papa saw him looking at me, he found someone else. I would have been safe, but then I refused to go. I wanted to go to the convent. It was what I wanted more than anything in life. I gave my parents no choice, jumping out of the truck as it was about to cross the border. If they had called attention to me, everyone else being smuggled out would’ve been discovered. I was taken as I was walking back to the village.”
“Did you tell them you were going to the convent?”
“Yes. That’s why I wasn’t raped at first. I don’t know if that would’ve held had the Society not come for me.”
“You can’t blame yourself for wa
nting to give yourself to God.”
“What about for blaming God? I did that for a very long time. It’s why I was so anxious to have sex, and pretend that I was sophisticated when we met. I thought God had let me down by letting me get captured while I was on my way to serve him.”
“I thought you were sophisticated and sexy. Always have, and always will.”
“Thanks, but that doesn’t excuse what I did.”
“God forgives you, Reina. And no one we know would blame you for getting caught, or for temporarily losing your faith.”
“You don’t know that I’m forgiven, and what if my faith is still gone? I thought I had a little bit left, but when you gave me those divorce papers, I think I lost the rest of it.”
“Did you really?”
“I don’t know, which means I did.”
“I’m not sure it means that, Rei.”
“But you don’t know.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Can we take things a little slower?”
Slower? No. “Yes. Whatever you need.”
“We can have sex.”
“We can?” I ask, sounding eager, because I am.
She kisses me and then puts her forehead against mine. “Yes. After last night, I’m not ready to give that up again. I just want to date you. Except for those two weeks together when I was a teenager, we’ve never dated.”
“Are you coming back to the Foundation?”
“If you’ll hire me back, yes.”
“You were never fired.”
“What are you going to tell the press? And your business partners?”
“The truth. There was a threat to the Corrigan women, and so we pretended to break up.”
“Do you think the girls will be okay if I come back? Alex, Stella, and Tegan? They said I could, but what if they didn’t mean it?”
“They want you back almost as much as I do.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I believe you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. I’m making progress.”
“Yes, you are. We need to talk about the apartment.”
“Do you want me to move out? I can stay in one of the empty apartments, or even on the floor with all of the guest apartments we had Ryan build, but never use. I can be your booty call. I’m totally fine with that.” I’m not, but I will be for her.
“No. We’re going to use those apartments, by the way, but I don’t want you to move out. I just want to change it. As for your booty, I want that in bed with me.”
“Matt’s booty, and other parts of his anatomy, are at your service, day and night.”
“Don’t talk about yourself in the third person. It’s weird.”
“Noted. We can call Chloe when we get back.”
“No. I mean, I love Chloe, but I want to do it ourselves. I decorated the apartment with her the first time, but now I want it to really be ours.”
“Okay. We can do whatever you want.”
“I saw so much cool stuff in Europe. I bought a couch and some other stuff. I want to just start with the basics, and then buy things as we see them. I don’t want anything fancy, I want us, Rei and Matteo.”
“Do you have any idea how hard I get when you call me Matteo?”
“Since I’m sitting on your lap, I have some idea, yes,” she tells me, rolling her eyes. “Can you control yourself long enough to tell me what you think about the apartment?”
“I think that I love the idea of making it really ours. Having a new bed and couch to play with you on is just an added bonus.”
“I’m not a toy.”
“No. You’re my forever.”
“You’re mine, too.”
“You know that this means you were wrong, don’t you?”
“How was I wrong this time, o wise one?”
“The war was never over, and we won this battle. The truly epic one is going to fall at my feet, too. I’m going to fight harder than I ever have in my life.”
“And we’re going to win.”
“Yes, we are.”
* * *
Reina
Having a normal conversation with Matt was pretty surreal. It’s been years since we talked, and we’ve never been so honest with each other. I hid things from him when we first met, and he hid things from me after that. To be able to sit and talk freely was more than I had ever hoped for with him, and it took a weight off of me that I thought would always be there. He can’t absolve me from my doubts or change the fact that I’m really afraid that my faith is gone, but he did make me feel better about other things.
Now that we’ve agreed to date—while still having sex every night—I can’t help but feel excited, and anxious. We’ve been to balls and hung out with our friends, but that’s been it since we’ve been in Las Vegas. Even while we were married, we never just went out to eat somewhere, or saw a movie for the fun of it. I don’t know if we’ll do any of those things, and I really don’t care. I just love the thought of dating Matt. He said I’m more than enough for him, and I’m choosing to believe that. To believe him, and believe in him.
Right now, he’s snoring lightly as we’re snuggled on the couch. Until he fell asleep suddenly, I’d forgotten that it’s only been a few weeks since he was shot full of bullets while saving my life. It seems like a lifetime ago. He says I give him a reason to live, but I’m alive because of him. He’s saved me more than once. Times when I thought he hated me, and this last time when he said he loved me. I need to believe that it was always love. Every time was love. It’s hard to wrap my head around that after all this time, but I’m determined to. I’ve always wanted his love, and now that I have it, I’ll hold onto it with both hands. Hell, I’ll wrap my entire body around it, if it comes to that. I’m not letting him go ever again.
My friends are another matter. They all told me I could come back any time, and Matt insists they want me back, but I need to know that they really mean it. The only way to do that is for me to ask. We’ve kept things from each other because we had to, but in this, I know they’ll tell me the truth. I take out my phone, and type out the text. I want to call them, but Matt needs his rest.
Me: I need an honest answer. Are you really okay with me being in charge again?
Tegan: You’re kidding right? Yes.
Stella: Fuck yeah. Who’s going to keep me and Teeg in line?
Alex: Yes, please. I love them all, but I can’t do it. They’re all high-maintenance, and I miss my phones.
Isa: Of course. You’re the only choice.
Darcy: What you did for me is something I don’t think anyone else would have the lady balls to do. I love everyone else, but there’s only one you.
Faith: I’m proof that we’re all about 2nd chances. Yes, Rei, come back.
Ellie: Please do. Sulky Matt is interfering with my sex life. Seriously, he texts Aid at the most inopportune times.
Audrey: You were never really gone. Your presence here has been felt all along.
Ainsley: You better come back. You’re the leader we need, AND the one we deserve.
Jade: You’ve helped us all so much. Let us help you. You’re our leader, and we love you.
Me: Thank you. I love all of you so much. I’ll see you soon.
I manage to take a nap, so I’m a little more refreshed when our plane lands. It’s morning in Vegas, and we have a full day of work ahead of us. We pile into the waiting SUVs and make our way to C&C. Matt holds my hand the whole way, and he continues to hold is as we walk into the building. The people in the lobby look at us with wide eyes, and slack jaws. They aren’t who I care about, so I just smile and walk into the elevator.
When we walk into the Foundation lobby, they’re all there waiting for me. “Hi honeys, I’m home,” I tell them. They all run to me, and hug me. Through it all, Matt keeps his hold on my hand, and I realize I truly meant what I said. I’m home, and there’s no place that I’d rather be.
I needed to leave in order to realize it, but now I know. This is what I want, and where I belong.
Chapter 19
Matt
I’m jet-lagged and I had to leave Reina so we could both get some work done. Needless to say, I’m not in the mood for any bullshit. Camari obviously doesn’t get that, because she comes barreling into my office, proverbial guns blazing.
“What is Reina doing here?”
“Working.”
“I’m told you were holding hands.”
“You were told right.”
“My job is not a joke.”
“I never said it was.”
“What am I supposed to tell people?”
“The truth. A crazy group of women were targeting the females in my family, so Reina and I faked a break-up in order to flush them out. Two of the women are in custody, while the third—my mother—was killed when my grandmother, Alex, and Jessica were rescued.”
“Your mother? Oh my God, Matt. Are you okay?”
“I am. It was her or my Gram. There was no choice as far as I’m concerned.”
“I thought working here would be easy.”
“We like to keep you all on your toes. Go and see Audrey at the Foundation. She’ll help you spin this just right.”
“No offense to you, but that’s where I wanted to work.”
“The Foundation? You should talk to Reina.”
“After the way I spun her as a home wrecking bitch? Yeah, I’m sure that would go over well.”
“She knows why you did it. She was playing a part as well. My wife only bites me, so you’re safe.”
“You love her.”
“You seem surprised.”
“I kind of am. I mean, I’ve only been here a few months, but you’ve never eaten together in the cafeteria, or held hands in the building before today. I always figured there was a story there.”
“There was. Thank you for pointing out the lunch thing. I need to fix that ASAP.”
“You’re not going to tell me the story are you?”
“No. It’s not exactly my story to tell.”
“Fair enough. I’ll go see Audrey, and then get this out right away.”
“Thanks.”
I spend the next two hours meeting with Miles and the rest of my executives. My brother did a wonderful job while I was out of commission. It’s no less than I expected, but I make sure to let him know I’m proud of him.
Loving My SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 10) Page 19