Chapter 120

Matt tightened his hold on me, his face still pressed into the top of my head. I’d stopped crying a few minutes ago but made no move to pull away. I felt so safe in his arms.

“I need to know what happened,” he said, his voice a soft caress. “Did someone hurt you?”

I shook my head.

“Please talk to me,” he murmured, and the raw edge to his voice made me pull away and look up at him. His expression looked pained. He reached out and wiped the tears from my face, his fingers trembling slightly.

“No one hurt me,” I answered, my voice rough from all the crying. “Not physically.”

“Someone hurt your feelings?”

I bit my lip and nodded.

He trailed his fingers through my hair, and a shiver went down my spine. He kissed my cheeks, taking his time with each one. I squeezed my eyes shut, so unused to all the tenderness. No one had ever been like this with me.

“Your brother?” he asked as he pulled away.

I nodded, my eyes still closed.

“What did he say?” His voice had an edge to it, and I opened my eyes. The look on his face made me uneasy.

I placed my hand on his cheek. “Don’t be angry.”

He let out a breath. “I’m not angry with you.”

“I know.”

He closed his eyes and leaned into my palm. I wanted to kiss him and get lost in it. Mostly, I wanted to forget everything my brother and his friends said. But I could tell Matt wasn’t going to let it go. I couldn’t really blame him. If he was that upset, I’d want to know what happened, too. I’d need to know.

“Apparently, everyone at school is shocked that you would date me.”

Matt’s gaze darkened.

“Everyone knows that you’re way out of my league.”

“That’s bullshit.”

I smiled sadly. “I know people think that. It’s obvious by the way they look at us when they see us together at school. No one understands what you’re thinking.”

“They understand,” he said. “I’m not the only person at that school who thinks you’re beautiful. Trust me. They’re just assholes, and they enjoy putting people down.”

“I don’t know about that.”

He gave me a pointed look. “Trust me, Celeste.”

I figured there was no point in arguing. “That’s not really the part that upset me,” I admitted. “I mean, it upset me but…”

“What else did your brother say?” he cut in. His features were cut from stone.

“He said he doesn’t understand how anyone could love me,” I said, my voice breaking at the end. I let out a shaky breath. “That he struggles to love me.”

Matt looked genuinely shocked. “He said what?”

“That I have an awful personality…that I’m hard to love.” He clearly wasn’t expecting that. “I know we have our problems, but I never doubted that he loved me. I thought…” I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. Clearly, I was wrong.”

A sad expression stole over Matt’s face. “Celeste, I'm so sorry. I can’t believe he’d say something like that. Your brother loves you.”

“I’m not so sure anymore.”

“Trust me, I was his best friend. He loves you. He might be an asshole, but I’ve never doubted that. I don’t know why he’d say something like that.”

I looked down at my hands. “I don’t know either.” Regardless of what Matt said, I couldn’t help but believe Jack. How could he love me? My mother was the reason he lost everything. It didn’t make sense for him to care about me, even if we did grow up together.

“There’s something more going on here,” Matt insisted.

“Maybe.”

Matt placed his fingers under my chin and titled my face up. “Celeste, you’re very easy to love.” He said it so earnestly, I couldn’t help but believe him. Tears pooled in my eyes, and he leaned in to kiss me. The kiss was soft and, if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was loving. It was like he wanted to show me how wrong my brother was.

The kiss deepened, suddenly turning heated. He ran his hands up my legs, his warm palms pushing my jacket up my hips. I leaned away to unzip it and threw it in the backseat. Underneath, I had on a baggy t-shirt.

Matt gave me a questioning look, and I pulled my shirt up over my head. It was just a simple beige bra, but by the way Matt was looking at me, I might as well have been wearing lacy lingerie. He leaned in and I kissed him again, my hip digging into the console.

“Come here,” he murmured.

He put his seat back, and I climbed over the console to straddle his lap.

“This brings back memories,” Matt said, his voice low and husky.

My blood heated at the memory of us in the bathtub. He nipped at my bottom lip, and I shifted in his lap, eliciting a groan from him. I could feel him pressing into me, hard and demanding.

He reached around me to undo my bra and I kissed the side of his jaw, enjoying the woodsy scent of his cologne. My bra came off, and he threw it on the seat beside us, cupping my breast in his broad hand.

His mouth found mine, and he gave me a sinful kiss. I returned it with the same amount of enthusiasm, reaching up to run my fingers through his dark hair. I pulled it as he kissed my neck, making him groan again. It was probably the best sound in the world.

“Your turn,” I said, tugging at the bottom of his black long sleeve. I leaned back into the steering wheel, so he had space to tug his shirt over his head. The minute it was off, I took the opportunity to admire him, from his smooth skin to contours of his abs.

He admired me in turn through heavily lidded eyes. A smirk crossed his face. “Come here,” he said.

I leaned forward again, and he ran his hand up my back, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“I want you,” he said against my lips. I shuddered.

He shifted, pressing his hard length against me through our pants. I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel without the fabric between us.

“Matt,” I said, hesitating.

I didn’t understand why, but a part of me wasn’t sure we should do this. Jack was an asshole, but I’d made him a promise. And maybe I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what I was doing. Nerves suddenly moved through me, and I tensed slightly.

Matt noticed and pulled away, leaning his forehead against mine. “There’s no rush,” he said.

“It’s fine.”

I tried to kiss him again, but he leaned away from me. His eyes found mine. “Celeste, there’s no rush,” he repeated.

I nodded, biting my lip.

He gave me a long, languid kiss and wrapped his arms around me. The kiss turned into a hug, and I lay against his chest for a while, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

“Maybe I should get you home.”

I pushed down my sudden disappointment. He was right. We had time. “Okay.”

He kissed me one more time before helping me climb back into my seat. I put my bra back on and pulled my t-shirt over my head. I took one last peek at his abs before he put his shirt back on. He must have noticed because he threw me a cheeky grin.

His expression suddenly turned serious. “Celeste?” he said, putting his hand on my thigh.

“Yes?”

“I love you,” he said quietly. “In case you forgot.”

I swallowed hard, and my heart suddenly picked up its pace. “I love you too,” I said before I could talk myself out of it.

A wide grin split his face, and a light lit up his eyes. It was the best sight in the world.