The Science of Loving

by Candace Vianna

  “Hey Mom, come in.” I kissed the air next to her cheek then guided her to the sofa. “There’s still some coffee in the pot if you’d like.”

  “That would be lovely,” she said, looking around with obvious surprise.

  “I know. Isn’t this place great? Wait till you see the bathroom,” I said, handing her a cup.

  “I must admit, it’s unexpected.”

  “Mat’s really talented.” She looked at me skeptically as I waved. “All of this is his creation. You should see it at night with the special lighting.”

  “Mat.” She spat. “Where is he?”

  “He went out for a run, he’ll be home soon.”

  “I can’t believe you’re still moving in with him after the way he talked to me.”

  “Don’t start Mom.”

  “Who’s starting? I’m just saying, if he’s willing to treat your mother like that, how long do you think it will be before he’s treating you the same? You can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his mother.”

  “Mat treats his mother like she walks on water. You guys just got off on the wrong foot. If you gave him a chance, I’m sure you’d see how wonderful he is.”

  “Perhaps, he’s certainly attractive. Still, it’s a shame about his business.”

  “Mom, you really need to consider the source. You’re getting your information from a criminal.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Avery, he’s been blackmailing one of Mat’s partners.”

  “Is that what Mat told you? Really Angie, you trust a man you just met more than your own mother?”

  “In this, yes. Besides I learned this from his other partner.”

  “Yes, and I’m sure he has just as much to lose as Mat does if their business goes under.”

  “God Mom, their business isn’t going under. Avery’s lying. Talk about trusting someone you’ve just met.”

  “There’s no point in talking about this anymore, I can see your mind is made up. Let’s go shopping. We can go to Whorton Plaza and have lunch at Nordstroms.”

  “I can’t. I promised Mat I wouldn’t go out.”

  “See, he’s already trying to control you.”

  “No Mom, he isn’t. He’s trying to protect me. They still haven’t caught the guy who attacked me.”

  “Oh Angelina, I’m so glad you’re all right. I know, we should go away. We could go on a cruise.”

  “What about my job? We’re on the verge of getting some real answers.”

  “Well, it’s not like it won’t be here when you get back. Who knows, maybe a break will give you new perspective.”

  “And Mat?

  “Yes, what about Mat?” The fire door clattered shut. He stood glaring, half-naked, drenched in sweat with his beefy arms crossed over his bunched chest.

  Mom ignored him, speaking as if he weren't standing right there. “If he truly cares, he’ll wait. If he doesn’t, it’s best to find out now.”

  “The only person going anywhere, Stephanie, is you. Please leave,” Mat growled softly—oh crap—his stare was as cold as a granite statue, a very angry granite statue.

  “I’m not letting you take my daughter from me.”

  “Jesus Stephanie, she’s her own person. I can’t take her from you.” Exasperation was clearly written across his face. “But as her man, I will protect her. So until her attacker is caught, she isn’t going anywhere without me. Which means you need to either get with the program, or step off.”

  God, I hated this—my eyes ping-ponged back and forth between them—I felt like the only bone between two dogs. “Okay, I’ve had about enough. You both need to stop.” I turned to Mat. “This is my mother; she will always be my mother, so suck it up.” Then to Mom. “This is my boyfriend. He’s not going anywhere and neither am I. This is his home—”

  “Our home babe.”

  “—and you need to stop all the snide remarks. You two don’t have to like each other, but I do expect you treat each other with respect.” I shook, I was so mad. “‘Cause Mom, if you force me to make a choice, Mat will win, hands down. And Mat, I love my mom no matter how dysfunctional our relationship. And, although I know it’s unfair, I will resent you if I have to make that choice. So both of you better, by god, find a way to get along.” I stormed out of the room, slamming the bedroom door behind me. Here I’d finally made an exit Les would’ve been proud of, and I was too pissed-off to enjoy it.

  Angie left a stunned silence in her wake—sweetness has a temper after all—I started chuckling. “Damn, I guess she told us. Why are you so dead set against me?”

  “Perhaps I’m envious. God, that sounds awful.” She shook her head, crossing to the window hugging herself. In that moment, she looked so much like her daughter that I got creeped out for a second. “Her father didn’t want to marry me, you know. After I got pregnant, I told him I’d have an abortion if he didn’t, and from the moment she was born, the two of them were inseparable. He doted on her and she worshiped him—not that I cared, I got what I wanted. But now you’re doting on her, and she looks at you the same way and it just makes me sick.”

  “Jesus Stephanie, I don’t even know how to respond to that.”

  She snorted. “Of course, I couldn’t have a normal child. Oh no, not my little overachiever, she took gifted to a whole new level. Everyone looked at her with such awe, such wonder… The world loves child prodigies. How was I supposed to compete with that?”

  “You’re not supposed to. She’s your daughter for Christ’s sake, not your competition.”

  Spinning, Stephanie snarled. “No, she was a means to an end. Jack got his princess and I got the country club; only now, he’s reneging on the deal. After Twenty-six years he expects me to just walk away while she gets everything: Wealth, her Prince Charming—” Shit, she’s a fucking psycho. “—and everyone’s falling all over themselves to help her, guide her. That should be me!”

  There was a gasp. Angie was standing on the threshold. I didn't know how long she’d been there, but obviously, long enough. I gathered her in my arms, and was relieved when she sank into me. She was shaking so hard, I was surprised she wasn't lying in a thousand pieces on the floor. “I would like you to go Mother. Now. Please… Just go.”

  “Angelina, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded, it came out all wrong.”

  “No, I believe it came out exactly right,” she said quietly. “And it’s not like I was completely unaware; people have tried to warn me. I just thought—hoped—that you acted out love, not your own selfishness. Now you can leave on your own, or I can throw you out.”

  “Let me do that for you, babe.”

  “No, you’ll end up in jail.” Angie pulled away, picking up the phone. “We’ll let the police handle this.”

  “Fine,” Stephanie spat, leaving with a final parting shot. “But, don’t mistake hot sex for love; he’s just securing his investment. I bet if you check, you’ll see you’re nothing like his old flames.” Motherfucker!

  Angie deflated in the silence that followed the slamming door. There was nothing I could say that would make this better, so I hauled her into my lap, and waited for the meltdown. She sighed, burying her nose against my neck—still waiting—and began kissing me, her tongue trailing wetly to my ear—anytime now—I shivered when she raked my earlobe with her teeth, my I.Q. dropping to my shorts as she gently sucked on it. “Baby, are you okay?”

  “Mmmm hmmm,” she mumbled, kissing back down my neck as she twisted, straddling my thighs. I adjusted her higher in my lap to accommodate my growing erection. My hands bore down on her ass when she moaned, grinding on me. Then she attacked with hot desperation, stealing my breath in a frenzy of lips, tongue and teeth.

  Okay, this was unexpected, but I'd go with it. I'd take angry and horny over sad and hurt any day of the week. “Tell me what you want baby.”

  “You.”

  “You got me. How you want it?”

  “Hard enough to crush the ugl
iness I feel inside.”

  “No worries, baby. I’ll fuck the ugly right out of you.” She raised her arms and I stripped her shirt off. I flipped her onto her stomach, pinning her legs together with my knees, fingering the waistband of the boxers she’d swiped from me this morning. They looked so much better on her. I loved her sexy underwear, but nothing was hotter than seeing her help herself to my things. It was a statement claiming the right to what’s hers. I dragged them down, stroking one pale cheek, her ass gleaming in the late morning sun. She tried to rear back, but I flattened my hand between her shoulder blades, pushing her down, pinning her. I crouched over her, my cock nestled in her crack. “Uh uh, you aren’t going anywhere.”

  I covered the top of her hands with mine, lacing our fingers, pressing them into the cushions. “You asked for it,” I growled. “Now get that sweet ass in the air.” She shuddered—that’s right honey, I’m in control. I’m going to help you get out of your head.

  I leaned on her back, pushing down my shorts. I rested my forehead on the sofa next to hers, letting my voice work its magic. “Yeah, sweetness, you’re gonna get it all right. I’m gonna fuck you so hard and deep, it’s gonna drive every single thought out of your head. And after you come apart, I’m gonna put you back together and do it all over again… As many times as it takes.”

  I slid my cock up and down her wet crease until it was slick. Positioning it at her entrance, I took a breath. This time, there’d be no gentle introduction; it was going to be a hard rough ride that would leave her body aching instead of her heart. I reared back gripping her hips, my fingers digging in silent warning when she started to raise her shoulders. She cried out when I slammed into her, her body clenching against the sudden intrusion. I waited for her to settle back down and then proceeded to pound the shit out of her; lifting her off the sofa as I hammered into her. It was fast and brutal. And I was going to come far too soon.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  It's the Stiff Ones You Have to Watch Out For

  Mat shuddered, sagging back on his heels. His thick arms kept my ass nested snugly against his groin as he rested his forehead on me, panting hot breaths between my shoulder blades. “Don’t think I’m finished with you yet, that was just to take the edge off.”

  A moan escaped then a sob. Hot tears rolled off my nose making dark splotches on the green leather cushion. I was reeling under a tidal wave of emotions: Anger, betrayal, humiliation—she hates me. She's always hated me—my God, it was so obvious. So many people had tried to warn me. Strings of snot joined my tears staining the sofa as Mat curled over me, never wavering, his gruff cheek rubbing a raw patch on my back.

  Finally, exhaustion turned my sobs to shuddering hiccups as my lungs begged for more air than my folded position allowed. When the pins and needles poking my feet became too great to ignore, I pushed up. Mat trailed his hands over my skin as he unwound. He stretched then pulled up his shorts before sitting me sideways between his spread knees, my legs bent over a muscular thigh.

  He patiently took care of me, wiping my splotchy face with his discarded tee shirt, ordering me to blow with a comforting rumble. If he kept this up, I knew I'd start crying again.

  “It hurts.” I clung to him, my voice, hoarse. “I’m so fucking mad, it hurts, and I can’t think straight. I want to slam things around and hear them crash. I want to smash and break everything until there’s a million bloody pieces.”

  “Yeah, I know that feeling. You may not have noticed, but I have a bit of a temper. Once upon time when I got pissed, I’d punch holes into walls. There was something very satisfying about the way drywall buckled when I hit it, except of course, when it didn’t. One day my fist met the wrong fucking wall. I gave it a dent, and it broke my hand. There was a fucking stud hiding behind the drywall.” He smiled. “Lesson learned. I went and bought a punching bag the same day they took off my cast. Come on, let’s go pound on it.” I reached for the boxers, but he tugged them out of my hands and tossed them over his shoulder. “Leave them, naked fighting’s way better.”

  Oh, no way. “For whom? You just want to watch me jiggle.”

  “It’s liberating, you’ll see.” He grinned, dragging me from the couch. “The jiggling’s just bonus.”

  I was a self-conscious bundle of nerves by the time we got downstairs, ready to tuck tail and hide. My embarrassment squelched any need for destruction. The warehouse was too open, too public; the overhead halogen lights were too bright. Mat cranked up the stereo. The evil gleam in his eyes matched the heavy metal music pouring from the speakers. He paused briefly, clicking on a large fan and my skin pebbled in the breeze. I hugged myself feeling foolish and exposed as my nipples crinkled.

  “Okay sweetness, make a fist like this. Don’t tuck in your thumb. Good.” He grabbed the heavy, black duffle bag hanging from a chain wrapped around an overhead pipe. “Now show me what you’ve got.” I couldn’t look at the bag without seeing his eyes on me. Death couldn’t come fast enough. I poked timidly at it with one arm holding in my breasts.

  “Come on babe, you can do better than that.” I swung again, a little harder then followed weakly with the other hand. “God, that’s just sad.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe this is the same girl that beat the crap out of a guy with a tire iron. Hit the fucking bag, girl. You’re not going to hurt it, kick the shit out of it.”

  Feeling like an idiot, I started swinging; throwing one punch after another, again and again, tossing in an occasional kick. Mat yelled encouragingly when I rocked the bag, hurling insults when I didn't. I warmed, droplets of sweat tickling down my ribs. My shins and feet began to burn, stinging from slapping the bag in between thudding fists. My skin grew hot, sticky with sweat as the air from the fan brushed me like velvet.

  My blood sang with the angry men screaming out defiantly over the clashing guitars and pounding drums. I wasn't aware of my nakedness any more, or my pain. I wasn't aware of anything. My arms grew numb then heavy, until I no longer had the will to raise them. I leaned forward, standing on rubbery legs, resting my cheek on the bag’s sticky plastic, drained.

  I felt it shift. Large hands curled over my shoulders, thumbs massaging my upper back. I turned into him, my arms going around his waist. He was solid and strong and I clung to him, soaking up his warmth.

  God, how will I survive without him.

  “You’ll never have to babe.”

  Did I put voice to that last thought? I was too spent, both emotionally, and physically to worry about it. He pulled away, searching my face, and I gazed back, too tired to hide. What was the point, he'd seen me scared, horny, angry, ugly crying and snotty. Hell, he’d just watched me jiggle. I was certain embarrassment would catch up to me later, but at the moment, I just couldn’t bring myself to care.

  His gaze grew tender. “Oh honey, it’s all right. Everything’s going to be all right.”

  The fan was chilling now that I stilled. He started rubbing my arms when he noticed goose bumps spreading across my skin, his gaze dropping to my budding nipples. I rolled my eyes as he scooped me up, grinning unrepentantly. He took the stairs two at a time, not stopping until we were in the shower.

  In the aftermath of her rage, she’d become docile; placidly standing under the spray as I washed her hair. It was probably wrong after the morning she'd had, that her little sighs of pleasure were turning me on. Damn, if she wasn’t magnificent naked fighting. Then after, when she just let go, her soul was shining from her eyes, she was fucking transcendent—shit, I’m turning into a chick.

  Smiling to myself, I stood in front of her and ran a vigorous towel over her curls, turning them into a frizzy mess before running it over her rosy skin, squatting to reach her legs.

  “Nice Mat.” My grin widened as she combed frustrated fingers through her hair. “I should let my hair dry like this, just so you’re stuck looking at it all day.”

  “Go for it babe.” I chuckled, getting to my feet. “That’ll keep a smile on my face all day long.”


  “You’re an ass.” The slight curve of her lips ruined her fierce glare.

  I leaned back against the vanity, tugging her into me her. “A lucky ass.”

  “A wise ass.” She grinned.

  “A hard ass,” I murmured, grabbing a little ass of my own, making her blush.

  “A jackass.” Ow! Son of a bitch! She plucked my pit hairs. Minx.

  “Yeah.” I kissed her nose as she stroked up to the back of my neck. “But all of this ass is yours.”

  “I love your ass,” she sighed. “So I guess that makes me a dumb ass.”

  “Not dumb, horny,” I said, squeezing her butt and nibbling along her jaw. “My ass makes you horny.”

  She dropped her head back, baring her throat as she pulled me down. “Same thing.”

  I kissed back up her neck pausing at her ear. “Know what makes me horny?”

  “Mmmmmm… A stiff breeze… Household appliances…” Funny.

  “Power tools.” I breathed, my lips brushing her skin as she shivered, going soft. I slid an arm around her waist—oh yeah sweetheart, you like that idea. “We need to go to the toy store.”

  “Toy store?”

  “Uh huh, a grownup toy store.” I smiled against her neck. When I lifted my head, she blinked up at me, nicely flushed. I loved putting that look in her eyes. “Later, right now my sweet tooth’s acting up and I got a hankering for some pie.”

  She let out a girly squeak when I tossed her on the bed. Then I jumped on her before she could get her bearings. “I told you earlier I wasn’t done with you, not until I’ve made you come a time or two or six.” She froze, her eyes going wide. My eyes laughed back as I gave her a ‘Your ass is mine’ smile. “Now lie back,” I growled, tossing her legs over my shoulders, “and gimme some pie.”

  I didn't mess around, but went straight for the prize, giving her a long slow lick, laughing when her thighs clamped against my ears. I looked up at her furiously blushing face. “Mmmmm, gotta love pie.” Making her squirm might just be my new favorite pastime. Well, that and fucking her or that thing she did with her mouth… or… Shit… I couldn’t decide.