9. Matt Strikes
Chapter 9
Matt Strikes
G race
It had been a while since I had shared a bed with a man. As I awoke, I could feel his hard body at my back. His arm wrapped around my waist, with his hand across my belly. He took every opportunity to touch me, as if yesterday had given him permission.
I wasn’t a fool. I was aware there would be good days, where everything seemed right. There’d also be not so good days, where I’d question every little thing. I couldn’t move one man out of my life to bring another one in. It wasn’t fair to anyone, but if I was honest with myself, I wanted this to work.
My sleepiness was waning, but I wasn’t ready to move. This was too comfortable. I reached for his hand and slid our fingers together. My eyes were open, but I didn’t focus on anything. I felt him brush my hair away from the back of my neck. His lips quickly descended in hot, open-mouthed kisses, his tongue licking the skin that he’d kissed before moving on to another area.
I started to squirm and slide backwards to rub against any part of him I could. I’d move back, wiggle my butt, and not hit payday. It was maddening, and I made a whining noise to show my displeasure. He chuckled against my shoulder, sliding my tank top strap with his teeth.
“Good morning, mama.” He pulled me against his body and pressed his hardness against the curve of my ass. “Is that what you want?”
I slid our hands to my hip, hoping he'd take the bait and move them to where I really wanted him to be.
He chuckled again against my shoulder, sliding his left arm underneath my neck, so that I was laying on his bicep. He then took our hands and slid them back to my waist, pulling me even further into his body.
“You want something, you ask for it,” Sabre whispered in my ear. He slid his right hand out from under mine and placed it back on my hip, waiting for me to say something. “You’re denying both of us with this silence.”
I tried the wiggle trick again. It didn’t work, and I should have just said that I wanted his hands on me. To let his touch imprint on my skin. In the next instant, I felt guilty. I was a married woman, and even though my husband had cheated, I was better than that. I had taken vows.
The one thing I noticed in all my confusion was that Sabre wasn't rushing me. He was still nipping at my neck and shoulder, but his hand never left my hip.
I finally gave in. “Touch me,” I whispered into the room.
As his hand slid to where I wanted him, his phone rang.
Groaning, he kissed my shoulder one last time and reached over to grab it.
“This better be fucking good,” he said to whomever was on the other end.
Last night, I had called my aunt and asked if I could live in her pool house until I delivered. I hadn’t given her many details, and to her credit, she hadn’t questioned me. It wasn’t the best situation, but I’d have my space and people around if I needed help. My father still lived around the corner from my aunt in the house that I had grown up in. It was the only reason that Sabre had agreed.
The brothers were supposed to pick up a moving truck and meet us in the hotel lobby. I assumed the phone call was them. We were late, or they were early. It was hard to tell, but I figured the faster I was ready, the quicker we could get this day over with.
Sabre was still on the call when I made my way to the bathroom and closed the door. I took a minute to stand in front of the mirror and really look at myself. It had only been a day, but I could see things were changing for the better. Today, I recognized my old self appearing. My eyes were bright, my cheeks were pink from this morning’s events, and there was a small smile tugging at my lips .
I was standing in front of the mirror, pulling my hair into a ponytail, when the door opened. I only had my underwear on, but I wasn’t uncomfortable.
“You are one hot mama.” Sabre leaned against the doorjamb, watching me.
I didn’t know how to handle the attention, so I tried to play it cool. "You didn't knock. What if I was using the bathroom?"
He barked a laugh."You weren't. I listened at the door before I opened it, and even if you were, I am sure it'd be hot."
"No." I scrunched my nose. "That's not hot. It's just a fact of life."
"I'll make you a deal. The only time you can close the bathroom door is when you're actually using the shitter. Anything else, it stays open. Deal?" He laughed as he leaned against the doorjamb.
"Deal." I watched him out of my peripheral view. I started at his bare feet as he crossed his legs at the ankles. He’d put his jeans on from last night, and they fit him like a worn glove. They molded to his thighs, stretching the fabric. I tried to pretend like I was still using the mirror, but I was really tracing his muscular lines from his shoulders, down each forearm, to his six-pack abs.
I reached for the dress that I’d brought into the bathroom with me, but I heard him laugh.
“Drop the dress. You’re not wearing that. Turn towards me.” This time, I didn’t hesitate, like I had in the bed earlier.
He walked towards me and fingered the lace of my bra. “This is nice,” he said, “but I am going to prefer you naked.” He wrapped one arm around my waist and the other across my back. Pulling me towards him, he claimed my lips in a hard kiss. I’d had plenty of kisses, but none like this. His lips molded to mine, his tongue seeking entrance. I was putty in his hands.
He instantly pulled back, and I was confused. Lightly pecking my lips, he kissed his way down my neck, through the valley of my breasts, to my protruding belly. He kissed the top and laid his cheek against the front, holding my hips in his hands.
“I know. You don’t like it.”
It took me a minute to realize that he was talking to the baby.
***
Sabre let me take charge of moving day, and I pointed at the items I wanted to keep. The brothers would do the heavy lifting. Any of my personal items would come with me to the pool house, and the furniture would head north with the brothers. I’d be there anyway in a few months, so it didn’t seem like that big of deal to only make one move.
I didn’t know if it was a new perspective or if I was finally pulling off my rose-colored glasses. The house wasn’t the only thing I hadn't had a choice about. Matt had hired an interior decorator right after we’d moved in to make sure it was a showroom for his business parties. It was a dream for a magazine spread, but it hadn’t been comfortable to live in. I hadn't realized that I hated most of it until now.
I was on restrictions from Sabre and the brothers, but I didn’t fight them. They were looking out for my well-being, and I understood. I wasn’t able to carry much, and no one was sure that I’d make it up and down the little ramp that led to the back of the truck.
I put a small box of shoes on the ledge of the truck and was making my way back to the house when Matt pulled into the driveway like his car was on fire.
I never imagined Mr. McNally would tell him of my plans so quickly. Matt was livid. He whipped his car door open and stood abruptly. I should have walked back to the house, but I froze. My feet wouldn't move as his eyes locked on me. I knew it wasn't possible, but steam seemed to rise from his skin, turning it a reddish shade. His nostrils flared, and when he smiled, his jaw clenched.
“You fucking bitch!” he screamed at me. “Are you trying to fucking ruin me? I lost that account, thanks to you. They didn’t want to do business with ‘someone of low moral character.’ ”
“It was probably for the best,” I tried to placate him, but I didn’t feel responsible for his actions. A man with great moral character wouldn’t bring his wife’s cousin to a business closing. “You did it to yourself. If you didn’t want people to know you were sleeping with Clara, then maybe you shouldn’t have been so public about it.”
He was just warming up. “What the fuck are you thinking? You’re demanding half of everything I’ve worked for and insisting I relinquish my rights?”
I tried to find Sabre or another brother, but I didn't see anyone. If they were in the pool house, they'd never hear us. I told myself to remain calm and not respond. I wasn’t playing his mind games, nor would I give the neighbors more gossip to take to the local country club. This wasn’t the man I’d married, and now, I couldn’t even stomach to look at him. I just wanted to scream and rail back at him until all of my conflicting emotions were word-vomited.
“Frigid bitch! You fucking told McNally I was cheating on you. Well, there’s Clara, that chick you used to go to Pilates with until you got fat, and at least a few more. The best one was when you were getting an ultrasound and I was fucking Dr. Vargas in the supply closet.”
I wanted to tell him I didn’t care. He was free to do whatever he pleased. Matt’s choices no longer impacted me, but deep down, I was in agony. Each revelation had pierced my heart, leaving deep emotional wounds in their wake. It would take time to heal, and I hoped the scars wouldn’t be too ugly.
“Does this make you feel like a man?” I asked.
“I am a man every day that I am not with you.”
I didn’t have to listen to any more of this. Planning to walk towards the house, I turned my back to him and took a few steps. Matt wrenched my elbow backwards and forced me to turn and face him again. I squeaked at the suddenness of the movement. It had hurt, and I wasn’t sure if he had sprained my elbow.
“You were never supposed to get pregnant. I pretended you were Clara, and that’s how I could even get it up. I had to be drunk to be with you.”
More deep cuts to my soul .
That was when something clicked in my mind. “You slept with Michael Sullivan’s girlfriend in college, didn’t you? That's why he stopped speaking to us. Well, you'll be happy to know he’s excited to have you served—I hired him as my divorce attorney.”
He didn’t confirm nor deny, but the smirk said it all. This went all the way back to the beginning of our relationship. Had Matt ever even loved me?
“That was a fucking cunt move to call McNally and not tell him what it was about.” Matt still held onto my elbow and squeezed so that I would have to cower to him. I was done with all of this.
“Let go of me.” I tried to pull my elbow away from his grasp.
“You think you can satisfy the biker? Yeah, I know. McNally has a big mouth. Face it, Grace. No one wants to raise another man’s baby.” He was still smirking.
I wanted to hit him repeatedly. It wasn’t enough to ball up my fists and just pound on him until he begged me to stop. I wanted to make him hurt as much as I did, and the thought of running him over with my car crossed my mind. The only thing that stopped me was jail. I’d already been one person’s bitch, and I would not do it again.
I pulled my elbow out of his grasp and tried to turn around, but I wasn’t quick enough. Matt shoved me in the chest so hard that I fell backwards. Grasping for anything that I could reach, I braced for impact with the driveway, but it never came.
A muscled arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against something so that I could regain my balance. Once I was stable, Wreck stepped in front of me.
“Flo,” he said to me. “Don’t turn around. Walk backwards towards Pretty. If this motherfucker swings, I am his huckleberry.”
I did as requested, no questions asked. When I reached Pretty on the porch, he helped me navigate the stairs.
“You okay, sis?” he asked me softly, his eyes never leaving Wreck’s back.
“Yes,” I whispered back.
Cyph came out of the house with his phone in his hand to stand on my other side. He must have caught me looking, because he said, “In case, the motherfucker gets handsy. He seems like the type.”