Page 10 of Blindsided

Matthew throws his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. I’m just learning something new about you.” He walks around my chair and flops down onto the couch. “How long have you been up?”

I shrug. “A couple of hours.”

Matthew’s eyes soften. “More nightmares?”

I nod my head, not wanting to say more about it. It was the same as the night before when my stalker was touching me and I was frozen to my bed. The worst part of it all is that I’m not tied down by anything. I’m just stuck there, forced to take whatever he does to me. It’s terrifying.

“Well, how about we have a quick breakfast and then go for a run? I could go for another ass-kicking.” He winks.

I laugh, just like I’m sure he intended. “That sounds perfect.”

“But first, you have to give me the title of that book. I’m going to download it.” Matthew reaches into the drawer of his coffee table and pulls out his e-reader. My jaw drops, realizing he’s completely serious. I can’t believe this guy sometimes. Every time I think he couldn’t be more perfect, he does something like this and proves me wrong.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how it felt to wake up with his arms around me. At the same time, I’ve forced myself to ignore the groping. I have never woken up that turned on. I had to get myself off the minute he walked out of the bedroom, and I came so hard I practically saw stars. It’s a completely different experience to masturbate knowing exactly how it feels to have Matthew’s hands on my body. Not to mention the weapon he’s packing in his pants.

I’d only ever had my imagination before. This time was real and a whole lot more powerful.

But for the sake of my sanity, I shut down any more thoughts afterward. I know Matthew will never see me as anything other than Desmond’s little sister. Dwelling on what happened will only lead me to heartbreak.

* * *

“I have a surprise for you,” Matthew says, walking into the kitchen with the biggest grin on his face.

My eyebrows furrow. “What did you do now?”

When we got back from our run, a pile of groceries had been left on Matthew’s porch. There was a myriad of healthy foods in the bags. It was everything I needed to stay on top of my diet while I stayed with Matthew. I can’t imagine how much it cost him to get it all delivered. Most of it came from Greensboro, which is at least a forty-five-minute drive from Westlake.

I tried to get him to let me pay him back for it, but he refused.

A knock on the door and then a shout comes from the foyer, and my confusion only grows.

“We’re in the kitchen,” Matthew calls out. Then Adam and his girlfriend, Ellie, come around the corner with smiles on their faces.

“Hey!” I walk over to hug Adam first, then Ellie. “It’s so good to see you guys.” The last time we were able to get together was at one of Desmond’s games in the fall. It was the first time I’d met Ellie, and I loved her immediately. With Adam being so much older than me, we didn’t spend much time together growing up, but every single time he was around, he always made me feel like I wasn’t a burden.

“Matthew said you could use a little distraction, and that happens to be my specialty.” Ellie’s blue eyes are bright with excitement. If I add in how wide her smile is, I don’t have any doubts about her wanting to be here.

“A distraction would be wonderful. What did you have in mind?”

“We brought lunch to start, then figured we could decide what to do after we eat.” Adam holds up a bulging plastic bag withAthena’s Tableprinted on the side. They have the best Greek food in the area.

My stomach gurgles loudly when the smells hit me. “Obviously, I’m down to eat.”

Ellie laughs and walks over to a cabinet to grab plates. They must hang out a lot for her to know where everything is in Matthew’s kitchen.

We take turns dishing out food. Adam ordered chicken and pork, along with veggies, hummus, and a Greek salad so we could build our own gyros. The next few minutes are spent waxing poetic about how delicious the food is.

“This reminds me of the place around the corner from my apartment that has the best Greek food. I would never tell Nico, the owner, but Athena’s is almost as good as his,” I tell the group.

“I’d bet he’d be proud he came in first,” Matthew says.

I tip my head at him. “You have a point.”

“How long are you staying?” Ellie asks me.

“Until Wednesday.”

“She’s going to London for a fancy fashion show the next day,” Matthew teases.

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