Page 60 of Spark
She giggled. Then, more seriously, she said, “So, um, I kind of have a confession to make.”
“What is it?” Matt felt that knot of anxiety tightening.
Was she about to drop some kind of bombshell on him…maybe relating to Chris?
“Would you believe that you and Chris were the first real kisses I’ve ever gotten?”
“No way.” Matt stared at her, gobsmacked. But his senses informed him that she was telling the truth. “I mean, I’m glad that we were your first kisses…and, uh,otherthings, but I’m dumbfounded that all of the college guys weren’t swarming you. Plus, I figured you were having fun while you were in Todos Santos.”
“I had a great time during my gap year,” she said. “Just, uh, not that way. It’s not like I’m actually pretty or sexy or—”
He stopped her by kissing her, hard. When he finally drew back, he said with vehemence, “You are the most attractive woman I’ve ever met. If none of those guys asked you out, then they’reidiots.” Then another thought stopped him. “Chris didn’t—”
“No,” she interrupted him. “He actually had the same reaction you did, when I mentioned it.” She gave him that heartbreakingly sweet smile. “You two seem to be the only ones in the world who think I’m hot or pretty.”
“I’m glad to hear that I don’t have a lot of competition,” he said, “but damn, those morons have no idea what they missed out on. I’m glad you’re home again, with us. With people who actually appreciate you. And your hotness.”
She hugged him, hard. “Matt, I missed you so much while I was gone.”
“I missed you, too, Sophie. I’m glad you went and had an adventure, but it wasn’t the same here without you.”
“I needed to get away from here,” she said, surprising him. “I mean, I loved living here on the ranch and hanging out with you and Chris, but middle school and high school were rough. As one of the non-shifter kids I always felt like the odd person out, plus being a book nerd and not athletic…I thought that going away to college and making a fresh start would make everything better.”
“And did it?” Matt asked. She was still in his arms, and he wanted her to stay there forever.
She sighed. “Not really. I tried, I really did…but things never seemed to work out. And then I met this guy named Hunter…”
With growing anger, Matt listened as she told the story in halting fits and starts of how the world’s biggest jerk had played her, then sadistically destroyed her already shaky self-esteem.
“…and now here I am, still a virgin, never really had a boyfriend, and not even many dates,” she finished. “I feel likesucha loser.”
“You are beautiful, inside and out, Sophie,” he told her, with every ounce of sincerity and conviction that he could muster, as protective anger boiled through him. He wished he’d been there to protect—or at least to claw that fucking asshole Hunter to bloody shreds. “And thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that.”
“You make me feel safe, Matt,” she said. “You always have.”
“Is the thing with Hunter why you decided to run even further away after college?” he asked, and dropped a kiss into her hair.
“Maybe?” she said, after a moment, as if she’d been thinking about it. “I mean, I really believe in the work that AIMM is doing, but…yeah, I guess so.”
She continued, “So, now that you know my deepest darkest secret, I’ve been wondering…wereyoudating anyone while I was in Todos Santos? Was there, um, anyone special?”
Since her return, Matt worried, on and off, about what might happen if she discovered that he was still a virgin at his age.
Now the moment had finally arrived. And he knew that he could tell her the truth.
“There’s never been anyone else.” Matt wasn’t generally a nervous person, and he’d only really been scared a few times in his lie. But right now, his heart was pounding like crazy, and sweat prickled under his arms and between his shoulder blades. “Every time I tried dating someone, my bear kicked up a ruckus. It only ever wanted you, Sophie.I’veonly ever wanted you. So, yeah, I’ve never been with anyone either.”
There, he’d said it. He waited for her to flinch. Or maybe just give him a look that conveyed how weird that sounded.
But instead of looking shocked—or disappointed that he didn’t have as much experience as Chris—Sophie hugged him, hard, then grinned up at him. “So, I guess that means we’re going to have to figure out the next part of the evening using trial and error.” Her grin widened. “Want to experiment and see what happens?”
His heart soared, and inside him, his bear reared up on its hind legs and gave a roar of triumph.
“I'm a big fan of the scientific method,” he told her, bending to kiss her again, slow and tender and deep.
As they continued kissing, he felt her tugging on the buttons of his fancy cowboy shirt, unfastening them one by one. She kissed his chin, then traveled down his neck, licking the hollow of his throat while she pushed his open shirt over his shoulders.
He helped her pull off his undershirt, and stood, transfixed as she ran her hands over his chest and down his sides. His heart was pounding again, but this time it was desire that dizzied him, not fear.
