by Lane Hart
I wait and wait, but they never show up. When it’s nearly closing time, I ride by Madison’s townhouse, but she’s not there either. And she sure as hell isn’t at my place when I get home.
Which means she’s probably with him in some hotel room and I’m too fucking late.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Madison
“Thanks for coming with me to help tonight,” I tell Daniel as we finally call it quits on campaign texts and phone calls to registered voters.
“It was my pleasure,” he says as he leans back in the chair across from me in his dress shirt and vest, his suit coat laid over the desk. And I have to admit that he’s an attractive man. Very strait-laced, never stepping a toe over the line into bad boy territory. Why would he when he worked so hard for his law license. He’s the type of guy my parents expect me to end up with, and yet, I don’t have even the slightest physical attraction to him.
“Remind you of our law school days?” I ask him.
“You mean when we would do any kind of grunt work we could find volunteering for campaigns? Yes,” he answers.
“All that grunt work on election campaigns and you didn’t end up in politics,” I point out.
“I still could,” he says. “I felt like first I needed to get some real-world experience and connections.”
“That makes sense,” I agree.
“My only regret tonight is that it wasn’t the night I planned on having alone with you.”
“Listen, Daniel, I’m sorry, but I can’t go out with you. Even if you lived around here, I don’t think it would ever work between us.”
“Because you’re hung up on the criminal?”
“Cannon is not a criminal!”
“You know what I meant,” he says and then leans forward. “You can do so much better than him, Maddie.”
“There’s a lot more to Cannon than you think.”
By now, he should be home, a free man. It may be late, but I still have a key to his house. I could go by and see him with the excuse that I need to grab my things.
But I’m too embarrassed. Cannon rejected me. I gave him a chance to change his mind about not wanting to be with me and he didn’t. He’s never going to change his mind. Cannon has made it clear from day one that he isn’t the type to settle down.
And I’m not going to risk my image, my career, on someone who can’t give me everything I want — all of himself.
So, I’ll do the cowardly thing and ask Lily or Harlen to go by Cannon and Conrad’s tomorrow to pick up my things for me. Maybe it’s silly, but I have to try and start getting over him, even if it may take forever.
Cannon
There’s a knock on the door the next afternoon that I answer since Conrad and Hannah have been MIA since he got home from jail, holed up in his room and making up for lost time together. I can’t blame them, even if I am jealous.
The last person I expected to find on the other side of the door was Harlen. He’s a good kid, smart and driven; but after working with him some afternoons at Madison’s office, I know he doesn’t care for me.
“What’s up?” I ask him.
“Hey, Cannon. Madison asked me to come by and pick up her things.”
“Oh, right,” I say. I hold the door open for him to come inside and then lead the way up the stairs to her room. No, our guest room where she stayed for only a few weeks.
“Thanks,” he says, and then he starts gathering things like I did for Hannah and Conrad at the beach house the night Madison and I finally made love. Damn, I wish I could refer to it as anything but that.
“You fucked up,” Harlen says aloud. At least I think he did, but he’s focused on packing and not looking at me.
“What was that?” I ask.
“You fucked up,” he says, glancing at me for a second before he goes back to what I now notice is tossing Madison’s bras and panties into her luggage. He handles each piece a little longer than is necessary, which is pretty creepy. Even as much as I’ve missed her, I haven’t been up here, touching her underwear.
“How about you put her undies down and finish packing faster before I lose my temper on your fucking face?” I tell him.
“Get pissed at me. It won’t help anything. You screwed up with Madison, and she’s not the type of woman to give second chances.”
“I don’t need you to tell me a damn thing about Madison.”
“Either way,” he starts, “leave her alone until after the election. She needs her head in this or she may lose to a murderer. The past few days, all she’s been doing is working on getting you and your brother out of jail, and now there’s Daniel.”
“What about him?”
“She’s distracted by him too. I can’t wait until he goes back to where he’s from.”
“Sounds like you’re the one who is jealous.”
“Madison is an amazing woman, better than either of you.”
“That’s one thing I can agree with you on,” I begrudgingly admit.
“Leave her alone,” he says. “She has to win, or she’ll be devastated.”
“I know that.” Not to mention that the Kings would be fucked if that bastard Bailey wins.
I don’t want to give up on being with Madison, but the kid is right. She’s worked her ass off for this chance, and I can’t let her blow it because she’s distracted. After the election is over, then maybe I’ll see if I can convince her to give me another chance.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Madison
It’s the day I’ve been waiting weeks for, ever since I decided to run for mayor. The journey hasn’t been easy. In fact, it nearly cost me my life, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve met a lot of people I never would have met if not for Cannon and the Savage Kings MC, which is why I sent Roman an invitation to my watch party tonight. I’m not sure if any of them will come, and I doubt Cannon will, but I hope he does.
Even after two weeks, he’s the first person I think about every morning when I wake up. Throughout the day he intrudes on my thoughts. And at night, well, that’s when I miss him the most and wish I was back in his house, not just with him but with Hannah and Conrad too.
The Eriksons have such a nice family, the kind that I always wished for as a kid. The kind I’ll never have with my parents, which makes me incredibly sad.
But today is not the day to be Debbie Downer. No, I need to be happy and optimistic. Bailey still hasn’t been arrested, but recent poll numbers have us neck and neck.
Until the polls close at seven, I’ll be standing outside polling places, handing out flyers with the last-minute reasons why they should vote for me and not the shady, fat man.
Lily and I are working together since I felt like I needed her there with me, not just for emotional support, but so I won’t look like a crazy woman harassing people. Veronica and Harlen are also going to be giving out handouts at other locations, all of us on rotating shifts to break up the day with a short, thirty-minute lunch break to put our feet up and eat a bite.
“There’s a couple incoming on your left,” Lily whispers as I get a handout ready and turn in their direction.
“Hi, I’m Madison Monroe and I’m running for mayor in the special election. I hope you’ll give me your vote to help the city reach its full potential.”
The woman takes the flyer from my hand and says, “Oh, we’re definitely voting for you. I can’t believe what that jerk called you on camera!”
“Great, thank you,” I tell her.
Her husband nods his agreement, and then they’re heading inside.
“Three little old ladies on your right,” Lily informs me.
“Good morning and thanks for coming out to vote so early today,” I tell them with a smile. They’re wrinkled and so frail that they’re walking with their arms interlocked as if they couldn’t manage the walk up the sidewalk on their own. “My name is Madison Monroe, and I’m –”
“We know exactly who you are,” the one in the middle says when she interrup
ts me, holding up her hand. “If it had been me who was attacked by two strangers in my home, I would’ve run for the hills! The city needs a strong, brave woman like you to lead us, not that slob of a mess who wants everyone to just do what he says.”
“Well, thank you,” I say in surprise.
“Keep your flyers for someone who needs convincing,” one of the other women says, and then they’re off, slowly but surely, to vote for me, so they say.
“Do you really think they’re all voting for me, or just telling me that so I won’t harass them?” I whisper to Lily.
“Yes, I think they really are,” she says.
And I really hope she’s right.
Cannon
“Before we adjourn this meeting, I just want to remind everyone that we expect you to go vote before the polls close at seven tonight. This shit is important, so make time. Hell, we could all go right now if you want?”
“Let’s do it,” I agree.
“Do you really think Bailey’s stupid ass will win?” Verek asks.
“That’s what we don’t know, and we can’t take that chance,” I tell him. “Even if he’s arrested, I’m not sure what the rules are about him serving. The last thing we want is him to win and have no fucks to give about how he comes after us.”
“True,” Roman says. “So, here’s hoping Madison wins and that we have our businesses back up and running in no time. Meeting adjourned.” He bangs his gavel, and everyone gets up to leave.
“I’m surprised you aren’t helping Madison today,” Roman says to me before I escape.
“I’ve called everyone I know, and I mean everyone, including the local women who put their name and number in my phone. That’s all I can do,” I tell him.
“Are you going to the watch party tonight? I got an invite for all of the Kings.”
“I don’t know.”
“She’ll either be ecstatic or devastated. Either way, I bet she’ll want you there, and you’ll want to be there for her,” Roman remarks.
“Why would she want me there? At first, I couldn’t believe she turned me down, but now I get it. She is too good for me. I’ll only drag her down.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. But we can’t choose who we love. Cut her some slack for having such bad taste.”
“It’s the truth,” I agree.
“I was just joking,” he says with a slap to my shoulder.
“Her staff person told Cannon to stay away from her until after the election,” Conrad butts in the conversation to add.
“That right?” Roman says. “So, you were staying away for her sake, not to make sure your fragile, little heart can’t be hurt.”
“Can you blame me? I don’t want her to reject me, which is exactly what’s going to happen sooner or later.”
Roman and Conrad exchange a look, and then Roman shakes his head. “Look, man, from what you told me, it sounds like the only person rejecting anyone was you, after you made love to the woman and then immediately pushed her away out of fear.”
“Make love?” Conrad repeats.
“His words, not mine,” Roman tells him as he points his finger at me.
“Jesus,” my brother mutters.
“Shut up,” I mutter.
“Well, is Roman right?” Conrad asks. “Did Madison ever reject you other than in the very beginning when you tried to ask her out?”
I try to think back. And the first time I touched her, like really touched her, how she bent over the bathroom counter, wanting me to finish what we started, and I turned her down. No wonder she was so pissed at me that night. And then, after we slept together, it was all me saying we should keep our distance and not fool around again.
“She rejected me hard at first. But after that, I kept putting on the brakes. I sort of rejected her. Twice.”
“So maybe you should at least give her a chance to make up her own mind instead of doing it for her,” Conrad says to me.
“He’s right,” Roman agrees. “Now, what are you going to do to not only make her forgive you for hurting her, but ask for another chance?”
“I wish I had a fucking clue.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Madison
When the poll results come across the television screen at the watch party around eleven that night, I can’t believe my eyes.
I won.
Not by much, but I actually won!
When I do the math in my head, I’m not even all that surprised to find that I only won by four-hundred and eight votes, nearly the same number of people who came to the Savage Kings MC event.
Everything is moving in slow motion as I try to take it all in – champagne being passed around in glasses, me hugging people, like really hugging them, people congratulating me. It’s all great but still feels a little empty without Cannon.
Someone in the crowd bangs a fork against their glass to get everyone’s attention. “To Madison,” a smooth masculine voice says, making me feel so warm and happy inside that I have to see if the voice belongs to the man I expect.
I turn around and there is Cannon on the stage in his usual attire – tattered jeans, his leather cut, and a black t-shirt underneath since the days have been warmer. “Congratulations,” he says when he catches my eye. “The city doesn’t deserve a woman like you, but we’re still lucky to have you.”
By the time he’s said just those few words, I’m already up the steps and almost to him.
“Cannon, what are you doing here?” I ask as he grins at me. “Are you drunk?”
“No, I’m not drunk,” he says. I grab his arm to pull him backstage. By the time we’re in the dimly lit area alone, he’s frowning. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to celebrate with you. I hated thinking of you with someone else tonight, and I never want to have that thought again even if you’re not ready to be seen in public with me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You got me off the stage as soon as you could,” he explains, gesturing with his glass to the audience.
“Because I wanted to talk to you without everyone watching us,” I tell him. “I haven’t seen or heard from you in weeks!”
“Harlen told me to leave you alone until after the election. I don’t like him, but he was right. You didn’t need me to distract you from winning. I wasn’t sure if I could do this, if I could make a fool of myself in front of everyone and then have you turn me down. I still had to take the chance...”
“So why exactly are you here?” I ask to make certain.
“I’m here because I want to be with you every day, every night, not because someone is after you but because I love you.”
“You love me?” I say in shock, and he nods. “I-I love you too,” I tell him honestly.
“Yeah?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“But just not enough to love in public yet? I get it, Madison, I do. It sucks, but I understand.”
“No, Cannon. It was so stupid for me to worry about what people would think about you or us together. I don’t care anymore! I just want to be with you. You have no idea how much I missed you –” My sentence is interrupted when his mouth comes crashing down on mine.
Then, his strong arm is wrapped around me, and I’m drowning in his scent, his touch, his kiss. I missed everything about him. I want to get both my hands on Cannon, but one of them is still holding the stupid champagne glass.
Cannon quickly realizes my problem. He lifts the glass from my hand and then kisses his way down my body, through my cream-colored skirt suit, until he can sit our glasses on the floor. On the way back up, he uses his mouth again, stealing my breath.
“God, I missed you so much,” he says when he’s standing up again, his lips moving up my neck, to my cheek and then my lips again.
“I missed you too,” I say, finishing my earlier thought.
“And you won. You fucking won, Madison!” he says as he pulls back to look at my face again.
“Thanks to you and the Kings,” I tell him.
“It was fate,” he says as he walks me backward until my back hits a wall. “I needed you, and you needed us.”
“I need you, Cannon,” I correct him as I run my fingers up underneath his shirt and vest. “Just you.”
Cannon
As soon as Madison tells me she needs me, we’re like crazed animals, grabbing and undressing each other. I rip her suit jacket off, but don’t tear open her shirt because it would ruin the buttons and remind her of the night in her townhouse. I don’t even take her skirt off. She just undoes my pants while I get a condom out. I hike her skirt up, yank her body up the wall with my hands on her ass, tug her panties to the side, and then I’m sliding home inside of her.
“God, Madison,” I groan as soon as I slam deep inside of her. Fuck, I missed the feeling of her tight warmth surrounding me, the rest of her body in my arms.
“Move, Cannon. Please!” she begs me, so I do.
My hips aren’t gentle either. I fuck her hard and fast against the wall, just a few feet away from a bunch of people celebrating her win. I’ve waited too damn long to be with her again, and their presence doesn’t bother us at all.
“Yes, yes, oh God, yes!” Madison moans, and I have to cover her mouth with mine to drown out her cries.
Her legs tighten around my waist as her fingernails dig into my hair, pulling my mouth and body to her, both of us needing to be closer even though it’s physically impossible.
I won’t last long like this, not after how long it’s been. When Madison’s cries turn to wordless moans that I swallow, I know she’s close too.
My thrusts start to lose their rhythm, becoming faster and shallow until it finally happens.
Madison’s pussy pulls me in as deep as it can inside of her, and then she’s throbbing around my shaft so unbelievably tight that I lose it. My cock swells and pulses as I come into the condom for so long my legs nearly give out.
