by Alexis Davie
Madeline felt fire envelope her body as Ethan worked her clit once more. She felt her climax approaching, and this time, Ethan didn’t stop. He kept working her and she felt a throbbing that was deeply satisfying as she was on the precipice of ecstasy. Her orgasm hit her hard, slamming through her entire body. Her core clenched in time with the muscles in her stomach and she threw her head back, biting down on her hand to keep herself from screaming out loud.
Her back was rigid, arched, and she couldn’t breathe as the waves spread out through her body. She felt as though she were floating as the ecstasy continued to flood her system. She let go and allowed herself to float, to feel every cell, every nerve in her body.
With a final explosion, a final clenching, she came hard, her liquid pleasure dousing Ethan. She could finally breathe again and she sucked in a big, rasping breath that she released in a quiet sound that was almost a whimper.
Ethan took hold of her hips again and he flipped her onto her back. He was on top of her now, pounding into her. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, opening herself up to him and letting him go deeper.
He was moving quickly now, his body shaking as his own orgasm loomed. He pressed his face against her neck, nuzzling into her skin as he pounded into her one last time. She felt his whole body go rigid as he came hard.
He whispered her name against her neck in a low, lust-filled voice that almost sent her over the edge again. With a final tremor, Ethan climaxed, and then he slipped out of her and rolled to the side. They lay side by side, their bodies pressed together where they touched.
Madeline was sailing on a sea of contentment as she lay smiling, listening to Ethan try to get himself back under control. He had made her feel things she had never felt before, made her come undone at the edges, and judging by his shuddery panting, she had done the same to him.
When she felt as though she was back in control of herself, she rolled onto her side and put her hand on Ethan’s stomach. He turned his head to look at her and smiled. He was still panting slightly and she could see the sheen of sweat on his face.
“Holy shit,” he whispered.
Madeline laughed softly.
“Yeah, that,” she said.
Ethan turned onto his side and wrapped his arm around Madeline, pulling her close.
“I can’t believe that we can’t do this again,” he said. “But you know we can’t, right?”
“I know,” Madeline sighed, knowing he was right, but hating it all the same. “People wouldn’t get it, would they?”
“No,” Ethan said. “I almost didn’t come to you tonight, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“I’m glad you did. And now that we’ve got this, whatever it is, out of our systems, we can go back to the way things were.”
“Maybe we can hate each other a little less,” Ethan smiled.
Madeline laughed again.
“Yeah. That sounds good,” she said.
She could feel herself starting to get sleepy and she knew she couldn’t risk them falling asleep and their parents finding them like this in the morning, but she wasn’t ready to let go of Ethan yet. Once he left her room tonight, that would be it. They could never be together like this again.
She lay breathing Ethan in, enjoying the heat coming off his body, the way his arm felt heavy around her waist. She could hear his breathing changing, becoming slower and deeper. She knew he was falling asleep and that she should wake him up and tell him to go back to his own room, but she didn’t. She told herself she would stay awake and have him here for a little bit longer, and then when it was almost time to get up, she would wake him then.
It was a dangerous plan. Madeline could already feel her eyes closing, but she told herself it would be fine. She listened to Ethan’s peaceful breathing, his deep breaths lulling her into a relaxed state. As she let sleep take her, she couldn’t remember why she had thought it would be a bad idea to fall asleep in Ethan’s arms.
Madeline had barely gotten to sleep when she felt Ethan stirring beside her. She wanted to tell him not to go, but she knew he had to and doing that would only make it harder for both of them.
Still, the moment her door shut behind him, she missed him. She knew that what they had just done had been meant to get this attraction between them out of their systems, but it hadn’t worked. Or at least not for Madeline. In fact, for Madeline, it had only intensified her feelings and made her want Ethan more.
10
Ethan lay in bed. He was wide awake now, and he was already wishing he had stayed longer with Madeline. He debated going back to her room and waking her—he was sure she wouldn’t mind when she learned why he had woken her up—but he decided against it.
If he sneaked back in again, he didn’t think he would be strong enough to leave her a second time, and no matter how much they wanted each other, this couldn’t happen. It wasn’t just how people would perceive their relationship. It was the wolf thing. He couldn’t bear to tell Madeline his secret, even if that didn’t mean breaking his mom’s trust.
He knew he would never be able to sleep with all of these thoughts plaguing his mind and he sat up. He couldn’t go to Madeline, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do something to clear his head.
He went to the window and opened it. Usually when he wanted to turn into a wolf, he jumped in his car and drove out to a secluded wooded area on the outskirts of the town, but it was getting late now, and he knew he would be fine to roam the streets as long as he kept his wits about him.
He climbed out of the window and jumped onto the garage roof. He jumped again, and mid-jump, he turned. When he landed, it was a graceful landing on four paws.
He began to run. He ran almost blindly at first, wanting to leave his humanity far behind. It was impossible, of course. The wolf was him and he was the wolf, but it was still freeing to run faster than he ever could in his human form, to blend into the shadows and be almost invisible.
He ran at full speed until his sides began to ache and then he slowed down to a loping trot. He turned around and began making his way back to the house. He was starting to feel a little better and he knew he would just have to learn to accept that Madeline wasn’t meant to be his mate. He would just have to learn to control himself around her until he found his true mate. He had been wrong about her. If she was meant to be his mate, she wouldn’t have agreed with him so easily when he said what they had done couldn’t happen again.
He made his way along the mostly deserted streets. A noise caught his attention and his ears pricked up. It was coming from a car parked at the side of the road. The car was moving, rocking, and Ethan knew exactly what was happening in the car. He was a little surprised when he picked up the scent of the people in the car. One of them he didn’t recognize, but the other one, the male scent, he most definitely did recognize. It was Lee’s scent.
His wolf growled, low and menacing. He could rip open the car door and savage the fucker for daring to touch his girl earlier. But Madeline isn’t my girl, he reminded himself. She can never be mine. I can’t just go around ripping her boyfriends to shreds forever.
With a huge force of will, Ethan kept moving. He made his way back to the house and jumped over the hedge. He stalked around to the garage and turned back into his human form. He shimmied up the drainpipe and climbed back into his window. He pulled it shut and slipped back into bed.
He lay awake still, but now, a different dilemma was playing over in his mind. He didn’t know whether he should tell Madeline about Lee or not. It would raise an awkward question—how the hell he knew about it—but he figured he could tell her he couldn’t sleep and went for a walk to clear his head.
He didn’t want to hurt her, though. But would she be hurt? She hadn’t exactly been faithful to Lee either. She had slept with Ethan before Lee had done anything that he knew of with that girl.
That made the decision for him. Madeline obviously wasn’t planning on seeing Lee again if she had done that with him. That meant Lee
could screw whomever the hell he wanted to.
The dilemma solved, Ethan soon found thoughts of Madeline filtering back into his brain. He couldn’t get her out of his head. The way her mouth tasted. How her skin was so soft. The way her body had felt wrapped around his hardness as he claimed her. The way she had felt lying in his arms after the sex.
He knew it was going to be a long night of very little sleep and he sighed into the empty room. God, why did his mom have to have marry Madeline’s dad? Out of all of the people in the whole world, why him?
It was starting to get light when Ethan finally managed to fall asleep. He dreamed of Madeline. She was naked and beckoning to him, a flirty smile playing on her face, but he was stuck to the spot. No matter what he did, he just couldn’t make his feet move, and he couldn’t get any closer to her.
He woke with a start about an hour after he finally got to sleep. He felt tired and irritable, and instantly, his mind flooded with thoughts of Madeline. Of everything she meant to him, and how none of it mattered, because he couldn’t fucking have her.
He went to the bathroom to get showered and dressed, slamming the door behind him as frustration gripped him, making him feel like a coiled spring just waiting to explode.
11
Madeline gasped and turned it into a cough as her leg brushed against Ethan’s beneath the table. Her father gave her a strange look, which she ignored, hoping he wouldn’t comment on her cough. He didn’t and she relaxed slightly, going back to spreading marmalade on a slice of toast.
To say that this morning’s breakfast was a little bit awkward would be like saying that slitting someone’s throat was a little bit bloody. Madeline was hyperaware of Ethan sitting beside her, drinking orange juice and eating a croissant. Every time she so much as glanced at him, her body pulsed, sending a wave of pain through her. Her center was tender from last night and even without the throbbing desire Ethan was causing within her, she found herself shuffling constantly, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in.
“Madeline, are you okay?” Ruth asked. “You’re quiet and you seem… I don’t know… fidgety?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” Madeline said, feeling heat in her cheeks. “Maybe a little bit hungover, but nothing I can’t handle.”
Ruth nodded, accepting her explanation.
“Good party last night, then?” her father asked.
She dared to risk a sideways glance at Ethan and she grinned.
“The best,” she said.
“So, what do you kids have planned for today, then?” Ruth asked brightly. “Vic and I were thinking of going up to the park for a picnic lunch if either of you want to join us.”
“I don’t think so, Mom,” Ethan said.
Madeline felt lust and nerves pulsing through her body. She and Ethan were going to be alone together. Anything might happen. Except nothing could happen and they both knew it. No wonder the atmosphere around the breakfast table felt weird.
“Madeline? What about you?” Ruth probed.
“Oh, I’ll probably be hanging out with Charlie. Thanks, though. And besides, you don’t want Ethan and me ruining your romantic picnic,” Madeline grinned.
“I’m not sure romantic is the right word,” Vic laughed. “The Hansons are joining us.”
“Ugh, then that’s a definite no from me,” Madeline said with a shudder. “Those two and their constant PDA are more than I can handle.”
Vic and Ruth laughed. Madeline bit into her toast and shuffled in her seat. Her leg bumped against Ethan’s again, and it was too much. It might be easier if they were alone, but with Vic and Ruth sitting there, it was just wrong. She jumped to her feet.
“I’ve just remembered I left my straightener plugged in,” she lied, rushing from the room.
She went to her room and sat down on her bed to finish her slice of toast. She picked her cell phone up, ready to text Charlie and apologize for running out on her. As her fingers touched the cell phone, it buzzed and she grinned. Charlie had obviously gotten sick of waiting for her news.
The text wasn’t from Charlie, though. It was from Lee. He was asking her to have lunch with him today. She wrote out a text apologizing but saying no, but then she deleted it. She couldn’t be with Ethan. She might as well give Lee a chance. If nothing else, it would get her out of the house away from the awkwardness.
She wrote out a new reply.
“I’d love to. And I’m sorry about last night. I really didn’t feel well and I didn’t want to put a dampener on anyone else’s night, so I just slipped out.”
Lee’s reply came through quickly.
“Don’t worry. Charlie explained it. Meet you at 12 at the main doors to the mall and we’ll decide where to go eat?”
Madeline typed out a reply.
“Sounds good. See you then.”
God bless you, Charlie, Madeline thought. She sent a quick text message to Charlie, thanking her for covering for her and apologizing for running out on her. Her cell phone began to ring almost instantly and she smiled as she took the call.
“I would have called you, but I thought it was a bit early for you to be up,” Madeline laughed.
“It is,” Charlie agreed. “These early mornings are killing me. My head is pounding. So tell me everything about you and Ethan and cheer me up.”
“There’s not much to tell. And I don’t think it’ll cheer you up. We had sex and then…”
Madeline stopped talking when Charlie screamed down her ear. She couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s excitement.
“How was it?” Charlie asked.
“Amazing,” Madeline said without hesitation. “Easily the best sex I’ve ever had.”
“Then why am I sensing there’s a but coming?” Charlie said.
“Because there is. After the amazing sex, we both agreed nothing can happen between us again. It’s icky.”
“Icky isn’t even a word.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Well, whatever. You’re both consenting adults. You both want this. What’s icky about it? And don’t give me that brother shit. He’s no more your brother than I am.”
“It’s not just me being paranoid, Charlie. Ethan said exactly the same thing. Look, think about it. I’m your best friend so you’re happy for me. But now imagine it was someone else. Someone you don’t know very well, and you heard they were sleeping with their stepbrother. What would you think?”
“I’d think that if my best friend wasn’t involved, it was none of my business,” Charlie said carefully.
“And that says it all,” Madeline said.
“Okay,” Charlie said. “So, it might take a while for people to get used to the idea. So what?”
“I could probably get used to strangers judging us and learn to not care. But my dad and Ruth would be furious if they found out, and I really don’t want it to become a thing. I’ll just have to get over it. Which is why I’ve agreed to go on a lunch date with Lee.”
“Jeez, Mads, you’re terrible,” Charlie laughed. “You go on a date with a guy, ditch him, fuck someone else, and then go back to dating him like nothing happened?”
“Yes. Because I have to pretend like nothing happened and just forget about Ethan altogether. And my other lunch option was a picnic with my dad, Ruth, and the Hansons, of all people.”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Charlie laughed. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’ll be careful,” Madeline promised.
It was already too late for her not to get hurt. She hurt deep inside every time she thought of Ethan and their fucked-up situation.
She spent the next couple of hours hiding out in her room until it was time to head out to meet Lee.
“Can you drop me at the mall on your way to the park?” Madeline asked her dad as she came down the stairs and saw him and Ruth getting ready to go.
“Sure,” her dad replied. “Are you meeting Charlie?”
There was no point in lying. Her da
d would see it wasn’t Charlie who greeted her when she got out of his car if Lee was there before her.
“Actually, I’m meeting Lee, this guy I’m sort of seeing,” she said.
Madeline heard a loud clatter from the lounge and all three of them turned to look in there. Ethan bent down and picked up the remote control he had dropped. He looked angry, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look at Madeline. She felt a pang of guilt, but it wasn’t like they could be together, and being with Lee might make it easier all around. It would take her mind off Ethan and show him they needed to move on too.
“Oh, tell me more,” Vic said.
“Eww, Dad, no,” Madeline laughed.
They made their way out of the house, calling goodbye to Ethan. He grunted a reply and they got into the car. They were barely out of the street when Madeline’s cell phone beeped. She felt a rush of nerves when she saw it was a text from Ethan. Was he mad at her? It seemed like it hadn’t taken long for them to go back to hating each other and rubbing each other the wrong way.
Madeline opened the text. Her eyes went wide when she read it. Ethan had texted to tell her Lee had been with another girl after the party last night. She felt her stomach roll. She had done the same thing, and she couldn’t very well be mad at Lee, but it hurt her all the same. He had thought she was ill and went with another girl?
She thought for a second about what to send back to Ethan, but then it hit her. She had been with Ethan last night. They had left the party together. There was no way he could know what Lee did or didn’t do after the party.
She shook her head angrily and pushed her cell phone back into her purse. Ethan was just jealous, trying to put her off Lee. All that did was prove to her why she needed to do this. There was no way she and Ethan could stay away from each other if one of them wasn’t seeing someone else.