Maddie braced her hands against his broad shoulders, loving the way his biceps bulged as he held her. She tried to move, but he had her positioned so that all she could do was feel him deep inside her, not moving. Instead, he stared at her, his blue eyes dark with passion. So, she tried words. “You feel so good.” She wiggled her hips a bit to underscore her words. She edged her hand up his neck to his head. He kept it shaved, but she could feel stubble beneath her palm. His tattoo swirled around his pec, over his shoulder, and down his arm to his elbow. She looked at them in the bathroom mirror and saw that it curved down his back and over one sculpted cheek to tease the top of his thigh. At the base of his back, she read the words, NO REGRETS, all in black ink.
No regrets. That’s how she’d lived her life since she’d left Jersey. For half a second, she wondered if she’d regret this in the morning, but then A.J. started to move, and it felt so good. She knew he’d be starring in a few of her future fantasies. The man had a hell of a body, and he knew how to use it.
He put his mouth on her throat as he moved in and out of her in deliciously long, slow strokes. His muscles bunched and moved in a symphony of male perfection as she watched him in the mirror. And then he found her G-spot and ground against it. She tipped her head back, arching her neck where his mouth was locked on her. But he wasn’t satisfied with only devastating her body. He claimed her mouth and kissed her like he wanted to possess her soul, too. And good Lord, the man could kiss. Dazed and lost in sensation, he ramped up the pace, moving harder and faster, not letting her mouth go—not letting her go.
Overwhelmed with feeling, she started to freak out. She needed to be in control. She was always in control with men—had to be for it to work. But she’d lost it somehow with A.J., if she’d ever even had it. Being back in Hidden Harbor had her thrown off script and forgetting who she was now.
As if sensing the swirl of emotions rushing through her, he looked into her eyes, his dark and steady. “I’ve got you,” he said, even as he ramped up the waves of pleasure he created with each stroke into her body. “I’ve got you,” he repeated. “You can let go.”
“I never let go,” she countered.
“You just did,” he reminded her, his smile pure male confidence. “The release is going to be amazing,” he promised, his movements strong and sure. “But first, you have to give in to it.”
She felt vulnerable and edgy at the same time. She frowned, feeling suspended between herself and something foreign—a part of herself she didn’t know.
“Relax,” he breathed against her ear, holding her securely in his arms, protecting her back from the cold, tile wall.
She closed her eyes and focused on how his body joined hers, how he filled her, held her, touched her so deeply. God, she felt so exposed. And she hated the feeling, but now, in this moment, with this man moving inside her and surrounding her with his sure confidence, it felt less like vulnerability and more like a feminine power that they could create something so potent together. His hardness and strength made a delicious counterpoint to her softness and curves.
Maddie let go. She gave herself to A.J., and he took her to a place where she found power in the release they experienced together. The world felt like it shattered around them and fell away. Nothing else mattered but the feelings and sensations rocking her core.
The next coherent thought Maddie had was that A.J. Johnson was magic. He had worked some kind of voodoo, black magic on her. Her body was completely limp and spent, but he cradled her against his chest, one hand holding her ass while his other hand cradled the back of her head as he pressed kisses onto her cheek and neck and shoulder. “That was spectacular,” he murmured.
She couldn’t disagree. She also couldn’t speak. Like her body, her tongue was presently out of order.
Someone banged on the door. “Hey! Stay in there much longer and you’ll have to pay rent.”
“Give me a minute,” A.J. said.
Maddie slapped a hand over her eyes.
“What’s a dude doing in the Ladies Room?” the woman on the other side of the door asked.
“Men’s room was occupied. You might wanna wait a minute before you come in here,” he added.
Maddie had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
“Gross!” the woman complained, adding some other choice, colorful phrases.
“That should buy us a few minutes,” A.J. said and lowered Maddie to the floor. She ducked into the stall for some privacy and a minute to pull herself together. Was that even possible? She heard the water running in the sink and then the sound of him zipping his pants. Good Lord. Sex in a bar bathroom? And with someone from high school? She would have said coming to Hidden Harbor had been an epically bad idea, but she couldn’t find fault in the way her body felt. All the tension had left her. What remained was an amazing, incredible aftermath of sigh-inducing feeling. Damn it.
She straightened her clothes and realized she’d lost something. “Um, are my panties out there somewhere?” she asked softly. A long, masculine finger dangled the lacy, black garment over the stall door. Maddie grabbed them and said, “Thank you.” Before putting them on, she stopped. They’d been on the bathroom floor. A clean bathroom floor, mind you, but still a bathroom floor. She tossed them into the bin for feminine needs and straightened her skirt. Going commando only emphasized what had just happened.
She finger-combed her hair and opened the stall. A.J. stood there looking big and built and bad, very bad, but her purse in his hand ruined the effect. Maddie took it. She must have dropped it, too. “I need to get out of here,” she said, then quickly washed her hands. “When will my car be ready?”
“Why don’t I go call and check?” he asked.
“Thank you.” A moment alone would be a good idea. She tossed the paper towel into the trash. “I’ll meet you outside?”
“Sure,” he said, but frowned. One long stride brought him close. He touched his lips to hers. Her first instinct was to pull away, but the kiss was gentle; his eyes open as he watched her. The next thing she knew he was holding her, soothing her nerves while still caressing her lips.
When he broke the contact, she said, “See. You’re a good guy, A.J. Johnson.”
A wicked smile tugged the corner of his mouth up. “Have sex often with good guys in bar bathrooms?”
“I really need to get out of here,” she repeated, and stepped back, not about to analyze what had just happened. Later, when he wasn’t a touch away, she’d analyze this. Right now, she needed to avoid running into more people from her past.
He opened the door a crack. “The hallway’s clear,” he said her. “There’s a back door.”
She ducked outside where the sun was just beginning to set, casting a golden glow over the yellow, brown, and red-orange leaves falling from the trees. It really was a beautiful sight, one she didn’t take enough time to enjoy because she lived in a city where green spaces were hard to find.
At his bike, she waited, thankful not many people were coming and going at the moment. A few minutes later, A.J. walked her way. “Bad news,” she said .“Car won’t be ready until tomorrow.”
“Oh, no. Why?”
“Spare wouldn’t hold air, and Tim didn’t have the kind of tires you need. Actually, he said they all need replacing.”
“Great.” The one word held all Maddie’s frustration.
“He’ll call his supplier first thing tomorrow.” A.J. handed Maddie a card with a number on it. “Give him a call in the morning and let him know if you want one or four.”
Maddie slid the card into her purse and crossed her arms, frustrated.
“Where were you headed before you broke down?”
“My grandmother’s house over on East Front Street.”
“I’d be glad to take you.”
Maddie considered. “It’ll be dark soon, and I’m not sure if the power’s on.”
“It’s not far. We’ve probably got enough time to get a good look around the place.”
/> “Are you sure?”
In answer, he handed her the helmet. Within moments, the Harley roared to life and they were on their way.
4
As small towns go, it didn’t take long to get to anywhere. So, A.J. drove them through town to the end of East Front where Maddie’s grandmother had lived. The narrow, one-story cottage wore an air of neglect. Paint peeled on the once white clapboard siding that looked gray-green now. The roof had moss growing on the shingles and one black shutter hung drunkenly on one nail. After he killed the engine, Maddie slid off the back. A.J. took her hand to make sure she didn’t stumble on the gravel drive. She removed her helmet as she walked toward the house.
Maddie’s mother and grandmother had been close at one time, so naturally, Maddie had been close to her grandmom as well. The sweet, yet strong woman had held an open-door policy for her only grandchild. Something about the little house on the river had always spoken to Maddie. She’d loved her time here.
A.J. took his time approaching, maybe giving her a moment to take in the place. He handed her purse to her. “How long’s it been empty?”
Maddie gave the question some thought. Her grandmother had died about six years ago. “A while. I thought my parents had seen to the upkeep.” The grass looked like it hadn’t been mowed all season. The shrubs had long lost any semblance of shape. “Grandmom kept this place immaculate. She’d hate seeing it this way.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
She folded her arms and glanced over at him. “That’s what I came here to decide.”
He nodded. “You want to walk the property before you go inside?”
Maddie rubbed her arms. The air felt cool with the sun setting, but that’s not what made her shiver. “No. I can see what I need to from the back porch.”
A.J. draped his big jacket over her shoulders. The warmth from his body surrounded her and the scent of leather and his cologne teased her senses. “Thank you,” she said. He put his hand on her elbow and walked with her to the front door, a fact she was glad for when a stone on the second step wobbled under her foot. “Careful,” he said, tightening his grip on her arm.
“It shouldn’t be like this,” Maddie repeated, getting angry. “Someone should have taken care of the place.” If not her parents, then her. But she’d been busy in the city raising two children and running a business. Still, she wondered, had the house been like this when her grandmother had passed? She wouldn’t have been able to care for it herself, but surely her parents had helped. More anger came because she didn’t know. She’d left town and hadn’t looked back, not even to visit the woman who’d helped raise her.
“Hey,” A.J. said. “It’s okay. It can all be fixed. If you decide to keep it, that is,” he added.
“I should have done more.”
His regard was calm and steady on her. “It’s not too late. It’s never too late to make a change.”
The screen door protested when she wrenched it open. She didn’t need this. Didn’t need to feel these things in front of a stranger she’d just had sex with, and who seemed to see past her walls. She dug in her purse then realized—
“Shit,” she mumbled then pressed the heel of her hand into her eye. “Damn it.”
“Forgot the keys?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. She’d shoved the envelope from the lawyer’s office into her briefcase this morning. The keys had been inside. That briefcase was in her car. This is what happened when she didn’t carefully plan things out. Shit happened. She felt out of control and exposed and inept, feelings she usually did everything in her power to avoid.
“No worries,” A.J. said. He tried the door, but the deadbolt held firm against the rattling he gave it. He jogged down the steps and disappeared around the side of the house. Maddie followed, slowed by the overgrown grass and her heels, but she got there in time to see him halfway through an open window.
“What the hell?” she said. He popped his head back through the opening, a mischievous grin on his face. “Figured there’d be a window I could jimmy open.”
This straight-laced high school quarterback, who all the girls had adored, clearly had done this before. He offered her a hand, but instead of taking it, she said, “Just go open the door.” By the time she’d walked back around the house, he was standing in the open doorway waiting for her. “I guess I should say thank you,” she said as she walked up the front steps, careful to avoid the loose stone this time.
“Not necessary,” he said, grinning.
Inside, everything looked the same as it had twenty years before. She retrieved a small flashlight from her purse and clicked it on. The furniture was arranged the same. Not even the dusty knickknacks had been moved. The musty smell burned her nose and eyes, but she could almost smell the lavender sachets Grandmom had made from the plants in her garden. The house had always smelled fresh and clean. As she walked toward the back of the house, Maddie blamed her watery eyes on the dust. Everything in the kitchen was also as she remembered it. A cup sat on the counter, like Grandmom had set it out to pour a cup of tea. Maddie brushed a tear away, then gripped the countertop as she looked out the window to the river with the sunset’s last glow hanging over it.
A.J. squeezed her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She’d forgotten about him. “You scared me,” she said unnecessarily.
“Sorry,” he said softly. That word covered a lot of ground. Maddie was sorry, too. About so many things.
She stepped around him and walked out the back door onto the deck. She sat in the willow glider and put it into motion. She’d probably rocked a thousand miles or more in this thing. It was her favorite spot. The sound of the river flowing soothed her, but the squeak in the glider reminded her of the passage of time. The naïve, innocent girl who’d spent so much time here was gone, replaced by a woman who’d left home with the intent of never returning. But here she was, with feelings and memories threatening to overwhelm her.
“I need to get back to the city.” She stood and brushed past A.J. as she hurried back to the front of the house.
A.J. sauntered back inside, his pace a counterpoint to her racing heart. “You don’t have a car,” he said.
“Shit.” She’d forgotten. Maddie opened her purse to give herself something to do. “I can call my driver. I just need to use a phone.”
A.J. had continued his measured progression into the room, and now he stood directly in front of her. She dodged his searching eyes and turned to open the door. His hands on her shoulders stopped her. “Hey,” he said softly, wanting her to turn, but she wouldn’t. Couldn’t. She needed to go. She hadn’t thought this through. Coming back to Hidden Harbor was not something she should have attempted before preparing herself for the emotions that came with it.
Somehow, she found herself wrapped in A.J.’s arms, her nose pressed up against his t-shirt and his hands moving on her back in soothing motions. His jacket fell off her. She put her hands on his chest intending to push away from him, but instead, she grabbed his shirt and lowered her chin. “I’m sorry,” she said, apologizing for her weakness.
“Shh . . .” he held the back of her head. She felt his lips on her hair. And damn it, leaning into him felt good. It had been a lot of years since she’d allowed anyone to soothe her. Hell, she was pretty sure no one had held her like this since she was a child. She never allowed her vulnerability to show. Vulnerability opened a person up to being taken advantage of. She wasn’t that kind of woman.
“I can hear you thinking. Does your mind ever stop working?”
“Never.”
He tipped her chin up. “I can help with that.”
“I don’t need help—” she began, but he cut her words off with a kiss. His lips caressed hers softly, slow and steady, giving her time to—to . . . He traced the line of her mouth with the tip of his tongue, wordlessly asking her to open to him. Maddie eased her hands up to his neck and did just that. The fire they’d only just banked from their encounter at th
e bar flared again, burning away thoughts of anything but this—the two of them together. He tasted her, their tongues dancing a perfect rhythm that had them both breathing hard and wanting more.
She moved his shirt aside to run a hand up his back. “Maddie,” he breathed against her ear, his lips caressing her there.
“Mmm . . .” was her only response, and then his lips moved down to her neck.
“You’re incredible,” he said. He opened a few buttons on her shirt and exposed her shoulder. “Amazing,” he added before pulling her bra strap down her arm.
“Stop talking, A.J. I don’t need pretty words,” she said, and put a hand down the back of his jeans to squeeze his ass.
Undeterred, he locked his blue eyes on hers, a wicked smile on his wet lips. “You starred in most of my teenage fantasies.” He undid the rest of the buttons on her shirt. “You were always so sweet and kind and perfect, but in my fantasies, you were naughty.”
“Ohmigod,” she said as his mouth closed on her breast and proceeded to do some very dirty things to it—things only a bad boy would know how to do.
“I thought you were a good guy,” she managed. He wedged a knee between her legs and slid his jean-clad thigh north to the promised land. She moaned. “That just proves how wrong impressions can be.”
He put his hands on the backs of her thighs and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around him and held on as he pressed her against the wall. “You ditched your panties,” he said with a smile.
She slid her hands into his back pockets. “I hope you have a condom.”
“I wasn’t a boy scout, but I’m always prepared,” he said and kissed her again. “Wallet,” he added.
She opened the long, black leather wallet attached to a chain and found what she wanted—several in fact—while he got his pants open enough to free the part she was most interested in. She ripped the condom open then pushed on his chest to create some space so she could roll it down his length.
Ridden (Scandalous Moves Book 3) Page 3
