“I still say it was a blessing. I told you about the hell Rhonda put me through. I’d take your ten months of happiness to that.”
“And after that?” she asked softly.
He moved to stand in front of her. “Then I would have a lot of beautiful memories stored, which I’m sure you do.”
“Yes, I do,” she agreed.
“Well, I don’t,” he said. “Out of my marriage, the best thing I can claim is Deena. Not only did you have a loving marriage, Iris, but you also have a son. I see that as a bonus.”
Although she was sure it wasn’t his intent, she felt ungrateful. He was showing her that she really had been blessed. Deciding to get back to the business at hand, she said, “I’m glad we agree on my position, and you won’t expect more from me than I’d be willing to give.”
“Let’s not get it twisted, Iris. I said I was forewarned. I never said I agreed with it. However, you have the right to take whatever position you want,” he said in a voice that rumbled with the sexiness she had heard during most of the night as he’d made love to her.
She lifted a brow. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, I have my own agenda.”
She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “What kind of agenda?”
“To get you to change your mind.”
She chuckled. “It won’t be happening.”
“I will try.”
“Why, Matt? Why would you entertain the thought of marrying again when your first marriage didn’t work out?”
“Because now that I’m older, I have no problem believing in second chances, and I believe that second chance can be with you.”
Well, she had news for him. It wouldn’t be with her. She refused to be any man’s second chance and refused to let any man be hers. A part of Iris felt she shouldn’t put up with any pushback from Matt when she had stated her position, but she was curious how he thought he could pull off such an unlikely thing. So, she asked, “And how do you plan to accomplish that?”
He flashed her a smile that was just as sexy as the timbre of his voice. “I intend to use every weapon at my disposal.” He took a step closer, allowing their bodies to touch.
Iris knew of one such weapon he had used last night, and again early this morning, that she’d found hard to resist. A weapon of seduction, and it was pressing hard against her middle now. She swallowed deeply. The way he looked at her, with those mesmerizing eyes of his… And why did he look even sexier this morning with that beard covering his jaw? It tempted her to reach up and outline it with the tip of her finger. It made him look roguish with a captivating charm.
What she should do was take a step back and suggest he take her home. She had enjoyed her time with Matt and would eventually see him again since they had agreed to become an exclusive couple. But for the life of her, she couldn’t move her feet.
Yet she could move her hands, and they automatically reached up and wrapped around his neck.
“I should ask you to take me home now,” she said, softly.
“Why?” he asked, holding tight to her gaze. “What’s at your house that I don’t have here? I’ve clothed you and fed you. Now…”
She licked her lips when she felt that part of him pressing against her get larger. “Now what?” she asked, inching her mouth even closer to his.
“Now I want to make love to you again.”
She wanted to make love to him again, too, but refused to seem too eager. “And what am I going to get out of it?”
He leaned in closer, and what he whispered in her ear immediately had the area between her legs throbbing. “Oh, my.” She knew from last night it wasn’t a threat but a fact.
“So, what do you think?” he asked, straightening and placing his hands at her waist.
At that moment, she really couldn’t think at all, and it was all his fault. She opened her mouth to tell him that, and he took advantage, swooping his mouth down to hers while sweeping her into his arms. The last thing she needed, but what she didn’t mind getting, was a Matt Caulder kiss. Her entire body reacted accordingly.
Iris got so caught up in the kiss that she hadn’t realized he wasn’t headed toward the stairs until he plopped her bottom on top of his dining room table.
She watched as Matt yanked his T-shirt over his head, shed his jeans and pulled out a condom to sheath himself. He quickly divested her of her T-shirt, and then his hands were gliding over her breasts, smiling at how her nipples hardened as they responded to his touch.
