Loving My SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 10) (18 page)

“
You
did this for me?”

“
Of
course. I love you, Reina. I know it’s only been a week, but I do.”

“
I
love you too, Matt,” she says, tears shining in her eyes.

I
kiss her because I can’t stand to see her crying even happy tears.
It starts out slowly, but as usual, she ignites a spark in me almost
immediately. I swear her strawberry lip balm makes me crazy. I drop
her hand to pull her roughly to me, and as we stumble a little, I
feel heat on my back. I break the kiss, and she screams.

Shit.
I knocked over a candle. I quickly grab a fire extinguisher and douse
the flame. Just great, we’ve been in here less than five minutes,
and I’m already screwing up. I’m confident with every other woman
on the planet, but Reina is different. Obviously, since I would never
plan a romantic night with anyone else. I’ve been living the hit it
and quit it life for years now, but that’s not how it is with her.
I have this overwhelming need to impress her, and I want more than
just the awesome sex we have.

She
could be off with some rich preppy guy, being wined and dined at the
country club. Yeah, I’m rich, but I’ve never been preppy, and now
I’m a soldier. I still don’t know what she sees in me, but I
thank God every night for bringing her to me.

“
Are
you okay, Matt?” she asks, touching my arm.

“
Yeah,
I’m just sorry I fucked this up already.”

“
You
didn’t,” she assures me with a smile.

“
I
almost set the place on fire.”

“
Only
because you were into our kiss. Nothing wrong with that. Plus, the
fire’s out now.”

“
Well,
the actual fire’s out,” I tell her feeling relieved. “The fire
I feel for you is always burning.”

“
That
was so cheesy, but kind of hot and romantic, too,” she tells me
with her eyes sparkling, but not from tears this time.

“
I’m
all about the romance. Candles, music, chocolate. What more could a
girl need, right?”

Her
eyes dim then. “Yeah, of course.”

“
Did
I say something wrong?”

“
No.
Everything’s great.”

Great?
Not amazing, or perfect? What the hell did I miss? I don’t have
time to ponder that too long since she’s now kissing me. I can’t
think when she’s got her mouth on me, and honestly, I really don’t
want to. I cup her cheeks this time as she pulls me with her to the
canoe filled with blankets.

I
brace my hands on the sides as she lies her head down on the pillows
I placed just below one of the seats. “What do you want, birthday
girl?”

“
You.”

“
Well,
that’s a given, but how do you want me?”

Her
eyes light up, but then she bites her bottom lip and looks away.
“However you want is fine.”

“
I
don’t think so,” I say, nudging her chin with mine so she’ll
look at me again. “You want something. Tell me. I promise you that
nothing you ask for will embarrass me.”

She
looks stricken for a moment, and I mentally kick myself for reminding
her that I’m much more experienced. I did it to make her feel more
comfortable, and not more insecure. Just when I’m about to tell her
that, she speaks.

“
I
want it slow. I want you to make love to me. With all of our clothes
off.”

I
start to say that it’s no big deal, but then it hits me. Actually,
they all hit me. The memories of the last seven days. And nights.
Times where I took her fast and hard against walls, and in closets.
Or against the side of the house. Hell, our first time was in a
gazebo, and right now we’re in a boat house. I haven’t taken all
of my clothes off since that first time, and I haven’t taken hers
off either. There hasn’t even been a bed involved. I know she’s
enjoyed what we’ve done, but I’m ashamed to realize that I’ve
never shown her how special she is.

“
I’m
so sorry, Rei. I should’ve taken you somewhere with a bed. And you
shouldn’t have to ask me to worship your body. You deserve for me
to do that every time we’re together.”

“
You
make me feel worshipped. Believe me, I have no doubt that you love my
body. I don’t need a bed, either. I just need a little sweetness.
You’re so sweet to me with everything else, and while I love how
wild you are when you take me, I want to savor the feel of you inside
of me tonight.”

Great.
Just what every guy wants to hear—he’s finishing too fast. “I
suck.”

“
You
do,” she says and my heart plummets. “In fact, I usually see
stars when you suck, and it’s amazing.”

“
That’s
not what I meant.”

“
I
know, but you’re crazy if you think you’re not a good lover.”

“
You
said I was too fast.”

“
I
did not. Those words never came out of my mouth. Besides, I like it
fast and hard with you. I just wanted something different tonight.
That doesn’t mean that the other times weren’t good.”

“
Are
you sure?”

She
rolls her eyes in response. “You had to hold me up yesterday, and
I’ve almost passed out at least four times.”

“
Only
four?”

“
You
are a sex god, okay. Get over your male ego, and make love to me.”

“
I
see you’re planning on being bossy tonight, too, huh? It’s your
birthday, so I’ll let that happen.”

“
Neanderthal.”

“
Aw,
how sweet of you to notice.”

She
growls this time, before pulling my mouth down on hers. It’s not
slow or sweet, but the rest of what we do tonight will be. If she
wants slow and sweet, then slow and sweet is exactly what she’ll be
getting. I’d do anything and everything to keep Reina, and I plan
on showing her that for the rest of my life.

* * *

Matt

I was up way too late
last night, but I had to make sure I ordered more things for Reina.
With her being in Wales, that meant I needed to be up early in the
morning, so I could catch the businesses when they first opened.
Ainsley hasn’t reported that she’s still there, but she hasn’t
picked up one of the gifts I have for her yet, and I know she
wouldn’t miss going to the store where it’s waiting for her.
After talking with everyone, I had to place another order, and take
care of some more food for her. My last delivery today will let her
know it’s me who’s been doing these little things for her, and
then we’ll see what happens. I was worried she’d figure it out
and freak out before I could do these last few things, and then I
might have to stop. I might still have to stop after Wales, but it’ll
be worth it to have given her what I have.

Nothing has been big or
fancy, and in fact, I worked hard to make most of it seem like it was
just a gift from the places she was visiting. Even with the things
from today, I didn’t choose the most expensive items. No, I’m
buying her the things I would if I was there with her. Really there,
and not just throwing money around. These are things most any tourist
might come home with, and that’s the most important part of my
plan. Bringing my wife home.

“You ready for your
first day of physical therapy, Matt?” Kendrick asks, walking in
with a wheelchair while I’m still lost in my thoughts.

“Huh? Oh yeah. I am.”

“Are you okay?”

“Just a little tired.
I was up late.”

“You should’ve
asked for a sleeping pill.”

“No. I had some calls
to make.”

“Calls?” he asks.

“I’m doing some
things for Reina, and since she’s in Europe, I’m working on their
time.”

“Things?”

“Yes, things, and
that’s all I’m saying.”

“Touchy, aren’t we?
Tired Matt is even more grumpy than usual.”

I laugh as I flip him
off. “You need to let out the funny side more often, Kenny. It
works.”

“So you keep telling
me. Your chariot awaits.”

“See. Funny,” I say
as I lower myself into the chair. I wish I had the strength to argue
about riding in the chair, but I don’t. At least not yet.

“I’ll remind you of
that later, once you’ve finished your PT.”

“Thank you,” I tell
him, feeling serious all of a sudden. Reading my emails and
reminiscing must be doing something to me, because I almost tear up.
“I know I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you. If there’s
anything I can ever do for you, you just name it. Anything.”

“Anything?”

“Yeah.
Anything
.
I’ll even bring trash bags and duct tape if you kill someone.”

“I’m a doctor,
Matt. If I kill someone, I know exactly how to cut up the body, and
get rid of any DNA. I don’t need your trash bags and duct tape.
Thank you for the offer, though.”

I burst out laughing.
How could I not? “Damn, man. You fit in perfectly here, despite
what you keep saying.”

“Possibly,” he
says, and I can hear the smile in his voice, too.

Once I’m wheeled into
the state of the art rehab facility, Waverly comes over to greet us.
Kendrick brought her with him when he was hired. The two of them are
apparently best friends, and grew up together. I know there’s a
story there about how an African immigrant, and a voluptuous redhead
could be such good friends without ever hitting the sheets, but so
far none of us have been able to get it out of them. Now that I’ll
be spending a portion of my days with her, I’ll give it the old
college try, so to speak.

“Hey boss, how are
you feeling today?”

“Not great, and I
think once you’re done with me, I’ll be feeling even worse.”

“I could lie and say
I’d go easy on you if it would make you feel better,” she tells
me, her grey eyes twinkling.

“How is it that the
two of you are best friends when he hides his sense of humor, and
you’re all fun?”

“She’s not all fun.
Believe me. Or actually, you won’t need to take my word for it.
She’s going to torture you today.”

“You don’t have to
look so pleased when you say that.”

“Oh, I think I do.
I’ll be back soon. Not as soon as you’ll like, but soon enough.”

I watch him walk out
the door, and then swallow hard before looking back to Waverly. She’s
smirking, and I already know I’ll be hurting soon. It’ll be a
good hurt, though, and I need her to work me hard if I’m going to
get back into fighting shape.

I can’t show any
weakness in business meetings, and I won’t make my brother fight
off the leeches all by himself for too long. The bastards who are
jealous of us can smell fear, and while Miles won’t show any, he’s
not used to manipulation, or douchebaggery at its finest. Then again,
he lived with dear old dad for all those years without me, and while
he came out damaged, he survived. I need to give him more credit.

I also need to be
strong for Reina. I can woo her with the gifts from here, but there’s
going to come a point when I need to fight for her. She said we lost
the epic battle, but I’m holding onto hope that she’s wrong. What
went down with us was indeed a major battle, but we haven’t lost
the war yet. I’m going to fight for us like I’ve never fought for
anything else in my life. And I will not lose.

* * *

Reina

Today is my shopping
day. I made sure to have a full English breakfast from the pub across
from the hotel, and now I’m walking to the oldest record store in
the world. I don’t know what I’ll get since I don’t have a
record player, but I want something. And I can always buy a player
for my new place.

I can’t help but stop
into some of the shops I pass, and I even see some furniture I love.
I only hesitate for a few seconds before buying the pieces. I’m
having them shipped to the Corrigan apartments, because I know
they’ll hold everything for me, even if I’m no longer a resident.
It’s fun to just buy what I want, and I wish I’d let myself be
free to do it before now. Living in fear really does suck.

I walk into the record
shop, and immediately want a t-shirt. They are so cool, and so is the
girl DJ-ing on the left. I smile at her and start to navigate my way
down one of the small aisles. I don’t get very far before one of
the employees stops me.

“Are you Reina?”

“Yes,” I say,
warily, instinctively reaching for a gun that isn’t there.

“Thought so. We’ve
got something for ya.”

“Oh.”

Really? My fairy
god-something knew I’d come here? I didn’t even know, or did I?
I’ve been thinking about getting a record player for a few months.
I had a conversation about it with Kace when we were all together for
dinner a couple of months ago. I didn’t think anyone else was
listening, but maybe they were. I just have to figure out who.

“Here you go,” the
guy tells me, handing me a bag.

Inside, I find a stack
of smaller sized vinyls, along with a blue t-shirt. The records are
Ed Sheeran, which you might think would make figuring this out
easier, but it doesn’t. Everyone knows I love Ed, and I have seen
him every time he’s come through Vegas, even though I haven’t met
him. I totally could, with my Society connections—or with Kace’s
help—but I’ve been satisfied with just enjoying the concerts. I
see that the vinyls are some of his earlier songs, and I love them
even more. I thank the guy at the store, and walk out again.

The street I end up on
is filled with trendy shops. I see things I like, but I know I’ll
find these shops when I go to London, and maybe even Paris, so I
don’t stop in. When I get to the mall, I make my way to John Lewis
first. I’ve heard great things about this department store, and I
want to at least window shop. I buy some chocolate, and a couple of
purses that are not only gorgeous, but on sale. I see the stationery
section, and I can’t resist looking. There is so much I want, but I
remind myself that my trip has just started and I should not be
buying everything I see, even if it is cool.