Dear Worst Enemy (The Matchmaker Series) Read online

  “I was getting a room upstairs?” he said as he pulled back, smirking slightly, almost daring her to say he shouldn’t have.

  God, the confidence of the man. It was maddening, but she felt a surge of pure lust wash over her.

  “What took you so long,” she said as she looked up into his eyes.

  He smiled down at her then took her hand and led her out of the ballroom.

  Her insides fell as she glanced back at their table. Several of the women were watching them. And she could tell that they knew exactly what was going on. She also knew that most of them wished they could be in her position.

  Smiling to herself, she tried to push away the rising fear inside of her. Was she really going to do this? She wasn’t normally a one night stand type of person. And heaven knew that he definitely was. This was so not her.

  She didn’t care, she realized as a growing need began to build inside of her. The man pushed her buttons. Making her angry just on general principal. But still, she wanted him.

  As the elevator doors opened, she swallowed hard, pushing the doubt and embarrassment aside. She was going upstairs to sleep with this man.

  He held the door as he once again touched her back. God, the man was driving her crazy. A simple touch had her melting inside. She turned to look up at him and found him staring down at her. A hungry, predatory look to his eyes.

  The man wanted her just as much as she wanted him. The realization made her feel a feminine pride. It was as if there was a force field pushing them together. She didn’t know who moved first but she found herself in his arms, her lips locked with his.

  Kissing William was a completely new experience. She didn’t know that a man could kiss like this. Devouring, hungry, yet commanding. Her arms slipped around those wide shoulders, refusing to let him go as she melted into him.

  Her stomach tightened up with both fear and anticipation as she moaned deep in her throat.

  His arms pulled her close as his hands roamed over her body, sending her higher. Building the need inside of her.

  The doors opened and the two of them worked their way down the hall, still kissing, still pawing at each other.

  Somehow, he got the door open and they fell into the room as a burning hunger overtook them.

  Her hands pushed his jacket off before he could even get the door closed. Now, she needed this man now. Pushing his suspenders aside she frantically started on his shirt buttons.

  He towered over her as he put two hands on either side of her face and once again brought his lips down to hers.

  Damn, the man was good. Sighing into him, her hands fumbled with his pants.

  “Please,” she begged, not even caring how it made her sound.

  He smiled as his hands unzipped her dress. Shrugging, she let it fall to the floor, thanking god she was wearing sexy black bra and panties.

  Stepping back, he let his eyes roam over her body. She felt her cheeks grow warm, but she loved the way he looked at her. As if she were the greatest treasure the world had ever seen.

  Reaching behind herself, she held her breath as she undid her bra then pushed her panties down.

  He swallowed hard then smiled, “You Erica, are a beautiful woman.” Pulling his shirt over his head, he then stepped out of his pants and pulled his boxers down.

  The two of them stood there for a moment, examining each other. Her heart jumped. The man was rock hard. Everywhere. Big in so many ways.

  Her eyes locked onto his cock, God, the man was perfect. Thick, large, and demanding. Her insides grew hot with need, swollen and crying out with desire.

  He reached down to his pants and pulled out a condom. Then, smirking at her, he rolled it on over that massive tool. The man was driving her crazy. Their eyes met, and once again their lips came together as they stumbled to the bed. Both of them flopping down in a tangle of arms and legs. Skin to skin, hungry, searching, teasing.

  His finger found her core, probing, testing.

  “Now,” she demanded as she tried to pull him on top of her.

  He needed no coaxing as he slipped between her legs and then into her as if he were built for that purpose.

  Erica threw her head back and moaned. Yes, this was what she needed. More than life itself. This man inside of her. Stretching, filling, thrusting.

  “God, Erica,” he moaned as he once again thrust into her.

  “Yes, Please, Yes,” she said as she dug her fingers into his back demanding more. Rising, getting higher and higher. Almost, yes, she was almost there.

  Over and over he thrust himself into her.

  Then he thrust one last time, hard, filling her to the maximum as he came. His throbbing member pushing her over the edge as she exploded into a million colors. All of them more important than she had ever known.

  “God, Yes,” she screamed as she clamped down while wave after wave of pure joy washed over her.

  Chapter Five

  Somehow, Erica found herself under the covers with a large warm man wrapped around her. Yes, she thought as she snuggled into him. A woman could grow to love this feeling. Protected, cared for. As if she were actually worth saving.

  What now? She wondered as a new fear began to build inside of her. What were the rules for a thing like this? Was she supposed to sneak out while he pretended to be asleep? Did she stay until the morning? Then sneak out.

  What would he think of her? What about the next time he came into her shop? How was she supposed to act? As if nothing had happened? How? The man had made her world shift on its axis.

  Maybe she should go she thought. It would probably be better. But her body refused to move. No, not when she was enjoying this so much.

  Then William kissed the back of her neck and any thought of leaving disappeared as she melted inside.

  His hand began to knead her breasts as he continued to kiss her neck. Then he pulled her over so that he could look down into her eyes.

  What are you thinking? She wondered as doubt ate at her soul.

  He smiled gently then kissed her breasts and she forgot everything as he slowly kissed lower and lower, his lips tracing a line down over her tummy then lower.

  Was he really? She wondered as hope began to build inside of her.

  Yes, she realized as his tongue found her very core. Yes!

  Softly, slowly, he started to build a fire inside of her. Driving her higher as his fingers probed inside of her, caressing, taking, his tongue probing, kissing. All the while driving her insane until she could stand it no longer. She grabbed his head, holding it in place as she exploded once again.

  He smiled up at her, obviously loving what he could do to her. She was tempted to chastise his smirking attitude until she realized that would be pretty stupid. Instead, she reached for him, pulling him higher.

  As he slipped his cock into her, he held her stare, refusing to let her look away. Their two eyes locked until she could take it no longer and her eyes rolled back into her head. God, yes.

  Then, he pulled himself from her and turned her over, pulling her up to her knees. She lowered her head as his hands gripped her hips and pulled her onto his shaft. God, it was so deep. Yes, so big.

  His strong hands gripped her, trapping her in place as he shoved himself into her over and over. It was as if the world was just the two of them. Him filling her over and over until they both climaxed together.

  She collapsed forward as he fell beside her, both of them fighting to catch their breath.

  Looking over at him, she felt a deep regret. One night would never be enough. But that was all she would ever know, she realized. That had been the unspoken agreement. Lifting his arm, she slid in next to him, resting her hand on his chest.

  He squeezed her and the world felt right. As if this was the true meaning of life.

  A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind as he slowly fell asleep. She lay there next to him watching his broad chest rise with each breath. Her mind raced, refusing to let her rest.

  No, she tol
d herself. Do not become obsessive. Don’t get all weird. One night, remember.

  For over an hour, she watched him sleep then smiled to herself. It might be only one night. But the night wasn’t over.

  Being careful not to wake him, her hand drifted to take his cock, stroking gently. Her lips creased in a wide smile as he began to grow hard. Shifting, she leaned down and took him in her mouth.

  Yes, the night was not over, not yet.

  .o0o.

  Erica woke to find a shaft of sunlight kissing the far wall. Her mind whirled as she fought to bring it back into focus. A massively strong arm was laying across her, trapping her in place.

  My God, what had she done? The man was going to think she was a …. A whatever guys thought about girls who jumped into bed with them the first chance they got.

  A bolt of shame and embarrassment washed over her. This was not who she was, but this was what he was going to think about her. Every time he walked into her shop he was going to think about being inside of her. Remember how she had moaned and screamed under his control.

  Oh, my God, what had she done?

  Her heart jumped as she slid out from under his arm. She had to get away. Had to escape before he woke up. Maybe if she got away from him, she could think straight. Perhaps figure out how she was going to face her future.

  As she frantically scrambled into her clothes, she couldn’t stop herself from looking back at the man. He was sprawled across the bed. Exhausted, spent. She smiled to herself. She had done that to him, and he had loved every moment of it.

  But no, she needed to get out, she thought as she searched the room for her purse.

  Should she leave a note? Kiss him goodbye?

  Sighing, she looked down on him one last time, then forced herself to slip out of the room. Once the door clicked behind her, she took a deep breath to try and calm herself as her heart broke into a thousand pieces.

  Then, she caught a look at herself in the mirror across the hall and her soul shriveled. The walk of shame. Her hear was a mess, her dress was rumpled, and her panties were in her purse. Could it get any worse than this?

  Then a maid stepped out of a room and shot her a quick look, her eyes judging.

  Erica swallowed hard and pushed herself to the elevator. Get away, just get away and put this all behind her.

  Of course, she feared she might never be able to put this behind her. The man had changed something inside of her. Made her see the world in a different way.

  A sadness filled her as she realized she would never again reach those heights. She would never find a happy ever after. Sighing, somehow, she made it to her car and back to her home silently thanking Carla for opening the Bakery this morning.

  She needed a shower and a nap if she was going to face the sense of loneliness that she knew she was going to experience.

  Later that afternoon as she found a parking spot she glanced over and cringed. His massive pick-up was parked outside her bakery just like always. How was she going to be able to look at that all day and not think about him?

  What would she do the first time she saw him again. Act like it was no big deal? That sleeping with a man she barely knew was perfectly normal. Pretend as if he hadn’t made her climax seven times. Each time better than the last.

  Seven times, she thought as she shook her head. Who would have believed it was even possible.

  “There she is,” Carla said with a smile when Erica opened the door.

  Erica’s stomach tightened up into a tight ball as she fought to stop herself from turning around and running as far and as fast as possible.

  Carla watched her like a hawk as her curious frown slowly changed over to a wide smile.

  “You did,” her assistant said. “Wow.”

  Erica felt her cheeks grow warm as she avoided looking at her friend. Slipping into an apron, she pretended to examine the display cases to see what they needed.

  “Come on, spill. I want every detail,” Carla said.

  Erica sighed heavily but bit her tongue. How could she tell her friend she had slept with her upstairs neighbor.

  “Not happening,” she said as she started pulling out the ingredients for cupcakes.

  Carla shook her head, obviously unhappy at being left out of the loop. “Well, you missed it, earlier.”

  Erica raised an eyebrow.

  “That Bill guy, from upstairs, pulled up this morning and was wearing a tux. I mean, you haven’t seen hot until you have seen that man in a tux. Tall, handsome, and beastly, all at the same time. You know what I mean.”

  Her hand waved in front of her face trying to cool herself. Erica froze for a moment as her insides turned to stone. Carla stared at her for a long moment, her brow furrowed in confusion. Then, slowly understanding began to dawn on her.

  “Tux, little black dress, fear on your face, No way. Bill?”

  “William,” Erica managed to say as she stared down at her feet, her face flaming hot.

  Carla’s jaw dropped open. She glanced up at the ceiling then back at her friend and slowly shook her head.

  Thankfully, they were interrupted by a customer before she could try and pull out more information.

  Erica focused on baking, let Carla run the counter. The more distance between them the better. She didn’t want to face what she had done. She didn’t want to have to deal with the fact that it had been a one time thing.

  Her body was sore as if she had used muscles she had never used before. Her mind was foggy, and the world seemed to be moving at a slower pace. A sadness filled her. Yes, she would have the memories, but she would never again experience such a night.

  Fighting back a tear, she placed the cupcakes in the oven, closed the door.

  As she turned back around, her heart filled her throat. There he was. Big, handsome, with that oh so familiar scowl. She froze, like a rabbit in a headlamp. Terrified to move.

  Her worst nightmare and her greatest dream had just walked into her shop.

  Chapter Six

  The man had exchanged the tux for his familiar uniform of a flannel shirt, jeans, and boots. She couldn’t help herself from remembering what it felt like to have him fill her. To push her over the edge into oblivion.

  As she looked into his eyes her cheeks grew warm. She knew in her heart that he was thinking about the same thing. The two of them both stared into each other’s eyes for a long second. Carla looked at her, then back at William and then to her.

  Erica heard her friend say something about having to go and handing over her apron as she scurried from the room. But Erica couldn’t take her eyes off the man in front of her.

  “Hello, Erica,” he said.

  “William,” she managed to reply all the way fighting to keep her stomach from losing it.

  He smiled sadly. “I’d love to get some cookies.”

  Her heart skipped until she realized he was talking about actual chocolate chip. Pulling her gaze away from his she started to fill a bag. All the while a thousand butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Each one fighting to make the biggest disturbance possible.

  “You got home okay?” he said.

  All she could do was nod. Please go away, she thought. Please leave me alone so I can suffer in silence.

  But of course, the man didn’t move. Instead he stood there looking at her as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle. Then he nodded to himself, placed a five on the counter, turned and walked out of her life.

  Erica watched his broad shoulders and narrow hips with a longing. He was leaving. That was what she wanted, she reminded herself. But a sadness filled her. No, she thought. Don’t go, please stay, but her pride stopped her from saying anything.

  No, that was not to be her life. This man wasn’t the kind who stayed.

  Sighing heavily, she put the money in the till and returned to her baking. Her heart broke as she realized the love of her life was leaving her and there was nothing she could do to change it. Every man in the future would be measured against Will
iam and found wanting.

  As she pulled the cookies from the oven and placed them down, she realized she hadn’t heard the bells above the door jingle when he left. Frowning to herself she turned to find him standing by the door, his hand on the knob as if fighting with himself.

  She froze as her heart raced. Why?

  He turned back around and shook his head.

  “Damn you, Erica, I knew this would happen. I knew it in my soul.”

  Her brow creased as she tried to understand what he was talking about. She could only stare at him as he marched across her shop directly to her.

  Looking up, she silently questioned him as to what was going on.

  He stared down into her eyes then placed a hand on the back of her neck as he brought her into the deepest kiss the world had ever known. The kind of kiss that shapes a woman’s soul.

  Breaking away, he held her gaze and said, “I knew you were a forever type girl. I knew you’d wrap my heart around yours. But still, I couldn’t stay away. I couldn’t not want you. Damn you, Erica, I knew you’d make me fall in love with you.”

  Her heart stopped working, her world became fuzzy as she desperately tried to understand what was happening.

  He saw her obvious confusion and smiled gently. “When I woke this morning and found you gone. I was pissed. I mean super angry. Not at you. At me for letting you go. Do you understand.”

  She nodded even though she didn’t really.

  “For the first time in my life,” he continued. “I realized my life could be even better. But only if you were in it.”

  Her soul soared as she fought to understand. Did he really love her? Was that what he was saying. How was that possible.

  “Are … Are you saying that you are in love with me?” she asked, unable to believe those words were coming out of her mouth.

  He laughed and nodded. “that is exactly what I am …”

  Before he could finish, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck so that she could kiss him and never let him go.