“Why didn’t you hit Carter with his DUI tonight?” his father asked.
“I should have known you were behind those flyers,” Matt said.
“I don’t have time for playing around. I’m due in court early tomorrow morning, Matthew. I need to get to bed.”
“Who’s stopping you?” Matt asked. “You’re the one who called me. Now, is there a reason you called?”
“Did you see that commercial Carter’s camp threw together? You need to fight fire with fire. I handed you the DUI. You should have used it.”
“Forget it. I’m not bringing up old news just so I can sling mud at Patrick Carter.”
“You get this softhearted shit from your mother. You need to grow out of it. You’re not going to win this election playing Mr. Nice Guy.”
Matt’s grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“You need to get to bed so that you’re up early for court tomorrow,” he said. “Goodbye.” He hung up the phone before his father could say anything more to piss him off.
Too late. He was good and pissed, which was his typical state of being whenever he had an encounter of any kind with Leroy Gauthier.
Tamryn adjusted her earbuds as she jogged along the dirt path that ran parallel to the narrow two-lane highway. The only thing that had stopped her from ignoring the alarm when it went off at six a.m. this morning was the promise of the homemade buttermilk biscuits that she knew would await her when she returned to Belle Maison. She was running for biscuits.
She turned onto the graveled driveway that led to a small recreation park, which boasted a baseball diamond and a running track. She spotted a black Mercedes parked under the twisty branches of a huge oak tree, and a smile drew across her face. She spotted the man leaning against the trunk of the tree and her smile widened.
Tamryn came up to his car and pulled out her earbuds. She leaned over, putting her hands on her thighs and pulling in several deep breaths.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting the bottle of water Matt handed her. “And good morning.”
“Good morning.” His velvety-smooth voice was much too stimulating this early in the morning. “Are you ready to start my training session?” he asked.
“Training session?”
He nodded. “You offered to train me for this weekend’s 5K, remember?”
Bracing one hand on the hood of his car, she bent her leg back and caught her right ankle, stretching her quad muscle. “Don’t you think it’s a bit too late to start training for a 5K you’re planning to run this weekend?” Her eyes traveled from the top of his head to the tips of his running shoes, taking in the way his sweat-soaked shirt clung to his abs. “Besides, from where I stand, it doesn’t look as if you need much training at all. I don’t think I have anything I can offer.”
Matt shoved off the base of the tree and sauntered toward her.
“I disagree,” he whispered. “I think there’s a lot you can teach me, professor.”
He shoved both hands in her hair, cradling the base of her head and holding her steady as his mouth descended upon her. Without releasing her, he moved them over to the tree and braced his hands on either side of her head. The knobby bark dug into her back, but her brain hardly registered it. All she could feel was Matt. She felt him on every single part of her body, from the tips of her feet to the very top of her head and all points in between.
One part in particular throbbed for him as his lips moved up and down her neck. He fitted himself more firmly against her, his hard length nudging her stomach. Tamryn closed her eyes and fell into the moment. She wanted him beneath her, inside of her. She wanted to tear the clothes off him right now and climb on top of him. She wanted to lose herself in him.
“Please, come home with me,” Matt said against her neck. “This is crazy, Tamryn. I’m ready to lay you down and take you right in the middle of the damn park.”
God, she wanted to go with him. Her body wasbeggingfor her to go with him.
So why in the hell wasn’t she? Why was she fighting something they both so desperately needed?
“Okay,” she said against his lips.
His head snapped up. “What?”
“Okay,” Tamryn said, struggling for air. “Let’s go.”
Matt’s eyes widened for a moment, then he snapped to attention, taking her by the hand and leading her to his car. Just as they reached it, a late-model brown sedan pulled up to them.
“Son of a bitch,” Matt cursed under his breath.
