Matchmaker - Chapter 41
Friday
I pulled out my phone, ignored the unread messages from Poppy, and shot Nigel a text. “I need your help with something.”
His response came immediately. “Mr. Caldwell? Is that you?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be right there. I just need to dry off.”
I hoped he meant he’d been swimming again. And not that he was bathing and texting me right now. Or something somehow worse than that. “No need. I can just text you,” I wrote back.
“I only need 15 minutes. Please, Mr. Caldwell. Let me come to you. Let me serve you properly.”
First I had to see if he could even help. “Do you have connections to other house managers?” I wasn’t really sure of Nigel’s official title. Surely he didn’t consider himself a houseboy or whatever Tanner called him.
“Every single one on the Upper East Side,” he replied. “And several others. And all of them know several others. I have access to anyone you desire. At a moment’s notice.”
“Do you know Poppy Cannavaro’s house manager?”
“Yes, sir.”
Perfect. I really hoped I wouldn’t regret this. “Great. I’m at James’ place.”
“I know.”
Creepy. “I’ll meet you outside in 15 then.”
“I won’t be tardy.”
I have no idea why, but I had a feeling he’d resisted texting, “And if I am tardy, punish me.” I shoved my phone into my pocket and headed back out into the great room. I glanced at the texts from Poppy. Two just asking me when I was coming. I shot her one back saying I’d be there in an hour.
Kennedy was laughing when I walked out of the kitchen and I couldn’t ignore how that sound warmed my heart.
“I never called you Tiger,” Kennedy said.
“I swear you did,” Rob said. “Homecoming sophomore year. You were plastered and you called me Tiger and rawred at me. Legit rawred.”
“Oh God.” Kennedy cringed. “I really don’t remember much about that night. But I do vaguely remember hearing about something like that.”
Rob laughed. “Don’t be embarrassed. I know I’m the hottest of the four of us. I don’t blame you for having a thing for me back then.”
Kennedy looked over at me. And she didn’t need to say it. I could see it all over her face. She didn’t think Rob was the hottest. She thought I was.
“Sorry to cut the night short,” I said. “But I have to get going. Kennedy, can I walk you out?”
“Yeah, sure.” She stood up. “It was really nice seeing you guys again. We definitely need to do this again sometime.”
“Anytime,” Mason said. “I’m so glad you’re back in the city.” He hugged her goodbye, giving me a not at all subtle thumbs up behind Kennedy’s back.
She gave hugs to everyone else too. Tanner whispered something in her ear and her face flushed.
Seriously, what kind of stuff had he been saying to her all night?
“Later, guys,” I said as Kennedy joined me by my side. I didn’t care that we’d just told all of them we were friends. I put my arm around her shoulders as I led her to the door. Friends did that too, right?
“You’re really bad at this,” Kennedy said as we stopped in front of the elevator.
“At what?”
“The friends thing.” She lifted my arm off of her.
“Friends touch each other too,” I said.
She laughed. “Not the way you want to touch me.”
I smiled. “And how do you think I want to touch you?”
She rolled her eyes and stared at the elevator doors. “I think Tanner’s right about you.”
“What did Tanner say about me?”
“Oh, a lot of things. He was wingmanning hard for you tonight. I like him. He’s an interesting guy.”
“That he is.”
“And the things he was saying were particularly interesting.”
“Are you going to make me beg you to tell me what lies he was spewing?” I asked.
“Lies? I highly doubt that he said anything untruthful.” The smile playing at the corner of her mouth was driving me insane.
All I wanted to do was kiss it right off her face. I was having an increasingly hard time keeping my hands to myself. “What did he say?”
The elevator doors dinged open.
She walked in backward so she could keep her eyes trained on mine. “That you’re madly, desperately, insanely in love with me.”
The doors started to close and I quickly hopped in, closing the distance between us.
She stepped to the side, trying to move away from me.
But I kept advancing until her back was pressed against the side of the elevator.
I couldn’t even be mad at Tanner. Because Kennedy was looking up at me like she felt the same way I did.
Her chest rising and falling faster and faster as she stared into my eyes.
“And how did that make you feel?” I asked.
“Terrified.”
I swallowed hard. “Are you scared of me, Kennedy?” I reached out and touched the side of her face. “Or of what we could be?”
“It’s just…what if Tanner’s right? What if it was always supposed to be me and you? And it just took us some time to find our way to each other?”
I knew Tanner had a meddling hand in that.
But I believed it too. She was standing here in front of me for a reason.
There was a reason I couldn’t stop smiling for the first time in years.
There was a reason why it had been easier to breathe since Kennedy had come back into my life.
There was a reason for all of this. There had to be.
My fingers slid to the side of her neck. “What can I do to make you feel less scared?”
She stared at me. “I don’t know.”
“Would it help if I told you I might have a way out of this thing with Poppy? I’m meeting up with a friend tonight.
” Since when had I considered Nigel a friend?
“He has connections all over the city. If anyone can help me dig up dirt on Poppy, it’s him.
I’m going to keep Scarlett safe. And I’m going to get to be with you. You have my word.”
“Well…” she bit the inside of her lip as she looked up at me. “I mean, I guess that makes me feel a little less scared.”
“What else?”
She didn’t say a word.
I smiled at her. “It seems like all you really want is for me to get down on my knees and beg you for information tonight.”
She laughed as I got down on my knees in front of her. I leaned forward and kissed the inside of her thigh, right beneath the hem of her skirt. Her smile faded and her lips parted with a sigh that made me instantly hard.
I kissed a fraction of an inch higher. “Tell me what you want,” I whispered against her thigh. I’d been trying to go slow for her. A whole life of one-night stands made it difficult. I’d been dreaming of this moment. Waiting for her to say she was ready.
She didn’t say a word as I kissed higher, pushing her skirt up her hips.
“Tell me what you need.” I kissed higher still. “Or tell me to stop.” I ran my thumb along the front of her lacy thong. “Just say the words and I’ll stop, baby.”
“Please don’t stop.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
I slowly pushed her thong to the side, letting my thumb brush against her clit.
She shuddered.
“Do you ever touch yourself when you think of me?” I whispered as I slid my index finger along her wetness.
“Yes,” she moaned.
“I thought about you last night when I had my hand wrapped around my cock. About how your lips would feel wrapped around me. Have you thought about my lips on you?”
She gripped the back of my head, pulling me closer.
I took that as another yes. I leaned forward and tasted her for the first time. Fuck. She was so wet for me. I pulled one of her legs over my shoulder to get better access to her. And I tasted and tasted until she was practically shaking in my arms.
The elevator doors started to open. Kennedy stepped away from me. But instead of running out of the elevator she hit the doors closed button. And then hit the emergency button.
I stared at her. With random women, this would normally be the moment I fucked them. Where I told them to turn around and put their hands against the wall. Where I’d try to focus on them for a few minutes instead of the woman who haunted my dreams every night.
But Kennedy wasn’t most women. And she’d be the only one in my dreams tonight. I wanted her to feel safe with me. I wanted her to know that I’d take care of her. Always. I stepped forward, caging her against the wall as I kissed her.
“It’s impossible to resist you,” she said against my lips.
“How hard have you been trying?”
“Really freaking hard, Matt.”
I would have stopped there, just kissing her, but I couldn’t resist going a little further. She’d let me taste her. And I wanted to make her come. I wanted to hear her moan my name. I needed to remind her that we weren’t just friends.
“Spread your legs for me,” I whispered into her ear.
She did as she was told.
I slid one finger inside of her and then another, a whimper escaping from her lips.
“I want you to come for me.” I ran my thumb along her clit.
“And I’m going to make you come like this as many times as it takes for you to trust me.
” I kissed the side of her neck. “Only with my fingers. And my tongue. Until you’re ready for more. ”
“Matt.”
“Until you’re the one kneeling before me begging me for more.” I kissed her hard as her fingers dug into the back of my neck. “Come for me, baby.” I pressed my thumb down on her clit. I felt her tighten around my fingers as her whole body shuddered.
And she chanted my name like I’d just caught a touchdown pass. God I loved hearing her moan my name like that. I ignored the raging erection in my pants as I slowly pulled my fingers out from beneath her skirt.
She was breathing hard. “You.”
I had no idea what she was talking about. So I just stared at her flushed cheeks and mussed up hair. She looked appropriately sated. And I’d be picturing her just like this when I dreamt about her tonight.
“To answer your questions from earlier. About what I need? What I want?” Her eyes searched mine. “You. I think I’ve needed you for years. But I was scared you didn’t need me back.”
“I need you back.”
“As soon as you figure out the Poppy thing? I’ll be waiting for you, Matt.”
I smiled. “To be continued?”
She hit the button to open the doors and then pressed a soft kiss against my lips. “To be continued. Hopefully soon,” she said with a smile. “And next time, I get to please you.” She walked out of the elevator, knowing perfectly well how she’d left me dying for her.
I shifted my erection in my pants, hoping to hide it from the concierge at the front desk. I didn’t make eye contact with him as I hurried outside.
But apparently I’d done a bad job of hiding my erection, because Nigel was waiting for me outside and his eyes traveled right down to my tenting pants.
“Oh,” Nigel said. “This isn’t about my connections is it, Mr. Caldwell? You have something else in mind for us tonight?”
“What? No. I mean, yes, it is about your connections. Eyes up here,” I said.
“Did Master Tanner do that to you again?”
“No.”
Nigel’s eyes traveled down to my groin again.
“Nigel, focus. Like I said, I could have just told you this via text, but you insisted on meeting. I need to find dirt on Poppy. That’s it. I just need something on Poppy that will make her leave me alone.”
“Leave you alone? In what way?”
“In the way of making me not need to fake date her. I just need something that either connects the Pruitts or Cannavaros to murders they’ve been behind. Or money they’ve laundered. Or any laws they’ve broken. Or shady business dealings. Or something. Anything.”
“You’re only faking with her?” he asked, ignoring what I was asking for.
“Yes.” I thought Tanner would have told him that.
Nigel shook his head. “I will take care of it then, Master. I mean, Mr. Caldwell.”
This was getting hella creepy. “Okay, great.”
“Give me 48 hours to serve you.”
“Sure,” I said.
“I’ll make sure to remove your plus one from the modern Thanksgiving feast as well.”
I didn’t bother correcting him. I had a feeling that if he knew about Kennedy, he wouldn’t help me out of this mess with Poppy. And I really needed his help.
“Is there anything else I can help with?” Nigel asked.
If he was talking about helping me with my boner, he actually already had. Talking to him had made it disappear in a flash. “Nope, that’s it.”
“Do you want to share a taxi back home? I have some free time. We could play a round of cards. Or I can draw you a bath and we can chat.”
I couldn’t help but think about the fact that he had time for this but not for helping me move out. That didn’t matter right now though. I needed him to be on my good side, and calling him out would probably not help matters. “I wish I could, Nigel…”
He looked so excited.
“…But I have a stupid date with Poppy tonight. Boy do I wish I had some dirt on her so I wouldn’t have to do stuff like this. And have more time for my new friend.” I lightly tapped him on the shoulder.
He looked more excited than before. “So that we can have more time together.” Nigel nodded. “I will get to work. What time will you be home tonight?”
“Um…midnight?”
“Perfect. I’ll have your bath ready.” He hailed down a taxi.
“Nigel?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for this. I owe you one.” What the hell possessed me to say that? I didn’t want to owe him anything.
“Anything for you, Mr. Caldwell.”
I nodded. “Just email me anything you find out right away.”
“Email? I prefer faxing.”
I just stared at him. “Why? Faxing is the absolute worst.”
“Oh. When did that happen? I thought everyone faxed things.”
“Maybe like twenty years ago.”
Nigel nodded. “Right, faxing is the worst. Don’t you think? It’s terrible. I agree with you 100%. Who would want a piece of paper that you wanted to immediately show up with very little work? Lame.”
Okay.
“But forget texting and stupid faxing. It’s best to do this in person. We don’t want to leave a trail. I’ll text you the time and place we can meet once I find what you are seeking.”
“Sounds good, Nigel.”
A taxi pulled up in front of him. “Have a pleasant evening. Text me if you’ll be late for your evening bath.”
“Will do.” I was pretty sure I’d just promised him a favor. And to meet up with him in 48 hours in some most likely weird way. And that we had another bath date tonight. I shrugged. It was worth it. Getting my life back was worth it. Kennedy was worth it.
Nigel rolled down the window. “And if Master Tanner asks where I am, tell him I’m picking up the dry cleaning. This is going to be our little secret.” He winked at me.
It’s going to be worth it, I reminded myself. I smiled and winked back. For some reason I even pointed finger guns at him. Apparently I’d lost my fucking mind.
He pointed his own back at me. “Pew, pew! Secrets!” He blew on his pointer fingers like his gun was smoking.
I couldn’t even make fun of him. I’d started that weirdness. And now I had a weird secret thing that Nigel and I did together. What had I just done?
The taxi pulled away.
I’d worry about how to get out of a bath chat later. Right now I had to go appease Poppy for the last time.