Page 132 of Exposed

“Thank you for giving me a second chance.” Matt smiled. “Or maybe it’s more of my third or fourth…”

I laughed.

He silenced me with another kiss. Everyone cheered again as he dipped me back.

I grabbed the lapels of his tuxedo and pulled, making us fall backward beneath all the balls. He kissed me hidden below the surface just like he’d kissed me above it. Like he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. I remembered when we use to share kisses in private. I remembered the good times. The bad times. And I was grateful for all of it, because it had led us here.

He groaned. “I’m a few seconds away from taking you right here in the ball pit.”

I laughed. “As fun as that sounds…when I said you might get lucky, I didn’t mean in front of all our friends. And there’s no way I’m leaving before we go down the big slide. Race ya.” I pushed him off of me and tried to fight my way through the balls to the edge of the pit.

But he grabbed me from behind and tackled me.

I laughed as we wrestled in the balls. Eventually he slipped and I was able to climb out of the ball pit. I only made it a few feet before he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder.

I laughed and stared at his perfect ass in his tuxedo pants. A week ago, I thought we were strangers. That there was no way we’d ever fit again. But that wasn’t the case at all. Our love brought us back together. He’d fought to make it work. And God, I never wanted to be apart from him ever again.

He put me down at the bottom of the steps up to the slide. And immediately started climbing.

“Cheater!” I yelled as I climbed up after him. By the time I reached the top, he was already halfway down.

I hiked up my skirt and jumped down on the slide. I screamed when I was near the bottom and Matt didn’t move out of my way.

But he caught me in his arms. “Now do I get lucky?”

I laughed and pressed my lips against his. “Do you think maybe we should go tell Jacob the news?” He was supposed to sleep over at James and Penny’s place. But I knew he’d be excited. He loved Matt. And he knew Matt could make me keep smiling. Matt was piecing our family back together one day at a time. We were going to be okay. All of us.

“I have one more surprise first.” He pulled me a little closer. “There’s a helicopter waiting for us on the roof. But I think that can wait if you want to do a bit of exploring.”

“Exploring?” I smiled up at him. I was really curious about where the helicopter was going to take us. But I was also excited to explore a bit too. Because I knew exactly what he was talking about. That dark hallway. Where the fun at Club Onyx really began. “I did hear a rumor that more happens at Club Onyx than just dancing.” I looked over at the entrance to the hallway. Mason and Bee were walking through.

Matt laughed. “I guess we’re not the only ones that want to explore.” He turned back to me. “I also heard a rumor that there might be a room that’s exactly what you requested.”

“WhatIrequested?”

His lips traced my ear. “I seem to recall my fiancée wanting to be tied up.”

“Fiancée. I can get used to that.”

“Don’t get too used to it. You’ll be my wife soon enough. But back to the exploring thing…”

I laughed and pulled the key out that Tanner had given me. “That room wouldn’t happen to have a mask on the door, would it?”

Matt smiled. “Let’s go find out.” He lifted me into his arms and jumped off the bottom of the blow up slide.

I laughed as we crossed the threshold into the hallway. It was like he was carrying me into our house after our wedding day. Only…our home looked nothing like this. Although the doors lining the walls looked eerily like the one Nigel had put in our living room.

Matt stopped in front of one of the heavy wooden doors. There was a tablet on the wall next to it with a glowing red outline of an apple.

“Hmm…” he said. “What do you think is behind there? Tanner said that your wildest fantasies come true as soon as you step into the hall.”

“My fantasy involves less food.”

“I don’t know…you looked pretty good covered in paint. I bet you’d look equally amazing covered in chocolate syrup.”

I laughed. “But not apple sauce. Why is it so quiet back here? I thought I’d hear more…moaning.”

“I think the club is closed tonight because of the prom. Which is probably why this room is open for us.” Matt kept carrying me down the hall. He turned a corner. And then another.

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