Lovers' Dance

by Carr, K

  “Or else what?” she challenged.

  Matt’s mouth fell open slightly, surprised at her defiance. Bloody feisty and bloody going to talk.

  He narrowed his eyes and said huskily, “Or else I’ll stick my cock up your bum until you like it, poppet.”

  It had the desired effect. Matt watched as her brown eyes widened in horror and she nervously chewed on her lower lip. He swallowed the urge to laugh. He would never do that to her, she was adamant about certain things being too risqué for her. But threaten he would. His poppet had backbone though. She snorted loudly, rolling her eyes with a shake of her head. Forcing a look of scathing disbelief on her face in a show of bravery, she edged further along the bed, sinking her delightful arse deeper into the mattress as if unconsciously trying to protect it. Matt almost choked on his laughter at her antics. She was sweet.

  “That’s not gonna happen, Matt, and I’m not telling you now,” she stated haughtily.

  Matt let his hands deliberately go to his belt buckle and her eyes widened to maximum capacity. She gulped and edged further along the bed.

  Matt caught his lower lip between his teeth, peering intently at her. He was bluffing, but bluffing was a game he played well and always won.

  “Right,” he dragged out, pulling the end of his belt through a couple of loops.

  “You beast.” She scuttled over the bed so quickly Matt had only blinked a few times before the bed stood between them.

  “Talk,” he commanded, fingering the belt buckle.

  “Your granddad had a little talk with me the night of the charity ball,” she blurted out, eyes locked on his belt with trepidation. “He thinks we won’t last. That’s all. I thought you should know, Matt.”

  “Is that it?” Matt asked, fixing his belt and beckoning her over. She shook her head vehemently and he finally allowed a smile to escape. “Poppet, come here. You know I’ll never do anything you don’t want me to.”

  She stared at him for a few apprehensive moments before walking around the bed to his waiting arms. Matt hugged her tightly for a bit before sitting them both down on the bed.

  “Grumps is just being Grumps, poppet. He’ll come around, they all will. What did he say to you?”

  She shrugged and blinked. “Nothing really, just that we’re two very different people.”

  Matt’s gaze fell to her dainty hands and alarm grew inside him. She was scratching her pinkie finger so fiercely he was surprised she hadn’t drawn blood. He waited for a moment before casually resting his large hand over hers. As if a light switch had been flicked off, the self-inflicted attack on her finger stopped and she smiled brightly at him.

  “But I’m fine with it, Matt. I didn’t want to not tell you.”

  Matt nodded, running his thumb over her knuckles. “Was that all Grumps said, poppet?” he asked gently. “He didn’t say anything else?”

  “Nope,” she said in a cheery voice. “That was it.”

  Matt’s heart sank as he returned her bright smile. She was lying to him. His dark beauty had looked him straight in the eye and lied. Why would she do that after he had unequivocally warned her about his abhorrence of lies between them?

  What was she hiding and why didn’t she want to confide in him? What had Grumps said to her?

  Matt gripped her chin with his free hand and pressed his mouth over hers, teasing her lips with his tongue until she opened for him and he deepened the kiss. Before he lost his head, Matt pulled away tenderly stroking her lower lip.

  “You know you can tell me anything, right? You do know that, don’t you, poppet?”

  “Of course, hon,” she said. “It’s your turn. Do you have secrets that need to be spilled?”

  Matt shook his head. He looked her in the eye and said, “Not a single one. Oh, wait, I’m planning on going through your purse sometime tonight to get McGregor’s card.”

  She laughed and reached for her purse that lay forgotten behind them. “Here you go,” she said after plucking the offending piece of paper out.

  Matt crumpled it between his hands and tossed it over to the bin. “I feel much better now, poppet.”

  She laughed and stroked her hand across his jaw. “Matt, about earlier, at the auction—” She looked away for a second before slipping her soft hand to his nape and running her fingers through his hair. “I know you think we should talk about the fact I’m black and you’re white—”

  “Not tonight, poppet.” Matt cut her off with a brief smile. “Honestly, I don’t want to address the issue, but we need to. I won’t have this becoming a problem between us, but—” He paused, seeing a range of emotion flooding her face. “Be patient with me. I need to get my head around it.”

  “Does it bug you?” Madi asked quietly. Matt could see she was trying to appear nonchalant about it. He sighed and shook his head slowly.

  “It bothers me that it bothers you so much. I told you the first night we met, poppet. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve seen. I don’t give a toss what colour your skin is. You could be fluorescent green and I’d love you.”

  She smiled at that and Matt forged on, wanting to reassure her that this would only be a problem if they allowed it. “I know you were brought up with certain preconceptions and whatnot, poppet. As was I. But none of that matters between us.”

  “Because we’re magic?” she asked tentatively.

  Matt thought about it for a second, liking her description immensely. “Yes, poppet. You and I, we’re magic.”

  She chewed her lower lip, running her fingers absent-mindedly through his hair. “Okay, then I’ll stop worrying about it.”

  “We still need to discuss it though,” Matt warned. “Only then will you truly get past this ridiculous notion that we shouldn’t be together. Oh, yes, poppet, I know you harbour those thoughts.”

  “How do you do that?” she asked, doe eyes peering into his. “Read my mind like that? It’s unnerving.”

  “Your eyes give you away,” he murmured, leaning forward to kiss the corner of her delectable mouth. “Don’t change. Let’s go topside. We wouldn’t want Nathan and Bella thinking we’re getting up to anything.”

  “Huh,” she muttered under her breath. “I wish.”

  Matt chuckled lightly and stood up, pulling her up with him. “A month isn’t that long, poppet. I’m going to enjoy courting you.”

  She grabbed her purse, shaking her curls at him as she said, “Courting? Dude, it’s the twenty-first century. No one courts anymore.”

  “And isn’t that a crying shame?” Matt replied, eyes roving at their leisure over her. Even with his jacket swamping her petite frame, she made the blood in his veins stir hotly. “If you keep dressing like that for our dates though, I might not last a week.”

  She sent him a devious smile that softened into something which made his chest tighten.

  “I fucking love you, Mr Matthew Bradley,” she finally said, holding her hand out to him.

  “I know, poppet.” Matt took her hand and they moved towards the door. “I know.”

  <><><>

  Matt walked into his parents’ luxurious home. Their new butler greeted him with surprise, he wasn’t expected. Matt brushed past the man with a brief nod of acknowledgment and hurried through his childhood home. It was Saturday morning and he had a pile of work waiting for him, but there was something else more important he needed to attend to.

  “Matthew, darling, what are you doing here?”

  Matt turned, smiling as his mother glided towards him. “Hi, Mum, how are you?”

  She tilted her head up for the required kiss hello to which Matt obliged, the scent of her perfume triggering memories of a time long past when she would tuck him in at night before leaving for some function with his father. They were always out it had seemed. His childhood and, that of his elder siblings, had been managed by countless nannies and butlers, but he wasn’t bitter about it. It was simply the way things were done.

  “Better now for having seen you,” she said, p
atting his cheek, then slipping her arm through his. “Have you come to see your father? If so, you’ll have to wait. He’s out for his morning ride.”

  “Actually,” Matt allowed his mother to lead him towards one of the salons. “I came to see Grumps. Is he up and about yet?”

  His mother snorted delicately. “Of course he is. The man never sleeps. It’s like having a young child again, constantly running around behind him.”

  Matt arched an eyebrow at his mother but didn’t comment. She’d never run around after her own children. There was paid staff to do so.

  “Have you eaten, darling? It’s only ten. I can have the chef prepare something for you.”

  “I’m fine, Mum. Is Grumps in his room?”

  She shook her head. “He’s in the smaller study…on the Internet. I’m sure he’s on one of those distasteful pornographic sites, Matthew.”

  “Mum,” Matt exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and wishing he hadn’t heard that. “I don’t need to know what Grumps does in his private time. Christ! That’s an image I could do without.”

  Portia Bradley laughed. Matt felt himself chuckling along with her. His mother could be charming when she wanted to be. She could also be as calculating as his father. No wonder they were still married, despite his father’s numerous affairs. Of course, they all acted with class and ignored his philandering. Also, his father was careful to ensure the shame of being an adulterer never tarnished his name. Hell, Matt had learnt how to be a womanizer from observing his father. Not quite the tradition a father should pass onto his son.

  “Mum,” Matt said quietly. “I’d appreciate if you and Dad came over for dinner sometime soon. Madi would love to—”

  “Oh, Matthew, you know how busy we are. Have you heard about Sonja’s husband? It’s been all over the news. Some shameful business about his expenses. These MP’s have had a hard time of late. They won’t be invited around here anymore. I told her years ago she shouldn’t have married that man. No breeding at all.”

  Matt sighed softly at his mother’s behaviour. Her unwillingness to acknowledge his dinner invitation, plus her not so subtle change of topic, spoke volumes.

  “I take it that’s a no to dinner?” Matt asked coolly.

  She waved a dismissive hand through the air before saying, “We’ll see what happens, darling.”

  Matt checked his irritation and flashed her a tight smile. “Fine. I’m off to find Grumps. I’ll probably be gone before Dad returns.”

  “Why don’t you stay a bit longer? It feels as if we haven’t seen you for weeks. Adam stops by at least once a week, which is more than I can say for you,” she chastised.

  “You know where I am, Mum. If you want to see me, call and we can arrange something.” Matt gave her cold eyes. “Like dinner, with my girlfriend.”

  Her mouth tightened in distaste and Matt shook his head before walking away. He couldn’t deal with her right now.

  A ride in the lift later, he knocked on his grandfather’s study. It was supposed to be a room for his nieces to use whenever they were there and needed to get their college work done, but Grumps had claimed the space as his own and no one dared complain.

  “Enter.”

  Matt opened the door and strode in, determination stamped across his face.

  “Matthew.” Grumps beamed in obvious pleasure as Matt shut the door behind him. “How are you, my boy?”

  “Fine.” Matt’s eyes wandered around the space. If he recalled correctly, when he was younger, this room had been a place you were sent to sit and ponder wrongdoings. He and Adam had spent quite a lot of time here. “And yourself?”

  “I can’t complain,” Grumps said, closing the laptop screen on the desk where he sat.

  Matt frowned suspiciously, replaying his mother’s words in his head. It was quite an unpleasant thought, thinking about Grumps on some seedy website, quite unpleasant indeed.

  Matt sauntered across the room and pulled a chair out before collapsing into it, a casual smile on his face.

  “You know the reason why I’m here, don’t you?” he asked his grandfather.

  Grumps quirked his mouth, a bemused expression shifting over his lined features. “I’m not a mind reader, Matthew.”

  Matt sighed. So Grumps wanted to do it the hard way. “Madi told me everything.” He bent the truth a little. Best to make Grumps believe she had confided what was said that night. That way, he’d feel no compulsion to conceal it.

  Grumps arched a bushy eyebrow at him. “Did she now?”

  “Yes,” Matt replied tersely. “And what do you have to say for yourself?”

  Grumps reclined into his high-backed leather chair, steepled hands across his chest, calculating grey eyes locked on Matt’s face as he said, “Not a damned thing. I had a brief conversation with her. If she took offence, that’s not my fault.”

  Matt hid his grimace and tried to get the whole story. “Why would you say those things to her, Grumps? She was quite upset.”

  “Was she? I only spoke the truth, Matthew.”

  “As you see it,” Matt shot back quickly. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. “How did you think I would feel when I found out? When you told her those things, that she—” Here he paused, a fake disappointed look on his face as he shook his head slowly.

  “That she what?” Grumps asked, a gleam taking hold in his eyes. He chuckled lightly. “She hasn’t told you, has she?”

  “Of course she has.” Matt went for an indignant tone. Hopefully Grumps would blurt out his transgressions.

  “No,” Grumps said as a devious chuckle fell from his mouth. “She hasn’t. You can’t pull one over on me, Matthew.”

  Matt glared at his grandfather. Bloody old man. As sly as always.

  “I know you told her we won’t work as a couple, and I know about the rest of it, Grumps.”

  Grumps laughed before saying, “I know you don’t. If you did, you would’ve graced me with your presence a lot sooner, and you would’ve been much angrier. Of course, it could be that you don’t care about Ms DuMont as much as you’d have us all believe. I assumed she would’ve gone crying to you immediately. I also assumed you would either ignore it or contact me, whichever action you chose indicative of the depth of your feelings.”

  “I’m here now,” Matt said in annoyance.

  “Strange,” Grumps mused to himself. “I was certain she would’ve told you everything in an attempt to wrap you further around her finger. Maybe she’s—”

  “What did you say to her?” Matt exploded.

  Grumps’s gaze snapped to him, a disapproving scowl on his face. “Do not forget who you are speaking to, young man. I’m the head of this family and, although you are my favourite, I expect a certain level of respect from you.”

  Matt stood up abruptly. “Are you going to tell me what you said to her?”

  Grumps shook his head. “If she wants to tell you she will, but it’s telling that she’s willing to keep things from you. One wonders what else she may be hiding.”

  “Fine,” Matt said, his own grey eyes glinting dangerously. “I didn’t want to do this Grumps, but you’ve left me no choice.”

  Grumps exhaled loudly and scoffed. “Do what?”

  “Either tell me what you said to Madi or you’ll suffer the consequences of meddling in my business.”

  “Do your worst, Matthew. I’m looking forward to what you have planned. I’m running out of things to do to fill my time, and Portia is always lurking around me. I swear your father didn’t have a grain of sense in his head when he married her.”

  Matt ignored Grumps’s dig at his mother. The relationship between the two of them had been strained since before his birth.

  “Right, then,” Matt said decisively. “I’m going downstairs to have a chat with Mum, and convince her to take an extended holiday with Dad. Maybe a few months somewhere warm. You do know what will happen then, don’t you Grumps?”

  Grumps narrowed his eyes at Matt. “You woul
dn’t.”

  Matt continued, a smile slowly growing across his face. “Hannah will take good care of you while they’re gone. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll adjust to living with her and Stuart for a temporary period of time—”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “The girls will be excited.” Matt arched an eyebrow at his grandfather, who looked like he’d swallowed something bad. “Natalia and Nicole will probably spend all their time fussing over you. They never stop talking. Ha, imagine when they have their friends over—”

  “You treacherous bastard,” Grumps said. “How can you joke about something like that? I’m an old, feeble man.”

  “Feeble, my arse,” Matt said dryly, grinning at his grandfather. He would talk now. The threat of being around Terror and Trouble for any length of time was enough to make the hardiest of Bradley men quake.

  Grumps scowled fiercely at him for a full minute before his own face cracked into a smile. “I see you haven’t forgotten everything I taught you.”

  “Strike where you know your enemy is at their weakest?” Matt drawled without remorse. “No, Grumps, I haven’t forgotten. Now, please. What did you say to her? She was upset.”

  Grumps sighed loudly and avoided Matt’s penetrating gaze. “I did it for your own good, Matthew. You know I love you dearly.”

  Matt was touched at his grandfather’s words. William Bradley, Sr was not an affectionate man. Growing up with a man like him as your grandfather meant you were taught that displays of emotion were the greatest folly. A stiff upper lip at all times, anything else was a sign of weakness. He had taught that behaviour to his son, who had, in turn, taught it to Matt and his siblings.

  “I know,” Matt replied sombrely as he took his seat once more.

  Grumps sighed again. “Don’t get too angry with me, Matty.”

  Matt’s eyes widened. He could count on one hand the number of times his grandfather had used his childhood nickname. Fucking hell. What had the old man done?

  Twenty minutes later, Matt’s head was in his hands while an awkward silence filled the room. He raised his head slowly, eyes flashing with barely restrained rage. No wonder his sweet poppet had kept it secret. It was humiliating and past hurtful the things his grandfather had admitted to saying to her.