Chapter Thirty-Two
ALEX
Lying in Matt’s arms is literally the best feeling in the world.
I’ve wanted this for so long, and as I snuggle into his neck, kissing his skin tenderly, he stirs with a slight moan.
He shifts his weight, looking down at me, and smiles.
His eyes sparkle, and he moves his hand out, caressing my cheek.
He then makes a beeline straight for my lips, kissing me without a second’s pause.
Matt’s tongue dances with mine, and his body rolls on top of me, making me giggle against his lips as his morning erection presses into me.
I grin as I kiss him, pressing my hips up and into him, letting him know I’d like to take this further, when he suddenly pulls back, breaking the kiss, and looks at his watch.
He appears startled, then looks back at me. “What time did you say you needed to be at the airport?”
I lazily smile. “In about twenty minutes,” I reply.
He exhales with a huff and jumps off me in a rush, the bed sheet falling from his body as he exits the bed completely naked, and starts moving about the apartment.
“Shit! We’ll never make it on time!” he says while grabbing random things, putting them in boxes as he moves about in a mad dash.
I can’t help but lounge back, watching him with a smirk.
He looks at me and finally stops his movement with a scowl. “Why the hell aren’t you getting up?”
I shrug. “Because I’m not going,” I reply matter-of-factly.
He stands taller, and his eyes light up like all his Christmases have come at once. “You’re not?”
Shaking my head, I raise on my elbows. “Nope! Canceled it all while you were snoring in my ear.”
He lets out a bemused laugh and drops the pile of clothes that were in his hands, storming back to the bed. He grins, crawling on the bed and over the top of me. I fall back to the mattress, running my hands up his arms as he looks into my eyes.
“Shit, woman, are you joking with me?” he asks, planting firm kisses all over my collarbone and neck, making me giggle.
“No jokes. I just hope Nate will have me back. I fucked him around and treated him like crap for the last three weeks, so I hope he’ll forgive me.”
He kisses up my jaw, then pulls his head back, looking into my eyes. “I’ll talk to him. Let him know we’re all good and that he needs you back. Because the guy you hired is a pompous asshole, and you’re the only girl for his gallery. Wait, we are all good, right?”
Nodding, I run my hands through his hair and pull him so his lips are about to touch mine. “Yeah, we’re great, but I could really go for a breakfast burrito.”
He chuckles and nods. “God, I’ve missed you,” he says, then slams his lips to mine, kissing me fiercely.
Instinctively, I open my legs, and he settles between them.
His body molds against me, and I hold onto him for dear life.
Then, without another word, he pushes up and into me, in one firm thrust.
Pulling him closer, I secure my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I can’t get enough of this, of him. The growl he releases against my mouth tells me he needs me just as much.
One thing’s for sure—I’m never letting him go again.
***
We pull up at the gallery. I’m pissed off, and we haven’t even entered it yet. Francois has the signage set up all wrong. Idiot.
How stupid can one man be?
I told him, showed him… gah!
“I should never have hired that guy,” I murmur to myself as Matt and I get out of the car and head toward the store.
Matt chuckles. “Yes, you’re right, but that’s my fault. I take full responsibility for all of this, Alex.”
I reach out for his hand while shaking my head.
“No. If we had both stopped being so stubborn and just talked to each other, then I think we could have sorted this whole thing out a hell of a lot sooner. But you know us, stubborn as each other. But gotta say, the makeup sex was so totally worth it.” I wiggle my brows up and down as Matt raises his and grins salaciously.
“Stop, you’ll make me hard.”
“Is that a challenge, Matty Moo?” I ask, daring him.
“Fuck, even that ridiculous nickname turns me on when you say it now.” He snorts with laughter.
I simply grin back at him as we make it to the door, and Francois is standing there like a pompous idiot in his three-piece suit, goatee, and a turned-up nose.
He spots me approaching and grimaces. “Alexandria, I thought you were leaving for France today?” he asks in his clearly fake British accent.
“Sorry, Frankie boy, no can do. Matty Moo came and fucked some sense into me, and bam, just like that, all my Hail Marys and Hallelujah Choruses came at once,” I reply, and he gasps as Matt chuckles beside me.
“Pardon me?” Francois asks.
Robert walks over with a giant grin. “Alex, oh my God, it’s so good to see you!”
I drop my hand from Matt’s and rush inside the gallery to hug him. “Robert! Is Nate here?”
He grins widely and nods. “Yes, ma’am, hiding out the back.”
“Hiding?” I ask, and Robert subtly glances at Francois, and I nod in complete understanding.
“Alexandria, why are you here?” Francois calls out, and I chuckle, grabbing Matt’s hand and yanking him along with me toward Nate’s studio.
Matt leans in and clears his throat. “You chose that guy for my brother… were you drunk or something?”
I shake my head. “I went on qualifications, not personality. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have never left in the first place.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulder and nods. “Agreed. Never leave again.”
I look up at him and smile. “Never.”
When we walk into the studio, Nate is painting and wearing headphones.
He never paints with headphones on.
I furrow my brows and huff. Obviously, Francois is completely and utterly annoying.
I’ve really fucked this up. Well, I’m about to make up for it now.
I step up behind Nate, grab a headphone, pull it back from his ear, and let it snap back into place, causing his paintbrush to swipe over his canvas, smearing paint all over the white material.
Luckily, he was only starting, so it hasn’t ruined his artwork.
His head snaps around like he’s rearing and ready to yell obscenities, but he spots me and his eyes flash open in shock.
He grabs his headphones, yanks them off, stands from his stool, and takes a deep breath.
“Alex? Wait… and Matt… in the same room? And you’re not on a plane to Paris?” he asks in quick succession.
We both chuckle, and I shake my head, reaching out for Matt’s hand. “Nope, no plane, no Paris. Just me, Matt, and you… one big happy unconventional family… if you’ll have me back, that is?”
He lets out a long, drawn-out sigh and slumps his body like it’s the best news he’s heard all day.
“Fuck, I swear if I had to listen to Francois for another second babble on about… well, fucking anything, I was going to sell this place.” He swipes his hand through his hair.
“Alex, don’t leave, ever! I’ll tie you up if I have to. ”
I glance at Matt subtly, thinking about last night when he actually did tie me up. He must be thinking about the same thing because he shifts slightly and grins widely, moving his hand down to rest on my ass.
“Well, I need to see if I can keep my apartment. I told them I was moving out, so I’m not sure if they have rented it out yet. So if I can have today to sort my shit out, I can come back tomorrow, and then be completely at your disposal. To do with as you see fit.”
“I have an idea to help with the rental side of things. Leave that with me,” Matt says as I eye him suspiciously.
“Take however much time you need, just as long as you come back to me. Fuck! I’m so glad you two sorted your shit out. You have, haven’t you?” Nate asks.
I look up to Matt and grin. “We have. Turns out, I kinda love your jackass of a brother.”
Matt chuckles. “Turns out I kinda love this crazy, perfect woman, too.”
Nate exhales deeply and wraps his arms around us, pulling us into a group hug. “Well, thank fuck for that. You guys needed to pull your heads out of your asses, seriously. You were almost as bad as Ria and me.”
Matt and I let out a loud laugh, and I roll my eyes. “Yeah, well, at least we’re all on the right track now.”
“Absolutely. Oh, by the way, I spoke to Tillie this morning, Matt. She wanted me to talk to you about Charlie.”
Matt tenses up, and I furrow my brows, cocking my head at him.
“Charlie?” I ask.
He exhales. “Charlotte, the April lookalike from Lovepessimist. Fuck! That’s a story I need to discuss with you.”
My body tenses, and I nod.
Nate smiles and shakes his head. “No, it’s all good, Matt. Don’t worry. Tillie said that Charlie called her and told her about what happened. That you said to talk to Tillie about the story for Rolling Stone Magazine.”
Matt nods. “Yeah, so did Tillie go for it?”
Nate grins widely. “Better. She told Charlie that the band is going to be suing her for illegally obtaining the information. That if any of the information gathered while with you is released to the public, Tillie will do everything in her power to discredit Charlie as a reporter. Tillie said she’d ruin Charlie’s career.
Tillie went full badass on her. It was fucking epic.
She took her down, Matt. Nothing will be printed, and you’ll receive damages once it all goes through. ”
I furrow my brow, obviously knowing there’s way more to the story that I’m missing. I really want to know what happened, but it can wait until we get home.
“Holy shit, that’s amazing. I have to buy Tillie something. She really is a little powerhouse, that woman,” Matt says, and I chuckle.
“She so is…” Nate pauses. “We beat the asshole. You guys are together. I’ve gotten my girl back, and I can fire Francois. Everything is perfect. So we should celebrate. Let’s go to Finlay’s for a round of Guinness on me?” Nate offers, and I bounce up on my toes and nod.