Managed Hearts (Players of Marycliff University, #3)

by Jerica MacMillan

  Matt’s glare morphed, and his face tightened. The smile fell away from Hannah’s face too. Both Abby and Megan looked surprised at the change. Abby looked from Matt to Hannah to Megan, confusion written on her face. “What—“

  “I hate when you guys call me Matty. My name’s Matt.” His voice came out gruff, almost angry.

  Megan’s chuckle dissipated the sudden tension, and she hooked her arm through his, laying her head against his bicep. “I know, Matty. That’s why we do it.”

  Matt chuckled and patted Megan’s head with his free hand. “I know.” They moved into the living room while Megan finished getting dinner ready. When Hannah tried to help again, Megan shooed her back into the living room. “Relax. Hang out. Get to know everyone. You can help more next time.”

  When she ventured back into the living room, Abby started to scoot closer to Lance to make room for her on the couch between her and Matt, but Matt grabbed her hips and pulled her onto his lap, her back against the arm of the couch, her legs across his so she faced Lance and Abby on their end of the couch. The conversation around her stopped as Lance and Abby gave her appraising looks again.

  “So, Hannah, tell us about yourself.” Lance’s dark eyes traveled over her face, then further down, taking in her favorite green sweater and skinny jeans, lingering on Matt’s arm across her legs and his other hand gripping her waist before raising to hers again, his eyebrows lifted in question.

  Abby reached back and smacked him lightly from where she leaned against his muscular chest. Apparently Matt didn’t have any small or homely friends. “Be nice, Lance. This isn’t an interview. She’s Matt’s girlfriend, and she has Chris and Megan’s approval.” He smiled down at the little blonde, his dark brown hair falling over his forehead, before she turned her attention back to Hannah. “We’re glad you’re here. Matt’s been the third wheel for a while now, and even though he never complained, it had to be awkward for him.”

  Hannah shrugged. “It’s okay. What do you want to know?”

  “What do you see in this big doofus?” Chris’s voice came from behind Hannah, where he sat on the recliner.

  She turned and glanced at him over her shoulder before looking back at Matt. He stared up into her face, a smile on his mouth, but his eyes questioning, like he wanted to hear her answer as much as the others. She debated saying something sarcastic and flippant, but the look in Matt’s eyes made her pause and really think about the question. “The way we are together. It’s fun and easy, like we can talk about anything and nothing for hours. Or we can just not talk and that’s okay too, just as long as we’re together, everything’s okay.”

  “Yeah, I hear a lot of the not talking you guys do together.” Chris snickered, and Lance and Abby were chuckling too, not even trying to suppress it.

  Heat rushed to Hannah’s face, and she kept her head down so her hair would hide her flaming cheeks. The happy look on Matt’s face changed as he glared at Chris behind her back. “Yeah, like you and Megan have any room to talk. I’ve had to listen to you guys go at it for months, and dude, you two are loud.” He drew out the last word and turned his gaze on Lance. “And you guys weren’t much better. I’ve been wearing earplugs at night for the last six months.”

  Everyone broke out in laughter at that, including Hannah. She could see that Abby was blushing too. At least she wasn’t the only one who did that when conversation took a turn for the dirty.

  The rest of the evening passed with food, drink, and laughter. Abby loved the presents from her friends and endured the good-natured teasing about not wanting to go to a bar for her twenty-first birthday, giving as good as she got with the sarcastic comments. Hannah was included and welcomed, made to feel like part of their group of friends, the newness of her presence with them wearing off quickly. She felt relaxed and comfortable, not just from Matt’s presence or the wine Megan had served with dinner, but like she fit with them. After the stressful week she’d had with Matt, it was a relief to have the easiness back in their relationship.

  * * *

  With things between them back on even footing, Hannah fell into an easy routine of class in the morning, her internship in the afternoon, and evenings spent with Matt. She stayed over on weekends, but insisted on going home during the week since she had morning classes every day. The weekend after Abby’s birthday party, Chris was gone for several days to compete in the NFL Regional Combines, so Matt didn’t work out quite as hard. They all went out to dinner after Chris got back to celebrate that he did it regardless of the eventual outcome. He felt he’d done well, and got invited to the Superregionals, the next step before the draft at the end of April.

  Megan was nearly finished with the paintings for her show that was set to happen on April 9. Hannah had sat in on the last modeling session that Matt had done for her. The painting centered on the shoulders and biceps of Matt and Alex, one of his former teammates, standing back to back with their arms crossed over their chests. Their display was impressive enough—two handsome, ripped football players standing shirtless in a room made Hannah a little breathless, especially since one of them was hers—but Megan’s rendering of Matt’s pale Nordic skin contrasting with Alex’s bronze hispanic coloring was nothing short of beautiful.

  Afterward Megan showed her the piece she loved the most color-wise. It was the hands of three people. The first set of hands were small, almost the color of bisque porcelain, palms together. A pair of hands that were almost the same bronze as Alex surrounded the first pair, and another pair of dark brown hands surrounded those two. The contrasts of the three pairs of hands, the shading and photorealistic attention to detail, showed the beauty of each one.

  Hannah couldn’t help browsing through the completed canvases that leaned against the wall. Every imaginable skin tone was represented—pale with different undertones, various shades of tan and bronze, to the darkest brown Hannah had seen on a person. They were almost abstract, focusing on specific body parts, like the one of Matt and Alex that only showed one shoulder and upper bicep of each guy. She couldn’t even pick out the one of her and Daniel. “Holy cow, Megan. These are amazing. How many people did you get to model for you?”

  Megan shrugged, a pleased smile coming to her face. “I’m not sure. Ten or fifteen I think. I recruited almost everyone I know and made the guys help me get people from the football team. Some of the figure models helped me out, but they’re not a very diverse group, so I mostly had to beg and plead. You know about the party, right?”

  Hannah stopped looking through the paintings. “What party?”

  “For the show.” Megan perched on the stool next to her easel, her arms crossed, a small frown on her face. “Matt didn’t tell you?” When Hannah shook her head, Megan went on. “He probably just forgot, the dork. Anyway, there’s a party the opening night of the show. All the models are invited, but I want you there as a friend, too.”

  “Of course. Count me in. I’d love to go.”

  They made their way back into the living room where Chris and Matt sat on the couch playing a video game. Megan looked them over and turned back to Hannah. “Only a week left of classes until spring break. Any plans?”

  Hannah shrugged, her eyes straying to Matt. “I’m not sure. My roommate is planning on going home, but I’m not sure if I want to go with her or not. What about you?”

  “I’m going home with Chris. It’s going to be the official meet the parents visit.” She leaned closer, her voice lower. “I’m actually a little nervous. I’ve never been introduced to someone’s parents like this before.”

  “You have no reason to be nervous.” Chris’s eyes never left the screen, his thumbs and fingers pushing buttons on the controller. “They love you already because you’re making me graduate. Everything else is just a bonus for them.”

  Matt paused the game, looking at where the girls stood next to the couch. “Stay here with me. You don’t have classes or work. I’ll call in sick on Monday, and we can have a long weekend together.”

/>   “Okay. That sounds fun.” The grin on Matt’s face matched her own. She’d hoped to get to spend more time with Matt, which was why she was reluctant to plan anything else. But she’d been too shy to bring it up before now.

  But his invitation was just another mark in the tally to show that he cared about her as much as she did about him. He wanted to spend the week with her, sleeping with her every night. The only thing that worried her was how she’d be able to force herself to go back to her own apartment on Sunday night at the end of spring break. Over a week in Matt’s bed would make it feel more and more like home.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  “I could get used to this,” Matt whispered against Hannah’s lips. When he got home from work on Friday, she was already at his house, lounging on the couch in one of his t-shirts. And nothing else. Chris and Megan had left just after noon to drive to Port Orchard, so she’d been there alone, just waiting for him. This was the best way to start the weekend as far as he could tell.

  He deepened the kiss, sliding his hands down her back until he reached the hem of the t-shirt where it fell just below her ass. He slipped one hand underneath the fabric, encountering bare skin. Fuck. She wasn’t even wearing underwear. Unless she had on a thong ... He let out a low groan, and Hannah’s lips curved in a smile against his.

  He pulled back, one hand still kneading her ass, the other coming around to the front to lift the shirt and confirm his suspicion. He was right. She really was only wearing his t-shirt.

  “Fuck, Hannah. You’re going to kill me.”

  Her only response to give him a wicked smile and pull the shirt over her head.

  “Naughty girl.”

  “Oh, I’m a naughty girl, am I?”

  That sexy, throaty quality in her voice always had the blood rushing to his cock, and he had to reach down and adjust himself in his pants. He nodded, licking his lips.

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  He closed the small distance between them and pressed her naked body against him again, grinding his cock against her belly, wishing his clothes weren’t still in the way. One hand tangled in her hair, and he pulled her head back to kiss her thoroughly, owning her mouth for a moment before pulling back, keeping her head pulled back while he spoke to her. “I’m going to spank that pretty ass until it’s red, and then I’m going to fuck you until you can’t come anymore.”

  She whimpered low in her throat, the sound one of need, not fear. But he loved making her tell him that’s what she wanted, even when he knew she wanted it as much as he did.

  “Do you want that, naughty girl?” She tried to nod, but his hand still held her head in place. “Say it. Tell me what you want me to do.”

  Her cheeks, already pink with arousal, got even pinker as she blushed. He loved that he could make her blush like this, and she would still talk dirty to him anyway. Her voice came out breathy, barely above a whisper. “I—“ She licked her lips, and the sight of her pink tongue flicking out had him biting back a groan. “I want you to spank my ass and fuck me.”

  He grinned, showing all his teeth. “I believe I said I was going to spank your pretty ass until it’s red, and then fuck you until you can’t come anymore. If that’s what you really want, you have to ask for all of that.”

  She closed her eyes, that little whimper coming out again. Then her lids lifted, her dark green eyes hazy with desire, and the fact that he put that look on her face made him even harder, if that was possible, the knowledge of the effect he had on her driving him wild. “Say it, Hannah.” He bent his head close to hers to whisper in her ear, biting gently on the earlobe, making her shiver before he continued. “Tell me exactly what you want. And ask me nicely.”

  A sigh escaped her lips, and she licked them again. “Please, Matt. Please spank my pretty ass until it’s red and fuck me until I can’t come anymore.”

  He growled low in his throat. “With pleasure.” His mouth crashed into hers, and she struggled against his grip, trying to get closer to him. When he pulled back he sat on the couch and pulled her down across his lap, adjusting her so her upper body could rest on the cushions but her ass was right where he wanted it. He landed a slap right in the middle of her right cheek, watching the rebound in her flesh, a pink handprint forming soon after. She jerked a little at the force of the spank. He guessed it was probably a little harder than she’d expected, the effect of her asking him to spank her—even if he had told her the words to say—making him skip the lighter, warmup spanks. Rubbing the stinging skin for a moment, he braced his left arm across her back so she wouldn’t jump so much that she got out of position or even got off his lap altogether.

  She jerked with each smack that landed on her ass, her cheeks turning pinker with each slap. He varied the tempo and strength of each spank, giving her little breaks to rub her ass and down between her legs, gauging her arousal and how red her skin was getting. He just wanted to get her blood flowing, let the pleasurable sting build her desire, the feeling of being naked over his lap while he was still dressed in his work clothes get her primed so that the sex, when it happened, would be explosive.

  With roommates around more often than not, this kind of play was a rare treat. But it was fantastic when it happened. He was so looking forward to this week with her all to himself, especially the long weekend where they could just laze around the house together. Naked. He had no intention of letting her put on clothes unless they absolutely had to leave the house for some reason. His cock twitched against her side at the thought, the confinement in his pants getting uncomfortable, but it was so much fun to play with her like this that he wasn’t ready to stop yet. And neither was she from the way her hips lifted to meet his hand with each stroke.

  God, he loved her. So much. And he still hadn’t told her.

  This week. He’d find the time this week and tell her, and hope she’d say it back. Even if she didn’t, yet, he could feel that it was just a matter of time. The longer they were together, the more time she spent with him, hanging out together, doing her homework, in his bed, the closer they got, the more entwined their emotions became. Yes, if she wasn’t already in love with him, she was definitely falling. And he couldn’t wait until he could say those three words without worry, the casual intimacy more appealing than ever with her.

  When she was panting and her ass was as red as he felt comfortable going, he scratched his nails in light circles all over her cheeks, then ran his hand down her crease, between her splayed legs. She opened them wider, giving him access. He rubbed her mound on the outside, lightly at first, then with growing pressure, sliding his fingers between her lips and then plunging them inside her, causing her to jerk and moan at the sudden intrusion. But she moved her hips in time with his hand, and he couldn’t wait to get inside her. It never took long to get her to orgasm right after a spanking, and this one was harder than he’d given her before, so he guessed it would take less time. He pressed down on the swollen spot against her front wall, rubbing, tapping, fucking her with his fingers.

  She let out little breathless moans, and her breath quickened, and he knew she was getting close. He let his thumb drift between her cheeks, lightly rubbing the puckered opening there while he finger-fucked her even harder. And like that she arched up, her arms going straight and her hands clutching the couch cushions in her fists, all her muscles clenched, including the ones surrounding his fingers. He sped up, giving it more pressure, and she exploded around him, her inner muscles spasming on his fingers, and he couldn’t wait until that was his cock. God, it felt so good when she came on his cock.

  Slowing down the motions of his hand, he waited until she was limp and the aftershocks were over before withdrawing, sliding his fingers over her ass and up her back, leaning down so he could turn her head and kiss her, thrusting his tongue in her mouth, the need to taste her fierce and consuming.

  She responded, if a bit slowly, still boneless from her orgasm, turning the kiss from scorching to languorous, her tongue sliding ag
ainst his rather than wrestling for dominance like she sometimes did. He loved all of it, all the variations of her kisses, the ways her body responded to him, the ways she gave herself to him, trusting him, even though he’d screwed up more than once and probably would again.

  Breaking away, he stood up and stripped. “Fuck. Condom.” She just gave him a lazy smile from where she lay on the couch and pointed over her head at the end table behind her. He stepped forward and saw a strip of condoms lying there. He tore one off, opening it and rolling it on, before looking down at her. “You’re fucking awesome, Hannah.”

  She smiled again and reached for him. “So are you, Matt. Now I thought you were going to fuck me. Isn’t that what we decided?”

  He gave her a wicked smile in return, kissing her thoroughly, but not settling on top of her. Yet. He fully intended to fuck her brains out, but he wanted to draw it out, knowing it would be so much better for both of them if he did. “Oh, you think you’re in charge now, naughty girl? I think maybe you need a tongue lashing in addition to your spanking.”

  Her lips parted, but before she could say anything, he’d moved down, grasping her thighs and holding them back, turning her a bit so he could kneel on the floor and have access to her, licking over all her pink flesh. Whatever she might’ve said was lost in a drawn out moan.

  He went right to work, wanting her to come again before he fucked her. Two orgasms was the most he’d ever given her in one session. Today he was going for at least three. One of these days he needed to find a place where he could tie her up and just make her come again and again until she begged him to stop. That thought spurred him on, and he drove her higher until she crested the peak and went flying off the cliff, her thighs straining under his hands.

  While she was still spasming he gave her one last lick and stood, surging into her, her knees still up by his shoulders.

  Her head came up off the couch cushion, and her eyes went wide. “Oh, God! Oh my God.” Her chest was heaving, but he didn’t stop, plunging in and out in a relentless rhythm, forcing her orgasm to continue. He had to grit his own teeth and think about complex math problems to keep from coming too soon.