A Hot Winter (New Adult Romance) (The Attraction Series Book 2)

by Lake, C. J.

  Matt didn’t indicate if he received her message or not; he even let a moment of silence stretch on between them. A voice in Emma’s mind told her to be mature about this--to excuse herself, go to the ladies’ room, and give Matt and his whatever-she-was a chance to talk.

  But another, louder voice in her head said: Hell, no. It was true Emma had no claim on Matt, but still, she stayed exactly where she was, prepared to wait out the raven-haired, size-two hottie for as long as it took. She sipped her Crazy Hat almost absently as Keri attempted to get a meaningful reunion going with Matt.

  Finally, the girl seemed to accept defeat. At least for now, Emma thought, as she took her last sip. “Okay…well…I guess I’ll see you around,” Keri told Matt, offering one more beautifully crafted smile.

  “Yep, take care,” he said and then turned toward Emma and noticed her glass was empty. “Want another one?” She nodded. Matt kept his hand resting on Emma’s back while he got her a drink, and then gently nudged her along with him. “Hey, let’s grab a table.”

  “Okay,” she said, hopping off her stool and following his lead to a booth in the back corner of the bar. Maybe she should be a friend and ask him who Keri was; but she didn’t truly want to know, at least not now.

  Once they sat down, Matt smiled at her and said, “Anyway…back to you and me.”

  “You and me?” Emma echoed, surprised he’d said that.

  “I mean, you know, as in: the conversation we were having before we were interrupted? Now I think I was asking you what was so great in New York,” he said.

  She gave him a knowing smirk. “You were not. And I already told you: that’s where the magazine is moving, so that’s where I’m moving.”

  “You like your job that much?” Matt asked, resting his arms on the table. Emma found herself eyeing them appreciatively. His forearms were thick and strong-looking…somehow they were just as sexy as his biceps… A wave of lust lapped over her, heating her skin, flushing her cheeks. Maybe a Crazy Hat (or two) on an empty stomach wasn’t the best plan.

  “I do like my job for the most part,” she answered after a pause. “It’s not just that, though. Also I went to college in New York, so it’s not foreign territory. I like it there.” Not as much as Boston or Newton, but enough. “And Connor’s family is there, so they can spend time with the boys…” Her voice sort of trailed off because talking about Jake and Ben would only remind her how acutely she missed them, and then she might start crying again.

  “Not to be too personal, but…” Matt began cautiously. “You got married really young, huh?”

  With a nod, Emma said, “Yeah. The truth is I got pregnant when I was a junior in college. Obviously it was an accident--and not the highlight of my parents’ year,” she said with a deprecating laugh. “But they loved Connor, and he proposed right away, so…”

  “I see.”

  “We were married before Jake was born, and I did end up finishing my degree, despite my mom’s worst fear that the baby would derail my education. Connor was in ROTC, so after college, he went overseas,” she finished, skipping over the obvious sad ending to that story.

  “It sounds like you’re still close with Connor’s family,” Matt remarked.

  “Yes, I suppose. I mean, they want to be close with me. Not just because they have a relationship with Jake and Ben, but also, I think it makes them feel close to Connor to relive ‘old times’ with me. But honestly? It can get kind of toxic.”

  Matt’s dark eyes were warm as he studied her. “Toxic how?”

  Emma shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Sometimes it feels like they tell the same stories over and over to try to make sure I still feel all the old feelings exactly the same…” She expelled a troubled sigh. “I feel like they don’t want me to move on.”

  “By move on, you mean…find someone else?” Matt asked cautiously.

  “I don’t know,” she said, almost retracting, “maybe I’m being unfair to them. It just feels like they don’t ever want that wound to heal. For any of us.” With a shaky kind of laugh, she said, “God, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this!” Abruptly she changed directions. “Enough about me. How’s your Brown and Tan?”

  “It’s a Black and Tan.”

  “Whatever, it’s nasty,” she said.

  He gave a laugh. “I see how it is. A couple drinks in you and you’ve already got a little attitude going,” he said. His smile and tone of voice were unmistakably flirtatious. Emma felt heat come to her cheeks as she grinned at him. There was no doubt about it: she was being torn in opposing directions. On one side of the fence was level-headedness. On the other was lust--and the part of her heart and body that wanted to flirt back.

  Chapter 24

  After Matt set the Christmas tree up in Emma’s living room, he wasn’t ready to end the night. Not until they cleared the air, once and for all. Now that he was done with the renovation job, he wasn’t going to let this moment slip by without telling her how he felt about her.

  “Thanks so much!” she gushed and even clapped her hands excitedly over the tree. “The boys are going to go crazy for this! I’m so glad you talked me into it. Now how much do I owe you for the tree service?” she said, as she moved past him to get her purse from the couch.

  “Wait,” Matt said, reaching for her. He stopped her with his hand on her arm--then lightly pulled her back to him.

  Emma eyed him a bit nervously.

  He watched her suck in an unsteady breath, like she wasn’t sure what was about to happen. Hell, neither was he. “Emma…” Matt began, still holding her arm, but gently, as he inched even closer to her. “Can we just have an honest conversation?” he said, his voice lower and more intimate.

  Her mouth curved open, but she didn’t interrupt him. She waited.

  “That day we met at the hardware store. I was flirting with you--a lot. And I got the impression that you were flirting with me, too.” With a deep swallow, Emma averted her eyes. Still, Matt wanted their cards on the table. “Just tell me: was I wrong?”

  “Matt…” she murmured, turning away. He watched her back rise and fall, as she inhaled a deep breath and let it out. “All right, honest conversation,” she said after a moment that was quiet, but rife with tension. “Yes. I was flirting with you in the store--but only because I never thought I’d see you again.”

  “You never wanted to see me again?” He sounded somewhere between incredulous and insulted. “Damn, Emma!”

  “No, no,” she clarified, rapidly shaking her head, “this is coming out wrong. I just meant I thought you were a random handsome guy with a hot body, end of story.”

  Every male impulse in him intensified when he heard those words. Handsome? Hot body? This was definitely going to happen.

  “I never knew you’d end up working at my house…and driving me crazy everyday,” Emma mumbled partly under her breath. Still, Matt heard every word. And he was itching to grab her.

  He stepped closer--close enough for their bodies to touch. Finally. His cock stiffened as his chest grazed Emma’s back. “Driving you crazy?” Matt repeated, bringing his mouth closer to her ear. “Here I thought I was being nice all this time.”

  She let out an unsteady breath. “You know what I mean.”

  “No,” he said, his voice low and urgent as his hands slid onto her waist. “Explain it to me.”

  Already he felt the sexual tension burning between them; what would it be like once he kissed her? She had to feel it, too. Though she still stubbornly had her back to him, she hadn’t moved away, not even a centimeter.

  When she spoke, her voice was a soft, breathy sort of whisper that sounded as aroused as he felt. “I admit I find you…attractive…”

  “Mmm-hmm,” he murmured, tugging her lower body against his as he leaned down to nuzzle her neck.

  Softly, Emma gasped, before continuing, “But…since I’m moving in just a couple weeks, there’s no point to…anything…” She let out a tiny little moan when Matt grazed her ne
ck with his teeth. “I-I hope you understand.”

  “I understand perfectly,” he said, his mouth against her ear. “You’re attracted to me,” he recapped, skipping the rest of what she’d said.

  “But--”

  “And I’m deeply attracted to you,” he murmured, as he tightened his grip on her waist and nudged her bottom with his cock. When Emma moaned again, Matt seized the opportunity. He slid a hand into her hair and angled her head toward him, urging her to turn around.

  “Matt, please…” she implored, half-turned, her greenish eyes looking almost troubled as she gazed up into his face.

  Pausing, he tried to regain his sanity. Obviously he’d never want to push Emma into something she didn’t want. “Are you saying you don’t want me to kiss you right now?” he asked.

  “What I want doesn’t matter.”

  “Like hell it doesn’t,” he nearly snapped. Why was she making this so complicated?

  “It’s part of being an adult,” Emma said, casting her eyes down, her voice faint. “We can’t always have what we want. That’s life.”

  “Believe me, I know that,” Matt told her. “If I could have what I want, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation--I would’ve been kissing you all this time. I would be doing the crossword puzzle with you every morning. I would be fixing that screwed-up weather-stripping, just so you’d be warm. I would grab you and pull you onto my lap…” With her eyes widening, Emma’s mouth fell open, as Matt dipped his head lower and finished, “If I could have what I want, then I’d already be running my hands inside your panties right now.”

  “Matt…” she whispered helplessly, wetting her lips as her face rose to meet his.

  “I need to kiss you,” he rasped, pausing when they were barely an inch apart, dragging out the moment for her.

  “Yes…” she pleaded, as her eyes drifted shut and Matt’s fingers tightened in her hair, and finally he brought his mouth down on hers.

  Their lips melded so naturally, it was almost too easy. If felt like they were perfectly in sync. Emma’s mouth was soft and eager and sensuous as she kissed Matt back, sliding her hands up the front of his jacket and then coiling them around his neck. He sighed with relief; Emma was finally in his arms.

  Suddenly she hesitated, her mouth still achingly close to his when she whispered, “Wait--I don’t want Andy and Tragan to know that--”

  “Tragan and Andy won’t know anything,” he assured her. “This is between you and me.”

  “Okay,” she breathed, and melded her mouth with his again.

  The kiss was heady and romantic…and then blatantly sexual. If Matt’s tongue was aggressive, Emma didn’t seem to mind--she slid hers into his mouth hungrily, making him groan, as he licked deeply into her and pulled her even tighter against him.

  They kept on kissing, possessively clinging to each other until the air in the room became suffocatingly hot--with Emma clawing at his hair and Matt grabbing her ass--and then both sort of falling onto the couch.

  Their passion was frenzied, as though it had been starved, and now neither one could get enough of the other. “Christ, Emma,” Matt said when their lips broke apart for a moment and she urged him to roll on top of her. “You’re so fucking hot,” he muttered thickly.

  Gripping her thigh with one hand, he ground his body against hers, as she tugged on his hair and kissed him again…and again. It was like Emma’s wall of control had finally fallen, and what had been contained behind it was explosive, sexually-charged and unrestrained.

  “I can’t resist you,” she whispered, making it sound like a confession, as Matt trailed hot kisses down her throat.

  “Why would you want to?” he asked softly, genuinely, sliding a hand under her sweater. “I want to make you feel so good…” When he lightly bit the curve of her neck, she moaned--then sighed when his fingers grazed the edge of her bra.

  The male instinct to be an animal--to tear the lace and run his hands roughly over her bare breasts--had to be tamed. He needed to be patient, loving. In his lustful haze, Matt already felt close to worshiping her--the warmth of her soft body, her feminine scent, the aroused little sounds she made when he kissed her. And then there was the thrilling thought that this was Emma underneath him. She was his girl, she had to be.

  He was already painfully hard and they were both still dressed. It made him wonder how wet she might be right now… Before he could slip his other hand inside her jeans, the loud whirring of a car alarm startled them both, causing their mouths to break apart.

  As the alarm blared through the living room, Matt pushed up on his arm and Emma blinked up at him, confused. “Is that your truck?” she said, sounding concerned.

  “I think so,” he started to say just as the racket of the car alarm was joined by the frantic ringing of the doorbell.

  Chapter 25

  When Matt returned to his apartment nearly two hours later, he found Pellican and Bardo sprawled across his living room, playing a videogame. “Hey, what’s up, man?” Pellican said as Matt entered and slammed the door behind him.

  “Hey,” he grumbled.

  “Anything wrong?” Bardo asked.

  “No. Just aggravated as hell, that’s all.” He tossed his keys aside and shoved his jacket off.

  “What happened?”

  “Someone vandalized my truck,” Matt said, thinking about the events of the night. He’d finally gotten into a romantic, steamy, perfect moment with Emma, only to have it ruined by some prick throwing a brick through his back window. As if that wasn’t enough, the prying neighbor from the other day came over in a state of panic. Apparently she had heard the commotion of Matt’s alarm, and had even seen a car speed away down the street. Yet, she couldn’t describe the car at all, so as an eye witness she was totally unhelpful.

  “No shit, really?” Pellican said now, tensing up as he tossed his controller to the side. “Did you see it happen?”

  “Nah, the truck was parked in--” Abruptly Matt stopped himself from saying “Emma’s driveway.”

  Bardo’s eyes squinted a bit behind his glasses. “It was parked where?”

  “Um…I was at the Lamplighter tonight,” Matt said, because it was technically the truth--though obviously not an accurate answer to Bardo’s question. He’d let his friends assume that was where the attack had happened. “I filled out a police report, which I know is a complete waste of time,” Matt said offhandedly. “But someone called them, so they were there anyway.”

  The “someone” he was referring to was Cheryl, the same neighbor who’d rushed over after calling the police, and told Emma how “shaky” she was feeling because of the commotion on their usually quiet street. She’d even asked Emma if she could stay with her for a few hours to calm her nerves. To be fair, the lady did appear to be rattled as hell. And of course Emma was too good a person to send her nervous neighbor away just so she and Matt could continue to go at it like animals.

  Also, Matt had been furious at the sight of his truck--ripped open and vulnerable--and he knew he had no way of getting the back window fixed until the following day. “I ended up driving the truck to my parents’ house to keep in their garage. Then I took the bus home.”

  “Man, that sucks,” Bardo said.

  With a tired sigh, Matt ran a hand over his face, trying to force the tension from his bones. What was done was done. He’d get the truck fixed. And most importantly, he’d see Emma again. They’d crossed a line tonight, big time. Sure, they’d only kissed, but the attraction between them felt so intense, he had to think if they hadn’t been interrupted, they would have ended up naked in her bed. Or her shower. Or both--anywhere she wanted it…

  “Jeez, what’s happened to the Lamplighter?” Bardo said. “Does it draw an unsavory crowd now?”

  Matt almost had to laugh. “Hardly. Actually, speaking of the crowd there, you’ll never guess who came up to me tonight at the bar. Keri.”

  “No way!” Pellican exclaimed.

  “At the Lamplighter?
” Bardo joined in, equally shocked. “But that’s your place!”

  Matt shrugged. “Yeah, it was so random.”

  “Or was it?” Bardo said dramatically.

  Pellican looked over at him. “What, you think she planted herself there hoping to run into him?”

  “Nah,” Matt said humbly, “I’m sure it was just a coincidence.”

  “I don’t think so,” Bardo maintained. “Neeta told me that Keri actually split with her boyfriend, or fiancé, whatever he was,” he said, referring to Keri’s former boss, Douglas.

  “Oh, really?” Matt said distractedly, still thinking about his truck. It did seem pretty strange that a random criminal would be driving down Emma’s quiet residential street and have a brick ready to throw. And why Matt’s truck?

  “Who were you at the Lamplighter with?” Bardo asked, interrupting Matt’s thoughts.

  “Why do you ask that?” Matt said, evading the question.

  “Because--think about it--if Keri saw you chatting up some girl and she got jealous…” At first Bardo let his voice trail off, but when Matt and Pellican both just looked at him, he filled in the blanks. “Don’t you see? Maybe she got pissed off, rounded up her hot girl posse and threw a brick through your window on the way to their car.” Tossing his hands up, Bardo declared, “It’s the only thing that makes logical sense.”

  Skeptically, Pellican said, “The only thing? What about a random act of violence and shitty luck?”

  “Well, yeah, there’s that, too,” Bardo admitted.

  Dismissively, Matt shook his head. “Keri wouldn’t do anything crazy like that.” Especially considering that for Keri to have thrown the brick, she would have had to follow Matt from the Lamplighter to Emma’s house. But of course his friends didn’t realize that part. Truthfully, Keri did seem sort of eager to reconnect with him all of a sudden. Still, that was hardly a reason for someone to go psycho. And why would she have a spare brick on hand?