"What if it's not paranoia? They're really out to get me, you know," she said, half-smiling, half-frowning.
He sat on the bed and pulled her onto his lap, ignoring her squeak of protest. Her warmth felt incredible against his totally inappropriate hard-on.
"Intellectually, I know that this house is extremely defensible. And I would protect you with my life. So dwelling on what-ifs won't do any good," he explained matter-of-factly. He kissed her temple, enjoying the warm, sleep-scented slide of her hair against his face.
She squirmed against him. "You're sure?"
Her ass slipped over his dick and he shuddered. He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm positive. "
She took a deep breath. "Okay. " To his dismay, she abruptly slid off his lap to the floor.
"Lily?" He reached for her, but she smiled saucily and batted his hands away.
"Stay there, Matt," she said, working on his jeans.
"Oh boy," he breathed. "You keep doing that…" He trailed off when his dick sprang out and she immediately wrapped her hands around it.
"You like it," she said, just before she took him into her mouth.
Matt's head snapped back as the—hot! wet!—heat of her surrounded him, but he forced his eyes open and watched her feed his cock into her mouth. He barely fit, but it didn't matter. She was looking right at him as her lips stretched around his dick, brown eyes sparkling.
Jesus Christ, she's amazing, he thought, then she did something insane with her tongue and it was all over. He clenched the mattress and groaned, not caring that his jeans were tangled around his ankles or that he had less control than a fifteen-year-old boy. He gasped out her name as his dick swelled, then she rubbed his balls with her free hand and he shot down her throat, completely helpless in her grasp. When she finally slid off with a pop, lips wet, he shuddered, his prick still hard.
"Shit, Lily, come here," he said roughly, hauling her up onto his lap. She giggled, but then he kissed the hell out of her and everything went a little crazy. She wrapped her legs around him and he slid inside her warm pussy sweet and easy. She threw her head back and Matt grabbed her ass, kicking off his jeans so he could stand up. She squeaked as his cock sank in even further, but he ignored her, kissing her and walking until they hit the wall. She clenched her hands on his shoulders and he slowly pulled out, then thrust back in, eyes locked on hers as though he'd drown if he looked away.
"How—?" she began to say, but he fucked in again, cutting her off. And again. She gave up trying to speak.
"You make me crazy," he muttered, somewhere around the eighth or ninth stroke.
She exhaled and tried to move her hips, but he had her pinned to the wall.
"Don't fucking move," he growled, wanting to surround her completely.
She nodded, resting the back of her head on the wall. "I need more. "
He bit her shoulder, fucking a little faster until her breath hitched. "I know. " He licked the spot he'd just bitten, soothing the sting. When the downstairs door slammed shut, he froze.
"Who is that?" Lily asked, going still.
"Shit. It's Alex," he muttered, hips still moving. His brother was the only one with a key to his place. And intruders wouldn’t bother closing the door.
Lily turned her head, eyeing the open bedroom door. "Um—"
"Ignore him," Matt said, rolling his hips so that his body ground against her clit.
She bit her lip, looking both horrified and aroused. Matt choked back a laugh.
"Matt?" Alex called from the kitchen.
"Matt! Oh my God, do something," Lily hissed, trying to squirm down. "He's going to hear us. Or worse, walk down here and see us!"
Matt wouldn't let her go. Instead he ground into her until she shivered and tucked her head into his neck. He could smell her arousal, musky and sweet. It made his dick throb so much, he couldn't concentrate anymore. Suddenly he was right on the cusp, struggling to hold out long enough for her to orgasm.
"Close?" he murmured, hoping she was. He didn't know how much longer he could hold out. You'd never know I just fucking came, five minutes ago, he mused, disgusted with his lack of control.
She nodded frantically, hips moving.
"Yeah, me too. "
"What about your brother?" she moaned, digging her fingers into his skin.
Matt lifted his head. "We'll be right there, Alex. Drink some coffee or something," he yelled.
"What? I can't hear you. "
Matt heard Alex start walking down the hall and he stifled a groan. "We're getting dressed, Alex. Give us a minute!"
Just then, Lily bit down on his neck, hard. Matt grunted and slammed into her, making the door bang against the wall.
"That doesn't sound like you're buttoning a shirt, Matt," Alex said from right outside the door, a thread of amusement in his voice.
Matt panted and reached out to swing the door completely shut while juggling Lily. She was pink all over now, nipples pebbled as she pressed into his chest. He groaned and fucked her hard, not caring any longer that Alex could probably hear them. He didn't care about anything except Lily: her hands in his hair, her breath in his ear, hot and frantic. He cupped her ass and slammed into her until he felt her pussy contract around his dick. He orgasmed at the same time, his entire body sparking from head to toe. His cock pulsed as he held onto her. She'd dug her fingers into his shoulder and he knew her nails were going to leave marks, but he didn't care.
When she finally relaxed, he took a shaky step back, then another, until the back of his knees hit the bed and they collapsed on it, sweaty and exhausted.
"There is no way your brother doesn't know what we were just doing," she muttered, face against his shoulder.
Matt couldn't help it. He laughed.
She lifted onto her elbow and glared at him.
"I've caught Alex in way more compromising positions. He can deal," Matt said, still chuckling. "There was that time he was dating those twins…" He trailed off when Lily whacked him on the arm.
"I'm embarrassed! And you think it’s funny. "
Matt leaned over and kissed her. "Don't worry about Alex. He won't care. Take your time. I'll go deal with him and we can figure out what to do next. "
She grunted, clearly not in the mood to be soothed out of her mortification. Matt kissed her again. She was cute when she was irritated. "The bathroom is over there. " He pointed across the room. "Come to the kitchen whenever you're ready. " He pulled the sheet over her and rolled off the bed.
****
Lily pulled the sheet up over her head when she heard the bathroom door shut. She refused to budge until he was done. How could I have let that happen? she asked herself, blushing again just thinking about it. She'd let him fuck her up against the wall! With his twin brother right outside the room! God. She put both hands over her face. When Matt was done in the bathroom, Lily peeked out from under the covers. He grinned at her and tweaked her foot as he headed for the kitchen. She gave him the finger, not caring that she was being childish. He could kiss her ass if he expected her to act anything less than embarrassed about this. So what if she was in her forties? That didn't mean she'd lost all sense of propriety.
The thought of facing Alex right after making love with Matt was enormously uncomfortable for her. She had enjoyed sex with her husband, but it hadn't been anything like what she'd just experienced. Their relationship had been a lot more ordinary. Boring, her mind whispered to her, but she shushed it, standing up and stretching. Matt had made sure to shut the door firmly, so she wouldn't feel embarrassed, but it didn't help all that much. She knew Alex had heard them.
After a long, hot shower, she managed to calm herself down about the entire thing. Any inadvertent exhibitionism was entirely worth it, if only for the relaxation value of that stupendous orgasm, she thought to herself, somewhat bashfully. She felt great. In fact, after all the mind-blowing sex, and the sleeping in, and the way Matt made her feel incredibly safe, Lily felt better than she had in years, despit
e the night’s attack.
She pulled on one of her new dresses as she admired the way the sunlight slanted through the windows onto Matt's bed. Thank goodness I managed to get a little shopping in this week, she thought. She never expected she’d want to look pretty for anyone but herself ever again, but this past week with Matt had changed her mind. She smoothed the soft fabric down over her hips. Matt had slipped her bag into the bathroom while she'd been showering, so she had all the things she needed to get dressed. She ran her brush through her hair one last time, rolled on a bit of lip-gloss, and walked over to the door. She took a deep breath and opened it, letting the sound of male voices wash over her.
Everything is fine, she told herself as she stepped into the hall. You're safe here. It's just Alex with Matt, not a stranger. When she walked into the kitchen, Matt's welcoming smile helped her believe it.
"Coffee?" he asked, holding out a cup.
"Please. " She smiled at him and sat down at the table. The scent of fresh baked muffins made her mouth water. "Hi, Alex. "
"Hi, Lily. " Alex didn't even smirk as he said it, raising him up a notch in her estimation.
"So, I managed to convince our local sheriff that he doesn't need to come torture you with questions," Alex said.
"The local asshole," Matt muttered under his breath.
Alex rolled his eyes. "Actually, it wasn't difficult. He really hates you, Matt," Alex said to his brother.
Matt shrugged. "Not my problem. "
"It might become a problem, in the future, you know. And it makes shit difficult when we have to coordinate emergency services with him,” Alex said.
"Emergency services?" Lily asked.
"Matt and I are volunteer firemen. Matt also gets called on to do the crazy shit like water rescues and helicopter work, because of his SEAL training. "
Lily raised her eyebrows. "I had no idea. "
Matt shrugged. "It's no big deal. "
"Yes it is," Alex disagreed. "If Matt didn't do it, we'd have to call in help from elsewhere, and sometimes we don't have the time to wait. He’s also a lot cheaper. " Alex smirked at his brother.
Lily smiled at Matt who was rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. "That's really cool of you. "
"It's nothing. "
"You're such a pain in the ass," Alex said, poking his brother in the arm.
Matt ignored Alex's sharp finger as he slid Lily's coffee across the table. "Muffin?"
"Yes, thank you," she said. Clearly he was trying to deflect the conversation away from himself. Lily snorted as she took the mug from him. He kept surprising her. Who would have expected a man so accomplished to be so modest? He grabbed a plate of pastries.
"Help yourself," he said, pointing to the pile of blueberry muffins on the dish.
She grabbed one and tore into it, suddenly starving. "Thanks for getting my stuff, Alex," she said after she'd devoured the muffin and made some serious inroads on another.
He smiled at her. "No problem. " He kept smiling at her, long after she expected him to look away.
Lily wondered if she had crumbs on her face and dabbed at her lips with a napkin. Nothing. She lifted an eyebrow.
Alex laughed. "You're not the kind of woman I expected my brother to fall in love with. "
Lily almost choked on her last bite. "Excuse me?" She must be hearing things. Did he just say Matt loved her? She swallowed, throat suddenly dry. She knew she'd already fallen for Matt, and fallen hard. Choosing to forego birth control was not something she would have done if she hadn't felt that way, but she didn't expect Matt to feel the same, for all his declarations of wanting to have a child with her. Things like love just didn't happen that fast. She glanced at Matt. He had the strangest look on his face.
"You're all he talks about," Alex elaborated.
"Jesus, Alex," Matt said, flushing slightly.
"What?" Alex looked confused.
"I haven’t told her yet, you moron. " Matt glanced at her, an apology on his face.
Lily felt her skin go cold, then hot. She smiled helplessly at Matt, unable to stop it from spreading over her face until she was grinning like an idiot. An answering smile from him had her flushing even more. "It's okay, Alex. I love him too. "
Matt's eyes went wide and before she could even put her mug down, he'd scooped her up, spinning her around the kitchen. Coffee sloshed from her cup, but she didn't care. She hung on, giggling, until he finally set her down. She stretched up on her toes and kissed him before he could say a word. He cupped a hand on her cheek, gentling her as he returned her kiss.
"I was not expecting that," Matt said when they finally broke apart.
Lily laughed, ridiculously happy for what felt like the first time in years. "Yeah, well, neither was I," she retorted.
"I wasn't expecting the two of you to freak out and run around the kitchen," Alex chimed in, paper towels in hand. He crouched down to mop up the spilled coffee. "Aren't the two of you supposed to be grown-ups?"
"Shut up," Matt said affectionately. He had his hand around Lily's waist and seemed in no hurry to let go.
"Does this mean you're going to get married now?" Alex asked, eyes twinkling.
"Jesus, Alex! You're such a shit," Matt exclaimed.
Lily laughed. "You're just goading him now. "
Alex grinned and threw the wet towels in the trash. "That's my job as a brother. "
Matt cleared his throat. "Actually—“
Lily's heart leaped against her ribs when he dug into his jeans. What was he doing?
He pulled out a piece of lint. Alex snorted. Matt smirked and held the fuzz out to Lily. "Lily, my love, will you take this string?"
She batted his hand away. "You're so ridiculous. " Marrying someone so soon after meeting someone is insane, she told herself firmly. You should be grateful he's joking.
Matt smiled at her and dug back into his pocket. Lily was already turning away, about to put her coffee mug on the table when he caught her hand. He went down on one knee, and she stopped breathing, completely flustered. His face was completely serious.
"Lily," he said quietly. "I love you. I knew pretty much from the moment we met that I would always love you. Will you marry me?" He held out his free hand. In his palm sat a gold band with a champagne diamond perfectly nestled inside a lovely antique setting. "This was my grandmother's ring. It would mean the world to me if you wore it. "
Lily bit her lip, hard, so she wouldn't just start bawling. "Oh my God," she breathed, reaching out a finger to touch it. "Are you serious?"
He nodded. "Completely. Please be my wife?"
Her fingers shook as she clasped her hand around the ring. It was warm. "Oh my God," she said again. Alex gently took the coffee mug from her other hand. She barely noticed. "You're crazy. "
He smiled at her. "Yeah. Is that okay?"
She nodded again, making a fist around the ring. "You're never getting this back, you know. "
"You still didn't answer me," he whispered.
She licked her lips. "Yes. A thousand times, yes. "
Matt took a deep breath and pried open her hand. "Let me. " She almost didn't want to let go, but he coaxed it from her, then gently slid the ring over her finger. "Perfect. " He kissed her knuckle.
Lily looked down. She agreed. "Matt, I love you. " Her voice shook. She felt faint.
"I love you too," Matt said, standing up.
She flung herself into his arms. A minute or an hour later—who can tell?—she finally let go. Alex was grinning at them.
"Well. I wasn't sure he'd actually do it," he said, shifting in his chair at the table. "When Matt asked me to get the ring, I though he was joking. "
"You brought it?" Lily looked down at her finger. The ring sparkled at her. She closed her fist around it.
"I had it in my safe with our grandmother's wedding band. She gave Matt her engagement ring and me the wedding band. She was an awesome lady. "
Lily smiled tearfully. "That's so sweet. "
; "Yeah, it is," Alex said. “I still miss her. ” He turned to Matt and frowned a moment later. "I hate to break up the happy couple, but I wanted to let you know that there's a bad storm coming in this afternoon, Matt. "
Matt hugged Lily tighter. "You think there will be flooding?"
Alex lifted a shoulder. "There's no way to know for sure until it gets here, but you know how the river gets when we have bad thunderstorms. It depends on how much rain we get. "
"How about we come down to your place later?" Matt offered. "That way I'll be close to town if we're needed. "
"Sounds good," Alex said.
"What happens when it rains?" Lily asked.
"The river that runs through town has a tendency to flash-flood. We'll have to close the road if that happens. It runs over the bridge sometimes and if anyone tries to drive through it—" Alex broke off, shaking his head. "Let's just say that Matt has had to do more than one water rescue in the past ten years. "
"Can we stay at your place tonight?" Matt asked. "If the storm moves in late, I don't want to be driving up and down the mountain. "
"Yeah, of course. " Alex stood up. "I gotta go. I closed the shop for a bit and I want to get back to work before it rains. "
Lily looked out the window at the sun shining down onto the deck. "It so beautiful outside right now. "
Matt nodded. "Storms move in fast. "
She understood. She ran her thumb along the warm metal of her ring. She knew how quickly a storm could change someone's entire life.
Chapter Seven
Early that evening, Lily sat at the table in Alex's kitchen, sipping tea while she tried to convince herself everything would be all right. Matt's brother was right about the storm, she thought, staring out the window at the rain lashing the glass. Every few seconds the lightning made her jump even though she was expecting it, and she tried very hard not to think about how very alone she felt. They'd lost power about an hour ago, and then Matt and Alex got the call from the sheriff that the water in the river was rising. They'd headed out to close the road. Lily shivered. She hoped they'd be careful.
I just found him; I don't want to lose him. She closed her hand over the ring he'd given her just a few hours ago. She'd lost the rest of her family so easily and she didn't want to lose Matt, too. She imagined him slipping over the side of the bridge, face wet and frantic, and then she firmly clamped down on her thoughts. Stop being ridiculous, she told herself. Matt was a SEAL. He's done training exercises in worse weather than this. In worse places.
Loving Lily Page 8