by Ava Miles
“Jane. Open the door. I know you’re in there. I see the smoke from the chimney.”
He heard a dog scratch the other side of the door and give a slight whine. Rufus.
But still she didn’t come.
“I’m not leaving until you talk to me. I have winter camping gear at my house, and I will literally set up a tent on your front lawn.”
Henry barked again.
Steps finally sounded on the other side, and he found himself wishing the door had windows in it so he could see her.
“Matt,” she said in a voice that told him she’d been crying, “please, let’s talk another time. I really do have plans.”
“Bullshit,” he said. “You’re upset about me running for mayor because your dad is a career politician, and clearly something went really wrong between the two of you. So, let’s talk about it.”
The door swung open, and there she was, tear stains on her cheeks, eyes puffy with a hard gleam in them.
“How dare you do a background check on me! You’re just like every other would-be politician, digging into people’s lives to see if someone in their circle might be a liability.”
Rufus and Annie both whined in response to her harsh tone. She reached for the door to slam it in his face, but he was quicker and streaked through the opening with Henry.
Dropping the dog’s leash, he grabbed her shoulders. “My brother Googled you because that’s what big brothers do. I didn’t stop him, which is on me. I didn’t tell you about running for mayor because I suspected something might have happened between you and your parents, and since you didn’t know I knew about them, I was hoping you’d trust me with your past before I told you. I was afraid you might react badly, and it seems I was right. I care about you, Jane. Don’t shut down like this without even talking to me.”
Even though she was petite, she looked formidable, standing there with her hands fisted against her hips. “Fine. You know that my father is a career politician. Well, I will never, never become involved with one. So, while it’s been fun and I really hope we can be civil to each other, this is it. I’m sorry I can’t help you with Henry anymore.”
The rage she was projecting clearly came from a place of hurt. Whatever had happened with her family had scarred her. Badly.
“You’re going to throw away what’s starting between us just because I’m running for mayor?”
Her eyes hardened. “I told you—”
“I may not even win,” he added.
“But you want to run for higher offices, don’t you?” She waved her hand at him. “Why didn’t I see it? You’re the ideal candidate! Handsome, easygoing, from a great family… Not to mention that you recently had a case proving exactly what’s wrong with the system. I never should have broken my first rule about not dating lawyers. God, how could I have been so stupid?”
The dogs whined again, and he finally unclipped Henry’s leash, which was trailing on the floor. The dog plopped down and cried again, clearly sensing the tension in the room. Matt leaned down to pick up Annie when she nudged his ankle and stroked the wild tuft of hair on top of her head. He did it to calm her down as much as to calm himself. While he suspected something terrible had made Jane drop off the face of the earth after Harvard, he’d never expected this much vehemence from her.
So he went for the truth.
“Do you care about me or not?” he asked and looked straight into her eyes.
The rage faded, and he saw the hurt and the vulnerability in those chocolate depths. “Please don’t do this.”
“I care about you,” he declared and set Annie down. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders again, the clear, pure truth rising inside him. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
“Stop,” she whispered and turned her back to him, her voice hoarse now.
“Are you really going to let your parents win this round?” he pressed, putting his hands back where they belonged. Touching her. “Am I really anything like your father?”
She didn’t return his gaze. “I didn’t know him when he first started out as a young politician, but people say he was nice, an upstanding man, a pillar in the community.”
He should have known she would have thought through every angle. She was too smart not to have. Well, he was a lawyer and could match her point for point.
“How old were you when he first ran for office?” he said, feeling her tremble beneath his touch.
Her breath shattered out. “Three.”
“Did he play with you when you were little?” he asked.
Silence.
“Did he love you?” he pushed.
She shoved his hands away and turned around. “No! Is that what you want to hear? He didn’t do any of those things. Are you happy now?”
He wanted to pull her to him and hold her until all the pain went away, but he knew they weren’t there yet. “No, I’m not happy. In fact, it hurts me to hear that the father of the woman I care about was a total dick to her. Do you really think I would be that callous to my own child just because I’m running for office?”
Her face crumpled, and she shook her head. “No, but please stop this. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Too bad. She needed to talk about it…. It had probably been festering inside for years.
“And where was your mom the whole time?” he asked. “Did she—”
“What? Play with me? Love me?” Her head lifted. Now there was fire in her eyes. “No. Is that what you want to hear? Oh please go.”
“So, let’s sum this up then. Your father was a deadbeat scumbag as a parent, and your mom wasn’t any better.” It was time to push again. “Did they use you as the perfect little daughter for his political campaigns?”
“Yes! And I hated every minute of it!”
The picture was becoming clearer by the minute. “Am I asking you to be involved in any way in my run for mayor?”
The glance she gave him was withering, and he could feel the chill from where he was standing.
“Please. Don’t treat me like I’m a novice,” she said. “This might be a small town, but we both know who you’re seeing matters for your campaign. I expect your advisor will tell you that if he hasn’t already.” She slashed through the air with her hand to make the point.
Rob’s comments echoed in his mind. “You’re right, I have been told that. But I’m still standing here.”
“Then maybe you’re the stupid one. You know nothing about me. I could be a liability.”
He reached over and tipped up her chin. Her eyes were wet, and defeat hovered over her like a gray cloud.
“Then tell me.”
She spun away again. “Don’t you already know? Didn’t your brother find out everything on Google? Hell, how about your political advisor?”
Rather than running from her emotions, he walked right into them, just like he did when he was deposing an emotional witness. “I only know what’s on Google. That you’re from a wealthy manufacturing family from Connecticut. That your dad is a career state politician and has declared his intention to run for Congress in the next election. You already told me about Harvard, but yes, I know you graduated with a whole shitload of honors. I could fit what I know on one page. But I don’t care about any of that. I want to know about you. The real you! I care about you, Jane. What is it going to take to drive that through your thick skull?”
So much for acting cool and collected like Matty Ice.
She still didn’t look at him, but a tear plopped on the floor beneath her. He couldn’t take it. He yanked her into his arms, holding her face against his chest.
“Oh, Matt,” she said, her voice tortured.
“Don’t shut me out, Jane. Not about the past. We’re good together.” He cupped her cheek and met her gaze. “Please.”
Her lip trembled.
“Tell me you’re falling for me too,” he whispered. “I don’t want to be alone in this.”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Her inner struggle pushed him over the edge, and suddenly he was drifting with her in his own messy emotions.
“Baby, you’re not the only one who’s afraid here.”
Her dark eyes popped open then, and as he looked into them, he could feel himself falling. And he knew there would be nothing to save him from a painful landing.
“I don’t want it to be this way,” she whispered.
He lowered his head and brushed his mouth over hers gently, trying to connect with her, to reestablish that fledgling bond between them.
“Then don’t,” he whispered back. “Trust me, Jane. You can trust me. Don’t throw this away.”
A tear fell then and another, and he kissed her again, unhurried and unrushed, seeking to comfort and soothe her. And himself. She was so small and strong, and yet filled with more hurt than he could ever have imagined.
A sound of agony and distress rose from deep inside her, and then her mouth pressed forcefully against his. He had reached her. He had actually reached her.
Chapter 16
With her entire body trembling, Jane poured herself into the kiss. The earlier anguish of talking about her family faded. He was still here, even after she’d tried to push him away. And he’d said that he was falling for her, that he was scared of this fragile thing between them too. Her heart expanded. How could she turn him away?
She loved this man.
As she rose onto her tiptoes and threaded her hands in his hair, she realized he was right. He was nothing like her father. She pressed closer, angling her mouth to reach his, wanting their connection to be deeper, hotter, wetter. Lust shivered through her spine and then fanned out in waves across the rest of her frame. Soon, she was trembling against him, wanting him, wanting to crawl inside his skin.
She couldn’t get enough.
When she put her hands on his shoulders to leverage herself against him, he helped lift her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling that hard line of desire between them. It elated her that he wanted her in such a primal way—just as much as she wanted him—and that made her decision for her.
“Be with me,” she whispered against his mouth, tugging at his bottom lip with her teeth.
Holding her with one arm around her back, he cupped her cheek. “I’m right here.”
Standing intertwined in her living room, they devoured each other’s mouths. She traced his ears, and he ran his hand down to her bottom. Clenching her legs around him, he groaned into her mouth.
“Make love to me, Matt,” she whispered as she edged her mouth away from him for a second.
His eyes were blazing now, as blue as the ribbons of sunset she’d seen earlier tonight. Her sunset, she thought. Her dreams.
He was all wrapped up in them.
“You’re sure?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
She traced his jaw with a finger. “I’ve never been surer.”
The light shone in his eyes a little brighter, and then he kissed her again. Soon they were both breathless, sipping at each other’s lips. Her entire body was electrified, and she wanted more. She slid down him and placed her hands on his chest once she was standing.
“Come with me.”
He grabbed her hand and let her lead him to the hallway behind the den down to the last room, her bedroom. She shut the door when the dogs tried to trail in behind them. There was no way she was going to share this moment with anyone else.
She crossed over to him and reached for the zipper of his fleece. He found her mouth again as he shrugged out of it, and then she pulled back, reaching for the hem of his white T-shirt. When it came off, her mouth went dry.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.
His chest was a work of art, the defined muscles and angled tendons flowing together in perfect masculine harmony. With a hesitant hand, she ran her fingers down his chest to the hard ridges of his abdomen. When she reached for his black pants, he cupped her face.
“I want to see you, Jane.”
What would he think of her boyish body? “Ah…there’s not a lot to see. I’d much rather see you.”
He tipped up her face, his gaze steady now. “Do you have any idea how much I want you? How much I want your body? Right now?”
But would he still want her when he saw how small her breasts were, how angular her body? “I’m worried I’m going to disappoint you,” she whispered, looking down at the floor.
His finger stroked her jaw, a silent request for her to meet his gaze again. When she did, he reached for her hand and pressed it against his arousal. “Does that feel like disappointment to you?”
It didn’t. In fact, it felt wondrous, and her fingers traced his hard length. “No, but you haven’t seen me yet.”
“Didn’t we talk about trust just a little while ago? How am I supposed to know you won’t be disappointed in me?”
That caused an unladylike chuckle. “Please. You’re gorgeous.”
His hands framed her face then, and he leaned down until his eyes were only an inch from hers. “You’re beautiful. Let me help you see what I see.”
Slowly her inner swan journeyed out, stretching in the light. It was time to trust. It was time to be brave.
His fingers traced her neck, stroking the skin there with a feather-like caress. “Your neck makes me want to kiss it and lick it and bite it gently.” And then he did all of those things.
Her hands fell away from him as desire rolled through her.
He lifted the hem of her pink T-shirt and threw it aside. Before she could feel any embarrassment, his hands covered the cups of her padded bra, his thumbs tracing the skin above the lace. When he leaned down and kissed the delicate rise of her cleavage, she gave a strangled moan. Nothing had ever felt so shockingly sensual. He unhooked her bra deftly, slowly sliding it down her arms, his mouth still exploring her. Nerve endings flashed across her chest, and when he brought the tip of one breast into his mouth, she gave a gasp and threw back her head.
Thoughts of her small shape were vanished as he cherished her breasts with his mouth and tongue and teeth. Soon, the liquid pool between her thighs grew demanding, and she tugged at his pants again.
He placed gentle hands over her own. “No, not yet. I want to drive you out of your mind first.”
Nudging her back against the bed, he slid down her pants. She kicked them off when she fell back on the bed, wanting to feel his weight on her.
But he didn’t follow her. He just stood beside the bed, letting his eyes take a hot, leisurely stroll up and down her body.
“You’re beautiful,” he said again, and as the embarrassment started to creep back in, he joined her on the bed and pulled her to him.
The hot skin of his chest against her own made her want to purr. And then he kissed her, his tongue driving deeply into her mouth while his hands caressed her breasts, making her arch and moan and fear she was going to make a lot of noise with him. Before that embarrassing thought could take root, he traced a hand down her flat stomach—at least one good thing about being flat everywhere else—and cupped her wet heat.
The sensation was so intense, she moaned again against his mouth. His fingers edged under the delicate, lacy thong that matched her pink bra, and he caressed her core.
Jane had only been with two other guys. One in Harvard and another when she’d first moved to Vegas. Both had been so forgettable and embarrassing she’d thought she was just one of those people for whom sex wasn’t a basic need. With Matt, she was learning a new truth. Being with the right man, one who took his time, one she cared for—who also cared for her—made all the difference in the world.
Desperately wanting to show him how much he pleased her and how grateful she was for the care he was taking, she tugged on the waistband of his pants, her intention clear. Take them off right now or else. His mouth quirked up on the side as he kissed her. This time, he didn’t stop her. Together they helped him slide out of his pants, and she laughed when he threw them across the room.
&nbs
p; And instead of rolling onto her, he leaned back. Let her see him. Helped her see how it would be with a real lover, one with whom there was no embarrassment.
Her hand reached out to touch him, and the heat in his fiery eyes scorched her skin. Her first caress had him clenching his jaw. Her second had his lips peeling back. Her third had him jerking against her.
“Okay,” he rasped. “That’s all I can take right now. It’s time for you.”
He leaned over and kissed her belly, and the shock of his warm mouth against her skin had her gasping. His chuckle raised the hair on her skin as he continued on a downward path. He kissed the delicate line of lace framing her pelvis and then looked up at her.
“I want these off.”
His throaty request made her reach down with shaking hands to do just that. He slid them slowly down her legs, following the trail with kisses until she was free of them. Then he sat back and ran his hand up her inner thighs, looking at her.
Again, the flutter of embarrassment played on her nerve endings, but the feeling vanished when he cupped her core. “How could you ever think I’d be disappointed?” he asked, a trace of awe in his voice.
Tears filled her eyes then, and she reached out a hand to him. “Make love to me, Matt.”
He grasped it and brought it to his lips. “Oh, I plan to, sweetheart. I plan to.”
Then he lowered his mouth to the V of her legs and taught her a whole new lesson about being with the perfect man. He loved her slowly and patiently, and the first tremors that coursed through her brought his name to her lips in a sigh.
He left the bed when she went limp under him, but since her eyes were now closed, the bliss overpowering even her basic ability to see, she didn’t know what he was doing until she heard a foil wrapper tear. Opening her eyes slowly, she watched him roll the condom down his length and then lower himself onto her again, positioning himself at her entrance.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Are you serious?” she said, her throat dry now, making her long for a glass of water.
He chuckled and kissed that delicate line where shoulder and neck met. Who knew it could be so sensitive?