Chapter 42
Chapter forty-two
Gloria watched as her daughter sauntered back to the table without Matty. She opened her mouth, thought better of it, and looked back at the table.
"She alright?" Gloria asked.
Sloan looked faintly surprised as she took her seat. “Yes, I was just—”
“I don’t want the details,” Gloria said, staring at a couple enjoying what looked like a heated row.
Sloan stiffened. “There aren’t any details.”
Gloria drew a breath to say more, but a waitress appeared with two plates and cut across her.
“I have a fabulous pie for someone,” she announced, beaming at them with impossibly white teeth.
“That’ll be me,” Gloria said, holding a finger up. She watched the plate as it was placed in front of her and only then noticed Matty returning to the table.
“Just in time,” Gloria said, then narrowed her eyes at the colour in Matty’s cheeks.
“Raclette?” the waitress asked. She grinned again when Matty raised a hand. “Perfect, be right back with the pork.”
Gloria tipped her head after her. “Did you see the gnashers on that? Straight out of Turkey.”
“Mum.” Sloan’s tone was warning enough.
Matty stifled a giggle. “I mean, they are quite bright.”
“Bright?” Gloria snorted. “Could turn the lights off and we’d still see her.”
Matty’s laugh burst out so loudly it caused other diners to turn to see what was so funny. Gloria laughed too, leaving Sloan as the only one still trying to keep a straight face. But as the other two kept going, Sloan found herself starting to chuckle too.
“Suits you, that does,” Gloria said.
“What does?” Sloan asked, smoothing her expression back into place. Matty dabbed at her lips with the napkin, still smiling. Across the room, the waitress was already heading back with Sloan’s lunch.
“Laughter,” Gloria answered.
The waitress placed the plate down in front of Sloan. “Anything else I can get you?”
Gloria looked up at her, and Sloan went still for a moment. “No, thank you, dear. You’ve been the brightest part of my day, though.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet.” The waitress turned and almost bounced away.
“You are a bad woman, Mrs S.” Matty grinned, enjoying Gloria’s snarky comment.
“Better to be bad than boring.”
“You might be right,” Matty agreed, picking up her cutlery. She tilted her head as she considered Gloria. “So, what did you get up to when you were my age, Mrs S?”
Gloria’s eyes lit up. Sloan paused.
“Your age?”
“Yep.” Matty nodded. “Mid-thirties. What were you up to?”
“Well, by then I was probably quite boring,” Gloria said, cutting into her pie. “I had three kids and a husband to take care of.”
Sloan braced herself. “Must have been dreadful, I’m sure.”
Gloria stabbed a piece of chicken and pastry onto her fork. “Actually, it was the best time. You, your brother, your sister, all running around like hooligans down by the river. Me and your dad would sit in deckchairs and have bets on which one of you would fall in first.”
“Lionel,” Sloan said, smiling at the memory.
“Usually,” Gloria continued. Matty stayed quiet, enjoying the story and the way one simple question had changed the whole shape of the table. “And then you’d go charging in to fish him out.”
“It was barely two feet deep—he was a big baby,” Sloan added.
“He still is. Typical man, leaving it all to the only one of you competent enough to sort anything.”
Sloan swallowed the mouthful and reached for the wine. Was that a compliment? Without the backhand?
“Is he older or younger?” Matty asked, sliding her hand beneath the table to settle gently on Sloan’s leg.
“Lionel is the oldest,” Gloria said. “Then it’s the two girls. Janet is the baby.”
“Sounds like you and Mr S built a beautiful family,” Matty said softly.
Gloria reached for her wine, her gaze settling on Sloan. “We did.”
***
When lunch was over, Matty walked back to the car with Sloan and Gloria. She waited as Gloria got settled into the front seat. Sloan leaned in to help with the seatbelt and got swatted away.
“I can do it,” Gloria said.
Sloan backed up and straightened, exhaling hard. “Fine.”
Matty reached for her, taking her hand and pulling her a few feet away from the car. “She can do it.”
“I know, I just…” Sloan ran a hand through her hair. “I wanted to help, that’s all.”
“I know, and she knows, but still…she has to learn.” Matty touched Sloan’s cheek. “And so do you.”
Sloan leaned into the touch. “Do you need a lift?”
Shaking her head, Matty said, “Wrong direction, but I’ll be fine. It’s only a ten-minute walk.”
“I wish you didn’t have to work.”
Matty grinned. “Trust me, I wish that too.” She stepped forward. “I can still almost feel you between my legs.”
Sloan blushed. She glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then said, “What time do you finish work?”
“Late. Three, usually.”
“I’ll book you an Uber. Come to me. I’ll wait up.” Her lips ghosted across Matty’s. “And I’ll take care of that ache for you…”
“Fuck. Sloan…” Matty whispered. “Do you know what you do to me? How wet you make me?”
“Apparently, yes.”
“I’m in. Are we sitting here all day?” Gloria shouted.
Sloan kissed her hard but quick. “I’ll leave a key under the mat. Let yourself in and—”
“Don’t worry, I can find my way into your bed.” Matty grinned. “Go on, take Her Majesty home.”
She watched as Sloan climbed into the driver’s seat, pulled her seatbelt across, and started the engine. When it roared into life, the window came down and Sloan’s arm slid out, waving as she pulled away.
Matty watched until the car was out of sight, then turned, heading towards home. Every step renewed the ache between her legs.
“Just a few hours,” she told herself.
The walk back took her into the town centre and across the square. She glanced over at Compton’s and remembered the happy times she’d had there before she and Sloan had their run-in.
If she’d never believed in fate before, she did now. What were the chances?
Each interaction had opened the door to the next, yet at no point had it looked as though there would be anything more than transient meetings. And now she was planning to walk into Sloan Slater’s house at three in the morning and seduce her—or be seduced. She wasn’t quite sure.
Nor did she care.
For the next nine hours, every thought would circle over her clit, exactly where she needed it—Sloan’s mouth, her hands, and whatever else she had in mind.
She wanted to be devoured. Made to beg. She was already close to the edge of how much longer she could hold out before one touch tipped her over.
She’d never wanted release so badly in her life and never wanted anyone more than Sloan Slater being the one giving it to her.