She nodded. “I’m glad you’re here tonight. And sending over Jaxi this morning? Brilliant. I should have thought of it.”

“That’s why being friends is a good thing. You don’t have to think of everything on your own.” He tweaked her nose then grabbed a plate and passed it to her. Matt glanced around. “You want to eat at the table?”

“You don’t mind us being terribly antisocial and watching some television while we eat?”

He shook his head. “As long as I get to sit next to you, I’m good.”

They got settled on the couch, plates loaded with food. Matt handed her the control and she laughed.

“The ultimate example of self-sacrifice.”

“I will steal it back if you turn to one of those ‘what not to wear’ shows.”

Hope found some CSI reruns and snuggled tight against him, their legs stretched side by side, feet on the coffee table, with quilts draped over their laps and around their shoulders. Matt got up and refilled his plate, and her juice glass, but for the next couple of hours all they did was eat and watch TV. When the food was gone, they just cuddled and vegetated.

Her head rested on his chest, her eyes almost closed. Their plates were pushed to the side, and Matt was as good as holding her up, his strong arm cradling her.

The sigh of contentment that slipped out wasn’t anything but heartfelt.

“That sounds as if you’re feeling better.”

Hope groaned as she rearranged her limbs to sit more vertically. “Better, but stuffed. Man, you outdid yourself with the food.”

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll go pop the leftovers in the fridge. You stay and relax.”

She was going to protest, but the determined expression on his face changed her mind. “There are plastic containers in the middle drawer if you need any.”

He moved easily in the small space, loading cartons into the fridge and even wiping the table off before coming back to grab their dirty plates.

Hope pulled herself to her feet to work beside him. “There’s room in the dishwasher.”

The situation was comfortable. Easy. Another sensation rose as they bumped hips and shared the dishtowel. The third time he cornered her by the fridge she realized it was deliberate, the press of his hips against hers. The graze of their bodies together.

“You looking for a bigger kitchen, Matt?”

“Hmm, nope. This one is the perfect size.”

She was in the middle of rinsing her glass when he moved behind her, muscular forearms framed in her peripheral vision as his arms surrounded her. Matt leaned forward and breathed deep from beside her neck, his whiskers tickling her bare skin, and she shivered.

His dark chuckle made it clear he knew why.

“You spending the night?” She barely got the words out. He’d pressed his lips to the sensitive spot he’d scraped and was sucking lightly, causing all kinds of interesting reactions inside her.

His tongue rasped over the same spot. A line of tiny bites followed all the way to her earlobe. She wasn’t sure what he would do next, but one thing was certain, watching television had lost all its charm.

“I planned on staying. So if you want me, you need to put down the glass before you drop it.”

Hope lowered the goblet with shaky fingers, the base rattling on the counter for a second before she steadied it. Did she want him? Here? Now?

Oh yes. Oh hell, yes.


She twisted in his arms, and his plan of going slow and being gentle vanished like the bubbles disappearing from the dishwater. Hope stared into his eyes, lashes fluttering for a moment before she lowered her chin and melted against him.

He caught her up, one arm scooped under her knees, cradling her against his chest as he took them straight back to her room. All the frustrations, all the aching tension between them—there would be time for a slow seduction later. Right now he felt the urge to distract them both, and the hotter and dirtier, the better.

Mat lowered her to the bed then closed the door.

Hope laughed. “You worried about someone dropping in?”

“Nope.” He stared at the full-length mirror on the back of the door, mind racing through the possibilities it presented, before turning toward her. “Strip.”

No hesitation. She reached for her top and peeled it upward. Her naked breasts appeared, the firm rounds bouncing at him as she arched her back and shuffled off her flannel bottoms.

Less than ten seconds. Long enough for his cock to go from hard to an iron spike. He stripped, his clothes discarded in a pile on top of the dark blue fabric of her pyjamas.

Nothing between them. Nothing but too damn much air.

“Kneel for me. Right in the center of the bed.”

Hope tore her gaze off his body, the lust on her face switching to curiosity. Was she wondering what he’d do next? He wouldn’t keep her guessing for very long. She obeyed his command, her knees spread wide as she found a balanced position. He stared, impressed that heat radiating off her could be felt where he stood two feet away.

“Turn around.”

A whimper of need escaped her lips, the bed rocking as her knees dipped into the mattress. He waited until she faced the headboard, then spoke again, the words rasping out.

“Don’t move.”

Matt knelt behind her, nudging her knees farther apart. He pressed their bodies together and nipped her shoulder as he dragged his hands over her naked skin. One hand he slid up to cup her breast. One snuck downward until his fingertips skimmed her slit.

“Damn, you’re wet.”

“You do that to me.” There was a purr of contentment in her voice, and he grinned like a fool.

“It ain’t the only thing I plan on doing to you.” He flicked her clit and she moaned.

Matt pressed one finger deep into her pussy and her hips rocked urgently against his hand.

Hope laid her head on his shoulder as he worked her, fingers rolling her nipple. Two fingers thrust in and out of her body, the heel of his hand pressed hard to her clit. She puffed air rapidly, crying out long and low when she came, body squeezing tight around him.

He released her and dropped to his back, pulling her hips down. He centered her pussy over his mouth and licked the moisture escaping. Hope tried to wiggle away, but he held her tight to his lips, using his tongue to explore all the folds of her pussy. She tried to escape again and this time he nipped the inside of her thigh.

Hope yipped in response, squirming hard.

“Stay in one place. I ain’t done with you.” He clutched her ass cheeks and dove back in. Assaulting her sensitive clit, lapping along all her most responsive spots until she shook, calling out his name.

Then she was flat on her back and he was over her. Matt grabbed her ankles and draped her legs over his shoulders, exposing her core completely. He stroked downward, starting at her belly, two fingers gliding past her sex and pausing over the pucker between her ass cheeks.

“You drive me crazy. You taste fucking marvelous, but now all I can think about is taking you hard. Your pussy, your ass. I’m going to fuck you there sometime, you know. Drive into you again and again until you’re screaming.”

Her response—was that a whimper? A plea? He recognized the sound as needy though, and definitely not a denial of his suggestions. But he didn’t have the energy to wait and get her ready for that kind of possession right now. Today the longest he could stand to wait was to line up his cock and thrust home in one shot.

“Matt!” Hope clutched the bed sheets. Her eyes squeezed shut, her teeth dug into her bottom lip.

The feel of her pussy enveloping him drove out everything but the need to rut harder. One stroke after another, her wetness pouring over him, her cries pushing him hotter and harder than he thought possible.

Another thrust, even deeper.

“Oh God, Matt.”

He was sweating, beads rolling down his face and spine. He leaned on his left hand and changed his angle. Their bodies smacked harder as he aimed to connect with her clit. She gasped and her eyes flew open.

“Oh God.”

He was so close to coming, so close. Staring into her face helped him hang on, watching her lips pull into a tiny pout as she moaned on every slam of their bodies together. Then she made this wonderful sound that somehow mirrored the rippling of her muscles clutching him tight. He froze and let himself enjoy her climax, her nearly violent shakes as she writhed under him.

He pulled out and took his cock into his hand and pumped, dragging out the orgasm that he’d held off. Strands of seed flew from the tip, spurted over her belly, her ass. Hope clung to her thighs, watching him with an expression of pure pleasure as he jerked off all over her.

The last pulse left his body, and he stared at her splayed before him. An enthusiastic blob clung to one nipple, the rest of his semen scattered like random brandings of streaks and dots painted on her skin.

Ownership marks. His brain was still kinda numb as he slicked a fingertip through the liquid, again from her bellybutton down. “That was damn nice.”

“Nice?” Hope gasped for air. “Nice is for children’s stories. That was spectacular.”

He rubbed with a full palm, massaging his seed into her skin. They were both sticky and messy and fuck it all, it turned him on more than he wanted to admit. “Hmm. Makes me an asshole, I guess, wanting to leave a bit of myself all over you.”

She shivered but smiled.

“I want more. I want you to see how damn hot we are together.”

“I think I figured it out, Matt. If we were any hotter right now my bed would be on fire.” She sighed happily, relaxing her grip on her legs and letting them fall loosely to either side. Everything about her sprawl said contentment and sated satisfaction. The urge to grab hold and start all over, working up one side of her and down the other was strong enough to make him growl.