Page 72 of Shattered Secrets

“Yes,” she said, hiking her legs up.

He set a fast rhythm, hitting so deep that the sated tension within her quickly built back up.

“Harder, Matt,” she whispered. “I’m almost there.”

“Get there, baby,” he demanded, pistoning his hips.

She reached between them and rubbed her clit. That’s all it took for her body to tense and shatter. She flew over the edge again.

He pumped inside her once more before stilling with his release.

Collapsing onto his forearms, he pressed their foreheads together. “I think you may have killed me, sweetheart.”

“Same.” She placed a kiss on his lips, then sank into the mattress. “Not a bad way to go, though, right?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Matt couldn’t remember a time when he’d been more content.

Content. What an inadequate word.Happyseemed better, but even that didn’t do the moment justice.At peace, then?

All Matt knew for sure was that he felt quiet and sure. Settled. Like having Scarlet wrapped in his arms—with her head resting on his shoulder, her arm draped over his chest, and one of her legs tossed over his—meant he was home. He wasn’t sure when exactly it had happened, but sometime between Daisy breaking her arm and now, he’d fallen in love with her.

Little by little, as they’d gotten to know each other, Scarlet had opened up to him. Relaxed. Become herself. Not the chipper waitress with the ever-present smile, but the real her. Yes, she was often chipper and smiling, but she could also be frustrated and tired and crabby. And the fact that she let him see all sides of her meant the world to him.

She was sweet and funny and sarcastic. She teased and laughed and warmed a part of him that he’d thought died after his divorce. Hell, in truth, it was a part that he’d thought died long before his divorce.

He wasn’t sure Scarlet would ever fully understand how much she meant to him. But he’d damn well make it his duty to show her. Because as far as he was concerned... his heart was hers. Hopefully forever.

She shifted in his arms and pressed a kiss to his pec. “What’s got you thinking so hard over there?”

He smiled. “You.”

She propped her chin on his chest. “Thinking good things, I hope?”

“Always, baby.”

She rolled her eyes. “Riiight.”

He was pretty certain she wasn’t ready to hear she was it for him. That he was hers. So, to keep things light, he asked, “Where do you want to go to dinner on Saturday?”

“I thought you had it all planned out?” she teased.

Running a hand up her spine, he felt her shiver. “Only who’s watching Daisy. I didn’t want to take you somewhere you don’t like.”

“I’m not super picky. What were you thinking?”

“We can go fancy like the Watermark at the resort or as casual as you’d like. We can even head over to Port Townsend or Whidbey Island. Whatever you’re in the mood for.”

“Not the Watermark,” she said, scrunching her nose.

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. The Watermark was an amazing Michelin three-star restaurant with a months-long wait list. However, his buddy was the chef there, so he had an in. “Not a fan?”

“Oh, I’ve never been. It’s just that it’sfancyfancy. Thinking about stepping foot in the place makes me uncomfortable.”

He tipped her chin up with his finger. “Sweetheart, you have nothing to feel uncomfortable about.” Scarlet opened her mouth to protest, so he hurried on, “But we can go somewhere else.”

She kissed his pec again, then lowered her chin back to his chest. “I’m high maintenance, I know.”

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