Soliman, Wendy - The Name of the Game (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (12 page)

“Hey,” he said, laughing. “Where’s the fire?”

“I need to feel your skin against mine. I can’t seem to—”

But Matt could. And he did. He undressed them both, carried her to the bed, making love to her body with eyes burning with passion. He caressed every inch of her with hands that tantalized and teased, driving her wild, making her feel alive. His erection pressed against her thigh as he lay beside her, directing operations, making her wait.

“Matt,” she said, squirming against his fingers. “You’re killing me.”

His throaty chuckle was decidedly predatory. “Patience!”

Her head thrashed against the pillows. “Easy for you to say.”

“Keep still or I’ll tie you down.”

It was her turn to smile. “You think that sort of threat will make me keep still?”

“I sure as hell hope not.”

His fingers continued to work their magic. His lips explored every crevice whilst his tongue lapped and probed, causing an electric current to whip through her bloodstream. Matt always took his sweet time in bed, but on this occasion his commitment to the moment was beyond anything they’d ever done before. Drifting on an endless wave of pleasure, Ashley was dimly aware that he was trying to tell her something without using words. His need was as desperate as hers, but it was more than just that. The physical alchemy between them had never been as strong, or more intense.

By the time he thrust into her, his movements assured and decisive, Ashley was on fire, her turbulent emotions off the scale. She wrapped her legs round his torso and rose up to meet him, taking every glorious inch of him inside her, deep and deeper still. She groaned as exquisite shards of intense sensation built deep within her core. She was close, so close, but fought to delay the moment, knowing it would be so much more intense if she could just hold back.

But it was no good. She needed it so badly, she was on the brink.

“Matt, I can’t—”

“Let it go, baby.”

He picked up the rhythm, thrusting deeper still, watching her with an expression of naked longing, the fine tremor in the muscles of his arms indicating what a tough time he was having holding back himself.

With a wild cry, Ashley’s world exploded. Matt’s gaze was fixed on her face as she trembled and arched, exorcising the endless ache that she’d lived with since Eve had dropped her bombshell on that dreadful day that changed her life .

Matt followed her over the edge, groaning and pulsating for what seemed like an eternity, kissing her like he never intended to stop.

Spent, they collapsed in a sweaty heap, panting, laughing, both a little shell-shocked by the depth of their emotion. Held in Matt’s strong arms, Ashley fell asleep almost immediately. Her last conscious thought was that she had Matt back and together they would somehow sort out the problems in the office.

Absolutely nothing else mattered.

Chapter Seven

When Ashley woke the following morning, it took her a moment to remember why she felt so good. Smiling, she stretched, as supple and sensuous as a cat. She reached out a hand to the other side of the bed.

It was empty.

Panic crept up on her. Had she dreamed it all? Was the sensational reconciliation all a figment of her imagination? No, the tenderness on the inside of her thighs, her overall feeling of contentment, quickly dispelled that idea. Besides, the sheets were still warm where Matt had been. There was the indentation in the pillows where his head had lain and his distinctive aroma lingered.

The sound of the front door opening brought her fully awake. She smiled. Matt had obviously taken Freckles for his morning run. Reassured, she drifted back into a light sleep.

The next time she woke, the aroma of frying bacon and freshly brewed coffee reminded her that she hadn’t eaten the previous evening. Her stomach rumbled when Matt re-entered the bedroom, wielding a laden tray.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” He leaned precariously over the tray to kiss her. “Sleep well?”

“Hmm, I don’t remember getting that much sleep, as it happens.”

Matt chuckled. “I hope that’s not a complaint.” He placed the tray by the side of the bed and poured coffee for them both. “Hungry?”

“Famished, for some reason.” She pushed herself into a half-sitting position and leaned back on her elbows. “What’s the time?”

“After ten.”

“What! You should have woken me.” Ashley pushed the covers back. “Poor Lucius. I should have turned him out an hour ago.”

Matt distracted her with a kiss. “It won’t hurt him to wait a little longer. Someone will have fed him, won’t they?” Ashley nodded. “Okay then, first things first. Your room service breakfast awaits, madam.”

He placed the tray on her knees. There was freshly squeezed orange juice, the bacon she’d smelt cooking, scrambled eggs, and toast. Enough of it to feed a small army.

“Are you trying to make me fat?”

“Just thought you might need to recharge your batteries.” He winked at her. “Sex always gives you an appetite, if memory serves.”

“Yes,” Ashley mumbled round a mouthful of eggs. “I guess it’s just as well that my hunger doesn’t increase in direct proportion to the number of times we indulged. I’d look like the side of a house in no time if it did.”

Matt grinned. “We had lost time to make up for.”

“I guess we did.”

“Speaking of which, have you any idea how sexy you look right now? You’re still half asleep, gloriously dishevelled, and if you carry on looking at me like that—”

“Like what?” she asked innocently, canting her head and regarding him through the locks of hair that had fallen across her face.

They never did finish their breakfast, Matt taking the arbitrary decision that they had other appetites in greater need of satisfaction. He relegated the tray to the floor. Freckles, forgotten by them both, made short work of the remnants.

“Hey, where’s the birthday present I got you?” Matt asked, holding a now boneless Ashley in his arms, frowning as he examined her naked fingers. “I haven’t seen you wearing it.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten all about it. It’s still in the drawer in the sitting room.”

He quirked a brow. “You mean you haven’t even opened it?”

“Your timing was lousy.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Matt disappeared and return quickly, package in hand.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

He presented the box to her with an extravagant bow. Given his naked condition, it should have looked ridiculous. Instead, it was elegant and sexy as hell. Ashamed of the strength of her desire for him, she averted her eyes and concentrated on opening the package. Lifting the lid of the small velvet jeweller’s box, she felt her eyes widen when its contents were revealed.

“Matt, what is it? I can’t—”

Standing beside the bed, as excited and expectant as a schoolboy, he bent his head to kiss her.

“The stone reminded me of the colour of your eyes,” he said in a low, gravelly drawl.

Matt removed the exquisite emerald and diamond ring from the box and slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand. It was a perfect fit.

“I measured your finger with a piece of string when you were asleep,” he explained, looking inordinately pleased with himself.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, her voice choked with emotion. “Thank you.” She threw her arms round his neck, almost strangling him in the process.

“No more beautiful than you deserve,” he told her, gently extricating himself from her death grip. “And, just so you know, the next ring I buy for you won’t be for that hand.”

“You’re moving too fast for me. We have several obstacles to overcome before we start thinking like that. Besides, I don’t want to tempt fate by planning too far ahead.”

“Okay, let’s just think about today and put everything else on hold. We deserve a break.” Ashley wasn’t going to argue with that. “What shall we do with ourselves?”

“Well, first off I need to go to the yard, check Lucius, and make sure he didn’t pick up any little injuries that I didn’t detect when we got home yesterday. I also like to do my own mucking out at the weekends. The girls have too many to do, so I take the time to do a more thorough job when I can.”

“I’ll come and help.”

“What!” Ashley thought she’d misheard him. “You’re kidding, right?”

He kissed the end of her nose. “It’s high time I met this horse of yours.”

“Okay,” she said, aware of the doubt in her voice. “If you’re sure.”

“And afterward, you and I, and Freckles of course, are invited to my mother’s for lunch.”

Ashley shook her head. “No, not that. I don’t think I’m r
eady to—”

“Nonsense.” He cut her protests short with a kiss that instantly distracted. “I’ve told her all about you, and she wants to get to know you.”

“But—”

“I’m sure you’ll like her, and besides, I want to show you off. I’ve had enough of hiding.”

“Well, I suppose, if that’s how you feel.” Ashley felt elated and, at the same time, terrified. What if she didn’t pass muster? “Matt, are you absolutely sure about this?”

“Sure I’m sure. Now come on lazy-bones, let’s go and sort that horse of yours.”

Two hours later, Ashley was freshly showered and had changed into clean jeans and a casual white top. She now sat beside Matt in his top-of-the-range Jaguar, plagued by nerves. Freckles regally occupied the backseat as Matt drove them to Lingfield.

“Stop worrying!” he said, removing one hand from the wheel and placing it on Ashley’s thigh. “She’s very easy going and will love you almost as much as I do. I guarantee it.”

Ashley screwed up her features. “That’s easy for you to say.”

“I know how her mind works.”

“Mothers don’t encourage women who entice their sons away from their families, Matt. It doesn’t work that way.”

He chuckled. “You don’t know my mother.”

He turned the car into a sweeping gravel drive, and a short time later, an old but fastidiously restored rambling farmhouse came into view. It was surrounded by open paddocks in all directions. Ashley gasped.

“Matt, it’s gorgeous! You grew up here?”

“Yeap, I guess I was pretty lucky.”

“And some.”

The house was surrounded on all sides by overflowing flower borders, and lawns that led to the obviously well-maintained paddocks she’d already noticed, enclosed by neatly painted post-and-rail fencing.

“How much land is there?”

“Over twenty acres. It’s currently the sole preserve of the four thoroughly indulged horses kept here. Oh, and a few of a neighbour’s sheep. Mother borrows them from time to time to clean up the paddocks.”

“Sensible lady.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.”

It was far grander than Ashley had anticipated. She was conscious of her casual clothing and hair, still damp from the shower. She wished now that she’d taken the time to do something with it, and to have dressed more carefully, too, even though Matt was as casually clothed as she was. Doting mothers probably didn’t apply the same standards to their sons as they did to that son’s home-wrecking girlfriend. Butterflies danced inside her stomach. She chewed her lower lip and winced. It was swollen from Matt’s protracted kisses. Worse, her face had suffered from prolonged proximity to his morning stubble. Ashley’s appearance would leave his mother in no doubt about how they’d occupied their recent hours. She flushed with less embarrassment than the memory deserved when she recalled that their activities had even extended into the hay barn at Lucius’s yard and, less surprisingly, to the shower when they returned to Ashley’s flat.