24. Nate
It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from my chest. I’d been holding in those feelings for so long that I had intensified them until they were almost unbearable. Even when I’d confessed some of the details to Brent, I’d never let him see how deep the wounds had cut. That had been my greatest burden to bear.
But Madison had taken some of that weight and then she’d helped me toss it away. When she looked at me, it wasn’t with pity. It was with the same attraction and adoration as always, though laced with a deeper desire now that we’d given into our urges.
When she asked me how I wanted to spend the day, I’d taken her into the bedroom and held her close while we both caught up on sleep for a couple of hours. Then we spent some time with Meadow and her new kittens. We made lunch together in the cabin and Madison told me stories about her life on the road.
It was nice to hear more about her life since she was usually reluctant to talk about it. I got the impression that she was embarrassed about her career and the absurdity of being famous. I saw how she’d shied away from the prying eyes when we were at the hockey game. I knew that she had noticed the sounds of increased traffic on the main road as nosy locals drove by to see if they would get a glimpse of her. She’d kept all the curtains pulled.
“I was thinking I could talk to Chase and we could go stay in one of the ranch’s Airstreams this weekend,” I said as I was rinsing our dishes from lunch. “It might be nice to stay secluded for a couple of nights. And we’ll be out there anyway for Sunday dinner.”
Madison was so quiet behind me that I thought maybe she’d left the room. Before I could turn to check, her arms wrapped tight around my waist and I felt the press of her lips to my shoulder blade. “That sounds like a perfect way to spend the weekend. But then again, as long as I’m spending it with you, I don’t care what we do.”
Madison Moore was the best kind of balm for my aching heart. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve her, but I wasn’t going to question it. She was mine for now and that was all that mattered.
When it was time to open the bar, she insisted on tagging along. I thought she might not want to venture out into public now that everyone in town was on alert to her presence, but she pointed out that the bar wouldn’t be very busy on a Tuesday night and the clientele likely wouldn’t give a damn about her fame.
She was right. We only had a couple dozen patrons throughout the night and all of them were older locals, most of them men. None of them showed interest in Madison other than a double take when they realized she was gorgeous. She sat at the bar and kept me company during the lulls. When I locked the door after the last customer left, she gave me a lustful look that had me bending her over the bar.
“I’ve wanted to do this all night,” I growled in her ear. “Are you sure you’re not too sore from last night?”
“I’m not. I want you moving inside me. Now.” She pushed her ass against my already hard dick.
I yanked down her pants and worked the button and zipper on my jeans in a hurry. As my cock pressed against her bare ass, I slipped a hand between her legs and let out a relieved breath. She was already soaked. “You’ve been thinking about this all night, too, haven’t you?”
“All day and night,” she breathed. Her moan as I slid into her tight heat made my balls tighten painfully.
“You are so fucking tight, babe. You feel incredible.” I slid my hands underneath her shirt and groaned when I found nothing but soft skin. “No bra? You’re always ready for me.”
“Move, honey.” She wiggled her hips and arched her back. My girl was already learning how to get what she wanted.
“I’ve created a monster.” I smiled against her neck. “Hold onto the bar, Madison. I’m not going to be gentle.”
“Good.” She wrapped her fingers around the edge of the bar and looked over her shoulder, green eyes full of lust. “Make me scream your name, Nate.”
Challenge accepted. My thrusts were hard and fast, unrelenting as I chased a release that I knew was going to feel incredible. I wedged a hand between the bar and Madison’s body, sliding a finger through her wet folds and finding her clit.
“Yes,” she hissed.
I felt the first pulses of her walls around me and pressed harder with my finger. She erupted with a loud cry of my name as her legs shook and her inner walls pulsated hard, drawing out my own climax with a loud grunt as I released with several hard jerks. She was already limp beneath me when I collapsed onto her back.
“I’m never going to get tired of that. I’ll never get enough of you, Madison.” I pressed a kiss to her neck while moving my finger in a lazy circle over her clit as her aftershocks pulsed around me. “You okay?”
“Mhm.” Her eyes were closed as a small smile tugged up her lips. “I don’t know what’s more impressive about you – those fingers or your cock.”
“Everything about me is impressive,” I said, keeping her pinned to the bar as I kept playing with her. My dick was still semi-hard inside her. She whimpered slightly as I moved my finger faster. “You ready to come again, angel?”
She nodded slightly and pushed into my hand for more friction. Her second orgasm came on abruptly with a quiet gasp as she pulsed around me again. “Nate…”
I finally slid out of her and pulled her up. “I think I’m addicted to your pussy, babe.”
“I support that addiction.” Her giggle echoing through the empty bar was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. “You can have more of my pussy at home.”
“I appreciate the support.” I reached down to pull up her pants, more than a little turned on at the thought of my fluids leaking into her panties. After I’d redressed myself, we went through the steps to close down the bar and went back to her place where I did have more of her, though this time it was slow and gentle and in her bed.
Madison fell asleep on top of me, head resting just over my heart. The very heart that she had mended and that now belonged entirely to her.
The next few days and nights passed more or less the same. We had quiet mornings together in the cabin, grabbed lunch at Amelia’s, and visited Harper at the store or I took Madison to some of my favorite spots in Crestwood. In the evenings, she sat patiently at the bar until the door was locked for the night and then I had her anywhere I wanted her before taking her home. We would play with Meadow and the kittens for a while before going into the bedroom where I would bury myself inside Madison again, eliciting as many moans and gasps as I could. Then she would curl her body around mine and doze off with her head on my chest. I would follow soon after, getting some of the best sleep I’d ever gotten in my life.
I knew that I was growing too dependent on that routine. Too dependent on having Madison with me. She would be leaving in just over a week and neither of us wanted to talk about what that would mean for us. On Friday, I drove her out to the guest ranch to get situated in our Airstream while I was working. It would be too crowded on the weekend for Madison to sit in her usual seat without drawing a lot of unwanted attention.
Ellison had filed his report with the Crestwood PD but no one had seen Fiona since the tire slashing. She had checked out of her hotel room that morning and I was hopeful that she was gone from my life for good this time. I was still a little leery about leaving Madison, but she was adamant about spending time with Lily and Harper. They were having dinner in the lodge and then having girl time around the ranch.
We checked in at the registration counter and handed off our bags to one of the workers who would take them to the Airstream for us. I handed the young man a twenty for his trouble before turning to Madison.
“You call me if anything comes up, okay?”
She still had bodyguards assigned to her and one of them was lurking near the front door, watching her while trying not to look like he was watching.
“Everything is going to be fine,” she insisted, hands sliding over my shoulders and locking around my neck. “I’m going to be with Lily and Harper the whole time and I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Don’t go anywhere alone, okay? I don’t think Fiona is still lurking around, but let’s not risk it.” I leaned down to kiss her, sighing when we were rudely interrupted by my sister and her best friend.
“Aw! Look how cute they are,” Lily sang out.
“She’s going to be such a beautiful bride,” Harper chirped.
I groaned in embarrassment while Madison laughed. “Please don’t let them scare you off,” I said. “Just remember that I didn’t get to choose my family.”
“Have a good night at work. Bring home some good tips,” she teased with a wink.
Our tips had never been as big as the nights when Madison had served drinks and we both knew that. “I’m not nearly as hot as you, angel.” I gave her one more kiss and then waved to where Harper and Lily were waiting by the restaurant door. “Take care of my girl, okay?”
“We will!” Lily grinned happily at me.
Harper was also smiling, but she had tears in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly. “Thanks for letting us steal her away for the night, bro.”
My little sister was crying because she was happy for me. I knew that of all my siblings, she worried about me the most. She had thought that my time in the army was what had been troubling me these last couple of years. And though she had never confronted me, I knew that she wondered why I never dated. I was glad that maybe now she wouldn’t worry so much. Even more glad that she seemed to like Madison almost as much as I did.
The bar was just as packed as I had anticipated and it had been the right call not to have Madison join me for the night. She would’ve been miserable with so many drunk people staring and taking her picture. At least a dozen people asked me if she would be coming in later, none of whom were people I wanted around her.
Toward the end of the night, after the crowd had dwindle a bit, I scanned the bar and tensed at a familiar flash of red hair. “Fuck.” Fiona was seated at one of the tables, staring right at me. I just barely managed to keep from lunging over the bar. Instead, I slipped my phone from my pocket and fired off a text to Ellison.
I needed to keep Fiona in the bar until he had time to notify the police. That meant I had no choice but to talk to her. After telling the bartenders that I was taking a break, I grabbed two beers and headed toward her table.
“What are you doing here, Fi?” I placed a beer on the table in front of her.
“I just want to talk.”
As if that made me feel any better about her being there. I dropped into the chair across from her. “I’ve said all I want to say to you. Leave me alone.”
“Cassidy asks about you all the time. She still misses you.”
I hated her for using that little girl to hurt me. “I’m not the reason I left. You are.”
“I made a mistake, Nate. A big one and I’m so sorry I hurt you.” She almost sounded like she meant that.
“You lied to me for months, Fiona. Maybe even since the beginning of our relationship. I don’t know what I ever did to you to deserve that.”
“Nothing. You didn’t deserve it.” She frowned as she looked at the table. “I had Cassidy so young. I was only twenty-three when you and I met. I was still figuring out how to be a good mother and I didn’t put a lot of effort into being a good partner.”
“Not to me, anyway.” I couldn’t look at her without picturing the other man. “What happened with the baby daddy?”
“It ended after Conner was born.” It hurt to hear that she’d named her son the name that we had picked out together when I thought he was mine. “Axel never wanted to be a dad. I should’ve figured that out when he wanted nothing to do with Cassidy. When he came around again, I thought maybe he had changed. But when I told him I was pregnant, he told me that I needed to convince you it was your baby. I should never have gone along with that lie. I should’ve come clean right away.” She reached across the table like she was thinking of taking my hand, but I pulled it out of her reach. “I wanted you to be their father, Nate. You were so great with Cassidy and both of my kids deserve a father like you.”
“And what did I deserve?” My words were laced with venom. “Did I deserve a wife who lied and cheated? Did I deserve to have all my hopes and dreams shattered? To have a little girl that I loved and a little boy that I wanted so much taken from me?”
“No,” she whispered. “You didn’t deserve any of that. If I could go back and change everything, I would. If you just give me another chance, I will – ”
“That’s never going to happen.” I didn’t need to hear her empty promises. “Fiona, you have to leave me alone. I’ve moved on.”
“I know.” Anger flashed in her eyes. “You’ve done really well for yourself, bagging a pretty, rich girl.”
“Is that why you slashed her tires? Jealousy?” I scoffed. “Or were you angry? Pissed that I found someone who doesn’t treat me like shit?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Her fa?ade of regret and sorrow vanished, replaced by a steely mask of indifference. “I only got to town today.”
“Still a liar, Fiona. At least you are consistent.” I relaxed slightly when Ellison walked through the door with two uniformed officers. They headed straight to our table. “Madison has cameras at her cabin, Fi. We know it was you.” I pushed back my chair and stood as the officers flanked her chair.
Fiona’s eyes went wild when she realized what was happening. One officer had handcuffs ready as he took her elbow and started reciting her Miranda rights.
“What the fuck is this?” she yelled, eliciting even more stares from the other patrons. “Nate, you don’t want to do this. You’re just angry, but you need to think this through. What about the kids?”
“What about them?” I was trying not to let her words get to me but I wanted to know that Cassidy and Connor were safe.
“Don’t engage her,” Ellison said quietly.
“You asshole. I cannot believe you are doing this to get revenge on me for cheating on you.” Fiona was nearly spitting she was so angry. She looked like a rabid dog, struggling against the officers as they pulled her away from the table.
“You need to find out if the kids are safe,” I told Ellison. “I don’t want them locked in a hotel room somewhere alone and scared.”
He shook his head. “The kids are fine. Fiona has an aunt in Nebraska. I called this morning and she said that her niece dropped off the kids about a month ago and she’s been watching them ever since.” When he saw I was unconvinced about their safety, he added, “I did a little digging into the aunt’s background. She’s a good person. Actually fosters kids and has a good job. Nice house. The kids will be safe with her.”
I felt marginally better, but that didn’t help with the open gawking everyone was doing. I knew this meltdown was going to become the top gossip for the locals. Eventually, my siblings and parents would hear about it.
“Thanks for your help with this,” I said, shaking Ellison’s hand. “Stay for a drink? On the house.”
He hesitated before nodding. “I’d like that.” His expression was still tense. “We need to talk about Madison.”