Loving My SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 10) (9 page)

I love you,

Matt

* * *

Two years ago…

Reina

Matt’s
hurting, and even if he won’t admit it, I can see it. He insisted
on coming with us to isolate his father. He stayed strong through
everything, but now that it’s done, he’s falling apart. Who can
blame him? Until I knocked the bastard out, he was belittling Matt,
and insulting me. Matt was barely holding onto his rage, but he did
because he had to. Having no release isn’t healthy, and I know he’s
going to go out and look for what he needs.

That’s
why I’ve sent the girls back home already, while I walk into the
bar I know he went to. I see him immediately, with two women hanging
on his arms. Oh hell, no. If he needs to use someone’s body
tonight, it’s going to be mine. I square my shoulders and try to
embrace the sexy vixen I know I need to be. Not to get Matt to notice
me, because that won’t work. I need the other men in this dive to
want me. He’ll never let me leave with someone else.

I
don’t usually show off my goods, but tonight I have to. I have on a
gold pleated halter dress. The front dips to my waist, showing plenty
of cleavage from my full, braless, breasts. The skirt grazes my
thighs, and besides a couple of straps, the back is bare. My shoes
are of the “fuck me” variety, and my makeup is just bold enough
to entice. I know I look good, and it’s time to start the show.

I
sway my hips and flip my hair as I walk in. Conversations stop as I
lick my lips. It takes Matt a moment to notice me, but when he does,
his eyes widen. I purposely look away to smile at one of the hot guys
checking me out. My heart may belong to just one man, but that
doesn’t mean I’m blind to the rest. Stella and Tegan would go
crazy in this place.

“
Can
I buy you a drink, darlin’,” the guy asks, walking up to me.

“
No.
You cannot buy her shit.”

That
was faster than I expected. Matt must be even more on edge than I
thought. He normally pretends to ignore me for at least a half hour
when we’re both at the same bar. I look him up and down, feigning
disinterest we both know I don’t feel.

“
Maybe
he can.”

“
Princess,”
Matt growls as he leans down to whisper in my ear. “If you want him
to live, you’re going to decline.”

“
Who’s
going to fuck me tonight, then? I really need a good fuck.” I
whisper back.

Over
his shoulder, I see his “friends” glaring at me. I throw them a
cocky smile. They may have had a chance with him tonight, but I’m
in it to win it. To win him. And I can’t let anyone get in my way.

“
You’re
just going to let some random guy, touch you, be inside of you?”

Now
I’m mad. “You had two women when I walked in here. If you can do
it, why can’t I?”

“
Because
I’m already damaged beyond repair. Your soul is still beautiful.”

I
look up into the eyes of the man I’ve loved for ten years. I see
how the years—and the war—have hardened him. But he’s still
just as beautiful as he was when we met. Even with the lines on his
face, and the stubble he’s using to try and hide his angelic
features, I can see him. See who he really is. And that’s what
scares him the most.

“
It’s
either him or you, Matt.”

“
Damn
it, I’m not doing this with you again. I can’t.”

“
You
can. You just won’t. So step aside and let me get the orgasm I
need.”

Instead
of moving back, he moves forward, crushing his mouth to mine. His
hands move into my dress, covering my breasts as he devours my mouth.
He breaks away and tries to scare me off. “The girls told me about
a sex club down the street. We can go put on a show if you’re up to
it.”

“
Sure.
I can show what I’ve got,” I reply, knowing there’s no way in
hell he’ll let that happen.

“
The
fuck you will. You’re mine, Reina.”

Only
when it’s convenient for him, but I’ll take what I can get. “Use
me tonight, Matt. We both want it.”

“
Hard.
It’s going to be hard, and rough.”

“
I
know.”

He
takes his hands out of my dress, and throws some money on the bar,
before taking my hand in his. Then we’re moving. Through the bar as
the women call for him to come back, and out the door to the deserted
city street. Matt looks both ways, and then gets a wolfish smile on
his face.

“
You
wanted this, and now you’re getting it.”

He
pulls me around the corner and into a dark alley. I think he’s just
going to take me against the brick wall, but he has other plans. He
lets go of my hand to jump up and pull down the ladder from a fire
escape, and the he’s lifting me onto it.

He
guides my upper body through one of the rungs, but instead of pushing
me down, he guides my hands up. My ribs, and the back of my neck are
pressing into the metal, and I know I’ll have some bruises
tomorrow. This is new—he’s been rough with me before, but never
like this. I know he’s testing me, seeing how far I’ll let him
take things. I also know that if I resist, he’ll stop, and go back
into the bar. I’m not about to let that happen, so I bend a little,
even though I can feel the bite in my ribs.

I
hear him unzip his pants, and then he pushes my thong to the side and
slams into me. We don’t use condoms when we’re together. That’s
the one thing he gives me, and me alone. I arch my back and he pounds
into me, while he alternates between curse words and dirty talk.

“
This
right here. I want it like this tonight. You sure you can handle it
like this?”

“
Don’t
I always?”

“
Your
pussy can take a lot, but tonight is going to be more than usual. I
want more. Harder, faster, rougher. I need to fuck. Over and over. I
need it all night.”

“
Yes.”

“
That
guy wanted you. He wanted to touch these,” he says, moving his
hands inside my dress again. He pinches, and twists as I yelp. “These
are mine. No one gets to touch them like I do.” He squeezes harder,
and I hold back a scream. He’s not trying to make me come right
now. He’s trying to hurt me, and scare me away.

“
I’m
not backing down, Matt. Do your worst.”

“
My
worst? I want your ass then.” I freeze, and he laughs before moving
one hand down to smack one of my cheeks. Hard. “Yeah, I thought so.
Don’t worry, I’ll give your pussy a workout tonight, and find
someone else’s ass to put my dick in.”

“
No.
Matt, please. Don’t. I-I…you can do it. Do it.”

I
don’t want it. I’ve never had fantasies about that, and in fact,
the thought of it makes me want to throw up. But I won’t have him
going to find someone else. Especially after he’s used me up. I
start to cry, and try to hide it from him, but he knows.

He
stops moving, and rests his head next to mine. “No. I don’t need
it. I was just trying to hurt you. Your pussy is more than enough,
and I don’t really want anyone’s ass. That’s not one of my
kinks. I’m sorry, Rei. You know what a bastard I am, but you still
are always there for me when I need you. I need you tonight. Just
you. No one else could soothe my soul the way you do.

“
I
would give you anything. Anything, Matt. We could be so good together
again. Those two weeks were so good.”

“
I’m
not good, Reina. It’s me. You deserve better than a fuck in a dark
alley.”

Yeah,
well, beggars can’t be choosers. Or maybe they can. “So finish us
off here, and then take me back to your room. Or mine, and fuck me
like we both want you to. It can be hard, or gentle. I know you’ll
make me come no matter what.”

“
Yeah?”

“
Hell
yeah.”

He
pulls my body back out from the other side of the ladder, and places
my hands right in front of my face. I turn my head and Matt kisses me
as he starts to move again. It’s not soft and sweet, but that’s
fine. Tonight’s not about romance. It hasn’t been that way with
him for ten years, so why would it be that way all of a sudden now? I
knew what I was getting into when I walked into the bar tonight. I
also know I’ll probably have more than a few bruises on my body
when I wake up. That’s okay, though. They aren’t being done out
of hate, he just needs to hold on a little tighter tonight, and I
totally understand. I’ll always be here to save him, and if I’m
lucky, maybe one day he’ll actually want to save me, too.

* * *

Matt

Jake’s team went to
the convent, and the rest of us are on the bastard’s farm right
now. The perimeter guards were no match for us and, right now, the
extra teams are in control there. We know the guards in and around
the farmhouse will be better trained, but I’m not worried. On a
basic mission, the women are pretty much unstoppable, but add Reina
into the mix, and yeah, game over.

I take out the guy
who’s walking the wall in front of me with one bullet to the neck,
catching him as he falls. I lay him down, not caring if he’s found.
With twelve of us moving through the house, there will soon be no one
left to find the ones I take down. I start to walk for the front door
when another man lands in my path. He has his hands up, but I keep my
gun trained on him, nonetheless.

“I work for Reina,”
he tells me.

“What?”

“She hired a few of
us years to ago to watch and wait for the perfect time to take him
down.”

“Why didn’t you
help her tonight?”

“She forbade it. She
contacted us all earlier, and told us we needed to keep our focus on
destroying him, and not compromise all the work we’ve done. She
said we would still get paid even if…well, even if she died.”

“Damn it. She has to
always be so fucking noble.”

“We all want to help
you. There are five of us. Two are in the kitchen, and two are at the
foot of the stairs.”

“Where is Reina?”

He points to the window
directly above us. “On her way there. That’s why I stopped you.
You need to go in the window, and not take the stairs. He will kill
her if he hears any commotion.”

“Got it.” I unhook
my zip line and shoot it to the balcony, waiting as it catches. I tap
the comm in my ear, and tell everyone else about the “friendlies”
in the house. The guy with me says he’ll watch the rope and then I
release the tension and fly to the railing. I climb over, and watch
through the window, which someone left open.

Reina is in the middle
of the room in a sequined gown that she’s practically popping out
of. My vision is full on clouded by a red haze at the sight of her.
She’s standing tall, and I’m so proud of her for not cowering.

“Leave us,” the man
who I’m going to kill says to the others in the room. “You will
have your turn with her later, but right now, it will be just the two
of us.”

“But what if there’s
trouble?” one of the men asks.

“What kind of trouble
could there be? The villagers can’t take us on.”

“Yes, sir.”

He waits until they are
gone before walking over to Reina. He hasn’t touched her yet, and
he won’t be touching her at all. I can guarantee that.

“Shall I help you
with your dress, my dear?”

“No.”

She doesn’t want him
to touch her, and it breaks my heart to hear how monotone her voice
is. She’s checked out mentally, bracing her mind for what she
thinks is going to happen to her body. I wish I could tell her I’m
here, and that no one will ever hurt her again. Even me. But it’s
too soon. Jade just told me that the first floor is clear, but I know
there are still more men on this floor.

I grip my gun hard as
Reina unzips the dress, and lets it fall to the floor. She only has a
pair of cotton panties on, and I watch the bastard lick his lips as
he sees her breasts. Fucker. Those are mine, and no one else is
touching them.

“Take off your
panties as well, Reina. I want to see all of you.”

My heart is practically
beating out of my chest as the rage overtakes me. Reina does as he
asks, and then he makes his fatal mistake. He reaches out to touch
her, but I’m faster than he is. I shoot him straight through the
hand before he can make contact. I run to the door and lock it while
getting off a couple more shots to his legs. My silencer muffles the
shots, but I know he’ll yell soon.

“Matt?” Reina asks,
her eyes wide, as she grabs the sheet from the bed and covers
herself.

I don’t answer as I
shoot the bastard five more times in non-lethal places. “You keep
missing,” he tells me with a laugh. “I’m not dying, you idiot.”

“You
are
dying, just not right away. You think you can kidnap my wife and go
out easily?” I ask as I empty the rest of my clip into him.

He starts to yell as I
load the next clip, but I cut him off by unleashing more bullets into
him. He has a gun, but for some reason, he’s not reaching for it. I
think he’s in shock, or maybe he just thinks his men will save him.

The door breaks open,
and the first bullets hit me as I pour the rest of my clip into him,
finally taking the kill shot. I hear Reina screaming, and then she’s
got a gun in her hands. As I finally start to fall, I see blood
splattering around me, and no more bullets enter my body.

“I love you, my
beautiful queen. I’ve always loved you,” I say before my eyes
close and the darkness overtakes me.

* * *

Reina

“Help,” I scream,
“someone please help us!”

I clutch the sheet to
myself as I drop down next to Matt. He’s covered in more blood than
I am, but what’s on me isn’t mine. It belongs to the men I killed
in order to stop them as they shot the man I love. The man who came
for me, even when I thought he wouldn’t.