“What are you talking about? I told you I was coming back. Nothing has changed, you’re still mine, Maddie.”
Making two more turns, I pulled up in front of my house. I undid my seatbelt and grabbed my purse. I was going to end this call before I walked in because the only thing I wanted to do was go back to bed at the moment and cry.
“Owen, stop,” I said quietly. It was hard enough to hear his voice and I didn’t want to linger on what could have been anymore.
“No. I’ve been busy, that’s all—”
“Yeah, I get it! Too busy to call or text. You don’t have to drag this out. I can’t do this with you. I wanted to. I really wanted to, and I should have told you, but I didn’t. And I just can’t now.”
“Why? Because you want to date someone else? The woman that doesn’t date? Look, it took me three days to get back, Maddie. Then it took another week to get the paperwork done for the mess that happened. I also had to close down a few things.”
A handful of days, and that was supposed to excuse an entire two weeks of not hearing from him?
“Owen—”
There was a knock on my window, and I screamed.
The door was yanked open, and a pair of large hands grabbed me, pulling me out of the car.
When I was upright and able to focus, my eyes met a pair of familiar green ones.
Owen took a deep breath. “It took me this long to get back, Maddie. I just drove into town last night. The very last thing I wanted to hear was you saying you could and wanted to date anyone, anytime.”
My phone dropped out of my hand and landed on the ground.
He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. He had a shadow of a beard growing on his face and deep circles under his eyes as if he had been up for days.
“I—”
“Not another word, sweetheart,” he growled. “I swear if you say anything else that sounds like you’re breaking up with me, I will lock you in my basement for a week.”
“Your basement?” I squeaked.
He smiled down at me and winked. His eyes roamed my face like he hadn’t seen me in years. In some ways, I felt like it had been decades.
“Yeah, my basement, beautiful. I bought my grandparent’s old house. The movers just finished unloading everything this morning. I was going to surprise you but—”
I opened my mouth in shock. “What? You live here now?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I had to close up my business in Dallas, and that took a while. Noah is finishing it up for me. Then I had to buy the house, which was a nightmare of paperwork. Noah finished that up too. I had some outstanding jobs that I sent over to a security firm that my brother, Brock, works with. I’m sorry I didn’t call, I should have."
I huffed and rolled my eyes.
“I’m not good at this shit, Maddie, and I knew I would be back. But I should have called.”
“Yeah you should have. But…wait. You quit your job? Is that what you’re saying?”
He gave me a small grimace. “Yeah, I did. It’s all sold. I can get another job. Maybe not as exciting, but I can figure it out.”
“Can you afford that? I mean— I’m sorry I shouldn’t ask.”
He nodded once. “Yep. I can retire now if I wanted to. But I think I would probably get bored watching the grass grow and reading all those fancy literature books you require a perfect guy to read.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I never said they were required, just wanted. It doesn’t matter. So, you live here now?” I asked again, still trying to come to terms with that fact.
He smiled, pulling me in tighter to his chest.
“Yeah, sweetheart. I wanted to be where you were. I can’t explain it, and please don’t ask me to. I just need to be here. With you.”
Tingles lit up all over my body and I shivered. It had nothing do with the way he held me, or the way his unique smell made me feel. It was the look in his eyes that made me feel like the center of his world, and it was the unexpected hope that made me feel.
He hugged me tighter, as he kissed the top of my forehead.
“You moved here for me.”
He leaned back and held me so that he was looking directly at me.
“I told you to be ready, Maddie.”
I nodded. “Yes, but, I thought you meant dating and we were already dating. Kind of. I have no idea at this point what we’re doing.”
“It’s pretty simple. We’re dating. Consider this my serious intent to date you for a long time.”
He looked hesitant for a minute then said, “I missed you.”
Frowning, I thought about what Rachel said. That I hadn’t been expressive enough with him. Now was as good as any to tell him.
I squared my shoulders and put my arm around his neck. One of his eyebrows lifted in an amused arch and he smirked.
“I really missed you, too. I really like you, and I’m trying to tell you. I—Rachel said I just told you no, but it’s not what I wanted to tell you the day you left. I didn’t tell you before. Rachel says I’m really awful about it. Then you didn’t call, and I got mad.”
He chuckled. “I have no clue what you just said.”
“I missed you, too.”
“Yeah, I got that, sweetheart. And that’s why you’re mad.”
“Very mad. You never even texted.”
He sighed and gave me a little frown. “I’m sorry. I really am. I had a bunch to do and some things to think about. Time just got away from me and I feel like I’ve been running on zero sleep since I left. But I did think about you. Every day.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “Every damn day.”
I leaned up and gave him a kiss on his mouth.
His arms tightened around me and lifted me up slightly so that I was standing on my tiptoes. He pressed me against the car as his tongue swept my bottom lip.
I moaned and melted into him.
“Madison,” he whispered, and leaned back.
When I opened my eyes, his expression had changed from amused to extremely serious.
“Yes?” I asked, nervous that I had done this all wrong.
“We need to go inside now.”
“Did I do something?”
He shook his head, and his eyes swept down to my chest. “No. I just don’t want an audience for what I’m about to do to you, babe.”
“Oh. What?”
“Keys,” he growled.
As soon as I handed them to him he bent down to pick up my phone, then hefted me over his shoulder.
I swatted at his back as he walked across my yard to the porch. “Owen, let me down!”
“Not a chance, Maddie,” he said.
I heard the door open, and then saw the front door shut when he kicked it closed.
He carried me through the hallway to my room and kicked that door shut behind him too. After setting me down in the middle of the bed, he yanked my shoes off and tossed them in a corner.
“I’m assuming this is your room. It’s cleaner than the one across the hall. It’s like calendar hell in there.”
I nodded. “Rachel’s room. This one is mine.”
“Thank God,” he muttered as he took his shirt off. When he had it over his head, he stared down at me.
“How many men have you been with, Maddie?”
I squirmed. What an embarrassing question. I should tell him about Jason.
Shit.
Chapter Twelve
~Owen~
She shifted around like she was embarrassed for a moment, and there was a small pink tinge that surfaced on her face.
It didn’t matter how many guys she'd been with, whether it was one or a dozen, I was going to be her last. She just didn’t know it yet.
She opened her mouth, but I cut her off by leaning down and kissing her. I moved her up the bed by her hips and crawled on top of her.
She tried to say something, but I didn’t want to know. She was mine, and I wanted to show her what she did to me.
I slanted my mo
uth over hers and felt the softness of her lips yield to my rough kiss. She opened them, and I dove in with my tongue. She smelled like cookies again today. I would never smell another one without thinking of her.
She made a whimpering noise, and it only hardened my already uncomfortable cock.
My hands moved down to her waist, unbuttoning her slacks quickly. I felt her jerk against me then relax as I continued to plunder her mouth.
I pulled her slacks down to her thighs and felt the thin strap of her lace panties clinging to her hips. My hand moved up and found her green t-shirt. I shoved it up until I had to break our kiss to get it over her head.
“Owen—”
“Shh, let me show you how much I missed you.”
I looked down at her chest and nearly came when I saw her black lace bra. It held the two most perfectly rounded breasts a man could dream of, and I had dreamt a lot about hers.
I slid my hand around her back and unhooked her bra with one try. She spilled out of the cups and my mouth found her nipple. I flicked it once with my tongue then sucked.
“I have to—”
She screamed and arched against me.
“You’re so perfect, Maddie,” I whispered before I sucked on her again.
Her hands were all over the place. One was around my back the other hand had a firm grip in my hair. I didn’t give a fuck how hard she pulled at it, it just made me want her more.
“Owen!” she cried as I sucked her other nipple in my mouth and pushed her slacks further down her legs. When they were finally off, I slid my thumb under her matching lace panties and pulled at them.
The sound of them tearing made me groan against her mouth.
One of her hands gripped the back of my neck, the other was reaching for the hand I had on her bare hip. I made short work of my own pants. Going commando today had been one of my better decisions.
I continued to kiss her, sucking at her lips then moving to the side of her neck. I slid between her thighs, parting them and she clamped them hard around my waist.
She was nervous, I got it. So was I, frankly.
Of all the times I had been with a woman, Maddie was the first that made me wonder if I was going to be good enough. It was a grounding moment for me, wondering if she would enjoy what I wanted to give her.
She was squirming under me and arching her back. I was afraid I might blow my load as soon as I got inside of her.
She made a small moaning sound and it nearly killed me. It was the sweetest thing I had ever heard. I only wanted her to do it more.
I slipped a hand down to her opening and pushed a finger in carefully. I didn’t want her to be nervous, but I also wanted to make sure she was ready for me. She was wet as hell and tight.
So tight that it brought me up short for a moment. Maybe she hadn’t had sex in five years, maybe she was just built that way. But it felt like heaven parting her warm folds.
I softened my kiss on her lips and slid my finger in and out of her gently. My finger slid out, and up to her clit. I rubbed it with her own juices, trying to work her up.
Her breath caught. She made a tiny sound of pleasure as I nipped at her bottom lip.
“That’s it baby, come for me,” I whispered.
“Ohh,” she moaned again.
Her body began to spasm around my finger as I continued to slide it in and out. My thumb was rubbing her tiny nub over and over again. Then she threw her head back and moaned.
The primal part of me wanted to brand her, possess her, and make her scream so loud that no one else would ever doubt she was mine.
The muscles in my legs were beginning to strain in need. Fuck, I needed her and couldn’t wait anymore. Everything in me felt frenzied with the need to sink into her and claim what was mine.
My mouth found her nipple once, then slid up her neck to her mouth.
I slipped my finger out of her and lined the head of my cock up. I rubbed the head against her, then slid up to tease her clit.
“Owen,” she panted.
I kissed her again and pushed into her tight body. I immediately felt a resistance, then something give. She cried out against my lips in what sounded like pain, and I leaned back to look at her face.
A tear slid down her cheek.
What the fuck?
The resistance. She was tight. Virgin.
It was like my brain finally started working again. It hit a brick wall and stopped. A thousand emotions and thoughts flooded me.
She was a virgin.
My inner ego wanted to roar with satisfaction. She was mine, all mine. She was mine in every way. No man had crossed the threshold that I had just claimed.
The other part of me wanted to kick my own ass.
I knew this woman was important, and I had hastily taken something from her that was hers to give someone that she loved. She'd been engaged. Why not with him? She said she liked me, but it wasn’t the same thing.
I slid out of her carefully, trying not to do any more damage than I already had.
“Fuck,” I whispered against her wet cheek. “Baby, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?”
She gave me a small smile as another tear slid down her cheek.
I kissed it and tasted the salty flavor of her pain.
Her hand came up to my jaw and I looked into her clear blue eyes.
“It’s okay. I wanted you.”
I shook my head. “No. It’s not okay.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, as she turned her face away from me.
I settled between her legs and gently brushed my fingers along her cheek and temple.
“I’m the one who’s sorry, Maddie. You have nothing to apologize about. Nothing. I should have realized, but I got carried away. I just wish I could have made this better for you.”
She turned back to me, watching me stumble over my chaotic thoughts.
I sighed. “Look, I’m a simple guy.”
She smirked. “Not true.”
I kissed her jaw and the side of her neck.
“No, really. A simple guy that thinks you’re beautiful, smart and funny. That thinks you could probably get anything you wanted out of me if you just ask. Then you add matching lace bra and panties. My brain shut down and I should have asked.”
Her breath hitched when I kissed a spot right below her ear.
“So, I’m asking, Madison. What do you want?”
Her hand slid up my side and then around to my peck. She rubbed her hand across my piercing as I continued to gently kiss her neck.
The feeling turned my softening dick hard again.
I groaned. “Woman, you can’t play with those if you want to stop. I can go take a cold shower right now if you want but playing with those is like playing with fire.”
She turned her face into mine and teased her tongue across my lips. Her small fingers rubbed against the bar in my nipple.
The sensation sent a jolt through my balls and only made me harder.
“I want you,” she whispered.
I growled and gave her a hard kiss before looking down at her perfect face. The moment was seared into my memory. This beautiful, innocent woman wanted me.
“Stay here, sweetheart.”
I lifted off her and looked down. There was a small smear of blood on her thigh.
Her eyes slid from my face all the way down. My dick jumped when she landed those sky blue eyes on my crotch and her full lips formed a small “o”.
I smirked. I wasn’t in the least bit shy, and knew I had the goods.
Turning around, I opened the door and cautiously walked into the hallway. The last thing I needed was to run into her sister if she happened to come home. I marched toward the bathroom I had seen on the way to her bedroom. I opened a cabinet and found a towel that I warmed with water in the sink for her then took a spare out to wrap around myself.
Walking back in the bedroom, I took a long look at the woman on the bed. She was all soft curves and sex. Her lips were pink and swollen from my ro
ugh kisses. Her dark hair was spread around her face on the blanket underneath her. The smell of her permeated the room and I knew that I would never forget this moment.
My dick was trying take over again. I wanted to bury myself in her again and come up for air a few years from now. But if this was going to be my future, then I had all the time in the world.
“Spread your legs for me again, sweetness.”
She did as I asked, and I cleaned her off.
I discarded the towel and climbed between her spread thighs.
“Now, where were we?” I asked as my hand roamed over her hip.
She reached up and ran a hand over my nipple again. I grabbed it and closed my eyes.
“Madison.”
She let out a small giggle that made my jaw clench. God, she was cute.
I leaned into her and ran my hand up to her full breasts. More than a handful and yet not too big. I kneaded one of her nipples and felt her squirm under me.
When I opened my eyes, I saw that she was arching her back again.
“You like that?”
She nodded.
I ran my tongue flat over her nipple and she made a cooing sound. My hand cupped the underside and gently squeezed.
After sucking on each, I blazed a trail of small kisses down her soft stomach until I reached her pussy.
Her legs jerked when my tongue licked her clit. I wrapped my arms around her thighs, giving each a small nip with my teeth.
I worked her clit with my tongue. Licking, then sucking, I had her moaning in seconds. When I slid down to her opening, I found her wet again.
The taste was sweet and tart at the same time which made me think of her family nickname. Which wasn’t where I wanted my head to go.
I thumbed her clit, and then licked it until she was moaning so loud that I knew she was close. I sucked hard when I thought she was at the edge, and she cried out when her orgasm hit her.
“Owen. Oh, please!”
I raised up while shifting my hips and cock toward her. I gently nudged her opening as I leaned over her to kiss her. She moaned into my mouth and started playing with my piercings again.
Fuck, she was going to kill me.
Smoldering Heart_Fleming Brothers [Book 1] Page 12