Dating the Guy Next Door (9 page)

By the time they made it back to Matt's neat bedroom and as she sat on his bed waiting for him, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.
Okay
, she told herself,
if he comes back naked then it's a mistake. A big, crazy lust-induced mistake.

“Do you want a drink?” He suddenly reappeared, but Kate shook her head. She was relieved to see that Matt was still in his clothes. Well, some of them. His bow tie had disappeared and his top collar was loosened, but his shirt and pants were firmly in place, and she still felt like she had an out clause.

“Some music?”

She shook her head again, wondering what was going to happen next.

When she'd first gone to bed with Harry there had been too much red wine and Fleetwood Mac involved for her to really remember the details. But now she wished she had a bit more understanding of how these things worked. The etiquette of how to get from point to A to B without completely humiliating yourself.

In the restaurant it had been easy. Maybe because they'd been surrounded by people and she knew it was safe. Not that she'd planned to kiss him. But somehow, while he was talking about his uncle and how they'd been left behind, she'd been overcome with all the same feelings she'd had when her grandmother had turned up on the doorstep to take Kate away until Julia was better. Kate hadn't even known that Julia was sick and so for the next year had struggled to come to terms with her new life.

The sense of loneliness and abandonment and loss.

Except normally when those emotions tried to consume her, Kate tended to reach for her paintbrushes, but without them she'd done the next best thing. She'd kissed him. But it was one thing to do so in a busy restaurant and another thing to be in his bedroom with him. If she did this, it might lead to heartbreak. Then again, if she didn't do it, it might lead to her being the most sexually frustrated artist in Seattle.

As if sensing her internal battle, Matt joined her on the edge of the bed.

“I'd understand, you know.”

“Understand what?” she said, careful not to look at him since that seemed to be the fastest way for her brain to malfunction. “Do you think that I'm going to change my mind?”

“I hope not,” he confessed as he picked up her arm and began to trace delicate lines on it with the tip of his finger, sending a shudder of desire through her. “But yes, if you do, I'd understand.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you're a nice guy?”

“I try,” Matt said before running his hand through his caramel-colored hair, his voice suddenly husky. “You once told me that you sometimes made questionable decisions when it came to men. Kate, I don't want to be one of those decisions.”

She moistened her lips. Ironically, the idea that he was willing to let her go back to her own bed just made her want to
stay even more, and she slowly lifted her hand up to his cheek. The feel of the faint stubble under her fingertips sent a thrill through her body.

Was she really going to do this?

She knew that Jenny believed if Kate met the right person she'd change her mind on having a family. However, Kate knew that wasn't true. Her brother, her mom, Harry. They'd all left, and even if she tried to have a future with Matt, he would eventually leave. It was just the way the world worked. But what if she could do this short-term? What if instead of seeing everything as black and white, she looked for the shades? After all, she made her living from looking for the unseen colors in things and coaxing them out into the open.

Could she do that with Matt?

Just spend time with him and enjoy it while it was there and then stop before anyone got hurt? Stay detached and when the time came to move on, be able to let go with no regrets? As Matt's dark eyes glinted in the soft light of the room she sucked in her breath as she realized that for this guy, she could be that person, for a night, a week, a month. She could be that person.

“You're not one of those decisions, Matt,” she said, her voice little above a whisper as her mouth sought out his.

“That's the best news I've heard all night,” he murmured as his hands gently pushed the thin straps of her dress away from her shoulders. Kate arched her neck and was enthralled as his mouth immediately found her throat. She let out a soft gasp as his hands slowly started to circle her arms in a rhythmic motion that turned her breathing to Jell-O. The feel of his fingers on her flesh sent her mind into meltdown. It had been such a long time and even then it had never felt like this. Never felt like she would be lost if he stopped touching her. And as he continued to send shivers of fire racing through her, Kate decided that even if she was making a questionable decision, it was so worth it.

***

Kate opened an eye and tentatively peeked around the room. Matt's body was spooned into hers and his shallow breath was tickling the back of her neck like a feather. She wanted to stretch out but she didn't want to ruin the moment, so she continued to lie perfectly still and remember the previous night.

A small blush zapped up into her cheeks as she remembered how wantonly she'd begged him to make love to her last night. And then when he had, she'd been unable to stop moaning his name and biting his skin as he entered her and took her spiraling up into another world.

It had never been like that before. Which she could only assume was the reason she'd found herself not long after, straddling Matt's body, gently teasing him back to life. Surely it was only to prove it hadn't been a onetime occurrence. Well, she now knew what she and Matt had shared certainly wasn't beginner's luck.

She felt him stir behind her and as his fingers tightened possessively around her waist, she snuggled deeper into his embrace.

“Morning,” he murmured, his warm breath causing the butterflies to start working all over again. “Did you sleep well?”

“Mmmmm.” Kate managed to let out a drowsy sigh. “I sure did. In fact, I can't remember when I've had a better sleep.”

“I'm not sure whether my masculinity should be pleased or offended by that,” he said as he gently turned her over so that she was facing him. Kate marveled at the way his dark eyes could make her stomach swirl just by looking at them.

“It should definitely be pleased,” she assured him.

“In that case, thank you.” A lazy smile spread out across his mouth before he leaned down and kissed her. “And what about you? Did you wake up wishing that you were a million miles away?”

“Definitely not,” she said, touched that he was concerned about how she felt. “But, Matt, I still want to take things slowly. Is that okay?”

“Of course. And that's the great thing about living next door. There's no rushing. Whenever you find my neat apartment too annoying you can just wander back home. As for me, when that cat of yours jumps on my lap one too many times, I'll just disappear out the door and neither of us will have to explain anything.”

“Socrates only jumps on people he likes,” Kate explained before trailing her fingers down his smooth chest. “But thank you for being so understanding.”

“Kate, don't thank me for acting like a regular person,” Matt lectured as her fingers reached his torso. Suddenly he grinned. “On second thought, you can thank me as much as you want to.”

“Has anyone told you that you talk too much?” Kate murmured as her fingers continued to explore his body. She could feel him straining toward her, but she wriggled her hips forward slightly, keeping him agonizingly at bay while she continued to touch him. Again he tried to move forward and again she inched away from him, enjoying the power that she had over him, all while his fingers continued to slowly explore between her legs.

“Kate,” he moaned into her ear, causing small arrows of excitement in her belly, and she finally relented.

Matt didn't waste a second and pulled her toward him, his lips immediately searching hers out. Kate squirmed with desire as his tongue darted in and out of her mouth before hungrily tracing a trail down along her jawline until he found her neck.

She tried to keep herself perfectly still to enjoy the moment as Matt not only continued to kiss her neck, but also drew her body so close to his that for a moment she felt like they were blended.

“I need you,” he whispered as he reached for a condom. Her legs automatically parted to let him show her how much, and she almost cried with relief as she finally felt him enter her. Her body instinctively arched up to meet each of his thrusts, the impact sending the first wave of pleasure coursing through her as they moved together. Then his passion-filled eyes met hers, she knew they were both ready, and she suddenly felt like she was flying a million miles above the earth. Matt's reaction to her enjoyment was instantaneous, and she could feel his whole body tense and release before he was joining her in her flight.

Kate wasn't sure how long their lovemaking went on for or even which body parts belonged to whom. All she knew
was that some time later the pair of them lay in a sated tangle of limbs.

“Wow,” she managed to croak, her heavy eyelids still fluttering with the effort of anything other than just being.

“Wow,” he agreed, his grip possessively tightening around her as she once again shut her eyes.

***

As the September sun peeked in through his curtains Matt managed to execute a difficult yoga move in order to glance at his wristwatch and check the time, all the while not disturbing the sleeping Kate. He flexed his fingers slightly so that his arm wouldn't go dead, and tried to drift back off to sleep. But, an early riser by nature, sleep wouldn't come to him. And after another ten minutes of watching the exquisite sight of Kate's chest rising and falling, he decided if he didn't get out of bed soon, it would be more than looking at his watch that would disturb her.

He held his breath as he slid his arm out from under her slumbering form and carefully rolled out of the bed. It didn't take him long to pluck his favorite gray T-shirt and running shorts from the dresser and head through to the kitchen. It was only seven a.m., but judging from the crazy hours Kate had been working lately, not to mention the exuberant lovemaking they'd indulged in last night and earlier this morning, he guessed she'd be asleep for another couple of hours.

He hauled his coffee grinder from the cupboard above the stove while trying to contain the small smile that kept darting up to his mouth. He could still feel Kate's hands and lips all over his body. He hummed as he collected his favorite coffee beans. His life had certainly taken a change of direction in the last five days.

Maybe he should thank his friend. He had been mad as hell with the stupid Stop the Clock announcement, but if Keith hadn't done it and if those women hadn't come knocking on his door like the hounds of hell, then he might never have met Kate.

The idea made him frown.

Yes, Keith had certainly done him a favor. Come to think of it, perhaps he should thank the twins for contracting chicken pox as well. Then, of course, there was Kate's asbestos ceiling. Okay, that was going a bit far, but Keith definitely deserved a thank-you next time Matt saw him. They could even name their first child after him.

Actually, no, scrap that thought.
Baby Keith
didn't sound right.

Then he caught himself. He'd promised Emma that he'd be spontaneous and last night had proved it was possible. Actually—a small smile tugged at his lips—Kate was pretty spontaneous herself. Another thing they had in common.

He grinned as he finished grinding the coffee just as Kate appeared in the doorway wearing only his white shirt from last night. The sight of her tangled curls, her freckled nose and her long legs and just a peek of her chest was too much for him.

“Hey, I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't quite bring myself to put the dress back on.”

“Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing I like more than seeing you in my clothes. In my apartment,” he said as walked toward her, his heart pounding. As he reached her, he thought of their conversation. Harry had been a fool and rushed
her, compounding his foolery by cheating on her. Which made Matt even more determined to not make the same mistakes. If she wanted slow, she could have slow, because all he knew was that he wanted this more than anything.

“Matt,” she yelped in surprise as he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into the air. “What are you doing?”

Planning our future together and seeing just how happy we are going to be as our kids grow up around us
, he thought, but wisely kept it to himself.

“I'm celebrating a successful first date,” he said instead as the smell of her skin sent tendrils of desire racing through him.

“By picking me up?” she protested as he continued to twirl her in the air.

“By not letting you go until you agree to going out on date number two,” he countered.

“Oh really?” she murmured as she wriggled herself down so that her half-naked body pressed against his. Matt was pretty sure he'd died and gone to heaven. “So, what did you have in mind?”

“Well, I know it's not traditional second-date material, but I thought that after I dragged you back into my bedroom for a good long while,” he said as she wrapped her arms around his waist, reminding him of the night that they'd just spent together, “then we could think about going somewhere for lunch. There's a great place in Ballard. Or, if you're in the mood for seafood, we could try Lily and Taylor.”

“They both sound amazing,” Kate said as Matt pushed his hands under the white shirt to reveal her naked body below. He was just about to trace a finger along her flesh when she let out a soft curse. “But I can't. I just remembered that I need to spend the day searching for something called a Very Mary doll.”

“Very Mary, eh?” He raised an eyebrow. “I would've pegged you as a Sassy Sasha myself.”