Matty stood in the doorway, her voice low, “Do you have a preference?”
Sloan hugged the material of her robe to her chest, thrown for a second. “Preference?” She barely got the question out, her voice faltering at the sight of Matty in her own pyjamas.
“Side of the bed,” Matty said. “I usually sleep on the right, but I’m not fussed if you want it.”
“Oh. No, that’s fine.” Sloan glanced at the mattress. “I’ll just get changed, and then we can get some sleep.”
“Okay.” Matty smiled and walked across the room to the bed and perched on the edge, one striped leg crossed over the other as she sat back on her hands. “I’ll see you in a minute then.”
***
When Sloan returned, she paused in the doorway. Black silk clung to her frame–thin straps, lace skimming halfway down her thighs.
“I thought we were going to sleep.” Matty smiled and lifted the duvet, making space for her.
Sloan closed the door behind her. “We are.” She removed her earrings one at a time as she walked towards the bed.
“So, you’re showing me what I can’t have?” Matty’s grin widened.
Sloan’s mouth twitched. “Possibly.”
“Is that what being with you is going to be like?” Matty asked, turning onto her side, her head propped on one hand.
Sloan looked at her as she smoothly slid under the covers. “I suppose that depends on what you bring out in me.”
Matty smiled to herself and fell back against the pillow. “That might be part of the appeal, actually.”
Sloan finished straightening the duvet, her thigh settling against Matty’s. “What do you mean?”
Matty rolled back again, settling into the pillow as she looked at Sloan.
“You’re very...contained,” she said, “even when you’re not trying to be.” Her mouth curved. “That first time in your office…the way you spoke to me, barely looked at me...I felt it for hours afterwards. Then in the bar, when you snapped at me for touching your glass...” She shook her head slightly. “That stayed with me too.” Matty looked faintly embarrassed but didn’t turn away. “It turned me on. I didn’t really know what to do with that.”
“And you like that?” Sloan asked.
Matty shook her head slightly. “Not exactly. I just know it does something to me.”
Her gaze stayed on Sloan’s. “You make me feel as if you notice everything. As if you expect something from me. And somehow, I want to give it.” She swallowed. “And then you go and say something honest, or look at me like you’re not as sure of yourself as you sound, and that gets me too.”
Sloan was quiet for a moment, her expression unreadable. “That’s quite an assessment.”
Matty’s mouth smiled slowly. “I’m only telling you what it feels like from where I’m lying.”
Sloan’s gaze stayed on hers. “I’m used to being the one who holds things together,” she said quietly. “At work. At home. Most of the time, there isn’t room for me to be anything else.”
She shifted closer, one hand sliding lightly over Matty’s waist before settling there. “So yes, I like control. But not for the reasons you probably think.”
Matty’s breath caught. “Then why?”
Sloan looked at her mouth, then back to her eyes. “Because I like knowing exactly what I’m doing to someone.”
The silence that followed felt suddenly smaller, tighter.
Matty swallowed. “And do you know what you’re doing to me?”
Sloan’s thumb moved once against her side. “Yes.”
“Getting me all worked up and then…”
