Page 56 of Boss Me Around

When he’s not being a grumpy romance killer, Matty is basically my knight in shining armor. In just the past two months alone, he’s rescued me from a rabid attack squirrel in the park, the cranky pirate cat at the Ren Faire, the side of the road, and from a possible ghostly encounter at Bad Dog’s very own haunted hotel.

For a man who claims he isn’t interested, he sure shows up for me an awful lot.

Yes, I have a knack for getting myself into trouble, but I’ve dated men for years without having them literally sweep me off my feet and carry me away from danger not once, but multiple times. And my gut—and the gossip around town—assures me Matty doesn’t sweep all the ladies. He has a reputation for keeping to himself, in fact, and hasn’t had a girlfriend in years.

But somehow, whenever I’m in trouble, there he is, being sweet and brave and heroic, until the threat has passed. Then he goes back to being Mr. Walls Around His Heart again.

It’s so frustrating!

I should loathe the man.

But I don’t. And when I see his SUV parked behind The Cupcake Factory yet again on my way to the lake—parked there on a day when I know the bakery isn’t open and he has no innocent reason for being there—I can’t stop myself from flicking my turn signal. I have a little time left before I need to meet Sam, and Matty’s unexplained lurking around here has been driving me crazy.

I’m going to get to the bottom of this mystery, once and for all, dammit.

I’ll get a straight answer from this man or die trying.

But I don’t really expect to die. Yes, Cassie Ann Sweetwater is a mob boss, but she’s a really nice mob boss, and one of Gram’s old friends from back in the day, when they were just beauty queens competing for a title and Cassie hadn’t committed herself to a life of crime.

As I park behind The Cupcake Factory and swing out of my car, heading toward where Matty’s SUV is nearly hidden behind the pink, fenced-in dumpster area, I’m not worried about being attacked.

The massive arm that wraps around me from behind comes as a complete surprise.

I squeal, but the sound is muffled by a man’s hand slamming down over my mouth, making stars dance before my eyes as he lifts me off my feet. “I knew he had a big mouth,” the guy growls into my ear as he totes me away, back toward the bakery. “Now it’s going to get his girlfriend in trouble.”

I squeal and struggle, but my meaty captor is enormous. There’s absolutely no way I’m getting away from him without help.

And just like that, Matty suddenly appears in front of us, blocking Meaty’s path to the back door of the bakery. I expect him to tell the man to let me go, but he skips that part and goes straight to decking the guy hard enough to send us both lurching to the right. The man’s arm loosens around me as we fall, but it’s too late for me to regain my feet.

I’m on a direct collision course with the pavement when Matty grabs my upper arms and hauls me against his chest.

Then, with our lips mere centimeters apart and our hearts racing in time, he breathes, “Get in my car. Now.”

I pull in a breath, but he cuts me off before I can speak, “I swear, if you argue with me right now, I’m going to spank you when this is all over.”

A sharp bolt of anger mixed with sizzling, electric pleasure zaps through me, and then I’m running toward Matty’s SUV, his big hand still wrapped tight around one of my arms.

He practically tosses me into the passenger’s seat and jogs around to the driver’s side, peeling out of the parking lot with a squeal of tires.

As he takes the turn leading away from town at a speed that doesn’t seem wise, he cuts a gaze my way and says, “Scratch that. I’m going to spank you anyway. You clearly need a good spanking.”

My jaw drops again with an outraged huff.

I have no idea what’s going on, but Matty really is a raging jerk.

But unfortunately for me, a really sexy one…