A/N: hello, lovely readers! I'm so sorry for taking about 5 weeks to post this second chapter - it has been in progress almost since I posted the first one. I'm so surprised at how many people have enjoyed and reviewed it! Thanks so much for your support. I really hope you enjoy this second instalment!
ps no idea what happened with the formatting when I first posted this - so sorry! hopefully it works now xxx
...
"There you are!" Anna called happily, spotting Mary nearby. "We've been wondering where you'd got to."
Assuming her practiced casual smile, Mary approached the newlyweds - and the best man. She didn't know why she still felt so flustered, given that she'd left him almost thirty minutes ago in favour of going for a nice stroll around the church grounds to cool herself down. They'd hardly done anything - their little incident was barely PG-rated - yet she now found herself studiously avoiding his penetrating gaze as she asked Anna if she could help with anything. It wasn't the easiest thing to do, annoyingly, as those blue eyes of his were too dazzling to ignore.
"We just asked Matthew what you guys had come up with for our first dance but he said he didn't know yet." Anna explained, obviously eager to discover what she would be dancing to with her new husband.
"Oh, right." Mary replied, relieved that she wasn't being asked to engage with Matthew in any way. "Well, it's just a song that my grandmother used to listen to all the time when I was little and-"
"Oh!" Anna exclaimed excitedly, causing Bates and Matthew to look at her in confusion. "The one from the 1920s?"
"That's the one." Mary smiled at her friend, glad to know that she had chosen well.
"I adore that song, thanks so much, Mary." Anna beamed. Bates, despite having no idea what either of them were talking about, also conveyed his gratitude. If it was good enough for his bride, it was good enough for him. "Why don't you and Matthew get it all set up now so you don't have to worry doing it later?" Anna suggested to Mary's dismay. Everyone was still outside at the drinks' reception and would later be making their way inside the hall, where dinner would be served in about an hour's time, after which it would be tricky for anyone to organise the music.
"Erm, it's fine." Mary said as confidently as she could. "I can arrange it myself." The prospect of spending more time alone with Matthew scared her, for some odd reason. It was almost as if she didn't trust herself around him anymore. Besides, how difficult could it be to connect an iPod to the church hall's power supply? Taking her leave of the small group, she swiftly made her way inside to where she had her things.
Fifteen minutes later, Mary's patience was wearing thin. It seemed that her iPod had decided that it didn't feel like co-operating today, and all Mary could think to do was swear at it while smacking the back of it with her palm.
"Everything alright?"
Almost jumping out of her skin, Mary turned to see Matthew stood right behind her, his hands in his pockets and a boyish expression on his face.
"You shouldn't sneak up on women like that, you know." She huffed, turning back to her mini musical device. "You could end up getting arrested."
"I'm sorry but it's difficult to be heard over all the profanity spewing out of your mouth." Matthew bit back, annoyed that his efforts to assist her were being shunned. "What's the matter?" He asked, watching her frown and sigh.
"Nothing." Came the firm response.
"Then why are you shaking an iPod around like a maraca?" Mary only glared at him out of the corner of her eye. Shaking his head in exasperation at her stubbornness, he reached over to take the gadget from her hands. His skin brushed against hers and her eyes flew up to meet his, widened and alert, before she regained her composure. Unable to tell whether her strong reaction was a result of feeling sparks fly between them, or of finding him repellent - after all, she had basically run away from him after the passion-fruit icing incident - Matthew kept his attention on the task at hand. "Looks like it's not turning on." He commented, turning the iPod over in his fingers.
"Oh, is that the problem?" Mary exaggeratedly threw her arms up in the air as if he was her saviour. "God, Matthew, what would I do without you and your immense technical expertise?" Her voice was thick with sarcasm.
Taking a deep breath to prevent himself from saying something rude to her, Matthew continued to work out what was wrong with the device. "I don't know what the problem is - we'll have to show it to someone else."
"Did you think I wouldn't be able to come to that conclusion on my own? Or do you think only men can make decisions about technology?" Mary challenged, unsure why she was being quite so difficult with him.
Matthew looked to the ceiling as if asking God to give him more patience. "Fine - if you don't want my help then I won't force it upon you." He said curtly, handing her back the iPod - being careful not to touch her - and walking away from her to rejoin the drinks' reception.
Mary scoffed as she watched him leave. It didn't matter to her that he'd left her alone - no, she didn't need him at all.
...
Sipping a glass of Pimms and lemonade, Matthew forced a polite smile at the conversation he was having with a couple of the guests. It had been a lovely day so far, and of course he was immeasurably happy to see Anna and Bates get married after all they'd been through, but for some inexplicable reason he felt greatly frustrated.
It made hardly any sense that this recent Mary Crawley figure was pervading his mind and getting beneath his skin so much. He had always prided himself in being a patient, tolerant person who was able to get along with anyone by virtue of his quiet and unassuming charm. Yet, none of this seemed to be working with her. Every now and then they would share a moment, or she would give him a look, to suggest that something was brewing between them - he'd make her smile, or she would let her eyes linger on him in a fleeting few seconds of unguardedness. A matter of minutes later, however, and she would be belittling his efforts to be nice and making him feel thoroughly unwanted.
More perplexing than all this, though, was the following question: why the hell did he mind so much? After today, he need never see her again. They may bump into each other at various gatherings such as Anna and Bates' dinner parties, but they had managed to avoid each other thus far so it was unlikely that they'd have to encounter each other much at all in future.
Deciding that it was ridiculous to let a vague acquaintance torment him so much, Matthew turned his attention back to his companions and lifted his glass to his lips to take another sip.
"Matthew."
The voice sounding his name was abrupt and reluctant. But it made his heart beat a little bit faster. He turned, swallowed his mouthful of Pimms and his eyes settled on a rather sour-looking Mary. It was obvious why she had come to him. He couldn't help but feel triumphant - she had spurned his offer of help and now she'd come crawling back to him. A smug smirk formed on his face and he opened his mouth to verbalise his thoughts. The only problem was that he had a mint leaf from his drink wrapped around his tongue. Mary's expression turned to one of disgust and then stifled laughter as he wrestled with the small piece of foliage before thrusting it to the ground in annoyance.
"What is it?" He snapped, avoiding her eyes as he knew that she was laughing at his clumsiness. Why couldn't the universe let him be smooth and suave just once?
"I was about to ask you for help with the music but I'm not sure how much good you'll be if you can't even manage to drink Pimms without almost choking." She said. He looked up at her with an angry frown, several biting remarks on the tip of his tongue. He instantly softened, however, when her eyes revealed that her teasing was more friendly than it was unkind. A blush and a slight, bashful smile unknowingly endeared himself to her, and Mary resumed. "I asked a couple of people for help but it seems that my iPod is a lost cause." She explained, the panic that had been building within her now resurging. "So we have to abandon that idea and come up with something else."
"We?" Matthew couldn't help but remark on her choice of pronoun. "I thought you had it all under control, remember? You wouldn't tell me anything about it. I don't even know what song you chose!" He pointed out.
Mary reeled in her stern look. He had a point. "Alright, fine. You're right." The words were completely foreign to her, and it seemed that even Matthew understood their significance; his eyes were wide with surprise. "But you need to help me think of something," Mary continued speedily, not wanting to dwell on her rare admission of being wrong, "the guests will be entering the hall for dinner in about thirty minutes and we won't have any time! The dance will be immediately after dessert!"
"OK, OK," Her panic was contagious and Matthew ran his hand through his hair as he tried to think of a solution. Mary noticed how he messed up his neatly gelled style, giving him a more dishevelled appearance that she thought suited him very well, but she shook her head clear of those dangerous thoughts. There was no time for that now. "I think I have a CD in my car - does the church have a CD player?" Matthew asked.
"Maybe!" Mary said, liking his train of thought. Matthew smiled at her positive reaction, glad to know that he was being helpful to her. "What CD is it?"
His smile faltered as he remembered. "Oh, erm...it's actually probably not appropriate." He mumbled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
Mary cocked her head to the side. "What is it?" She pressed.
"It doesn't matter," Matthew said dismissively, "let's go inside and think of something else." He pointed towards the hall.
"Tell me what the CD is." Mary demanded. "It could be helpful - Anna has quite an eclectic taste in music." She said, standing in his way.
Matthew sighed - she clearly wasn't going to let him evade her questions. "It's Shirley Bassey." He relented. Rolling his eyes and muttering under his breath as Mary promptly burst into laughter, catching curious looks from nearby guests, Matthew strode away from her and towards the reception hall.
"Shirley Bassey?" Mary called after him, still full of mirth. Matthew ignored her, clenching his fists and purposefully walking through the small door. Again, it didn't matter what she thought of him, but it would be nice if the universe didn't insist on portraying him as a complete loser to this gorgeous young woman. "There's nothing wrong with it, Matthew." He heard Mary's amused voice insist as she caught up behind him. "It's just that I didn't realise you were a sixty-five year old gay man."
"Shut up." Matthew murmured, determinedly avoiding looking at her.
"Oh, I'm only joking, Matthew." Mary said more seriously, seeing that she might have taken her teasing too far. She reached out to stop him walking away from her again, her fingers automatically clasping around his hand before she realised what she was doing. He stopped at once and turned to meet her eyes. They were as blue and arresting as ever, and Mary momentarily forgot what they'd been talking about.
Her hand was soft and warm against his and he had to resist holding it more tightly. He was glad that she hadn't caught his wrist, for she would have certainly felt his pulse racing. "Erm, right. I know." He cleared his throat before gently prising his hand away from hers. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed the physical contact. It was more that it had caused his mind to clear of all rational thought. Curiously, Mary's hand hovered in the air - as if she, too, missed the contact - before it slowly lowered to her side.
"So..." Mary began, looking around her as if searching for something, when in truth she just needed a break from the vision in front of her that she was finding increasingly attractive.
"So," Matthew echoed, "what song was it that you chose?"
"It's just this old tune that my grandmother used to play all the time when my sisters and I were little." Mary replied. "It was from a musical that showed around 1919 or 1920, or something. Anyway, I was listening to it one day and Anna overheard it and fell in love with it."
"Do you know the words to it, then?" Matthew asked, an idea forming in his mind.
"Yes..." Mary answered with a frown, not seeing where he was going.
"Do you think you could sing it?" Matthew suggested. Mary almost laughed in his face.
"Are you mad? You're suggesting that I stand up in front of sixty people, most of whom I don't know, and start singing a song that none of them will even recognise?" She looked at him in disbelief.
"Why not? You know that Anna likes the song, and that's the most important thing. Plus, you're her best friend. I think it would be quite touching if you sang for her first dance." Matthew shrugged.
Realising that he was in fact being serious, Mary pondered his argument. They had few options available to them, and they mostly involved telling other people about their predicament, which Mary resolutely wanted to avoid. The last thing she wanted was for Anna or Bates to have to worry about something on their big day. "Well, it's a nice idea, but I'm afraid it's not viable. The song is a duet, and I'm afraid I can't lower my voice to sing the tenor part." She stated, thankful that she'd found another reason to get out of singing live in front of strangers.
"I can sing the other part." Matthew said simply.
"What?" Mary hadn't been expecting that suggestion. This man was much more ballsy than she'd given him credit for. "You would do that?" She asked disbelievingly.
Matthew noted her tone and observed her countenance. "I know you think I'm just some boring tax lawyer with no personality," he said, growing annoyed again, "but I do have some fragments of talent and I'm not a complete coward."
"I didn't think you were a coward." Mary said defensively. There was something about Matthew that was making her feel quite protective of him, almost as if he was hers to mock and provoke, but she didn't want to actually cause any injury to his feelings. "I just..." She trailed off, unable to justify her initial surprise. He raised an eyebrow at her pointedly, sensing her thoughts. "Anyway, how are we going to do this? We have less than half-an-hour to perfect an entire song!"
"We have longer than that." Matthew said calmly, walking over to a small table where some scrap sheets of paper belonging to the caterers lay.
"No, we don't. Like I said, dinner begins as soon as the guests are seated, then Anna and Bates cut the cake, then it's the dance!" Mary exclaimed, finding his apparent lack of concern vexing. "We can hardly practice while the dinner is going on, with the married couple sat between us."
"I'm sure we'll find a way." Matthew attempted to assure her. "Besides, everyone's attention will be on the couple dancing. They won't notice if we get a couple of the words wrong."
"You're not very concerned about doing things properly, are you?" Mary accused him as he pulled up two chairs for them to sit on. "I hope you're putting more effort into your speech." She swiftly cast him an apologetic glance as he looked at her sharply. Evidently, it was still a worry for him.
"Will you just write the lyrics down, please?" Matthew said bluntly, reaching into the inside pocket of his blazer for a pen. He handed it to her, along with the scrap of paper, and watched as she began to write the words. Sometimes, when I feel sad, and things look blue...
...
Having copious amounts of tax law to remember each financial year had apparently made Matthew a very quick learner. It had only taken a handful of run-throughs of the song for him to pick up the words and the melody. The first couple of attempts had been slow for both of them, though, as they'd each been distracted by the sound of the other singing. Matthew's singing voice - much like his speaking voice - was rich and clear and deep, and it made Mary feel a sensation in her chest and the pit of her stomach that she'd not felt before. Mary's rendition mirrored her appearance - refined, elegant and very pretty, and Matthew caught himself staring at her with his mouth open on more than one occasion before realising that it was his turn to sing.
"Well, I think that's all we can do for now." Mary said, spying the first few guests filtering into the hall, already a bit tipsy on the Pimms and champagne.
"I think we'll be alright." Matthew said confidently, folding up the sheet of paper with the words written on and putting it in his trouser pocket. "You're a good teacher." He said to her, smiling as she blushed prettily.
"You're a good student." She replied, feeling herself more at ease than she had in a while. As stressed and worried as she'd been, Matthew had managed to make her feel calm and had brought a smile to her face. It wasn't something that many people would have been able to do, but he had some special effect on her that she couldn't quite place. Whatever it was, she was very grateful for it. "How are you feeling about your speech?" She asked tentatively, hoping he wouldn't misconstrue her question as an attempt to poke fun at him.
"Fine." He answered with false confidence that she could see right through.
"If you want to practice it on me quickly, while everyone's taking their seats, you can." Mary offered in what she hoped was a kind manner. Naturally, she wanted everything at Anna's wedding to be marvellous, but she also wanted the speech to go well for Matthew's sake. As much as he could push her buttons, he was a good, sweet man and she had faith in him.
Thankfully, Matthew seemed to detect her sincerity, and he smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, but don't worry about it. I spent all of yesterday going through it and I don't want it to sound over-rehearsed." Mary nodded in understanding, and the two assumed their unofficial roles as greeters and ushers, chatting to guests as they helped them find their seats.
As expected, Anna and Bates separated them during dinner, which meant they weren't able to speak to one another. The other bridesmaid whom Mary was sat next to, Anna's good friend from school, was lovely enough, but Mary missed the quick-witted barbs, the teasing, and - she reluctantly admitted to herself - the flirtation that Matthew provided her with. While the waiters collected their starter plates, she discreetly peered over to where he was sat and noticed him chatting to Bates' sister, a twenty-four year old blonde who had obviously inherited the good genes from the Bates family tree. Mary's eyes narrowed as she watched the Bates daughter laugh at something Matthew said, unjustifiable jealousy swirling in her gut.
Soon, the desserts were being cleared away. A nervous Matthew practically drained both his wine and champagne glasses as he watched both Bates and Anna's father give sweet and heartfelt speeches, which the crowd enthusiastically enjoyed. Now it was his turn, and he couldn't help but wonder if anyone would notice if he stood up and belted it out of the fire exit.
As the applause and cheers following Mr Smith's speech died down, Matthew stood slowly, arranged his cue cards on the table in front of him for the twentieth time and took a deep breath. He looked up and surveyed the crowd, remembering his mother telling him that it would help to look at people's faces. There was one face that his eyes automatically wandered to, despite the fact that it wasn't placed in the general crowd. Mary was looking right back at him; she gave him an encouraging smile and mouthed the words 'You will be great' to him, and he suddenly felt as if he could fly.
...
Matthew and Mary let out a joint sigh of relief as they finished the final note of the song. To their surprise, the audience neither howled nor booed them out of the room, and Anna and Bates were beaming as they danced closely together. Having spent the entire song struggling to stop himself from looking at the woman by his side, Matthew finally turned to her.
"That wasn't too bad, was it?" He smiled. Attention turned away from them as the DJ began to play his set, encouraging other guests to join the newlyweds on the small dancefloor area.
"I think one or two people might have actually enjoyed it." Mary's face was flushed and a wide grin was on her face from the adrenaline of what they'd just pulled off.
"I don't believe it." Matthew teased. Before Mary could reply, they were joined by a man in his mid-thirties, who Matthew recognised as one of Bates' colleagues at the hotel where he was a concierge.
"So, what's the story?" The man asked after briefly exchanging pleasantries, gesturing between Mary and Matthew. "Are you two a couple, or something?"
"No, we're not." Mary shook her head, feeling unexpectedly awkward at the blunt question. After the events of the afternoon, culminating in them singing a love song together, she suddenly felt inexplicably close to Matthew, despite not knowing where he lived or anything about his family, and the idea of them being a couple was getting her rather hot under the proverbial collar.
"So you just do duets together?" The man asked, perplexed.
"Er, no..." Mary answered, looking to Matthew who was also wearing a confused frown on his face.
"Oh, sorry. It's just that you seem like you do this all the time." The man remarked, before clearly remembering his purpose in approaching Mary and thrusting his shoulders back and his chest forward. "Do you enjoy dancing as much as you enjoy singing?" He sidled up to her, a slightly sleazy glint in his eye. Mary tried to subtly back away until she bumped into Matthew's arm.
"Erm, I actually-" She hesitated, not knowing what excuse she could come up with given that she had to stay in the same room as this man for another two or three hours, at least.
"You were just about to dance with me, weren't you, Mary?" Matthew interjected. Mary looked to him gratefully. He was stood, straight-backed and with a set jaw, his eyes almost throwing daggers at the man the other side of her. She smiled inwardly. It appeared that she wasn't the only one who suffered from irrational pangs of jealousy this evening.
"Yes, that's right." She faced the man with a placid smile. "The maid of honour must dance with the best man - you know, tradition and all."
The man chuckled to himself. "I'm fairly sure the modern tradition is for the maid of honour and best man to engage in horizontal dancing, but whatever. Maybe catch you later." He winked at Mary before departing.
Once again, Matthew caught Mary with a look of repulsion on her face. "Are you recoiling at how immature and creepy that guy was, or at what he said about the tradition?" Matthew asked, secretly hoping that she might find the thought of sleeping with him less objectionable now.
"Both." Mary answered casually, trying to stop her cheeks from going pink as Matthew reinforced the image of them together in bed by mentioning it again.
They stood in a silence that was half-companionable, half-tinged with an awkward sexual tension, and watched as the other guests in attendance danced to the Motown classic that the DJ was now playing. Matthew wasn't sure whether he should actually ask Mary to dance, given that they had told Bates' colleague that they would be. Plus, he suspected that if he didn't make a move soon then she would be snapped up by some other eager pervert. But what was he thinking? Was he really contemplating 'making a move'? They may have just worked together to overcome an obstacle and provide their best friends with a memorable wedding moment, but beyond that they had nothing in common. She clearly thought herself out of his league and, to be quite frank, he had an in-built hostility towards the upper class. It was undeniable, though, that as much as her blatant arrogance irked him, he could detect a softness and intelligence beneath her cool exterior that he found himself increasingly drawn to.
"Matthew! Mary!"
His thoughts were interrupted by the sight and sound of the beaming newlyweds, faces flushed and glowing from joy and the exertion of dancing to 'YMCA', beckoning them onto the dancefloor.
"C'mon, mate, if I'm dancing then you have to, too!" Bates cajoled, pulling Matthew by his cuff as Anna gave Mary a grateful hug and also dragged her onto the dancing area.
Smiling tightly, Mary lifted her arms to indicate that she was ready to be taken into hold. A slow song had just begun to play, to allow guests to catch their breath. "I suppose I'd rather dance to this than to the Macarena, which I'm sure will be savaging our eardrums any minute now." She said drily. In typical fashion, she didn't want to appear keen to dance with him, despite what her body and racing heartbeat were suggesting.
The back of her dress was made of a delicate lace and net material. It was very thin, which meant that she could feel Matthew's fingers almost as if they were on her skin. She hoped that they could make enough conversation to distract her from the tingling sensation that he was creating all over her body.
"Maybe we should have been put in charge of all of tonight's music." Matthew remarked lightly.
Mary smiled genuinely. "That man did seem convinced that we were a musical duo."
"God, I was worried he was trying to book us for his mum's birthday party or something." Matthew confessed, causing Mary to laugh.
"We obviously did a good job! Thanks for your help." She said more seriously. It was rare for her to admit that she needed help, or that someone else had done a good job in executing a task that had been given to her, but she did hope that Matthew acknowledged her gratitude. It would have been rather embarrassing for her if he hadn't stepped in. Not many people would have overcome her repeated jibes, her efforts to keep her guard up.
"Glad I could help." Matthew smiled gently. "Thanks for your encouragement before my speech - I was in desperate need of some reassurance." He admitted a little shyly.
Mary could feel herself softening in front of him. He had a kind of unashamed vulnerability and openness about his emotions that she hadn't come across before. Far from making him seem unmasculine and weak, however, he came across as honest and mature, and paradoxically more secure in himself than most men their age were. His speech had indeed been quite a success. He had charmed the audience with his gentle, soothing tone and unassuming wit, made them laugh with entertaining stories of his time with Bates at university, and even brought tears to their eyes as he explained how wonderful it had been for him to witness Bates' and Anna's love blossom. The female members of the audience had been particularly enraptured by Matthew's words, Mary noticed, for it was rare to find such a handsome young man who possessed great eloquence while being in touch with his emotions. Mary was sure there had been audible whimpers when Matthew recalled how Bates had helped him through a difficult break up with a girlfriend just after university.
"It went marvellously." Mary said sincerely.
"Make sure you save a dance for me, Matthew!" Turning her head to the side, Mary spotted a silver-haired woman in her fifties cooing at Matthew, giving him what she obviously thought was an alluring gaze.
"Erm, sure..." Matthew replied uncomfortably, his grip unconsciously tightening on Mary as the woman giggled girlishly and moved away.
"Have fun with that." Mary laughed. Matthew looked at her sharply.
"You have to help me - you owe me one." He said pointedly. "I saved you from Anna's cousin and from that sleazy man earlier."
"I didn't realise you only did those to earn a favour in return." Mary countered, somewhat glad that they were back to arguing. The fluttering feelings in her stomach and her inability to stop staring at his handsomeness had been worrying her.
"I didn't." Matthew said defensively. "But I'd like to think you would return the favour in any case."
Before Mary could reply, the photographer barged his way into the dancefloor and demanded that he take a photograph of them. Stepping apart, Matthew stood beside Mary and gently wrapped an arm around her waist. Their plastered smiles faltered as the photographer took what seemed like an age to get the focus right, during which time other drunken guests took the opportunity to crash the picture. Mary glared at the people behind her who found it amusing to jostle her and cheer nonsensical words directly into her ear, while Matthew tried to brush off the droplets of beer that had spilled onto his neat black blazer.
"Alright, that'll do." The weary photographer said, obviously hating the fact that the inebriated guests wouldn't let him get a decent photograph of anything. Matthew lowered his arm from Mary's waist, only for one of the liquored-up partygoers to collide into it, pushing his hand squarely onto Mary's bottom. Mary gasped and turned to him in shock. Matthew removed his hand as quickly as he could, stammered an apology and clumsily pointed to the culprit who was now trying to breakdance to a Frank Sinatra song. It was difficult for him to explain what had happened, given that all of his blood had rushed to his groin the moment his hand had cupped her perfectly-rounded bottom. Mercifully, she seemed to accept that it had been an accident.
Mary's own nerves had been set alight by that brief moment. Much of the last few hours had been spent trying to push away the indecent thoughts of Matthew that had been forming in her mind, but now that was near-impossible. She found herself back in hold with Matthew as the photographer requested 'natural' shots of everyone dancing.
What had been a slightly nervous, slightly playful atmosphere before was now charged with copious amounts of sexual tension. Their eyes were locked and they seemed to be dancing more closely than they had been before. The people around them gradually faded away. Eventually, Matthew decided something needed to be done before he exploded. There was no point denying it - he wanted her. And he had the distinct feeling that she wanted him too. After all, if it turned out that he was wrong and she ended up slapping him for trying it on with her, he need never see her again. What was there to lose?
"About that tradition..." Matthew murmured, swallowing hard, "the one that you found disturbing."
"Yes?" Mary breathed back, her heart pounding against her chest as she saw Matthew lick his lips. Was he really about to propose that they sleep together?
"Still find it disturbing?"
Having seemingly lost the power of speech, mesmerised by his pink lips, Mary ever-so-slightly shook her head. Before she knew what was happening, his lips were on hers. It wasn't one of those kisses that started out slowly, beginning with tentative touches and building in intensity. No, this kiss started where most kisses peaked. It was wet, hot and needy, and soon Mary's tongue was probing his mouth, eager to taste more. He responded enthusiastically, running his tongue along hers with a delicious friction. Mary's fingers clawed at his shoulder and she moaned into his mouth.
Luckily for them, they were now on the outskirts of the dance area, away from the light, and rest of the guests were enjoying themselves too much to notice that the best man and maid of honour were locked in a passionate kiss, hands roaming to indecent places.
Mary whimpered loudly as Matthew's strong hand fondled her buttock while the other tried to grope her breast. "Matthew," she gasped, pushing him away slightly. He looked utterly bewildered, his hair standing on its end where Mary had tugged at it. "We need to go somewhere else." She whispered hastily, gesturing to the dozens of people around them.
"Oh...right..." Matthew conceded, gazing around him as if he had forgotten where they were. He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more, as he thought. "We could go back to the church?" He suggested.
Mary's eyes widened in alarm. "Are you mad? I'm not having sex in a church!" She hissed.
"Well you think of somewhere, then!" Matthew hissed back, very annoyed that all those nice sensations that he'd been feeling had been interrupted, and that she was expecting him to think coherent thoughts when her hips had been grinding against his less twenty seconds earlier.
Surveying the room to see if they'd be noticed, Mary quickly clasped Matthew's hand and led him outside. On her stroll around the gardens earlier that day, she had come across a small enclosure with a pretty pond, some flowerbeds, and a bench. A bench that was large enough for two people to lie down on.
She brought Matthew to an abrupt halt in front of it and looked at him expectantly. He briefly glanced at the bench, quickly looked around to assess the risk of someone walking in on them, and looked back at Mary.
"Looks good." He said simply, before sliding his arms around Mary again and resuming their earlier activities without wasting any time. Mary had half been expecting him to begin more slowly this time, but was pleased that he was as desperate as she was. She let herself be lowered down onto the wooden bench, enjoying the feel of Matthew's warm weight settling on top of her. His hands travelled down her sides, over her hips and down her legs until they reached the hem of her light dress. She moved her lips to his neck, loosening his tie and pushing his collar open as she felt his hands run up underneath her dress, pushing the material up with them until he reached her hips. He sat up enough to swiftly slide his blazer off and onto the ground, before eagerly grasping her thinly-covered breasts with both hands. The flimsy nature of the dress had led Mary to forgo a bra, making it very easy for Matthew to harden and tease her nipples. She groaned loudly, part-way through unbuttoning his shirt, her eyes closing at the sensation.
Spurred on by her enjoyment of his ministrations, Matthew boldly moved his hand to her hip, tracing his fingers along her groin until he reached her underwear. He watched her as he slid a finger underneath the small piece of lace, and inside her. It produced a rather satisfying cry from Mary, making him smirk. He bent his head to take her now bare breast into his mouth, swirling his tongue around her nipple and sucking and nibbling alternately, feeling her fingers dig into his scalp to keep his head there. He began sliding his finger in and out, enjoying the slickness around his skin, before turning it and curling it up inside her. Mary groaned loudly, her body arching off the bench, her body beginning to shake from the intense sensations.
"God..." She gasped, panting heavily, "Stop..." She commanded as forcefully as she could, summoning her faculties enough to reach down and unbuckle Matthew's belt and unfasten his trousers. Her hand brushed against him in the process and it was his turn to groan loudly, his head falling onto her chest in pleasure. She gently lifted his head to bring him in for another penetrating kiss and wrapped her bare legs around his waist to encourage him.
He needed little encouragement, and within seconds he had slipped into her, thick and engorged and filling her completely. Their mouths broke apart to sigh and moan and curse at the connection, before Matthew began thrusting back and forth, in and out, his speed aided by Mary raising her hips to him and pushing him further into her with her legs clasped around his bottom. If it was possible, the feeling of Mary around him and beneath him was making Matthew harder and harder, and he wondered how long he would last before he spontaneously combusted. Mary was beginning to lose the feeling in her arms, which were now loosely looped around Matthew's neck, with one hand in his thick hair.
Her pants became heavier and louder, intermingled with his grunts as they sped up their movements. Matthew held on for dear life as he threw himself into her with increasing energy, sending her into a spiral of ecstasy and delirium as she screamed her release, Matthew quickly following suit. He buried his head into her neck as he emptied into her, fully satisfied and completely exhausted.
It took many moments for the two to regain their senses and for their heartbeats to slow down. Mary's limbs were still half-numb, but the pleasant tingling sensation spreading over her body was helping. Matthew forced himself off her enough so that they could rearrange their clothes, wiping the perspiration off his forehead.
They looked at each other, a little unsure of what to do.
"Do you think we should go back?" Matthew asked, knowing what the answer was but not wanting to admit it. The last thing he wanted to do right now was dance with a middle-aged woman to ABBA.
"I think we have to." Mary replied with a sigh. How they were going to return to the church hall as if nothing had happened, she had no idea. She was sure, for starters, that her hair and make-up were an absolute mess. "It probably won't last much longer than another hour. Everyone seemed pretty wasted already." She said, hoping she was right.
"True." Matthew nodded thoughtfully. He hesitated.
"What is it?" Mary asked softly.
"I just wondered...if you wanted to do anything afterwards." Matthew cleared his throat, not sure whether he was being incredibly presumptuous.
Mary smiled at him, a twinkle in her eye. "It depends what you have in mind." She answered, deliberately making him feel more awkward.
Catching her mischievous expression, Matthew grew more confident. "Well, I'd like to get to know you better." He said honestly, before turning more cheeky. "Plus, I'd quite like to do that again. But perhaps somewhere a bit more comfortable and, you know, where it isn't illegal?" He offered with a smirk.
Mary rolled her eyes playfully, standing up and straightening her dress. "God, you tax lawyers are so straight-laced, aren't you?" She teased, walking away from him and back towards the wedding reception.
...
A/N: hope you enjoyed! And I went with the general consensus and decided to give you some smut. Thanks so much for reading xxx