by C. A. Harms
He and I played around in the hot shower, he made me moan out a few times, and now that gorgeous organic king was tucked safely back into the drawer of my nightstand.
I was satisfied now and confident that I could get through the night without caving and riding Mike like a raging bull.
Flashbacks of us on his couch, me with my head thrown back and him gripping my hips hard and thrusting upward over and over. I grabbed the edge of the countertop and hung my head, mentally counting to ten. What in the hell was I doing?
The doorbell ringing made me jump, and I hurried around the island and then slid to a stop. Looking around my apartment, I realized what I had done.
The lights were dimmed, soft music played, and then I looked down. I was wearing the tiniest pair of shorts I owned and a tank top with no bra. I’d meant to get dressed, but then time just got away from me and—
The doorbell rang again.
Searching around, I found my old ratty robe on the back of the couch, and I grabbed it quickly, wrapping it around my body. It wasn’t sexy by any means. It was worn, huge, and long enough to cover my legs down to my ankles. The sleeves were also so long that it only showed a small fraction of my hands sticking out of the ends.
I tied it tight, ran around the couch, flipped off the radio, and then on my way to the door, I threw on every single light I passed.
When I opened the door, Mike squinted.
“Damn,” he complained as he stepped inside, “why is it so bright in here?”
I looked around too, and I might have gone a little overboard. But before I could come up with a good excuse as to why my apartment was glowing, he took in my appearance, and a slow smile covered his lips.
“What?”
“Are you cold?” No, it was hotter than hell outside; I knew that. But I also couldn’t give him the true reason as to why I was dressed like an Eskimo in the middle of a heat wave. “Because I could warm you up.”
“No,” I said, holding up my hand as I started to back away. “I’m fine.” I was a nut job, but that was beside the point. “You just remain over there, and I’ll stay here. That’s close enough.”
“But I want a kiss.” I could read him like a book. He knew exactly what was going on here. “Maybe a hug.”
“You’re a brat.” I bumped into the table and moved around the chair, still staring at him in the process.
“What’s wrong, Maddison? Don’t you trust yourself around me?”
“No, damn it.” I threw my hands up in the air, feeling the stress of this entire stupid thing. “And you know it too.”
Mike placed the food on the table and circled the table, pausing just before me. “This entire thing has been so that you can prove that you hold the upper hand in this relationship.” I crossed my arms over my chest, and instead of looking directly at him, I focused on the word Army in the center of his shirt. “Truth is you’ve always had the power over me, I think even before I understood what it meant for a man and a woman to love each other. Damn, Mad, you’ve always been the one girl I could never say no to. Even if my words said it, my heart never agreed.”
Finally tilting my head up, our gazes locked, and gone was the playfulness from moments ago.
“I’m at your mercy. You could crush me, though I hope you never will.”
That was it; this entire thing was over. I threw my arms around his shoulders and didn’t wait for him to lift me into his arms. I started crawling up him instead.
Hooking my legs around his waist, I kissed him seductively, trying my best to convey that I had given up on my plan for distance.
When he placed me on the couch and knelt before me, I watched in awe as he undid my belt and took in what I had on beneath. His palms glided over my thigh, just skimming my pelvis before pushing up the material of my shirt. Then he leaned in and licked along the edge of my shorts just before kissing me slowly. Higher and higher, he gathered my tank top until my breasts were exposed. One by one, he teased my nipples with his tongue, and my back arched, pushing my tits farther into his face.
I was so lost to the soft suckling of my chest that I had not even registered the way he was carefully moving my shorts down my legs until they were gathered at my ankles.
I’d always found it sexy how whenever he got me naked, he stood back for even just a few seconds to just look at me appreciatively. I had never felt more beautiful than I did in his eyes.
A trail of kisses was placed, starting at my knee and moving upward. I closed my eyes when he reached the crease of my leg, fully expecting to feel his mouth on me, but he pulled back and went to the other knee. The building low in my stomach only magnified, and the want to feel him taste me only grew.
I thought he felt it too, because suddenly, his tongue was gently teasing my clit, and my hips were bucking, chasing, demanding more. The way his tongue grazed over me, parting me before pulling back only to start over once again, was almost too much. I could feel myself building toward my release, and then when he pushed a finger inside of me, I ignited, thrashing as he pumped his hand, his mouth continuing to assault me.
And then I was lost, taken by the haze that only Mike could provide.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Mike
It felt weird to be waiting for Maddison after my shift ended, considering not that long ago I remembered finding her waiting for Tom. The guy could have been a stand-up guy for all I knew, but in my eyes, he would always be a douchebag. Anyone who had ever been intimate in any kind of way with Maddison in the past would always be assholes to me.
I sat on the bench just outside the front entrance and thumbed through my phone for something to do. When fifteen minutes passed and there was still no Maddison, I began to wonder if she was called in to a last-minute surgery. When thirty passed and I was paces outside the doors, I pulled up her number and waited impatiently while it rang.
One, two, three rings and then on the forth it went to voicemail.
I wanted ten more minutes before I decided to head inside and just wait in the cafeteria. At least I could grab a cup of coffee to pass the time.
I gathered my coffee, played a few rounds of Candy Crush, then when my boredom had reached an all-time high, I began wondering the halls of the hospital. I wasn’t sure how I made it there, but somehow, I found myself standing in front of the large nursery window overlooking all the newborn babies. I remembered not that long ago being there looking in on Blake as Rhett gave him his first bath. I could picture how red his little face turned when he got pissed at all the nurses and even Rhett poking at him.
But the entire time, Rhett stared at his son in awe. I truly didn’t think anything would have penetrated that bliss he’d felt from being a father. Even now, when the little man was screaming and pissed at the gods above, Rhett would just smile. The man had the patience of a saint when it came to his boy and to AJ.
I never really pictured myself with a family of my own. I guessed I was a little hesitant to ever face the possibility of even losing a child or my child losing me. It was a scary thought. But lately I’d imagined what a life would be like with little ones running around. What it would be like for them to call me daddy. I think I’d like to see Maddison become a mother; she’d be amazing at it. More like she’d kick ass at it.
A nurse walked to the baby in the bed closest to the window and looked up to offer me a kind smile.
I didn’t know how long I stood there just watching the babies before I grabbed my phone and tried to call Mad once more.
“I am so sorry.” She sounded out of breath. “The surgery ran longer than planned. There was a complication, and I had no way to let you know.”
“Slow down. Take a deep breath.” I heard her do as I directed. “It’s all good, babe. I’ve been checking out the babies.”
“You’ve been what?”
I laughed at the way her voice went from completely panicked to surprised.
“I started wandering around, and somehow I found the babies.”
“Not the entire time.” I was already on my way back downstairs to meet her. “But once I got there, I couldn’t walk away. I thought about Rhett and about Blake. Then I thought about us.”
“What about us?”
“Well—”
“I’ll meet you downstairs.” She cut me off, and then the line went dead. I paused in the hallway, staring down at my phone, wondering what in the hell had just taken place.
I took the stairs two at a time, going down one level, and then rounded the corner. As the front doors came into view, I slowed, taking in the scene before me. Just inside the front doors, off to the left, Maddison stood facing Tom the Douche, and in my opinion, he was standing too fucking close.
I was still too far away to hear what they were saying, but Mad shook her head, and Tom reached out for her. I squeezed my hand at my side, knowing that if I hit this fuck in the hospital, it would be me going down.
Maddison said something and tried to sidestep him, and he did it too, blocking her path. My feet were moving, closing the distance between us, weighing out what was taking place, and telling myself to keep my calm.
Maddison noticed me first, and I saw it clearly: relief. That only made my blood boil, because it meant this asshole was, in fact, making her uncomfortable.
I didn’t even say excuse me. Fuck him. I butted in and in the process shoulder-checked the doctor that thought he had the right to trap my woman. “What do we have here?” I asked, placing my arm over Mad’s shoulders, and pulling her in to press a kiss to her forehead.
“I was just telling Tom that I was seeing someone.”
I was a little thrown by her description of what we were doing. “Seeing someone” just sounded so generic.
“Is that what we’re doing?” I stared at her, sounding a little harsher than I intended to. “Because to me, it feels like a whole lot more than that.”
She blushed, and I felt my own round of relief knowing that she didn’t take my tone to heart.
“You two.” Tom interrupted our moment, and I looked up at him, not replying. “Aren’t you two cousins?” I felt Maddison flinch.
“Not that we owe you an explanation, Tom.” I sneered when I said his name. “But Maddison and I are of no blood relation. Our mothers are best friends, as are our fathers. We grew up together so we have a bond that no one will ever be able to reach.” He watched us, going between us over and over.
“Was this ongoing when we were dating?”
“I’m not a cheater,” Mad growled, and I tried not to laugh.
“You were just a past time.” He took in a deep breath, like he was reining in his anger. Bring it, motherfucker. “I think we done here, so you’ll have to excuse us. We have a conversation to finish on our way back to our place.”
I ignored the questioning look from Maddison as I tugged her along.
“Have a great night, Tom.” I chuckled when Maddison poked me in the side and called me a troublemaker.
When we were safely inside her Jeep, with me behind the wheel, I paused with my finger on the key hanging from the ignition.
“What was all that back there about?”
“We rode the same elevator down from surgery. It’s honestly been a while since we’ve said more than a few words together. I called you once I exited and talked while I walked the long corridor. Then when I felt him place his hand on my back, I turned around and—”
“Ended our call.”
“Yeah,” she said, looking down at her lap.
“Why?”
“I didn’t want you to freak out.” I arched my brow, and she looked up at me only to laugh. “I know, what was I thinking? But honest, I thought I could get rid of him and then you and I wouldn’t even have to talk about him.”
“The guy’s a douche.” She didn’t challenge me. I was thankful because now was not the time to defend the ass.
“He said that he wanted to give us another shot.” I felt my irritation growing.
“And?”
“You came barreling in like a raging bull, and you know the rest.” The two of us remained in the quiet Jeep, just staring at one another. The comfortableness of the last couple of months were slowly being shadowed by that tension that I hated. I could feel my chest growing tight, making it feel difficult to take in even breaths.
“Earlier you said that you were thinking of us,” Maddison spoke up, finally breaking the silent. “When you were watching the babies in the nursery, you said that you were thinking of Rhett, and then you started thinking about us.”
I nodded.
“What were you thinking?”
I had a choice here. I could keep this suffocating feeling, letting it take me over and knock us back to where we once were, to that crippling time when I wasn’t sure if I was coming or going. Or I could let it go and accept that Maddison and I were together, regardless of her past relationship with King Fuck-Off himself. I could choose to forget about what happened tonight and fall back into the solitude I found with only Mad.
“I was thinking that one day…” I ran my hand through my hair nervously, and I tried to word it the right way in my mind. “I thought about what our kids would look like.” A smile pulled at her lips. “I thought about us laying in bed together, with our little one in the center of us, as we watched them sleep.”
She nodded her head almost like she’d pictured that exact same thing.
“Would you’d something like that, with me?”
“Only you.” I saw the glistening shimmer in her eyes, and it choked me up. “You are the only one that I have ever envisioned myself having children with. I’ve even pictured a little Mikey with your big green eyes. I know I won’t be able to say no to him. And if he has a dimple, I’ll be done for.”
“What about a little girl?”
We sat there in the darkness of her car, talking about our what-if family. We threw out scenario after scenario and then laughed at the thought-through outcomes. It was what I needed after the run in with Tom. It wasn’t that I thought Maddison wanted to be with him and not me; that was never the situation. The problem was that he reminded me of a time lost. He reminded me of a time when Maddison wasn’t mine, and I didn’t want to think of a time without her. It hurt too much.
Chapter Thirty
Maddison
“Two.” I heard Mike’s whisper in the darkness, and I laid very still, waiting for more. “One boy and one girl,” he added, and I smiled into my pillow. His warm body pressed firmly to my back; I could feel the stubble on his jaw skim over my shoulder just before his lips pressed to me with a gentle kiss. “I don’t want so many that it consumes us because I don’t think I can go a week or even a day without holding you just like this and just enjoying the way that feels.”
My chest grew tight, and I wasn’t sure if he knew that I was awake, but I was afraid to move. I didn’t want to lose this moment.
“I rely on this.” Squeezing me a little tighter, he nuzzled into the crook of my neck. “I look forward to when I know that it’ll just be the two of us, together. The quiet or not so quiet.” He smiled. I felt it against me and couldn’t help but do the same.
“I think we should move in together.” It was then I shifted. It was a knee-jerk reaction, and in the darkened room, I spun completely around and faced him. Through the shadow from the hallway, I just saw his features and figured he’d look surprised, only he didn’t. He was smiling, big.
“Are you crazy?” I asked while cupping his cheek with my hand.
“I might be.”
“Isn’t it too soon?” My heart was racing.
“For others, maybe, but not for us.” Mike pressed a kiss to the center of my palm. “We didn’t just meet. We’ve known one another for over half our lives. We were best friends before we were ever more. I know you, Maddison, I know everything about you, and you know me too. On m
ost days, I think you know me better than I know myself. We are always here or at my tiny-ass little place. So why not share a space where we both come home to everyday? A place that’s ours, a home we build together.”
“What will everyone else think?”
“We’re not going back there.” He said this sternly, and I stared at him. “Every one of our family and our friends know we’re together now. They all know how we feel, and in turn, they support us. Hell, in a way, they’re the ones that brought us together. So if we have to weigh out that, then there is the answer. But more importantly, what do you think?”
“I think we’re insane.” Laughing felt strange, but it was a nervous laughter. “But if I imagined what it would be like to be lying right here alone, without the warmness of your body holding mine, then I know my answer without a doubt.”
“And that is?”
“Yes.” I was terrified but excited at the same time. “I say yes, let’s move in together.”
I nudged his chest, making him fall to his back as I crawled over him, straddling his waist.
“We’re doing it.” He smiled up at me, and I nodded. “And we’re doing this, too?” When he said the word “this,” he lifted his hips, and I felt how excited he was instantly.
“Yes, we are.” Shifting my hips against him, I had to close my eyes to keep myself together. He felt so good, the tip of his cock gently pressing against my slick center. “I figured we should definitely celebrate our decision.”
“I love the way you think.” Mike gripped my hips and moved his own, entering me just enough to make my eyes roll back, biting my lip hard to keep from moaning like a hungry whore. I swore he inflicted such a surge of want and need, a desire I couldn’t control, and quite frankly I didn’t want to. This was us, this raw passion; it was a craving I never wanted to satisfy. I loved knowing he wanted me like I him; it was something neither of us ever hid from one another.
