A Hot Winter (New Adult Romance) (The Attraction Series Book 2) (19 page)

A few days later, Matt was installing a countertop when Bill Thompkins told him that there was someone waiting to see him.  “Someone?” Matt said, surprised, absently wiping his hands on his jeans. 

“A female someone,” was all Thompkins said before picking up his sander again.  “She’s waiting by the front door.”

“Thanks.” 

Matt’s anticipation kicked up, even though, logically, he knew it couldn’t be Emma.  She would have no idea where he was working today.  He hadn’t even talked to her yesterday.  Prior to that, they’d spoken on the phone, but it had been four days and three long nights without seeing her face. 

It was torturing him, but what could he do?  She’d been without her sons for a week and now she obviously wanted time away from Matt.  Even though he was crazy about her, he wasn’t going to grovel at her feet.  If there was one thing he’d learned from the Keri debacle, it was that when women made the relationship all “complicated,” it was probably a red flag and he shouldn’t get too invested.

The problem was: as much as he told himself that, he
was
invested.  Infatuated.  Lost.  Even now…as he stepped into the entranceway and saw Emma standing there, his heart felt like it had been electric-shocked.  When she saw him, she smiled.  Her beautiful face looked almost shy when she said, “Hi, Matt.  Is it a bad time?”

“Hey,” Matt said, smiling and closing the distance between them.  “What are you doing here?  How did you know…?”

“I had Andy find out from Tragan where you’d be working today,” she replied.  “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You’ve definitely done that.  I’m glad you’re here.”  She looked slightly dressed up today, and he wondered if she’d done that for him.

“I, uh…wondered if you were free for lunch,” she said, giving him another pretty smile.

Eagerly he nodded.  “Sure, yeah.  Let’s go.”  Then he called over his shoulder, “Thompkins, I’ll be back later.”

“Yep,” Thompkins called back.

“Oh, is that the Thompkins who would’ve done my house if you hadn’t?”  Matt nodded.  “Hmm, he
does
sound low-maintenance,” Emma commented.

“Totally.”  Then Matt leaned in closer and said, “But he’s not as much fun as me.”

When they were out on the sidewalk, Matt said, “So what are you in the mood for?”

“Well, what’s around here?” Emma asked, as they rounded a corner, passing a wall of evergreens that almost concealed a quaint, circular stone bench.

“Let’s see, there’s a pizza place down the street,” Matt told her.  “A good taco place around the corner.”  Keeping his tone neutral, he added, “And my apartment’s not far from here.”

Without hesitating, Emma threaded her fingers through his.  “Let’s go.”

~

They’d started kissing as soon as they got on the elevator--and didn’t stop, even when the doors sprung open on the fourth floor.  “Here, this is me,” Matt muttered gruffly against her mouth, as he pulled her with him into the hall.  With breathy sighs, Emma clung to him, kissing him back ravenously, as Matt fumbled with the key, and finally jammed it in the lock.

In seconds he had her inside and backed up against the door.  With a growl, Matt dug his hand into Emma’s hair and tilted her head back, so he could run his mouth on her neck.  She slid her eyes closed and moaned, which turned him on even more.  Soon he was kissing her again their tongues mating in a way that was desperate and carnal, while he nudged her legs apart.

She shoved his jacket off his shoulders, then tore at his tee shirt.  Once he’d stripped it off, her sweater and bra went next.  He buried his head in the curve of her neck, mumbling, “You smell so good.”

“God, so do you,” she breathed, grabbing at his shoulders as she kissed and nuzzled his chest.  There was something urgent about their need for each other, something that could not begin to calm down.  Three nights without Emma was obviously way too many, Matt realized, taking her ripe ass in his hands and squeezing it almost roughly. 

Her pants slid down.  Emma moaned eagerly as he began rubbing his knee between her legs.  “Yes…” she whispered as her head thunked against the door.  “Don’t stop…”  As his knee rubbed against her, he felt her body heat up like a furnace and her panties getting wet.  She was rocking her lower body against his knee, making Matt’s dick so hard it was almost unbearable.  Already his patience was running thin. 

Suddenly her eyes opened halfway and she looked at him with a dreamy, lusty sort of expression.  Her lips were puffy and rosy from kissing.  His eyes dropped down to gaze lustfully at her bare breasts.  He groaned as he ran his hands over them, getting even more turned on than he already was.  Finally, he rasped, “Let’s go to my room.  Or we’re gonna end up doing it against this door.”

As he took her hand and led her to his room, she said, “What’s wrong with doing it against the door?”

He grinned in spite of himself and his painful state of arousal.  “Nothing,” he admitted.  “But there’s a time and place.  And right now the place for you is in my bed.”

When they entered his room, Emma spotted a condom on top of his dresser.  Boldly, she reached for it and dropped to her knees.  Matt’s breath stalled as she unzipped him.  Instead of taking him in her mouth, though, she pushed his jeans and boxers all the way down.  Once she had him completely naked, she slowly rolled the condom on.  Which was also arousing as hell. 

He pulled her to her feet and looked at her.  Her breathing was as labored as his, and she was searching his face with those beautiful hazel eyes. 

Then, wordlessly, their mouths collided.  Her arms immediately coiled around his neck, and he worked her panties down before lifting her up and coaxing her to straddle him.  Breathlessly, Emma said, “But I thought--”

“Nothing wrong with
starting
against the door,” Matt murmured thickly. 

In response, she let out an aroused sigh--right before he thrust into her.

Several smoking hot minutes passed as he rode her against the doorjamb.  She clutched at him, letting out choppy, frantic moans with each thrust, tempting him to skip the bed altogether.  But he somehow stayed in control--carrying her across the room and spilling her onto the bed. 

Emma reached for him immediately and Matt fell beside her.  Soon they were entangled--rolling around in his sheets, kissing each other everywhere.  She sank her teeth into his bicep and he licked and sucked her breasts.  Starved for more of her, Matt ran his tongue down her belly, then between her legs.  Emma gasped as he hooked her legs over his shoulders--then worked his mouth on her until she climaxed.

As she trembled, he climbed back up so they were face-to-face.  Biting her lip, Emma gazed at him, her expression thoughtful and unreadable--before she rolled on top of him. 

His cock sank into her again and sheer ecstasy ran through his veins.  “Jesus, I missed you so much,” he rasped, taking her face in his hands. 

“Matt…” she said softly, with her eyes closed.  “I need you,” she whispered.

His pulse pounded harder.  “I need you, too,” he said raggedly, and rolled them over again.  Now he couldn’t hold out much longer.  He didn’t even have to say it.

“
Yes
…” she urged him, leaning up to kiss him deeply, sensually. 

When he started moving faster, she kept on kissing him--her throaty murmurs and her short, panting breaths completely did him in.  Feverishly, he tilted her thighs up and thrust harder, faster, deeper--until he tore his mouth from hers with a rough groan and shuddered in her arms, and Emma held him tightly to the end.

“What time do you have to be back?” Emma asked sometime later, resting her chin on Matt’s chest, as he lay on his back.

“No rush,” was all he said, then reached out to comb a few strands of her hair away from her face.

Emma sat up more and asked, “By the way, have you given any thought to what your de-stressing image will be?  You know, that you’ll bring to your exam next time?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve got that part covered,” Matt said.

“Really?” she said, surprised.  “That’s great!  What kind of image are you thinking?”  Before he could reply, she held up a hand.  “Wait, let me guess.  Um, snow falling in the woods…with a misty kind of sunlight peeking out against the tree branches.  And a bluebird chirping in the background--as a hint of a rainbow glistens in the distance…”

Chuckling, Matt said, “You done now?”

Emma giggled. “Sorry, I got carried away.  No, but seriously--what’s the image?”

“This one,” Matt said, reaching over and opening his night table drawer.  When he pulled out his half of the photo strip they’d taken together at the arcade, Emma’s mouth fell.  She struggled to suppress a sudden bubbling of emotion in her chest. 

She sat up a little higher in bed and took a breath.  Then kept her tone deliberately neutral.  “The trick is for it to be an image that will help relax your mind,” she reminded him.  

“Right, I know,” he replied.  “You told me to think of a picture that makes me happy.”  Maybe she
had
said that, she recalled now.  But she had meant a nature scene, a beautiful ocean shot, a huddle of puppies, even a photo of a pile of money…but a photo of her?  “So, hands down, this is the winner right here,” Matt said matter-of-factly. 

He pushed up on his elbow to lay the photo strip carefully back in the drawer, and Emma just watched him--as her heart swelled and emotion threatened to overtake her.  A lump rose in her throat, making it hard to breathe.  She was suddenly struck with the awful, terrifying feeling that she was falling in love with Matt.  Real love--a deep, crushing love.  Something she hadn’t signed up for; an affliction that could make her break apart if she wasn’t careful. 

Granted, she’d only been in love once in her life, but she remembered what it felt like.  It went beyond desire, beyond attraction, beyond infatuation.  In this very moment, it hit her: she was enamored of everything Matt was as a person--his sincerity, his strength, and how much he cared. 

Emma let out a shaky sigh, trying not to panic.  All at once she felt more vulnerable than she had in years. 

She shouldn’t have come today.  She’d done it because she’d missed Matt terribly--obviously--but she had also convinced herself that she could handle it. That they could have steamy sex and not take it to heart. That this affair could still be something lighthearted until she left.  Who was she kidding?  She could never be casual--at least not with him. 

If she kept spending time with Matt, he’d have her heart completely.  Basically, she would be handing it over to him and saying: “Please be careful with this.  It just barely healed the last time Fate stomped on it.”

Of all the times, an image of her mother-in-law entered her mind.  She thought about the wedding video.  What Dina had said--about how much hope Connor and Emma had had that day.  It was true.  But then all their plans were for nothing.

“Emma?” Matt said, breaking her trance.  “You okay?”

Swiftly, she rose from the bed, grabbing one of Matt’s tee shirts, which was hanging off the arm of a chair.  “I’m fine,” she told him and offered a quick smile.

“Where are you going?” he asked, sitting up more.

“I should probably go.  Stacy Creston is supposed to come over later to take pictures for the listing.”

“Oh,” Matt replied, a bit disappointed.  “All right.  By the way, I’ll come by to put in the storm window this week.”

“Um, okay,” Emma managed, because it was easier than trying to convince him not to install it.  “But you know what?  Come Thursday night.”

“How come?”

“That’s when my mom’s having the boys over for dinner.”

“Yeah, but today’s Monday,” Matt said, then gave her an adorable, hopeful look.  “That’s four whole days away.”

Averting her eyes, Emma shook her fingers through her hair, which was surely a tousled mess, and explained, “But if Jake and Ben are at my mom’s house then, you know, it’s better that way.  They won’t have to see you.”

“What?” Matt said with an incredulous laugh.  “I thought they liked me.”  Now he climbed out of bed, too, and walked behind Emma into the living room where they’d left their torn-off clothes. 

“They do,” she said, bending to scoop up her pants.  “They like you a lot.”

“So then…why…?”

“Look, I just don’t want them to get the wrong impression,” she said, still not making eye contact with him, as she jumped into her pants and looked around for her bra.

“And what impression is that again?” Matt said, his voice now edged with impatience.

Uncomfortably, Emma shrugged.  “The impression that you’re going to be in their life or something.  I mean, obviously they shouldn’t get used to seeing you around since we’re leaving soon.”

“Ah, I see,” Matt said, now sounding annoyed.  “You want me never to see them again.  That’s basically what you’re saying.” 

Emma rolled her eyes with exasperation.  “Matt, I’m just trying to make a clean break, okay?  For all of us.”

With a humorless laugh, he motioned toward the bedroom door.  “Is that how you normally make a clean break with people?”

Heat rose to her cheeks as she slipped on her bra, then stiffly replied, “I’m just trying to do the right thing.  I don’t want the boys to get attached.”

“The boys--or
you
?” Matt challenged, his tone sharp. 

“Matt, please…” Emma muttered, yanking her sweater over her head. 

“No,” he said, reaching for her arm.  “Why do you keep pushing me away?”

“I…”

“Damn, Emma, what are you so terrified of?” he said with obvious aggravation.

Trying to deflect, Emma yelped, “All I asked was that you come Thursday!  What the hell’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that I don’t fucking understand you,” Matt barked.  Without question, tension was running high--they had never cursed at each other before.  “You act like you really
are
moving to France--which, by the way, was an obvious load of crap that I never called you out on.”  As her face flamed, she turned away from him and out of his grasp.  “Ithaca is five hours away.  Yes, it’s inconvenient, but still: why would we never see each other?  We
could
see each other,” he said to her back, “if you wanted us to.”

Inhaling a steely breath, Emma said, “What would be the point?  Obviously this isn’t going to go much further.  Once we move, I’m going to be so busy with my promotion and looking for a place to live and getting Jake and Ben settled in new schools--and you’re going to be busy with work and your friends.  I’m not a carefree twenty-three-year-old like you, Matt.  I can’t just pick up and visit you for the weekend. That doesn’t exist in my world.”

With a brusque scoff, he said, “Yeah, I’m really carefree.  I’ve got a staff answering to me and a ton of responsibilities.  My parents count on me, my friends count on me.  And now I’m crazy about a girl who can’t give me a straight answer.  What else is new there?” he muttered, sounding disgusted.  “Yeah, you really get what I’m like.  I’m just an immature guy wasting your time.” 

Still facing the door, she struggled to keep it together.  “Now you’re twisting my words.”

“No I’m not.  I always feel like you’re holding back something from me.”  After a beat, he put his hands on her arms and turned her around.  “Emma…is this about Connor?”  His voice softened as he said, “I’m not going to die, all right?”

The words pierced right into the heart of her, into the vulnerable mess that was her soul.  Bristling, she said, “You don’t understand anything.”

His expression hardened.  “Right.  Because I’m too
young
,” he said acidly.

“I’m just going to go,” Emma said, reaching for the doorknob. 

This time, Matt didn’t take hold of her or try to stop her.  Instead he replied, “Mm-hmm, fine, Emma.  That was your plan from the beginning anyway--to go.” 

“Yes,” she shot back.  “It was.  Good-bye Matt.”  She almost made it all the way to the elevator before she realized she was trembling.