Affirmation by Sawyer Bennett Page A

fucking bitch. Don’t ever pit him against
me like that again, or I will sue you for full custody.”
    Then
he disconnects the phone and just stares at it.
    Taking
a step forward, I lay my hand on his arm. “What happened?”
    Matt
seems caught off guard and looks at me in surprise. Then his features
smooth out, and he says, “Nothing. Marissa’s taking Gabe
to Hershey Park this weekend.”
    “But
it’s your weekend. You were going to take him to Coney Island.”
    Matt
gives a harsh laugh, and his voice is bitter. “Yeah…
doesn’t work that way with Marissa. Not when she bribes Gabe
and then puts him on the phone to tell me how much he wants to go. I
can’t say no to him, and she knows it.”
    His
body is radiating tension, and I feel the driving need to take it
away. I step into him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Laying my
cheek on his chest, I rub his back. Up and down, side to side, round
circles. His heartbeat is galloping under my ear.
    “Can
you take her to court or something to get her to stop doing this?”
    Another
harsh laugh from Matt, but he doesn’t answer me. Instead, he
pulls my face up and starts kissing me. It’s instantly deep and
sensual, his tongue knowing immediately how to pull me into the game.
I think briefly about pulling away and making Matt talk to me, but
it’s like he senses my thoughts.
    He
murmurs against my mouth, “No more talking, Mac. Just fucking,
okay?”
    His
voice sounds pleading and needful, and it’s not so much that he
needs my body… he just needs to not think about Marissa and
her evil ways. He wants to purge thoughts of her and what she does to
him out of his memory.
    While
I really want to have a conversation about this with Matt, because I
think he needs someone to vent to, I know that it is much easier to
give into his physical needs right now.
    I
relinquish myself into the lust and passion that always flows hot
between us. Within minutes, we are naked and he is sunk deep into my
body.

I
unlock my apartment door and push my way inside, immediately
depositing my briefcase on the floor as I kick off my shoes. I’m
exhausted.
    “What
are you doing here?” Macy asks as she walks out of the kitchen,
holding a glass of wine.
    “I
live here. Or did you forget?”
    Macy
turns around to head back into the kitchen, and I follow. “I
didn’t forget. It’s just you’re usually over at
Matt’s, or Matt is here with you. This is like the third night
in a row you’ve been here… by yourself.”
    My
shoulders sag under the pitiful reminder that it is indeed the third
night in a row that Matt has begged off spending with me. I’m
sick with confusion over this.
    “So
what’s the deal?” Macy asks as she pours me a glass of
wine and hands it to me. She has something cooking in the oven, and
it smells heavenly.
    Sighing,
I shrug my shoulders and lean against the counter. “I don’t
know. Last three nights he’s apologized, said he has a ton of
work to do, and kisses me on the forehead with a promise we’ll
get together soon.”
    Macy
looks surprised and gives me a devilish grin. “I’m
surprised Matt can go that long without banging you.”
    I
grimace in return. “Well, he didn’t really go that long.
Right after he told me he couldn’t come over tonight, he locked
my door, pushed me up against the wall, and screwed the hell out of
me in my office.”
    “Nice,”
Macy says, genuinely impressed.
    “No!”
I insist. “It’s not nice. He’s pulling away from
me, Macy, and it’s tearing me up. This is how he was before.
Just wanting the sex and no intimacy. I’ve been feeling it ever
since that weekend Marissa took Gabe away.”
    Not
to be deterred, Macy sort of nudges my shoulder with hers. “But
you got to admit… pretty hot screwing you right there in your
office, right?”
    Rolling
my eyes, I take a deeper sip of wine. “Yes, that’s hot,
and I’m the first to admit I like that stuff. But I’m
afraid that we’re heading back to where that