Managed Hearts (Players of Marycliff University, #3)

by Jerica MacMillan

  When she finally relaxed under him he slowed, stopping altogether for a minute to gather himself, too close to the edge and not ready for it to be over yet. He guided her legs down into a more relaxed position and then kissed her in the same unhurried manner as after her previous orgasm. He began to move in her again, slow and steady, making love to her now more than fucking her. When she started to move with him again, her skin flushed, her breathing growing faster and shallower, he stopped and pulled out. She let out a moan of protest.

  “Up and over. On your knees, hands on the arm of the couch.” He still wanted to get her to come at least once more, and he knew that taking her from behind was the best way to do it. She always came hard and fast this way, with his cocking hitting her from the inside, and his fingers able to reach around and rub her clit.

  She groaned again, but did as he asked, flipping over and getting in position as fast as she could. “Please, Matt. I was starting to get close again. Don’t tease me.”

  He gave her a light smack on the ass before easing inside her again. He really wanted to slam into her, but he would finish too fast if he let himself go like that. Keeping the pace slow like before, he watched her take him in again and again, loving the way that looked with her pink ass in the air in front of him. When he got too close again he had to close his eyes to block out the visual, picking up the pace a little because he couldn’t help himself. Hannah’s moans grew louder and longer, and he leaned over her, his hand sliding over her hip and down between her thighs. She adjusted a little, making room for his hand. He cupped her, sliding his fingers between her lips, gently sliding over her clit, rubbing it in time with his strokes.

  He paid close attention to her reactions, her breathing and moaning, and the way her muscles tightened, tension coiling in every part of her body. When he knew she was close, he let go of his control, his fingers fast and furious between her legs, his hips hammering against her ass. Letting out a wordless cry, she spasmed around him, pushing her hips back into him, and her orgasm sparked his own. With a long groan he pushed through his own release, spilling himself into the condom inside her. God, she felt so good. This felt good. Her skin on his, her trust, her love. All of it. Even if she hadn’t said it yet, he was sure she had to feel it.

  They lay still for a moment, both of them collapsed over the arm of the couch, Matt a little off to the side by the back so he didn’t crush her. With a caress over her hair and down her back, he got up and got rid of the condom. Coming back a moment later, he chuckled to find Hannah in the same position in which he’d left her.

  He sat down, pulling her back against him. She groaned, helping just enough so that they lay squished together on the couch, Hannah mostly on top of him. He ran his fingers through her hair again, dropping a kiss on her head. “You are fantastic.”

  She looked up at him, a small, satisfied smile on her lips. “You’re pretty fantastic too.” She traced his lips with her fingers. “That was ... amazing.”

  A wide grin stretched across his face. “That was amazing. We’ll have to see how many more orgasms you can have at a time later. Like maybe tomorrow or something.”

  “Oh, God. I don’t know if I can handle that.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, but wouldn’t it be fun to try? Letting me tie you down and giving you orgasm after orgasm until you begged me to stop?”

  A red flush swept across her cheeks, similar to the way she looked just before she came. Her mouth opened, but she didn’t say anything.

  He could tell the idea excited her, but she was hesitant. “Maybe another time, then. After I have my own place we can do this more often.”

  Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You’re getting your own place?”

  “Not right away. Our lease is up at the end of July, though. Chris will graduate in May and possibly be playing for the NFL, so he’ll have to move out. Megan’s going to live with Chris if he’s still in town, and if he does get drafted, she still probably won’t want to stay here with me to find a new roommate.” He shook his head. “Besides, I’ve already graduated and have a good job. I can afford my own place.”

  She nodded. “Of course. I guess I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.”

  He didn’t say anything to that, just settled her closer, stroking her bare skin. He was definitely thinking that far ahead. Maybe she hadn’t come to the conclusion that she loved him yet if she wasn’t thinking about their future together. But that just made him all the more determined to let her know how serious he was about her. Soon.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Matt stared at Hannah, an exaggerated puppy dog expression on his face. She laughed at him, swiping her favorite pink gloss across her lips before turning around. “I know you’re sad to see me wearing clothes. Naked weekend has been fun. But I’m going stir crazy, and we’re out of food.” She stepped closer, sliding her arms around his neck. “When we get back we can get naked again. I promise that we can be naked the whole time we’re home alone this week.”

  His face brightened at that, and he gave her a kiss, reaching down to grope her ass.

  She pulled back, her hands on his chest. “Okay, enough of that. I’m starving. You need to feed me if you want more sex.”

  He chuckled and kissed her once more before letting her go. “Fine. I’ll feed you. How do you feel about oysters?”

  She shuddered and laughed. “Gross. No thanks. I don’t think either of us need aphrodisiacs anyway. We seem to be doing just fine without that.” She bore the marks of their lovemaking as proof of that—love bites on her breasts, her ass still faintly pink from the spanking he’d given her an hour ago. He was insatiable, and hadn’t come out unscathed either. She could see red scratch marks peeking out from the sleeve of his t-shirt where she’d sunk her nails into his arms during her last orgasm.

  Matt had banned clothes for both of them on Friday night, and they’d spent all weekend talking, laughing, watching movies, and making love. There had been enough groceries to last the weekend, but by Monday afternoon, they were down to cereal and sandwiches, and they’d both worked up too much of an appetite for those to sound appealing.

  He’d talked more about tying her down and seeing how many times he could make her come before she begged him to stop. The thought made her squirm, rubbing her thighs together, heat pooling between them. She hadn’t agreed to it. Yet. This week would be the best time to do that, or they’d have to wait until he got his own place. It was funny that now she was starting to think about them still being together that far ahead. He kept making casual references to things in the future like she’d be there, and it had worked its way into her own thoughts, despite her initial determination to just take things with him one day at a time. But if he were planning on their future, didn’t that mean he was as invested as she was? Maybe more, since she hadn’t dared to think that far ahead.

  They went to a chain restaurant not far from Matt’s house and were seated right away, since they were early for the dinner rush on a Monday. About halfway through dinner, Hannah got up to use the restroom, leaving part of her dinner uneaten on the table. She smiled to herself in the mirror while she washed her hands. Things were going better with Matt than she could have hoped. This was going to be the best spring break ever—a whole week in a big house, mostly naked, full of fun sexy times with her hot boyfriend. What more could a girl ask for?

  When she walked back out to the table, she slowed and stopped a few tables away, the smile sliding from her face. Standing next to their booth was Janine, the HR director and Matt’s boss. Janine stood with her hip propped against the end of the table, her back was to Hannah, but Matt’s face was visible. He had his neutral mask in place, not giving anything away. It had been a long time since she’d seen that face outside of work. His eyes left Janine, scanning the room behind her, panic flashing across his features when he spotted Hannah standing there. He recovered quickly, schooling his face back to its neutral expression.

  She didn’t know what to do. So she
stayed there, frozen, about fifteen feet away. It seemed like hours before Janine straightened, shifting her weight to both feet and preparing to leave, though it couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. She turned around, her eyes immediately finding Hannah. They stared at each other for a moment, and Hannah still didn’t move, paralyzed by the horror unfolding before her. Janine finally shook her head, a look of disgust on her face, turned back toward Matt to say something, and stalked away.

  Her exit allowed Hannah’s legs to work again, and she took shaky steps to the table where Matt waited, staring blankly at the back of her seat, a sick expression on his face. She collapsed in the booth, no longer interested in finishing her meal. He still stared, unseeing, his lips compressed tightly. She could see his Adam’s apple moving convulsively in his throat.

  “Matt?”

  Nothing. No response.

  She reached across the table to rest her hand on his. His skin felt clammy. “Matt? What did Janine say?”

  His eyes looked dead when they finally met hers. Her hand clenched on his. He licked his lips and answered. “She came over to say hi.” His voice was quiet and void of all inflection. She had to strain to hear him over the surrounding noise in the restaurant. He swallowed again. “First she gave me crap about calling in sick today, but she was just joking and wasn’t mad. She asked how my date was going, if I was seeing anyone new. I didn’t know what to say, so I said that we’d been dating for almost two months. She thought that was strange since she’d thought I was interested in you during that time. I didn’t say anything to that, but she told me she was glad I’d obviously listened to her advice and moved on. Then she saw you. Just standing there like you were waiting for her to leave. And she said that I need to come see her first thing tomorrow morning.”

  He pulled his hand out from Hannah’s, scrubbing his hands over his face, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. “Fuck. At least she didn’t tell me to never come back, I guess. But then, she’d have to let me get my stuff. I don’t think she can fire me outside of work. She’s the head of HR, so she’d know that.”

  Hannah didn’t know what to say. There was nothing she could say. No way to make this better.

  The minutes ticked by with them frozen together like that, Matt with his face in his hands, Hannah staring at him, mute. The waiter came, and Hannah asked for the check while Matt still sat unmoving. When the waiter dropped off the little folder and some to-go boxes, Matt finally came to life again. He yanked his credit card out of his wallet, stuffing it into the folder, then zeroed his gaze on her again.

  Hannah stopped scooping the remains of her pasta into the plastic box at the anger in his eyes, unsure if he was mad at her, Janine, or just the fucked up situation they found themselves in.

  “Why did you just stand there? You knew what it would mean if she found out we were together. We talked about this at length after Sandra saw us together last month.” He leaned over the table, hitting his clenched fist softly against the wood to punctuate each sentence.

  Hannah dropped the fork onto the plate with a clatter. “What? What was I supposed to do?”

  The waiter came just then, and Matt waited for him to leave to run the card before he went on.

  “Go back to the bathroom! Go to the front! Get away so she wouldn’t see you!” He kept his voice low, but in that shouty kind of whisper people do when they’re incensed but unable to let it out.

  She flinched, then leaned closer to him, pitching her voice to match his. “I froze! I didn’t know what to do! I didn’t expect to see her standing at our table when I got back from the bathroom. I’ve never been in this kind of situation before! How should I know what the best thing to do is?”

  “Use some fucking common sense! If Janine knows we’re dating, I’ll lose my job, and you could lose your internship. If you don’t care about me, at least care about how this will affect you.” He shook his head, sitting back. “I knew I shouldn’t have taken you out. But I was stupid and let you convince me it would be fine. Dammit!”

  “Don’t you dare make this all my fault! I didn’t hear any objections from you when I suggested going out. I had no way of knowing your boss would show up. And I’m terribly sorry that I froze in my panic. I’ll work on that for the next time I’m some guy’s dirty secret, and we’re about to get found out.”

  She grabbed her coat and stormed away from the table, almost running over their waiter returning with Matt’s card in her haste to get away. Shoving her arms in her coat sleeves, she wrenched open the door to the restaurant and almost ran outside, her chest heaving. Her hands shook as she pulled out her phone, scrolling through her contacts to try to find someone who could come pick her up. Fuck. Everyone was out of town for spring break.

  Matt’s hand on her shoulder made her jump. She spun around to look at him. He stood there, his hands shoved in his pockets, the sick expression from earlier back on his face, his anger gone. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re right. None of this is your fault. I’m sorry I blamed you and lashed out like that. I just—“ He looked away, his eyes scanning over the parking lot before returning to her. “I don’t know what’s going to happen and I freaked. I’m sorry.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  He studied her face for a moment before reaching out to take her hand. She let him, even though she was still mad about how he’d just acted.

  Once he’d pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward his house, Hannah spoke again. “Take me home.”

  “I am, babe. We’ll be home in just a few minutes.”

  “No, Matt. Not your house. I want to go to my apartment. I want to go home.” At that moment, she really wanted to go all the way home, not her apartment, but to go see her parents. Her perfect spring break now looked like a wreck, the damage from tonight not easily repaired.

  He glanced at her, but she kept her attention focused on the windshield. “What? But you said you’d stay with me all week.”

  “I know.”

  “I said I was sorry. And I meant it. We’ll figure this out. I overreacted. I’ll find out what Janine has to say tomorrow, and we’ll figure it out.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Yeah. We’ll figure it out. That’s fine, but I still want to go home. I need some space tonight.”

  He opened his mouth, and she thought he was going to argue with her, try to convince her to change her mind. But he snapped his mouth shut, the sound of his teeth crashing together audible. With lips compressed, he gave a short nod. “Do you need anything from my house first?”

  She licked her lips. “Yeah. That would be nice.”

  The rest of their time together passed in tense silence. He waited in the car while she went into his house to gather her things and drove her to her apartment without saying a word. He surprised her when he parked in front of her apartment and got out to walk her to her door, carrying her bag for her. He set it just inside the front door, and reached for her hand again, his face imploring.

  “I am sorry for how I acted at the restaurant. Please forgive me.”

  “I—“ She stammered, wanting to say she did, but unable to lie to him. “I will.” It was the best she could do.

  He nodded, not pleased, but accepting at least. “I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what Janine says. I— Well, I’m hoping she won’t fire me, so I might not be able to call until I get off of work at five.”

  She nodded, not saying anything.

  “Promise me you’ll answer?” It came out softly, almost a whisper, like he was really afraid she was going to shut him out. Well, she kind of had the last time something like this had happened, so she could see why he might be afraid of that.

  A tiny smile came to her lips and was gone. “I promise. I’ll answer when you call tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Good.” He looked a little less tense as he stared at her for a moment more. Then he leaned in and gave her a swift kiss on the lips, turning and leaving before she could even kiss him back.

/>   The door was closed before she was able to react, lifting her hand to her lips. She shook her head and took her bag into her bedroom. She spent the rest of her night trying to distract herself from the pull of her sadness. In some part of her she knew that regardless of what Janine said, it couldn’t be good for her and Matt. The look of disgust on the HR director’s face flashed in Hannah’s mind any time she let her thoughts drift in that direction. So she watched movie after movie, gorging herself on ice cream and popcorn, until she could barely keep her eyes open. Then she dragged herself to her room, feeling cold and lonely in her small twin bed. She wrapped her arms around her pillow, needing to hang onto something, and cried herself to sleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “Hey, Matt.”

  Matt let out the breath he was holding, relieved that Hannah had picked up on the first ring as he walked through the cool March evening to his car after work.

  Hannah’s voice sounded scratchy and rough over the phone. Dull. “I guess it’s good that you’re calling me after five, huh?” He thought she might be trying to make a joke, but couldn’t quite pull it off.

  He took a deep breath, hoping to be able to salvage everything. It seemed possible, but it would take a lot of work, and compromise, mostly from Hannah. “Yeah. Can I come over? I—“ He paused, his hand on the handle of his truck, and swallowed. “I really want to see you and tell you about everything in person. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah.” It came out out so quietly that he almost couldn’t hear her over the sound of the cars driving past.

  “Okay. Good.” He pitched his voice low too. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  “Okay.” And she hung up.

  The drive to her apartment seemed to take an eternity, his thoughts running through everything he wanted to tell her, the questions he needed to ask her, hope and dread warring inside him at her possible answers. She didn’t know it yet, but she held all the power in their relationship, more so now than ever before.