by Tonya Brooks
“You always dance that close to men you despise?” He accused.
Harley placed her hands against his chest and pushed in an effort to put some distance between them and he pulled her even closer. “He did the same thing,” she said dryly. “Short of making a scene, I had little choice but to tolerate it.”
“You never minded making a scene before,” he pointed out stubbornly, refusing to let the issue drop.
“I've grown up a lot since then.” Harley assured him and frowned in annoyance. “If all you're going to do is try and pick a fight, we might as well go back to the table.”
“I'd rather dance with you,” he admitted gruffly and let the anger go. Matt was not going to let Simms ruin his evening. Especially not now that he had her in his arms where he needed her. The damn song his brother had chosen to play couldn't have been more appropriate and it said everything he couldn't.
“I love you and I've loved you all along. And I miss you, been far away for far too long. I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go. Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore.”
As soon as the song ended, John changed the lineup again and the band followed his lead without question as usual. He hoped the words sank in for the couple that looked as if they were made for each other.
“There's a million reasons for you to go, But if you can find a reason to stay, I'll do whatever it takes to turn this around. I know what's at stake, I know that I've let you down. And if you'll give me a chance, believe it, I can change. I'll keep us together whatever it takes.”
They danced in complete silence, their bodies moving together as fluidly as if they had done this a thousand times before. When he twirled her around before dropping her in a low dip and holding her there, she laughed up at him in surprise. “I had no idea you were such a good dancer, Matthew.”
He lifted her back up, her body pressed flush against his and said huskily, “There are some things that I do much better.” In that unguarded moment, the revulsion appeared in her eyes and Matt knew he hadn't imagined it this time. The knowledge that she found him repugnant, shook him to his very soul.
“My dance, Baker,” Charlie said as he grasped Harley's arm and turned her toward himself. “Me and Harley got some catchin' up to do, don't we sweet thing?”
Not about to tolerate his hands on her again, Harley jerked her arm free. “Leave me alone, Charlie.”
“You heard the lady.” Matt growled as he grasped her hips and pulled Harley back against his body possessively.
“Lady?” Charlie hooted with laughter. “Who the hell are you trying to kid, Baker? I remember when you offered to pay any man fool enough to take her off your hands.”
Harley's painful gasp at the revelation filled Matt with shame and fueled his anger even more.
“Couldn't blame you, though. She never was anything but a two bit wh...” Harley's fist connecting solidly with his jaw silenced the slur and stunned both men into immobility. Charlie glared pure malice at her. “Bitch!” He snarled and made the mistake of reaching for her.
He never had a chance. Matt grasped his arm and flipped him backward into the crowd of curious onlookers before he dove on him. A split second later, John reached down and pulled Harley up onto the relative safety of the stage. He handed her his guitar and ordered, “Stay here,” before he dove into the melee after his brother.
Harley stared in disbelief at the scene before her. All hell had broken loose in a matter of seconds. Tables were being overturned, glasses crashing to the floor and bottles were flying across the room. Women were screaming and running for cover as a free for all ensued. Men were fighting everywhere she looked.
They were literally tearing the place apart and it was all because of her. She had lost her temper and done the very thing that she had berated Matthew for that afternoon. The guilt of her own hypocrisy stabbed her like a knife. Unable to bear watching the destruction a moment longer, she laid the guitar down and ran toward the emergency exit located next to the stage, desperate to escape the insanity that she had caused.
Harley paced back and forth in the parking lot, her arms wrapped around herself as she fought the tears that threatened to overflow. She had known coming back to Lakeside was a mistake and tonight had proved it. No matter how far away you ran, you couldn't escape your past.
~~~~
When the furor finally died down, Matt scanned what was left of the crowd for his wife and didn't see her anywhere. Fearful that she might have been hurt during the brawl, he thundered her name, “Harley!”
“Looks like your wife left you again, Matt.” Darla informed him with malice.
He stormed out of the building intent on finding her and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Harley pacing back and forth in front of his car. She looked fine. Better than fine, she looked sexy as hell. Which reminded him that this was not the way he had intended to end the evening, dammit. He was furious with that idiot Simms for wrecking his plans.
When Harley saw him striding purposefully toward her, she asked anxiously, “Are you alright, Matthew?”
Pleased that she was at least concerned enough to ask, Matt said, “I'm fine,” as he grasped her arm and put her in the passenger seat far more gently than he looked capable of right then.
He didn't look fine. He looked furious. Harley recalled what Mark had told her about Matthew not being in a fight until she came back and was even more dismayed with her own behavior. She had been here for two days and he'd been in two fights because of her. She couldn't blame Matthew for being angry. She was furious with herself.
Once he was in the car, she began to apologize. “I'm so sorry, Matthew. This is all my fault. I never should have come back.”
“It's not your fault.” Matt growled as he cranked the car.
“I lost my temper and hit Charlie,” she pointed out in self derision, completely disgusted with her own behavior. It had been years since she'd lost her temper and resorted to violence. It seemed her being back in Lakeside brought out the absolute worst in both of them. “I caused that brawl.”
“Simms caused it.” Matt said bluntly as he drove out of the parking lot and turned onto Third Avenue. “If you hadn't hit him, I would have, so it doesn't make any difference one way or the other.”
“I never should have come back,” she repeated and wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture. “But that's one mistake I won't repeat. Once I leave this time, I'm never coming back again.”
Matt did not like the sound of that and he was more determined than ever to prevent her from leaving with any means at his disposal. But first they needed to settle a few things and he knew the perfect place where they wouldn't be disturbed. He drove down to a vacant piece of land that was situated along the river and parked the car in the center of the lot.
“Why are we here, Matthew?” Harley asked somberly as her pensive gaze stared at the silvery moon reflected on the surface of the water.
“To settle a few things,” Matt responded as he stared at her profile broodingly in the moonlight. “Like why the thought of making love with me repulses you.”
“I am not having this conversation.” Harley refused.
The fact that she didn't deny it hurt like hell. “We're not leaving here until you tell me, Harley.” he insisted stubbornly.
“Contrary to local gossip, I don't jump in bed with any man who comes along,” she informed him indignantly.
“I'm not just any man,” he countered. “I'm your husband and the father of your child.”
“And I'm engaged to someone else,” she reminded him. “Donald sure as hell wouldn't appreciate me sleeping with my ex.”
“Not even if it meant getting the divorce you want so badly?” Matt asked shrewdly as a completely insane idea occurred to him. Hell, he knew she wouldn't agree to it, but it was worth a shot and he was willing to try anything at this point.
“What do you mean?” She asked and looked at him in confusion.
“The only way
I'll sign the divorce papers is if you make love with me.”
Harley's jaw dropped and she stared at him as if he were deranged. “You can't be serious,” she barely breathed. This was a low blow, even for Matthew. Hell, she knew he was willing to go to any lengths to get what he wanted, but this was taking things too damn far.
“You know I don't bluff, Harley.” Matt never bluffed and he wasn't this time either. However, he was more than capable of telling her a flat out lie if it suited his purposes. And it did.
“But this is insane,” she said as reasonably as possible under the circumstances. “Why would you even suggest such a thing?”
“Because I want you, dammit,” Matt admitted bluntly.
That did not impress her in the least. Matthew wanted every woman he met. There was no way in hell she was gonna wind up as a notch on his bed post again. “I don't want you,” she denied adamantly.
“Liar,” he accused. “You wanted me tonight in the kitchen.”
“That was a momentary lapse in judgment.” Harley insisted. “You took me by surprise.”
Like hell. He'd seen the hunger in her eyes before he'd kissed her. Harley had wanted him. “You're saying you would have responded like that with anyone?”
“No, that's not what I'm saying at all.”
Matt had her rattled so he took advantage of it. “So you did want me.”
“Yes. No! Hell, I don't know.” Harley was so befuddled she didn't know what she was saying.
“One night, Harley. Spend one night with me and I'll set you free,” he said persuasively. Not that he had any intention of giving her a divorce. Matt fully intended to get her in his bed and keep her there until she agreed to stay with him permanently.
“I don't trust you, Matthew,” she informed him, suspicious of his motives.
“You want proof?” He reached over to open the glove compartment and remove the divorce papers that he had stuffed inside that morning. He opened them to where the little red arrows indicated that he should sign and pulled out a pen. “I'll sign one copy now, and the other one later.” The later would be when hell froze, but she didn't need to know that yet. Matt signed his name and handed her both copies. “You'll get that one signed when you keep your part of the deal.”
Knowing reasoning was impossible when he was in this mood, Harley realized that he had her backed into a corner and she didn't see any other way out. This was the closest he'd come to giving her a divorce and dammit, she was only one signature away from being a free woman. The fact that she still wanted Matthew and a part of her was excited at the prospect of making love to him didn't help matters either.
Furious with him and herself, Harley accepted the inevitable and glared daggers at him. “Fine,” she snapped angrily. “Shall I climb in the back or did you plan to toss me over the seat like last time?”
Matt hadn't believed for one minute that she would actually go through with it, and he was equally shocked that she expected them to make love in the car again. Hell, he hadn't done that in a decade. Besides, it would take a hell of a lot more than a romp in the back seat to make Harley decide to stay with him, of that he was certain.
“I didn't mean here,” he protested.
“The back seat is perfect for this sordid little deal.” She assured him coldly and reached up to untie the bow behind her neck that held the halter in place before she lost her nerve. “Let's just get it over with.”
Once again, the sight of Harley undressing wiped every thought from his mind. He stared at her ravenously as she sat next to him bare to the waist, as beautiful and defiant as an amazon princess, the flashing blue eyes daring him to take what he wanted. “You are so beautiful,” he breathed in awe, heat pouring through him, relentlessly scalding him alive.
“Flattery isn't necessary, Matthew.” Harley said curtly and resisted the urge to cover herself. The heat from his obsidian gaze caressed her flesh like a living thing. “Just do whatever the hell you want so I can put this behind me and get on with my life.”
That made him mad and the anger only served to fuel his desire for her. It sure as hell wasn't the response he'd been hoping for, but under the circumstances, it would do. “Oh, I plan to do exactly what I want to.” Matt assured her in a voice filled with silky menace as he snagged her waist and pulled her toward him. “Before I'm through with you, you'll be begging me to make love to you, Harley.”
Harley shivered in response to the threat and steeled herself for what was about to happen. Suddenly she found herself flat on her back, staring up at the roof of the car, when the back of the front seat folded down to meet the back seat. “What did you do?” She gasped in surprise.
“Had it customized,” he grinned wickedly and slid her further back until her upper body was in the back of the car.
“My God! It really is a bed on wheels.” Harley exclaimed in dismay. It was also evidence that he was still as wild and reckless as ever.
Matt laughed softly as he eased the dress down her hips and legs. He had known making the seats into a bed would come in handy, but he'd never imagined how much so until now. “Too bad I didn't think of it when we were teenagers.”
“Jed will never drive this car.” Harley assured him hotly.
Matthew didn't bother to comment as he lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth. She couldn't prevent the gasp of pleasure that escaped her or the way her body arched upward in response. When he switched his attention to the other breast, she moaned low in her throat and dug her nails into the supple leather seat. Oh lord, it felt even better than she remembered.
God, she was so responsive and he'd barely touched her yet. Matt slid his hands up her chest to capture both breasts and began to knead gently as his mouth trailed kisses over her neck and found that sensitive spot he had discovered earlier. He lavished it with attention until her breathing became ragged and then he captured her mouth with his. Much to his surprise and eternal gratitude, Harley took control and shoved him onto his back as she ravaged his mouth with a passion that could no longer be denied.
Harley was aware that she was playing with fire, but she just didn't care anymore. Matthew had awakened long dormant desires in her and she was intent on giving them free reign. Her hands tugged at his shirt until she worked it free from his jeans and then they slid inside to caress the powerfully built chest that she remembered so well. She wanted to touch every well muscled inch, to taste his flesh and memorize every plane and contour again.
Matt snatched the polo shirt over his head to give her better access, her hands and mouth kissing and caressing his chest as if she were starved for him. He realized that Harley wanted him just as much as he wanted her and his smile became one of intense satisfaction. His breathing became ragged as she unbuttoned his jeans and lowered the zipper, her mouth making its way down his abdomen.
When the diamond sparkled in the moonlight, Matt grasped her hand and slid the engagement ring from her finger. He was still far too territorial and possessive to tolerate another man’s brand on his woman, especially when he was making love to her. He tossed the ring in the front of the car where it hit the dash and fell in the foot. When passion clouded sapphire eyes met his with a perplexed look at the action, he moved her back into a prone position as he slid out of his jeans.
Matt eased his hand between her thighs and probed gently. Her gasp of pleasure was music to his ears and he couldn't believe how ready she was for him. He'd never met a woman who was aroused as easily as Harley. Then again, he'd never had anyone arouse him as quickly as she could either. It seemed they still had a powerful effect on each other that time and distance had not erased and he was damned if he'd give her up without a fight this time.
“Matthew.” Harley gasped his name as she grasped his shoulders. Her nails raked over his flesh as she sought to draw him closer. “I want you.”
“Not yet, but you will,” he promised and refused to be rushed as he claimed her nipple again. He had plans for her and fifteen years worth of fa
ntasies to explore. He was going to take his time and make this last for the rest of the night.
Slightly wild eyed, she grasped his head and plead brokenly, “Don't make me beg.”
Unable to refuse her anything when she looked at him with her beautiful sapphire eyes darkened by desire; he positioned himself between her legs and slid his body into hers as she moaned in pleasure. Sweet mother of God. It was exactly like he remembered. Closing his eyes in sheer ecstasy, Matt experienced a surge of emotion as a memory from the past and the present merged into one.
She was so hot, so damn tight, and then it happened just like it had the first time. Her muscles contracted around him, drawing him deeper into her body as if she would never let him go. The sensation of being one with Harley was so intense that he lost all semblance of control, just like he had the last time.
Matt reared back on his knees and lifted her hips completely away from the seat as his body drove into hers again and again of its own volition. He could barely hear her voice calling his name, was vaguely aware of her nails raking his chest and arms, as the memory of the most incredible climax of his life added fuel to the flames, and he mindlessly sought to assuage the unbearable hunger that drove him.
Half out of his mind with need and delirious with pleasure, Matt drove himself into her one last time without restraint, and heard her scream his name brokenly as he experienced a release so powerful that it rocked him to his very soul and beyond. He literally collapsed atop her and felt Harley trembling beneath him as they fought for air.
A smile of sheer exultation covered his handsome face. It had been thirteen years since he'd experienced anything like this, and dammed if it hadn't been worth the wait. God, making love with Harley was just too incredible to describe. His body was so sated that he never wanted to move, and at the same time, he couldn't wait to make love to her again. She was absolutely amazing.
Matt lifted his head to place a tender kiss on her lips and didn't receive a response. That was when he realized that she was lying beneath him completely rigid. “Harley?” He asked lazily. “You okay, baby?”