A Needful Heart (14 page)

Gina panted into his neck and nibbled at the
skin. Fingers burrowed into his hair and nails caressed the nape of
his neck. Matt shivered and sped up. The counter was the perfect
height for sex, and within just a few moments, he was at the edge
of his control. Gina leaned back and ripped her shirt over her
head, then her bra. The nipples on her heavy breasts were tight
with arousal, and the visual of looking down at the mounds pressed
against his chest was enough to push him over that edge. Groaning
harshly, he plowed into her, bowing his head to her shoulder. Gina
moaned in his ear as she tumbled over again as well, spasming
around his dick convulsively.

It was all he could do to stay standing. Matt
wrapped his arms around Gina as aftershocks rippled through
him.

After a few minutes, Gina leaned back and
giggled up at him. “Well, hello, Matt. How are you today?”

He pulled away from her body, startled. Had
he ever laughed during sex? “I’m good, thank you. And you?”

Her blue eyes twinkled. “Well, I was a little
stressed at work, but I’m much better now.”

Grinning, he gave her an earnest expression.
“Glad I could help out.”

Gina laughed and gave him a smacking kiss on
the lips. “You’re awesome.”

Warmth burst in his chest, and he didn’t know
what to say. Nobody had ever told him that the way she just did. It
wasn’t that he didn’t believe her. He could tell she was being
honest. It was just strange hearing that sentiment directed toward
him. Sure, he’d had buddies tell him that occasionally, but it was
kind of a throw away comment. Reaching behind her, he pulled a
couple of paper towels off the holder. He handed her two and used
one for himself to dispose of the condom. He tossed the wad in the
trash.

Gina dropped down to the floor, and he
growled at himself for not helping her. He was distracted by her
breasts bouncing from the impact. When he raised his eyes to her
face, she was watching him watch her.

“You have very nice breasts,” he rumbled.

She grinned and bent over to grab her scrubs,
shapely butt in the air. Matt knew she was doing it for him,
because she peeked at him from beneath her hair. “You have a very
nice ass too.”

Gina laughed and pressed a kiss to his chin
as she walked by him toward the stairs. “Thank you. You have a very
nice ass too. I’m going to go grab a shower.”

Matt noted that there was no invitation to
join her, so he tucked himself away and walked to the foyer to get
to work. His stomach was unsettled. Why hadn’t she asked him into
the shower like she had last night? Was he already crowding
her?

He was almost done with the repairs, and he
found himself dragging his feet, working slower, just so he could
stay in the house longer. Going home to his big, old, empty place
had been hard last night. It had never been a problem before. Gina
made him feel welcome here. For the first time in his life he
actually felt comfortable with a woman. He wanted to call Monroe,
who had more experience with the opposite sex, but he didn’t want
to bother him if he was still on that fire.

Long-held protective instincts urged him to
get the hell out of Dodge. He was tough, but he didn’t think he was
tough enough to be in a relationship with her for any length of
time, then leave. For four years, he’d thought about her, wondered
about her, dreamt of her. Was she actually as sweet as she looked,
and seemed, right now? Did he dare trust his own instincts?

Gina wrapped her wrist in a trash bag and
climbed into the shower. It had been hard not to invite Matt, but
she was deliberately trying not to smother him. If she had her
choice, she’d be all over him, hugging and kissing him. Cooking for
him. Screwing his brains out.

Gina let her hand drift down her sensitive
skin and linger over her tender clit. The man certainly knew what
to do with her body.

Her mother was going to freak when she saw
him. Matt Calvin definitely wasn’t the doctor she wanted for her
daughter. The tattoos and muscles presented a totally different
picture than who she knew the man to be. And he looked forbidding,
not very friendly at all. It was part of the reason she had kind of
avoided him at the office. The man was intimidating and threw off
an aura of dislike and danger. George was the only one who had dug
enough to know the man beneath the ink and glowers.

She felt bad about that, because she knew in
her heart she was a good person. It was hard to accept the fact
that she had not wanted any interaction with him because of the way
he looked. What did that say about her?

Resolve tightened her spine as she finished
her shower and stepped onto her towel. Now that she knew, she
would
change.

Gina dug to the bottom of her underwear
drawer, looking for jade green satin. Ah, there it was. The lacy
teddy was not what she normally wore, but she thought it would
really be a nice surprise for Matt to unveil later. Because she
knew there would be a later. The snaps in the crotch were a little
difficult with her cast, but she managed, and when she looked at
herself in the mirror, she was impressed. Yes, she was a little
chunky in the hips, but Matt apparently didn’t mind. Hell, he
wouldn’t pick her up the way he did if he minded, right?

Need coursed through her womb as she
remembered the encounter in the kitchen. On the counter? Seriously?
That was the sexiest place she’d ever had sex.

She wanted to do it again.

Gina tugged a pair of gray sweats on and
forced a brush through her hair. When she jogged downstairs, Matt
still worked on the banister, and she was dismayed to see he was
almost done. It looked like everything was in place except
attaching the banister to the oak pillar at the bottom of the
stairs. For one irrational minute, she debated throwing herself
against the weak wood to break something.

Matt looked up and smiled at her crookedly.
He glanced at the handrail as if he knew what she was thinking.
“Almost done.”

Gina nodded, clamping her lips together. If
she didn’t say anything, she wouldn’t get herself in trouble. She
sat on one of the steps and folded her arms around her knees.

“Today was a full day, right? How’d it
go?”

She loved that he was interested in her day.
“Not too bad. I’m beginning to tolerate the pain a little better.
It’s just an ache now.” She looked down at the white cast. “You do
eventually get used to them. Did you break any bones as a kid?”

His eyes dimmed, and she could tell he was
remembering some incident. She bit her tongue and wished
desperately she could take the thoughtless words back.

“I did. A couple times. Wrist, a couple of
fingers. Broke my hand when I was fifteen.” He flexed the fingers
of his right hand. “Tried to take out the old man’s jaw.”

Gina fought to control her face, and the
dismay she felt. “Did you?”

Matt smiled grimly and shook his head. He
rested a foot on the step below hers. “No. He beat the shit out of
me that night for standing up to him. George found me in the
parking lot of the apartment complex and hauled me in to the
hospital. I stayed with him for a while when I got out. A couple
months later, Rick plowed himself into a tree.”

“Wow.” Gina could only stare at him,
fascinated.

“Children’s Services didn’t think George was
a good role model at the time, which he wasn’t, so they put me in a
home until I turned eighteen.” He clamped his lips tight and turned
away, sorting through his toolbox. Gina recognized the move for
what it was--busywork for his hands. “I wasn’t very nice when I was
in the home. Actually, I was a shit. Most of the time, on
purpose.”

“Well, I’m glad you stayed friends with
George. At least you had somebody.”

Matt snorted. “I guess. Back then, George was
lucky to remember what state he lived in when he drank. It’s why
his liver was fried and he ended up needing the transplant.”

Gina frowned at the words. It was obvious
Matt cared for the old man. He brought him to the office every
month for his check-ups, and she had seen them speaking and joking
quietly together. Maybe he was afraid to admit how much the old man
did mean to him.

“So, what did you do when you turned
eighteen?”

Matt looked up at her and shook his head.
“Nothing really. Batted around the state on a motorcycle for a
while doing labor, joined the Army for a couple of years, got a
couple tattoos, but eventually came back here. Rick had left a
storage container full of carpentry stuff. It was good equipment.
Stuff I’d never been allowed to touch.” He held up a well-used
hammer. “Makes me happy to pound the shit out of it now.”

Gina laughed and leaned down to pat him on
the back. “I think you deserve to beat the shit out of his
stuff.”

He tossed the hammer in the toolbox with a
clatter. “I guess.”

“My dad is going to want to pick your
brain.”

“Why’s that?”

“He likes to tinker in the garage with his
woodworking machines. He makes bookcases and birdhouses, smaller
things like that.”

Matt pointed at the shelving unit in her
living room. It was tall and stained a dark oak to match the rest
of the trim in the room. “Did he do that?”

Gina nodded. She wasn’t surprised Matt had
noticed it. “Yep. Took him several months to build, but I think he
kind of liked getting out of the house and away from Mom. She’s
come up with all sorts of projects for him to do since he’s
retired.”

“What did your dad do?” Matt seemed genuinely
interested.

“He worked at an insurance company for
twenty-three years. Started having some heart issues last year, so
he decided to retire.”

Matt was still kneeling in front of the
toolbox, looking at the tools inside. “I’m probably not the kind of
guy they expect to date their daughter.”

Gina scooted down two steps, so that she
could lean in to catch his eyes. “Why do you say that?”

“Their lives, and yours, sound pretty
pristine. Ordinary.”

She snorted. “Oh, please. Believe me; we’re
not as ordinary as you think. My brother’s in the FBI, my older
sister lives in Croatia right now with her military husband, and my
mother likes to skydive. Little sis is a brainiac and already has
scholarships to college. Dad likes to take off gambling a couple
weekends a year. We all have our quirks. I think you may be
surprised how well you fit in.”

But he didn’t look convinced. His full lips
were pursed in thought, and he was looking at his boots.

“And then me, well,” she let her voice lower
to a whisper. “Let’s just say I like to collect pretty things.”

Matt glanced at her with a mock frown,
curiosity in his eyes. “Like what?”

Gina twitched her eyebrows suggestively. She
leaned forward enough that the loose collar of the sweatshirt gaped
down, revealing her lace-covered cleavage. Matt’s face went
completely slack for several long moments before he tightened his
mouth. His pale eyes darkened with need as he stood up in front of
her, staring at her hard. With one hand he jerked her to her feet
and Gina knew this would be an encounter to remember.

“Gina?”

The two of them jerked apart. Gabe stood at
the open front door, frowning at them fiercely.

She stepped around Matt and met Gabe at the
door, straightening her sweatshirt. “Hey buddy. What are you up to?
Just get off school? Do you want something to eat?”

She tried to slow her mouth down, but she was
flustered. She could feel the embarrassment in her face, and she
deliberately took several deep breaths. Caught almost in the act.
Gabe was still looking at her as if she had two heads, but when he
turned his old eyes to Matt, he glared. Gina was taken aback at the
anger she saw. “Hey, what’s wrong honey? Why are you mad?”

“All that stuff he told me was crap. He hurt
you. He jerked you up by your hand and I heard you make a
sound.”

Gina flushed all over again. The young boy
hadn’t seen the heated embrace, he’d seen a woman being jerked
around by a really big guy. “Gabe, he didn’t hurt me. We were kind
of playing actually.”

Gabe didn’t look convinced, and he continued
to glare at Matt. “That’s what my mom used to say too, but then
she’d come out with bruises all over her.”

Sinking down onto her bottom right there in
the doorway, Gina urged Gabe to sit down across from her. Her heart
broke for the child because all he had ever seen was destruction
and anger.

“Gabe, I want you to listen to me. I don’t
know what you saw with your mom and dad, but I can tell you now
that Matt would never hurt me. I know it looks like certain things
have happened.” She paused to hold up her wrist and motion to the
stairway. “Matt didn’t do any of those things on purpose. Remember
I told you I used to break a lot of bones when I was a kid?” She
waited for him to nod. “Well, I still fall sometimes. Heck, you’ve
seen me fall going up the stairs, remember? I’m clumsy. I’ll always
be clumsy. As much as I want to, I can’t change that.

“And what you saw just now? Matt wasn’t going
to hurt me; he was going to kiss me, which I like very much. I
promise you, he has never hurt me. And he never will. Do you
understand?”

Gabe stared at her for a long time, weighing
her words. He nodded. “I guess.” But he still looked leery, and not
nearly as friendly to Matt as he used to be. She reached forward
and pulled his bony little body into her arms for a hug. Gabe put
his arms around her neck and clung fiercely, then let her go.

“Come on, Jitterbug. Let’s go find you
something to eat.”

Gina glanced at Matt in apology for the
interruption and he tipped his head to her. They could wait for
their play.

And Gabe seemed determined to make them wait.
It was as if he was going to personally chaperone the two adults
for as long as he could. Gina knew Chuck was going to be angry,
though, if the boy didn’t get home soon. She shoved a couple
dollars in his pocket for the ‘work’ he did, and reluctantly sent
Gabe on his way. “If Chuck gives you problems, let me know.”