Tired of my past complicating the present moment, I scoot closer to Maddox, nuzzle the underside of his jaw with my nose, and inhale his scent. There’s a hint of soap mixed with the distinct smell of a man. I could lay in bed all day with my head resting in the crook of his neck and never tire of his scent.
“Blaise, fuck, baby, you doing that turns me on.”
“Really?”
He brings my gloved hand to his crotch. His erection under his boxers is thick beneath my fingertips. I linger, trailing feather-light caresses up and down his length.
“You said I get to set the pace. I have an idea.”
“I’m liking the sound of that.”
“Good. Condoms?”
“Blaise?”
“Condoms, Maddox. Now, please.”
He chuckles. “Fuck, I love your take-no-prisoners tone. Top drawer of my nightstand, baby. Don’t be long.”
“Gotcha. Hang hard. I mean, hang tight.”
“Ha-ha. Don’t leave me hanging, Blaise.”
“Never that.”
And I hope to God, when I need Maddox the most, he’ll come through for me and won’t leave me hanging.
18
Maddox
My wife has an erotic side to her I find pleasing. She’s my wet dream come true with her dirty imagination and those damn satin gloves of hers.
“You sure white is the wisest choice, Blaise?”
Straddling my thighs, she’s an ethereal vision wearing a white silk bra, matching thong, and white gloves up the length of her arms.
Her dark brows tug together. “This is what I wore on our wedding day, and I want to relive that day had we been a normal couple.”
Normal? I’m grateful Blaise is far from normal. Life with her is interesting as fuck.
“Should I find a different color? I have matching sets in all colors and in satin and silk.”
I groan, imagining stripping her of her strips of satin or silk in all colors of the rainbow with my teeth and my fingers.
“Well, would you like me to change?” She flips her long hair over her shoulder and sets her hands on her hips.
I suck in a quiet breath. Jesus, she’s a magnificent sight to behold, with her raven hair, pale skin, breasts that fit perfectly in my palms, and the indignation on her face.
Unable to resist her pull, I grasp her hips using the satin sheet between us and rock my hips into hers the same time I pull her down on my cock.
Her juices slick the satin. Her desire is a sharp inhalation of breath. I guide her over my length. She rocks back and forth over my cock. The color of her gloves, thong, and bra are forgotten. I want to get her naked. Explore her pussy with my fingers. Lap up her wetness with my tongue. But only if she’s willing to go there.
“I got you something.”
“You did?”
She dangles a pair of red satin gloves in front of me. “Your own pair.”
Fuck me. I put the gloves on. Blaise sticks out her chest. Chuckling at her tactfulness, I palm her breasts through my satin gloves and her silk bra. She tugs the bra down. Tweaks the little raspberries. Moans.
“Ah, so it’s going to be like that, eh, baby?”
“Like what?” Her eyes darken. Her lips part.
“Me taking my cue from you? Or should I take what I want?” I grab the back of her bra and yank, hard.
The clasp breaks. I toss the bra onto the floor. Her silk panties are next. I tear them off her and run my gaze up and down her body. Smooth pale skin. Perky tits. Flat stomach. Smooth mound. Growling low, I weave my fingers in her hair and bring her down to me, ready to kiss her the fuck senseless.
Never has a woman turned me on as much as Blaise. Before I can clamp my mouth on hers, she grabs my head and shoves my face against her tit the same time she leans into me. I tease her nipple with my tongue. Swirl the taut bud. Lick around her dark-as-fuck areola.
“You’re so beautiful. So fucking beautiful, baby.”
I suck on her nipple. Squeeze her breasts between my palms. Feast on her tits. She grinds on me. Goes faster. She’s moaning. Lets out a growl of frustration.
“Baby.”
“I need you.”
“I need you too.”
“I want to suck you off again.”
Jesus. “How, uh, how do you want to do this?”
Earlier, I fed her my rod. Now, she wants to feast on my beast in a different position. I’m digging any position she wants to put me in so long as she’s the one doing the asking. It’s been a long time since my cock’s been rearing for this much action.
“Carefully.” She moves off my body. “Spread your legs wide.”
I do as she says.
“Bunch the satin around every part of your body except for the important part.”
I chuckle. “What part would that be, babe?”
More fire in her eyes. “Your cock.”
“Better.” I keep every part of my body covered except for my erection.
Small gloved fingers wrap around my cock. Wet, warm mouth mouthing the head. Groaning, I watch her watch me as she goes up and down my big cock with her small mouth. She’s sexy as fuck, her eyes lit up with desire. Bright green. Bright blue. A sharp contrast to her raven hair and pale skin.
I brush my fingers down the side of her face. Skim my palms down her arms. She trembles. Closes her eyes. Sighs over my throbbing member before she lavishes attention on my cock with her tongue. Jesus, what Blaise can do with her mouth.
Needing more from her, I fist her hair in my hand, and guiding her up and down my length, I fuck her mouth with my cock. She takes in my thickness and length with ease, the slurping noises she makes upping the pressure in my groin. The pressure builds. My balls tighten. Does she know I’m ready to explode in her mouth? Fuck, yeah, she does. She goes harder and deeper. Slicks my rod with her saliva.
I lift my hips. Thrust my cock in her mouth the same time she sucks me.
“Fuck, baby. I’m close. I’m fucking close.”
Her mouth takes a long pull of my cock, and I can’t hold on. I come so hard I must be shooting a bucket of cum in her mouth.
“Jesus, Blaise. Fuck, you are sexy.”
Grabbing her by the arms with my gloved hands, I yank her up, seat her on my face, and press my mouth to her pussy. She grinds on my face. Holds on to the headboard. I lick up her slit. Suck on her clit. Lap up her juices. I inhale a breath and drag my nose along her inner thigh. Kiss up and down her smooth skin.
“That feels so good. Your mouth feels so good, Maddox. Do it more. More. More.”
She doesn’t need to ask again.
I drag my nose through her folds. Eat her out. Nip up and down her inner thighs. Her small fingers grab at my hair. Her nails dig into my scalp. Her thighs clamp the sides of my head, and needing more of her flavor, I interlock my fingers on the small of her back and lick and suck to my heart’s content.
Her body tenses.
Her thighs tremble.
She arches her back and comes on my face.
I hold her to me and give her clit and her slit a slow lick with my tongue. She comes again, her juices slicking my tongue and my lips. Fuck, she tastes good. And to have her shatter on my face? Priceless.
“You okay, baby?” I run my palms up and down her back.
“I—” She gets off my face and lays next to me. “What you did—” She cups the side of my face. “That felt so good.”
I smooth my palm over her hair. Glide my finger over the beads of sweat along her upper lip. Trace the curve and dip of her upper lip, unable to stop touching her.
“I take it oral is okay?”
“Very.” She presses her mouth on the underside of my jaw. “You don’t mind that we’re not going all the way right away?” Her gaze strays to the unopened condom package on the nightstand. “I thought I could. My idea was to just put a little bit of you inside me. Not all the way, but enough to make us feel good.”
“I’m up for it if you are.”
“You—”
“I’m up.” To make my point, I grab my cock and yank it back and forth. My rod is erect and ready for more action. Jesus, it’s great to have my stamina back after a long dry spell.
“Okay. We won’t go all the way, right? I heard the first time is painful. I don’t deal with pain well. When Roman nicked my arm with his knife, I passed out. When Rylan grazed my ear with his arrow, I passed out. When I got shot in the shoulder, I passed out. You get the point.”
And I am going to rip those guys a new asshole for causing my girl pain. My girl? Yeah, that’s who Blaise is. She’s my woman. My wife.
“Cross my heart, babe, I will be the utmost gentleman. Like I said, you set the pace.”
“Thank you, Maddox.” She reaches over, grabs the condom off the nightstand, and rips into the package. Blaise takes my cock in her hand and rolls it on like a champ.
“Do that often, baby?”
“No need to be jealous. I practiced a lot on bananas.”
This woman . . . I sling my arm over my eyes. Smile. “You’ll be the death of me with your comments from left field .”
She laughs, the sound low and husky. “And you’re killing me slowly with your rock-hard body.”
“Get on your back, babe.”
Blaise does as I asked.
“Spread those legs.”
She doesn’t protest.
I bunch the satin around her body but leave her breasts uncovered. I want to suck those little buds into my mouth and taste the raspberries with my tongue.
“Ready?”
She bites down on her bottom lip. Nods. I finger her sex until she’s wet. It doesn’t take long to get her wet. She’s already dripping with desire.
I line up our hips and slowly nudge her opening with the head of my cock. Blaise lifts her arms and holds on to my biceps. Her small fingers dig into my flesh as I slide another inch inside her. She’s tight, wet. I groan. Tip back my head. She will be the death of me. I’m certain of it. I slide in and out. Her inner muscles clench my rod. It’s erotic as fuck holding on to my restraint and knowing she trusts me fully to keep to my word.
“Mmm, that feels so good. You feel so good.”
She squeezes my arms. Closes her eyes. A serene look on her face. Color high on her cheeks. I slide another inch inside her and hit a barrier. I move out. In and out. Go faster.
“Blaise, I can’t hold on much longer.”
“Come for me.”
I come on command, and damn, the power she has over me. Shaken up by her control over me—something no woman’s had, including Kris—I pull out of her and get rid of the condom in the bathroom trash bin. I return with a warm, wet cloth, and pressing it on her sex, I clean up our sex mess.
“Thank you, Maddox.” She curls up against me, a satin sheet separating us.
“For what, baby?” I put another set of sheets over her nakedness.
Someday, she’ll let me hold her naked form against mine. Skin to skin. Someday.
“For putting up with my odd asks.”
“I like your oddities.”
“You’ll tire of them.”
“Never. Patience is a virtue, and in darkness, there is light.”
She caresses up and down my face with her gloved fingers. “Your understanding means the world to me.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
The words are out before I can stop them. But after everything is said and done, will one woman be enough to keep me on the straight path of faithfulness? Or will I be like my father, going through women as though they’re a flavor of the month?
Yet when Blaise reaches for my gloved hand with her own and intertwines our fingers, setting our clasped hands in the space between us, a twinge settles in my chest on the spot where my heart is.
The better question would be: when all is said and done, can I let Blaise go if she decides to end the marriage?
19
Blaise
“I want to help them all.”
“‘All’ isn’t in the cards, Blaise. We’re down to ten cases.” Out of hundreds. “Choose five.”
Granger and I are seated on the couch, pouring over the missing persons’ files again. The last time he was here, we didn’t come to a consensus on what cases to help with and which ones to send a personal note to notify the family that my foundation won’t be helping them find their missing loved ones.
We’ve been helping families for two years and have come to the conclusion that not everyone is truthful. There are people out there who take joy in sending us bogus missing person’s cases. It’s the reason Granger and I take so long to weed out the legitimate ones from the falsified stories.
“Pick five. Pick five.” I glance from one manila folder to the next. The files are spread out on the coffee table. Before I can choose, my cell phone rings.
It’s the front desk.
I pick up the call. “Hello.”
“Mrs. Stassi, there is a visitor here to see you.”
“Who?”
“It’s Gia Stassi, ma’am.”
Maddox’s sister?
“Bring her up.”
“Of course.”
“Collins?” Granger asks as soon as I end the call, noting the front desk’s number lighting up my cell’s screen.
“Gia Stassi.”
“I see. Should I leave?”
“That’ll be up to her, Granger.”
We wait in heavy silence. Like with me, the world knows of Gia Stassi’s trauma, not because she’s the little sister of a billionaire, but for what was done to her rapists. Did Maddox mutilate those men? Does it matter? The men are forever scarred, mentally and physically, and so is Gia.
The doorbell rings. We stand. I approach the door. At the door, I check the image on the screen.
Were I clueless as to what had happened to Gia, I would think she’s a normal woman. Long hair the color of dark roast coffee cascades around her heart-shaped face. Her eyes are bright blue rather than bluish-green like her brother’s. She appears younger than twenty-two and is out of place in the colder weather dressed in a white tube top covered with butterflies, paired with a see-through royal blue skirt with slits down the sides from her bikini line to her ankles.
In that outfit, Gia is a mix of innocent beauty and sexiness, the see-through material giving everyone a view of her lace-trimmed boy short panties.
I must’ve kept her waiting longer than what she’s used to. Arms crossed and foot tapping, she glares at the camera. I open the door, and though she probably knows who I am, I introduce myself anyway before I step aside to let her in.
Gia steps over the threshold. I close the door and turn around, not surprised she’s staring at the large, formidable male staring back at her in the middle of the living room. Gia is as tense as a piece of string strung tight. A prey caught in the predator’s line of sight. And yeah, I can see Granger as the predator. He looks ready to pounce on Gia with the hunger in his eyes.
I make introductions.
“Gia, this is my bodyguard and friend, Granger Ward. If you would like him to leave—”
“It’s not necessary. What I have to say won’t take long.”
Beneath her terseness is something I recognize. Curiosity. Does she wonder how Granger got the scar on his face? Or is she curious as to whether her brother knows that his wife is alone with her rumored lover?
“Can I offer you tea or something to eat?”
It’s after one.
“No. Like I said, this won’t take long.”
“At the very least, have a seat.” I move aside. “Please.”
She looks from Granger to the couch. He’s blocking her path. I tilt my head. On cue, Granger moves to a spot behind the island in the kitchen.
Gia walks over and plops down on the couch with her arms crossed. The glower hasn’t disappeared from her face.
“Did you marry my brother for his money?”
Straight to the point, and I like that. It beats guessing h
er intentions.
“Our marriage is a business deal. He gets the sports car he’s been wanting, and I get his protection.” If she can be straightforward with me, I can be truthful with her.
“You’re in danger. Can I help?”
After what she went through?
“Maddox wouldn’t want you in harm’s way.”
“My brother doesn’t speak for me.”
I understand stubbornness and the yearning for independence from men with misplaced overprotectiveness. I also understand the amount of danger I’m in.
“Thank you for the offer, Gia. However, my men, Granger, and your brother’s security team are working on keeping me safe.”
Before he left for work this morning, Maddox, Granger, and I had a video call with his security team. They’ll work with my men, and at the end of the week, we’ll regroup.
“What are those?” Gia tips her chin at the manila folders.
“Missing persons’ files.”
“May I?” She picks one of the ten up.
“Go ahead.”
Granger and I watch in silence as Gia reads over the ten cases.
“These are the ones you’ll help?”
“Unfortunately, the foundation can only cover the expenses to help five families.”
“How will you choose?”
“We have the most success with the recent cases. Older cases take more resources.”
“Half are older. Half are within the year.”
“Yes,” I say.
“Have you asked Maddox for help?”
“I would like to keep my personal affairs separate from his.”
“But you two are married. What is his is yours. What is yours is his.”
“It’s not what we agreed to.”
“So it truly is a business deal.” Defeat in her voice. Is she wishing for more for her brother from this arrangement?
Before I can think over the reasons Gia would want her brother’s marriage to be about something more than money or business, my cell phone rings. It’s the front desk. What now? More unexpected visitors? I answer.
“This is Blaise.”
Mad Love Page 10
