CHAPTER SEVEN
Thorne
I was losing my mind.
I’d been living in a state of perpetual semi-arousal since the moment I’d said I do. And every day since then, it had gotten worse.
Every time Maddie brushed past me in the kitchen, every time she laughed at my grumpiness, every time I caught the scent of her vanilla shampoo—it was like a slow-burning fuse getting shorter and shorter.
But after this morning? The fuse was gone. There was just an explosion waiting to happen.
I was lying in the dark, staring at the ceiling, listening to every sound the cabin made as it settled in for the night.
My imagination was in a dangerous neighborhood I shouldn’t be walking through.
I was haunted by the image of her in that green flannel shirt—my shirt—and how it had barely skimmed the tops of her curvy thighs this morning.
The look in her eyes when the towel had given way and she’d seen exactly how much I wanted her. No filters in place.
I kept wondering what she would have done if I’d simply picked her up and carried her to my bed. Would she have made more of those small needy sounds she’d made as soon as she saw what she’d almost grabbed beneath my towel?
I could hear the rustle of her sheets through the thin wall, the soft thump of a pillow as she shifted. Every sound was magnified in the quiet of the mountain. I knew exactly where she was lying. I knew the exact curve of the mattress under her weight.
Then I heard it.
A low buzzing sound.
I frowned at the ceiling. What the hell was that?
It stopped. Started again. It was a mechanical hum, insistent. Was something wrong with the electricity? The water heater finally giving up the ghost and making some death-rattle noise?
I got out of bed, pulled on sweatpants, and went to investigate. I checked the breaker box in the pantry—silence. The buzzing continued. Rhythmic. Insistent.
It was coming from down the hall. From Maddie’s room.
I knew I should just turn around. Go back to my room, shove a pillow over my ears, and pretend I hadn’t heard a thing. But the territorial part of my brain—the part that had been on high alert since the courthouse and had shifted into high gear this morning—wouldn’t let it go.
Instead, I found myself walking down the hallway, following that sound, my brain supplying incredibly helpful images of what might be causing it. The door was closed, a firm barrier against me and the woman inside.
I didn’t knock. I didn’t breathe. I just pushed it open.
And froze.
The sight inside shattered whatever was left of my self-control. It didn’t just shatter. It ground the pieces to dust.
Maddie was on the bed, her back arched, her eyes closed tight. One hand was fisted in the sheets, her knuckles white. The other—
Holy fucking hell.
Between her legs was the brightest, most blindingly pink thing I’d ever seen. It looked like a neon highlighter on steroids. And it was buzzing.
She hadn’t seen me yet. Her mouth open, her head rolling back and forth on the pillow, and the sounds she was making—soft, jagged little whimpers of frustration—were going to haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.
I should have backed out. Left. But my feet were anchored to the floor. My blood roaring as I watched her pleasuring herself.
“Maddie.” My voice was a rough growl that didn’t sound like mine.
Maddie’s eyes flew open. She let out a shriek that probably startled every animal within three miles, jerking upright so fast she knocked her head against the headboard. I winced at the sound. In her panic, the pink dildo went flying across the room.
Directly at my head.
I ducked on instinct. It hit the wall behind me with a thud and fell to the floor, still buzzing. I would have found this funny, if I’d been capable of finding anything funny right now.
“Oh my God.” Maddie scrabbled for a pillow, clutching it to her chest like a shield, as she clenched her thighs together. Her face turned a shade of red I didn’t know was humanly possible. “What are you—why are you—knock much?”
I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I was looking at the flush on her face, the way her nipples peaked through the thin cotton of her top, and the dampness on her inner thighs that she was trying to hide behind the pillow.
“I heard a noise. Thought something was wrong.” I stepped into the room, kicked the door shut behind me and reached down to pick up the device. It was warm and wet from her body. The vibration hummed through my palm and settled straight into my groin.
As if I needed any help with that.
“Something was very right until thirty seconds ago,” she hissed, holding out her hand. “Now, give. It. Back.” She looked like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole.
“This?” I held it up, looking at the vibrating tip before clicking it off. Silence rushed back into the room. “I don’t think you’re going to need this anymore, Maddie.”
Her eyes went wide. “What?”
I didn’t move right away. I just looked at her — flushed and furious and trying to hide behind a pillow, her hair everywhere, her eyes doing that thing where they gave her away completely.
She was embarrassed. She was also still wanting.
Both things were written all over her face and she had no idea.
Something decisive settled in my chest.
I set the pink thing on the dresser and walked to the bed and sat on the edge.
The mattress dipped significantly under my weight, the movement forcing her to slide toward me. I looked at her mouth, then back to her eyes, which were currently down cast.
Her breath hitched. “Thorne—”
“We’re married,” I said, my voice dropping into that low, territorial register where I was more instinct than man.
I climbed onto the mattress, forcing her to lay back and caged her in with my arms. “We’ve been dancing around this for days.
And you’re here, alone, taking care of yourself when I’m right next door going crazy because I want you so badly that I can’t breathe. ”
She bit her lip, and I wanted to bite it too. “I didn’t want to assume… I didn’t know if you actually… I mean, you’re always so grumpy.”
“Because I want you, baby.” I leaned down, crushing her mouth beneath mine. “And assume everything.”
She kissed me back with a desperation that caught me off guard.
The pillow fell away, and I finally—finally—got my hands on her.
She was all soft skin and dangerous curves I’d been dying to explore.
I ran my hand over the swell of her hip, my fingers tangling in the hem of her top.
Every little gasp she made was like fuel on a fire.
I trailed my lips down her neck, biting gently at the spot where her shoulder met her throat. She let out a jagged, broken moan that nearly ended me right then and there.
“Wait,” she whispered against my skin. Her hand came up, bracing against my shoulder, stopping my momentum.
I went still, my heart a drum in my chest. “If you want me to stop, tell me right now. Because in about thirty seconds, I don’t know if I can.”
She swallowed hard, her eyes searching mine. She looked terrified and electrified all at once. “I’m... Thorne, I’m a virgin.”
The words hung in the air between us, and something exploded inside me—the raw, animal lust didn’t go away, but a massive, heavy layer of protectiveness slammed down on top of it.
“You’re...” I couldn’t even get the word out.
“A virgin. Yes. I know it’s weird at twenty-eight, and you probably think I’m repressed or something, but—”
A laugh found its way to the surface. “No, baby. Not repressed. You just hadn’t found me.” I glanced at the top of the dresser. “Or apparently, the right toy.”
“Thorne.” She giggled and slapped my chest playfully.
I let out a low, dark chuckle. “So, why would you being a virgin, untouched by another man, be a problem?”
“Because I don’t know what I’m doing? Because I might be terrible at this? Because you just found me with a—” She gestured at the dresser. “And I’ve never actually been with a real person?”
“Maddie.” I waited until her gaze was locked on me. “The fact that you trust me enough to tell me that? To want this with me? I’m honored. And frankly, maybe a little terrified I’m going to mess this up for you.”
“You’re terrified?”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I said, dead serious. “I don’t want to make this anything less than what you deserve.”
She studied my face. “So you don’t think it’s weird?”
“I think it’s you. And nothing about you is weird. Just honest and brave and—” I kissed her softly. “Are you sure? We can wait. We don’t have to do this tonight.”
“I’m sure. Honestly, I’ve been sure since the courthouse and you handed me wildflowers. And the kiss.” She smiled at me and I lost myself in her again. “The kiss sealed the deal. I want this. I want you. I’m just nervous.”
“Me too.”
“You? You’ve obviously done this before,” she noted, a bit of that sassy spark returning. “You probably have a manual.”
There was still that hint of shyness. I hoped it stayed with her forever.
“Not with you. Not with someone who—” I stopped. Regrouped because I wasn’t sure she was ready to hear what I really wanted to say. “You’re important. This is important.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Then she pulled me down and kissed me. Deep and slow and full of promise.
I took my time after that. I had to. Because I’d told her the truth. I wanted to make this perfect for her. I kissed every inch of skin I could reach, learning what made her gasp, what made her arch into my touch, what made her say my name in that soft hushed whisper.
When I finally stripped her of clothing, I took a moment to just look.
“Stop staring,” she said, trying to cover herself with her arms.
I caught her wrists, pinning them gently above her head. “I’ll stare if I want to. You’re gorgeous, Maddie.
“I’m—”
“Gorgeous. Perfect. Mine.”
The last word slipped out before I could stop it, but I didn’t take it back.
Because she was. An absolute truth that I’d been refusing to acknowledge since the moment she’d stepped into Kate’s office.
I kissed my way down her body, taking my time, until I settled between her thighs.
“Thorne, you don’t have to—”
“I need to taste you. I want to make you come on my tongue before I do anything else.”
I spread her legs apart, easing them back so she was spread out in front of me, pink, glistening and perfect. I run my tongue lightly up her center, giving her a chance to get used to my touch. When she bucked, I anchor her down with my hands, holding her open.
“Easy, baby,” I whispered, my breath fanning over and making her shiver. I did it again. Blew a soft whisper across her wet flesh.
I greedily lapped up her juices, thinking she was sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted. My nose brushed against her clit as I savored her.
She made a strangled sound. “That’s very—oh God—”
I licked, and sucked, making her jerk against me.
Then, I eased one finger inside her. She gasped but let me continue.
I pumped my finger in and out a few times then ghosted over that rough spot inside her.
Her legs jerked. I did it again and she whimpered.
I added another finger, stretching her. She was so tight, I wondered for the first time if she’d be able to take me.
I was a big man and she was a virgin.
My virgin.
My virgin bride.
A shiver ran through me and my cock swelled. I wanted her so badly, but I knew I needed to take my time. Make her first time, our first time, as good as I could.
I added a third finger and she whimpered, her hands curling in my hair. “Thorne.”
“I know, baby. But I want you ready. I want you so wet, I can just slide inside you as I make you mine.” I sucked on her clit as I worked her with my fingers. Stretching her, making her body weep for my touch.
Then I felt her breathing change. Her body tightened. She was close. I doubled my efforts. Sucking her clit, licking her slit, thrusting deeper. “That’s it, baby, come on my hand. Soak my face.”
And she did. “That was—” She couldn’t finish the sentence, still catching her breath.
“That was just the warmup.” I pulled my fingers from her body and licked away her cream. Her breath hissed just a little at the action and I smiled. She liked that.
I kissed my way back up her body, kissing her. Letting her taste herself. She kissed me back eagerly. I held my weight off her as I grasped my cock as I prepared to make her mine. I rubbed the leaking head over her entrance. “You still sure?”
“Yes, I’m still sure. “If you stop now, I’ll have some very dire words for you, mountain man.”
I laughed against her neck. “Noted.”
And then I was pushing inside her. I’d made her wet, but she was still tight. I took my time. Went slow. Watched her face for every reaction, every flicker of discomfort. I was about halfway in when I felt the barrier of her innocence.
“Okay?” I asked.
“Yes. More please.”
I looked down at her, wanting to savor this moment. “This will hurt, but only for a minute.”
She nodded her head and I pull out, then thrust back in, hard and fast. Deep. Claiming her with my body.
“Sssh,” I whispered. “It’s done now. You’re mine.”
And she was. There might be times ahead of us that would need smoothing out. I wasn’t the easiest man to live with. But I was hers now.
For better or worse.
And I intended to make every day better than the last.
I pulled back out and thrust back in, slow and claiming.
In and out until she was moving with me.
I let her feel the friction, the weight, the reality of us.
But then her hands moved to my lower back, her nails digging into my skin, urging me deeper.
I lost the battle with my restraint. I drove into her, finding a rhythm that was primal and punishingly sweet.
“Talk to me,” I said. “Tell me what you need.”
“Harder, Thorne. I need it harder.”
That was what I’d been waiting for. Then I took her with all the hunger that had been stored up inside me. This wasn’t just about sex—this was about her. Me. Us.
“That’s it, baby. Take me. I need you so bad.” Again and again, I lost count of the times her warmth engulfed me, chasing that sensation building at the base of my spine.
I gave her what she asked for. Harder, deeper, chasing the sounds she made, the way she gripped my shoulders, the absolute perfection of being inside her.
Then she came again, taking me with her.
I buried my face in her neck wondering how life had become so damn perfect.
We lay there afterward, tangled together, both of us completely wrecked.
“So,” she said eventually. “That happened.”
“That definitely happened.”
“And it was better than the pink thing.”
I gave a low growl pulling her tight against me. “I would certainly hope so. I do everything it does, but better.”
“Confident.”
“Proven fact now.”
She snuggled into my side, and I pulled the blanket over us.
This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t what we’d agreed to.
But lying there with her, feeling her breathe against my chest, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
We’d figure out the rest later.
Right now, this was enough.
More than enough.