“Right.” Matt’s eyes darkened with understanding. “I have something upstairs.”
“But- I- if we shower?”
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said gently. Even though his eyes burned into her, she knew he would stop if she said the word. She didn’t want him to stop. She wasn’t going to say the damn word.
“No, I do want to. It’s just… I want to be safe. I- I just want to be responsible.”
He nodded. “If you still want a shower, I’ll do everything in my power to make it the best shower you’ve ever had. Then we can take it to the bedroom from there. We’ll be adults.”
Callie paused. She wanted to trust Matt. I do trust him. He’s a good person. She didn’t really know anything about him, but she knew that was true. He wasn’t going to hurt her. Nothing would happen. She’d feared it with Ben too, that something unplanned would come between them and ruin them. She’d kept her secrets inside for as long as she could. She knew it wasn’t fair to Ben and she’d finally given in and let him in right before their wedding.
As far as honesty went, she knew he wouldn’t marry her. She’d told him so anyway. Ben had been safe. He was someone she’d met at the end of college and turned to because he was just… safe. He’d convinced her to go out with him. Him and his black hair and dark eyes and his perfect smile. He had that bland kind of life that she could tell was just… safe. She’d never stepped out of her comfort zone. She wasn’t even sure they’d ever actually loved each other. They had no business even getting married…
Callie shook her head and Matt stared back at her. She pushed thoughts of Ben aside. “It’s just been… a long time since I’ve done this.” She flushed after, at how bad that sounded said aloud.
Matt didn’t wince. He didn’t smirk or make a face or drawback. His eyes, if they changed at all, softened a little. “I swear I won’t hurt you.”
“I know.”
He looked like he wanted to say something else, something about there still being time for her to back out, but she stepped in again, braced her hands on his shoulders, and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him like there wasn’t going to be a next time. She already knew that with him, there wouldn’t be. She drank him in, nipped him and he nipped back. She captured his groans in her mouth and pressed closer.
She let out a gasp as his hands slid around her hips, down to the curve of her ass. He lifted her easily, hiked her onto his solid, rock hard hips. She wrapped her legs around him, and he carried her through the kitchen, through the living room and up a set of stairs. He set her down in the bathroom and set to work on getting the shower going.
It was a stand-up shower, one of those things that were tiled and set off by itself. There was a tub on the other end of the bathroom, a freestanding thing that looked expensive. The countertops were marble or granite or something, in the double vanity. A set of white, fluffy, terrycloth towels hung from the towel bar at the side of the shower. The bathroom was almost so perfect it looked like it belonged in a hotel.
Matt turned back to her and the look in his eyes sent a wave of lust stabbing right through her. “Let’s get those clothes off.”
Callie froze. Am I really ready for this? For another man to see me naked? What did it matter though, if she never saw him again? It wasn’t like he would look at her at work and everyone will know that he’d seen her without clothes, that he knew what she looked like underneath those layers. She wanted him. She wanted him enough that she could brave the embarrassment of getting undressed with the lights on.
She gripped the hem of the t-shirt, his t-shirt, and pulled it over her head. Matt froze. The cool air hit her bare skin. Her nipples were hard little buds before the cold air even grazed them. Matt let out something that sounded pretty damn close to a growl.
He stalked toward her and met her hand halfway to her pants. He worked them down her legs with her, let his hand travel over the smooth skin of her thigh and down her calf, as she shed the sweats onto the floor.
“Lord, you are perfect,” he growled. Oddly enough, when he said it, she almost believed him. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. Not since that kiss.”
“Really?” she gasped. She wasn’t brave enough to tell him that she’d relived it a hundred times. Or a thousand. More than that?