One Good Man (20 page)

"You heard her, chief. Hit the bricks," Tania gloated, taking a swig of wine.

"Tania." Latisha's voice held a warning note. "That's not helping."

"Well, I'm not leaving until he does," the redhead said.

Andie wanted to groan with frustration. Her big attempt at self-actualization was turning into a free-for-all and a three-ring circus. "Listen. Everybody. Go home."

"Andie." Douglas frowned. "We're not finished here."

"Yes, we are, Douglas. We are utterly and completely finished," she insisted.

"There's three of us versus one of him." Tania smirked. "I say it's time to issue a beat-down."

"Tania!" Latisha snapped.

"Andie." A new voice spoke, a deep familiar voice. Matthew stood in the doorway. His jaw dropped upon seeing Tania and Latisha, then firmed as he glowered at Douglas, who returned the glare. Daisy deserted Latisha for her old friend and barked joyfully, pawing his leg.

Andie blinked, her heart filling with joy at the sight of him.

"Matthew..."

"You came!" Tania crowed in delight.

"Who is this?" Douglas demanded.

Confused, Andie turned to her friend. "What do you know about this?"

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"I called him," Tania told her. "I wasn't about to let you make the same mistake again with dumbass over there." She folded her arms over her shapely bosom. "I'm your friend.

I've got your back."

Andie's bubble of happiness burst. Matthew had only shown up because Tania had called him. It was another rescue operation. Firming her lips, she grasped Tania by the elbow and marched her to the door. "Thank you for coming.

Goodbye."

"Okay, okay." Tania handed Andie the wine bottle. She looked at Matthew. "Sorry I called you an asshole."

Latisha was right behind her and gasped. "You did what?"

She turned to Andie. "Goodbye, Andie. Good luck."

Tania directed one last hateful glare at Douglas before Latisha pushed her out the door. Andie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened them again at Douglas's insistent tone.

"Andie. You still haven't explained who this man is."

"You're absolutely right," she answered. "Let me introduce you. Matthew, this is Douglas, my former boyfriend. Douglas, this is Matthew, the man I was fucking while you were fucking Gretchen."

Both men scowled at her, for different reasons.

"You
slept
with him?" Douglas's eyes were round with horror.

Andie shook her head, disgusted with him. "Oh, please, don't sound so shocked."

His lip curled. "You didn't waste any time, did you?"

"No," she flung at him. "I didn't."

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Matthew stepped up beside her and put his arm around her waist. "At least she waited until you'd broken up. Oh, wait, you didn't actually break up with her, did you? You didn't have the guts. You wanted to keep her on the hook in case things didn't pan out with your other girlfriend. So you could crawl back, like you're doing now."

Matt grinned at him and squeezed Andie a little tighter.

"But it's all good. If you hadn't been such a prick, she'd have never come to me. So thanks for that." He bent to nuzzle Andie's neck while she tilted her head to give him better access. She stared at Douglas coolly.

His pale blue eyes narrowed, and his thin lips tightened.

Why had she never noticed how small and mean his mouth was?

"What a slut," he muttered.

Andie didn't flinch. "Nice double standard."

Matt's arm tightened around her waist as he lifted his head. "Suppose you get your ass out of here before I kick it out."

Douglas snorted, trying not to show fear, but he wasted no time getting to the door. He hesitated as though he wanted to say one last vile thing to Andie, but the look on Matthew's face made him reconsider. He slammed the door behind him.

At the sound, Andie sagged. Then, realizing she was still in Matthew's arms, she stiffened. "He's gone. You can let go now."

Slowly, he let his arms fall away, as if he were reluctant to do so. But that was probably wishful thinking on her part.

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She turned to face him. "So why are you here? To play the hero again? Save me from my big scary ex-boyfriend? Save me from myself?"

His forehead creased. "What?"

"I'm not one of your strays, Matthew." Her voice trembled and she stopped to take a deep breath. "I don't need you to rescue me, and I don't want you feeling sorry for me. I can take care of myself. I'm not a pity project, no matter what your brother thinks."

"My brother?" Understanding dawned. "Sweet Jesus. At The Pizza Palace. You heard what he said?"

Andie nodded. "I didn't mean to, but..."

He groaned. "For God's sake, Andie. You thought I felt sorry for you?"

Andie's shoulders slumped. "Why else would you be with somebody like me—"

"Somebody like you? Jesus, who do you think I am, that ass Douglas? Or
Logan
?"

"No," Andie murmured. "You're not. But I need the truth. I need to know how you really feel."

Matthew scowled. "Right now I'm totally fucking pissed, okay?"

A soft snuffle momentarily distracted them. Daisy, bored with their conversation, had curled up and fallen asleep on the rug.

Matthew looked at Andie. "You want to know how I feel?

That first night you came over? You were so fearless. The way you went for what you wanted. How could you ever think I felt sorry for you after that? You were amazing."

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That brought Andie up short. "I was?"

"Hell, yeah." He stalked over to her, pulled her against him. "You know who I am? I'm the guy who gets hard every time I'm around you."

He rubbed his erection against her belly. "There's your proof." The warmth of his body and the heat in his eyes made her breath catch. She melted into him. His voice dropped an octave. "Does that feel like pity, baby?"

Those words were all she needed. The heat of his body pressed to hers, and the hardness of his cock sent desire crackling through Andie like a flash of lightning. She grabbed Matthew and crushed her lips to his. He tasted like root beer...
sweet
.

Her nipples were hard and eager, her pussy warm, wet, and soft. She rubbed against him, trying to relieve the terrible ache between her legs, but it wasn't enough. She needed more, much more.

When Matthew broke away from her, they were both gasping. "Baby. Wait. I didn't come here today for sex. I don't have any rubbers—"

Andie's brain was fuzzy but she was hot and horny and they were by God going to do it. "Hold on." She ran to her bedroom, jerked open her nightstand drawer and snatched up a strip of condoms. She'd placed them there to use with Douglas, but thank God she had a much better purpose for them now.

She raced back to the living room and tossed the condoms to Matthew. He grabbed them as they hit him in the chest.

"Wait," she told him, holding up her hand palm out.

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Andie tugged her T-shirt over her head and flung it to the floor. Matthew's eyes widened at the sight of her lacy bra.

"Sea foam green," she told him with pride, thrusting out her breasts and posing with a hand on her hip like a Victoria's Secret model.

His nostrils flared as he sucked in a deep breath. "Wow."

He didn't need to say more—the heat in his gaze said it all.

She unzipped the jeans and pushed them down her legs.

When she stepped out of them, kicking them aside, she was truly Venus rising from the foam. Matthew made her feel beautiful.

She lifted her arms and held them out at her sides, twirling once to give him the whole show. Then she launched herself into his arms. They toppled onto the sofa. Daisy, awakened by their antics, gave a sharp bark of alarm and high-tailed it from the room.

They kissed again, and Andie breathed in his scent—soap and something citrusy, maybe deodorant. Matt wasn't a cologne kind of guy. She slipped her hands under his shirt and pushed it up his chest, her lips following the path of her teasing fingers. He made himself her willing victim while she kissed and tongued his warm salty skin, lifting his arms for her to sweep the shirt over his head.

Then he turned the tables, scooping her breasts into his big warm hands, kneading them, sucking her nipples through the lace. Andie hissed with pleasure. Tears clouded her eyes and stinging needles of lust shot to her pussy as his hot wet mouth played with her. It was good, so good, but she ached for more.

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Matthew reached behind her, unfastening the bra and letting it fall. He lifted her full breasts, teasing her swollen nipples with his calloused thumbs, pinching one between his fingers while he circled the other with his hot mouth, sucking hard and nipping lightly with his teeth.

Andie's hard clit throbbed, and she cried out. The sensation was both too much and not enough. She grabbed the back of Matthew's head and dragged his mouth to hers.

Their kisses were frantic, their lips clashing and clinging, their tongues possessing each other's mouths. Their hunger took over.

She pushed at Matthew until he stood. Kneeling on the sofa cushions, Andie unbuckled his belt, unzipped his fly, and pushed it all away. His cock sprang free, full and hard, its head a juicy plum beaded with pre-cum. When she grasped it, warm and heavy in her palm, both she and Matthew moaned.

Andie blew a stream of air over the head then brought it between her breasts. She loved how hot it felt on her skin.

"Uhh..." Matthew's eyes closed at the sensation. His face was flushed, his features swollen with desire. She lifted her heavy breasts to caress him, and then licked away the clear fluid slicking the crown of his cock.

He sucked in a sharp breath. "All right. Enough."

"Not even close to enough," Andie said, lying back on the sofa with her head against the armrest. "Like this," she said and motioned him closer.

He kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants.

Following her direction, he straddled her face with one knee 193

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on the armrest beside her head and the other foot on the floor. She grasped his cock and closed her lips around it.

She couldn't have done it this way with anyone else—if it were another man looming over her, she would have felt hemmed in and trapped. Frightened. But Matthew wouldn't hurt her. Andie needed to show him how much she trusted him.

Matthew's right hand rested gently on her head, his fingers combing though her waves as she traced the veins in his shaft with her tongue and suckled the salty-sweet plum of his cockhead.

"Okay," he breathed as he stepped back, his eyes heavy-lidded. Andie picked up the condoms which had fallen to the floor and tore one off the strip. Matthew took it and ripped open the packet as she shimmied out of her panties. Together they rolled the rubber down his shaft.

He fell onto the sofa and scooped her onto his lap facing him, but then, surprising her, he got to his feet. She curled her legs around his hips as he strode to the table against the wall.

"Hold on," he muttered. "We're gonna do this right here."

The mail scattered to the floor when he sat her on the table, the mirror behind her back. "Right now."

"Yes." She grabbed his shoulders, and he slid inside her with one smooth roll of his hips. "Yes." Andie tightened her legs around him and met his every thrust. All she could hear were their gasps and groans and the juicy, sucking sounds of sex.

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Andie was hardly aware of her back thumping against the mirror as Matthew plunged in and out. Abruptly he hoisted her up again, his hands holding her ass, and staggered across the room with his cock still deep inside her.

This time her back was against the wall, and the only thing holding her up was Matthew. His features were taut, his forehead crinkled in concentration and his mouth contorted with lust. Andie's gaze traveled from his face and her breath caught. Straight across from them she saw her own reflection in the mirror and could hardly recognize the woman with reddened puffy lips, unfocused eyes, and a snarled bird's nest of hair.

"Yeah," he said, obviously aware of what she just discovered. "Watch yourself. You're beautiful. Watch yourself come."

His thrusts slowed now, coming harder. He emphasized each one with a deliberate grind against her clit. Prickles of delight spread over her skin, and her vision grew hazy. The woman in the mirror was flushed and trembling. Her lips parted.

Andie heard someone moan. "Matthew. Matthew."

"Right here, baby. Come now."

"Ahhh!" Andie dug her fingers into his sweat-slick back as her pussy tightened around him, and the contractions rippled through her again and again. When she climaxed, Matthew pounded into her in quick jerky movements and came, shuddering.

She clung to him, her legs jelly as they slid down his slippery thighs and calves. She was grateful the wall was 195

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there to support her. Matthew's face was hidden against her hair. At last he pushed aside the tangle to grasp her chin and lift her face for a searing kiss.

Then he stepped back, and his face changed. His mouth was a grim line, his eyebrows lowered like thunderclouds.

Andie wanted to smooth those unhappy lines from his face.

Even now he was so handsome. God, it was so easy to love him.

Andie felt a swarm of bees buzzing in her brain at the realization. Her entire body tingled. Of course she loved him.

But she'd allowed her stubbornness and fear to keep her from recognizing it.

"That was incredible," he murmured, not looking at her.

"But I don't know what it changes."

When he turned away, Andie's world stopped.