Chapter 37
Chapter thirty-seven
Ten minutes passed before Matty spotted Gloria zipping past the car park entrance. Her light pink jacket made her impossible to miss.
Matty pointed. “There she is.”
Sloan’s hand went to the key. She started the engine, dropped the window a fraction, and put the car into gear, ready to pull out of the spot.
“Give her a minute. She’s enjoying herself,” Matty said.
“Not a chance,” Sloan replied. “If she takes a wrong turn, we’ll never find her.”
Matty rested her palm on Sloan’s thigh. “She’s not a dog. She can ask for directions.”
Instead of moving her hand away, Sloan eased back into the seat.
Matty’s mouth curved. “And we can…” Her fingers moved higher, slowly and deliberately.
Sloan’s breath caught. “Is that your plan?”
“I mean…it’s an option.” Matty leant in closer, voice warm. “If you want to.”
Sloan licked her bottom lip as she considered it. Gloria was out of sight already. Public place. Close to work. Matty’s fingers edged closer to the apex of her thighs.
“I do want to,” Sloan admitted.
Matty moved in, kissing her properly—no hesitation, no teasing. Sloan made a soft sound into her mouth, then pulled back, eyes bright.
“Mmph, but…” Sloan’s gaze flicked towards the windscreen. “I thought we were going to follow her.”
“We will.” Matty shrugged, like it was obvious. “She’s doing eight miles an hour, maximum. We’ll literally be creeping alongside her.”
Sloan huffed a quiet laugh. “Right. We don’t want to get pulled over for kerb crawling.”
She checked the handbrake, then switched the engine off. “So…” Sloan swivelled in her seat. “Is this what you like?”
“Kissing hot women in cars?” Matty grinned, enjoying the way Sloan blushed.
“Kissing women in public. Is that something you like?”
“I guess I do.” Matty leant in again.
“And how far would you go, in public?” Sloan asked.
“Further than I probably ought to,” Matty said with a small smile. “I’ve never really thought about it. My ex wasn’t exactly…adventurous.”
Sloan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Not adventurous how?”
Matty shrugged again. “Compared to what I hear from other people about their relationships and sex lives, I suppose.” Her cheeks reddened a little.
“I mean, you’ve already mentioned you like to control when a woman can orgasm and I’ve never…
” She paused, then gave a small shake of her head.
“No. That’s a lie. Control’s always been a part of my life, but it always felt like a weapon until now. ”
Sloan’s frown was immediate. “I don’t know if I like the sound of that. Can I ask how?”
Matty sighed and sat back against the door. “I was married.” She let the thought of her ex-wife settle beside the image of Sloan, lining them up in her head for comparison.
There was no comparison.
Sloan Slater’s presence—her calm, unshakable authority—made Amelie’s once-reliable protectiveness feel almost…redundant.
“Go on,” Sloan encouraged, her voice even.
Matty shifted, her body giving away the tension she tried to keep tucked in. “She wasn’t in control of herself…not really. So she liked to control me…but not in a good way. She didn’t hurt me—not physically—but there were things I wasn’t allowed to do. Parts of me I had to mute.”
She paused, watching Sloan for a reaction. There was none, just quiet presence. Listening.
“I think, looking back…there were parts of that dynamic I responded to…things I liked, but didn’t understand why. But mostly I just felt…unsafe. Like she could explode at any moment over something small.”
“You liked how she sounded when she was sure of herself,” Sloan said gently, “even when it wasn’t real.”
“Yes.” Matty nodded slowly, the thought settling into place.
“In the beginning, I felt protected by it. She took care of everything—small things I couldn’t manage.
Bills. Shopping. Planning fun stuff. She made the decisions, and it felt like…
relief.” Her voice dipped. “In bed, I let her take over. I liked it. I still like it.”
She paused, eyes flicking to Sloan, then away.
“My childhood wasn’t exactly calm. The way she was with me…
there was a lot of it that felt familiar.
” She shifted, a flash of defensiveness rising.
“I’ve done the therapy. I’m not saying I like what I like because I’m damaged or confused or anything like that—”
“Say it,” Sloan interrupted softly. “Don’t apologise for it.”
Matty sat up straighter. “I like being told what to do.”
“In bed?” Sloan clarified.
Matty nodded. “Only in bed. Anywhere else, absolutely not.”
“I want to give this conversation my full attention, but my mother is currently running amok on wheels. Can we continue it when we get home?”
Matty smiled and twisted back around in her seat. “I’d like that.”
***
Sloan crept along the avenue, turned right into Avondale Road, then left into Gwent Street. Gloria was nowhere in sight.
“Where is she?” she muttered as she scanned either side of the road.
“I’m sure she’s fine. Why don’t we head back and see if she’s there already? Either way, it’ll look like you trusted her and gave her some independence.”
Sloan chewed at her bottom lip for a second before finally saying, “Okay.” She pressed the accelerator and pulled away.
They drove in silence until they were just around the corner from the house.
“Do you think I’m controlling?” She kept her eyes on the road. “Is that part of why you’re drawn to me?”
Matty turned slightly in her seat. “Yes. And…probably, yes.”
Sloan nodded. “I appreciate your honesty.”
“But you don’t like it?”
“Your honesty, or the answer?” Sloan asked, eyes on the road until she indicated and pulled into the driveway.
Matty smiled. “Either?”
“Yes, I like your honesty. I prefer that to someone who walks around me on eggshells.” Sloan’s hands stayed steady on the wheel. “But I’m only just beginning to see where my need for control has moved into other aspects of my life. And I’m not sure I like it.”
“That’s more honest than most people ever get,” Matty said. “And it’s more than Amelie ever managed. More than my parents, too.”
“Amelie is your ex-wife?”
Matty nodded, staring out of the window. “Yes.” She turned back to Sloan. “I don’t feel unsafe with you. And I wouldn’t let you control me the way she did. I’m not her version of me anymore.” Her voice softened, “But I’m still drawn to something about it.”
Sloan switched the engine off, and they both sat there staring through the windscreen. Slowly, Sloan twisted around to face Matty.
She was quiet for a moment. Matty was not her usual type. There was nothing sleek or carefully curated about her. She was warm, direct, stubborn, and entirely too willing to look Sloan straight in the face and tell her the truth. Sloan increasingly found she liked that.
“I think what draws me to you is that you don’t let me control you.”
Matty adjusted herself and turned enough to reach out, touching Sloan’s cheek. “Sounds suspiciously like we might be good for each other.”
Smiling, Sloan leant into the touch. “Maybe.”
“I’m enjoying getting to know you,” Matty said, leaning forward to kiss her.
Their lips had only just met when a beep-beep cut through it.
“Can I kill her?” Sloan said, almost against Matty’s mouth.
Laughing, Matty pulled away. “Let’s get her fed, bathed, and into bed, and then we can discuss that further.” She opened the car door and stepped out. “Took your time, Mrs S. We’ve been back ages.”
“I’m hardly Evel Knievel,” Gloria called, grinning. “It only does eight miles an hour. Downhill it goes ten, though.” She pulled the grip and sped off towards the house.
“Mother, be care—”
The terracotta plant pot disintegrated as the front of the scooter hit it.
“Oops.” Gloria chuckled. “Never liked that anyway.”
“No, but I did,” Sloan snapped. She bent down and began to pick up the pieces, moving them aside. “Put that in the carport,” she said to Gloria, indicating the scooter.
Gloria looked over, then at the door.
“Do you want me to park it, Sloan?” Matty asked, handing Gloria her cane.
“Would you?”
Matty grinned. “Turn down a whizz on the scooter? Not a chance. Come on then, shift it,” she teased, and Gloria laughed as she swung her legs around and pushed herself upright.
“Don’t crash it,” Gloria snorted, flicking a look at Sloan. “Though she won’t shout at you if you do.”
Sloan tutted and stepped up to open the door.
“I’ll be careful,” Matty said, hopping onto the seat and hitting reverse. She watched as Sloan steered Gloria inside before she glanced over her shoulder at Matty and smirked. “Want to join me, Sloan?” Matty called out.
“No. I’ve got a different ride in mind,” Sloan murmured, before turning back into the house and following the shuffling form of Gloria down the hall.
The words settled low in Matty’s body, and her mind was only too happy to fill in the blanks.
***
“I thought we were going out for dinner,” Gloria yawned.
Sloan’s brow arched. “That was before you went gallivanting around town.” She placed the small table over Gloria’s lap and set the cutlery beside the bottle of beer. “You’d be asleep before the main course was served. And anyway, you like Matty cooking for you.”
Gloria shrugged. “I don’t mind. At least she can cook.”
Sloan ignored the jibe.
A moment later, Gloria said, “Is she staying then? Or do I have to run off another one?”
“I’ve already warned you what will happen if you see anyone off again,” Sloan said. “Do you want her to stay?”
Gloria shrugged again. “If she wants.”
“I’m asking what you want.” Sloan sat and crossed one leg over the other, elegant even at home, and sipped her chardonnay.
“Well…it’s about time,” Gloria huffed, sitting back in her chair and raising the bottle of beer. “Maybe asking what I wanted should’ve been the first thing you did.”
“Maybe it should’ve,” Sloan said. “But I had decisions to make, and sometimes, Mother, you are not the easiest to deal with.”
“I might be old, but I’m not dead yet.” Gloria took a long swig, swallowed it down, and smacked her lips together. Then she belched. “Pardon.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“For now,” Gloria said, and there was something like satisfaction in it.
From the kitchen, Matty called, “Dinner!”
“You’d better see to that,” Gloria said, waving her bottle.
Sloan placed the glass down and stood. The aroma from the kitchen was already wafting into the lounge. “Happy to,” she said.
***
There was something extraordinarily sexy about Matty in her kitchen, apron on, hair tied back with a faded bit of cloth, holding a spoon out for Sloan to taste.
“That’s delicious,” Sloan said as the flavour hit her tongue.
“It’s just a very quick dish I saw on TikTok,” Matty answered, twirling the linguini through the sauce.
“Maybe so, but you cooked it, and it’s delicious,” Sloan decreed, and then her gaze snagged on the counter. Only two bowls sat ready. “You’re not eating with us?”
“No. I have to get home and get changed for work.”
“Of course. It’s Friday. Your shift at Art.”
Matty smiled, slid a fork into the pasta and lifted it into a ladle, twisting until she had a perfect coil.
“I was hoping we’d have that conversation,” Sloan said, watching the easy way Matty moved. “About your marriage.”
With both plates served, Matty untied the apron and turned to face her. “I really want to. Maybe we can do something tomorrow afternoon before my next shift?”
Sloan reached out, hooked her fingers into Matty’s belt loops, and pulled her closer. “What time is your break?”
“Tonight?” Matty’s eyes widened slightly.
Sloan nodded slowly.
“Around ten thirty. It’s only fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes.” Sloan’s mouth curved. “That is enough time to make very poor decisions.”
She leaned in, meeting an eager mouth with her own.
“You turn me on when you kiss me like that,” Matty admitted.
“I always thought that was kind of the point with kissing,” Sloan teased.
“It is,” Matty said, “but now I have to spend all night thinking about the next one.”
Sloan winked. “Good. Stay that way.”
“Oh really? Well, in that case…” Matty kissed her. “You can wait till tomorrow to see me again.”
Sloan’s eyes lit up. “Well played.”