Chapter 11 Letty
LETTY
The whole way to my apartment, Matthew’s hand has been holding mine. The one time I needed both hands to respond to a text message, he slid his palm to my thigh, his long and thick fingers wrapping around the inside, holding a piece of me.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you up?
” Matthew asks, sliding into a parking spot right in front of the apartment.
Never before have I gotten this close at any time of day or night.
Yet the parking gods are working in his favor, and today, with my heavy bags, I’ll take the luck.
And with a day like today, even more so.
“I won’t be but a few minutes.” I know it’s bothering him that I won’t let him carry up my bags, but it will literally take me less than five minutes.
I’ll be in and out, have the groceries put away fairly quickly, and then go into my room, where I keep my cash squirreled away.
The cash I earn in tips from Twisted Oak, as well as the cleaning company, doesn’t go to the bank.
It goes in a sealed bag, taped beneath a few drawers throughout my room.
I even have one beneath the box spring. I learned my lesson after the last situation at my old place.
And while Mischa and Liv have never given me a reason to question my trust in them, I’m not one to take chances.
“Alright, I’ll ask Colt if your car made it to his shop while you do your thing.
Call me, and if you’re not back within fifteen minutes, I’m coming up.
” Matthew isn’t handling my tires being flat very well and has been exceptionally quiet on the short ride to my apartment.
I get it, my own stomach is doing a topsy turvy, going through every scenario possible at what it could mean.
“Okay, I probably won’t take that long. Do you by chance know about how much new tires are going to run me?” I’d much rather not walk around with more cash than necessary.
“Probably around five hundred or so. Colt will give you a deal on mounting and balancing them. The tires itself is what will cost the most.” I swallow down the lump in the back of my throat. There goes a class at the community college when I’m finally able to use my real credentials.
“Thanks. I might not have said that yet, or enough. To be honest, everything feels kind of jumbled right now, but I want you to know I’m really grateful.” My seatbelt is already off, and I’m facing him now with one leg crossed beneath the other.
“Kitten, you’ve thanked me, apologized to me.
The only appreciation I ever need or want is the knowledge that you’ll call me when you’re in a situation like this.
Now, you want to show me even more, you can let me finally get a taste of your lips.
” My spine tingles, and goose bumps cover every surface of my skin.
The slight nod I give Matthew is the only answer he needs.
His hand cups my neck, and with some guidance, he pulls me in close, I willingly follow.
The minute his soft lips land on mine, my eyes close.
A soft moan escapes me, a spark igniting with each brush of his mouth whispering against mine.
Matthew coaxes more out of me. For a second, I’m not sure what to do with my hands, until I feel his fingers gently massaging my flesh while the other one does something similar to my hip.
“Open for me, kitten. Slide your tongue along mine.” Matthew’s voice turns needy, much like my body is for him.
I’m up on my knees, hovering above the center console, and my hands move to his shoulders as I do exactly as he says.
The kiss turns from soft and sweet to dangerously hot in less than a minute.
Suddenly, I’m aware of everything: our mingling breaths, our strokes matching one another, and our hands itching to do a heck of a lot more than holding on to the other.
Matthew pulls back, causing the spark he’d only just lit to slowly fade. It’s probably for the best, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
“I knew you’d be addictive,” he admits, nostrils flaring and lips wet from our kiss. I’m tempted to dip my head and tuck my hair behind my ear, except I don’t want to miss the look that’s on his handsome face.
“Yeah.” Words aren’t easy to come by, but luckily, Matthew doesn’t hold it against me.
“You'd better get in your apartment, Letty. If not, I’m liable to do a whole fuck of a lot more where your neighbors can see everything I want to do to you.” His words have the opposite effect. My nipples pebble, my core aches, and my panties are drenched.
“Okay, I’ll be fast.” I take a leap of faith and press my lips against his for a moment before backing away.
My butt meets the passenger seat, then my hand gathers the bags while the other opens the door.
My eyes look at Matthew. There’s one thing about hearing what I do to this strong man, it’s another entirely getting to see it for myself with my own eyes.
Which is why I’m glued to the package he has pressed beneath the dark denim wash of his jeans.
“Kitten.” His warning doesn’t do much. I lick my lips, toss a quick smile at him, and then move as fast as I can in order to get what I need done and come back to him.
I’m nearly at a run with how fast I’m walking, taking the steps just as quickly when I come up on them.
I go through the paces of situating all the bags in one hand to wrestle the deadbolt and door handle.
I’ve apparently decided to throw caution to the wind since Matthew met me at the grocery store.
I shouldn’t let my guard all the way down yet, except the sensation of someone watching or following me has disappeared, making me think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do some research of my own.
Maybe the threat is gone, and I can finally go back to living a normal life.
I push my way inside, using my hip to close the door, then engage the lock and forgo kicking off my shoes even though I spent hours cleaning the apartment.
I’m on a mission, so I head directly to the kitchen, where I place the bags on the counter and pull the food out, setting the refrigerator stuff to one side and the pantry items to the other.
This way, I’m not going back and forth like a turkey with its head cut off.
I glance at the clock, realizing five minutes have passed, which means I’ve got the rest of the time to head to my bedroom and grab the money.
As I’m moving that way, my phone buzzes in the purse I have draped across my body. I pull out the device, looking down at the screen as I’m walking, and see that it’s my roommates responding to my earlier text.
Mischa: So sorry, just saw your text. Is everything okay?
Me: No need to apologize. Unexpected car issues, but I have it figured out, and it’s at the shop now.
Liv: Shit, that’s the worst. I’m sorry, too. Is there anything I can do to help?
Me: All good here. Thank you, though! Enjoy the rest of your weekend <3
I back out of the app, hit the lock button on the side, and put it back in the pocket inside my purse where it belongs. I’m going to need both hands in order to get on the ground, slither beneath my bed, and detach what I need. And with that, I get down to business once again.
“Did you get everything done?” Matthew asks as I slide into the passenger seat.
“Yep.” I grab the side of my purse, lift it off, and set it down on the floorboard.
“Alright. Colt called me. He said it’s going to take a couple more hours until the tires are delivered to the shop. I figure we can go back to my place and order food until he’s finished.” His hand returns to my thigh once we’re heading out of my apartment parking lot.
“Umm, why would you order when you have a fridge and freezer full of food?” I’m also of the notion of telling him to turn back around.
There’s plenty of food I just bought. Then again, I have no idea what time my roommates will be home, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t think a meal consists of yogurt, lunch meat, cheese, and some fruit in his eyes.
“Kitten, there are a lot of things I can do in life. Cooking isn’t one of them. You’re the only one who uses the kitchen.” A good type of feeling settles in my stomach.
“Then what do you do on the days I’m not there to make you dinner?” I place my hand on top of his.
“Pick something up, eat at one of the guys' houses, and mooch off my parents. My mom is still sorely disappointed I can’t cook. She tried her hardest to teach me, but nothing helped. A lot of it probably has to do with my attention span. A phone call or email has me thinking about other shit. Then there’s the fact that it’s only me, hard to justify getting the kitchen dirty and making too much for it to go to waste.
At least when you cook, there’s enough for yourself, too. ”
“Oh, well, I guess that makes sense.” I bite the inside of my cheek, wondering if what I’m going to suggest next would be a good idea or teetering on the edge of overstepping.
I’m going for it. Spending an exuberant amount of money on groceries only to eat out is frivolous in my eyes. “I could always make dinner?”
Matthew’s eyes are on the road, allowing me to study his profile and see the upturn of his lips.
Today, he’s in a relaxed style, a black polo, dark wash denims that fit him to utter perfection, loose but cupping him in all the right ways, and a pair of sneakers.
This is my first time seeing him in such a relaxed state, and I find that I really enjoy it.
Don’t get me wrong. The three-piece suits are hotter than hell, match his personality completely in what I can only imagine is a dominating personality in and out of the courtroom, and I’m sure he turns heads anytime he enters a room.
“I’d like that.” He glances over at me with a wolfish smile full of promises, which further proves my point about the dominance he exudes.
“I’m not sure we’re talking about food anymore.
” I can feel the effect he has on me take over.
I’m back in my bed, his voice rasping over my skin even though we were only connected by the telephone.
My core pulses, I’m soaked without so much as a touch, and my breathing quickens, nipples tightening.
The only thing I can do to hold myself together is to close my eyes.
Which sadly means losing Matthew’s gaze, but if I don’t, I’m going to do something reckless.
Like beg him to pull over on the side of the road, climb over the center console, and plant myself in his lap.
Where things go from there will no doubt be in Matthew’s court.
“We definitely aren’t. The only thing I’m hungry for is a taste of you, kitten.
” His hand slides up my thigh, and a shiver rolls through my body the closer his thick fingers move to my center.
“Open your thighs for me, Letty. Let me feel you. I bet you’re wet.
So close already, and I’ve barely touched you.
” I do as he says, keeping my hand on top of his when he cups my pussy.
He doesn’t do anything else, just holds me there. “Fuck, kitten, you’re drenched.”
“Matthew,” I sigh his name.
“That’s not what you call me when we’re alone.”
“Daddy.” I rock my hips, silently begging for more.
“Hold that thought, kitten.” His phone rings through the speakers, and the name on the screen is one I’ve recognized before. Sadly, I lose Matthew’s hand when he presses the button on the screen and immediately answers, “Hey, Jude, you’re on speakerphone.”
“Hi, Letty. Matthew. Everything good, or do you need reinforcements?” Jude dives right in.
“Hi, Jude,” I respond. The last thing I want to be is rude. I almost snort because it rhymes, Jude and rude. Luckily, I hold back my one-sided humor.
“All is good. Colt is working on her car as we speak. We’re pulling into the building now.
” They talk for a few minutes. I listen with half an ear and watch as Matthew handles his big SUV with care and precision.
Each floor seems to pass by in a blur, and it’s not until he parks that I realize how long it’s been since I’ve been a passenger, another one of those worries that disappear when Matthew’s around.
I realize I’m falling more and more for the man beside me.