by Opal Carew
But she trusted him. And this would be a healing step for her—to get past what that guy had done to her. He couldn’t say no.
Fuck, he didn’t want to say no.
* * *
As Kate felt him draw near, she thought she might feel anxiety, given her experience with Victor, but she really did trust Matt. Completely.
She felt Matt’s hand on her ass. She expected an immediate slap, but instead, he stroked. Gently. Tenderly. His big hand cupped her, then glided sideways. As he stroked her buttocks, heat washed through her at his masculine touch. His was so big and strong. She wanted him to touch more of her. Her nipples peaked at the thought, and her insides tightened.
Then his hand drew away. Suddenly, it smacked across her ass, making her gasp. It didn’t hurt, but it smarted. Her skin tingled where his hand still rested against her.
Then he drew back his hand and smacked her again.
* * *
Her gasp sent heat thrumming through him. His cock swelled even harder. He smacked again, then left his hand resting on her heated skin. Her ass was so round and perfect. He raised his hand and smacked again.
He could hear her accelerated breathing. She was turned on. He smacked again and she gasped again, then moaned.
“Do you like this, Kate?”
“Oh, yes, Sir.”
Oh, fuck. His cock jerked to full mast. He wanted to drive into her so badly.
“Do you want me to keep spanking you?”
“Yes, please, Sir.” She squirmed, her glowing red ass beckoning to him.
* * *
Kate couldn’t believe how this made her feel. His smack stung, making her skin tingle. And she wanted more. Excitement churned through her and she could feel the moisture pooling between her legs.
“Please, Sir, punish me.”
* * *
Matt stifled a groan. Her words were killing him, sucking the strength from him. She owned him. But he didn’t care right now. He wanted to give her what she wanted.
He smacked her again and she moaned. Again and again his hand clashed with her flesh, the smack sounding loudly in the silence of the room.
“Oh, yes.” Her breathy words ground through him.
God, he wanted her right now. He would love to pull aside the crotch of her thong and drive right into her. But he wouldn’t. That’s not what she’d invited him to do. He smacked again and her ecstatic moan thrilled him.
He sensed she was close to orgasm. He didn’t know if the spanking would take her all the way there or not. And he didn’t want to keep hitting her. To bring her release, he’d have to go harder, faster. Her skin already sported an angry redness.
He wanted to caress her. To bring her pleasure. So as he smacked her again, he stroked her ass with his other hand. Then glided his fingers between her legs. Fuck, she was wet. He smacked again as his fingers slid beneath the crotch of her thong.
* * *
Kate’s breath caught as she felt his fingers glide under her thong. He smacked and she cried out, then the rising pleasure blossomed as his fingers slid over her slick opening. She gasped at his sure stroke, pleasure pummeling through her. Smack.
“Oh, Sir. Oh—” She gasped as he found her clit. “Oh, please, yes.” She sucked in air as his fingers glided inside her, his other hand smacking again. Her whole body vibrated in need as she relinquished herself to him. A swell of intense sensation rose within her and she moaned her release. Ecstatic joy blasted through her and she arched against his hand, then wailed. The agony of her release shattered through her.
* * *
Matt couldn’t believe the intensity of her orgasm. He practically ejaculated on the spot. But he held it back. That wasn’t what this was about.
But what was it about? Did she just want to assuage her guilt for walking out on him? Did she just want to get off?
Two years ago, he’d been sure she’d been as in love with him as he was with her, but he’d grown to realize that wasn’t true. And she hadn’t denied it a few minutes ago when he’d said he believed she’d wanted to end the relationship with him.
But right now, he felt close to her. Just like he had before. He felt love for her.
Damn fool that he was.
He put his hands on her waist and drew her to her feet. She turned and faced him. Her face was aglow. Soft. Feminine. Radiant from the pleasure he’d just given her.
God, he wanted her so badly.
She gazed deep into his eyes and seemed to recognize his need. She tipped her mouth up. The tip of her tongue glided over her lips.
Fuck, he couldn’t help himself. He took her in his arms and kissed her. Her soft mouth yielded to his. He drove his tongue into her, needing to possess her.
* * *
Kate melted against him. He took her mouth with confidence, his tongue gliding deep, exploring her with authority. Her insides ached in need. Her nipples drove into his chest, longing for his attention.
But there was something she needed even more.
His mouth withdrew and he gazed down at her.
“Fuck, Kate, the way you’re looking at me …”
“I want you to …” She drew in a shaky breath. “I need …”
His hands tightened around her shoulders.
“What is it? What do you need?”
She couldn’t just ask him. But … she could … beg. Like she’d done so often in the past.
“Please, Sir. I want you to fuck me.”
His eyes clouded and he hesitated, but he didn’t draw away.
She stepped back and stripped off her thong, then leaned over the couch again, offering herself.
She heard him release a pent-up breath. He stepped behind her and she expected his hard cock to drive into her.
Instead, he took her shoulders and drew her upward, then turned her around so they were face-to-face and pulled her into another heart-shattering kiss.
His lips parted from hers and he gazed at her with a fierce expression. “Tell me again what you want.”
He seemed close to losing control and that thrilled her. “Please, Sir, I want every inch of you inside me.”
And she did. God, her insides ached with the need to feel him inside her. Stretching her. Filling her.
He dropped his pajama pants to the floor, then backed her against the wall so fast she gasped. His fingers found her opening and stroked.
“Oh, yes.”
He groaned, then hard, hot flesh pushed against her. His cockhead teased her opening.
“Hard. Drive into me hard, Sir.”
His fierce glare, shimmering with defiance, cut through her. Would he refuse?
But he drove into her, his hard column of flesh impaling her in one sure stroke.
He held her tight to his body, crushing her against his broad chest. “Is that what you want?”
“Yes, Sir,” she said with a slow breath. Oh, God, she’d almost forgotten how long and thick he was. Almost. Her body remembered, and embraced him. She quivered as they stood there, his big cock deep inside her, his body crushing her to the wall.
He gazed down at her and the intensity of his dark blue eyes unnerved her.
Almost as if … No, she wouldn’t believe that he loved her.
She squeezed him with intimate muscles and he groaned.
* * *
Matt couldn’t help himself. She squeezed and he responded. He lifted her legs and she wrapped them around him, then he drew back and drove deep again. Deep into her hot velvet depths.
“Oh, yes.”
Her words, dripping in pleasure, rocked through him. He didn’t know how long he’d last. He was so close, so delirious with need being inside her like this.
Her fingers tightened around his shoulders as he drove in again and again. His cock ached as the cool air surrounded him, then he drove into her hot depths again. Cool, hot, cool, hot. She arched against him and moaned. He gritted his teeth, willing himself to hold back. Just long enough …
“Oh, God, yes.”
She threw her head back. “Oh, yes …” Her fingers tightened. “You’re making me …”
Her passage tightened around him as she shuddered in orgasm. He thrust deep and let go. His balls tightened and heat coursed through him, flooding into her.
He held her soft body tight to him as he came. The intensity of it heightened every sensation. Her nipples pressed into him. Her hot sheath around him. Her soft breathing against his neck. The thumping of her heart against his chest.
He held her close, never wanting to let her go.
But knowing he had to.
He gazed down at her and her eyelids fluttered open, revealing her big, beautiful blue eyes. Their gazes locked, then her eyes widened and … Oh, fuck, he could sense her drawing away. The open, vulnerable look in her eyes closed and her body tensed ever so slightly.
But her heart still beat close to his, and her hot sheath still surrounded him.
He wasn’t willing to give up this closeness again. Not yet.
He captured her mouth, swirling his tongue against hers, then he swept her into his arms and carried her to his bed.
* * *
Kate’s breath caught as Matt laid her on his bed. She didn’t know what to think. Didn’t know what to feel. Having Matt inside her again, making love to her … Oh, God, it had been sheer heaven. But then when she’d opened her eyes and seen him staring down at her … What did he think? She didn’t dare to believe he would want her again.
Sure, he’d made love to her, but any man would take an opportunity like that. A woman offering sex … why would he say no? But for her, it had been so much more. After two years of believing the worst of him, and now finding out it was all a lie, she realized Matt really was the man she’d fallen in love with back then.
He drew her against his body, spooning her, his arms wrapped around her waist. The staccato patter of ice pellets hitting the window signaled the return of the freezing rain, but she’d never felt so warm or so protected, curled up tight against Matt’s big, hard body with his strong arms around her.
She sank into the heaven that she found herself in and soon fell sound asleep.
* * *
Matt held her close, loving the feel of her soft, warm body close to his. She hadn’t intended for them to have sex tonight and she would probably regret it in the morning, so he would enjoy this night with her in his arms before they went their separate ways.
She murmured in her sleep and shifted closer to him, her soft, round behind pressing tighter against his groin. God, how could he not get carried away with …
Oh, fuck. He hadn’t used protection. When she’d begged him to fuck her, his cock had been doing all the thinking. Not that that was an excuse.
He knew she was safe. He’d been tested since his latest, short relationship ended eight months ago. He was clean, and she probably was, too. He’d find that out later.
But what if she wasn’t on birth control?
* * *
Kate awoke to the glint of sunshine. She opened her eyes and realized she didn’t recognize the room she was in … and there was a hot, hard body pressed against the back of her, and big, strong arms around her.
Matt.
Oh, God, she’d had sex with Matt last night.
His breath against her temple was slow and steady. He was still asleep. She drew in a slow breath, then shifted forward slightly, trying to slip from his embrace, but his arms tightened around her.
“You know, you don’t have to run away anymore.” His deep voice rumbled from his chest, then his lips caressed her ear.
“I wasn’t trying to run.” It was actually a lie. If she’d been able to slip away, she would have dashed back to her room, gotten dressed, then pretended this had never happened. Now she had to face what they’d done head-on.
“You’ve been running from me for two years. I get it. It’s a hard habit to break.” He rolled her onto her back and smiled down at her, then captured her lips. Almost as soon as it started, the kiss was over. And she wanted more. “But now you know I’m not the frightening man you thought I was.”
“Right.” But he was. Not because he was the ruthless man Ileana had led Kate to believe he was, but because Kate knew that around him, she became someone else. That hadn’t changed. Last night had proven that to her.
As he watched her, his brows furrowed. “Kate-”
“Look, Matt. Last night was a mistake. We should never have …” But it was her fault, not his. “I should never have asked you to …” Her hands clenched into fists. “Damn it. That’s exactly why we can’t do this. I beg you to dominate me, to punish me. Who does that?”
To her surprise, he grinned at her. “What’s wrong with enjoying a little role-playing in the bedroom? It’s healthy and it’s exciting.”
Her head shook back and forth. “But it’s not a role. I become someone else. Someone I don’t even recognize.”
He drew in a deep breath and moved away, giving her much-needed space to breathe. “Okay, it’s just as well. I didn’t bring you here to start up a relationship again.”
She gazed up at him. “Why did you bring me here?”
He’d drawn her here by saying he wanted to be an investor in her company and she prayed it wasn’t just a ploy. She didn’t want to let down her employees. Her heart clenched. And she didn’t want to fail again.
“Kate, I didn’t lie to you. I brought you here to discuss investing in your company.”
“Really?” She was almost afraid to believe him. After the wild roller coaster of emotions she’d been through over the past twenty-four hours, she didn’t think she could cope with another shock. “But … why? I mean, how did you even know I needed an investor?”
“A few months after you left me, I heard you’d moved away from New York and set up a business somewhere else. When I saw you at the mall recently, I wondered how you’d been doing. I asked around and found out you were looking for an investor.” He shrugged. “I wanted to help.”
“I realize you own Facts and Figures Inc., but what does the board of directors think about you investing in my company?”
“Actually, I’m investing personally. I thought you’d prefer that to being partners with a corporation.” He shrugged. “I just made it look like they were the interested party because if you knew it was really me, I’m sure you wouldn’t have agreed to come.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You said you hadn’t lied to me.”
He grinned. “Well, not in any way that was important. So are you still interested?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good.” He pushed away the covers and stood up.
She dragged her gaze from his nakedness. They were going to be discussing a business relationship. She shouldn’t be drooling over his sexy, masculine body. Damn, how could she become partners with a man she’d been so intimate with? A man she’d drop to her knees for on command?
She drew in a breath, her fingers clenched around the sheets covering her. She’d find a way. Because she simply had to make this work.
He pulled on his pajama pants and turned to her. “So, tell me Kate, how are you?”
Actually, she felt incredibly refreshed. Once they’d made love, she’d fallen into a deep sleep, feeling warm and protected in his arms. Not that she would tell him that.
She gazed at his unsettling blue eyes. “I’m fine. A little hungry.”
He grabbed something from his zippered bag and tossed it to her. A granola bar. “It’s either that or leftover lasagna. I’d planned to have food delivered, but with the weather, that won’t be possible.”
“This is fine.” She unwrapped it and took a bite.
“But what I meant is, how are you doing? Living here in Connecticut for the past two years?”
“Oh, it’s a beautiful place to live. I have a nice apartment, friendly neighbors. I like to go biking in the fresh air. There are a lot of great parks and bike paths.”
“So you like it here?”
“Yes, of course”
—she gazed at the bar in her hand—“but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss living in New York City.”
* * *
The wistfulness of her words haunted Matt. She missed her old life. She never would have left the city if she’d had a choice. If circumstances hadn’t forced her to move.
And he’d had a role in that.
“You have an apartment. You didn’t want to buy a place?” he asked.
Pain lanced across her features. “No. I didn’t want to fall in love with a place again and chance losing it. Maybe later, when things have settled down with my business.”
She glanced at him, then down at her granola bar, and took a bite. The sadness in her eyes flooded him with guilt.
“What about you? Did you ever buy that big house you were looking at?”
“Yes, I did,” he said, struggling to keep his voice emotionless. “I live there now.” But he’d hoped one day Kate would live there with him. “From everything I’ve seen, your business is doing well. Why is your partner pulling out?”
* * *
Kate glanced at him in surprise. She was sure Matt would have found out all the details before he considered investing. “He got a great job offer in California.”
“Yes, I understand the background. But even if he moves away, he could have keep his share in the business. Or was there something more than business between you?”
“No, he thought handling the business remotely would be too complicated. And the two of us were never involved. I know better than to mix a business partnership with romance.”
Oh, damn. How would he take that after last night? She gazed at his inscrutable expression and decided she’d better tackle this head-on.
“Matt, about what happened last night—”
But his cell phone chimed from the dresser just as she started talking. She stopped while he took the call.
“Pearce,” he answered. “Okay, good.”
He hung up and tossed the phone on the bedside table.
“That was the driver. He said they should have the road cleared in an hour or so. He’ll pick us up then.” He grabbed his pajama top and pulled it on. “In the meantime, I think we’re long overdue for some caffeine. We can take our coffee in the living room and sit by the fire. We have some things we need to talk about.”