Lean on Me (The Mackay Sisters) (16 page)

“Sure,” Matt said.  “She’s fine.”

He glanced around in case lightning
struck, but when no ominous rumblings sounded nor the crack of lightening come
to singe his lying arse, he figured he was safe.

“Good.  Cripes, I’ve never seen
Lori lose it like that.”  Hamish scratched his head.  “Man, never knew she had
it in her.”  He grinned.  “Guess you never know what lurks beneath those quiet
exteriors, huh?”

Hamish had no idea.  Matt just
nodded, crossing to the little kitchen to make a cup of coffee.  Hot and strong
was exactly what he needed.

“So she was all right when you
left her?” Hamish hovered at the door, curiosity clear in his voice.

“Absolutely fine,” Matt replied. 
“Back to normal.”

Or as far from normal as she could
get.  He’d felt her stunned stare all the way to the hall doorway.

Walking home had been a revelation
on its own.  He was ready to almost snarl at any man who even walked near
Lori’s house.  Luckily no one had been on the street.  The mastery that had
surged upwards in the face of her defiance wasn’t leaving in a hurry, and he
actually found himself wallowing in it, sicko that he was.

Unfortunately - or maybe
fortunately - regardless of him wanting to beat his bare chest with both fists and
roar out his ownership, there were still bills to pay.  A quick shower and a
change of clothes, his ruined uniform shirt in the bin, and Matt was leaving
the house for work. 

But one thing was burned into his
brain, and that was the sight and sensation of Lori undulating beneath him, her
heat, her eyes hot with desire.  Christ, she’d been so responsive, arching
whenever he’d touched her, her body taking him eagerly, her kisses almost as
ruthless as his.  Just as desperate.

He actually had to wipe one hand
over his brow at the memory.

“Right,” Hamish said from the
doorway.  “I’m going to re-stock the ambulance while we have the time.”

“I’ll just have a quick cuppa and
I’ll be there,” Matt replied.

“No worries.”  Hamish disappeared
from the doorway.

Stirring the hot drink, Matt turned
and leaned back against the bench, his thoughts filled with Lori and what had happened.

Christ, she’d been a
virgin
.
He’d suspected that maybe she hadn’t had much sexual experience, but a virgin? 
That boggled the mind.  Hell, the woman was pretty, her body lush, and just the
memory of those voluptuous curves beneath his hands was enough to get his loins
stirring.  What was wrong with the men in this town that not one of them had
apparently tried to seduce her?

Or maybe they had and she’d
rebuffed them.  That sounded more like it.  She certainly hadn’t rebuffed him. 
Matt grinned.

Of course, there were some other
issues.  He wasn’t normally a dominant man, not like that, but Lori seemed to
bring that particular unknown trait out in him, and after one taste of her body
all he wanted to do was again dominate her.  But it was more than that, too,
right?  He shook his head.  Hell if he really knew.  And wasn’t that the
kicker?

“Daydreaming?” a voice asked from
the doorway.

Matt looked up to find Adam
entering the little kitchen.  “Oh, g’day.  Just thinking.”

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with
a certain Mackay girl, would it?”

Matt arched an eyebrow.  “Is this
an official visit?”

“Just following up.”

Matt took a slow sip of coffee, watching
Adam over the rim, taking his measure before lowering the cup.  “I’ve seen her,
there’s no need to follow up.”

“Really?”  Striding past him, Adam
grabbed a cup and spooned coffee into it.

“Yeah.”  He couldn’t stop himself
from tensing.  “I’ve taken care of things, you don’t need to concern yourself.”

Adam might be his mate but right
now Matt wasn’t feeling very comradely. 

“Huh.”  Face expressionless, Adam
filled the cup with hot water from the urn.  “And yet, I’m her friend.”

“And I’m her…” Matt stumbled to a
halt, common sense prevailing.

Turning to look at him, Adam
raised one brow.  “Yes?  Her what?”

Lover?  Hell yes, because he
was definitely way more than just a friend.
  Matt took another sip of
coffee but refused to look away from Adam.

Adam simply took a sip of his own
coffee, his gaze steady and a touch hard.  When the silence went on for several
more seconds, he asked quietly, “You all right, Matt?”

“Of course.”

“Because you look a little…”  Adam
tilted his head to one side consideringly.  “Aggressive, actually.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah, and that’s not like you.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Matt, you’re one of the most
mild-mannered men I know, but you’re giving out these vibes.”

Matt stared at him unblinkingly.

A sound came from the room next
door and with a small frown Adam placed his coffee mug down.  “Follow me.”

Without a word Matt obeyed, going outside
and around the corner of the substation.  Immediately he knew it was the most
private place around, no one would hear what they were saying.

He started bristling.  Was Adam
going to try and warn him off Lori?  Because if so, he could go and-

“Ease up,” Adam ordered.

“I’m fine,” Matt replied tightly.

“No, you’re not.  You’re wound up
tighter than a spring.”

No doubting that, he was tense.

Hands in pockets, Adam braced his
legs slightly apart while studying Matt.  “What happened?”

“Nothing much.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Adam said
dryly.  “Try again.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed.  “I saw her,
we talked.  I’m seeing her tonight.”

“Try again.”

“This is none of your business, Adam.”

“It became my business when Lori
flipped out in a public place.  It’s my business as her friend to ensure she’s
okay.  It’s also my business as
your
friend to ensure you’re all right.”

That reminder actually had Matt
relaxing a little, common sense prevailing as he took a deep breath of fresh
air.  “I’m fine.”  But he still couldn’t shake off the protective feeling he
had when it came to Lori.  Didn’t want to shake it off, had no intentions to,
in fact. 

Adam considered him.  “This has
gone further, hasn’t it?”

Matt flashed him a look.  He
wasn’t about to deny it.  “Yes.”

“Ah, I see.”  A ghost of a smile
touched Adam’s mouth.  “You poor bastard.”  And he laughed.

That did what nothing else could
do.  The last of the tension flowed out of Matt and with it returned his normal
clear thoughts.  No doubt about it, he felt a little foolish.

But the protective feeling was
still there, he just controlled it better.  What the hell was wrong with him? 
He’d never gone looking for a fight, never been aggressive, it just wasn’t him. 
Except when it came to Lori, then he went all caveman.

“Oh, man, I’m sorry.  I can’t
believe I was such an arsehole.”

“Yeah,” Adam replied.  “You were. 
But don’t worry, I understand.”

“You do?”  Matt leaned against the
wall, cradling the mug in his hands.  “You been there?”

Adam’s face shadowed, the mirth
fading.  Instead of answering, he asked, “So you and Lori Mackay, huh?”

“Yeah.”  Matt rubbed the rim of
the mug with his thumb.  “It kind of happened.  I didn’t plan it or anything,
just…”  Hell, Adam might be his friend, but there were some things blokes just
didn’t discuss in-depth.  “Anyway…”

“A woman can do that to a man,
make him all possessive and full of shit.  Don’t worry, it happens to a lot of
us.”

“If you could see I was - what did
you call it?  Putting out vibes? - how come Hamish didn’t comment?”

“Because Hamish doesn’t have a
brain in his head.”  Adam smiled a little crookedly.  “And I’m smart.”

“Trained to watch for trouble, you
mean.”

“I’m a good judge of character,
comes with the job.”

Matt had a feeling that it was
more than just the job, Adam seemed to have an inbuilt radar system.  He’d seen
it when he’d gone out with him to the pub a few times.

“So I’m guessing Lori has you tied
up in knots.”

“It kind of happened fast.”  Matt
took a sip of coffee.  “But we’ll work through it.”

Adam nodded.  “If you need a
hand-” He laughed when Matt shot him a dirty look.  “Let me rephrase that.  If
you need someone to talk to, you know where I am.”

“Thanks, but I’ll sort it out
myself.”

“Fine.”  Adam started to move
away.  “I’m going back on patrol.  See you later.”

By himself, Matt tipped back his
head and took several deep breaths.  Going all caveman with Lori was one thing,
but he had a job to do, people he worked with every day, and he had to separate
it.  He wasn’t a man who lost control, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to do
so again, not at work.  He was an adult, not an out-of-control, hormone-ridden
teenager.

A small smile played across his
mouth.  Tonight he would see Lori, then he could let his caveman out.  After,
of course, they had discussed more serious things.

Such as the fact that Lori was his
and no amount of arguing was going to change that.

Oops, there went the caveman
again.

Grinning, he went back into the
substation.

The rest of the afternoon went
well and by the time he got home he had his plan worked out.  Talk to Lori
patiently, they’d work things out and everything would be okay.

Good plan, except when he went
home, Chris Smith, the mechanic from the service station, was in Lori’s
driveway with his head under the car bonnet.  Obviously he was there to fix the
car and Matt hoped he’d hurry up.  He wanted Lori to himself.

A shower, a clean pair of jeans
and t-shirt, socks and sneakers, and he was ready.  Smith still had his head
under the bonnet and tools lay scattered on the driveway along with several
boxes of parts of some kind. 

Lori was sitting on the step of
the veranda talking to him but her gaze went straight to Matt when he walked
along the footpath.  Her apple cheeks flushed and she glanced away.

Sweet, shy Lori was back.  Matt
couldn’t help the wolfish grin.  “Evenin’, love.”

“Matt,” she replied faintly.

“I’ve just got a few things to do
and I’ll be over.”

That had Smith’s head popping out
from behind the bonnet.  The mechanic eyed him before switching his
contemplation to Lori, who blushed and stood up, mumbling about having
something to do and disappearing inside.

Matt liked watching her walk away,
it gave him a good view of her generously curved derriere.  The light summer
pants she wore didn’t detract from the view, nor did the loose blouse she wore
over top of it.  It was as though he had x-ray vision, he could see those
curves, knew exactly what they felt like under her clothes.

Oh yeah.

Now his tongue was practically
hanging out like a dog panting.

Smiling to himself, he entered
Ghost’s house to find that Lori had obviously been over to tidy up and feed the
cats and clean the trays.  The house didn’t look a wreck.  The feather duster
was sitting primly on the bottom step of the staircase, a box of cat toys was
neatly packed and sitting by the sofa, and the cat bowls had all been filled
and eaten, going by the scraps left in the bottoms.

Washing and drying the dishes, he
watched as Abraham came skulking around the corner of the door.  His prey was
Mauve, who was sitting with her back to him while contemplating the scenery
outside the window.

Before the big tabby could jump
the small Siamese, Matt opened the back door.  It’d be better to let the cats
burn off some energy rather than fight and wreck the house.  Plus, it was more
entertaining than waiting for Smith to leave so he could be alone with Lori.

As though it was a magical
message, Mort, Millie and Max shot out from wherever they’d been lurking and soon
all five cats were out in the backyard exploring.

Wandering out, Matt sat on the
back step and watched them.

Abraham, as usual, went straight
for the ferns, proceeding to mangle one beyond repair.  Ghost’s gardener would
have a fit when he arrived.

Mort bounded amongst the flowers
chasing Millie, while Max sat in the middle of the lawn, stuck one leg in the
air and proceeded to wash his manly bits.  Mauve sat on a chair and
contemplated them all with haughty disdain.

All in all, a typical late
afternoon for Ghost’s place.

The sun was low in the sky when
Matt rounded up the cats and herded them inside, ensuring the biscuit and water
bowls were full before he locked the door and strode down the footpath to
Lori’s house.

Smith was gone but now there was
another car in Lori’s driveway, one he hadn’t seen before, and he hesitated at
the gate.  To go in or not?  It was one thing to see Lori, another to bust in
on her and a visitor.  He decided to go home and watch for the car to leave.

Not stalker behaviour at all.

Unfortunately, he got waylaid at
his own gate by Old Man Parker and his dog.

“’Evening, young Matt,” Old Man
Parker greeted him.

“Mr Parker.”  Not really having
anything much to do, Matt leaned against the gate.

“How’s Lori?”

“Fine.”

“I’ve never seen her go nuts
before,” Old Man Parker said.  “Quite an eye-opener.”

“She’s been under a bit of
pressure.”  Matt gave him a knowing look.

Old Man Parker was completely
oblivious.  Figured.  “What happened?”

“Gossip,” Matt stated bluntly. 
“Too much gossip and not enough people minding their own business.”

Old Man Parker shook his head and
tut-tutted.  “Sad business when folks don’t mind their business.”

“Yeah,” Matt agreed with a touch
of sarcasm.

Totally lost on Old Man Parker
apparently.  “You get women together and they gossip like a bunch of old
crows.”