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All I really knew was that, in his royal blue suit, I had to force myself not to ogle him all night long as Mom and I made our way around the ballroom. Matthias looked so angry as he stood in that corner for most of the night. Why wasn’t his girlfriend here tonight? When I first met him, he’d looked like a male model who draped himself with beautiful women.
Now, however, he came across as the aloof Prince of Malibu, the handsome billionaire who could command the will of others with the snap of his fingers.
Back in the ballroom, as I met Hollywood elite and other ultra famous persons, I’d overheard guests talking about Matthias’s Olympic swim team ambitions. Was he that good? I guess I’d have to wait and see. His brooding, stiff backside didn’t invite questions.
Once upstairs, I followed Matthias into his bedroom, intending to disrobe and hand back the suit. Through the open patio door, the steady crash of ocean waves brought with it a sandy, seaweed fragrance. The moon hung like a pale jewel in the darkening sky.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Matthias asked, turning so suddenly I almost bumped into him.
I hadn’t even unbuttoned the jacket, so it wasn’t like I was doing some sort of strip tease. “Don’t you want your clothes back?”
He stared at me and then gave me a once over, the hint of a sneer on his lips. “Keep them.” He started removing his own clothing, carefully draping everything over one of his chairs. “You weren’t wrong, the outfit looks better on you.”
“Did you just compliment me?”
“No, I insulted the clothing.” When he unbuttoned his pants, he looked pointedly at the door. “Have a nice evening, Ciaran.”
“So there’s no party?”
“This is Malibu,” he deadpanned. “There’s aways a party, but I have to run an errand.”
Matthias wasn’t getting rid of me that easily. Besides, the estate had servants who took care of errands. Whatever he was up to, it wasn’t some inane errand.
“I’m going with you, bestie.” I made a heart symbol with my hands and peered at his head through it. “I’d hate to break our parents’ hearts. They’re so…what’s the word…? Invested in us getting along.”
I was doing my damndest to ignore that Matthias was wearing less and less clothing, until he was in nothing but boxers.
One thing about Matthias, he wasn’t shy about his physique. As a competitive swimmer, and a lifelong one at that, he didn’t have an ounce of extra flesh on him.
I tried not to stare but honestly, it was like watching art move before my very eyes. My friend Kinzy would have begged to paint him.
If only he wasn’t such a dick.
Instead, I shifted my focus to the wooden, heavily lacquered surfboard hanging from the wall. It was a burnt orange hue with two faded black stripes running top to bottom. It was too chipped and faded for decoration. Was it an old board? Maybe his first long board?
“Yeah, well, our parents are leaving the country in a few hours, Ciaran. I think the only thing they are invested in is getting in a quickie before they depart.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t bring up our parent’s sex life.”
Saying the word sex made me think of Drew, about how I’d wanted to be with him that day, but chickened out. Drew had been so patient with me, that it was no wonder he’d become distant afterwards. I had no one to blame but myself.
Matthias considered me. “Deal,” he said as he donned a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a pullover sweater. His movements were steady, automatic, though he rolled his right shoulder. His face contorted into a faint grimace before the expression disappeared. “I don’t want to think about them doing it either.”
“Our first agreement,” I joked, pulling out my phone and tapping the calendar app. “Totally writing this down in my phone.” Matthias stepped forward and snatched the phone out of my hands. “Motherfucker.” I charged him to grab it back, but he expertly dodged me by jumping up on his bed. “Give back my phone.”
“I took your mother’s words to heart, Ciaran.” His fingers tapped away, opening the messaging app. “You’re in need of parental supervision, apparently. Let’s see who you’ve been sending dick pics to.”
“Not funny, unless you want to exchange phones so I can inspect yours.” Swiping at his feet, I wrapped my hand around an ankle and yanked hard. Matthias, nonplussed, collapsed in perfect harmony on the mattress, not evening breaking his stride as he scrolled through my phone. “You probably have a hundred videos of you banging girls at clubs,” I growled. “Bet your girlfriend wouldn’t like that.”
He tore his gaze from my phone for a split second to give me a blank look.
“Far from it.” Matthias studied me. One eyebrow quirked. “But I see you’ve stalked me online. I’m flattered.”
Okay, that was true but not fair. Matthias played dirty.
“Vain much? I had to find out if you were involved in international crime,” I snapped back. “You’d do the same.” Matthias shrugged. He was still lying on the bed while I stood beside him like an idiot. What if he saw my texts with Drew? My blood boiled. “Fuck this and fuck you.”
On my knees, I crawled on the bed and flung myself on top of Matthias, reaching for my phone. He snickered, obviously enjoying the irritation he was inflicting upon me.
