by the penthouse at the Grace. Since then, a few more times—once at his home, twice more at the Grace. But somehow, it was here, that I was truly in awe.
A man like this.
On his knees.
Like a gesture of prayer. A gesture of worship.
For me.
If I hadn’t been positively enraptured by the sight, I wouldn’t have believed it.
And then, as his tongue flickered between my thighs, I didn’t have time to consider beliefs at all. Desire shot through me like an arrow. I fell back against the old oak, mindless of the bark against my back. Pinioned between the tree and Matthew, I was locked upright while he continued with his work. My fingers twisted through his thick black locks, and I pulled and moaned while he slipped one finger inside me, followed by another.
“Christ, baby”—his voice vibrated against the most sensitive part of me—“you’re soaked.”
His frank observation only made me that much more heated.
One day, I thought, I will worship you like you worship me.
Unlike anything else, I was certain I was up to the task. It felt like the only thing I was put on this earth to do at all.
“Mrs. Gardner?”
We both froze. Matthew stopped his work, and I suddenly felt like the wind had been completely knocked out of me.
From his knees, Matthew looked up at me and mouthed, “Who the fuck is that?”
I twisted so I was looking around the trunk to where Kellan sat atop one of the horses on a trail not twenty feet away. “Oh, hello, Kellan,” I called in a voice just slightly too strained to sound credible.
“Mrs. Gardner?” he called again from the other side of the grove. “Are you all right?”
From his knees, Matthew grinned lasciviously at me. His green eyes twinkled from where he was resting his chin just below my navel. I had never wanted to slap him or kiss him more.
Then, he shocked me even more by slipping his hand between my legs again.
“I—yes,” I creaked over my shoulder. “Just—just taking a moment to myself.”
“Are you stuck, Mrs. Gardner? There’s a bog over there that’s deadly.”
The finger tickled my delicate entrance.
I tipped my head up. “I’m fine, Kellan. Thank you!”
“I expect Ms. Olivia will come by to see Sunshine soon, don’t you think?”
Matthew’s shoulders vibrated with mirth, but he didn’t stop. Two fingers slipped completely back in, joined again by his mouth just two inches or so higher.
“Yes!” I shouted.
There was silence over my shoulder as I started to shake. Matthew’s other hand dug into my thigh to keep me still.
“Oh my God,” I breathed lightly. “Oh my God.”
“I’ll just head back to the stables and get Sunshine ready, then, Mrs. Gardner,” Kellan finally called out. “You come on soon.”
The finger inside me curved. Matthew’s lips sucked. I came. My entire body began to shake, tremble. Intensely, violently, yet imperceptible and silent. Thank God Kellan was half-blind. I was a leaf in the wind, fully at the mercy of the black-haired devil between my legs. And completely and totally in heaven.
I barely registered the sound of the horse and rider receding into the woods as I gradually drifted back down from my impenetrable high. Matthew’s breath was warm against my thigh until suddenly it was gone, and just as suddenly, I was flipped around to hold tight to the tree and a pair of impossibly strong hands yanked my hips back.
“Matthew!” I hissed as I clawed at the bark. “Kellan—”
“Is gone,” he cut me off, then thrust inside me in one quick, merciless movement. “Fuuuuuuuck.”
His voice was a rumble of desire against my neck. He pulled my hair to one side, burying his nose in it and inhaling deeply. Then he licked my neck, a long, luxurious swipe like I was something succulent, a fruit, a treat, fastened his mouth under my jaw, and sucked. Hard.
The effect was immediate. The desire that had burned through me so quickly before was raging once again as he moved.
“Do you remember?” he muttered as one hand drifted over my bottom, a thumb playing lightly over the other, more forbidden opening there. “That first night? Right here?”
Did I remember? I had practically begged him for it that night. I still didn’t know what had come over me. In my mind, we had only the one night. I had never done anything like that before, and I had known without a doubt that I had wanted this man in every way possible, thinking I’d never have the chance again.