I take stock of the scene unfolding in the kitchen. There’s flour and eggshells scattered all over the counters and the sink is overflowing with dishes. “Went a little overboard, huh?” I elbow her playfully in the side and she eyes the scene.
“Well, I just . . . I guess I just wanted to make it special.” Her eyes meet Reid’s and no other words are needed. She’s giving him the holiday he never had, just like he did for me.
Having his fair share of emotional conversation for the day, Reid kisses Momma on the cheek and excuses himself to go unload the Jeep.
“Thanks, Momma. You’re like a fairy Godmother or something like that.” I wrap my arm around her waist and she pulls me to her side.
Brushing off my words, she says, “Oh, it’s nothing. Now help me get this last batch out of the oven.”
As I’m bending down to pull out a tray, Reid comes back into the kitchen with his bag slung over his shoulder. I catch him checking out my ass and shake it teasingly for him. Momma, who I thought was facing the sink, catches our little exchange and laughs at us.
Reid drops his bag in the entry way and stands in the doorway of the kitchen staring at the two of us decorating cookies. Clueless is a word that would best describe the look on his face.
He literally looks like he’s afraid to offer to help, his manhood obviously in question. I laugh at him and roll my eyes as I walk across the room to the refrigerator. I pull out a beer, twist off the top and as I hand it to him, I say, “Go in the den. Turn on the television and go watch a game or something. We’ll call you when dinner is ready.”
“Thanks, babe.” He kisses the top of my head and struts away and down the two steps that lead to the den.
When he’s out of hearing range, I turn to Momma to clarify something that’s been on my mind. There’s really no subtle way to go about this, but I don’t want to be disrespectful. “Can I ask you something?”
My unsure question draws her attention away from the stack of dishes in which she’s trying to make a dent. Wiping her hands on a dishtowel, she leans against the counter and says, “Sure, sweetie. What’s up?”
“Well, I just wanted to know . . . I mean . . . where did you want Reid to . . . um . . . sleep tonight?” My voice cracks a little on the word sleep and she just laughs at me.
“You’re funny, Maddy.” She scoffs lightly. “Where do you think he should stay?” I take a seat at the table and she slides up next to me. I weigh the options of her test here.
It’s not the answer I want to say, but it’s what I know I have to say. “He can sleep in the den. I don’t want to be disrespectful.” She leans forward across the table and takes my hands in hers. Patting the top of my hands lightly, she says, “Good choice, Maddy. Good choice. Now, go get him some linens and let him know that dinner is almost done.”
As I walk into the den, sheets in hand, Reid eyes me suspiciously. I shrug my shoulders and say, “So it looks like you’re on the couch tonight.” I hand him the sheets and pull a spare blanket and pillow out of the hope chest.
Handing them to him, he arches an eyebrow, and says, “Sure, no problem. I’ll sleep out here.” When he emphasizes the word sleep, I get the distinct feeling that he’s got something up his sleeve.
Before I have the chance to ask him what’s going on in his head, Momma calls us back into the kitchen for dinner. As I’m pulling plates out of the cabinet, Momma tells us that Mel won’t be joining us. She’s out again and as much as I want to say “it’s no big deal,” I can’t help but worry about my best friend.
Over the course of dinner, the three of us talk about everything—the upcoming holiday, the doctor’s appointment, the possible apartment. I’m not surprised that Momma’s reaction to the apartment is a mixture of joy and sadness.
By nine o’clock, Momma leaves us in the den as we finish watching some syndicated sitcom. By ten p.m., I can no longer keep my eyes open. I kiss Reid goodnight, and even though I want to feel disappointed that he won’t be sleeping next to me tonight, I feel ecstatic knowing that at least he’s under the same roof.
Chapter 15
Saturday December 22, 2012
A loud thud at the front door makes me jolt off of the couch at around two in the morning. I hear keys jangling and someone saying “shhh” over and over again. The coat rack topples over and I hear, “Oh, shit!”
It’s Melanie and she’s piss-ass drunk, stumbling all over the place. She can barely keep herself up. I meet her at the end of the entry way and she gasps in shock. I guess she forgot I was staying here.
“You scared the shit out me, Reid,” she slurs. This is so not like Melanie. Maddy is right; something is going on with this girl, but now is not the time to figure out what.
I wrap my arm around her waist to support her drunken weight and help her up the stairs. She loses her balance a few times, but we manage to make it to her room in one piece. When she sits down on the bed, almost instantly, she flops backwards. She’s out cold.
I take her shoes off and somehow get her coat off as well. I throw a blanket on her and leave her a glass of water and a few Advil on her nightstand. She’s going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow, and if Maddy has anything to say about it, Mel is going to have lots of explaining to do as well.
Exiting Mel’s room, I softly close the door behind me and stand in the middle of the quiet hallway. Miraculously, no one else woke up. Hmm, if Momma can sleep through that . . .
I open Maddy’s door as quietly as possible and hope to God that I don’t trip over anything as I make my way to her bed. She’s curled on her side, hands tucked under her cheek. Her hair is all over the place and her face looks so peaceful. She is so fucking beautiful. It’s moments like these that I really can’t believe she’s all mine. I tuck a piece of hair that’s draped across her cheek behind her ear. She stirs slightly and mumbles my name.
She’s dreaming about me. My face splits with a wide smile knowing that she’s thinking about me.
I rid myself of my clothes—flannel pants and a T-shirt—and climb into the bed behind her. She reacts to the movement in the bed, but not enough to wake up completely. When I’m spooned up against her from behind, my desire blooms.
I want her.
Now.
I slip the thin strap of her tank-top down her shoulder a little and trace my fingers lightly over her skin. Needing to taste her, to lick her soft skin, I press my lips where my fingers just traced. She leans into my kiss, but she’s still not entirely awake. I’m curious to see what it will take to wake her up at this point.
Moving up from her shoulder, I kiss and nip along her neck. When I get to her ear, I pull the lobe between my teeth and bite at it tenderly. Laving over the same spot, I then kiss the outer shell of her ear. Goosebumps spread like wildfire across her skin and she shimmies her ass into my groin.
Pulling her tightly to me, I splay my hand out over her belly and melt a little when I realize it’s softer and a tiny bit rounded where it used to be flat and hard.
I trace the elastic at the top of her panties and when I have them pulled down a few inches, she comes to and realizes that I’m behind her. She gasps in shock and I lean into her ear again. “Shh. Be quiet,” I coo softly and her body relaxes instantly from its momentary panic.
She gladly assists me in sliding her panties the rest of the way over her hips and down her legs. She rolls over to face me and I pull both of the straps from her tank top down to expose her breasts, which have grown noticeably larger in the last few weeks.
Maddy arches her back, pressing her tender tips into my calloused palms. “Please, touch me, Reid. God, I’ve missed you.” Her voice is pitched low—a sultry whisper that makes my length harden and pulse.
I push her flat on her back and let my hands explore her body. My thumbs brush over her nipples and she convulses beneath me. Needing to taste more of her, I let my tongue dart out at her collar bone. Licking hot, wet, circles, I follow a path across to the other side of her body and when she
seems like she can’t take any more of my tongue’s delicious torture, I descend lower to the upper curve of her breast. She pushes up into my face, trying to get some relief from the tightening and puckering of her sensitive buds, and I shake my head admonishingly.
I shift so that I’m now straddling her hips. Holding her in place, I whisper into her ear, “You’re mine, Maddy. Now, stop moving, or I’m going to have to tie you to this bed to keep you in place.” I haven’t been able to shake the image of her bound to the bed while I lick every inch of her body out of my head since she teased about it the other day.
It’s too dark in the room to see her face react to my threat, but when she bucks her pelvis up into mine, I tsk at her and bounce off the bed.
Her robe is hanging on the back of her door. I pull the belt from its loops and straddle Maddy once more. I pull her up to sit before me and drag her tank over her head. We lock eyes momentarily and we silently ask and answer the question about this—me tying her up and her trusting me. Her breathing has changed and her body feels hot, scorching really, under my touch. She willingly lies back down and bares her naked body to me.
Clouds move in the sky and the bright moonlight shines through the window next to her bed. The bluish glow illuminates her skin and she looks more beautiful than ever as her skin shimmers and sparkles for me.
I pull her arms above her head, and looping the belt through the wrought-iron head board, I bind her wrists so that she can no longer move. I slip my finger between her skin and the soft, cotton fabric of the belt to make sure nothing is pinching her.
Placing my lips directly to her ear, I kiss her sweetly and say, “I can’t wait to taste you. A week is way too long to wait for this.” She squirms as my hot breath tickles her neck and ear. “Now, you have to be quiet and don’t move.” She moans my name and I press a finger to her lips. “Shh. Now. You don’t want to spoil this by waking everyone up now, do you?”
When she’s silent and still, I trail my fingertips lightly over her breasts and pull and tug on her nipples. Thumbing over them, they elongate and pucker beautifully. Hefting their full weight in my hand, I kiss circles around the globe of her breast, moving in ever-decreasing circles until I arrive at her impossibly hardened nipple.
I graze my teeth over it and pull the pink tip deep into my mouth. “Fuck, Reid!” she bellows and shrieks as I suckle her. Never removing my mouth from her breast, I reach up and place my other hand gently across her mouth to remind her to keep quiet. She nods her head briefly and I remove my hand, bringing it down to hold her other breast.
Nipples still firmly pinched between my thumbs and forefingers, I slink down her body, leaving a path of wet heat in my tongue’s wake. When I reach her pussy I release her breasts and use my hands to spread her legs open.
Kissing and nipping the tender, sensitive skin of her inner thighs, she begins rolling her hips, trying to push them up to my face. Holding her in place, I cup her hips in my hands. My thumbs trace along the V of her mound and she shakes at the anticipation of pleasure.
Nuzzling my nose along the juncture of her thighs, I inhale deeply. “Fuck, Maddy. You smell incredible. I bet you taste even better.”
“God, Reid. You’re killing me. I . . .” Her breathily whispered words fade into the moonlight when my tongue swipes over her drenched and dripping pussy.
I lap and lave every inch of her. She tastes heavenly and the feel of her slick and swollen lips against mine makes my cock pulse and twitch. I need to be inside of her, but not before she comes for me.
Flicking my tongue relentlessly over her hardened clit, I reach up to pinch her nipple again. With my other hand, I easily slide two fingers into her trembling core. Her hips roll and buck against my mouth, so I pull her clit into my mouth and suck on it mercilessly until she’s all but falling apart at the seams.
Lightly grazing my teeth over her sensitive nub, she comes against my lips—shaking, convulsing, bucking wildly and beautifully. I devour every last drop of her orgasm as she returns to this plane of existence.
Barely able to contain my own desire any longer, I kneel between her legs, my dick bobbing dangerously close to her slick entrance. I pause before sinking into her. Visions of me squishing the baby scramble in my head. Maddy senses my reluctance and she searches my eyes for some kind of answer. When I don’t say anything, she asks, “What’s wrong, baby?”
Shaking my head, I share my fears. “It’s the baby. I’m just worried about hurting it.” Maddy’s eyes sparkle with love as she says, “I’m fine, Reid and so is the baby. Please, make love to me.”
Well, who am I to argue with a request like that?
With my nerves calmed, I lay down on top of her so that every inch of our bodies touches. Cupping her cheek in my hand, I press my lips seductively over hers. I trace my tongue over her lips and dip into the corners of her mouth. She catches me off guard when she pulls my tongue into her mouth and sucks—hard. She bites and licks at my lips and when I pull away, she licks her own lips. “I love the taste of me on your mouth, Reid.”
I can’t control the rumble in my chest; the growl of pure male satisfaction knowing that this fucking beautiful and sexy-as-sin creature is all mine is a primitive and possessive noise.
Returning to kneeling between her legs, I hitch her calves up around my waist and plunge into her hot, wet channel. I move slowly—gliding easily inside of her.
I fall back on top of her and support my weight on my elbows. Dipping my tongue deeply into her mouth, I mimic the motion of our sex. Maddy wraps her legs around my waist even tighter and I feel her pull on her restraints.
When I feel her inner walls clamp down on my cock as her second orgasm begins to crest, I lose control. What started as a controlled and rhythmic love-making, spirals into a fast and furious fucking.
Her legs shake and tremble as she comes around me. With a few more deep strokes of my cock against her fluttering core, I come wildly, filling her and claiming her as mine and mine alone.
I reach above her head and untie her with one quick tug on the end of the belt. Almost instinctively, she wraps her body around mine, and when she places her hand above my heart and her lips to my chest, I pull her closer to my side.
Within a few minutes, her fingers stop tracing through my chest hair, and her breathing evens out. She’s so wrecked that she just passes out in my arms.
Inhaling the sweet and citrusy scent of her hair, I press my lips to her head and tell her that I love her. I know she can’t hear me, but I have to say it.
The alarm clock on her nightstand flashes that it’s nearly three thirty in the morning. As my eyelids start to close, I somehow find the strength to pull away from Maddy. We promised Momma that we wouldn’t share the same room, which seemed pretty pointless to me, but I don’t want to be rude in someone else’s house.
I chuckle at the realization that what Maddy and I just did was pretty fucking rude—and crude, and sexy, and fucking hot. Still, there’s no reason for Momma to know about it.
I slink out of her bed and get dressed. I make my way, as quietly as possible, back down to the den and try to get comfortable on the too-small couch.
I can still smell Maddy on my fingers, still taste her on my tongue. I can still feel her at my side and it is with those images, those feelings fresh in my mind that sleep claims me.
The next few nights follow in the same pattern—me sneaking into Maddy’s room to make love quietly but passionately.
On Christmas Eve morning, Momma and I wake before Mel and Maddy. Mel’s hasn’t stumbled in drunk again since Saturday night, but we’ve shared some uneasy stares at each other since then. With all of the last minute holiday shopping we’ve been doing, I haven’t had much of a chance to sit down and chat with her. I mentioned it to Maddy, not because I wanted to rat Melanie out or anything like that. I just thought she should know.
Momma slides me a cup of coffee and arches a suspicious eyebrow in my direction. Her glare makes me feel nervous. “What
?” My voice is laced with guilt, like I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar or something like that.
Your hand was in Maddy’s pants last night.
She chuckles lightly as she sips her coffee. “Oh, nothing. But I bet you two think you’re pulling one over on me, huh? I hear you tiptoeing back and forth from the den to her room every night.” She mockingly points back and forth between the den and the stairs leading up to Maddy’s room. Thankfully, she doesn’t say anything else about what else she hears. Thank God she’s being light-hearted. I’d hate to have really pissed her off.
I don’t know what to say, so I take a large gulp of my coffee. Somehow, apologizing for sneaking into Maddy’s room to be with her is foolish. There’s no way on Earth that I would ever be sorry for that. She’s pregnant and hopefully we’ll be living together soon enough, after all.
Before I can think of something intelligible and worthwhile to say, Momma chimes in. “I guess it was pretty silly of me to think you two would stay away from each other.” She leans forward in her chair and props her chin up on her folded-together hands. “You don’t have to sneak in there tonight. It’s okay with me, really. Consider it one of your presents, okay?”
I sit there still wordless. Sex aside, there was no way I was not going to sleep next to her tonight. I’ve been alone for the last four years, and waking on Christmas to cold and alone is the last thing I want, especially when I know Maddy is just down the hall.
Momma walks past me and stops behind me. She places a hand on my shoulder and I look up at her. She smiles warmly down at me and I can see that ‘letting’ me stay with Maddy is not a huge concession on her part. “You two are having a baby and talking about moving in together. I should be mad at your sneaking around, but you’re only young once. Besides, it’s not like you’re going to get her more pregnant than she already is.” At her last words, I nearly choke on my coffee.
The Love Series Complete Box Set Page 40