Take Two: An Erotic Romance (Book 1) (7 page)

In an instant, though, Mathis seemed to remember himself. His
friendly expression faded back into an impassive mask, his light blue eyes grew
cold and hard, and he leaned back, pulling a book off his shelf.

“You’ll need to read the first five chapters before our next
meeting,” he said, his voice as emotionless and lecturing as it had been
before. It was as if his brief lapse as we had reminisced about the past had
never happened.

We continued my training as before, with Mathis alternately
drilling me and firing questions at me. As he droned on about the different
profit types, I remembered the aftermath of the day in the tree.

“Mathis!” I had cried as I watched the branch crack and his body
fall downwards through a canopy of leaves. Before I could pull together a
rational thought I was swinging down the thin branches like a monkey, not
caring about the scratches and scrapes I received as I went. In a matter of
seconds I was down by his side, on a wide branch about ten feet from the
ground. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Mathis looked at me in a daze, obviously still processing what had
just happened. “How did you get down here so fast?” he asked me with a slight
frown. “Did you fall too? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I took the long route down. Does anything hurt? Did you
hit your head?”

“No, I’m fine – but you’re hurt!” He gestured to a scratch on my
arm, which was bleeding slightly.

“It’s just a scratch,” I insisted. “Now let’s get down from this
tree and I’m going to make sure you’re alright. You can count to ten for me and
recite the names of the presidents, things like that.”

“Amanda, I couldn’t recite the names of all the presidents even
before I fell out of a tree,” Mathis laughed. “But you’re right – we should go
get cleaned up.”

“I – I’m sorry I made you fall,” I burst out. “I should have been
more careful.”

“No,
I
should have been more careful,” Mathis replied. “I
was so worried about you that I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Then it is my fault,” I said guiltily.

“No – it was mine,” Mathis insisted. “I should have known that you could more
than take care of yourself. You’re amazing, Amanda – there’s so much more to
you than meets the eye. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you.”

“Is that a good thing?” I asked uncertainly.

Mathis just laughed at me. “Let’s get back to the house. Hope your
uncle doesn’t see us like this. He’s going to lose his shit.”

“Amanda!” The present-day Mathis interrupted my reverie. “Don’t
space out like that! This is important!”

“Sorry,” I apologized, my face going red. “I was still remembering
that day with the tree…” part of me hoped that Mathis would again break through
his cold façade, but he just frowned at me.

“This isn’t the time for daydreaming. Your uncle wanted you to
know this and I don’t have all the time in the world to teach you. I’m just
doing a favor for your uncle – I owe him that much.”

The words bit through me like a bitter wind. Of course. Mathis was
probably just as upset as I was about Uncle Andy, if not more so. It must be
painful for him to be reminded about it day after day by my presence. Maybe
that was why he was acting so coldly towards me? Or maybe, as he had said, he
was just doing a favor to my uncle. I was less than nothing to him.

It took about twenty more minutes for Mathis to realize that my
mind was not entirely there anymore. Although I wanted to impress him with my
dedication and focus and prove to him that I was both willing and able to
learn, the idea that Mathis was acting so distantly towards me because of my
uncle was plaguing me, and it was all I could do to listen to Mathis instead of
wondering whether Mathis was afraid of showing his true feelings, or whether he
really didn’t have any interest in being around me. Perhaps I was simply a
chore to him…

“Alright, we’ll pick up where we left of in our next session,”
Mathis sighed. “Make sure you read those chapters – I will assume you already
have a full understanding of all the topics covered in them, so it will be
difficult for you if you don’t put in the effort.”

“I’ll read them,” I stated confidently.

“Excellent. In that case, you can leave for today.”

“Wait!” I’d spoken before I’d had time to think it through, and
Mathis paused, quirking one eyebrow at me in expectation.

“You have something else to add?” he asked.

“Just – why weren’t you there? Why weren’t you at Uncle Andy’s
funeral or at his will reading? I looked for you. I just… I guess I thought
you’d be there,” I finished lamely. I was going to say ‘I thought you cared
about him’, but I didn’t want to say anything so hurtful.

“I was there,” Mathis said coolly.

“But – I didn’t see you,” I said, confused. If he had been there,
I was certain I couldn’t have missed him. At six foot three, with his imposing
stature and piercing blue eyes, I was sure that nobody in the room would have
missed him.

“I was there,” Mathis repeated. “He meant a lot to me – I owe him
my success, my fortune, and my life. You, of all people, should know that. I
simply did not wish to make myself known.”

“Oh, okay. Right,” I said. I wondered whether he meant he did not
want to make himself known to the other guests – or just to me. I thought about
asking him, but his impassive face was discouraging and I felt once again like
a silly schoolgirl with a crush – not in the same league as him, and with no
right to ask such personal questions.

“If that is all,” said Mathis. “I’ll see you for our next training
session.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you next time then,” I said.

“Goodbye, Amanda,” he said, and gave me one of his quirky,
charming smiles.

As I scuttled out of his office and past the pretty secretary, my
face was flushed with the intoxicating effect of his smile and my mind was
still conflicted. Was Mathis trying to keep his distance from me on purpose?
Did he just not care? I couldn’t understand him – and it was so frustrating!

Our next training session was much less grueling than the first.
Perhaps Mathis had realized that firing questions at me was not the best way to
make me learn things, because this time he didn’t simply flood me with
information but talked in a relaxed, even entertaining manner about some of the
experiences he had had as a hedge fund manager. Hearing him talking about some
of the pitfalls of the profession made me feel less like an idiot for not
knowing anything, and by the end of the training session, I felt much better
equipped to navigate the minefield of investing.

By the time we were done, the sky was already getting dark and the
secretary had gone home, leaving the building locked behind her.

“I guess we got caught up in our work,” I said sheepishly,
embarrassed that I had taken up so much of Mathis’ time.

“It doesn’t matter – come on, I’ll let you out,” Mathis offered.

“Thanks,” I said. We walked together towards the elevator, and I
felt strangely small beside Mathis’ tall, athletic form. My eyes came level
with his collarbone, and I couldn’t help noticing how tan his skin was, and how
the muscles in his neck moved subtly under his skin. I was getting nervous, and
I found myself unable to say anything, even meaningless small talk.

We rode the elevator in silence and Mathis went ahead of me to
unlock the front door of the building.

The sky was slate gray, just getting ready to go dark, and rain
was pounding off the sidewalk, the drumming sound blocking out the rush of
traffic.

“Oh no, it’s really pouring!” I observed, half to myself as I ran
up to the glass doors to get a better look.

“Do you need me to call you a cab?” Mathis asked, standing next to
me looking out beyond the glass, with a touch of his old chivalry.

I started smiling, unable to forget the time when we had both
sheltered from the rain together in a small natural cave, just moments before
our first kiss. I turned to Mathis, unwilling to keep the memory to myself.
Maybe this will make him at least act more natural, like his old self, around
me.

“Doesn’t it remind you of that time in the cave?” I asked him. “We
were playing some silly game, right?”

“You were about to fall into an enchanted sleep,” Mathis said, his
mouth settling into a gentle smile as he looked at me, that warmth and spark of
mischief back in his eyes again, making my heart skip a beat.

“Those were fun times,” I said. “We were just kids, acting like
kids, making up stories.”

“As I remember, you were the one who started it,” Mathis remarked.
“You told me I wasn’t allowed in your woods without the protection of the fairy
queen.”

“That’s not quite how I remember it,” I said archly, and Mathis
let out a short laugh which rippled through me.

“How do you remember it, then?” he challenged me.

“I remember that you told me the cave was haunted,” I accused him.
“I couldn’t go in there or I would be cursed and fall into an eternal sleep.
Truthfully, I always thought you just wanted it to yourself while I had to stay
out in the rain.”

Mathis laughed again, and despite the rain, I felt happy, elated
even. It was so good to see this side of him again, the carefree, vivacious man
behind the stone mask he had built for himself.

“And then?” he asked, his expression suddenly more serious again,
his eyes looking intensely into mine. “Do you remember how I saved you from
going into that eternal sleep?”

Mathis’ face was so close to mine that I could feel the warmth of
his breath on my cheek. Against the rushing of the rain, the only other sound I
could make out was my heart, beating like an angry fist inside my chest,
desperate to get out. Slowly, Mathis reached out his hand and gently brushed my
hair behind my ear. For an instant, I was catapulted back in time to our very
first meeting, where he had just as gently repeated the same motion, his entire
being focused on taking in every detail of my face.

My cheeks flooded with color as Mathis withdrew his hand from my
face and placed it on my shoulder. For a moment I couldn’t speak or move. Was
he going to kiss me?

But, just as it had happened back in the cave, Mathis hesitated,
just for a moment, and suddenly the spell of stillness was broken and I pulled
back.

“I should really get going,” I said quickly. “What with all this
rain there will probably be a ton of traffic, and I said I’d call my friend
when I got back, and—”

I was cut off by the sudden impact of soft lips on mine, firm but
gentle, pressing against my mouth with just the right amount of pressure. Heat
flooded through me, and the sound of the rain, the growing dampness and the
coolness of the evening air all disappeared in a flash. There was nothing but
me and Mathis. Part of me wanted to press up against him, feel his warm body
flush against mine. I was tempted to deepen the kiss, pressing our lips
together with as much force as I could muster, seeking entrance into the hot,
delicious cavern of his mouth. Another part of me knew I should pull away, get
out of this dangerous situation – but I couldn’t!

The kiss was over before I could put either of these plans into
motion. Mathis drew away as suddenly as he had swept into me, and I was left
breathless and warm, the ghost of Mathis’ lips still present on my own.

“You always did talk too much,” Mathis said quietly.

I just looked at him, unable to speak. The kiss had been…
incredible. I had never felt so much with one brief kiss from any other man.
Even a hot and heavy make out session couldn’t make me feel this alive. I could
feel the blood rushing through my veins as if it were liquid fire, sending all
my senses into overdrive.