Believe (Faith & Friendship Series)

by Jayne, S. L.

  I need to stay calm and play along. I smile up at him, feigning confusion. “And what is it you want to remind me of, Mr. Morgan?”

  I hear him take a deep breath in as he closes the small space between us, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me into him. My breath hitches as his lips crash against mine, his other hand weaves its way into my hair, lightly fisting it. I fight against the whimper that is trying to escape from me, I know that’s what he wants to hear.

  “I’m making sure you don’t forget me, forget how I make you feel,” he said against my lips.

  “Never going to happen, bad boy,” I replied, breathlessly.

  He backs me up against the desk, my legs hitting the edge, causing my knee to jerk.

  “Trembling already, baby?” he smirked.

  Shaking my head at him, I silently beg my body not to give into to what he wants.

  “No,” I breathed.

  His arm snakes around the bottom of my back and he pushes his body close to mine, not leaving any space between us. He slowly circles his hips, grinding against me. I moved with him, finding the perfect rhythm. My body instantly responds, reaching boiling point. I continue the internal battle with my senses, fighting against the tremble I can feel in my legs.

  “Give it to me, Princess, let go for me,” he whispered, his low voice reaching my core as he runs his hand up and down the side of my body while keeping his hips locked against mine.

  I reached up, pulling his head down to mine and kissing him hungrily. I’m caving, I crave him too much.

  “Please, Matt…” I begged, unsure of what I’m even begging for.

  He slows his pace, almost to a stop and the whimper that has been stuck at the back of my throat seeps out.

  A growl fell from his mouth. “There it is, that sound that fucking kills me every time.”

  His pace picked back up, grinding harder against me. “Please,” I begged again. My legs shake as a tremor runs through me, I feel Matt’s grip on me tighten as he holds my weight with one arm.

  “Do you remember now?” he asked.

  I nodded my head and felt his smile grow against my lips. “Good… I think my work here is done,” he moves away from me, slightly, keeping his arm around my back.

  “You can’t leave me like this,” I pouted.

  “Pout, Princess, put it away…” he smiled, winking at me. “I’m leaving you with the reminder I came to give you.”

  “You’re pure evil, you know that?”

  “I’m the sexy kinda evil though- that’s the best kind,” he chuckled.

  I laughed with him. “Get out of here, fiend.”

  His chuckle turned into a full belly laugh. “I’ll be back to pick you up after work, we’re going to look at bikes,” he winked as he leaned in to kiss me goodbye before leaving.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I knew it! I thought I was seeing things when I saw Matt walk past my office, I can’t believe he came to do that. It’s kind of hot, though,” Ava said, a little too loudly as we walked through the lobby of Ashby’s.

  I had filled her in on Matt’s impromptu visit, mainly because she wondered why I was flustered after work, the other reason was because I wanted to know if I was right in thinking it was a hot thing for him to do. I was right, it was hot, very hot.

  “Keep your voice down, Ava, my mom is over there!” I nudged her with my elbow as I saw my mom talking to Mrs. Stevens at the reception desk.

  “Hi, Lexi,” Ava called over to my mom.

  She turned around, beaming at us as she walked over toward us. She looks eager to talk.

  “Girls, you are now looking at the newest member of Ashby Publishing House, I start next week and I’ll be working alongside Mrs. Stevens on reception,” she announced, proudly.

  “That’s awesome news, Mom, I’m super happy for you!” I throw my arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug.

  “Well done, Lexi, you’ll do a great job here,” Ava said.

  Mom stepped out of my embrace to hug Ava, too.

  “Thank you, girls. I was a little worried at first, I didn’t want people to think I just walked into a high paid job because of, you know, knowing the CEO…” she smiled. “Max assured me that his staff aren’t like that, but I still wanted to work my way up. I’m so used to reception work, so it made sense to be in my comfort zone,” she said, shrugging her shoulder.

  “It will be fine, Mom, don’t worry. I have to get going; Matt is waiting out front for me. He’s taking me with him to look at bikes. It’s a hard life,” I laughed, giving her and Ava and swift hug before rushing out of the lobby to meet Matt.

  Climbing into Matt’s car, he leans over to kiss me. “Hey, baby, you ready to help me choose a bike?” he asked, breaking the kiss.

  “Yep, I’m so ready. You are going to give me a ride when you’ve bought one, right?”

  Turning to face him, I see his eyebrows raise in question. “Shit… maybe. What if you panic and fall? You’ll have to hold on real tight, Princess,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road.

  “Matt, I’ll be okay, I trust you… you won’t hurt me, babe.”

  Nodding his head, he let out a breath as he reaches over and rests his hand on my thigh. I look out the window and see we have arrived at the motorcycle showroom. Matt stopped the car in front of the floor to ceiling glass panels on the left side of the building, allowing us to see right through at what looks like over a hundred bikes, all shiny and gleaming under the lighting.

  Matt grabs my hand and almost drags me through the doors, to say he seems excited is an understatement.

  A guy made his way over to where we stood, he has a true biker image, and he actually looks a little scary too. Without even realizing it, I held on to Matt’s hand tighter because this guy is intimidating.

  “All right, man, what you need?” Scary guy asked, looking at Matt. His voice didn’t fit his image, it was deep but had a friendly tone.

  I zoned out when Matt talked about the technical side of things. I aimlessly looked around at the different types of bikes surrounding us, if it was down to me to choose, I’d go with the best color and the shiniest; they all look the same to me.

  At some point, Matt must have let go of my hand because he startled me out of my trance by shoving his keys and cell phone into my hands.

  “Hold these, baby, I’m going to have a feel of this blue one over here,” he winked and made his way over to a black and midnight blue bike.

  It’s very nice, but would look even better with Matt riding it.

  I watch as he climbs onto the bike and talks to the guy about performance, speed, and some other things I don’t understand. Matt’s phone beeps in my hand, I look at the screen and see a text message from someone called Kells, the preview of the message shows me that it says, Noon is great with me, I can’t wait! Look forward to seeing you. I stare at the message for a few more seconds before stuffing the phone into my pocket. I don’t want to overthink the fact that he hasn’t mentioned having a friend called Kells before or even meeting up with her. Trying to push the thought out of my mind, I tell myself that I have to trust him. I have to believe he won’t hurt me or betray me.

  “Do you like that one?” Matt asked. I must have zoned out again; I didn’t see him make his way over to me.

  “Sure, it’s a nice looking one,” I answered with a small smile, trying not to seem too distracted.

  “Okay, just a few more minutes and we can get out of here,” he said, placing a kiss on my temple.

  Around thirty minutes later, we’re done in the showroom, Matt has paid and arranged delivery on his new bike and we’re on our way to his apartment. He asked for his keys before we got to the car and when I held out his cell for him to take, he took it and shoved it in his pocket without looking at it, which makes me think he wasn’t expecting a message. He’s still here, he’s with me and if he didn’t want to be, he wouldn’t be, right?

  ***

  Pushing the text message that Matt had got
to the back of mind was easier said than done, three days later and it’s still there. I didn’t ask him about the message or question where he was going when he said, “I have to see a man about a dog”. I said I would forget it and focus on the trust I have him in, but I’m still human, I still have the same doubts and insecurities that some couples get, even those who have been married for half of their life. I think it’s all in the fear of losing someone you love, it may have taken me a while to realize that what I feel for Matt is love, but I don’t want to tell him I love him just because I’m feeling insecure, I want to wait until the right time.

  Padding to the kitchen, I hear Ava in the bathroom. We’ve been off work sick for the past two days, not exactly how I planned to spend the weekend, but I guess Ava’s cooking had other plans for us- I told her the chicken didn’t look right, but what do I know? I avoid cooking at all costs and now we’re paying for it. Luckily my sickness subsided and I’m only left feeling dizzy and lightheaded now, but hers hasn’t, she’s still got it bad.

  “Ugh, you look how I feel,” Ava muttered, dropping her body down on the couch.

  “Thanks! You sure know how to make a girl feel good, don’t you?” I said, flippantly.

  She looks as white as snow, I think she may need a doctor if she doesn’t stop throwing up by tonight. Thinking back, I don’t think I ate as much as she did, she was complaining all day about being hungry, so she had had a big portion that evening.

  She shifted her body around to face me. “I think I’m getting better, I have nothing left in my system, so I have to be on the mend, right?”

  “Maybe, I think food poisoning can last up to seventy two hours. You know I’m never eating your cooking again, right?” I grinned.

  “Shut up, Ry, there was nothing wrong with that chi-”

  She stops talking and jumps up from the couch, running to the bathroom as she clutches her stomach.

  I guess we won’t be mentioning the C word for a while.

  With two hours left until Ryan finishes work, Ava and I decide to watch TV. Well, we’re trying to watch it, between her bathroom breaks and my internal debate over my insecurities, not much watching has happened.

  “Take my mind off of being sick. Tell me what’s on your mind, Ry,” she says, eyeing me suspiciously.

  “Nothing, I’ll be okay… I’m just being a dork,” I reply with a smile, hoping she won’t press the issue, but knowing Ava, she won’t give up.

  I know if I tell her and it comes out wrong and sounds like he’s cheating, she’s going to rip him a new one for hurting me, and I don’t want to turn it all into a huge clusterfuck; it could be something of nothing, but I can’t sit here and not say anything. Maybe if I say it out loud I’ll see how ridiculous the whole thing sounds.

  “I saw a text on Matt’s phone… I wasn’t going through it, before you ask, I was holding it for him when the message came through. I’d never check his phone, I trust him,” I stopped to take a deep breath. “It was from someone called Kells, she said she was looking forward to seeing him at noon the following day,” I said, shrugging my shoulder.

  It doesn’t sound any more ridiculous out loud as it does in my head, I trust him, why can’t I shake it off?

  “Oh, Ry, he isn’t doing anything wrong, he wouldn’t risk losing you. Over thinking ruins things, sweetie, don’t get lost in your own head… you’re the only one in this world that he wants, he’s told you that, and shown you,” she said, smiling at me. “I’m sure that whatever it is there will be an innocent explanation behind it.”

  Taking in her words, I know she is right. I don’t want to ruin anything by over thinking.

  “I know, I felt bad for feeling insecure and I told myself to believe he wouldn’t hurt me. I know I can trust him, Ava, I just needed to say it out loud.”

  Our conversation was cut short by Ryan and Matt both arriving at the same time. Ryan ordered Ava back to bed as soon as he saw how pale she was, and Matt curled up on the couch with me. I feel better about the whole text thing after talking about it, I know I should trust my instincts more, but sometimes it helps to talk, even if you already knew the answer.

  “How are you feeling, Princess?” Matt asked, running his finger lightly over my cheek.

  “I’m feeling okay, babe. I was lightheaded and dizzy this morning, but I’m feeling good now,” I smiled.

  Pulling me into him, wrapping his arms tight around me. “That’s good, I hated seeing you sick,” he whispered.

  “Thank you for taking care of me,” I murmured.

  “You don’t have to thank me, baby, I’ll always take care of you. As soon as you’re better, I’m taking you for a ride.”

  I fall asleep with a smile on my face, already feeling better and knowing I won’t have to wait long.

  Chapter Sixteen

  After checking the clock for the umpteenth time today, I finally have less than ten minutes before work is over and Matt will be outside waiting for me. Ava isn’t at work today; Ryan took her to the doctor to get checked over; he wanted to be sure it was food poisoning and not anything more serious as she had the sickness a hell of a lot worse than I did. She sent me a text at lunchtime to tell me she had been and got it confirmed that it was a bad case of food poisoning and she was lucky it wasn’t salmonella.

  Gathering my things and exiting my office, I rush down the corridors, urge the elevator to move quicker and almost sprint out of the lobby to see Matt leaning up against his bike, arms folded across his chest, flashing me his gorgeous full smile.

  “You ready, baby?” Matt asked, pulling me in for kiss as I approach him.

  Not caring about a PDA right now, I kiss him back and nod my head, not wanting to break the kiss to answer verbally. He had spent all morning during breakfast and the whole car journey to work explaining the do’s and don’ts of being a passenger on a motorcycle, he made me repeat each part back to him to make sure I had taken it all in before he would promise to take me out straight after work today.

  “Where are we going?” I quizzed, pulling away from the kiss. He had told me this morning I would know where we were going when we got there.

  Shaking his head, he ignored my question and handed me the leathers he had already bought for me, but not told me until we reached Ashby’s this morning. I think he knew I’d have risked being late for work to see them and try them on.

  Climbing on the back of the bike, I wrap my arms around his waist and hold on tight like he told me to. “I’m ready,” I shouted through the helmet.

  “Hold on, Princess, and don’t you dare let go… remember what I told you.” I tightened my grip on him to make him relax about me holding on properly. I know how having me on the back of his bike must be playing havoc on his protective side, but he knows how to ride and he knows I trust him with my life.

  Adrenaline powered through me, the excitement of being on a bike for the first time has me on a high. I haven’t paid any attention to where we are going or where we have passed on our way to our destination, I trust Matt and I know he would have chosen a great place to take me. I would go anywhere as long as it was with him.

  Turning off the freeway, Matt stops the bike in a parking lot that I have never seen before; I have no idea where we are. We climb off and remove our helmets.

  “You ready to hike?” Matt smirked.

  I give him a doubtful look and glance down at the heels I’m wearing. “You didn’t mention hiking!” I squealed.

  Chuckling, he quickly scooped me up in his arms, making me scream out, “I’ll walk, put me down!” I laughed, kicking my legs.

  “Let me carry you… my poor baby can’t get her heels scraped on the rocks,” he mocked as we reached a trail.

  Giving in and letting him carry me, he made his way down the trail. A short time after, and Matt still carrying me effortlessly, we headed past some palm trees where some enormous rocks were situated around water… that’s when I saw where he had brought me, to a hidden waterfall.

 
“It’s beautiful…” I gasped, taking in the sight around me as he sets me down on the ground.

  The rocks have graffiti on, but it doesn’t ruin the pure beauty of the sight before me. The tree leaves slightly swaying against the breeze in the air, and the sound of the overflowing water is pacifying.

  Turning to Matt, I see him watching me. “I love watching your face, your expressions are stunning,” he said, taking a few steps to stand behind me and drape his arms over my shoulders.

  “I love it, thank you for bringing me here,” I whispered, still captivated by the scenery.

  He leaned down to kiss my temple. “Let’s go sit down on a rock,” he said, lifting me again and climbing over the rocks.

  He sets us both down on one that isn’t covered in graffiti, being this much closer to the water is amazing. Thinking back on my life in Boston, I realize now how sheltered I really was.

  “All of the things I have done with you and Ava, as little as going for pancakes, or spending a few hours in the gym… it has brought me to life and shown me what living feels like. I never imagined having another person care for me more than Ava does,” I spoke softly.

  Feeling his arms wrap around me, pulling me in closer to him, I lay my head on his chest. “You know I feel the same as you, Princess, meeting you… best fucking thing ever. I know Ryan proposing to Ava may make you feel like you’re losing your best friend, but you’ll never be lonely as long as you’re with me,” he promised.

  “I don’t want Ava to feel bad for taking the next step in their relationship, you know? I’m ecstatic for them, they deserve a happy ever after. It’s all I’ve heard for sixteen years,” I laughed gently, thinking about Ava’s love for fairy tales.

  “I will love you forever, Rylee…” Matt whispered in my ear.

  I slowly turned my head to see his face, unsure if I heard him right.

  “Say that again…”

  “I’m sorry, I should have waited until you’re ready, fuck… I’m-”