The cheerful man grunts in agreement. “Yeah, you read so much about these things, don’t you? You almost feel like you do know them personally. I’m into my true crime, so I’ve looked at the cold case a bit. Weird one, for sure. Sad is right.”
Simon nods, waits, then asks, “Who areyouhere for?”
The cheerful man gestures along the path toward a large, sleeping stone lion.
“The black cross next to the big lion. Dad. Always come on his birthday.”
They both stare back at the cross. “Nice,” Simon responds, sympathetically.
The cheerful man turns back to him suddenly, as if realizing something. He squints his eyes appraisingly for a sustained moment, studying Simon’s features. Simon’s skin bristles.
“You look familiar,” the man finally says. “I think I might remember you from Leewood, actually.” The man chuckles, satisfied. “Yep, I never forget a face. I was substitute PE, lower years, for my sins. You still in the area?”
Simon shakes his head. “Nah, London now.”
“Oooooh, very swish. Ever think of coming back?”
Simon lets out a laugh, relief flooding him. “God, no. Not my scene at all. Couldn’t get away fast enough.”
Day Seven
Chapter 38
Getting Lucky
The front door of Matt’srenovation opens into a plaster-dust-covered, bare-boarded hallway that stops almost immediately with another makeshift, stud-wall door with a heavy-duty padlock and chain securing it.
Matt is staring at me, amused.
I’m going to ruin this if I keep thinking weird things,I remind myself, and shake it off.
Matt leans past me and flicks on a clipped-up construction light, and the hall bursts into focus, its plaster dust, jagged edges, and all immediately exposed in one narrow beam.
Matt shuts the white front door behind us, sealing us into the small vestibule between both doors. He wordlessly plucks a large ring of keys out of his coat pocket, angling one up into the light to check it’s the one he needs.
The jangle of the keys, the wine in my system, and the thick steel lock conspire to send a shudder through me. I try to pry my thoughts away from basements, and bruised skin.
Matt looks up at me, catching my gaze as it lingers on the heavily chained door.
“Yeah, no, I just—” I mumble, aware I am a little giddy from the wine. “Safety first.”
He leans past me to reach the large padlock, slipping the key into it, and for a second he is so close I have to push my body back into the wall, plaster dust powdering the shoulders of my coat.
The padlock pops open, and Matt slips it from the door, releasingthe heavy chain to dangle, scraping against the wood of the door as it swings from its mooring. He stores the padlock in one of his pockets, the weight of it pulling down on the coat’s fabric.
Then he turns back to me, placing one hand on the wall beside my head, and leans his lips close enough to kiss. I move to do just that, but he pulls back, teasing me. I let my head rest once more on the wall, and he slips one arm back inside my coat, his hand finding the gap between my legs and pushing aside my panties. I gasp, my body arching in pleasure, my eyes batting closed, his lips finally finding mine. I moan in ecstasy as his fingers slip inside me.
“Oh God,” I gasp, and he delicately moves his hand from the wall and places it over my mouth, my eyes immediately batting open at the dominance of it.
“Shhh,” he tells me, his eyes holding mine, letting me know I am safe. “I haven’t soundproofed the hall yet. The walls are paper-thin out here.” He holds my gaze steadily, but the pleasure is too extreme.
“If you want to make noise, we’ll have to go inside. Do you want to go inside?”
He moves his hand from my mouth. “Okay,” I respond, my voice cracking, a shiver rippling through me.
It has been a while since anyone has touched me like this, and even then, Ben did not know how to do what Matt is doing to me with such seeming ease.
He unlatches the makeshift door and turns to me with that ridiculously handsome smile, his eyes taking me in. There is nothing dangerous about him.
