SuddenHeat (8 page)

Before he could form a response—and shit, he didn’t know
what the response should be anyway—they’d arrived at Patrick and Danelle’s
two-story home several miles outside of town. Their driveway wound into a huge
stand of pine trees. They’d bought the older home with the intention of fixing
it up and they’d accomplished an extensive remake of the inside. An image
popped into Matt’s head of a house like this belonging to him. With the
isolated location, the quiet, the fresh air and nature, he’d feel in seventh
heaven. Then he imagined Melanie beside him and it jolted him to the root. He
practically drove off the side of the driveway as they came to a halt in the
circular drive. He shook his head to clear it and banished the crazy idea.

His brothers’ cars were in the driveway.

“Lena drove herself here, it looks like,” Melanie said.

Maybe Lena and Rick hadn’t totally meshed after all.

The door opened and Danelle appeared in the threshold. She
smiled and waved. The next several moments dissolved into a chaos of greeting
his brothers and Kathleen and Lena. Everyone had brought food, and Melanie
handed Danelle a bag of food and so did Matt.

Lena, Kathleen and Melanie camped in the master bedroom
behind closed doors for a while, looking at Danelle’s wedding dress and doing
other girly things related to the wedding.

“I half expect them to put up a no boys allowed sign,”
Patrick said.

Rick broke into a huge smile. “Wouldn’t surprise me a damned
bit.”

“Girls will be girls. It’s a wedding.” Patrick’s face beamed
with cockiness and enjoyment at first then faded into seriousness. “None of it
meant a damned thing when we heard all of you were in danger the other day. It
scared the shit out of us.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Rick said as he sipped his beer.

Jake cleared his throat and reached for a paper plate.
“Nothing like a good shoot ‘em up to build an appetite.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a software engineer and not a soldier. I’m
not used to getting my ass shot off so it still scared the hell out of me,”
Patrick said.

Matt shook his head. “Don’t even think about it. All that
matters is your wedding.”

“Huh.” Rick grunted his opinion. “Weddings. I’m not
ever
getting married.”

Rick grabbed a carrot stick and plunged it into some ranch
dressing on his food-laden paper plate. He crunched the veggie and walked
around the long dining room table hunting for more food.

Jake slapped him on the back. “God, man, you’re a pig.”

That’s when Matt realized Lena stood just outside the dining
area, and the expression on her face said she hadn’t liked what Rick said one
damn bit.

“Oh crap,” Melanie said under her breath as she heard what
Rick said and registered the look on Lena’s face.

Lena swallowed her obvious disappointment and flashed a
smile at the men as she stepped into the dining area. “All right, boys, don’t
eat everything.” She threw a look Rick’s way that could have stripped the hide
off a rhino. “I think Jake might be right though. You could be a pig, Rick.”

Melanie winced and exchanged pained looks with Kathleen.

Kathleen stepped into the dining area as well and added her
two cents to the exchange. She grabbed a paper plate and said, “Cheer up,
everyone. The wedding is soon!”

An uncomfortable set of laughs went around the room. Danelle
and Patrick ignored the atmosphere and after a while, as they ate from the
Thanksgiving buffet, the topic turned to the mall event.

Everyone had retired to the living room after washing dishes
and Melanie absorbed the relaxation associated with sharing time with friends.
She’d settled on the couch next to Lena, who had brightened considerably after
the strain between her and Rick. She’d never heard Lena say anything that
snarky to anyone among friends, so Lena’s reaction surprised her a little. When
the conversation moved to the mall shooting, things didn’t tense up as badly as
she would have expected.

“Does anyone know if the police are going to require you
guys to testify at a trial?” Danelle asked.

“Probably.” Rick claimed a chair next to the couch. “I’m not
looking forward to that.”

“We don’t know for sure.” Matt sat on the other side of
Melanie and put his arm on the back of the couch behind her. “They got
statements from us the other night. We’ll have to play it by ear.”

“All I want is to forget it happened.” Kathleen’s voice
broke into the conversation.

Jake took her hand. “We all do.”

“Anyone else having nightmares about it?” Lena tucked
strands of very short blonde hair behind her ears. Her face was pinched, eyes
serious. “I have.”

Rick was sitting across the room but he leaned forward and
clasped his hands between his legs. Worry darkened his eyes. “You okay, Lena?”

She swallowed hard. “Of course. It was just a dream.”

Rick’s concerned expression deepened but he didn’t ask
another question. Melanie couldn’t let it lie. “Everyone reacts to trauma
differently. Give yourself some time.”

“You can always talk to us, honey,” Danelle said.

“Absolutely,” Melanie said.

A grateful smile touched Lena’s lips. “I know. I’m sorry I
brought it up though. All of you were in that mall. I was just there for a
short while and then Rick and I made it outside.”

“Yeah, but we knew all of them were in danger.” Rick was
still looking at Lena. “There’s a lot of worry and fear in that. It’s still a
trauma. Give yourself a break.”

Lena smiled softly at him. “You’re right. I was so scared.
Look at me being a mess. I’m the counselor here. I should be saying this to all
of you.”

“Whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up. I’m glad you
weren’t in there and Rick got you out,” Kathleen said.

Melanie touched Lena’s hand. “I’m sorry you had to go
through that. But you can always talk with us. Anytime.”

Lena returned Melanie’s reassuring smile. “Thanks. You guys
are the best.”

For the next few hours the conversation turned to other
topics far more mundane and casual. Joking and laughing filled the house.
Melanie plunged into the fun and wouldn’t allow herself to think of anything
unpleasant.

As darkness came, they filed out of Danelle and Patrick’s
house. Danelle and Patrick’s parents were flying in from New Mexico and Florida
tomorrow and they’d spend time with them most of the day. As Melanie and Matt
drove back to Melanie’s apartment, she couldn’t hold back one statement.

“Lena heard Rick say he never planned to get married,”
Melanie said. “Ouch.”

“Yeah. Ouch is right.” He shook his head. “Rick is a free
spirit and hates to be tied down to things. But he doesn’t play games with
women. I don’t think he’d hurt her intentionally.”

“Lena definitely doesn’t play games.” She shrugged. “Oh
well. It really isn’t our business, is it?”

“Nope.”

“Jake and Kathleen seemed pretty cozy.”

He threw her a half grin, a look that said he didn’t want to
talk about it. “More stuff that isn’t our business.”

“Right. And you guys have hotel rooms to camp out in this
week and none of you are using them?”

“Not much.”

She decided it was better to be blunt. “Where are you
staying tonight?”

He gave her a full-fledged grin. “With you, if you’ll allow
it.”

She returned his smile, a warm and cozy sensation filling
her stomach. “Good.”

When they reached her apartment, they didn’t waste time. He
kissed her and all bets were off. Their kisses felt desperate to Melanie, as if
they thought all they had was this one moment and nothing else ever again. She
kissed him with ravenous attention, the passion and heat behind their actions
full of emotion. They stopped only long enough to strip their coats off and
toss them on the couch. Another kiss and another built up until her shirt was
half-open. He unhooked the front of her bra and swept it aside. He tasted a
nipple. Melanie gasped as hot pleasure stroked her from her breast to between
her legs. He plucked one nipple while licking and sucking the other. She
writhed in his arms, hardly able to stand the sensitivity and pleasure.

“Matt, I can’t take it,” she managed to say in a whisper.

“What do you need?”

“You.”

With a cocky smile he undid his belt and unzipped his jeans.
He pulled out his cock, thick and ready. “Here I am.”

With an equally teasing grin, she stroked him and marveled
at the hardness encased in silken heat. He closed his eyes and hissed in a
breath. She loved the fact she did this to him and reveled in the power. She
was so damn hot already she couldn’t stand it. Yanking his pants down over his
hips, she got on her knees and clasped his cock in her right hand. Before he
could make a sound, she took him in her mouth.

“Holy shit.” He gasped the curse, his eyes closing and head
going back. “Melanie.”

Her name on his lips sounded reverent. Beautiful. He made
her feel more beautiful and needed than she’d felt at any time in her life and
she wanted to give him more. With deliberately teasing strokes she licked him
and used her hand to pump his long length. He groaned and that turned her on
too. She loved the uninhibited way he expressed his pleasure. He just didn’t
give a damn what anyone thought. Over and over she took him in her mouth and
licked and sucked, enjoying how he clutched at her shoulders and pumped his hips
in time with her movements.

“Wait.” He pulled away from her. “I want to be inside you.”

The idea excited her. “Yes.”

They’d made it halfway down the hallway when he propped her
up against the wall. With hot, drugging intensity he kissed her. His tongue stroked
hers, the caress sending pinwheels of heat between her legs. A fire started in
her only he could extinguish.

“Condom.” She could barely get the word out. “Here. Now.”

He left her against the wall and went into the bedroom to
get a condom. She hurried to peel off all her clothes and when he came back
into the hallway he was also naked except for his cock.

Quickly he came to her, lifted her by the waist and
murmured, “Legs around my waist.”

A rush of pure heated excitement whirled like a tornado
through her loins. She hung on as he lifted her and she anchored her legs about
his waist. With incredible strength he held her up, wedged his cock between her
folds and thrust. She gasped loudly as he speared deep inside her, bringing her
down on his thickness in one stroke. The sensation of his cock spreading her
open made her wriggle to get closer, make him go deeper.

He locked eyes with her, the heat in his gaze undeniable.
“Fuck, you are incredible.”

So turned on she couldn’t stand it, she linked her arms around
his neck and kissed him. He was so strong he held her against the wall with
ease, his fingers digging into her ass as he moved inside her with long, slow,
deep strokes. The tantalizing movements threatened to drive her insane but he
wouldn’t speed up. Her body responded with subtle contractions and tingling
sensations. She tightened around his cock and shivered as orgasm threatened.
When he drew out of her the pinnacle hovered out of reach. Again he thrust, and
she kissed him with a frantic quality that signaled desperation.

She was so close. So very close. “Please, Matt. Finish it.
You’re driving me nuts.”

“Good.” His voice was gravelly and rough but he did as she
requested.

With a growl he buried his face in her neck and thrust hard.
She’d never been taken against a wall before and the forbidden quality of it,
the raw sexuality, thrilled her. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as he
thrust harder, and with one last stroke she came apart in his arms. Crying out,
she exploded.

Matt shoved inside her one last time. He was shaking,
moaning, his breath sawing in and out of his lungs as if he’d competed in a
marathon. With gentleness, he pulled out of her and gathered her into his arms.

Fragrant black tea lifted Melanie’s spirits as she sat with
Danelle, Lena and Kathleen at Templeton’s Tea House on the main drag through
Constitution on Friday. Matt had left her apartment early this morning to run
errands and head back to the hotel. He hadn’t said anything about seeing her
tonight, and maybe that was a good thing. Too much togetherness could prove as
bad as not enough. Her mood, though, had soured to the point she faked having a
good time. It bothered her because she never became depressed without a reason
and usually could pull herself up from any funk that colored her mood. Even the
laughter of her friends at the table, the delicious baked goods and tea
couldn’t lift her spirits.

“You okay, Melanie? You’re so quiet,” Danelle said.

Melanie snapped back to the present. “Sorry. I guess this
week rattled me more than I realized.” When she glanced around the table she
saw various stages of concern on everyone’s face, along with curiosity. “Don’t
worry about me.”

Kathleen poured more tea for herself from a little teapot
nearby. “Hard to do when you have a frown a mile wide.”

Melanie groaned. “I’m sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to bring
down the festivities.”

“Hey, it matters to us if you’re not feeling up to this. Is
there anything we can do?” Kathleen asked.

Melanie shrugged. “It’s one of those weird moods that seems
to have no definition. You’ve all had that feeling before, right?”

Lena nodded and rubbed her arms as if she were cold. “I
certainly have.”

“Like I said right after the mall shooting, we’re screwed,
ladies.” Kathleen gave them a smile. “These men have us wrapped around their
fingers.”

Danelle’s teacup clinked as she pushed it aside. “Ladies, I
think it’s time for some serious assessment here about what you all want. The
guys leave Sunday. What are you going to do about it?”

Melanie didn’t know, and by the looks on Kathleen’s and
Lena’s faces they didn’t have a clue.

“If we tell them how we feel they’ll freak,” Kathleen said.
“At least that’s how it always works for me.”

A chorus of chuckles went up around the table. Melanie
snatched another scone from the tea stand in front of her.

“How do we feel, ladies?” Melanie asked.

Silence greeted her.

“Are we letting these guys go?” Melanie asked.

“What choice do we have?” Kathleen asked her own question.
“It’s just sex. That’s all it ever was for me.”

Part of Melanie was sorry to hear it but she’d also said the
very same thing in her mind. She couldn’t hold Kathleen to a different
standard. “We care about them but we’ve got our lives and careers.”

Lena fiddled with her paper napkin, crumpling it and placing
it next to her empty plate. “We aren’t giving up the independence and lives
we’ve built for men in the military.”

“What happened this week gave us a deeper connection.”
Melanie didn’t know where she was going with this but she rolled with it. “The
Frasier brothers are hot, awesome, very nice guys. We hooked up with them but
now…”

“Now it’s over.” Kathleen looked from one of her friends to
the next.

Danelle sighed. “Well, I guess that is that.”

Melanie saw the sad looks on everyone’s faces and realized
they were all kidding themselves.

* * * * *

Matt looked around at the wedding attendees filing into the
small country church Saturday and realized time had run out. Tomorrow morning
he’d jump in his SUV and begin the long drive to California and Twenty-Nine
Palms. He didn’t have many more years in the military and he’d already resolved
to continue as a civil servant in some capacity with the government when he
left. Yet something had felt off since he’d arrived in this small town. Maybe
it was this whole wedding scene fucking with his mind. It couldn’t be almost
getting capped in the ass at the mall. He’d suffered worse in the marines.

The church was filling with at least a hundred people ready
to celebrate Patrick and Danelle’s union. Matt knew he should concentrate on
that rather than what could have happened to him, his brothers and the women.
It was a time to feel good and cherish life but this week had done something to
him he didn’t understand. He returned to the back room where his brothers and
Patrick finished getting ready. Patrick didn’t look as nervous as one might
expect. After all, a man didn’t walk down the aisle every day ready to marry
the woman he loved. Patrick looked damn happy, and it made Matt think. Before
this week in Constitution he’d never imagined feeling that good, that content.
Spending time with Melanie had changed his perspective quickly, had made him
long for a deeper connection with a partner. But he couldn’t. She lived here,
he lived in California and couldn’t change that. A dark cloud hung over his
head when he thought of leaving Arizona, and he hated that.

His mind kept returning to the marathon lovemaking he’d
experienced with Melanie Thursday night. After fucking Melanie against the wall
he’d picked her up and carried her to the bed. To his astonishment he’d found
he didn’t need to wait to get it up again, and when he’d turned her over on her
hands and knees and made love to her, he’d never felt more powerful. But it was
more than power he’d felt. He’d wanted her happiness, her fulfillment, more
than his own. Giving her the best sex of her life was his number-one goal. He
would have given her anything she’d asked for. Hell, if she’d asked him to
stand on his head and recite the Bill of Rights he would have.

Friday had been a whirlwind of getting things ready for the
wedding—as best man it seemed like there was a hell of a lot to do. The girls
stayed over at Danelle’s and Patrick was relegated to a hotel room in the same
place Matt and his brothers stayed during the week. Patrick had grumbled about
that but Danelle said she wanted that one old-fashioned idea of the bride and
groom staying apart the night before the wedding. The guys had spent the
evening playing video games and drinking, but not drinking enough to impair them
for today’s festivities. Matt had made sure Patrick got to the church on time.

Jake slapped Matt on the back, startling him. “Hey, man, you
look like the groom at a shotgun wedding.”

Matt perked up. “Gee, thanks.”

“Watch out boys, he’s got a case of the ass,” Rick said with
a smile.

Matt smirked at Rick, wondering at his younger brother’s
expression. Something had changed in him. “What’s with you?”

Rick’s grin widened. “None of your business.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed. “Does it have something to do with a
certain petite, blonde young woman?”

Rick looked like a little boy who’d just discovered there
was one more cookie in the cookie jar. “Yeah. But that’s for later. Today is
about Patrick.”

Matt rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. “Sorry, man.” He walked up
to Patrick. “This is your day. Don’t let me mess this up for you.”

Patrick clapped Matt on the shoulder. “No chance of that.
Not a chance. I’m the happiest man in the world.”

The wedding went off without a hitch. Matt walked Melanie
down the aisle and they watched Patrick and Danelle take their vows. Rick and
Lena had dreamy looks, if they could be called that. Yep, something had
definitely changed between those two, and he couldn’t understand it.
Considering the way they’d parted on Thanksgiving Day he figured any chance of
those two hooking up had gone right into the crapper.

He’d made it through the toughest part of the
ceremony—making sure he didn’t lose the ring. To him the ceremony zipped along,
and the limo trip over to the reception at the old Sandberg Hotel went fast
too.

“Hey, everyone,” the DJ said as Danelle and Patrick finished
a dance. “Time for the bridal party to get on the floor.”

As the man put on an old seventies love song, Melanie met
Matt on the dance floor. She placed her hand in his and his fingers swallowed
hers up. A long, deep shiver racked him. God, she affected him way too much.
How the hell could he ignore this attraction? He couldn’t while she looked at
him with those dark chocolate eyes filled with interest and…what? Admiration?
He wondered if his eyes held the same. She looked magnificent in shimmering
blue. Unlike many bridesmaid dresses, this one was cut with a flattering fit
over Melanie’s nicely curved body. It clung to her breasts and hips but wasn’t
too tight, the design simple and not too frilly. Long sleeved and cut just
below the knees, it flattered her without taking anything away from the bride’s
beautiful off-the-shoulder dress. Lena and Kathleen wore the same dress as
Melanie but in a pink color. Rick and Jake had already started dancing with
Lena and Kathleen.

Matt didn’t draw Melanie as close as he wanted. He was
already getting hot just watching her walk across the dance floor.

“Well, we survived that,” she said as the music smoothed
around them.

“It was a beautiful wedding.”

Her gaze snapped to his and her delicate brows came
together. “It was. The week’s almost over.”

She sounded down and he understood the feeling. He’d tried
to shake the mood himself and so far hadn’t succeeded.

“Yeah.” What else could he say? A thousand thoughts ran
through his head and none of them would form into a coherent sentence.

“What time do you leave in the morning?” she asked.

“About oh-six-hundred. It’s a long drive.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Getting a good night’s sleep, I hope.”

A shadow crossed her face, and he didn’t like it.

One slow dance evolved into another and when he looked
around he realized the rest of the bridal party had fallen into the same
pattern. It was if they were all taking a last dance before the show was over.
At the same time, he couldn’t deny the heat simmering between him and Melanie
as they turned about the dance floor. She felt so warm and delicious he wanted
to taste her then and there. Instead he drew her closer and closer yet. They
molded together like two puzzle pieces and the loneliness inside him threatened
to take his knees out.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked in her ear.

She drew back a little and gazed into his eyes, her voice
soft. “Getting a good night’s sleep, I hope.”

Before he could say anything else, Patrick cut in. He
planned on dancing with all the ladies and Danelle planned on dancing with the
men. Matt danced with almost every woman in the room before he noticed Melanie
had departed without saying goodbye to him.

* * * * *

That was that.

Danelle’s words rang in Melanie’s head as she walked into
her apartment and closed the door. Today’s wedding had promised to be a happy
day but unfortunately it had crumbled under her. Like a zombie she walked to
her bedroom, her eyes swimming with tears. She’d told Danelle that she was
feeling a bit under the weather and had cut out before anyone else could waylay
her. She’d had a terrible feeling if she said goodbye to Matt she’d do
something perfectly moronic like dissolve into tears. And she’d be damned if
she’d do anything to spoil Danelle and Patrick’s special day.

She stripped off her maid-of-honor dress, showered and put
on an old gray sweatsuit. She couldn’t put words to how she felt. At the least,
annoyed with herself for getting too damn attached to Matt Frasier. At the
most, bereft at the thought of not seeing him again. Yeah, that was her
problem. She was going to miss him like hell.

God, she hated this. She wanted, more than anything, to time
travel to right after the shooting in the mall. She’d kiss Matt good night at
her apartment door and never allow him inside. Done. Over. Nothing invested but
gratitude for his heroism and friendship.

“Who am I kidding?”

Who indeed? She’d wanted Matt fiercely and he’d wanted her.
She’d
thought
she could get away with sex for pleasure without emotional
attachment. She’d never been more wrong about anything in her life. Of course
she was envious and happy that Danelle and Patrick had found each other and
would be off to their honeymoon cruise to Nassau tomorrow. That didn’t for a
minute banish the lump in her throat or the watery eyes. She refused to sob
like a baby, though, and took action.

She wandered out to the living room and stood in the middle,
unsure what she wanted to do. Make a snack?
No.
Read?
Hell no.
She knew she’d read the same page over a half-dozen times without recording a
single concept. Indecisiveness pissed her off too, and so she made a decision.
She opened the cabinet under her television and selected a Blu-ray. Her
favorite weepy, romantic, awesome movie with Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler,
P.S.
I Love You.
She popped it into the Blu-ray player and flopped onto the
couch with a box of tissues. She never made it through this movie without
buckets of tears, and she knew tonight would be no exception.

When the doorbell rang an hour later she was into full
crying mode. Tears ran down her face like a faucet but she wasn’t sobbing. She
mopped at her face with a wad of tissues, knowing she must look horrible. It
was probably Kathleen or Lena checking up on her. She looked through the
peephole and froze to the spot.

Matt.

Damn. She hesitated. Part of her was annoyed and the other
happy as hell. What was he doing here? She glanced at the clock on the wall. It
was getting late. The doorbell rang again.

He stood with his hands stuffed on his hips. He still wore
his tux but his short hair stuck up in places. She took a deep breath and
opened the door.

“Matt.”

His eyes were bleak, as if he’d just gone through something
draining. “Hey. I know it’s late but…”

His gaze danced over her, his brow furrowing as if he was
examining a creature of interest.

Worry immediately gripped her. “What’s wrong?”