Fearless In Love
Page 34

Then Noah grabbed Ari’s hand. “Come on,” he insisted. “I want to jump with both of you.”
They clambered up and jumped high, Noah screaming his delight. Every time Matt landed, he bounced her too, until she was shrieking as loudly as Noah. She’d never had so much fun, never laughed so hard, never ached so badly with how much she wanted this every moment of every day. With Noah and Matt.
Finally out of breath, she lost her balance, knocking into Matt, pitching them both sideways. He landed on top of her, his body flush against hers.
Oh God.
Every part of him was hard. Mouthwatering. Perfect.
Laughing, Noah thought it was such fun to jump around them, jostling them over and over until she thought she might actually lose her mind. Neither of them laughed anymore. Instead, Matt stared into her eyes as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
Before utter insanity descended on her and she wrapped her arms around Matt and kissed him in front of his son, Ari did the hardest thing in the world—she rolled away and crawled down the ladder.
When Noah urged her to come back, all she could do was shake her head, and say, “Boys only now.”
Her two favorite boys in the whole wide world.
* * *
Ari was a mess, hair tangled, shirt askew, face flushed, breasts rising and falling with gasping breaths.
And Matt had never wanted anyone more.
It had been nuts to let Noah pull him up there with the two of them. But it had been the other side of insanity to fall on Ari and stay right there, her soft curves crushed beneath him, her big, beautiful eyes staring into his.
Even with her on the other side of the net, he still couldn’t catch his breath. His need for her was an ache deep in his body and his soul.
He hadn’t bought the trampoline net for this. He’d wanted to cut off his battle with Irene at the knees. To see Noah laugh and Ari smile.
But now he saw himself for the liar he was. He’d also wanted Ari to know he’d listened to her suggestion to buy the net, that he respected her opinion, that she mattered to him. More than he could possibly let her know if he meant to keep from falling back into bed with her.
“Dinner’s probably getting cold.” Even ten minutes later, Ari sounded as breathless as he felt.
“Yeah, buddy, dinner time. Let’s get washed up.”
Noah grumbled with every kid’s instinct—no leaving the playground, no washing up. Matt used the distraction to regain his control, something he found increasingly difficult to do around Ari. Even with something as harmless as jumping on a backyard trampoline.
Noah grabbed their hands and swung himself like a monkey in a tree, laughing as they walked him into the house. And it felt right—so damned right, the three of them like that.
When Noah ran off to wash his hands, Matt gave Ari the news he’d received just before his son had dragged him into the backyard. “I just heard from Rafe, my PI. They’ve located a former member of your brother’s squad down in San Luis Obispo. His name is Zach Smith. We should go see him together. I’ll tell you more after Noah’s in bed.”
Ari reached out, then squeezed her fist tight before she actually touched him. He knew she expressed herself through touch, through comfort, a hug, a kiss. Lord, how he wanted that touch. That kiss. Wanted it so damned bad.
“Thank you so much. For finding someone who knew my brother—and for offering to take me to see him. But I know how busy you are with work right now.”
“Don’t worry about my work.” He covered her hand with his. He’d take any excuse to touch her. Sure, he was in the middle of the new product release, but nothing was more important than finding Ari’s brother and repaying her for everything she did for Noah.
And for him.
* * *
Ari didn’t want to rush story time, but she couldn’t stand the suspense. She needed to know every detail of what Matt had learned about Gideon. After Noah was asleep, Matt lit the fire pit on the back deck and gave her a warmed brandy.
She’d never known such decadence before she’d met him, but then, she’d never known a man like Matt.
Their feet perched on the edge of the pit, they sat beneath a cloudless sky filled with a million stars. The fire was warm against her soles, but it was Matt so close beside her that truly heated her from the inside out.
“It’s not a pretty story,” he finally said, “which was why I didn’t get into it in front of Noah. Shortly before your brother got out of the Army, three of the members of his unit were killed by an IED.”
Her stomach clenched. She read the news on the Internet, and she’d seen plenty of movies. An IED was a homemade bomb. “Was Gideon hurt?”
“No. But the guys in his squad were.”
The brandy burned as it went down, especially after the chill of learning about the bomb. The worst was possible when it came to war zones, but still, she’d always prayed Gideon was alive—and uninjured.
“I’m hoping the guy in San Luis Obispo can shed some light on where your brother went after he got out.”
She wanted to curl her fingers around Matt’s…for as many reasons as there were stars in the sky. “Thank you. You don’t have to take me down there, but I really appreciate not having to ask him these questions on my own.”
“It might not be easy. And I want to be there for you, Ari.” His words hung between them for endless moments, his expression intense. “Since I’ve been away for a few days, I’d like to spend the weekend with Noah, then take care of some critical issues for the new product release, and go down on Wednesday, if that’s all right with you. Will’s agreed to have his housekeeper, Mrs. Taylor, look after Noah, and Doreen can still drive him to school.”
Matt had already arranged everything. All the Mavericks banded together when anyone needed something. Even when she needed something. Again, she felt almost like family. “Wednesday is perfect.”
“Good.” He was still looking at her, so intently that her skin tingled—all of her tingled. “I’ve booked a couple of rooms at Walter Braedon’s Regent Hotel in San Luis.”
She didn’t know much about the Regent chain of hotels beyond the pictures she’d seen of them online. They were virtual palaces. And probably cost as much.
“That’s too fancy.” She’d noticed he was careful to say he’d booked two rooms, reminding her they wouldn’t be sleeping together. “I already owe you so much—”