Heartthrob (The Bennett Brothers 3)

“No, I’m getting ready.”

“Ready for what? What the hell is going on here?”

He kneels back, his eyes sweeping over my body. “I’ve always loved you in this shirt.”

He knows it’s one of my favorites. The University of Miami Medical School emblem is mostly faded, and the collar is starting to rip, but I refuse to throw it away. There’s a strong sentimental value, considering I stole it from him during one of our nights together while I was still in college. It was too tempting. I was in Nick’s bathroom fixing my lip gloss while they all waited for me in the living room to go to dinner. The shirt was lying on top of Mathis’s overnight bag, and I decided I needed it and stuffed it into my purse.

He never mentioned it until last year when we officially started dating, and I threw it on, not thinking.

“Looks better on you than I imagined,” was all he said.

That was that.

“It’s a shame.” He breaks into my thoughts, and before I can ask what he means, he grips the hem and splits the shirt apart. Cool air covers my skin, and I sit stunned. He reaches to the arm, repeating the motion on both sides, then pulls it from under me, throwing it to the side.

I lay exposed to him in only a pair of hot pink hipsters that I found in the bathroom earlier. The word ‘sexy’ is written across the front and ‘ass’ is written on the back. His eyes lock on the writing and he licks his lower lip.

“I haven’t seen these before.” He raises his eyes to me inquisitively.

“Grace gave them to me last month on my birthday,” I explain.

“We’ll save these then.” His intentions are clear when he slides his fingers under the elastic.

I try to buck away but can’t get far with my arm attached to the bed. I’m no match for him, and in an instant, the panties are gone and I’m completely naked. His hands grip my thighs, holding me down, and he runs his lips across my skin, kissing from hipbone to hipbone before coming back up to me. Goosebumps cover my body, and he yanks the comforter back, pulling it to our waists, crowding into my space. His erection grazes my stomach, and my heart flips.

“Now we talk,” he decides.

“You do know I have one hand free and can easily break your dick if I want.”

His lips curve into a sexy grin, and his eyes light up. “You can try, but it would seriously damper the plans I have

for us later. Not to mention, it may have everlasting effects of us producing children.”

My head threatens to explode from his statement. I can’t stop the flip my stomach does at the mention of his plans for later, the familiar desire building.

“Now that I have your attention, let’s start at the beginning. The weekend we met.”

The desire that was simmering goes ice cold, and I hold my breath.

“Looking back, leaving you that morning was the first of many mistakes.”

“Please don’t do this, Mathis. Don’t dredge up the past.”

“I didn’t lie to you that morning. Being with you made me feel more alive than I had in years. You were and still are the most beautiful thing in my life.” He goes on as if I didn’t speak. “I continued to make mistakes each time I left you after our nights together. The colossal fuck up is the weekend of your graduation.”

“Please don’t do this,” I plead again, not able to go through this with him. It’s one thing to relay it to my girlfriends over copious amounts of wine. With him, it’s too raw to relive.

His eyes lock with mine, and I’m swept into a sea of dark blue burning with remorse. “I thought I was doing what was best for you. I didn’t give a fuck about my reputation or my status. It was you that was starting a career in a new place. You had a lot ahead of you, and I was married to my work. I couldn’t promise you anything more at the time and wanted to give you the opportunity to live the way you loved. I was a coward, using my position as a shield against telling you the truth about my feelings. Watching you all that time was a gift; being close to you in any way was a gift. You are wonderful at your job, and everyone around you benefits from your energy and passion, including me. I made a stupid, idiotic judgment call back then, and I’ve regretted it ever since.”

“You don’t have to say these things.”

“That was only the beginning, Claire. You may have thought I wasn’t paying attention or didn’t care about all the time we spent apart, but you’re wrong. Every time I heard about you going on one of those fucking dates, rage scored through me. I was a jealous motherfucker. That’s why your account was reported for fraud so many times.”

“That was you?” I jerk back.

“Hell yes.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”