Page 69 of One Day Like This (Excess All Areas 1)

His body lowered over her, pinning her to the blanket. She grinned into the bed covers. This was what turned Matt Palmer on. Having her trapped beneath him. First against the shower wall, and here on the bed.

“Jesus, Iz.”

His thrusts quickly gained traction. Faster and harder. There was no escaping the feeling of Matt all over and in her body. When he slid a hand beneath her, seeking her clit, she gasped.

She’d no idea if she would come again, but she loved him for thinking she might.

Matt pulled out of her and slammed home, his action jerking her clit against Matt’s fingers, the pressure almost unbearable.

“Keep doing that,” she cried out.

“This?” he said, exaggerating the action. “You going to come for me again? Soak me like you did my fingers? I love when you squeeze me, Iz. Feels like nothing else on the planet. Come on, sweetheart. I’m. Really. Close.”

His breath was uncoordinated, like her own. Gasping for oxygen.

“Ah,” Matt groaned as he lifted off her, giving him the freedom to pound into her in a way that felt so fucking good. “Izabel. Yeah.”

He let out a loud groan. She could feel him pulsing deep inside her. The contractions and the pressure on her clit sending her over the edge to join him.

Matt slumped back down over her. “Fucking hell, Bryson. I think I just passed out from an orgasm.”

Izabel began to chuckle beneath him. It was such a stupid thing to say after something so mind-blowing, but maybe that was the point.

He began to kiss her. Innocent pecks along her shoulder, her neck, behind her ear. His hand edged out from beneath her and he gripped the edge of the condom as he slid out of her. “Couldn’t even wait to get my joggers off,” he muttered, before flopping on the bed.

He pulled the condom off, put a knot in it, and placed it with the wrapper. “Come here,” he said.

Izabel crawled up the bed into Matt’s arms. They lay in silence, the frenetic energy of a few minutes ago dissipating as his heartbeat slowed. “I really missed you,” Matt said quietly, kissing the top of her head.

“Yeah, I missed you too.”

Matt leaned on one elbow and brushed her hair behind her ear. “I thought it would be good between us. But every time it gets even better.”

He kissed her, this time lazily, one of those kisses you see in movies, and Izabel closed her eyes and allowed herself to simply enjoy it.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

Izabel grinned. “What a great birthday present.”

Matt jumped up and went to the bedside table and pulled out a bag. “Here’s your real one.”

Izabel’s heart squeezed at the thought he’d bought her something. In the bag was a small black jewellery box, and in the box was a beautiful pendant. Suspended inside a thick ring of rose gold was a glass bead. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Watch this.” Matt closed the curtains and reached for his phone and the necklace. Once near the wall, he turned the flashlight on and held it to the glass bead. Words appeared on the wall in different languages, but the three she noticed in English made her heart soar.

I love you.

“You do?” she asked, needing to hear him say it for real.

He turned the flashlight off and opened the heavy drapes. “Yeah, Izabel. I do. And while we figure this out, I wanted you to have something to remind you of it every day, without anyone knowing what it meant.”

“I love it. It’s really thoughtful.” She lifted her hair out of the way so he could put it on. When he was done, she turned to face him. “And I love you too.”

This timeshekissedhim.

“How’s the planning going for the concert?” he asked.

Izabel flopped back down onto the bed. “It’s about seventy billion lists right now. I have a lot of emails out this morning and on the train. Maybe all of them will disappear into the void.”

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