CHAPTER 22
SIERRA
Matty Evans’s love language was physical touch.
It wasn’t hard to learn that since his hand was always on a part of my body.
Either holding my hand like I was going to disappear any moment or gathering me in his arms like I was an extension of him.
I didn’t care. I loved every second of it.
We’d been on two dates already.
On his insistence that we must go out because that was what couples did, and he wanted to do everything the right way.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a manual he followed for everything in his life, but then I loved going out with him, so I didn’t complain.
Our first date was a beautiful dinner at a restaurant that looked more like a midsummer garden filled with sweet-smelling flowers, and his second date took me by complete surprise when he took me to a rare gaming convention that was super hard to get tickets to. Even as a player, I couldn’t score one, but he did.
For me.
Matty courted me like how a charming prince would woo a lady, but he didn’t have to do any of that. He had to know that I was a goner already.
Like a ship broken in half in the middle of a tumultuous ocean, slowly sinking into the deep underwater.
Dark and unknown, yet silent and calm.
Our next date was probably going to be my favorite.
We were flying down to LA next week because the Four Foxes had a show, and Matty wanted me there with him.
Because, according to his exact words, he couldn’t stay a second away from me, and again, I wasn’t complaining one bit because I got to see him play live, and I couldn’t stay away either.
I thought I was obsessed before, but now I was addicted.
Who knew the grumpy, quiet man would become this obsessed with a loudmouthed girl like me?
My insides were already squirming thinking of his beautiful face lit up by the spotlights, while sweat drenched him every inch of his tanned skin, his hands hammering over the drums in a perfectly choreographed dance.
I didn’t know if I was going to lose myself in his music or gawk at him like a horny lover girl.
Probably both.
Definitely both.
“Easy,” I mumbled with a grin just as the game ended.
“Because I have you.” His words brushed across my neck in a hot whisper, and I shivered—a shiver so intense that I felt it in every single cell in my body.
I was currently situated on his lap, his hard bricks of muscles forming a protective wall around me. Like a safe cocoon, and it was soon becoming my favorite place on earth.
“Another game?” he asked.
I wasn’t much for controller gaming, but I was still good at it.
I would say yes to anything he asked.
Plus, the couch was the only place that could fit us both, and I thought gaming with Matty virtually was the most fun I’d ever had, but gaming with him in real life was something else.
He wasn’t just a quiet voice in my headphones anymore. He was here with me, his arms looped around my waist like a band. His solid biceps flexed with every move he made, and I could feel it all, touching and burning through my skin.
“Or do you want to do something else?”
“Like what?” I peered at him over my shoulder.
A dark glint gleamed in his eyes as they dropped straight to my lips before meeting my eyes.
“I was thinking we could go to the music room and hang out there a bit,” he whispered, gliding soft kisses along my jawline.
Molten heat flared up my chest, and a soft gasp left my lips as I trailed fingernails over the smooth, dark-blond buzz over his head. It fit perfectly for him, the definition of it bringing out his sharp nose, his rugged jaw, and brooding eyes.
“I get to see you play?” I asked, excitement leaking into my veins. I’d never been to the music room nor heard him play. It was heavily soundproofed, and I could hardly hear a thing when I tried to eavesdrop once.
“Sure.” He shrugged, tossing the controller, and lifted us off the couch. “Come on,” Matty said, his arms clutched around my chest like a warm blanket while he urged me forward.
“Really?” I asked, my voice full of wonderment. “I get my own performance?”
“You’re my girlfriend, of course you do.” His whisper sent a wave of tingles all over me as he walked us, still holding me from behind.
I don’t think I will ever get tired of hearing him call me his girlfriend.
My heart melted like a soft puddle on a rainy day.
“I’m so excited that my inner fangirl is screaming. I’ve never seen you play live before, and that’s on top of my bucket list.”
“You’re going next week,” he mumbled, just as we made it outside his music room.
“Yeah, I can’t wait. I’m going to be wearing a T-shirt with your face on it,” I said, flashing him a wide smile.
A low groan rumbled from his chest, and I could feel the vibrations down my spine. “You’re not allowed to smile like that for anyone else, you hear me?”
I chuckled as he pulled me in.
It felt like I’d entered another planet when I stepped inside.
The room was cast in an amber glow, the walls padded and soft in dark coloring, the floors carpeted in soft beige. Three drum kits stood in a triangle. They were all different, gleaming in shades of gold and silver, and appeared to be too expensive to touch.
Like a state-of-the-art studio.
The far side wall was the same floor-to-ceiling window that carried through the entire apartment, and the wall opposite the drums was dark wooden shelves showcasing random possessions.
My feet ambled past the drumsticks display to the photo frames, and my hand reached the first one that caught my attention.
It was a younger version of him. I would hardly have recognized him if it hadn’t been for those sad green eyes. He was so small and lanky, unlike the larger-than-life presence looming over my shoulder. Another older-looking boy, a few feet taller than him, probably in his late teens, stood next to him, sporting a wide grin.
I didn’t have to ask to know who that was.
“That’s Truman,” I whispered. “I thought he was your age.”
“No,” Matty replied in a deep, solemn tone. “He was ten years older than me.”
“What happened to him? I mean, I know he passed away, but how?”
“He was never going to make it.” Matty inhaled slowly. “He had a genetic disorder, the same as Emmie’s uncle, only his was more aggressive. They went to the same clinic. It was through him, I met Emmie and Mikey. In a way, he led me to my destiny.”
“How did you meet Truman?”
“He was a senior at the high school next door. I used to be a delinquent, a troubled kid who was always angry at the world, so one day my frustrations just got the best of me, and I decided to sneak into the high school building and ended up right outside the music room, and that’s how I met him.” Nostalgia weaved through his voice like a crestfallen whisper.
“I find that hard to believe. You? A naughty child?” I tried to add lightness to my tone because I didn’t like the sadness in his eyes.
“Yeah,” he said, sighing. “But he changed me. Taught me life was so much more than the… defects we had. He put the first pair of drumsticks in my hands. I didn’t listen at first and argued like a brat. But something about the look in his eyes told me to take it. There wasn’t pity in them, just simple interest, and for the next twenty minutes, I played what would probably be the worst off-beat rhythm I’d ever played. But he never judged. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a purpose. After that, I just wanted to learn everything about the drums and spent every second of the day consumed in it.”
“And now you’re the best drummer in the world,” I said softly, my voice filled with pride.
A faint flush of red swept his cheeks. “No, not the best in the world,” he mumbled.
“I’m going to disagree,” I replied, leaping to my feet as I planted a soft kiss on his cheek. “To me, you are.”
Something unfamiliar crossed his eyes, and his hand shot up to keep me in place while he bent lower and slammed his lips over mine.
Even on the balls of my feet, my head only came up under his chin. I curled my hands over his neck as he deepened his kiss like I was the cure for his starved lungs.
“I really, really like you, Sierra. I have no fucking clue what you’re doing to me, but I like it.”
I licked my lips, blushing. “I do too,” I whispered. “Now, do I get my personal concert?”
“Yes.” His lips twitched before he ruffled my hair and pressed a kiss on my head. “And, you ma’am, sit right here.” He pushed me down onto the stool before he padded to the throne seat on the pitch-black drum kit with gold accents.
I couldn’t keep the beaming smile on my lips as I leaned closer and propped my chin on my fist.
My inner fangirl was dancing on top of the roof right now.
“Ready?” he asked, rolling the drumsticks in his hands like a well-versed magician as he slid a glance my way, fixing me with his piercing greens.
My breath hitched as I nodded, my throat suddenly dry.
A knowing smile lifted his lips before the sticks met the drums in a rhythmic pattern over and over again like the crash of the waves, the notes striking the air, creating the most beautiful sounds that floated through the room, swallowing my soul.
I was mesmerized just watching him.
The tight roll of his upper lip, the serious glint in his eyes, and the focused lines over the creases of his eyes made him breathtakingly beautiful.
I didn’t know how the time slipped, but it was over thirty minutes when he finished with the last beat, which cracked right through my heart like a hot knife.
“That was beautiful,” I whispered.
“Come here.” He gestured with a nod.
“Okay,” I muttered, skipping to his side with glee.
His hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me into his lap, facing the kit.
My arms looped around his for support as I lifted my chin at him over my shoulder. “What are we doing?” I quipped, wiggling my brows. “Am I going to be the next member of the Four Foxes?”
“If you want to be, you little fox,” he teased.
“Give me that.” My lips tugged into a mischievous grin as I stole one of the drumsticks from him and banged it on the shiny plate-like thing for a few beats, and a high-pitched sound slithered through the room like a jarring door hinge. “Do I qualify?” I raised a brow.
“No.”
I pouted, batting my eyelashes.
“As adorable as you are.” He bit the shell of my ear, picking up my fingers. “And as beautiful and talented as these fingers are, that was horrible.”
“You can’t say things like that to your girlfriend.”
With a slight shake of his head, he closed his hand over mine and maneuvered it over the drums. “I’ll teach you,” he mumbled, hitting them in a sequence. “One, two, three, four on the high hat,” he instructed, hitting the same shiny plate I had hit, but his sound was more measured and softer. “Then, the snare on every second and fourth beat and the bass with your feet on every first and third.”
And I watched intently, giving it all my focus. I wasn’t one to pay attention to class, but this class, you bet all your money I’m going to get an A+.
He slowly demonstrated it one more time, and for some reason, my brain captured the pattern with ease.
“You try?” He nudged the sticks toward me.
I nodded, taking it as I retraced the pattern in my head.
“Like this?” I asked, biting my lip as my hands worked through the rhythm, counting the beats exactly like he told me.
Maybe it was years of gaming practice or building strategies with my mind, but I got hold of the beat pretty easily, and my brain coordinated with the sound in perfect sync.
A proud glint coated his eyes as he regarded me. “My girl playing the drums is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” He traced his nose along the side of my neck. “Keep going,” he urged, his palms splaying over the small of my waist.
They were so big and warm that they swallowed me completely.
My next inhale caught in my throat as the hands explored further, only this time under my hoodie, touching my skin. I could feel the flames of his touch dripping into my bare skin, and I stilled, my drumsticks an inch away from the snare.
“If you stop, I’m stopping,” he ordered, his voice so deep and low that I had squeezed my thighs together.
I swallowed as my arms moved once again over the drums at a slow, steady pace while my blood filled with anticipation.
Soon, my breath came out in ragged gasps and laced with the heavy echo of the drums as I tried hard to keep up.
His touch left a path of desire as they roamed over the curves of my hips to my waist over and over again, barely evading my heavy, aching breasts.
“So soft,” he muttered, his nose digging into my hair as he breathed me in, his fingers threaded a little higher, right underneath the band of my sports bra.
I jumped, the motion landing me right on the hard lump between his thighs. A loud gasp left my lips as my heated core searched for some relief by rocking against him.
A hiss escaped his lips as he held me in place. “Careful, firecracker. You’re testing my very last patience to bend you over my drums and fuck you raw.”
God.
“I don’t want to hurt you with my big cock for your first time.”
Crackles of warmth spread across my core, drenching my panties in seconds, my heart fluttering a beat I didn’t recognize.
“It could be my second…or my third,” I mustered a confident tone, but it came out more like a desperate rasp. “How would you know?”
“You’re writhing like a virgin on my lap, firecracker…Even if it wasn’t, it will be like your first fucking time when my cock opens up your pretty pussy.”
My lungs were on blazing fire, and I had no fucking words.
Who knew the grumpy with a four-word vocabulary could have such a filthy mouth?
“Now, go on, play it faster.”
I nodded, my teeth sinking into my lips as I subjected my arms to move faster, but the quick transition messed up the flow, and that wasn’t the only distraction.
Matty’s hand now escaped under my bra line, and he glided his rough thumb over the swell of my right breast, emitting shivers in its wake.
No one has touched me like that before, and I wanted more. I needed more.
I needed him .
“Uh-oh, you missed a beat.” One of his hands leaped higher before they circled my neck, squeezing over my delicate veins. “You need to be punished, don’t you, firecracker?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Continue,” he commanded, his big hand still curled around my neck.
The sound of wonky beats filled the air once again as I dragged my heavy arms over the rhythm.
The scruff of his jawline grazed my neck as his fingers peeked inside my bra and pulled my rock-hard nipple, tingling and standing tall for his attention. His rough fingers clamped over it and tugged it hard, and a moan ripped from my throat.
“You like that?”
I nodded.
“In words,” he growled, pulling them harder so that the edge of his fingernail grazed over the tip of my nipple, and a wave of delirious pleasure crashed through my body.
“Yes, Matty,” I moaned while my shaky hands tried to keep up with the rhythm.
“Good girl,” he praised, continuing to torture my breasts, my modest B-cups fit perfectly inside his large hands as he twisted and squeezed and played with them while I played his drums with a heady rush, mindless.
The drums clashed hard, matching the indescribable sounds leaving my mouth.
“I wonder how they would look like when I fuck you hard. Will they be pretty, bouncing for me?”
“Oh God, Matty.”
“Yes, scream. This room is soundproofed, so no one can hear a thing.”
His left hand was still torturing my breasts while his right descended lower and lower till his fingers slipped inside the waistband of my shorts. “Do you know how fucking crazy these shorts drive me?”
“N-No.”
“I want to either tear them to shreds or burn them,” he said just as he scraped the rough tips of his fingers over my sensitive clit.
The drumsticks dropped from my hand and hit the high hat with a thundering bang.
He stilled, halting his touch, and a frustrated sigh rolled out my lips.
“Please,” I breathed.
“No, rules are meant to be followed.” He produced another pair from the side and folded my fingers over them. “Play.” He gestured to his drum kit as I watched him moon-eyed. “And I get to play with you.”
“But tha…that’s not fair.”
His tongue swirled around the shell of my ear. “Is it not? Do as I say, Sierra, or you’re not getting anything from me.”
My weak-boned arms moved once again over the drums. The repetitive pattern was already ingrained in my brain that my hands moved on their own accord.
His hands returned once again to their previous position, one molding against my breast like he was using them for his personal pleasure, and the other exploring under my drenched panties.
“You’re so slick and wet for me, aren’t you?” His fingers roughly stroked my folds over and over again, missing the spot I actually needed his touch. “Your pussy is pouring for me, firecracker.”
My head fell back on his chest, and I gave zero care as I thrashed the drums.
“Now for the best part,” he rasped in my ears, and I shivered. My nose grazed along his chest, his strong, manly, woody scent dripping into my body.
I loved every bit of it.
His finger rubbed over my tight opening, introducing an inch of his thick, long finger.
“So warm and tight.” He plunged in another inch and another before his finger was fully seated inside me, and he held it there just like that.
My lungs fought for air as I lifted my ass, grounding for some relief.
“Eyes on me,” he commanded.
I slowly dragged my eyes to his sea-green ones, so full of possessiveness. Like they were trying to convey that I only belonged to him and him alone.
“Good,” he whispered against my lips before capturing my heaving lower lip between his teeth. I could barely notice the sting of their sharpness because my body was consumed by him.
All of him.
His finger inside me started to move slowly, up and down till the edge, and back inside, up and down before he picked up his pace, fucking me with it.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous.” He traced his tongue over my lips, melting the sting of his bite but rolled them back between his teeth like he was sucking on his favorite fruit.
“Matty.” My eyes widened when he tried to weave another finger inside me. “It’s too much.”
“But you can take it.” He gathered my wetness, rocking his finger. The second finger slipped right in, and my toes curled at the euphoric ecstasy that fired my nerves. “You can take all of me, Sierra.”
And I did. My pussy latched onto his fingers as they drove inside me, slower at first and then picked up to an intensifying pace that caused dizzying spots to crowd the edge of my vision.
Only a second later, his thumb brushed over my clit, and my thighs squeezed together.
I screamed his name, and the drumsticks finally fell from my hand in a soft thud as my vision blinded. The rise of the pleasure broke into a beautiful orgasm, its waves crashing over my core like a blissful symphony.
“Yes, firecracker, come for me, baby.”
I was a shaking, shuddering mess as the high left my body, my muscles dissolving like a hot, molten wax.
“Shh, I got you.” Matty’s strong hands wrapped around me as he held me to his chest in a tight grip. “I got you, baby.” His lips peppered soft kisses all over my face as I blinked my eyes open, still breathing hard.
“Hey, there,” he whispered, gliding a slow thumb over my lips while he continued his kisses.
“Hi,” I muttered, suddenly feeling shy as heat scorched my cheeks and made my throat dry.
“Fuck, you’re too beautiful to be mine.”
“But I am,” I said quietly as my forehead met his. “And I always will be.”
His eyes softened like molten pools of adoration. “Good.”