by Maggie Way
“According to Matt’s commander, it was an IED. The Humvee in front of his got the force of the explosion, but Matt’s vehicle took a lot of shrapnel. The goddamn hero was hit and bleeding and he still patched his guys up.”
“Does he get to come home?” Maddie asked, hopeful that maybe this was the incident that would make Matt want to come home.
“Probably not. His commander said he’d be back on his feet within a week.”
Her heart ached and she now understood her edgy mood all day. While she wanted nothing more than to dive into the brownies her mother had baked, chocolate wouldn’t bring Matt home and she’d regret it in the morning.
Maddie didn’t bother to tell her dad Matt had called Clarissa. The psychotherapist in her had all kinds of theories behind his actions and that ambiguous apology, but now wasn’t the time. She’d just drive herself crazy. There were better ways to take her mind off her worries.
“Love you, Dad,” she said, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before heading back through the house. She hugged her mother. “Matt’s fine. He’ll call when he can,” she assured her mother. “I love you.”
Then she bolted out of the house and into her car, heading into town.
“I hate bars, man,” Brent whined as they headed into Madigan’s, a tavern in the center of town.
“Yeah, but you love a damsel in distress,” Darren offered.
“But she’s your damsel, not mine.”
Darren had been surprised by Clarissa’s call. He jumped at the chance to see Maddie, even if she was intoxicated and worried about her brother. Since he’d been helping Brent gather logs, his friend offered to tag along, not realizing where they were heading.
He spotted Maddie as soon as they walked in, sitting at the end of the bar in jeans and a sweatshirt. When she noticed him walking across the room, a smile stopped her mid-sentence. She slid off the bar stool and met him in the middle of the room.
Without even saying hello, she moved her hands to his nape and pulled him down for a kiss with the potential to light the building on fire.
It had been a busy week, between the paperwork and all the meetings and phone calls to secure the money and purchase of the property for the equine therapy center, to finalizing the purchase of Chocolate, and a few of his staff members still out with the flu, Darren hadn’t seen Maddie except for business.
This was a nice greeting, but she tasted like wine, making Darren wonder how much she’d had to drink.
When he pulled back, she let out a sigh of satisfaction that had his heart racing even faster. “Can I take you home?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” she slurred. “No, wait, Clarissa is coming to pick me up. I can’t ditch the BFF for the BF. It’s breaking the cardinal code.”
“BF?” he asked.
“Boy. Friend. That’s you. I’m one lucky girl, too. You’re a catch.”
Darren wasn’t the type to do a happy dance, but being labeled Maddie’s boyfriend — by Maddie, no less — had him wanting to do a little jig right there in the middle of the tavern. “Thanks, but don’t worry about the cardinal code. Clarissa called me, asked me to come get you.”
“What? My BFF bailed on me?”
“Is that breaking the code?” Darren asked. Teasing her was too easy and with Brent chuckling next to him, Darren didn’t mind having a little fun at Maddie’s drunken expense.
“Not the code, but it’s definitely a BFF etiquette violation.” She patted the pockets of her jeans before patting her breasts. “Crap. I don’t have any paper. Quick, someone give me a napkin so I can write Rissy a ticket.”
“Are you sure you’re qualified?” Brent snickered. “I thought only the BFF PD could write tickets?”
“I’m an honorary deputy. You get that when you’ve had the same BFF your whole life.” Darren didn’t know how she was keeping a straight face through all this. Was she so drunk she was delirious?
“How did you get here?” Darren asked.
“My car,” she pointed in the direction of the parking lot, before spinning with little grace toward the bar and pointing at the bartender. “But Reilly took my keys. The big, bad ass bartender said he’d find someone to bring my car home.”
“I’ve got it,” Brent said, nodding at Darren with an amused grin. They had already left Bear’s truck in front of Maddie’s apartment in case she needed a ride.
“Is that your BFF?” Maddie asked after Bear stepped off.
Bear was as close to being a best friend as anyone, but Darren didn’t have the kind of bond with him that Maddie and Clarissa shared. “Something like that,” he chuckled.
When they got to his truck, Maddie stepped onto the running board and fell face first into the cab, her perfect ass taunting him. Given she was drunk and he was sober, she was off limits, but seeing her bent over like that inspired all kinds of fantasies. His desire wasn’t quelled with her giggling either.
“I might have had too much to drink,” she laughed as she got herself seated. Darren climbed in, aware how little room she’d left him. Not that he minded. He’d grown accustomed to having her sidled up to him in the truck.
“Buckle up,” he insisted, pulling his seatbelt across his waist and clicking it into position. Maddie grabbed hers and fumbled three times before she got it slung across her waist. Struggling to get it buckled, Darren guided her hand until he heard the tell-tale click that she’d finally gotten it in place.
“Thanks. See, you’re a keeper,” she said.
“You’re only saying that because you’re ambitiously affectionate,” he laughed, putting the truck into gear as her hand slid up his thigh.
Darren checked the rearview mirror and spotted Bear behind them, so he turned out of the parking lot toward Maddie’s apartment.
Her hand moved from his thigh, over the bulge she’d inspired when she was bent over the seat, her fingers wrapping around the button. “Maddie,” he warned.
“Shh, you’ll like this, I promise,” her sultry voice affirmed her words, his dick telling him to shut up and let her do her thing. Darren tried not to let his world be ruled from below the waist.
“I’m driving.”
“I know. You just keep on keeping on.”
He was surprised by her dexterity. She couldn’t buckle herself in, but she released his erection with ease and skill.
And damn, her hand felt good wrapped around him.
Darren focused on the road ahead, not the soft, firm caress of her hand. He wanted to throw his head back and let her have her way, but they’d end up in the ditch, or worse, so Darren kept his eyes on the road.
There was enough traffic to keep him focused, but it took a lot of damn effort. He was relieved to maneuver off Main Street, but being free and clear of traffic seemed to give Maddie new ideas.
He choked out a groan when her mouth surrounded him. Darren white-knuckled his grip on the steering wheel, muttering her name in another warning.
“You don’t like?” she asked, her voice playful. She didn’t wait for him to answer before she licked him from base to tip and took him into her mouth again.
“I’m trying to drive,” he growled, but he didn’t have the fortitude to pull her off him. Her mouth was hot and wet and when her little moans vibrated against his aching skin, all Darren could do was silently beg for more.
As luck would have it, her apartment wasn’t far, but even as he pulled the truck to a stop, she didn’t stop her ambitious affection.
The lights behind him switched off. “Maddie, you gotta stop,” he urged, not wanting to give Bear a show.
She didn’t relent, not even when his phone beeped with a text message. Darren eyed the rearview mirror and noticed Bear was still in the car. He checked his messages, finding a new one from Bear.
Where should I leave keys?
That was the question of the night and one Darren didn’t have the wits to answer.
“Maddie,” he pleaded.
She groaned in response and he nearly came
undone.
“Where should Brent leave the keys?” he asked.
She released him with a pop, the cold air making him wish her mouth was still surrounding him. She sat up, a satisfied smile on her face. “I didn’t know we were home.”
We were home … he like the sound of that, even if it didn’t mean anything except they were in the same car and he’d delivered her to her apartment.
Darren managed to get the hard-on tucked into his pants just as his phone beeped again.
Didn’t mean to interrupt.
With Brent following them, the headlights shining into Darren’s truck, he would have seen Maddie disappear below the line of the seats and then reappear. Plus, Darren wasn’t sure he’d kept the truck between the lines. Obviously, Brent assumed what had gone down … so to speak.
Leave ‘em on the seat, Darren typed.
Seconds later, Brent got out of the truck, giving him a mock salute and crossing the street to his own truck. Darren stayed in the truck to avoid an awkward conversation with his buddy.
After Brent drove off, Darren turned to Maddie, her hair tussled and her eyes hungry, but the sultry smile did him in.
“You want to finish this here or upstairs?” she asked.
“Let’s get you inside.” He had no intentions of finishing this, not with her three sheets to the wind, but he had a better chance of keeping his distance in her apartment than in his truck.
Darren grabbed the keys off the driver’s seat of Maddie’s truck before wrapping his arm around her waist. It was a long journey to the third floor, one filled with Maddie tripping every fourth step and giggling in between groping him.
He unlocked her door and flipped on the light in her kitchen. Maddie twirled around, biting her lower lip as she looked right at his crotch.
“Let me get you into bed,” he said.
She tugged her sweatshirt over her head, tossing it aside and removing her bra. “Bed is exactly what I had in mind.”
“Maddie,” he sighed, or maybe warned. She was beautiful, all feminine curves and soft skin and he wanted her. He always wanted her, but it was against his moral code to take advantage of a woman and she was in a state he didn’t want to take advantage of.
She turned, sashaying down the hall, putting a little extra swing in her hips as she shimmied out of her jeans and panties.
Darren stumbled as he followed. When they’d made love it had been dark and even though he’d seen her in tight-fitting workout clothes as the gym, nothing compared to the beauty of her naked form. As if he was a moth drawn to the flame, he followed her into her room where she turned and faced him, giving him an unobscured view.
“I still have seven pounds to lose, but I’m too drunk to care about you seeing me before I’ve reached my goal.”
“You’re beautiful,” he said, wishing he could show her just how beautiful she was.
“Come here,” she beckoned,
Darren stood his ground. “Maddie, you’re drunk.”
“Hammered, plastered, hah, I sound like a carpenter. Come here, now I want to get nailed.”
“We aren’t doing this while you’re hammered,” he said, going for sainthood.
“I’m drunk enough to confess everything, so unless you want to be scared off, you should just take off your clothes.”
“What do you have to confess?” he asked, intrigued.
“Feelings.”
“You think your feelings are going to scare me off?”
“My feelings always scare men off.”
“Not me,” he said. “Confess away.”
Her gaze narrowed on him. She pulled the blankets back and shimmied onto the bed. “After,” she said, patting the mattress next to him in invitation.
Chapter Sixteen
“Good morning, beautiful.”
As Darren came into focus, Maddie stretched in an attempt to push the sleep from her body. The cool morning air prickled her skin, making her nipples tingle to life. She bolted upright, grabbing the blankets piled at her feet and pulling them over her body. “Why am I naked?”
“You don’t remember?” Amusement lifted the left corner of Darren’s mouth, but Maddie was anything but amused.
“Would I be asking if I remembered?”
After a chuckle, he said, “You had a little too much to drink last night at Madigan’s. I brought you home.”
Ah, yes, Madigan’s. Maddie remembered now. After Clarissa delivered that message from Matt and she confirmed with her parents that her twin was alive, Maddie went to the tavern to drown in wine. She remembered Darren coming to her rescue, and — oh, wow, the ride home — but not much was clear after that. Since he was wearing boxers and a t-shirt, it hardly seemed fair she was fully exposed. “Thanks, but why am I naked?”
“You threw yourself at me. I insisted you were too drunk, but that didn’t stop you from stripping down.”
Oh, God. Were the lights on? Had Darren seen her naked? Despite her time at the gym, she still had seven pounds and two inches to go and no way did she want Darren seeing her naked with that much fat still to lose. “Did we have sex?”
“No. Like I said, you were too drunk.”
Relief washed through her. Maybe she had gotten under the blankets in the dark. Then again, he seemed to be wide awake before she’d managed to cover herself just moments ago.
“There’s some water next to the bed. I put a couple aspirin there too, in case you need it.”
“Thanks.” She didn’t need the aspirin, but the water would do wonders. She was feeling a bit dry. Fortunately, she’d had wine last night, so aside from feeling a little dehydrated, she wasn’t hungover at all.
“Clarissa was vague about what sent you on a drinking binge.”
Maddie took a long drink of water before turning to Darren. She still clutched the blankets, horrified he’d seen her. “There was an incident in Afghanistan, with Matt’s unit.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yes. He called early last night. I went to the bar to avoid baking and comfort eating. Wine probably isn’t a good substitute.” She’d tell her clients it was a poor substitute and that they needed to find a healthy activity to distract them, but Maddie wasn’t very good at taking her own advice.
Darren frowned. “You could have called me.”
“I’m not sure we’ve reached that point in our relationship,” she admitted.
“Is that what you wanted to confess last night?” he asked.
“Confess?” she asked, confused by that question.
“You were worried you were going to confess your feelings in a drunken stupor and scare me off.”
“Did I?” she asked.
“No, you passed out first, but nothing you confess is going to scare me off, Maddie.”
“I just wanted to be alone,” she insisted.
He eased closer, his fingers moving down her arm, leaving a wave of desire in their wake. “Do you want to be alone now?”
Before she could answer, his mouth claimed hers. No, she didn’t want to be alone. With the same urgency as the kiss, Maddie tugged the shirt over his head, tossing it across the room. His skin was warm, his muscles twitching under her touch. He helped with the boxers and she pulled away to steal a look at his incredible body.
If only hers had less fat. “Get under the blankets with me,” she said.
“I have a better idea. Let’s lose the blankets altogether.”
As Darren gave the blankets a tug, Maddie countered the action by gripping them at her chest. “It’s cold in here. We need the blankets.”
“It’s about to get very hot.”
By then, he’d be on top of her, unable to see the extra weight she still carried. “Well, I’m cold.”
He kissed her, slow and long, the caress holding the promise of so much more. Before Maddie could get lost in it, he pulled back. “I know what you’re doing,” he said, “you can’t hide from me forever.”
“Seven more pounds,” she admitted.
; “Maddie, you don’t need to lose seven more pounds. I love your body. I love everything about you.”
That took the fight out of her before she even got started. He loved everything about her? Was he saying he loved her?
“Darren—” she started, but no words followed.
His eyes widened before his mouth covered hers, and then she was lost in his touch.
He eased under the blankets, pulling her body flush against his. He was hard and hot and Maddie’s body responded with the same fire. He’d been right, it did get very hot, and very fast.
Her hand traveled down his arm and over his chest before moving down his washboard stomach and circling the hard length of him. His groan was accompanied by his hand finding the magical spot between Maddie’s legs and she nearly rolled onto her back in surrender.
She was surprisingly wet given her state of hangover, but then she’d never failed to be aroused when Darren was near, not since the first day she’d witnessed him working out in the gym without a shirt.
“Condom, drawer,” she said after nibbling on his lip just because it elicited another little groan from him.
He moved on top of her and stretched to reach the drawer. “This would be easier without blankets,” he complained, but tore the package open with his teeth anyway.
Maddie took the condom and rolled it onto his thick length, then guided him to her opening.
He pushed in slowly, as if to torture her, but it was the best torture she’d ever experienced.
She loved his weight on her. He was so strong, his muscles so firm under her fingertips as she stroked his back and his perfect ass. She couldn’t resist letting her nails bite into his smooth, hot skin.
He groaned, pulling away from her mouth. “You do that again and this party might end before it even gets started.”
Knowing she had that kind of power over his body was a potent aphrodisiac. “We wouldn’t want that,” she practically purred, surprised she could even speak in such a sultry tone.
Darren moved his arms under her back. She thought his intent was to give him a better angle to go deeper, but after a couple slow thrusts, he rolled them over so Maddie as on top.
Miracle of all miracles, he was still inside her.