AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Matt smiled the secretive way he’d done several times before and replied, “It’s not as crazy as it appears. You’ll understand soon enough, but now isn’t the time for explanations. Let’s go tell Annabeth goodnight. She’ll see to the guests after we leave.”
Jess allowed him to take her arm and lead her to where Annabeth was speaking to the restaurant manager. They were stopped several times on their journey as the guests understood they were leaving and wished to say goodbye and good luck. Jess wondered if they all were in on whatever secret Matt was holding back, or if they knew the bride considered her husband a stranger.
“Annabeth, I hate to bother you or ask you for another favor, but I find that I must. Jess has had a bit too much champagne, and I need to take her upstairs. I don’t want to leave you all alone to deal with all this. I can come back down if you want me to. However, until I know Jess will be okay, I would appreciate it if you’d watch over the party and let everyone continue to have fun,” Matt stated.
Jess understood he felt obligated to take care of his guests. After all, he was the host, but it seemed odd that a professional gambler would show such care and kindness for others. She was suddenly aware that as the bride she should have been more attentive to their needs and less absorbed in herself. If Matt could be a responsible person, then so could she. She’d remedy a little of her mistake right away.
“It’s okay. I can get to the room by myself. Stay with your guests, Matt. I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking of them and their needs at all. I’ve been very selfish tonight, so let me go up by myself,” she pleaded.
“Nonsense! The bride is supposed to be selfish on her wedding day. It’s practically a law. I just thank the Lord you haven’t been a bridezilla,” Annabeth replied with a laugh. “I’ve got this covered, and I don’t mind it in the least. You shouldn’t go upstairs alone, Jess. Your husband would appear foolish if he remained here without his new wife. Matt would definitely hate looking foolish. I doubt that he’d want to stay anyway. He hasn’t been able to keep his hands off you all night, so he certainly won’t be willing to now.”
“Annabeth,” Matt said in a tone of admonishment. “What are you talking about?”
She patted Matt’s cheeks in a gesture that surprised Jess. It was loving and very sisterly, which was unexpected.
“Dear brother, did you actually think no one noticed? For once your famous poker face won’t help you. Your eyes have been burning a hole through Jess all night, and your hands have barely left her even to eat. Don’t argue. Just take your leave and say thank you. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Annabeth chided.
“Thank you, dearest sister,” Matt sarcastically replied.
Jess clung to his arm as they made the trip to the elevators. She stumbled a time or two, and he kept her upright. She was having trouble keeping herself from kicking the uncomfortable heels off and leaving them for someone else to find. They no longer seemed sexy or necessary. Instead, she’d decided they were the reason she was so unsteady on her feet.
In the elevator, alone with Matt, reality began to sink in. The muscular body she was hanging onto was her husband, a man she had yet to learn anything important about or completely understand. If things progressed as they should, and she secretly hoped, that hard body would soon be bare and on top of her, which would be an adventure but definitely odd. She didn’t know his likes or dislikes in bed or otherwise. What was he going to think when he saw the tiny strips of white underwear she wore? Were her curvy body and full breasts the kind he preferred, or was he into the overly thin, almost breastless models who came to the hotel?
Was Matt into foreplay, or did he simply do the deed? How was she going to handle this? She wasn’t into picking guys up at bars and bringing them home for sex, so how was she going to react to getting naked with Matt? Jess wasn’t shy as a rule, but this was a whole new ball game, way out of her comfort zone.
She was going to let Matt take the lead, that’s what she decided as the elevator began to rise. She’d follow his cues, and everything would be fine. She liked his touch. In fact, she more than liked it. It had kept her turned on all night. Just his hand on her leg had brought her to the brink of losing it. He had a way of causing her body to hum in an indescribable way. He was sexy to the point of being unreal, much like a character in a book or movie. He clearly knew how to court a woman and excite her—that much she learned in one evening.
Was it enough to know they desired each other? Not really. Jess wanted to know more. She needed to know how his mind worked, what he felt, and most of all, why he came to her rescue by offering marriage. Why had he rescued her at all? She was nothing to him. What exactly did he get out of this, especially marrying her? She wanted him to open up and talk to her. She wanted an explanation.
There had to be more to this arrangement than she’d seen. It was impossible to figure it all out while her head was muddled with alcohol and spinning. Her brain wasn’t up to doing calculations or putting together puzzle pieces at the moment. Previously, Matt hadn’t given her time to think. He’d made an offer she couldn’t refuse, then rushed her off to fulfill it. Everything had already been planned and settled before she’d agreed to the offer, which she should have questioned but was too freaked out to do. Jess wanted and needed the whole truth from him.
Unable to think clearly and unravel the tangled-up mess Matt had gotten her into, Jess decided to think only of her own feelings and deal with them as she saw fit. Right now, she was concerned about her wedding night. Despite all the intimate touching and the heart-stopping kiss he’d planted on her to seal their vows, Matt hadn’t said a word about sex. He’d never mentioned it when he made the deal with her. Jess wanted to know his intentions. Was she freaking out for nothing, or was she right in assuming he’d be taking her to bed?
Actually, she feared she’d freak out worse if he didn’t want her in his bed. That was the really weird part of it all. Perhaps she thought screwing Matt would erase Spencer from her mind. If she had sex with Matt enough times, she could get over the anger, sadness, and love she still hung onto for Spencer. He was a plague she needed to get rid of. That had to be why Matt turned her on so easily. He was the cure for all the awfulness Spencer had put her through. He was the solution to her broken heart. If anyone could screw Spencer out of her heart and head, it was Matt. Every time he kissed her, she was saturated in heat, lust, and desire.
If that was the case, then Jess wasn’t leaving the choice of whether or not to consummate the wedding night up to Matt. She was going to take things into her own hands. They were married, so it wasn’t like she was jumping the bones of a random man in hopes of derailing her thoughts of another. Matt was legally hers to do with as she pleased, wasn’t he? That’s what her muddled brain told her anyway.
She took a deep breath and turned slightly toward Matt. She placed her free hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat. It was pounding faster than she’d imagined beneath her questing hand. When he didn’t protest, she tried to slip a finger between buttonholes to find bare skin. Matt covered her hand with his own and held it still.
Well, that wasn’t going to work. She wasn’t going to let him stop her so easily, so Jess began to rub her ample breast against his side, turning more so that she was soon front-to-front with him.
“Jess, what are you doing?” he gruffly asked.
In answer, she pulled her hand from beneath his and lifted it to his neck, yanking his head down and kissing him the way she’d longed to all night. Her tongue swept his mouth leaving no doubt as to what she wanted. She took his hand and placed it on her breast, forced it to squeeze her, and then let out a moan. Something inside her had opened wide with the touch of hid big, warm hand. The now-familiar hum began again.
Matt took her wrists and abruptly removed her hands from him. He pulled away, but she fought back. With her knee she rubbed his manhood, making him jerk and curse. He dropped her hands to push away her knee.
Instantly, she began to tug at the straps of her dress. She pulled until the bodice fell, letting the lacy, sheer bra give him a glimpse of her darkened, alert nipples. She’d seduce him one way or another because now she wanted him, not just to erase Spencer but to give herself the gift of fulfilling a desire.
“Don’t do this, Jess. You don’t really want to do this. You’ve been drinking, and you’re tired. You’ve got to stop humiliating yourself for me or anyone else,” Matt demanded.
20
Matt’s words were like a bucket of ice water tossed on her head. Nothing else he could have said or done would have hurt more. She’d had more than her share of rejection lately, not to mention in her entire life. It wasn’t quite as much of a shock as she’d have expected it to be, yet the pain it brought was way above what she could tolerate at the moment. Every inch of her felt the ache, but most of all, her heart was shattered, which was insane in itself since she’d already considered it to be in that condition after Spencer had jilted her.
How much rejection and heartache could one woman take and still be alive? Jess was finding out the answer to that question the hard way. She may have whimpered from the pain. She wasn’t sure, though. She’d definitely heard the sound but couldn’t be certain it had come from her lips. She was so dazed and confused that she was beginning to shut her consciousness down in order to spare herself any more agony. She welcomed the numbness she felt coming on.
She felt Matt tugging at her bodice to cover her from his gaze and any other prying eyes that might be in the hallway when the elevator stopped on the floor where her room was located. This time, when his hands brushed her breasts, she felt nothing but shame. She’d thrown herself at him like some kind of slut when she’d been betrothed to another man just hours ago. He was right—she had humiliated herself.
