Page 72 of Lovers' Dance

It was as impressive as I remembered. The memory of the last time I was here brought a heat to my cheeks.

“Shower then dinner?” Matt asked with a gleam in his eyes as he closed the front door. I nodded wordlessly before he took the bag of food from me and sauntered off. On his heels, I memorized the way to the kitchen, then followed him upstairs to the master bedroom. Matt tossed my bag on the bed and started undressing while I stood fidgeting.

“What’s wrong, poppet?” he asked, shirtless and in the process of unbuckling his pants.

“Nothing.” I fingered the zip on my hoodie.

He scrutinized my face for a moment, then beckoned me over. I hesitated before slowly trudging to where he stood. Matt smiled and unzipped my hoodie. I stood silently as he gently slid it off. He tugged my t-shirt over my head and unhooked my bra.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he said, running his fingers over the waist of my sweats.

“Nothing’s wrong, Matt.”

“Hmm,” he said, a sceptical look on his handsome face. “I don’t believe you.”

I shrugged and tried to step back. Matt gripped my hips, stopping my movement.

“Are you upset over everything’s that happened today?” he asked quietly.

I chewed my lower lip and made a noncommittal sound at the back of my throat. Upset didn’t cover the way I felt.

“Quick shower, then we’ll talk about it.” He led me into the ensuite.

“Did you pack my toothbrush?” I asked, shrugging off my pants. Matt shook his head, eyes lingering on my ass as he finished undressing.

“You’ll find everything you need in that cabinet on the left.”

I went over to open it up and gasped in surprise at the contents. It was a duplicate of my own bathroom cabinet, all the products I used down to the leave-in conditioner that tamed my curls.

“Uh, Matt?”

“Yes, poppet?” he called as he turned on the shower.

“This is a bit weird, don’t you think?”

“Not at all,” he disagreed. “I knew you’d eventually be staying over so I made sure you’d have everything you need.”

I took the brand new toothbrush and hid my frown while unscrewing the toothpaste. The bathroom started filling up with steam from the running shower.

“I think it’s a bit weird,” I muttered. Matt grinned at me and got his own toothbrush. We stared at each other in the mirror as we brushed our teeth, then we got in the shower. It was a quickie, in more ways than one.

“Feel better now?” Matt was holding me up against the tiles as the warm water cascaded over us. I hadn’t caught my breath yet and simply rested my head on his shoulder with my legs wrapped around his waist.

“Yes, I feel loads better.” I sighed in satisfaction before unhooking my legs. Matt groaned at the movement, his body still intimately joined to mine, and kissed me deeply before letting me slide to the ground. We finished our shower and dried off. Matt left to go get changed, while I applied conditioner to my towel-dried curls.It was weird, wasn’t it?There was even a box of the tampons I used. I riffled through the cabinet and almost bit my tongue when I found a pack of birth control—the same birth control I was on. Matt was a weirdo, but then again, they did say preparation was key.

“Poppet.” He stuck his head around the door. “I need to make a few calls so I’ll be in the study for a bit.”

“Okay, hon. I’ll change, then start dinner.” I smiled at him and resumed fixing my hair. He hesitated in the doorway for a minute, watching me.

“I meant what I said, Madi.”

“Hmm?”

“Being in love with you,” he explained. “I know I’m a lot older than you and we’re from different backgrounds, but I want you to understand the depths of my feelings towards you.”

I stopped fiddling with my hair to peer at him. He was serious. The level of intensity on his face was unnerving.

“Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say. When a small frown creased his forehead, I belatedly wished I’d said ‘I love you, too.’

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