Caught (Men of the Show Book 3) (16 page)

“No, not yet,” Matt gritted out. “I don’t have a condom on.”

Her body trembled and she fought his hold with a groan, burning need making her impulsive and careless, but he held her too tight to resist. Just when she thought he purposefully was prolonging her suffering, he shifted, lifting her by the waist to place her on the outside lip of the tub, causing water to surge over the edge and splash onto the tiles below. Her wet butt skidded across the cold fiberglass, and goose bumps broke out over her heated skin as it encountered the cool air, but her discomfort didn’t last when he spread her legs wide enough to accommodate his broad shoulders.

“Hold onto the spigot,” he rasped before his head ducked down and his mouth covered her.

Her mouth opened as a rush of pleasure racked through her, but no sound emerged. His tongue worked over her, never pausing in any one place as he laved and suckled.

“Oh, God. Please, Matt,” Shannon begged. What she asked for, she didn’t know, but whatever it was, he understood because he hooked one arm around her waist to hold her while he continued to devour her.

Her fingers threaded through his hair and she gripped a handful before she gave herself over to the surge within her. Pleasure exploded out from her center in a rush that peaked and ebbed before cresting again. Matt sat up on his knees in the tub as her legs dropped down from the edge with a splash, and she collapsed against him. Her head rested on his shoulder and his arms circled her as he took one of her nipples with a gentle nip. A new wave of hot heat pulsed through her. He moved and gave the same attention to the other one before his lips slid up, exploring along her shoulders and up her neck. One hand skimmed up her back and cupped her nape as his lips sought out hers.

As Matt kissed her with slow, drugging kisses that rocked Shannon all the way down to her toes, he stood and dragged her up with him. Water sluiced down his body, trailing over the hard, sharp ridges of his muscles, and she’d never seen anything sexier. And the fact that this man was all hers—at least for the time being—made her weak and breathless. Need darkened the color of his eyes and the heat from his body radiated off him as his chest moved up and down with choppy breaths. Shannon’s desire ramped up again simply from the look of pure lust on his face.

He stepped over the edge onto the mat and held her hand as she climbed out as well. He tugged her to him, wrapping a fist in her hair. His other hand moved over her hip and around to one cheek before his longer fingers ran down the cleft of her ass and lower over her folds.

“Fuck, you are still so wet,” Matt said, his voice low and husky. “Get down on your knees.”

He guided her over to the large slate-colored circular rug in the middle of the bathroom and pushed her down by her shoulders.
 

“On your hands, ass in the air,” he demanded as he reached into a drawer.

She started at first before leaning down so her breasts brushed against the soft rug and her arms ran alongside her head. Submissive she was not, but she didn’t mind a little dominance from Matt. The sound of a wrapper ripping filled the air before he positioned himself behind her.

“You have no idea how amazing you look right now,” Matt murmured as he kneaded her butt before gripping her waist and pushing inside her, his thick, muscular thighs hitting the back of hers.

His fingertips roamed up the ridges of her spine and back down while a hand held her in place, his fingers digging into her hip. She pressed into him and moved her hips to match his hard thrusts.
 

Their wet skin slapped loudly against each other but their heavy breaths carried over the sharp contact. Her orgasm snuck up on her and she groaned into the carpet, her hips jerking and pitching as sensation exploded within her, but Matt held her tightly, keeping her in place as he continued to batter her.

Panting and sweaty, Shannon braced herself up even though she wanted to collapse. Matt pushed into her one final time with a long groan before stilling. He bent over her, his hot breath heating her skin before he dragged his nose along her spine to place a soft kiss on her lower back. She fell to her side and curled into a warm, complacent ball in the middle of the rug as she closed her eyes.

Matt chuckled a second before he said, “Goddamn it!”

She jerked upright, but he was already around the corner and shutting the door to the water closet. Shannon waited for what seemed like forever, but soon the toilet flushed, and he stepped out and took a deep breath.

“The condom broke,” he announced.

Her throat squeezed shut and her heart did a double stutter before settling into a hard, thudding rate.

“I’m sorry.”
 
He walked over and sat down next to her on the rug. “I don’t suppose you’re on the pill too?”

She shook her head. “No. No, I’m not.”

Matt sighed as he closed his eyes and ran his hand over his short hair. He turned and pulled her to him, placing a kiss on her temple. “We’ll deal with whatever happens, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

She tried to take a deep breath, but she couldn’t stop the panic welling up within her, threatening to overflow. She couldn’t have a baby, especially not now. They weren’t even officially dating, never mind the fact she couldn’t keep her job if she had a child. Her plan to have fun with Matt didn’t include this, but that was no excuse and she was stupid to overlook the risk, the possibility, once she decided to have sex with him.

“You don’t need to worry about diseases or anything.”
 
Matt held her close to him and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I’m clean.”

Shannon hadn’t even been thinking along those lines, fretting only about what she would have to do if she ended up pregnant.

“Thanks,” she mumbled. “Me too.”

“Hey,” he said and gently shook her. “We’ll be all right. I know it’s hard not to focus only on this and worry, but I don’t want this to ruin our time together this week. Okay?”

“It’s just a shock, you know?”

“I know, but we’ll deal together with whatever happens. You can trust me on that.”

Despite his assurances, Shannon couldn’t wrap her mind around how this could change everything. All of her plans killed with one shot. She couldn’t let that happen.

“I’ll need to get to a drugstore, to buy a morning-after pill.”

Matt’s expression hardened a bit. “Are you sure—?”

“I can’t do this now!” she interrupted, afraid he was trying to talk her out of it, and unable to hold back the panic. “We haven’t been together long, my job, your job, everything…it won’t work!”

“Okay, okay,” Matt said as he draped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to his side. “I get it, I do. If that’s what you want, then we can do that. We can go tomorrow, right?
 
I mean, we don’t have to go right this second, do we?”

“No, no, you’re right,” she said, trying to be as calm as him. “I think you have up to five days.”

“Okay, then that’s what we’ll do,” he said, giving her a squeeze before nodding toward the tub. “Want to get back in and warm yourself up?
 
I’ll let you relax this time.”

Relieved with their decision, she nodded. “That would be nice.”

She let him help her up and together they climbed in. He turned on the warm water and fired up the jets again. Resting his arm along the edge behind her, he tucked her into his side and she laid her head on his shoulder, gazing at the flames flickering in the fireplace.

Surprisingly, relaxation settled over her, so comfortable and at peace next to Matt that she soon found herself wondering what she was so worried about, questioning why she had panicked. Would it be so bad if she did end up pregnant with Matt’s child?
 
Sure, a lot would change and her plans would have to be altered, but having a baby wouldn’t be the end of the world. In fact, she thought as she let her eyes drift closed, a family with Matt might be pretty wonderful.

Chapter 13

The next morning, Matt and Shannon enjoyed breakfast together outside by his pool. Despite the big, bright sun lighting up the sky, the air remained cool, but would eventually reach almost seventy, resulting in another glorious day.

“I’m going to be spoiled with all of this sunshine,” Shannon said with a smile at Matt, who sat next to her reading the paper and petting Buddy, who never left his side. “Not sure how I’m going to be able to deal with the winter in Chicago after this.”

Matt didn’t take his attention away from the newspaper article when he asked, “Who said you have to?”

“What’s that?”

“Go back,” he replied, still not looking at her.

She studied him for a moment, taking in the entirety of what his simple statement encompassed. The idea of her and Matt making a life together did make her breath catch and her heart thump erratically, there was no denying it. It was all too much, though; everything so strong so quickly that she didn’t know how to handle it, what to think or what to do. Toss in the scare from the night before, which had progressed to almost acceptance, and overwhelming confusion swamped her. But her life and her job, all she’d worked very hard for, were back in Chicago and she couldn’t forget that, couldn’t just give up on that.

And because of her determination to stay the path she’d laid for herself, she laughed. “Right, like that could happen.”

Matt finally put the paper down and sat back in his chair, his blue eyes hard on hers. He had an irritated, almost mad, scowl and she wasn’t sure why. “Is it that bad?” he asked.

“What?
 
Here?” she clarified and at his nod, she shook her head. “No, but this isn’t my life, Matt.”

“And you don’t want it to be?”

“Matt, come on. We barely know each other—” she started.

“Are you telling me you don’t feel what I feel?”

Her throat tightened. She so did not want to be having this conversation. She had intended to come down here, spend a wonderful time with Matt, but then move on. She couldn’t add this to her life now. As much as she wanted to, she simply couldn’t. “What are you saying?” she whispered.

Matt’s shoulders raised and he took in a deep breath, staring out over his backyard at the mountain range in the distance. His gaze finally came back to her and he leaned toward her, resting his elbows on his knees. Buddy plopped down with a huff, as though realizing Matt had turned his attention elsewhere. “Look, I know we have a lot to work through and there are multiple complexities that make this difficult, but I don’t know, Shannon. I really feel as if I’m—”

The ringing of her phone on the table interrupted whatever he’d been about to say. She wanted to ignore the intrusion, but she’d promised work she’d be available.

“Sorry,” she said as she picked up her cell. Apprehension washed through her when she unlocked her screen and saw the call wasn’t work but rather her father. “Hi, Dad.”

She didn’t miss Matt’s grimace in annoyance as he leaned back in his chair and picked up the paper. Standing, she walked away from the table toward the pool.

“What the hell is going on?” her dad said right off the bat. “How am I supposed to react when Marcus calls me and says you’re not in the office, but you’re on vacation?
 
Then I find out from Karen that you’re in Arizona. Why are you in Arizona?”

“Like you said, taking a vacation,” she answered in a low voice, hoping to keep her conversation from carrying back to Matt. “How did Mr. Barnes know?”

“He was checking on you as a personal favor to me and someone told him you’d requested time off. Again,” he stressed. “Why would you think this is okay?
 
I don’t need to tell you this isn’t a good reflection on you or your work.”

Shannon closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reaching for patience, but also trying to ward off the hard ball of guilt forming. “I’m still working. Hours are being billed.”

“Why are you even in Arizona?”
 

“Um,” she said, not even sure how to explain things with Matt since she hadn’t planned to need to. “This guy lives down—”

“Guy?
 
You’re flitting around with a man?” her father yelled. “This is ridiculous. So, not only are you not at work, which is where you should be if you want any chance at making partner, but you’re spending Christmas with some boy you can’t have known for very long, since we just saw you at Karen’s wedding and you didn’t mention you were seeing anyone.”

“I met him at the wedding,” she mumbled. She hated how he made her feel like a small child at times.

“Shannon,” he said with a blustery sigh. “You don’t have time for a relationship, especially a long-distance one. Why are you risking your career for this?
 
You’ve worked so hard and now that you’ve finally gotten your first opportunity, at a firm most people would kill to get into, you’re going to throw it all away?
 
And for what?
 
Someone you barely know?”

Shannon looked across the patio at Matt, who still sat at the table. Shadows clouded her view of his face, but the rigid lines of his body clearly signaled his frustration. Even mad at her, however, he rendered her breathless simply by being. A sweet, fun and caring guy who exemplified perfection in everything he did and how he made her feel, and that was why she was there.