SHE said the words quietly, but Matt tensed as if she had shouted at him.
He pulled back to look down at her, surprise written across his face. “What?”
“If you don’t want to leave, you don’t have to. I’d like it if you stayed.” Ella couldn’t believe the words she heard coming out of her own mouth, but she was sure she meant them. She liked Matt; she enjoyed talking to him and spending time with him. And, if their earlier foreplay was any indication, he was practically guaranteed to be fabulous in bed. She was leaving Chicago and this chapter of her life behind her, so consequences be damned. This time next week she’d be back home and starting a new life. She was absolutely free to do anything she wanted, and she wanted to do Matt Jacobs. She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled. “Really.”
Matt didn’t ask her again. He swept her up into his arms and bounded up the stairs two at a time, carrying her as if she didn’t weigh anything at all. He deftly dodged the boxes in the living room and headed directly for Ella’s bedroom. Her bedside lamp was still on from her quick change earlier that evening, and he was able to wind his way through the chaos without any problems, laying her gently in the middle of her bed.
Ella knew she fit the technical definition of petite, but no one had ever made her feel as tiny and delicate as Matt. He practically loomed over her as he removed the jacket he had put back on earlier. In the semidarkness of her room, she felt like the heroine of some romance novel—the virgin princess about to be ravished by the Viking lord—and she was very much looking forward to it.
His shirt was still untucked and partially unbuttoned from their earlier play, and he stood beside the bed watching her as he slid the final few buttons out of their holes and shrugged out of it. Her mouth watered at the seeming acres of tanned skin and hard muscle he offered. Seeing him reach for the waistband of his pants, she sat up, grabbed the hem of her T-shirt, and started shimmying it up her body.
“Don’t.”
“What?” Ella was confused by the remark, but she stilled nonetheless.
“I want to undress you myself.”
Maybe it was the statement, or maybe it was the huskiness of his voice, but hands down it was the most erotic statement she’d ever heard. Her body agreed; she could feel her nipples hardening again and an ache building between her legs. With a casualness she didn’t actually feel, she leaned back against the pillows, waiting for him to finish undressing and join her.
But, oh, what a sight he treated her to. A fully dressed Matt was unbelievably handsome. Nude, he was simply jaw-dropping. Six-pack abs, narrow waist, well-defined legs—her hands itched to trace the lines of those muscles. She wished she were a sculptor; the man had a body that needed to be immortalized in clay.
Just the sight of him caused all the moisture to drain from her mouth and go rushing south. When she realized she was staring openmouthed at him, she forced her eyes back to his face, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
If he had, he was gallant enough not to mention it as he joined her on the bed. Instead he kissed her, slowly and thoroughly, as though he was memorizing the feel of her mouth. His hands meandered over her body with torturous slowness, driving her insane with wanting. She wanted to touch him all over, learn the taste of his skin, investigate that six-pack with her tongue. Finally he slid her T-shirt up and over her head and she had the skin-to-skin contact she craved. His hard pecs flattened her breasts, and she could feel the slight tickle of crisp hair against her nipples. She only got to savor the feeling for a moment as he kissed her deeply and more urgently than earlier, before he rolled her onto her back and began a leisurely exploration of her breasts and belly.
She hissed with pleasure when his tongue snaked out to taste her nipple, teasing it to an aching point. She tugged at his hair, wanting more, and moaned when he finally pulled her nipple into the wet heat of his mouth. Fire licked through her as her hips echoed the tug of his lips. She wanted more—all of him, now—but Matt was in no hurry as he moved that amazing mouth to her other breast.
She writhed beneath him as he finally licked and kissed and nibbled his way down her ribs to her navel and the waistband of her pants. Slowly, his tongue tasting each inch of skin as he exposed it, he inched her pants and panties down over her hips. Sitting up, he finally slid them the rest of the way down her legs, leaving her naked. He stared at her, his eyes moving from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, until she began to squirm uncomfortably beneath the scrutiny.
“You’re so beautiful. Every inch of you is perfect.” Something low in her belly flopped over at his words, but she couldn’t stop to question it.
His hand slid slowly up her leg from ankle to calf where he gently squeezed the muscle before moving his head down to kiss her knee. Ella could barely breathe as he placed soft, sucking kisses on her inner thighs, moving slowly higher until his breath was tickling her dark pubic curls. He nuzzled her briefly, teasing her, before sliding his tongue in to taste her.
A short, strangled cry of pleasure escaped her, and she couldn’t stop herself from lifting her hips to his mouth and threading her hands though his hair to hold him there. Understanding, Matt slid his arms under and around her thighs, holding her in place while his tongue moved over her heated flesh before pushing up into her. She bucked in response, but released her hold on his head to reach behind her to grab the headboard for support. Her head thrashed back and forth as she approached her climax, and when she reached it, she screamed Matt’s name.
The trembling in her legs still hadn’t stopped as Matt pushed himself up and over her, kissing her hard. She could taste herself on his lips, and his erection throbbed insistently against her belly.
“Condoms?” he whispered.
Ella had lost the ability to understand English. “Huh?”
“Condoms. I didn’t come prepared for this.” He moved restlessly against her. “Please tell me you have some.”
“Oh.” Understanding pushed through the haze in her brain. She rolled over to the bedside table and rummaged through the rubble inside. Dammit, where were they? She knew they were in there somewhere, but Matt’s hand stroking down her spine to caress her backside was too distracting for her to function properly.
She forgot what she was doing when he slid one strong finger inside her from behind. She shivered as he withdrew.
What was she looking for again? As he slid another finger inside, her hips bucked, and she remembered. Trying to hold the thought against the wave of lust building, she groped in the drawer. Finally her hand closed over a foil packet, and she rolled back to him, triumphant.
“Thank heaven,” he sighed, tearing into it. The relief in his voice would have been funny if she wasn’t in such desperate physical need. He was fast and efficient, and in no time he was pulling her close. With another deep, drugging kiss, he nudged her knees apart and positioned himself between her thighs.
Wrapping her legs around his waist, Ella wasted no time as she pulled his head down for another kiss and raised her hips to meet his. Matt slid into her with agonizing slowness and caught her gasp of pleasure with his mouth.
Oh. Dear. Heaven. Heat licked at her insides as he withdrew, repositioned her hips, and pushed home. Those powerful biceps trembled as he braced himself on his arms and set a leisurely pace she was sure would kill her with anticipation.
Ella met each thrust as she returned to the peak she’d only just descended. Greedy for more, she gripped his hips, her fingernails biting into his skin as she tried to increase his tempo. It was so good—she should slow down and try to prolong the pleasure. But it was too good to slow down.
Long, lovely shivers moved through her with each thrust, pushing her closer to the edge as sanity spun away. Her universe centered on the hardness filling her as stars exploded behind her eyelids. She reached her climax for the second time, going over the precipice just as Matt gave one last, deep thrust and collapsed on top of her with a groan.
She was panting and slick with sweat, but as she floated back down, she realized so was he. Unwilling to move too much, she slid her hands over the damp planes of his back and neck as the afterglow hummed through her.
Matt took several deep, gulping breaths before he pushed himself up on his elbows and looked down at her. For a moment she was simply lost in those chocolate eyes as her heartbeat slowed and her breathing returned to normal.
Matt finally broke that intimate stare by leaning down to kiss her. With a rueful grin he placed his forehead on hers. “Sorry. That was a bit faster than I intended.”
“I’m not complaining.” In fact I’m thanking my lucky stars. She unclamped her legs from his waist, stretching them languorously before relaxing. Another small shudder ran through her, and goose bumps rose across sweat-cooled skin. “I don’t think I could’ve waited much longer.”
Matt rolled off her and then grabbed the sheet from the foot of the bed to pull up over them both. He lightly pushed the hair back from her face. “You are amazing.” He stole one last quick kiss before sliding out of the bed with an “I’ll be right back” and padding for her bathroom. “I won’t be in so much of a hurry next time,” he promised as he disappeared around the corner.
“Next time?” Ella rolled onto her side, facing the bathroom.
“Of course.” Matt came back into the room to sit on the side of her bed. Running his hand along her sheet-covered thigh, he attempted a leer. “That was only the beginning of what I plan to do with you.” Opening the drawer he’d seen her rummage through earlier, he searched for, and found, more condoms. Pulling the strip out of the drawer, he let it trail across the bed meaningfully.
“You, my dear, are in for a long night.”
Ella woke to sunlight streaming across the bed. It took her a minute to realize she was alone in the bed and another to figure out why she had the unusual feeling she shouldn’t be.
Matt.
Sitting up, she listened carefully, but no sounds of life came from the rest of the apartment. “Matt?” she called. No answer. She ran her hand along the side of the bed where he had slept. It was cold. He’d obviously been gone for a long time.
With a sigh Ella flopped back onto the pillow. Why did she have a little niggle of disappointment because he left without saying goodbye? Hell, she should be wondering why she let him spend the night in the first place. She never allowed sleepovers. Actually sleeping with someone was an intimacy she only rarely participated in, and certainly not in her bed.
Then why hadn’t she shown him the door in the wee hours of the morning? Her disappointment at his disappearance bothered her. It was better this way—she could avoid all the uncomfortable morning-after small talk—but still…being proven right again brought little satisfaction.
Stretching under the covers, she felt a slight soreness. Well, that was understandable, considering the sexual gymnastics she’d participated in. Matt certainly had stamina. And imagination. And the ability to please.
Oh, mercy, he had the ability to please, all right. And then some.
She didn’t really remember when or how it had all ended, but it had certainly been fun while it lasted.
But it was over. Now back to my regularly scheduled life. As she glanced around the room, the monumental job of packing stared back at her, reminding her what she had to do. It was enough to make her want to crawl back under the duvet. She considered it seriously before she tossed back the covers with a groan and forced herself out of the bed.
She grabbed a T-shirt off the floor and pulled it over her head for the short walk to the kitchen to get a cola out of the fridge. Caffeine and sugar—that’s what she needed to get her moving.
As the cola worked its magic on her sluggish body, she ran a hand through the tangle of her hair and grimaced. What she really needed was a hot shower. She sniffed. Matt’s scent clung to her skin like afterglow. She absolutely reeked of sex.
In the shower she let the hot water massage the soreness from her muscles as she replayed in her head bits and pieces of the night before.
She should be blushing at the memories of the way she’d gone at Matt and the things they’d done, but as she pulled back the shower curtain, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. That wasn’t a blush—that was a self-satisfied smirk.
Humming, she dried her hair and slid into a pair of battered jeans and her favorite Cubs T-shirt. Okay, so she’d broken half a dozen of her own rules—with her best friend’s husband’s best friend, no less—but she was still in an unbelievably good mood.
There was definitely something liberating in doing something completely out of character. She felt like a new woman—a night with Matt had been exactly what she needed.
Still humming and unable to wipe that smirk off her face, she returned to her bedroom.
“Good morning.”
Ella screamed, her hand flying to her throat in shock as she turned to find the voice. Matt was sitting on the bed.
“Matt! Good Lord, you scared the life out of me!” Heart pounding, she leaned against her dresser. “I didn’t know you were here.”
What was he doing here?
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You were sleeping pretty soundly, and I’d hoped to get back before you woke up.” He indicated a box from a local bakery sitting squarely in the middle of her bed. “I brought breakfast.”
She still hadn’t moved, so he came to stand in front of her. He ran his hands up her arms. “Boy, I really did give you a bit of a shock. I was going to fix something and serve it to you in bed, but the cupboard was bare. You know, for a girl who claims to know how to cook, there’s a shocking lack of food in your kitchen.”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t had much time to grocery shop recently,” she answered absently. Her pulse was returning to normal, but she was still having problems forming coherent thoughts. He went to get breakfast?
“Come on.” He led her to the bed. “I ran over to Brian’s to grab some clothes and hit the bakery on the way back. I did leave you a note by the way—in the kitchen.”
“I didn’t see it. Sorry.” She hadn’t even thought to look for a note. But the comment about clothes caught her attention, and she realized that the khakis and shirt were gone, and he was as casually dressed as she, in snug, faded jeans and a gray T-shirt. He looked more like a fraternity rat than a high-flying lawyer. His damp hair and freshly shaved face made her very glad she’d headed to the shower first thing this morning.
Matt presented the bakery box to her and pulled the top back with a flourish. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a bit of everything. Bagels, croissants, Danishes, take your pick. I’ve also got coffee, tea and orange juice.”
What to say? “Um, thanks. It all looks great.” She picked a bagel loaded with cream cheese out of the box and nibbled on it absently. He was certainly in a good mood. Matt leaned back on the pillows and grabbed the other bagel out of the box. He continued to chatter on, completely at ease, while she struggled to get her scattered thoughts in some semblance of order.
It wasn’t working.
“Ella?”
She looked up to find him holding out a cup to her. “Huh?”
“I asked if you wanted the coffee.” He looked at her closely. “Are you okay? You seem a little out of it.”
You think? “I’m fine. Really. I’m just not much of a morning person.” That excuse seemed much better than the truth—the truth being that she didn’t have a single clue what she should be saying right now. “The tea, please. That’ll help.” Ella reached for the other steaming cup and tried to find a light tone. “Is there milk?”
Matt continued to study her face as he handed her both cream and sugar. Ella found it very disconcerting, but she tried not to look uncomfortable. She flashed him another, but bigger, smile and took a bite of her bagel. “They have the best bagels in Chicago, you know. Some folks think that place downtown under the El track is better, but I like theirs…” She trailed off, unable to keep babbling aimlessly under Matt’s intense scrutiny.
“Oh, I get it now.” Matt nodded in realization. “You thought I’d left, didn’t you?”
Ella started to shake her head in denial, but he continued on. “That’s why you were so startled to see me. You thought I’d just snuck out of here in the middle of the night.”
Defeated at her attempts to even act at ease, Ella admitted it. “All right. Yes, I thought you were gone, so I was a bit surprised to find you here.”
Reaching out to stroke her arm lightly, Matt smiled. “After last night? Not a chance.”
A warm glow settled in her belly. She tried to ignore it.
Pausing, his smile faded and he pulled his hand away. “Unless, of course, you were glad I wasn’t here. Did you want me to just leave? I mean, if you don’t want…” He started to stand up.
The mattress moved as he did, sending them both scrambling to catch the cups before they dumped their contents onto the bed. Somehow, the sight of Matt juggling cups of juice and coffee while still holding a half-eaten bagel worked wonders at alleviating much of Ella’s unease. She laughed, some of the previous night’s closeness returning.
“No. Sit. Carefully,” she added as he continued his juggling act. “I’m glad you’re here.” As surprising as it seemed, she meant it. “I’m just a bit new at this.”
“What ‘this’ are you new at?” he asked, placing everything on more stable surfaces and returning to the bed.
“This.” She circled her hands to include him, her and the bed. “You, me, breakfast.” Flustered, she threw her hands up in defeat and looked at him levelly. She settled on the plain truth. “To be completely honest, I don’t usually do sleepovers. And certainly not here. I’m not quite sure of the morning-after etiquette.”
“The etiquette?” A laugh escaped, and Ella narrowed her eyes at him as he tried to cover it with a cough. “I’m hardly an expert, but I’ve never really thought of it that way before. But, by all means, we should follow proper etiquette.” He leaned back against the headboard in mock seriousness. “You’re Southern, so you know the importance of thank-you notes.” He grinned as he easily ducked the bagel she tossed at him. “And then there’s the giving of expensive gifts—the value, of course, should be dependent on how good the sex was.” Ella looked for something bigger to throw at him. Matt waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively as he continued. “Oh, and we can’t forget the traditional farewell blow j—Oorph.” He was cut off as Ella lunged at him and landed squarely on his chest.
“You are evil, Matt Jacobs. Don’t you dare make fun of me.”
The laughter faded from his voice. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her onto her side. His face, only inches from hers, blocked out everything else, and Ella found herself trapped by those chocolate-colored eyes again. “Seriously, though, if you want me to leave, just say so and I will.” When she shook her head, he kissed her lightly. “Good, ’cause I’ve been thinking.”
There was that glowy feeling again. “Really. Is that what you call it?”
“Hush.” He slid one hand up and down her side. “Those legs of yours are distracting enough to my thought process.” Ella could have argued that his hands were actually more distracting. She just wasn’t able to think properly while in close proximity to him. “What I’d really like to do is take you back to bed and keep you naked for the next few days while we explore every position in the Kama Sutra. But I also know that you have a moving truck coming on Friday and a ton of packing left to do.”
Her mind reeled at the thought of days of naked decadence, but she managed a nod. Not that she cared about the moving truck right now.
“I’m in town until Saturday. I’m willing to help you pack—in between my attempts to drag you back in here, of course.”
Huh? “But don’t you have plans already made for this week?”
He sighed. “Well, I had originally planned to spend some time with my family, but I got that out of my system yesterday.”
“You are terrible. I’m sure your mother expects to see more of you than that.”
“Probably. But too much family togetherness isn’t good.” She started to interrupt, but he shook his head. “Seriously. I love my family and all, but they drive me completely insane. In fact—” he paused and looked the tiniest bit chagrined “—they think that my flight leaves today.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Oh, I am. Trust me.” His hands stopped their aimless wandering and became much more specific in their target, sliding under the waistband of her jeans to caress the base of her spine. She shivered. “Deeply, deeply ashamed.”
As he pulled her in closer, Matt’s lips met hers for a long, hot kiss. His hips pressed against her, and she could feel the hardness of his erection through the fabric that separated them. Aroused again, she returned his kiss with all the heat inside of her. Reaching a hand between them, she stroked the hard bulge straining against his zipper.
Groaning, he pushed against her hand, and Ella tugged at the snap and zipper, freeing him, then sliding her hand up and down the warm smoothness of him. Matt’s breath caught, and he moved against her hand urgently, his tongue sliding against hers in an erotic promise of things to come.
She slid down his body to replace her hand with her mouth. Matt’s back arched as he helped tug his jeans over his hips and out of her way. His hands came down to tangle in her hair as she ran her tongue around the throbbing head and sucked him hard.
She heard his short, sharp intake of breath, followed by a husky whisper. “Ella.”
His hips moved, causing him to slide, ever so slightly, in and out of her mouth as her hand slid around to gently cup his balls. He bucked in response and she tasted saltiness on the very tip of him before he grabbed her head to pull her away.
“You’re too good at that.”
Catching her under the shoulders, he dragged her up for a ravaging kiss, his hands working furiously on her clothes and his. His kiss was mind scrambling, and Ella was clumsy at her attempts to help, tangling her legs in her jeans before kicking them away. How Matt got his jeans off, she didn’t know, but she could feel the crisp hair of his legs tickling against hers as his fingers sought her with unerring accuracy. The first featherlight touch had her arching into his hand, begging for more. With a twist of his hand, he pressed two fingers up into her, matching the in and out rhythm of his fingers to the circling of his thumb.
Too much. She opened her eyes to tell him, only to find him watching her face. “That’s it. Let go.” As his talented fingers quickened their pace, she had no choice.
Finally, over the blood pounding in her ears and the gasps she dimly realized were coming from her, she heard the beautiful sound of him ripping into a foil packet.
Seconds later he pushed into her in one smooth, powerful stroke, embedding himself firmly in her wet warmth. Ella only had a brief moment to savor the feeling of fullness before he began moving, thrusting into her, absorbing her sharp cries of pleasure into his mouth. This was no long, leisurely replay of the night before. It was bald aching need bordering on pure lust, as if they’d never touched before.
The sharp edge should have been dulled last night, but to her surprise it was as keen and driving as the first time.
Ella’s mind went blank, and she gave in to the need gripping her, her hips rising to meet each thrust, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders as she held on to him. She climaxed again with a hoarse scream, and Matt redoubled his efforts, pounding deeply into her—once, twice, three times more—before stiffening as he reached his own orgasm.
Reality was slow to return, but as it did, she realized she was covered almost completely by Matt’s body. She couldn’t move even if she wanted to. She was doing well to breathe—not that breathing meant much to her, either. Matt’s weight pressed her into the softness of the bed, and her head was buried in his shoulder. Which—she just realized—was still covered in gray cotton. With a giggle, she realized that she was still in her T-shirt as well.
“What’s so funny?” Matt’s voice was muffled by her hair, and he still sounded a bit out of breath.
“I thought you said you wanted to get naked.”
Matt lifted his head to look at her. Puzzlement played across his face until she pointedly plucked at the fabric stretched across his shoulders.
“Well, hopefully there’s still time for that.” Moving just slightly in her, he coaxed, “So what do you say?”
She couldn’t think properly. “To what?”
“To us spending this week together.”
“But what about your family?” Ella couldn’t let him ignore familial obligations.
He sighed. “How about if I promise to come home for the holidays—Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ll do the whole family thing then, okay?”
It was an awkward situation, and growing more so each second. And considering the position she was in…“And you’ll help me pack?”
“Of course.”
“Then what happens?” She looked at him levelly.
“What do you mean?” Matt rolled off her and sat up, and she did the same. She felt oddly exposed, considering what they’d just done, so she pulled the sheet up over herself in belated modesty.
She brushed her hair back out of her face and took a deep breath, determined to say what she needed to say without getting too flustered. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. The obvious benefits aside, of course,” she added at his disbelieving look. “I like you, Matt, and last night—and everything else—was great. But it could be a really bad idea for us to go any further. My best friend is married to your best friend. This could all get very messy. And I don’t want that.”
Matt looked deliciously rumpled, and that distracted her as he pulled his hands through his hair in exasperation. “My life is crazy, Ella. I work sixty hours a week, and this is the first vacation I’ve had in years. I’d like to spend it with you. No games. No messiness. Just this week before you go on with your life and I go back to mine.”
Any other woman might have found such an offer insulting, and Ella wondered how he possibly knew she wouldn’t be. No-strings sex. For a week. With Matt. Her body was already on board, but the rational part of her brain not controlled by her libido was sending up multiple reasons why she should say no. If she were smart, she’d listen.
But she never claimed to be smart.
She had to admire his honesty and the way he simply spelled out what he wanted. And he was right, she told herself, it didn’t have to get messy. Every decision in life didn’t have to be analyzed to death first. Everything didn’t have to be of earth-shattering importance.
A fling. He was offering her a fling. A wicked little shiver went through her as she realized she was going to do it. Yay! a little voice inside her crowed, drowning out the other little voice screaming in shock from her decision.
“You know, you’re right. It doesn’t have to get messy.” The look on Matt’s face was comic—part shock, part disbelief, part excitement. “What’s wrong? You wanted me to say no?”
“No! I wanted you to say yes, I just—I guess—I expected you to say no. Possibly even slap my face and kick me out of here.” His voice dropped to a growl. “But I’m very glad you said yes.” He slid down on the pillows and pulled Ella on top to straddle him, obviously intent on starting right away.
Instead she slid off him and stood up beside the bed. Catching her hand, Matt tried to pull her back to him.
“Nope.” She shook her head. Grabbing his pants off the floor, she tossed them to him before retrieving her own and putting them on. When he just lay there, she ordered, “Come on, now. Get dressed.”
“El-la,” he moaned and reached for her again.
“You promised me packing. I want to be sure I’m getting my end of this bargain.” With a groan, Matt pulled the pillow over his head. She slapped him playfully on the leg. “Let’s go. Manual labor time. Let’s put those muscles to work.”
She grabbed her now-cold cup of tea off the floor and headed for the kitchen to warm it up. Pausing, she turned back to the bed. Matt hadn’t moved.
“Get up. Maybe later we’ll play Handsome Moving Man and the Lonely Single Woman.”
He peeked out from under the pillow. “Promise?”
“Depends on how much work you get done.” Laughing, she ran for the door as Matt lunged for her.