Madi stood quickly and turned away from the scene as applause rang out all around her, her emotions too great to stay.
She was breathing hard as she moved into the kitchen from the patio, holding her chest as she attempted to calm the panic attack coming on. This had happened several times when Hunt had first died, and she’d let the grief almost consume her. She still had them on occasion, but they weren’t as frequent now as they were in the beginning. She continued to move through the kitchen, finally stopping in the butler’s pantry and leaning against the counter. She closed her eyes and told herself to relax.
Soon, she was able to see without spots and breathe normally, but just as she turned to rejoin the party, Lang stood in her way, giving her a disturbing grin that stilled her blood. She gulped as he stepped forward.
“You ok, Madi?”
She nodded and made to move around him. He caught her arm and pulled her into his chest, backing her into the counter.
Panic rose in her gut. She gulped again as his knuckles moved over her cheek and his eyes appraised her body, clad in nothing but her bikini and the thin cover-up that did nothing to cover anything up at this point.
“You’re so beautiful. I think I know what you need, baby doll.” He motioned down to his crotch which she could feel was stiffened against her.
She stifled a whimper, hoping someone would be stumbling in to check on her very soon.
“It’s been a long time for you, I heard. Perhaps it’s time to remedy that, don’t cha think?”
She couldn’t move as fear held her captive, Langley’s face coming down on hers. His lips were rough as they moved against her own. Her attempt at pulling back did nothing, for there was nowhere for her to go.
Madi struggled to scream even as he lifted her and braced her hips with his own. She was resisting and pushing against his chest even as she heard the zipper of his pants give way. She screamed loud as she shoved with all her might, but to no avail. He was simply too big and too strong for her to fight him.
This wasn’t happening. He wasn’t going to do this. He wasn’t—
“Lang, dude, what the fuck are you doing?” It was Pax.
Oh, thank God! “Paxton—” she began, but he was already moving, his big arm reaching for Lang’s shirt and pulling him backward. Madi fell abruptly to the ground with an, “Umph,” as Langley’s grip immediately loosened around her.
“Pax, what the—?” Brett asked and frowned as he realized what had just happened. Suddenly his eyes turned murderous, and he lunged for Langley’s throat. “You motherfucker, I’ll fuckin’ kill you!” The roar that escaped Brett’s lips was animalistic, and Madi stood to stop him from murdering Lang.
TJ grabbed Brett’s arm before he made it to the man’s throat, and he and Pax moved in to hold Brett back, for they were the only two as broad as Zeus was. Quil, Travis, and Linc were there then, grabbing Lang even as Brett fought to get to him. Brett was as furious as a bucking bronco, and Madi came forward to try and help, cupping his cheek and telling him to look at her.
“Calm down, baby. I’m ok. I—”
“Let me go, Pax. Fuckin’ let me go, right now or I swear to God!”
“No can do, bro. I can’t win a Super Bowl if my QB is injured. It’s not happening.” Pax held tight, but Brett’s adrenaline was fueling him, giving him inhuman strength.
Quil and Linc took Lang out of the room even as Brett yelled to him. “You filthy bastard, I’ll fucking kill you if you ever touch her again. You sorry piece of shit!”
“Brett, baby, it’s ok,” Madi cooed and finally got him to stop struggling; Pax and TJ looked exhausted.
“Call the fucking cops, Trav. He ain’t getting away with that shit this time. Madi, baby, did he hurt you?” His eyes softened for a brief moment as his focus moved back to her, then he erupted again. A volcano of fury. “I’ll fucking kill him, I’ll—”
“Shh, I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.” Brett’s eyes flashed with pure rage, but Madi reassured him once more. “Brett, I’m fully clothed.”
All the while, Madi was shaken to her core, fearing the man was going to rape her. She was grateful he hadn’t gotten any further than he had.
Brett looked her over carefully, assessing for any marks before she finally got him to relax a little. TJ released Brett first, but Pax wasn’t apt to let him go too soon. Brett swore he wasn’t going to attack Langley, but Madi wasn’t so sure. She threw herself into his arms when Pax finally let go, knowing that her presence calmed her captain.
“Oh, Madi, baby, look at me.” He pulled her face up and touched her, his eyes darting her body for any sign of harm. When he was satisfied, he sighed heavily. “Are you ok?”
She held her tears and horror back, drawing every ounce of her willpower out as he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her softly yet possessively, treating her with delicate hands as if she were fragile cargo.
He sighed once more as he kissed her forehead and looked deeply into her eyes. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to stop him.”
“Don’t. He didn’t do anything.”
“He assaulted you,” Brett growled. “Again! I swear, Sunflower, if he’d have—”
She didn’t let him finish as she leaned up on her tiptoes and took his lips again. When she pulled back, he groaned as if in pain. “Don’t do that to yourself. He didn’t rape me. I’m fine. You rescued your damsel and, trust me, you’re gonna get the girl.” She winked, but Brett’s scowl didn’t lighten. She rested her head on his chest and waited until his heartbeat calmed before they moved into the kitchen, where Val and Sky looked up at her, horrified expressions on their faces.
They doted over her and made sure she was ok as Travis and TJ talked to Brett.
The cops came not long after, and Brett was present as they took Madi’s and Paxton’s statements. All the while, Madi was pretty sure Brett was gonna go Hulk on Langley in the next room over. Much to her surprise, he was able to hold his rage in.
The cops arrested Lang, and they saw everyone out. Madi apologized to Trav and Sky, feeling bad about their engagement being ruined by the incident. They were simply grateful she was alright. Madi hugged Pax tightly, thanking him for all he did and for rescuing her.
“Damsels in distress are my specialty, Mad,” he smarted and got a giggle out of her.
TJ, Linc, Val and the boys, Quil and Quinn all left after that, following gratitude and hugs, leaving Brett and Madi to the giant house alone.
Her flip-flops echoed in the marble foyer, and she looked around, as if she were seeing the grand entrance for the first time even though she’d lived in this house for five years. She looked from the staircases to the ceiling and down, to Brett who’d walked up to her.
He ran a big palm from her back up to the tips of her hair then moved his fingers through the unruly curls. “Are you ok, baby?”
Having him call her baby made her feel so many incredible things. Hunt had always called her babe, which annoyed the shit out of her for some reason. Madi just nodded and looked up at him. God, he was so handsome. His square jaw set and slightly scruffy from the day, his broad frame filling out the muscle tank he wore, his emerald green eyes sparkling, his own hair unruly.
Madi turned into him, letting her chest rest against his. Brett sighed, a man at peace in the presence of the woman he loved. She grinned up at him and moved her hands up his big arms to his shoulders. Her fingertips glided through his brown hair.
“Brett, do you remember your first time?” she asked randomly, wondering who and how many women he’d had in his past. She only knew of a few he’d dated for longer than six months and never more than a year.
His jaw clenched. “I’d rather forget it…because it wasn’t with you.”
Madi’s eyes darted away for a moment before answering his frown with her own. “How did you do it?”
“It wasn’t easy, Madison. Truthfully, most of my sexual conquests weren’t done when I was sober.”
She remembered his la
st steady girlfriend and the words she’d said, the sadness on her face, when she’d come to Madi’s office and told her how “lucky” she was. Madi had no idea what Hailey had meant then; security had come to escort her out after she’d laughed maniacally back into Madi’s shocked face.
“How long have you loved me?” she asked randomly.
“A long time, my Sunflower.” His stern face softened some as he cupped her cheek.
“When did you know?”
“I guess we were in high school before I really knew I was helplessly lost for you. You remember that game where my shoulder got dislocated?”
“Are you kidding? Of course I remember that game! I thought I was going to have to kill someone to get to you.”
“I remember seeing you rushing to that stretcher. Your long ponytail swaying as you pushed those players to get out of your way.” He laughed, the deep rumble vibrating his barrel chest.
“I tore my cheer uniform that night, and Momma had to sew it that weekend. But I was so scared. I was screaming at them to get out of my way.”
“I remember you coming up to me and taking my hand. The fear in your eyes was what did it. I was so happy, despite the pain, because I knew you loved me then even if you’d never said it, even if I hadn’t told you. I knew we were going to be together, and that made everything ok.”
“I cried so hard before Momma got me to the ER.”
“Why? You saw that I was fine.” Brett gave her an amused look. “Hell, the trainer was hell-bent on setting it before the EMTs even put me in the ambulance.”
Even now, Madi was tearing up, remembering that horrible tackle and his roar of pain as he fell. “I was so scared that you weren’t going to be able to play football anymore. It was what you loved more than anything—your passion, your gift—I was so frightened you wouldn’t be able to do what you loved.”
Brett grinned at her and leaned his head down to kiss her forehead. “I would’ve given it all up to have been honest with you from the very beginning about how I felt and have you for my own, the way it should’ve always been.”
Madi gaped as she looked up at him. Jesus, he was telling the truth. She swallowed hard and held his gaze, for it pierced her soul as it never had before. “You can still have me for your own, starting right now.”
He knew what she was saying and they stood unmoving for a moment, his eyes searching hers for any sign of hesitation, but there was none, not anymore. His Adam’s apple bobbed then suddenly his head moved as did his hands. One moved to the back of her head, the other gripped her bottom as he lifted her. Their lips connected, hard and possessive, and Madi moaned at the contact. She would never stop loving those perfect lips of his!
Her legs wrapped around Brett’s middle as he began to move from the base of the stairs and up the steps. Madi’s grip was tight around his big neck and her focus was on his mouth, his beautiful mouth that was kissing her like he was a man on fire; her lips the only thing that could extinguish it.
He had them through the door of the bedroom, pulling at the sorry excuse for a bathing suit cover-up, before he stopped dead in his tracks, looking around. He frowned, realizing this was the room she’d shared with another man, the man who’d taken her first, the man she’d been married to, the man who wasn’t him.
“It’s ok, Brett.” She reassured him, but she could see that he wasn’t ok with that, he’d never been ok with it. She started to say it wouldn’t matter where, for she and Hunter had made love all over this house, except for one room and Brett knew exactly which one, as if reading her mind.
He moved them to the opposite wing of the house, practically running at this point, and if his mouth hadn’t been back on hers, she would’ve laughed at his rush to get to her. But soon, he was bolting through the guest room door and her back was hitting the mattress as the mountain of a man covered her body with his own.
Her string bikini top was the first thing to go, and Brett’s massive hands squeezed and loved her breasts as her head flew back in passion. “Mmm,” she purred as his mouth loved one breast then the other. His hands began to undo the strings on her bottoms, and he ripped them off, a man crazed. Madi’s entire body literally hummed, ready for him, ready for the big member that was hiding behind those black swim trunks he was pushing down his hips.
When she saw it she moaned again, she wanted to feel his girth filling her like nothing she’d ever wanted before. She reached for him before he’d even gotten the trunks past his knees and squeezed the thick shaft with her fist, getting a growl out of him that made her sex tingle.
“Oh, Brett, I want you inside me. Now. Please?” she begged even as he moved atop her and aligned their bodies.
He brought an elbow next to her head, looking deeply into her eyes. One hand moved into her hair, his other hand cupped her face then descended her torso achingly slowly. His calloused palm covered her belly then hovered over the apex of her thighs. She felt his fingers separate her wet folds as she opened her legs wider and gasped when he dipped a finger inside her, preparing her further.
“I was so scared tonight, Madi, my beautiful Hera. The thoughts of another man…”
“Don’t do that to yourself, my love. He didn’t—”
“Even still. I’ve never wanted to kill someone as much as I did tonight. And I could’ve. I wanted to.”
“Shh, it’s over now.” Her hand caressed his square jaw. “I’m yours. I’ve always been yours. Now make me yours, Zeus.”
His brows drew and he gulped. Unspoken words passed between them. Years of pent-up emotions, desires, longing. Finally, Brett’s face relaxed into a subtle grin. “I’ve wanted you for so long, Madi. Just like this. I imagined this, dreamed it, yearned for it. For so long, so very long.”
The fingers in her hair stroked, just as his digits inside her did, and she whimpered and arched her hips, needing more.
And now you’re gonna get me, so take me, she wanted to plead but moaned again as he plunged deeper, two fingers this time. He withdrew and brought them to his lips, licking the nectar from them and making her desire skyrocket.
“Mmm, I love your taste, sweet baby.” Brett moved his wet fingers to her parted lips, letting her taste the combination of him and herself before switching them out for his tongue. Madi whimpered as he kissed her, her walls clenching as his fingers returned within her.
A growl came from the back of his throat then he said, “I wasn’t the first man to be inside you Madison Hope, but I will be the last.”
Madi didn’t protest as his big palm moved to grip her hip, his own hips arching. He let her hand guide his sex to hers. She felt the head of his shaft pierce her opening, gasping as her body hummed with vibrating energy. “Oh God,” she moaned as she felt him sliding inside her. Her hands moved up his back to his shoulders gripping him tightly as slow, incredible increments of time passed while he filled her womanhood with his steely member, in all the way to the hilt. When he settled over her, he kissed her mouth, letting her body accommodate to his size before he moved, withdrawing and plunging again. “Mmm.”
“Oh, Madi, baby. You’re even sweeter than I ever dreamed you could be.” He drove in deep as she wrapped her legs around him and pulled his body ever closer.
“Brett,” she whimpered, realizing what this moment meant. How in love with him she was and how incredible the union between them. How amazing his sex felt buried within her own, two contrasting pieces aligning together in perfect sync.
“Madison, my love, my queen, my heart.” He cupped her cheek as he made love to her tenderly, with both his erection and his eyes. His hands moved to her breasts, worshipping her flesh, then his mouth took her nipple and he suckled ever gently. He moved to the other breast before his head came back up and he gazed into her eyes as he claimed her.
She gasped as her head began to fall back in ecstasy. She was close to the edge, the head of his shaft making spirals of pleasure ripple through her. She gripped his biceps and absorbed his momentum, moving her hips each
time he lunged, ever so leisurely—as if he had all the time in the world to hit that incredible spot over and over and over again.
Madi’s entire body began to quake with each plunge, and Brett chuckled in pleasure, basking in her responses. His hips angled, stroking her with his sex, loving her like she’d never been loved before. Zeus was skillfully and exquisitely coaxing her body to yield to him—a submission of unbelievable bliss.
And Hera was helpless, splayed wide, his to control, to command, to dominate as he saw fit. Her breaths were ragged as were his while his speed began to increase, the need for release taking hold of him.
“Oh, Brett. I...” She could feel the tingling beginning somewhere deep inside her.
“Mmm…yes, my love. I know.”
“Oh, oh, oh.”
They came together. In a harmony of moans, gasps, and shudders. Her body squeezed and milked him as he continued to rock inside her long after their climaxes had subsided.
“Oh, my sexy goddess…” His body shook as her walls squeezed around him again. “God, that felt amazing. I almost came the minute I was seated inside you.”
Madi just blushed in response, feeling unabashedly sexy in that moment.
He grinned down at her and kissed her again, his hand languidly caressing her breast and bringing her desire full throttle once more. He suckled her and had her bucking against him before he shifted and moved her atop him in one smooth motion.
Brett’s hands guided her hips as she began to ride him, her god of the gods, and love him with her body this time. His hands cupped her breasts as he watched her with pride, happiness, and domination. She was his. She’d always been his. Now their bodies were finally harmonizing, culminating, the way their hearts always had prior to now. It was beautiful, it was exquisite, it was love. Truly. Completely. Irrevocably.
“Mmm, my mighty Zeus,” she cried as she felt another mind-blowing orgasm coming on. “I love you. I love you so much.”
He groaned in pleasure, the larger-than-life, sexy god king beneath her. “I love you, my queen. Always and forever.”
FALSE START (Gods of the Gridiron Book 2) Page 18