Matt almost moaned when he dug into his own food. Chris had become a tyrant about diet now that he was going to the NFL Combines. Matt had never seen his friend train harder, pushing himself to be faster, better, stronger than ever. He was in peak condition, and Matt felt like a slob next to him, so he did his best to keep up. It was hard, though, working full time and trying to fit in workouts and drills with his friend. He couldn’t do it as much as he’d like, and he felt like they were drifting apart more and more. Between his job, Chris’s rigorous training schedule, plus finishing school and how much time he spent with Megan, Matt barely got to see him.
And he didn’t even want to get started on Lance and Abby. The traitor had moved out. Matt had barely seen either of them since he’d graduated in December. They’d had a little party to celebrate for him and exchange gifts, just the five of them, before they’d all gone their separate ways for Christmas. He’d felt more like an outsider than ever, even though he’d been the guest of honor, the only one not in a couple. The irony of the fact that he was single when he’d been the only one of the three of them to have a girlfriend before last summer was not lost on him.
Everyone was leaving him behind, moving on with their own lives, following their own dreams, and he sat home in this house that wasn’t really his, with a job that would pay the bills but wasn’t what he’d dreamed of as a teenager, when his walls were filled with surfing posters. He’d worked as a teenager so he could afford to play in the ocean, eventually managing to get a job at the local surf shop and teach lessons over the summer. But surfing for a living wasn’t feasible. Not for him. He didn’t have what it took to go pro, and he didn’t live in the right part of the world to open a shop or teach.
He hadn’t been surfing in too long. School and football kept him away from the ocean during the only season where surfing wasn’t dangerous in Washington and the waves were big enough to be worth riding. He made time for the summer waves when he went home, and it felt nice to be on a board again, but the baby waves combined with a bunch of beginners learning to surf taking over his favorite beach didn’t do enough to relieve the itch.
But he wasn’t alone now. He had Hannah. Thinking about surfing brought him back to her. Back to that summer, the last one where he’d had fun surfing, teaching Hannah how to ride his board and his cock. And with the way she reacted to him still, he kind of hoped she might steal more of his food. He’d love the chance to take her into his room and spank her round ass, turning it pink, feeling her get wetter from the sting. She’d liked it when he’d given her playful spanks that summer, though he hadn’t done anything like he was imagining now. No, his tastes had evolved a bit since then. Had hers evolved too?
He decided to test it out, and casually nudged the carton with his stir fry toward her. She looked at him, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Are you offering me your food?”
“Hmm?” He feigned innocence. “What? No. You know I don’t like sharing my food.”
She chuckled. “Good. Me either.”
Silence fell while they both ate, taking the edge off their hunger. Matt could feel Hannah’s eyes on him, and he looked up, raising an eyebrow in question.
She cleared her throat. “So, what’ve you been up to the last few years? Do you still surf?”
Her questions, so closely mimicking his earlier thoughts, had him pausing for a second before he nodded. “Some. Not as much as I’d like.”
“Yeah, I’d imagine it’s hard to get much time on the water over here. You told me summers in Westport were best for beginners. And in the fall you still had football this year, right?”
A sly smile came across his face. “Were you keeping tabs on me, Hannah?”
A blush stole over her cheeks, but she shook her head. “No. But it’s hard not to notice when your name is all over the sports pages and local news channels during the season.”
He smiled wider, not buying it. “Uh-huh. Sure. So you never told me why you decided to come to Marycliff.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she wadded up a napkin and tossed it at him. He caught it in his lap, laughing. “God, you’re full of yourself. I did tell you when you asked. I got a good scholarship and the marketing department here is as good as at UW with smaller class sizes.” She punched him in the shoulder when he wouldn’t stop laughing. “Shut up. I’m serious. That’s why.”
He caught her hand when she tried to punch him again, shaking his head. “I know. I seem to recall telling you it was a good school with good financial aid packages.” He raised his eyebrows again, needling her with his silent questions. He believed her stated reasons, but had she maybe come here for him after all?
She let out a sigh, deflating, and pulled her hand out of his grip. “Fine. If you must know, yes, I started looking at Marycliff after I met you. But,”—she narrowed her eyes again and pointed a finger in his face—“I decided to go to Marycliff on its merits. And if anything, you almost made me not come here because of the way you disappeared. So don’t get all self-congratulatory and think your presence here influenced my decision one way or the other.”
He sobered at that, feeling like an asshole all over again. “I’m sorry for that. I really am.”
She nodded. “I know. You apologized already. And I appreciate that. I only brought it up because you pushed.”
They lapsed into silence, finishing their dinner. Pushing his plate away, Matt sat back. “What about you? You’re a marketing major. With the way you were always so passionate about environmental stuff, I figured you’d go into science so you could be at the forefront of research or work for a non-profit to clean up the world.”
She wrinkled her nose at him, a frown pulling down the corners of her mouth. “No. Most of that stuff is volunteer work, and the people that coordinate it have business or management degrees. I figured marketing would allow me to help more, because if people don’t know how bad things are, how can we convince them to help, y’know? Plus, it’s more practical, working for a non-profit doesn’t pay much.”
It was Matt’s turn to frown. He understood wanting financial security, but she’d been so idealistic, so her attitude came as a surprise. “Really? That’s why you’re a marketing major?”
She shrugged. “Don’t look like that. I like it. I like helping run the social media at Eco Utilities. I can do so much with a marketing degree. It opens doors, instead of closing them. I’ll be able to volunteer my services wherever I want and be an asset to any organization instead of only doing boring stuff.”
He nodded, still frowning a little. But she did seem to enjoy her internship, so who was he to judge? It’s not like he had any room to criticize. He wasn’t going after what he really wanted.
He turned his attention to the leftover food on the table, glancing at Hannah. “You done?” When she nodded, he started closing up the boxes so he could stash them in the fridge. Just before he closed his box, Hannah’s fingers darted in, plucking out a slice of red pepper and popping it in her mouth, mischief in her eyes when he looked up at her.
He let out a low growl. “You’ll pay for that.”
She giggled at him. “Sure, sure. I’ll believe it when I see it.” She stood up, carrying their plates to the kitchen. Matt came right behind her, stashing the food in the fridge, and cornering her against the counters before she could get away.
“Naughty girl. I warned you there were consequences to stealing my food.” He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her tight against him, letting his other hand roam down to caress her ass, palming it before landing a sharp smack.
She gasped in response, squirming in his grip, but her pupils grew larger, and Matt knew she was turned on too. He groped her ass some more before landing another smack against the other cheek. Her body pushed against his, her hands clutching at his T-shirt over his chest. He smiled down at her, baring his teeth. “Should I punish you, then?”
He turned them and backed her toward his room. She went without resistance, almost trippi
ng a couple of times, but he had her, making sure she wouldn’t lose her balance. Once in his room, he pushed her down to sit on his bed, turning to close the door behind them just in case. He didn’t expect his roommates home soon, but the memory of their interruption on Friday had him being more careful.
He sat next to her and patted his lap. Hannah looked at him, uncertainty written on her face. He tried for a reassuring smile, but couldn’t be sure it didn’t come out predatory. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. It’s just for fun.”
Still hesitating, her lips parted like she might say something, but then she leaned toward him. Helping her across his lap, he had to hold back a groan when her side pushed and slid against his cock. He adjusted her so her ass was the highest part of her, round and waiting for his hand, and wrapped one arm over her back, just to maintain their connection.
He rubbed his hand over her backside before landing a smack. More rubbing and another smack. She jerked a little with each hit. He was hitting hard enough to cause a sting, but not more than that, especially with clothes in the way. Still, after a few more smacks her hand came back to cover her ass.
“Ow!” She sounded a little surprised.
With another smirk, Matt captured her hand and pinned it behind her back. He leaned down and rasped in her ear, “It’s a spanking, Hannah. It’s supposed to sting a little.” While he spoke his hand continued to rub over her ass then traced the seam of her jeans down between her legs. She twitched a little like she wanted to get away, but he kept his pressure firm, and she pushed back against his questing fingers. God, how he wished she were wearing a skirt or yoga pants. Anything that would be easier to strip off her than tight skinny jeans so he could see her bare ass turning pink and feel her wetness coat his fingers.
“You like that? You want me to bury my fingers inside your tight pussy?”
She stiffened at his dirty talk and started pushing back, trying to get up. “Let go, Matt. Let me up!”
Pulling her up, he set her on her feet, but kept his hands on her hips until he was sure she was steady.
She looked angry, brushing her hair out of her face with quick, jerky movements, and he couldn’t figure out why the sudden change. She’d been into it just a second ago. “What’s wrong? I was just playing. I didn’t mean—”
She stepped back, her arms crossed over her chest. “Is that why I’m here?”
“What? What are you talking about?” He sat on the bed, so confused now.
She blew out a breath, annoyed. “Are you just trying to fuck me? Because that’s not why I came over. Are you mad because you didn’t get in my pants the other night?”
“What? No.” He stood, gripping her shoulders when she started to back away. “Were you not paying attention earlier? I miss you. I want you. Yes, I’d love to finish what we started on Friday night, but that’s not why I invited you over. If you don’t want to do that, then we won’t do that. We can go back and watch TV or you can keep reading if you need to. I just want to spend time with you.”
Her eyes narrowed, her face skeptical, but she didn’t shrug off his hands or twist out of his grip, so he took that as a good sign. But her words were less encouraging. “I should go. I have homework.”
“More than what you brought with you?” She jerked her head to the side once, a quick negative. He rested his forehead against hers. “Stay. Read here. Don’t go yet. Stay.”
She softened under his hands, the tension draining from her, and she dropped her arms, her posture more open and less defensive. “Fine. I’ll stay for a little while longer.” She pulled her head away from his and stuck a finger in his face, her eyes narrowed again. “If you try anything that keeps me from getting my reading done, I’m gone.”
He couldn’t help the smile that took over his face. “Fair enough.” He kissed her once, hard, but with no tongue, pulled back, and opened the door. Turning her to the opening he smacked her ass once more. “Time to get to work.”
She glared at him over her shoulder and pinched one of his nipples through his shirt.
“Ow! Hey!”
With a devilish grin on her face she sauntered out the door, an extra sway to her hips that he knew was for his benefit. He followed her into the living room. “Careful, Hannah. Keep that up, and I might not be able to keep my hands to myself after all.”
She shot him another glance over her shoulder. “Okay. Just remember that I’ll leave if you don’t keep your promise.” After settling into the corner of the couch opposite him, which made him growl and move closer so her legs were over his lap, she gave him a thoughtful look. “I believed you earlier when you said you’re sorry. But that doesn’t erase what happened. I can’t pick up with you where we left off like it was nothing.”
He swallowed, rubbing a hand over her shin up to her knee and back down to her ankle. “I get it. I can be patient. But I’m not willing to let you go again so soon after getting you back.”
She stared at him a moment longer, drawing in a breath like she might respond, but instead she just nodded and turned her attention back to her book.
Matt continued to stroke up and down her legs, contenting himself with the simple amount of contact that she allowed. He hadn’t realized how much damage his actions had done to her. The trusting, open girl that she’d once been was gone, leaving this cautious woman in her place.
Was she this cautious with everyone? Or just with him?
It didn’t matter. He’d do whatever it took to make her trust him again and get back to the way things had been before.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Hannah took a deep breath before knocking on the door at Matt’s house. Her nerves were worse than normal, because today she wasn’t here to see Matt. She was here to model for Megan. Hannah had been over here for at least an hour or two almost every day after work since Tuesday. On Friday, Matt had come to her apartment and spent the evening. They’d had the place to themselves since Elena had gone home for the weekend.
Things had gotten a little more heated between them, but she hadn’t let him get as close to stripping her as that first night after the club. True to his word, he backed off whenever she wanted him to, waiting for her to initiate each step, only putting his hands under her shirt when she did it to him, each of his actions mirroring hers. And there hadn’t been any dirty talk since the spanking incident on Tuesday.
She felt conflicted about all of that. While she appreciated that he respected her boundaries, she liked it when he took control and did things to her. She’d liked it before, and that hadn’t changed. That had been part of the reason she’d been disappointed with every other sexual relationship. She wanted a guy who took charge in the bedroom. Bossiness in any other aspect of life was annoying, but in bed it was hot. Since Matt had been her first, that was what she’d expected the next time she’d had a boyfriend and hadn’t gotten it, or with anyone since. Not even bossy Derek could manage to dominate her the way she liked when they had sex. But she’d revoked Matt’s permission to treat her that way when she’d established their boundaries on Tuesday. It was up to her to let him know when it was okay to cross them again.
The dirty talk, though. That was something new. He’d never talked to her quite like that when they’d been together before. It had shocked her, but turned her on whenever she remembered it. She found herself squirming on the doorstep thinking about it when Megan opened the door.
“Oh my God, Hannah. You’ve been here every day this week. You don’t have to knock and wait. Sorry I didn’t answer sooner. I knew it was you and figured you’d just come in.” The animated brunette grabbed Hannah by the wrist and dragged her into the house. Megan wore a T-shirt and pair of shorts covered in paint, and her hands bore colorful smudges.
She cast a glance back at Hannah as she led the way toward the back of the house. “Are you thirsty? Do you need to pee? Because if so, now’s the time to do both of those. I’m going to need you to hold your pose for a little while, and I’d like to get as much done as possi
ble in the first set. Don’t worry, I’m not a slave driver, you’ll get a break if you need it, but the longer you can go without one, the better.”
Megan ducked inside the room and came out with a plastic shopping bag, holding it out to Hannah. “Here. Find your size and change into this. There’s a robe in there too if you want to put that on, but Chris and Matt are working out, so it’ll just be us.”
Hannah took the bag from Megan, a little in shock from the tumble of words and the fact that she needed to change into something that might make her want to wear a robe. “Um, I, uh, what?”
Megan gave her a look of amused indulgence. “The project is about skin tones. I need to be able to see your skin, so, no, you can’t wear your usual combo of a sweater and skinny jeans.” She pushed Hannah toward the bathroom. “Go change. You’ll be fine. Come in here when you’re ready.” With that Megan disappeared into the room across from Matt’s that she used as her painting studio.
Hannah left her coat in the kitchen and went into the bathroom to get changed. What Megan said made sense, but she hadn’t thought about what modeling for her would entail. With the shopping bag on the closed toilet lid, Hannah looked inside. There were packages of beige material with letters on them—S, M, and L. She pulled one out and realized it was a simple bandeau bra. And there was no way the small she held in her hand would fit over her C cups. Finding a large, she tore open the package and undressed so she could slip it on. There were also several sizes of matching bikini cut panties. This was why she might want a robe. Well, this wouldn’t be the first time a girl had seen her in her underwear, and she couldn’t leave the robe on while Megan painted her, so she just pulled it out and draped it over her arm. It was a simple gray knee-length one that felt like a soft T-shirt. She might want it for afterward, or if they took a break. Her skin pebbled with goosebumps, both from nerves and the chill in the older house. She hoped that Megan’s studio was warmer.
Players of Marycliff University Box Set, Books 1–3 Page 55