It takes every modicum of self-control Matt possesses, along with his twin’s full strength physically restraining him, to keep him from storming down the hallway and beating a new hole in Hux’s face.
“You just saw him fucking hit her,” Matt growls.
“Charging in right now is not going to help her. All that’s going to do is cause more problems. What do you think he will do to her if he realizes you’ve been in contact, hmm? That you’re here, of all places for his fiance! We’ll be locked up faster than you can even call her name and then what? She’s left all alone with him again. Is that what you want, huh? Because you can’t fucking help from a prison cell.” Ben hisses quietly, ending his rant and releasing his brother.
Just then, the clicking of expensive loafers draws nearer and the twins back further into the shadows as Armitage strides to the end of the dark hallway to descend the grand staircase, following the immaculate spiral back down to the party. Wasting no more time, Matt abandons his brother now that Hux was no longer a threat and quickly shuffles around the corner to get to Meg.
His heart stops in his chest for a beat, never having seen her so broken and defeated, crumpled on the floor with fear and tears in her eyes-- his fallen angel. When she looks up to see Matt approaching, her shoulders sag in relief that it’s not Hux coming back. Offering his hands, Matt helps her to her feet and brushes his lips against her knuckles soothingly, calming them both down.
“Are you okay?” Matt asks softly.
“No,” Meg admits on a sigh, voice shaking, “I thought you both left.”
The sound of Ben’s slowing footsteps comes to a halt at Matt’s back and he peeks around his younger brother to get a look at the woman in front of him. Giving her a half-smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, Ben’s hand comes up to give her shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze in greeting.
“We have a task to complete before we can go,” Ben says gently.
“What task?” Meg asks, eyes darting between the twins.
“We need to get into Hux’s office,” Matt responds, “...to find some dirt.”
“I can help with that,” she says, pulling out of Matt’s arms and turning to face the keypad just to the right of the door. She punches in a few numbers and swings the door open as both brothers peer inside and then back to her, impressed. “I have my own code,” she admits, shrugging before walking inside, the clicking of her heels echoing behind her.
Matt’s eyes take a moment to admire the way her ass looks in the black dress, accentuated by the heels. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he turns to find Ben staring as well. Matt’s fist connects with Ben’s shoulder, making his brother stumble back.
“The fuck!” Ben hisses, grabbing his sore arm.
“Quit staring,” Matt growls, storming into the room after Meg. Ben grumbles under his breath as he follows his brother into the room, latching the door closed behind him.
Stopping in the middle of the office with Matt coming up behind her, Meg turns to face him in the muted light.
“Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone,” Meg murmurs, taking Matt’s large calloused hand in her significantly smaller one.
“Yeah, of course,” he says, pulling her toward the balcony door, “We’ll be back in a minute, Ben.” His twin waves the two of them off dismissively as he sits in the large desk chair and opens the laptop to begin trying passwords.
With the glass door closed behind them, Matt and Meg walk hand-in-hand to the railing overlooking the glowing deck below, illuminating the empty pool stretching to the edge of the building so swimmers can overlook the city. Turning to Meg, Matt studies the black glittering mask and he reaches behind her to untie the ribbon, wanting to see her face. Meg’s hand snakes up to circle his wrist, stopping him from removing the cover.
“Let me see,” Matt demands softly, “please.”
Meg’s face smoothes and hesitantly, she releases her hold, allowing him to finish pulling the silk ribbon and removing the mask from her face. He inhales a sharp breath when he spots the dark swelling around her beautiful sapphire eye. She did her best to cover it up with makeup, but it was still very obvious that a fist had connected with the soft tissue.
No wonder the asshole made it a masquerade at the last minute. He couldn’t wait until the day he could get a garrote around Hux’s neck-- no, this was personal. He wants to use his bare hands and look the redhead in the eyes while he feels the life leave his body. But that day would come. So for now…
Matt’s arms circle around her as his lips brush softly against the discolored tissue and Meg sighs heavily, sinking into his body.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking, pushing you away. Matt, I’m so sorry,” she exhales with a shaky breath as her eyes begin to sting again, dampness coating her lashline.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” Matt whispers, pulling back to gently wipe the tears from her cheek, being careful to avoid pressing too hard on her puffy eye. “Just…” he pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts, “no more cutting us out on a whim. If there is a problem, talk to me. Fuck, you can even talk to Ben. But no more running, Flame.”
“No more running,” she promises as her palm rests against his stubbled jaw.
Matt pulls Meg closer, hand reaching for the back of her to pull her mouth to his, meeting her soft lips and kissing just the way he had been dreaming of doing all week long.