by Piper Rayne
“Then we stood up and you asked me if I wanted to swing.” She shrugs, but her eyes are welling with tears.
“Madison.” I sigh, my hand sliding up her arm, past her elbow, bypassing her shoulder, molding to her cheek. “I’m sorry I don’t remember.”
My heart squeezes over the fact that a moment that clearly meant so much to her wasn’t even a blip on my screen.
“Cristian showed up right after, you threw up in the trashcan, and he took you home.” A tear slips down her cheek. “As embarrassing as retelling this story is, you had to know before we move forward because we already had our first kiss, but I was the only one who remembered.”
“And Cristian, he knows?”
She shrugs. “I think he suspected. I actually think he thought we had sex at first.”
I hate that I have to ask her this question, but I need to know. “We didn’t though, right?”
Her face is beet red and she slides out from my hold, her feet hitting the floor. “No. I wasn’t that pathetic.” She begins throwing stuff into her bag. “Telling you was a really bad idea. I need to go. We should’ve kept this platonic. It’s not too late though. We just need to shift gears and forget all of this emotional stuff. Keep things uncomplicated.”
I hop off the table. Coming up behind her, I still her hand with mine and she pauses. “I didn’t mean the question as a bad thing. I hate the fact I don’t remember and I had to know what I’m up against.” I dip my head down into the crook of her neck, the strawberry scent of her shampoo intoxicating and arousing. “So I know what I need to do to make this right. Madison, I don’t want to go back to being just business partners. Not by a long shot.”
Her body loses the tension of a stretched rubber band. “It’s mortifying that I admired you from afar and you had no idea who I was.”
I ease her around to face me, but her eyes focus in on my chest. Placing my finger under her chin, I nudge her to look up into my eyes. The second our gazes lock, her shoulders relax and I swear she sinks into my body. “I’m sorry that I didn’t notice you in high school. All I can say is that I was a self-centered jerk, but I see you now Madison Kelly. In fact, you’re all I see.”
Both my hands cup her face and as badly as I want to lean in and kiss her right now, our second kiss needs to be special.
“Kiss me,” she asks, her chest heaving with breath, the hard points of her nipples pressing into my chest.
My head fights my heart as I wonder if there’s ever going to be a perfect time for us. She’s just put her heart out there for me. Trusting me for a second time and I don’t want to take advantage. I want her to know I’m in this.
My cock strains in my pants as our eyes swim together in a mix of hazy lust and need. I lick my lip in anticipation and when I can’t stand the building tension between us anymore, I lose all control of my body and my head dips, my heart winning the war.
She licks her lips, her fingers wrapping around my shoulders, rising on her tiptoes. Our eyes fall closed, our lips nearing one another and I can feel her breath on my face.
The tornado sirens blare outside and like a snap of the fingers, our moment is over.
Her eyes widen in fear. “Mauro,” she says my name with a soft plea.
“Basement.” I grab her hand and lead her through the kitchen, down the stairs.
Large hail pounds atop the half-completed roof.
We race downstairs, turning on the lights, but I know with the way the power lines in Chicago are, electricity will be the first thing to go.
“I’ll be right back.” I run back up the stairs.
“Hurry, Mauro.”
Grabbing the candles she had lit before, I find the one flashlight I have in my toolbox. Shutting the front door, I run back into the basement where Madison’s arms are crossed as her teeth nibble on her bottom lip.
“It’s okay. We’ll be fine.” I wrap her in my arms.
“I just hate storms like this.”
The sirens are still blaring. I don’t even remember the last time I heard them sound here. I was probably a young boy.
“It will pass. Tornados don’t hit Chicago.” I rub my hands over her chilled arms.
As we stand in the middle of the basement, her in my arms, her story from a decade ago runs through my mind while I try to gain a flicker of recollection, but nothing surfaces.
“I’m so sorry, Madison,” I whisper and she turns her head to peer up at me with those sweet blue eyes that could make me do just about anything for her.
Her hand caresses my cheek. “I made peace with it a long time ago.”
“Still. I just…I had you ten years ago and let you go.”
A smile plays on her lips. “Who said you had me?” Turning in my arms, she winds her arms around my neck. “Maybe I let you go.”
“You’re way too nice. You should be kicking me in the nuts right now.”
She laughs and her forehead falls to my chest. “Then I guess you’re lucky that I’m a people pleaser.”
The lights flicker once, twice before blackness surrounds us. “Hold on.” I turn on the flashlight and hand it to Madison.
Lighting the candles, I place them around the space and we sit down on a tarp that Madison had down here when she was working.
“Tell me about your parents.” I try to do anything to get her mind off of the storm looming overhead.
She looks off over my shoulder. “They’re divorced. My dad lives in Florida. My mom’s in Oregon. This is where everything fell apart.” She glances up at the ceiling. “My dad left and my mom lost herself for a year or so.”
I reach out for her knee, my thumb rubbing back and forth. I’ve never experienced the repercussion of divorce, but I’ve heard enough stories from friends to know how bad it can mess up someone’s belief in love after seeing their parents’ happily ever after fall apart.
“It was so many years ago and if you didn’t think I was a loser before, wait until you hear why I bought this house.” She lets a self-deprecating chuckle escape her lips.
“Hey, let’s get one thing clear, I never thought you were a loser.”
She smiles like she doesn’t really believe me. I mentally mark that down to prove her wrong.
“Reserve your judgment for a moment.”
She reaches out and rubs my shoulder. It’s a casual move, but one she’s never done before. And I enjoyed it way too much.
“I bought the house so that someone could build a happy life here. I wanted a family to love one another and for some other little girl to get the dream I didn’t.”
Nothing could’ve blown me away more than the words that just left her mouth. I’d actually been thinking she wanted revenge of some kind on the place, but it’s the opposite of that. And her reason speaks way too much for who she is. How thoughtful and kind she is right down to why she rehabs houses.
“What about the other houses?” I lean in and my arm rests behind her back. I want that kiss more than anything right now.
She locks eyes with me. “Same.” Her unsure voice continues. “I just want to build a place for families to love each other in, one that reflects on the outside, the love you can find inside. A home is so much more than wood and glass, carpet and stairs. It shelters and protects the people you love most in this world.”
“Madison?” I raise my hand to her cheek.
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
Chapter Twenty
Madison
He’s slow to start, deliberate in his actions, wanting to make this a kiss to remember. Just like that night ten years ago, my body hums and heats under his soft lips. But it’s different this time. It’s not Mauro kissing me, it’s us kissing each other. Another small piece of my heart floats out of my chest and nestles into his.
His tongue sweeps across my lips, asking without words if it’s okay. Opening my mouth, my skin ignites in a wave of goose bumps when his tongue slides across mine. We entwine ourselves in one another slowl
y until I don’t know where I stop and he begins.
I give Mauro credit, he’s as patient as the saint his mama probably prays to every night. Pressing my body to his, I’m the one who deepens the kiss. His arms tighten around my back and the feel of his powerful chest against my own makes my nipples taut.
Somewhere between the butterflies roaring into an uncontrollable flutter in my stomach and all my sensory alarms flashing overload, we sink into one another. Our mouths colliding one second, gentle the next. One of his hands runs up the length of my spine until his fingers reach my hair and he manipulates my ponytail holder, my hair spilling down across my shoulders.
His dark hair is smooth as my hands run up the back of his head, trying desperately to cling to anything. My legs beg to wind around his waist, but I force myself to stay grounded. Never have I ever felt so much from one kiss.
I’m not even sure which of us slows down, but long after our lips have stopped moving, our bodies are still entangled like wild vines.
“Let’s pretend that was our first kiss.” He smiles down at me.
“Not a chance.”
“That was a pretty spectacular kiss.” He presses his lips to mine one more time. “Definitely top ten.” His smirk says he’s joking. I lightly punch him in the stomach. “You sure you don’t want to forget that first one?”
“I’m positive, but I’ll take another kiss like this one anytime.”
“If you’re not going to pretend that was our first kiss then I have no choice but to try to erase it from your memory.” His head descends and again, the feel of his lips on mine catapult me back to euphoria.
We come up for air minutes later and I’m surprised and if I’m honest maybe a little disappointed. Mauro didn’t even try to cop a feel. His hands ventured down to my ass, but he stopped short. The only part of the kiss that was NC17 was his erection pressed into my stomach.
The lights flicker back on, the soft glow of the candles disappearing.
“If this place wasn’t so disgusting, I’d never want to leave,” Mauro murmurs, his lips pressed to my temple. “I’ll go check on the storm.”
It’s only now that I realize the sirens have stopped wailing outside.
He releases me and I miss being in his arms immediately. His footsteps pound up the stairs and I hear the back door opening.
“We’re good,” he calls out before he comes back down the stairs.
The first thing he does is extinguish the candles with a lick of his fingers and a press to the wick. I can’t help but smile at that.
“I’m starved. You want to go somewhere for dinner?” he asks.
“Sure.”
We each have an armful of candles as we head upstairs.
After walking around the house to make sure none of the windows are broken, Mauro suggests we drop off my car so he can drive us to dinner.
Right before I pull away from the curb, I let the image of the house sink into my memory. I’d never want to take back our first kiss, but this one was so much better.
I turn down the alley while Mauro parks on the street in front of the house. Lauren’s yellow Fiat is in the garage and my stomach drops, wondering what she’ll say if she answers the door when Mauro reaches it.
So, I do what any normal girl would do to protect the guy she’s falling for from her friend’s wrath—I race inside through the back door, sprinting to the front door and swinging it open.
Mauro draws back, but I press on his shoulders to turn him back down the stairs he just climbed. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, just my stomach was rumbling the entire way over here. I need food.”
Mauro smiles over his shoulder.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Lauren’s voice at my back is like the squealing of tires locking up on dry pavement.
You know when you hear that noise followed by the sound of piercing metal crashing two seconds later?
“Taking our girl out without talking to the friends? I would have thought your mama taught you better than that, Mauro Bianco.”
We both turn to find her standing on the porch, hands on her hips. She’s wearing a pair of yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt that’s printed with the words Physical Therapist - I’m here to fix your ass not kiss it.
Mauro chuckles to himself. “Lauren Hunt, hello. I guess I should be grateful that you didn’t jump on my back this time.” He jogs up the steps and puts his hand out. “I heard you’re going on a date with Luca. Good luck with that.”
Lauren shakes his hand and rolls her eyes at the same time. “That’s never going to happen.”
“I’m kidding. He’s a good guy. Deep down.”
Lauren leans back and yells into the house. “Van! We’ve got company.” She steps back and opens the door wider. “Come on in, Mauro.”
“We were just leaving,” I say from the bottom of the stairs.
Lauren peers around Mauro as he’s circling around, clearly confused as to why I’m still standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“You can wait five minutes. Vanessa’s never met Mauro.” Lauren smiles. The one that’s conniving and means she’s up to trouble. “We can order pizza.”
“Five minutes, Lauren.” I run up the stairs, grabbing Mauro’s hand and pulling him in behind me.
His eyes scour the inside of the house.
“Nice, right? Maddie redid this place.” Lauren leads us to the family room and sits down on the couch, patting the cushion next to her. “Come, sit, Mauro.”
His eyes veer to mine, but he sits, albeit hesitantly. “What’ve you been up to, Lauren?” He falls back onto the sofa, resting his ankle on his knee.
“I’m a physical therapist.” She points to her sweatshirt. “But I’m much more interested in knowing how this whole partnership thing is going from your perspective?” She waggles her finger between Mauro on the couch and where I stand.
“It’s going great, right Madison?” Mauro’s eyes find mine, a smirk on his lips.
“Yep.”
Lauren narrows her eyes, trying to dissect my inner thoughts.
“What’s going on? I’m about to head out.” The echo of Vanessa’s heels sound down the stairs before she appears in the room wearing a skin-tight dress that ends right below her ass.
Suddenly, I feel frumpy and boring.
Mauro stands up from the couch, crossing the room, his hand already out before Vanessa has even looked up from her phone.
“If this is about your vibrator, I’m going to say it again, Lauren, I didn’t take it. That’s not something you borrow from someone.”
“Van,” I say and knock her elbow. She glances up at me, smiles. “Hey, did you get caught in that storm?”
I shift my eyes and she follows the direction of my gaze. “Oh, shit, have you been standing there for longer than one second?”
“Well, I don’t think Maddie twitched her nose and he appeared.” Lauren laughs. “I didn’t say you borrowed my vibrator, I was simply asking if you saw it when it was delivered. Do you ever even listen to us anymore?” Lauren blows at a hair that’s fallen down onto her forehead.
Ignoring Lauren, I introduce Vanessa and Mauro. “Vanessa this is Mauro, Mauro this is Vanessa, our third roommate.”
Mauro shakes her hand. “Nice to meet you. Your dad is the commander of the eighteenth district?”
Vanessa’s smile falters. “He is.”
“My brother Cristian says he’s a good man.”
Vanessa drops his hand, her focus back on her phone. “He can be.”
Vanessa’s a master at hiding her true feelings, but I’ve known her long enough to know that she’s giving Mauro the answer he expects.
Mauro’s eyes find mine, a smile on his lips. I hate that for a second I feared that Mauro would be attracted to Vanessa. She was definitely his type in high school. I loathe the part of me that refuses to let go of all my baggage from that time in my life.
“Have a seat, Vanessa, we’re going to put Mauro through the wringer about
his intentions with our girl.”
“No, you’re not. Mauro and I are going to get something to eat,” I say.
Lauren tilts her head. “Surely, he doesn’t care. You don’t have anything to hide, do you?”
This is getting annoying. Does she think if he’s using me he’s going to divulge that to her right here and now? She acts like she’s some ace detective on Law & Order who can squeeze a confession out of a person of interest with just a few pointed questions.
“Enough with the protective dad act,” I say.
Vanessa is still buried in her phone, her fingers going a mile a minute. “One question from me and then I’m out.” She surprises all of us by joining the conversation.
“No girls, we aren’t going to do this.” I shake my head.
Mauro puts his arm around my shoulder. “No, Mad, it’s fine.” He shifts his attention to Vanessa.
“Do you like our girl?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Then I’m good. I think it goes without saying that if you hurt her, you can expect a visit on your doorstep from me. And Lauren.” She nods to where Lauren still sits on the couch. “Oh, and do me a favor and tell your brother to stop fucking calling me. I’m not going to go out with him.” She turns and walks toward the back of the house, probably to catch another ride in a black town car.
“Are you dating someone? Is that why you won’t date him?” Mauro calls out and Vanessa stops walking, slowly turning around.
Lauren and I are silent, waiting for her to answer.
“No, but I don’t date people who work under my dad. That’s a bad situation for all involved.”
Then she’s gone through the back door.
One down, one to go. Unfortunately, it’s the piranha that’s still circling.
“You get one question, Lauren.” I turn to face her, but Mauro sits down in the chair across from her.
“Three is more than fair,” she says.
“Two,” I negotiate and she wiggles in her seat and rubs her hands together.
“First question. Was it a coincidence that you showed up to bid on the same property as Madison?”
