Society Girls: Matisse (2 page)

Not because I have a crush on him—that ship
sailed when I was eleven and caught him fucking a girl in the
bathroom at the roller skating rink. It looked like it hurt, she
was screaming, and I was traumatized for years. I remind him from
time to time that he almost ruined sex for me.

Aiden is more like my second older brother,
and when I met his fiancé and saw the way he looked at her, I was
blown away. I didn’t think he’d find someone who could calm him,
yet excite him at the same time, but he did, and she’s the other
reason I’m here. I absolutely love Ellie, and not just because she
introduced me to Stella, who is pretty much my idol. She loves
Aiden unconditionally, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness.

“Reina’s ready for you,” the woman at the
front desk says to me. I’m pretty sure she’s Alex Corrigan, but if
she is, I don’t understand why she’s manning a front desk. She’s
possibly a billionaire, but I stop thinking about that as I make my
way down the hallway to the doors at the end. They open as I
approach, which is kind of freaky, but whatever—this whole thing is
kind of weird.

As I step inside the room, I see Aiden,
Ellie, Stella, and another woman I don’t know sitting in chairs
around a table. “Hi, Matisse,” Reina tells me, holding out her
hand. “Thank you for coming here today.”

“Sure, no problem,” I tell her, taking the
seat Aiden holds out for me. It’s funny to see him standing and
being all formal, even though I know he grew up as part of D.C.
society. To me, he’s always been my brother’s friend who behaves
inappropriately more often than not.

“I’m Mallory Daniels,” the woman I didn’t
recognize says to me.

“Hello.”

“I’m sure you’re curious as to why we
brought you here today,” Reina says, and I nod. “We have an offer
for you, but I have to warn you that anything you are told in this
room is confidential. You cannot tell anyone what is said or done
here—not even your family. Do you understand?”

“Um, yeah. Well, no actually.”

“No?” she asks, her eyes narrowing.

“No offense, but I don’t know anyone in this
room enough to make that kind of promise—except for Aiden.”

Reina studies me intently
for almost a minute, and I force myself not to squirm. “Understood.
I can tell you some things before I’ll need that promise, but
you
will
make it
at some point.”

I almost nod, because she’s that scary. You
wouldn’t know it from TV, or even from seeing her at social events,
but Reina Corrigan carries a power with her that can be felt when
she’s focusing on you. And I’m ready to say yes to just about
anything at the moment. Damn!

“Chill, Rei, you’re scaring her,” Aiden
says.

“She’s holding her own,” Stella tells him,
and when I look at her, she’s smiling at me.

“How much do you know about the Corrigan
& Co. Foundation?” Reina asks, her voice and face softening a
little.

“You help women and children.”

“We do, yes. Do you know how we help
them?”

I actually read up on the Foundation before
coming here, so I’d be a little prepared. “You get them out of bad
situations, offer counseling, job skills training, and housing in a
secured building if they need it. From what I’ve read, you not only
‘save’ people by taking them out of the situations they’re in, but
you empower them.”

“You’ve done your homework.”

“School was never easy for me, but I’m not
dumb.”

“I never suspected you were. I’m very
pleased you armed yourself before you walked into this meeting with
me.”

Wow. She gets it—because arming myself is
exactly what I did. “Did you need me to help you with something
here?”

“In a way, yes. I’d like to hire you.”

“Oh. You think there’s a job I could do
here? With Stella?” Please say it’s with Stella! I would kill to
work with her, and I’m only half joking.

“Yes, but now is when I need that promise
from you. I can’t go any farther without knowing you can keep our
secrets—which will be your secrets as well.”

I look around the table and then back to
her, swallowing hard, but trusting that I’m making the right
decision. “I promise.”

Reina smiles, and it may be just as scary as
her intense look, because I don’t know how she switched from one to
the other so quickly. “The Foundation does all the things you
mentioned, but we have a secret arm that does even more. We call
ourselves the Society, and I guess the best description of us would
be spies; although, we’ve also been referred to as ‘avenging
angels.’ We do whatever we need to in order to rescue people from
the worst situations you can imagine, and we have a success rate of
99% because of it. When I say ‘anything,’ I mean it. I will kill a
man—or woman—to save someone else, and I won’t feel bad about it
afterward.”

“Let’s be honest here, Rei—you prefer
torture over outright killing them,” Ellie tells her with a
laugh.

I should probably be a little freaked out,
but I’m actually kind of excited. “You think I could do that?”

“Do you?” Reina asks me.

“Yes,” I say without hesitation.

“That’s all I need to hear.”

“I don’t know how to kill someone.”

“That will be part of your training,”
Mallory tells me. “My friends and I started the Society thinking
we’d only have ten women at one time working for us, but Reina is
changing things—for the better. You’ll be training with nine other
women, in subjects ranging from weapons and technology to etiquette
and fashion. Each of you will be mentored by a current member, and
you will need to pass every test you are given.”

“How much time do I have?” I ask, panicking
now.

“As long as you need,” Reina reassures me.
“I mean, not ten years, but if you’re progressing in at least some
things, we’ll give you help with others. We want you to
succeed.”

“Are you my mentor?” I ask Stella.

“Yep.”

“When do I start?”

“Not for a at least a few months to a year.
I have to get everything set up, and I don’t want to rush it.”

I can’t pretend I’m not a little
disappointed. “Oh. I guess I’ll go back to D.C.”

“Yes, but even though you’re not with us
yet, you can still start honing your skills. Everyday life provides
all kinds of opportunities.”

“I never thought of that, but yeah, I can
learn how to hold a fork, and shit—I mean stuff.”

“No one here holds their tongue, and I don’t
want you to either. Say what you want, as long as you’re not mean,
and we’ll be good.”

She stands up, so I do too. “Thank you so
much! I can’t wait.”

This is so cool. I get to work with Stella,
and be some kind of kick-ass secret agent. I hope this year goes by
fast.

* * *

Five months ago

I took all of the tests Reina had for me,
but I didn’t hear anything else until now. I talked to Aiden, but
it was just like it always was—just checking in and talking about
friends and family. I was impatient, but I did what she suggested,
and threw myself into learning things I never paid attention to
before. I took an etiquette class with a bunch of kids—yes, there
were teddy bears and “tea”—and learned how to shoot a gun. I wanted
to learn how to hack into computers, but I decided it was above my
skill set, and I didn’t want to get arrested by trying it on my
own. I know I can do this, and I’m so glad to be here in the
Foundation again.

“Hi Matisse, you can go on back.”

“Thanks, Alex,” I tell her.
I learned on my last visit that she definitely
is
Alex Corrigan, and also that she
loves being at the front desk, despite being a billionaire herself
and being married to one as well.

I practically skip down the hall and walk
through the doors I already knew would be open. Reina’s waiting for
me with a smile on her face. “Are you ready?”

“Hell, yeah,” I tell her, more than ready to
live this new life.

After she goes over all of my paperwork with
me, Reina takes me down to the medical wing to see Stella. She just
got back from a mission, where she was stabbed in the thigh. Reina
tells me they have a doctor on-site, and he’s stitching her up
right now.

When we walk into the hospital room, my
attention is immediately drawn to the dark-skinned man placing the
bandage on Stella. He’s absolutely gorgeous, but I’ve seen gorgeous
men before, and not felt like this. I don’t know what it is about
him, but I’m instantly attracted to him, and his sexy muscled
forearms.

“Hey, Matisse!” Stella says with a
smile.

“Hi,” I managed to get out, even though my
mouth has gone dry. “Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah. Just a little knife wound. Kenny
stitched me up good.”

“Kenny?”

He looks at me, and rolls my eyes, before
holding his hand out to me. “Hello. I’m Kendrick. You can call me
Kenny or Ken, as the other women do if you’d like.”

I nearly fall to the floor in a puddle of
lust at the sound of his African accent. Dear God, what is wrong
with me? “How about ‘Doc’?” I ask, flirting because I have to, and
then forcing myself not to jump back when our hands touch and a zap
of electricity seems to hit me.

His eyes widen as he looks at our hands, and
then me, telling me he felt something to. “Yes, Matisse. You may
call me that if you wish.”

Oh, I wish. I wish for a
lot of things that are definitely not appropriate to be thinking or
saying right now. I know I’m going to say, and try to do
them—do
him
—at
some point, but for now, I just smile, and pretend like I’m not in
total lust, and maybe even a little love with this man I just met.
Piece of cake, right?

Two weeks ago

Matisse

“Do you want to come up to my place?” I ask
Kendrick, feeling bold at this party I helped make happen.

“I’m not sure that would be a good
idea.”

“You don’t always have to be good, you
know.”

“Actually, I do.”

“We’d be good together if you’d just give me
a chance.”

“It’s not you.”

“Really? Come on, Doc. Don’t say it’s you,
because I’m not buying it. You’re brilliant, hot, and I know you
want me.”

Now the alcohol is starting to talk. I
probably shouldn’t have had that last shot, but liquid courage and
all, you know.

“It’s not proper for me to date a
recruit.”

“There’s no rules against it. I already
checked.”

“It’s an unwritten rule.”

“Is it Waverly?”

“What?”

“I know you two are close. Is she your
secret girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Fuck buddy?”

“Definitely not.”

“I’d be your fuck buddy. No strings.”

“How much have you had to drink,
Matisse?”

“Maybe too much, or maybe not enough.”

“I’m leaning towards the too much for you
right now.”

“Why am I not sexy enough to make you break
your rules, Doc?”

“You’re more than sexy enough. I just have
rules for a reason. I don’t want to compromise myself by breaking
them.”

“You really think I’m sexy?” I ask, ignoring
the rest of what he said, because it makes no sense.

“You know I do.”

“Can you change your rules? Then you won’t
have to worry about breaking any with me. Please?”

“You’re going to be the death of me,
Matisse. Maybe even literally.”

“I’d never let you die, Doc. I’ll protect
you even if you don’t give me any yummy orgasms.”

“I think I better get you up to bed.”

“Ooh. Yes, please.”

“I’m just going to tuck you in. You’re in no
condition for anything else.”

“Guys don’t always care.”

“This
guy cares. Let’s go.”

He cares. About me. I
wasn’t kidding about some guys not minding sex after a few too many
drinks, but my doctor cares. He’s mine, even if he doesn’t know it
yet. And I’m his. I have been ever since I first laid eyes on him
on my tour. I wanted to un-straighten his laces that day, and my
desire for him has only grown while he’s been tutoring me. He may
not be ready for me yet, but he will be. He
has
to be. After all, he’s the only
man I’ve ever truly fallen in love with.

* * *

Kendrick

Getting Matisse up to her apartment nearly
did me in. I want her so badly, but I won’t allow myself to have
her. There’s too much I’m hiding from her, and it wouldn’t be fair
to bring her into my life. I can usually deal with it, but there
are times when I almost give in. Earlier tonight was one of those
times.

She’s drunk now, and I meant it when I said
I wouldn’t ever take advantage of an inebriated woman. But
earlier—earlier when she wasn’t drunk—she was being just as flirty.
Hell, she’s always flirty with me, letting me know she wants more
than just tutoring from me.

It’s getting harder and harder to resist
her, especially when I’m carrying her to her bed. She probably
could’ve walked, but I wanted her in my arms. Just once I wanted to
feel her body against mine.

“Thanks for carrying me, Doc,” she says,
before closing her eyes.

Her even breathing tells me she’s sleeping.
I open her door, and take her into her bedroom. I’ve been to her
apartment several times, but I’ve never been in here. Her grey
satin sheets are strewn with clothes, the funky shoes she wears,
and lingerie that makes my mouth water and my already hard cock
even harder. This was a very bad idea. As I move some dresses over
so I can lay her down, I know I won’t be able to forget being in
this room, or imagining her in the black lace corset that’s on the
floor at my feet. I just need to remember that I can’t have her,
and make it a point to cut back on our study sessions without
hurting her feelings.