Chapter 4
SCOTT
I only allow myself a beat or two of surprise before I return Madi’s eager kiss with my own, my mouth opening and my tongue dipping inside, tasting her sweetness. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think something like this would happen tonight.
Okay, maybe that’s a lie. Maybe in my wildest dreams, I could envision a night of passion with the girl who has been on my mind for years, but never in reality. Never like this, never with such a deep, obvious connection that I never could have expected.
From the moment I saw her earlier tonight, there was a sense of knowing her. And I think, just maybe, it feels the same way for her.
Then a thought occurs to me, and I pull away, breaking our kiss.
“This isn’t some like…thank you, is it?”
I say, panting as if I’ve run a mile. “Because I would never want…”
“No!”
she says, shock in her tone, though it cuts off as she laughs. “Oh my god, no.”
A tightness in my chest eases at her reassurance. I didn’t think it was true, but I wanted to be sure, even if it made things awkward to ask.
“Good.”
“No, definitely not. I just…”
She shakes her head and steps back, and I instantly miss her warmth. “Do you feel it? This…”
She waves her hand between us. “…connection? Or whatever?”
I nod. “I do.”
Her shoulders fall. “Really?”
I nod again. “Yeah.”
Madi’s smile returns, the brightness of it so relieving.
“Thank god. Because I felt it the moment I saw you tonight, and part of me thought maybe it was just because you’re the man who saved my life, but I don’t think that’s it. I think there’s something else, something special. Something…”
Her words trail off as I take her face into my hands.
“It is something special,”
I tell her, my voice low, my eyes taking in every part of her that I can see. The freckles on either side of her nose and the tiny scar above her lip. The way the hairs at her temples have grown curlier as the night has progressed. The rosy flush on her cheeks.
I don’t think it’s possible to know you’re in love with someone this quickly, but it’s hard to categorize the way I feel without using the word love because I love everything about her. I love all these little bits of information I’m learning as I get to know her. I love watching her smile and hearing her laugh. I love holding her close.
But mostly, I love the brightness I can see in her eyes, a brightness this world might have lost if things had been even just slightly different three years ago. The night we met.
Even if we may have introduced ourselves for the first time tonight, we left a mark on each other years ago.
“I’m so glad I found you,”
she whispers, slipping her hands around my waist before sliding them underneath the flannel of my shirt so they’re pressed against my bare skin.
I lick my lips. “And I’m so glad I found you,”
I reply, knowing the words have a different meaning when I say them.
Her eyes soften momentarily, then I bring my mouth to hers again. She opens, her tongue twisting with mine, our hands beginning to shift and grab and pull. The softness of the earlier moment dissipates, and the desire I felt before returns with a vengeance. I moan as Madi moves her body, pressing the softer parts of her against the harder parts of me.
“Will you stay?”
I ask quietly as I kiss down her neck.
“There’s nowhere else I want to be,”
she answers.
I smile and then bring my lips to hers before leading her inside.