Chapter Thirty-Three #2
The seismic shift happening in Eve’s chest was almost too much to withstand.
She didn’t even really understand what was taking place inside her, only that broken pieces that had existed for a long time
were trying to glue themselves back together—and that was scary. She’d gone out onstage to destroy any chance of being a respectable
wife or a valued member of the community. To claim her title as pariah once and for all so she could stop hoping for better,
even in her dreams.
Maybe she had accomplished that.
A room full of people egging her on didn’t mean she’d been accepted.
But this man who was holding her so tightly, carrying her across her office to the couch positioned across from her desk,
he’d shown up for her in a way she hadn’t expected tonight. And his actions were dissolving the loneliness that had lived
inside her for as long as she could remember, even at the best of times.
“Nothing I do is going to get rid of you,” she said, sounding stunned. “For better or worse. You really mean it, don’t you?
You want the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
“It’s about time you realized it, Eve Donahue.”
“You just . . . you came out onstage and performed with me.” She tightened her cling around Madden, aching to be closer. “You
really did that.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You didn’t try to talk me out of self-destructing.
You self-destructed with me. I had no idea how much I .
. . I needed that.” Some of her glittery eye shadow had rubbed off on Madden’s chin and the shiny little spot was so endearing, Eve’s breath caught.
“There’s really nothing I can do to make you sorry for loving me. ”
“Jesus Christ, the fact that you can sound so surprised by my loyalty when you have that six-inch fucking scar on your stomach . . .
it’s going to kill me. You’ve given me life in so many ways, Eve. I would walk through hell if you were waiting on the other
side.” He shook her gently. “Do you accept that now?”
“Yes,” she said unequivocally. She’d never meant anything more. And having him know the extent of her devotion was like . . .
soaring. Finally, she’d laid it all at his feet, the way he’d laid his love and consistency and loyalty at hers.
Madden set Eve down on the couch and knelt in front of her, burying his head in her lap. He encircled her waist with his thick
arms and pressed his face to the scar on the right side of her abdomen, a gruff, prolonged moan coming from his throat. “Did
it hurt, love? Were you in pain and I had no idea?”
She combed her fingers through his hair. “It was a typical surgery. No complications. No more than the average discomfort
and pain. I was fine.”
“No one knew?”
“My father and sister knew, of course. Once we found out I was a match, there was so much paperwork, so many meetings leading
up to the day. If I remember correctly, I went on a hunger strike and threatened to run away to California if my father didn’t
give permission. He thought I was crazy, but they didn’t know you like I did.” Eve filled her lungs with Madden’s scent. “You
were always mine.”
“Always.” Still looking troubled, he bowed his head a moment. “Were they with you in the hospital?”
“Yes.” Trying to lighten his mood, she tugged on one of his ears. “I really had to lean into the high-waisted vintage look
to keep the secret.”
“I never would have let you do this. Never.”
“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
Madden lifted his head slightly, tracing the pink, slightly puckered line with his fingertips, as though he wanted to absorb
any past pain. “Why did you do it?”
That shift taking place when they walked into the room was only beginning to settle, but the more Eve let go of doubt, the
easier it was to breathe. To look at Madden and say the words she’d kept locked inside since high school. “I’ve loved you
for a really long time,” she whispered, watching his chest expand rapidly and shudder back down, his eyes sliding closed.
“I didn’t give you my kidney because of some girlhood fascination or crush. I loved you. I loved your character and the safety you offered me without me having to ask. I loved your intuitiveness and honesty
and the quiet ways you showed gratitude to your aunt for bringing you to Rhode Island. For keeping you. I loved how you offered
me friendship and acceptance without expecting anything in return.”
For several beats, Madden appeared almost shaken. Like he didn’t know how to handle hearing so many good things about himself
at once. Appearing at a loss, he bent forward and slowly kissed every inch of her scar, top to bottom. “Since we’re sharing
secrets, when it came time to go back to Ireland, I . . . thought of you. I couldn’t leave you.”
She looked down at him sharply. “I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t want to go back to the home I’d left behind, but I could have.
I could have, if not for you. I stayed because once I’d been near you, that’s where I belonged.
” His mouth dragged up her stomach, kissing as he went.
“Something was always there, even when I wouldn’t allow myself to have you.
My heart brought me back and brought me back to you until you were old enough to decide on me too. ”
“I love you,” she said, haltingly, her lips and scalp tingling with the shock of his revelation. “I love you and I don’t know
what’s going to happen. The kids are gone.”
“I know. Elton told me.” He pulled her in close to his chest and she went, lifting her arms and wrapping them around his neck.
“I’m sorry, Eve. I’m so sorry.”
She nodded, rubbing her cheek on his bare skin, deriving comfort from his heat. “My sister said she wants to come back to
Cumberland to be close to me, though. When she’s had her time in North Carolina and recovered some more. That’s something,
at least. Isn’t it? I don’t know where they’ll live, but I can figure it out.”
“We can figure it out.”
After a moment, Eve nodded. “Okay.”
“But, Eve . . .” Madden pulled back slightly to scrutinize her face. “Is Cumberland really where you want to be? If it is,
good. We’ll make anything work, you and me. I just want you to know you have options. You are not shackled to this town.”
The thought of living anywhere else—and not in a make-believe scenario—was scary. But it could have been a lot scarier if
this man’s bare skin wasn’t pressed to hers, his blue eyes radiating so much love it could fill the deep end of the ocean.
His nearness, his affection, his willingness to join her in her weakest moments and transform them into moments of strength
were an armor she’d refused to accept until now.
“I’ll think about it,” she said finally.
Madden nodded, his attention falling to her mouth and holding.
Music and the muffled croon of Veda’s voice started to filter into the office, the band obviously starting their second set.
The din of the club—voices and laughter—wove together with the music to make a full, beautiful sound around Madden and Eve.
And Eve knew her lover’s body needed relief.
She could sense it while wearing a blindfold.
His breath started to get shaky, and his skin seemed to be stretched tighter than usual across his abs.
Nipples swollen. The fly of his jeans at a prominent angle, his hips pressing the bulge tightly to the couch, his pupils expanding to hide a significant amount of blue.
It was going to take next to nothing for Eve to be ready.
She was already turned on from being onstage. Now her horny, hulking husband was kneeling in front of her with no shirt, visibly
aware that she wore nothing but tight boyshort panties and stilettos, his forehead starting to shine with sweat.
“Eve.”
“Yes?”
“If a meteor hit this club right now”—he gripped the sides of her underwear, waited for her subtle hip lift, then ripped them
down to her feet, throwing them aside—“it still wouldn’t keep me off this pussy.”
She blinked at him. “How do you want it?”
“Licked.” He pushed her knees open and breathed a curse. “Every sweet inch of it.”
Confident beneath the worship in his eyes, Eve settled her ankles on the breadth of his shoulders. Slowly. One at a time.
“Can I leave on my shoes?”
“Please leave on the shoes,” he said raggedly, tugging her butt to the edge of the couch, squeezing her open knees. “God,
it’s already wet. God.”
Eve beckoned him down for a long, breathless kiss.
“You took me so hard last night, I probably taste like you,” she said against his ear, her voice almost drowned out by the music.
But he heard it. He definitely heard her, because he groaned his way down to her breasts, sucking them eagerly in turn while his thumb traced the seam of her sex, dragging moisture up and back and over and around her clit, teasing her so thoroughly that she was whimpering by the time his tongue parted her flesh and rubbed firmly against her entrance.
Rubbed and rubbed until her hips began to writhe, to seek friction.
“Madden.”
“Be patient. I’ve waited a long time for this.”
“This isn’t the act I fantasized about while I waited for you,” she managed, her breath choppy. “But I think it might be from
now on.”
Madden razed his two-day beard against the insides of her thighs, kissing the sensitive skin, meeting Eve’s gaze up the heaving
length of her body while he pressed his middle finger inside her and held it deep. “What did you fantasize about?” He tugged
out his middle finger and added a second, growling when her walls clenched around the digit, her thighs attempting to jerk
closed. “Fucking?”
“Yes.”
“You dreamed about getting it rough from me, didn’t you?”
Oh wow. Wow. She could feel herself getting soaked around his exploring fingers. Eve nodded vigorously. “I don’t think I was
ready for soft. Not in bed or out. From anyone.”
“And now?”
“I’m ready for anything with you now.”