All In

by O'Donahue, Fallon

  Cass wrapped both legs around him and used what muscles she could to meet him thrust for thrust, using the wall as her last means of support. Maddox burrowed his head in the crook of her neck, and she was buoyed by the grunts and moans coming from the back of his throat. His hot breath came faster, she knew he was close, and she clenched her muscles around him.

  “Fuck,” he cried, falling over the edge with one last thrust.

  Panting, he lowered them both to the floor, her on top of him as if he protected her from the cold hardwood under his back.

  “Mad…” she whispered. “We should-“

  “Minute,” he grunted. “Need a minute.”

  “Okay,” she whispered, running her hand down his chest, settling her head on his shoulder. His fingers played with her hair as his breath settled into a normal pattern. As nervous as she was to talk to him, she couldn’t help herself from reveling in this moment. Yes, they were on the floor in a heap of post-orgasm bliss, but this was them, together. This was her enjoying the feel of his soft skin, the light brush of hair in the middle of his sculpted chest. His legs entwined with hers, the soft hair tickling her sensitive skin. She watched his chest rise and fall and knew she was done for. She loved this man.

  She loved Maddox. She always had. It wasn’t easy to admit. She’d spent years thinking of him as a crush she could settle into a neat little spot in her heart, never a true threat to anything real. She’d pushed him away, thinking if he found someone real that she’d be fine. It didn’t matter how his touch made her feel. It didn’t matter that his protection and his smiles could make or break her day. No matter that he was the first person she wanted to call when things went good or bad or that his opinion mattered above all others. No matter that her heart skipped a beat when she caught his stare or that the world disappeared when he held her close. She thought none of it mattered.

  She had pushed it all away thinking that he’d break her heart because he didn’t feel all those things back. And maybe he didn’t. Maybe he didn’t love her, and maybe this would all blow up in her face when he became bored like he always did. But it wouldn’t make a difference now. He was here, taking over her heart, ruining her for any other man. There was no other. It would only be Maddox, and others would be ghosts living in his shadow.

  A tear slid down her cheek, and she tried to capture it before she wet his shoulder.

  “Baby girl?” he whispered as she failed in her attempt. Maddox brushed his hand over her wet cheek.

  “I’m okay.”

  I’m just in love with you, idiot.

  Maddox sat up, bringing her with him. His blue eyes bored into hers, a flurry of emotions assaulting her in that stare.

  “I’m sorry.” He looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath.

  “For what?”

  “This. I just assaulted you without a word. I threw you up against that door and fucked you. I-“

  Cass laughed, a good belly jiggler bordering on guffaw, and put a stop to what he was going to say next. “Maddox Paul, you can do that to me anytime. I’m not a glass doll, you know.”

  A sheepish grin crossed his face as he pulled her close. “I don’t want to break you,” he whispered, and his grin was marred by worry. Cass knew he wasn’t just talking about fucking her hard and fast up against the wall.

  She pushed him away and looked him in the eyes, her this-is-serious-business face making its appearance. “You are a stupid man, you know that? I like what we just did. I don’t know that I like where it came from, and we have some serious stuff to talk about, but you can make me come anytime you want, Mister, and that, I promise you, will not break me.”

  Maddox placed both his hands on her face and pulled her into a deep kiss. “We need to get up off the floor,” he sighed as he pulled away.

  “Well, I tried to tell you that before.” Cass smirked as they stood in all their naked glory.

  “Are we eating something?” she asked, taking a step toward the kitchen. “I’m hungry.”

  “Me, too,” Maddox growled, pulling her back to him and nibbling on her neck.

  Dinner would have to wait.

  * * *

  The thing about a few hours of hot sex post shots and beers is that one becomes ravenous for more than an orgasm. Cass finally put her foot down when, at 10pm, her stomach deciding eating itself was it’s only option.

  “Food. Fuel. Water. Something,” she whined as she grabbed the t-shirt Maddox laid out for her. His lazy eyes never losing their lusty gaze as the top shimmied down her body. “No more orgasms until I’m fed, Mister. Aren’t you in the least bit hungry?” She shifted her feet a little. Her appetite was one of those things that triggered her body-shaming thoughts. She knew she was hungrier more often, and though she thought the lack of dinner mixed with sex-exertion made her growling stomach normal, his lack of appetite for anything more than her body made her wonder.

  The responding growl from his own belly dispelled any doubts she had about herself. “That a good enough answer?” he laughed.

  “Come,” she grabbed his hand and pulled him up off the bed. The ripple of his muscles as he stretched his naked body making her a little bit wet. He really was beautiful.

  “If you keep looking at me that way, we might starve,” he teased as he threw on a pair of pajama pants.

  “Well, you are one tasty morsel,” she teased right back, but walked out the bedroom door to the kitchen.

  “You basically have enough to make spaghetti,” she sighed, grabbing the box of pasta and a jar of sauce out of his pantry. She checked the expiration dates, because she knew Maddox almost never cooked. She’d call it a guy thing, but she knew plenty of men that cooked for themselves. Maddox just rarely did.

  “I’ll boil the water,” he said, grabbing a pot from the cabinet and filling it with water.

  “Add some salt,” she handed him the shaker.

  “What for?”

  “It makes it boil faster, silly,” she laughed, keeping the next sentence about lowering boiling points to herself. She could be such a science nerd sometimes.

  He chuckled and poured in some salt. Cass measured out the pasta and dropped it into the heating water.

  “Shouldn’t you wait for it to boil?” he asked as Cass then handed him the jar of sauce to open.

  “I’ve never been patient enough, and it still comes out just fine,” she smiled, taking the open jar from him and pouring it into a bowl. She covered the top before placing it in the microwave.

  “Patience never seemed to be your weak point,” he hummed into her neck as he pulled her against him. “But it certainly is mine.” He reached down under her shirt and slid his fingers between her slit. In an instant she was soaked and pressing into his hands. “I love when you’re all domestic. So damn sexy.”

  “Fuck,” she sighed, whimpering as he deftly stroked her. “Dinner,” she barely made out before another moan took it’s place.

  “Come for me, baby,” he whispered into her ear before taking the lobe between his teeth and sucking. The sensation taking her over the edge into a sea of stars.

  Cass clung to him, her body shaking post-orgasm, not wanting to let the moment go. Damn, he just owned her.

  “Water. Boiling. Over,” she stumbled over the words as a loud hiss from the stovetop jarred them out of the moment.

  Maddox leaned her against the counter as he grabbed a towel to mop up the mess of steaming and spitting water that had rolled over the top of the pot. Cass, on wobbling legs, turned the heat down before answering the beeping coming from the microwave.

  19

  Maddox

  Infuriating, frustrating, ridiculously irresistible woman! How could she have kept him out of the loop for something as important as the redesign? The senior partners would’ve seen that piece of crap, and it would have reflected poorly on him. Did she have no idea what a chance they’d taken on him? Maddox Paul was the youngest COO in the history of the organization. They were looking to him for innovation, f
or ways to take them into the future. That website would’ve blown up in his face.

  Sure, she’d been doing as she was told, and he had given her strict instructions to play nice with Phil, but she knew better.

  So did Phil.

  It hadn’t gone well in his office, and Phil had pissed Maddox off, too. He’d told Phil in the beginning to leave the redesign to Cass. He knew Phil would overanalyze it and that his micromanagement would keep Cass’ team from creating something amazing. Phil didn’t listen, and instead they’d wasted a huge amount of time doing double the work. Instead of arguing that point, Phil pouted and yelled about how Cass was out to destroy him, and how of course Maddox took her side, because he had “some sick fascination with that bitch.” It took everything Maddox had not to hit him.

  Phil had accused Maddox of a lot of things in that meeting, all of which were true. He favored Cass. He had even before he realized he had feelings for her. It was true, and it was right. Cass was a fucking great employee. She went above and beyond what was asked, and she requested little in return. She never let him down. Not once. That didn’t mean they agreed all the time, but she never made him look bad, and she had the respect of almost everyone around her. Phil was jealous of that. He couldn’t replicate the devotion she inspired in him and her team. He ruled by fear and bullying while Cass ruled by, well, a little fear, but a lot of love, too.

  The thing that stuck in his craw most, though, was that Phil could be amazing. The guy had so much potential, and he was whip smart. He just needed his own team—to start from the beginning and not feel buried under Maddox’s shadow. Phil just didn’t realize what he needed to do to step out of it.

  Maddox chewed on another bite of spaghetti and watched Cass. She was so careful about her pasta to sauce ratio, twirling her noodles on her fork with such precision as to achieve the perfectly balanced bite. She grinned at him, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief.

  “What?”

  “Just thinking of all the ways I’m going to wipe that crease between your eyes off your face.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m still mad at you, you know,” he twisted more pasta around his fork.

  “Well, I’m still mad at you, too. Doesn’t mean I can’t compartmentalize.”

  He stopped mid-bite. “What do you mean you’re still mad at me?” Okay, he was ready to fight this out now. “You’re the one who almost screwed me over!”

  “No. I wasn’t. That was Phil. I, however, had a plan. A good one, too, and you ruined it.”

  “Was your plan to embarrass the shit out of me and Phil, because that seemed to be what was going on.”

  “No, and now I’m even angrier that you think so little of me.” she stabbed her pasta, her playfulness gone. Guess they were going to do this now, because there was no moving forward without getting through it.

  “I don’t, I-“

  “Stop. You think I was sitting there planning some big scheme to let the moron present a terrible design to the senior partners where I would then swoop in and save the day with my second design. Honestly, Mad, do you think me that horrible?”

  His eyes widened. That’s exactly what he’d been thinking. Why had he thought that? Oh, yeah, because that’s what he would have considered doing. “Then what…what were you going to do?” He just couldn’t see the plan.

  “Phil isn’t stupid, and I like my job. I don’t want his. I don’t want yours. I want mine. So my plan was to present him the final website and let him decide that it was shit. He would have, you know, decided it was shit. He knows better. And when he did, I would have had the other design ready. He would have still been able to present something worthy to the senior partners, and no one would have been the wiser.”

  Maddox was at a loss for words. She had thought it through, and knowing Phil, that’s exactly how it would have played out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t think I needed to. It all would’ve worked out.”

  “But-“

  “But what, Mad? But nothing. You rushed in—had to be the hero. Is that what you want to hear me say? That you’re my hero? Thank you for saving me? I didn’t need your rescuing. I needed your trust,” she stated, picking up her plate and taking it to the sink.

  He was an ass, wasn’t he? He hadn’t trusted her. He just jumped in and took over.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear as he stepped behind her and pulled her to his chest.

  “I’m sorry, too,” she whispered back as she relaxed into him. “I know this mattered to you a lot, and I should have told you what I was doing. I should have trusted you, too.”

  Maddox reached around and shut off the water. God, she was amazing. This woman knew him too well. She saw things he couldn’t see. Cass turned to face him, her hands on his face. “You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Not on purpose.”

  “Nor I, you,” he whispered back, their noses touching.

  “Then, is it okay if I erase that frown line now?” She ran her hands down his arms, her fingertips resting on the band of his pants.

  His hands brushed the side of her neck, pushing back her hair. His lips trailed lightly to her ear, “I’d like that very much,” he told her before suckling on her earlobe.

  “Mmmm,” she sighed as her hand reached in and stroked his hard length. He couldn’t help moaning at the feeling of her feminine hands wrapped around him, one pumping up and down, the other cupping his balls.

  Before he could say anything, she was on her knees, taking him into her mouth—the warmth of her lips, followed the the long strokes of her tongue, almost sending him into oblivion. For a moment he forgot where he was as he began to take her, hitting the back of her throat hard. He felt her suppress a gag, and eased up. Fucking woman could make him lose all control.

  “Fuck, Cass, I’m going to come,” he groaned, trying to pull out, but she just hummed something, the vibration taking away the last bit of control as he filled her mouth with his seed.

  He fell to his knees, taking her into his arms. Her lips glistened with the last of his come, and her eyes twinkled again with that mischief. “What?” he asked.

  “The line is gone,” she grinned, her finger touching between his eyes. “I did that.” He laughed.

  “Only you could,” he grinned back.

  “I need to go home, Maddox,” she sighed.

  “No, stay.”

  “We have work tomorrow,” she reminded him. Work. Dammit. All he could think about was how nice it was to wrap his arms around her. Feel her close. Be with her. That’s all he wanted.

  “Stay. We’ll stop by your place before work so you can change your clothes,” he pleaded.

  “I can’t,” she resisted.

  He looked he in the eyes. He didn’t want this to end. He wanted her here, in his arms, forever.

  Forever.

  Could that really be it? Could he want this forever? He kissed the top of Cass’ head that was pressed so comfortably against his chest. He was Maddox Paul. He didn’t do forever.

  20

  Cass

  Cass breathed in the familiar scent of pear and mint as she stepped back into her own apartment. She loved how her candles, even unlit, soothed her senses. She threw her keys down on the table near the door and wandered into her bedroom to change into her nighttime uniform: PJ bottoms and a ratty, old tee.

  She poured herself a large glass of wine and settled onto her couch before she let the whirlwind of thoughts assault her. She’d been putting them off, busying herself with emails, news, and whatever else she could use as a distraction since she’d called the cab to pick her up and take her home. Maddox had tried to convince her that he could drive her, but she knew that, had she spent any more time with him, he’d do something to convince her to stay, and she really needed the time to herself.

  She knew what he was doing. He was keeping her busy, keeping himself present to prevent her from getting lost in her own anxieties. It wa
s working, a little. But he could only do it for so long, and eventually he’d have to leave her alone to deal with her own issues. It wouldn’t make it better if she waited. In fact, it would only make it worse. She’d be entrenched in his life and her panic would serve to make her feel trapped and alone. She’d feel the weight of all the reasons why she shouldn’t be with Maddox, but without a way out of it.

  She took a swig of wine and let the heaviness of her situation settle on her. How had she overcome this before? She’d had boyfriends. Hell, she’d had a serious enough boyfriend that at one point she considered marrying him. She let her mind race back to that time when she’d thought she found the One. The time before she realized that Blaine just wasn’t that into her, and honestly, she wasn’t that into him, either. Sure, it had started off hot and heavy with Blaine, getting serious fast. He’d taken her to meet his family after dating only a month. She was the one who’d held back. She couldn’t figure out why he was so into her. He was shaped like a baseball player, and had a brain like a neuroscientist. But even then, a part of her had known she needed more.

  Blaine started off sweet, buying her flowers, surprising her with picnics and taking her to her favorite movies. He’d doted on her. When they’d finally had sex, he took it slow. But that was the thing with him. He took it slow in the bedroom and too fast emotionally. Eventually they found an easy rhythm that settled into boredom. Their sex life always bordered on adventurous, but never really got there. In six years, she’d had maybe three orgasms, and only one when he was inside her. They’d talk about being more daring, talked about fantasies, but they never acted on it. The blandness of their relationship turned into blandness in the bedroom. She was bored.

  That’s when she knew it had to end. Once they both realized they were bored, bitterness set in, and that’s when he started making her feel bad about herself. He’d fueled her insecurities, telling her when she was gaining weight, eating too much, acting too smart. He’d criticized everything about her. She wasn’t much better, either. Even when she’d tried, she never went all out like she had in the beginning. Their romance faded, and finally he took control and broke it off. She knew she should have done it. Hell, she’d tried a million times to work up the courage, but she would chicken out every single time.