by Rowena
I never bothered trying to get any of it back. Who would be here to maintain it?
But now it’s on its way to being back, and I’m excited about it bearing fruit, so to speak, again.
As for the interior—it took me a solid two days to really clean up the inside so that it feels fresh and lived-in, but I did it, and other than the quiet that I now find a bit too quiet, I’m pretty calm again.
But I’ve discovered the quiet and calm no longer mean peace.
It comes with an emptiness now, and not just because of my mother.
I try not to glance at the house where Abe used to live, but I fail; I wish I could see him.
I have this persistent ache in my chest—but at least it’s a dull ache, as long as I keep myself occupied, and I’ve found plenty of ways to do that—from shopping to cleaning to reading and rearranging.
I have covered up all the mirrors and organized my stuff like you wouldn’t believe—from my clothes and shoes to my books.
So the interior is spic and span, and the exterior is getting there.
The house needs a new coat of paint for sure, and I’ll make arrangements for it soon.
I am just admiring my handiwork on one of the raised beds when a familiar form materializes in the corner of my eye.
I turn to face the figure full-on, even though I’m pretty sure I was seeing things; I’ve had that happen a few times—something tricking me into thinking I just caught a flash of my mom.
But the figure doesn’t disappear or turn out to be the flutter of a curtain.
“Abe?” I almost don’t recognize my own breathless voice.
Abe just responds with his heart-melting crooked smile, and it’s a wonder I don’t actually liquefy just then.
Oh, god—he must be so mad at me; he can’t even speak. But at least he’s still happy to see me, it seems.
“How did you find me?” I ask, resisting the urge to rush to him, unsure how he’d take it.
“So I hired this P.I…” he begins, still taking painstakingly slow steps toward me.
“Ah,” I say, nodding.
“…but the P.I. just confirmed what I already knew. I remembered what you said about this place. I knew you still had it, and where else would you go? Very few places you can call home, so I figured you were here pretty early, and as hard as it was, I couldn’t come to you right away. I had a few things to set in motion.”
He pauses, and my heart pounds so hard, I’m sure he can see its imprint on my chest.
Why did he stop? I’ve been looking forward to him coming closer and closer…
“Come here, Maddy,” he says, his voice deep and his green eyes intense.
I don’t even think—I run to him, closing the distance between us in no time, and I throw my arms around his neck, clinging to him.
He closes his strong arms around me tightly, and the feel of his warm hard body against mine again, the confirmation that he’s real, he’s here, and he still wants me, makes everything bubble up, and I burst into tears of both joy and sorrow.
I didn’t let myself cry after the day I lost my hair, but now I can’t help it.
I did everything I could not to think about how much Abe means to me and how much I missed him, but now I’m giving in to it.
Abe is the only one who can fill this emptiness in me and now he’s here; he found me!
“Oh, Maddy,” he says, still holding me tightly, one arm rubbing my back.
When we finally pull away, he reaches out to wipe some of my tears and says, “I wish you hadn’t run away—I wish you had let me in, let me know where you were going. Why didn’t you?”
“I wasn’t thinking straight, to be honest.”
I reach up to touch my hair—something I don’t think I’ve done since the day my attackers cut it.
“I couldn’t handle what they did to me; I didn’t feel like me anymore. I was so traumatized…”
“I understand that. But I was worried sick! And you didn’t think I wouldn’t care to see you again because of your hair, right?”
“No, but I still couldn’t imagine you seeing me like this. I couldn’t imagine… anything anymore. I just needed to get away; I needed to be left in peace.”
I look up at him, but he’s just a blur until tears fall.
“I’m sorry, Abe—I didn’t mean to just leave you like that.”
“I missed you, Madison. A lot. It was killing me not knowing where you were or why you left.”
“I’m sorry,” I say again, hanging my head. “I really missed you too, and I’m so glad you decided to look for me.”
“You know, your roommate tried to convince me you broke up with me.”
My emotions take a sudden turn.
“What?”
“Apparently, Beth found out some things about her, and she threatened to reveal them if she didn’t work with her. So Judy got rid of that envelope Beth sent, and she…”
He glances at my hair and I look away.
“…she let the cutting crew in.”
He reaches out and touches my head, and somehow, it feels even more intimate than before.
I lean into his touch like a puppy—his large warm hand feels so good cradling my almost-naked head. His touch, so much nearer to my scalp, his fingers moving through my remaining scraps of hair—it almost feels erotic.
When I open my eyes—which I didn’t even realize I’d closed until then—Abe is smiling warmly at me, his green eyes sparkling.
“I like how it feels too,” he says gently before pulling his hand away.
My scalp misses it immediately.
“So what have you been doing here? Well, besides the obvious,” he says, glancing over at my budding garden.
“Communing with ghosts,” I say, unsure how else to describe my existence here the past few days.
Abe is staring off to the side, and I realize he’s looking at the place where he used to live.
Another family lives there now, and the place looks totally different.
“Has your mom said anything about meeting my mom?” he asks quietly, and he says it almost as a joke, but I hear the pain underneath.
My heart aches for him.
At least I saw my mom’s death coming.
I squeeze his hand.
“No one’s been particularly chatty. Believe it or not, I’ve found it too quiet here, so I can’t wait to hear what’s been going on.”
His eyes swing to me and they come alive again.
“Boy, do I have a lot to tell you. You want to stay out here or go inside?”
I smile, feeling a peace starting to settle over me.
“Let’s go inside.”
We are sitting at the dining table with my homemade lemonade on ice nearby, and we’re both just raking our eyes over each other, as if making up for all those days we didn’t see each other.
He reaches out and grabs my hand.
“I’m not even sure where to start,” he says, then his hand reaches up to touch my face. His finger traces my lips.
Finally, he pulls back.
“Okay—so the P.I. was worth every penny. He found out some pretty damning stuff about Bethany, and boy is that girl is full of secrets—the majority of them, not even her own. And she definitely has a way with using them. Turns out she was a master of both deception and truth, and she used them to manipulate others to do her bidding, threatening to bring the things they want to stay hidden to light. Like with Judy.”
He pauses, watching my face.
“You were too clean for her; there was really nothing she could dig up on you, and in the absence of truth… ”
He half-shrugs.
“But she won’t be able to operate like that anymore—at least not on our campus. Not anywhere you and I will be.”
A thrill rushes through me at his words because of the way he says them—he sounds so sure. But how could he be? Beth seems pretty powerful and fearless. It seems she’s used to not suffering any consequences for her beha
vior, so what the heck could he have done to make her back off?
He smiles at me.
“Sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire,” he says with another shrug, as if reading the question on my face. “Beth is currently getting a taste of her own medicine.”
His smile looks different.
“Lots of teamwork went into this one, and lies are taking her down right now—in the form of her very own dirty truths. For example, evidence has come to light that she lied about a rape some years back—a lie that sent a guy to prison and made him lose a few years of his life. Unfortunately, not much can be done to her directly since our justice system is pretty terrible about that. I think she can only be charged with perjury or something.”
“That’s so unfair.”
“Tell me about it. Anyway, the guy’s family will likely bring up a civil suit for the false accusations, so there’s that. But I’m not counting on that to be all. I hear someone with mad SEO skills is working to make sure the top search results for her name and photo reveal her to be the criminal she is, because lying under oath and sending a guy to prison isn’t all she’s done over the years. Right now, word’s getting around about some of her other smear campaigns, and people who have been victimized by her are starting to speak up. Anyway, by the time the rumor mill is done with her, she’ll have to get a new identity. Needless to say, she’s pretty much finished on campus. She may or may not retreat quietly—we just have a few months left, after all—but I doubt she’ll stick around. Either way, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to return, but I’d love to have you near again. I need you, Maddy.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think I can… ”
His large hands cover mine. “Come live with me. We can find a nice little apartment off campus and rush to our English class together if that makes you more comfortable.”
“You’d give up your swanky athlete housing to be with me?”
“You have no idea the things I’d give up for you.” He squeezes my hand a bit. “Maddy, I… I love you,” he says, his hand reaching up to cup my face. “Whoever you are or don’t think you are or aren’t sure you are—I love you, and I want you with me. I’d do anything to protect you, Maddy. No one will fuck with you anymore; I’ll make sure of it.”
My eyes well up again and my throat tightens, preventing me from being able to speak for a few seconds.
When I finally can, I say, “ I love you too, Abe.”
He looks relieved, and then he leans over and brings his lips to mine.
I get lost in his kiss, tears leaking from my eyes, my heart swelling.
When we pull back, Abe looks content.
But he has misunderstood me.
“I’m not going back with you,” I clarify.
His face falls.
“… but I will stay with you,” I continue. “It’s not too long of a drive, is it?”
He smiles, looking relieved again.
“Whatever you need, Maddy. I’ll swing by on weekends for sure, and I’ll see about during the week. In any case, just a few months till draft picks are announced.”
He pauses. “I’m not sure where I’ll end up, but you’ll come with me?”
I nod, smiling. “I wish I could go back with you now, but I think being here is better at this time. Less stressful.”
I say the words carefully and Abe seems to pick up that there’s more to what I’m saying.
He waits for me to continue, his eyes watching me suspiciously.
“Remember when I mentioned not being on the pill? You and I haven’t exactly been playing it safe and I suspect…”
I’m swept off my feet before I can finish, Abe managing to pick me up in his arms as he stands. He holds me tightly to him.
“Maddy,” he whispers, and then he’s kissing all over my face.
“I take it you think this is good news?”
He throws his head back and laughs.
I’ve never seen him look so happy, and I suddenly realize I’ve never been so happy, either.
Epilogue
Abraham
I once thought post-coitus with Maddy was the best feeling in the world—her soft body against mine, my cock buried deep inside her warmth.
Don’t get me wrong—it’s still pretty amazing and euphoric, but I’ve since discovered equal, perhaps greater feelings of contentment that even getting drafted back in April doesn’t rival—watching Maddy’s belly grow with my child, Maddy saying yes to my proposal. Maddy and I eloping over the summer and taking a two-week honeymoon. Feeling my baby kick for the first time.
And right now, knowing Maddy’s in the stands watching me at my first pro game.
I got drafted by a team from Maddy’s home state, so we decided to keep her old house for now, even though we picked out a new place to live.
One day, she’ll be ready to sell the old house—perhaps once the baby’s born and we continue to build our own home.
In any case, whatever Maddy wants, she’ll get it, and if she wants to keep both, so be it.
She figured out she can complete her degree online, so she’s doing that, determined to finish her degree.
She seems pretty content now, as happy as me even, and that’s saying something since I’m over the moon about her.
I never thought I could feel this way, but here I am, and it’s all because of Madison Mills. Stone, I mean. Madison Stone.
Her hair started growing back ridiculously fast, and she said it’s probably getting helped by the pregnancy, but she doesn’t seem to be as obsessed about it anymore—she just lets it be.
It’s already mid-back, and she hasn’t even had the baby yet.
She’s due in a month, and I suspect, once I lay eyes on our newborn child, an even greater joy will seize me, one that my sweet wife and I will share.
I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.
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UP NEXT: an excerpt from Sculptor, a steamy military alpha romance.
SYNOPSIS: She has no idea what she's in for…
When a stunning goddess crashes my art studio, demanding I take on a project for her when I'm still knee-deep in my current one, the answer should have been a firm no. Instead, I got firm elsewhere, and the next thing I know, I'm ready to do everything in my power to claim the innocent rich girl and make her mine.
She wants to make demands? I've got some of my own.
But we both might have bitten off more than we can chew…
EXCERPT
Sculptor
DEREK
I turn angrily with a "How the fuck did you get in here?" on my lips, but I am knocked off my ass—almost literally—by the vision before me, a mouth-watering feminine form neatly wrapped in an immaculate navy skirt suit.
Fuck. Me.
I was fully prepared to rip the head off of the intruder who, by the way, had the balls to shut my music off, but the second I lay eyes on the stately goddess who stormed my studio, interrupting my work session, I know I'm up shit creek without a paddle.
I'm pretty sure I can't blink now, my eyes not wanting to miss a millisecond of this beautiful intruder filling my sight.
She is truly stunning—smooth brown skin I think actually glows, sort of almond-shaped dark eyes with lots of lashes, flawless eyebrows, long, straightened dark hair, and obviously expensive, perfectly fitted clothes.
And I can see a hint of red on the bottom of her heels from here.
I immediately know this girl has a powerful daddy—biological or not.
My cock stirs, nudging me to turn my words of rebuke into words that'll get it closer to being buried inside her, but my brain reminds me that that's a no-no.
The girl is ridiculously gorgeous, and I want her des
perately, but I have a strict rule about sex when knee-deep in a project this size.
Like those Olympic athletes who abstain while training and have a big old orgy once the Olympic games are done, I stay focused until the goal is met.
But my resolve is weakening the longer she stands there like a perfect, fuckable statue.
Almost too neat and perfect—she looks ravishing with her lips stained red and every hair in place, but all I want to do is mess her up, smear her lipstick with rough kisses.
Her slender frame would fit perfectly in my muscled arms.
"May I help you?" I ask as evenly as I can, considering everything raging inside of me.
I can't let on how much the goddess is affecting me, how much my cock desperately wants to find out what it would feel like to be buried deep between those killer legs.
"Yes, you may," she responds almost mockingly, and I kind of want to make her pay for that.
My cock twitches again.
"I'd like to commission you for a piece. I want you to sculpt an orisha with the likeness of my mother…"
"Sweetheart, I didn't understand half the words you just said," I say dryly, not letting on how close she got to getting fucked hard. "Either way, I'm busy; I've got a piece due in four weeks and I don't begin another with that kind of deadline over my head."
Her composure cracks a little.
I'm struck by how tall she is—she could easily be a model—although her statuesque height isn't an issue for me because even at what I'm guessing is 5'10" without heels, I have at least half a foot on her.
In fact, I'd love to drop everything and make her my next project.
I'd do a nude of her, but it enrages me to think of someone stumbling across it and seeing what should be for my eyes only.
"But her birthday's soon here!" she says almost like a little girl, but then she snaps back to refined ice queen mode. "So how fast can you get it done? I'll pay you handsomely."
I almost chuckle. "I'm sure you would! But it's not about the money for me, luv."
