Page 76 of Worth Every Risk

“I should’ve checked that you’ve been tested,” I say, hoping to dispel the intense emotion of the situation by bringing us back to more practical concerns. “You know, because of all those women you’ve slept with before me.” The words I said to him on my first day pound in my ears,You look like you’ve seen a lot of women’s underwear.

He quirks his head. “I got married at nineteen. What kind of husband do you think I was?”

“You’ve been divorced for a year. That’s a lot of days. A lot of potential—”

“You should stop talking,” he says, a playful smirk on his lips. “Gemma was my first. And you…” His words fade along with the expression on his face, and the silence is burdened by whatever he’s about to confess. He looks so uncertain that I know exactly what he’s about to say.I’m the second.

Fuck me. This is a big deal.A big fucking deal, and I don’t know how to handle it. I feel a bit like I might faint, I’m so surprised. I had this man pegged all wrong, and my concerns about whatever this is between us shrivel, sucked dry by the newknowledge that whatever this is to me, it’s something else to him.

You make a lot of assumptions.That’s what he’d said when I made the underwear comment on my first day. I force a smile onto my face, trying not to show how overwhelmed I am by his almost-admission. “Can you untie me?”

He sits up and moves to the leg of the lounger to release me, but his face is creased with concern. “Is everything all right?”

The belt falls away and I rotate my free wrist. “Yes.” I lie, focusing on my wrists so I don’t have to meet his gaze. “Yes. Fine.”

He dips his head, easing himself into my field of view, forcing me to look at him. “You’ll tell me if I do something you don’t like, won’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” He tips my chin up with one gentle finger, making sure I’m really looking at him. “I’d never take a risk like that with your health, Aries. I hope you know that.”

The way he says it is so gentle, so full of care, that my heart starts quivering in my chest, the regular rhythm going haywire as if he’d said something else entirely. “I know that, Mr Hawkston.” My voice is soft, but I mean the words so completely, that it feels like the most important thing I’ve ever said.

He grins. “Matt. Call me Matt.”

And for now, that’s enough.

21

MATT

I’m at my desk early on Monday morning. I know I’m not going to be effective; I’m too distracted with thoughts of Aries and how the hell I manage whatever this is. I very nearly told her that she’s the only woman I’ve slept with aside from Gemma, but that felt like a risky admission. It might have freaked her out, and I certainly don’t want to do anything that might scare her off.

There’s a knock on the door, and before I can answer, my brother Seb opens it. He stands in the doorway, one hand on the door handle, and stares at me. His lips purse, his eyes narrow. “What?” I ask.

He continues staring for a few seconds more, then says, “Holy shit, you did it.”

“Did what?”

But he doesn’t answer. Instead, he backs out into the corridor and yells, “Nico! Get in here.” When he looks back at me, he’s grinning so wide, his face looks like it’s made of plasticine, and I catch sight of Nico approaching over Seb’s shoulder.

“What’s going on? What happened?” Nico asks, alarm clear on his face.

Seb turns from his position blocking the doorway, so Nico can see me. He slaps a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “Relax. It’s not an emergency.”

Nico frowns. “Why the hell did you shout like that then?”

Seb tilts his head at me. “Matt fucked the nanny.”

Nico’s irritation morphs into intrigue as he slowly turns to me for confirmation. “Did you?”

I push my chair away from the desk, lean back, and steeple my fingers. Might as well try to look calm about this, although my heart is pounding at the mere thought of Aries. And hell, do I want to tell someone how I’ve spent the last two nights.

“He did. Look at his face.” Seb waves his hand. “That is the face of a man who’s been royally fucked all weekend.”

Nico squints at me, like he’s trying to see whatever Seb can see and comes up wanting.

“Where do you get this shit from?” I ask. “You can’t tell anything about my weekend from one glance at my face.”

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