Loving My SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 10) (4 page)

I
manage to convince her to let me wear my hair loose around my
shoulders, and keep the jewelry to a minimum. If my dress isn’t
sophisticated enough for my liking, I can try and make the rest of my
look that way at least.

As
soon as we walk into the ballroom, I see him. I know who he is from
the pictures around the house, but they don’t do him justice. He’s
got close-shaved hair, which I know is from the military, and I can
see the muscles bulging in his arms under his tuxedo jacket. He’s
surrounded by girls—and women—in slinky dresses, and he doesn’t
seem to mind their attention one bit.

All
of a sudden, as if some magic force has made it happen, his head
snaps sideways to look at me. All the breath leaves my body as his
beautiful eyes meet mine. I’m captured there in his gaze, until my
mother shakes me.

“
Reina,
we need to go and see Jane.”

“
Of
course, Mama. I was just overwhelmed for a moment.”

It’s
the truth, but not for the reason she thinks. When I look back to
Matt, he’s smiling down at a blonde who’s got herself plastered
against his side. As if he can sense me again, he looks up. Only this
time he’s smirking, and grabbing her ass. I know it’s for me.
He’s showing me that I’m not interesting enough to keep his
attention. Message received, loud and clear.

I
manage to ignore him as I’m introduced to all of the people at the
ball. Jane tells them that my father is a respected doctor, and that
I’m going to be working for her at the Corrigan & Co.
Foundation while attending college here in Chicago. I smile and make
polite conversation, and everything is going well until we’re
seated for dinner. For some reason, Jane sat me right next to him.

I’m
already seated when he makes his way over, the blonde still clinging
to him like her life depends on it. “Trade seats with me,” she
practically demands.

Before
I can answer, Jane does it for me. “If you have a problem with my
seating assignments, perhaps you should leave.”

“
Oh
no. I don’t, Mrs. Corrigan. Matt and I were just having such a nice
time that I wanted to sit with him.” The girl is practically
whimpering and her smile is long gone.

“
If
Matt is interested in you, I’m sure he’ll find you later.”

She
practically runs from the table, while Matt drops into his seat with
a sigh. “Did you have to scare her away, Gram?”

“
Do
you really want to be with a woman who I can scare away so easily?”

“
It
was just going to be for an hour or two. It’s not like I was going
to date her.”

“
Of
course not.”

I’m
shocked by the openness of their conversation, and it must show on my
face. “You can close your mouth now,” he whispers to me with
another one of those smirks.

“
Fuck
you,” I hiss back at him.

He
looks me up and down before leaning towards my ear again. “Nah,
I’ll pass. Uptight isn’t really my thing.”

I
push my chair back so fast that it almost topples over. I manage to
grab it in time, and push it under the table. “I-I’m sorry. I’m
not really feeling well all of a sudden. Please excuse me.”

“
I’ll
go with you,” my mother says, rising from her chair.

“
No,
Mama. You stay. I just need some fresh air. I promise I’m fine.”

“
You’re
sure?”

“
Yes.”

I
don’t look at Matt as I make my way out the patio doors. I’m sure
the blonde has already taken my seat. Or maybe not—she looked
pretty scared of Jane. If she only knew just how right she is to be
scared. I don’t want to think about that now, though. I just want
to hide.

I
open the door of the glass gazebo at the edge of the backyard. Over
the last week, this has become my haven. I read in here, and I cry
when I need to. My parents are upset enough about what happened, and
so I try not to cry in front of them. This place is my refuge, until
it isn’t.

It’s
only minutes after I’ve curled myself onto a bench with a fuzzy
throw over me before the door opens. Matt is silhouetted in the
doorway, holding some covered plates with sodas tucked under his arm.
“What are you doing here?”

“
Trying
to apologize for running you off like that. I don’t know you, and I
shouldn’t have insulted you.”

“
Why
did you?” I ask as he walks in, and puts the plates on another one
of the cushioned benches.

“
I
honestly don’t know. I’m usually not that much of an ass. It’s
just when you walked in earlier, it was like…like I felt you. I
knew you were there, even though we hadn’t met.”

“
I
felt it, too.”

“
I
fuck girls, Reina—that’s you name right? Reina? It means queen?”

“
Yes,
that’s my name, and it does mean queen in Spanish and some other
languages. You’re Matt. Your grandmother talks about you and your
brother all the time.”

He
nods. “Like I was saying, I fuck girls. I don’t get to know them,
and I don’t usually remember their names after. They know the
score, so it’s not like I lead them on.”

“
Thanks
for the info. What does that have to do with me?”

He
walks over and cups my face with his hand. “I want to remember your
name, Reina. Now, and always. I don’t know why, and it scared me
inside, but right now I don’t care. I don’t care about anything
but kissing you. Can I kiss you?”

“
Yes.”

His
mouth descends on mine, and I feel it all the way to my toes. The
rightness of his mouth on mine. This is what my first kiss should’ve
been like. It wasn’t, but without that one, I wouldn’t have this
one, so right now I don’t let it bother me.

Matt
licks my lips, and I open them for him. We haven’t broken apart
yet, and I hope we never do. I arch against him without even
realizing I’m doing it, and I feel him smile against my lips. His
tongue is driving me crazy, and I think mine might be doing the same
to him when he moans into my mouth.

I
don’t protest, or say anything at all, when his free hand moves to
the back of my dress and starts to lower my zipper. I vowed to be a
bold new Reina, and I want whatever he’s willing to give me of
himself tonight. I push his jacket off his shoulders as my dress
falls to the floor. He steps back to look at me, and I force myself
to remain still and not try to cover myself.

I
have on a sheer blue strapless bra, and matching thong. My mother
doesn’t know I put such sexy things on underneath this little girl
dress, but I needed to feel like a woman. I didn’t expect anyone to
see them, or the thigh high stockings covering most of my legs, but
now I’m glad that I chose them when Audrey took me out shopping
with her.

“
Holy…wow…I
mean, damn Reina. That dress should be charged with a crime for
hiding this. Your tits alone should have a shrine built to them.
Fuck.”

“
Thank
you,” I say. I should feel more embarrassed, but I don’t.

I
know I have fairly large breasts, round hips, a small waist and long
legs. I’ve never liked having attention on me before, but I love
the way Matt is looking at me. He looks almost hungry.

“
I
know I said you were uptight, but after that kiss, and this body, I
need to apologize. I do want to fuck you, Reina. Almost more than
I’ve wanted anything in my life.”

“
You’re
a little overdressed for that,” I tell him, desperate to see his
muscles.

“
So
that’s a yes?”

“
It
is.” It shouldn’t be, but it is.

He
takes off his clothes in record time, and my eyes widen as more and
more of him is exposed. Matt said my chest should have a shrine, but
his deserves a temple. My God, he’s a work of art. His pecs are
big, and covered in just a little bit of hair. His arms just might
make my panties disintegrate, and then there’s his abs. There
aren’t supposed to be four sets of ridges—I mean, how is that
even possible. When he drops his pants and briefs, I suck in a
breath.

He
has leg muscles for days, but it’s what’s between them that has
me pressing my own legs together. His…penis…is thick, and wide,
and long, really long. I’m not stupid enough to think it won’t
fit, because vaginas are made for babies to come out of, but I am a
little nervous.

“
You’re
beautiful, Matt.”

“
Um,
I’m not sure you’re supposed to say that to a guy.”

“
But
you are. I mean it. You look like a god.” I probably shouldn’t
tell him that, but it’s true.

“
I’m
going to fuck you like one, Reina. You can be sure of that. I won’t
be satisfied until I have you screaming my name, over and over
again.”

“
Yes,
please.”

He’s
on me again in less than a second. His hands expertly remove my bra,
and he puts a hand in each side of my panties and tears them right
off. I let out a squeak, and he smiles. “You like it rough, baby?
I’m going to give it to you rough. At least the first time. After
that, I’ll worship this nice, wet pussy and make you come on my
tongue.”

“
Matt,”
I say, realizing I have to tell him.

“
I
know. I can feel how wet you are. You’re ready for me, and it’s
going to be so good. For both of us,” he tells me, running his
fingers through my curls down there.

I
don’t get a chance to speak again as he takes control of my mouth.
I’m so lost in his kiss that I barely register the sound of foil
tearing, and then there’s pain. More physical pain than I’ve ever
experienced in my life. I break my mouth away from his and scream, as
tears run down my face.

Matt’s
body freezes while he pulls my face up to look at his. “Oh my God,
Reina. You’re a virgin?”

“
Y-yes.”

“
Why
didn’t you tell me? You should’ve told me.”

He
starts to pull away, but I wrap my arms around his back and hold him
still. “No, please don’t stop. I mean, be a little slower if you
can, but don’t stop. I started to tell you, but you kissed me, and
it felt so good. I want this, Matt. I want you.”

“
I
can go slow,” he says, wiping the tears off my cheeks. “I can do
whatever you need. I’m so sorry I hurt you. I don’t want to hurt
you, Reina.”

“
You
won’t.”

“
How
do you know? You’ve just met me. I know Gram talks about me, but
she’s supposed to say nice things,” he tells me as he slowly
slides in and out of me. The pain is lessening but it’s still
there.

“
I
can’t explain it, but it just feels like whatever drew us together
tonight is bigger than just one night.”

“
It
is. I want to see you tomorrow, and the next day. All the days I have
here, which aren’t much. I’m going out of the country in two
weeks.”

“
Yes.
All the days, and then I’ll write to you, and send you cookies. If
you want.”

“
I
want. God, you don’t know how much I want to have you write to me,”
he says, and then he shudders as he buries his head in my hair.
“You’ve conquered me, my beautiful queen.”

* * *

Reina

I lived my life for
eighteen years in this village, and never knew there was an
underground tunnel between the cathedral and the convent. Of course,
I was always a good girl back then, destined for said convent. I did
everything I was told, and kept my curiosity in check. It’s not
that my parents demanded it of me, or even expected it really. They
wanted me to be happy, no matter what I did.

I just always knew that
I wanted to give my life to God, and so I set expectations for
myself. No lying. No cheating. No kissing boys. And then I was taken,
and my first kiss was taken from me. If I had been kept for longer,
the rest of it might have been taken from me, too, but it wasn’t. I
willingly gave my body to Matt, along with my heart, and I have no
one to blame but myself for the damage he’s done since then. The
damage I’ve allowed him to do to me.

“We’re almost
there,” Errol says to me. He’s the man I traded my ring to, and
he’s been leading me on this underground journey.

“It’s the door up
ahead?”

“Yeah.”

“I can go from here.”

“The ring is too
much, Reina.”

I stop in my tracks and
reach for my gun. “How do you know my name?”

“Relax. My cousins
told me about you when I moved here a few years ago. All about the
girl who got out after being kidnapped. And even in this small town,
we get the world news. Your wedding to Matthew Corrigan was the event
of the year.”

“If you knew who I
was, why did you help me?” I ask, my gun still leveled at his face.

“Because this entire
town knows that he’s doing this to the convent to get you back
here. He’s starting with the convent, but he’ll eventually come
after the rest of us.”

“So you’re just
hoping he catches me. Is this a trap?”

“I’m sorry, but
yes, I do hope he catches you. And no, this isn’t a trap. I won’t
be sorry if he gets you, and it saves us, but I won’t hand you to
him.”

“Thank God for small
favors.”

“I hope you find a
way to save yourself. I really do.”

“I’m more concerned
with saving everyone else. Thank you for bringing me here. I know it
was dangerous for you.”

“It wasn’t enough
for me to keep this ring. It’s too much,” he says, holding it out
to me.

“No. You keep it. Get
away from here if you can.”

“Thank you.”