Chapter 21
Whoa!
Denise lay limp and shaking in Maddox’s bed, trying to catch her breath.
And when she almost had, Maddox chose that moment to carefully remove the massager that had still been buried inside her. Her sensitive core jerked, and a sharp moan escaped her lips.
Finally, she opened her eyes and found Maddox watching her intently.
Denise stared back. So many complex, messy, and profound things passed between them in the quiet intimacy of that gaze.
Altogether, she had spent less than a week around this person.
Yet they knew things about her life, her mind, and her body that no one else in the world did.
It should have been terrifying, but it wasn’t.
Only unexpected, strange, and complicated.
But Denise wasn’t ready for complicated. She’d rather focus on something easier to absorb.
Like the way Maddox looked right now. Their dark hair was dripping with perspiration, and so was the rest of them, judging from the way their henley shirt was plastered to their firm torso. They were breathing hard and seemed to be just as much at a loss for words as she was.
Regaining some of her energy, Denise leaned forward, grabbed Maddox by the shirt, and pulled them into her for a kiss.
It was hot and messy and wet and everything she hadn’t known she’d needed for who knows how long.
Her arms slid around them, and she scraped her nails over their back through the damp fabric of their shirt.
When the kiss ended, Denise tugged at the shirt and studied Maddox’s face. “Do you feel like taking this off now?”
A subtle softness entered Maddox’s eyes, and they nodded. She helped them pull off the shirt, and then she lay back to wait and see if they’d want to remove their simple white sports bra too. They did. Then they sat up quickly to take off their jeans and boxers.
Denise would have loved nothing more than to peruse Maddox’s lean body for a while, but she wasn’t sure how much of that they’d be comfortable with, so she concentrated on feeling rather than looking.
And God, did they feel amazing.
Once Maddox was completely naked, they settled on top of her, and Denise sucked in a sharp breath at the sensation of having their bare skin against hers for the first time.
Her heart stuttered when they cupped her face with both hands and smiled down at her before dipping their head for a slow, languid kiss.
Her body came alive again as their lips connected. She slid her arms around Maddox, exploring the taut, smooth skin of their shoulders and then their back all the way down to their ass. When she gave it a firm squeeze, Maddox groaned.
Oh, they like that.
For a wild moment, Denise had the thought of using that knowledge again in the future before she remembered the reality of the situation.
Maybe she could forget about the past enough to have this moment. But there was no future here. Only tonight.
When Denise gave Maddox’s ass another squeeze, they kissed her with even more fervor before lifting their head and burying their face in her neck.
They scraped their teeth over her neck, making her already sensitized skin tingle.
She skirted her hands back up their spine and buried her fingers in their thick hair.
Maddox had mostly lain still up to this point, but now they began to move against her.
Denise’s eyes fell closed as she savored the sensual slide of their sweat-slicked body against hers.
As Maddox shifted and parted their legs, Denise widened her own then gasped at the feel of their wetness when they settled over her thigh.
A low chuckle rumbled through Maddox’s chest, and the vibrations tickled against her breasts. They brought their lips to her ear and murmured, “Can you feel how worked up you’ve gotten me, beautiful?”
Denise’s low laugh joined theirs. “I’m starting to get the idea.”
She massaged her fingers through their hair and down to the nape of their neck. Maddox had looked as if they’d found it calming when she’d done that earlier. “Maddox, do you like—I mean—do you want me to touch you inside?”
Maddox stilled, then raised up to look at her face. That softness was back in their brown eyes again, but there was something else there too that she couldn’t name. It almost seemed wistful. Sad. Lonely, even.
“No,” they whispered before bending down again to press a gentle kiss to her lips. “I just want to feel you.”
Then they kissed a path down her jaw and began to grind on her thigh.
Denise’s eyes fluttered closed, and she clutched at their back, getting lost in their rhythm as they rocked against her body and panted against her skin.
She reached down and grasped their hips to urge them on, and their pace increased.
They shifted and gyrated their lower body then snuck their hand beneath her leg to lift it so that their leg connected with her core in just the right spot.
Denise’s shout reverberated off the walls.
The two of them moved together faster and faster until she was swept away in another orgasm.
“Maddox,” she moaned.
At the sound of their name, their body gave a jolt then shuddered as they followed her into release.
Denise jerked awake and blinked several times in the near darkness of the hotel room.
The digital clock on the nightstand showed it was just after three in the morning.
She stirred, but Maddox’s warm, bare arms held her fast. It dawned on her then that she was half lying on their chest. She tilted her head up to find they were awake.
They sent her a lopsided grin that generated a flutter through her stomach.
Then she grimaced. “Oh, God. I fell asleep on you, didn’t I?”
Maddox’s throaty chuckle rumbled in their chest beneath her. “Not for long. And I take it as a compliment. Seems you were pretty worn out.”
Heat blazed in her cheeks, but a giggle escaped her throat.
When did she become a giggler? She turned her face into Maddox’s chest. Their scent was alluring, a mixture of their woodsy cologne, sweat, and something unique only to them.
They stroked her shoulder in slow, lazy patterns. The movement combined with the even rise and fall of their chest was almost enough to lull her back to sleep.
“Do you want to sleep here for the rest of the night?” Maddox asked, as if reading her mind. “Or would you rather go back to your room?”
Their tone was warm yet neutral as they asked, and she had the sense that they’d truly be fine with whatever her answer was.
It was hard for her to wrap her mind around that.
How could things with them feel so light and easy?
In the short time they’d been around each other, their interactions had gone from fraught and borderline hostile—which was admittedly her fault—to friendly and caring.
And now they’d shared the hottest night of sex she had ever experienced, and here in the aftermath, things weren’t even that awkward.
Denise heaved a sigh. “I should probably get back to my room. I’m driving back home in the morning, and I haven’t even packed my stuff back up yet.”
“Yeah, of course.” Maddox gave her shoulder one last squeeze and then slowly released her.
Denise already missed the feel of their arm around her, but it couldn’t be helped.
She eased into a sitting position, wrapping the sheet around her as she leaned against the headboard.
Maddox reached off the bed to locate their shirt and put it back on.
“Last night was…” Denise began, wondering how in the world she’d be able to find the right words to finish that sentence.
Incredible? Hot? Intimate and passionate in a way she wasn’t sure she’d ever experienced with anyone?
Not even when first exploring sex with a woman when she’d dated Fi.
There had still been so much Denise had kept hidden with her.
But to be with Maddox, who knew so many of her secrets, to spend half the night wrapped around each other’s bodies was…
“Wonderful,” she finally finished.
Maddox's lips parted in a sweet, gentle smile. “It really was.”
Denise couldn’t resist. She would have had to be superhuman to, and she was so far from that.
She leaned in and pressed a kiss to Maddox’s lips.
They returned it, soft and easy. So comfortable that she did her best to savor it for what it was and ignore the nagging corner of her heart that wondered what it would be like to wake up like this for more than just a single morning.
When they pulled apart, Maddox settled against the headboard beside her. “So, what’s on the agenda when you get home? More role hopping at Farrington, or is it time to move ahead with your own plans?”
“My dad and I agreed this conference could be my last major project for the company. After this, I’m free to move on.”
“That’s awesome!” Maddox reached over and squeezed her hand.
She returned the gesture and sighed. “It is. Or I hope so, at least.”
“It will be,” they said matter-of-factly. And somehow, she believed them.
After a few minutes of peaceful silence, Denise said, “Even though I won’t be working in the company anymore, Maddox, I want you to know that if my dad moves forward with his plans here, I fully intend to make the case for offering you and everyone else at Middle Waters jobs.
I mean, I think he would anyway because it makes good business sense.
But I can give him even more reasons from my experience here. ”
Denise realized they were still holding hands when Maddox pressed their fingers around her hand again. “Look, Denise. I really appreciate that, but I hope you know…”
Their voice trailed off. She turned her head to watch them as they swallowed and then frowned.
“Know what?” Denise pressed.
“Last night…what we did. I hope you don’t think any of that was because I was trying to get something out of you, like the promise of a job or whatever.”
“Maddox, no.” Denise pulled their hand into her lap. “I don’t think that. I know I joked about the Maddox Daniels charm the other day, but what happened last night wasn’t that. I-I could tell.”
A web of emotions wound its way through her chest at the admission, but it was true.
Even if she didn’t want to sort through the tangled threads now or maybe anytime, she couldn’t deny the sheer honesty of the night she’d shared with Maddox.
She cleared her throat and forced a more playful tone.
“Besides, if I’m not mistaken, I’m the one who kissed you first.”
Maddox chuckled, and a hint of red touched their cheeks. “Yeah, but I’m sure you could tell I was fully on board with the idea.”
Denise laughed. “Your enthusiasm was noted and very much appreciated.”
After a moment, Denise grew more serious. “And I hope you know I would recommend my dad hire you and everyone else even if last night had never happened. Everyone I’ve met here is amazing at what they do. Especially you. Farrington Parks would be lucky to have you.”
Maddox relaxed back against the headboard again. “Thank you, Denise.”
“You’re welcome.” She chewed her lip as the question that had been at the back of her mind for several days reemerged. “Of course, that’s if you really want the job.”
“What do you mean?”
She tilted to face them better. “I mean, is this the kind of work you want to keep doing? You’re what? Twenty…”
“Six,” Maddox answered.
Well, that answered that question. Denise’s face heated. Twenty-six. Eleven years younger!
Denise would have never imagined herself sleeping with someone that much younger. Of course, she’d only ever slept with her ex-husband, who was a few years older than her, and Fi, who was the same age. She’d gone on a couple of dates after Fi, but none of them had ever progressed that far.
Still, Maddox was older than she’d initially thought, and the better she got to know them, the less she really thought about their age difference. What did it matter anyway, when they’d only had this one night and would probably never see each other again?
She thrust aside the melancholy that last realization brought by pressing on with her question.
“Right. Twenty-six. And you’ve been in hospitality work for years.
But is that where you want to stay? You have a talent for it, sure, but I think you’re one of those people who would thrive in just about any field you had a mind to try. ”
Maddox’s blush returned. “Thanks for saying that. But it’s like you said: this is what I’ve always done. I don’t know that I’m in the position to risk rocking the boat now.”
Curiosity stirred at that statement, and Denise wondered about the details of Maddox’s position.
She’d gotten a few superficial details when she’d talked to the staff about them but no specifics.
However, this wasn’t the time to get them either.
Not when she was leaving in a few hours and moving on from the company.
“I understand,” Denise murmured. “And I’m sure you know what’s best for your life, but I hope you’ll remember what I said.”
“I’ll remember,” Maddox assured her. Then they gave her an exaggerated wink and drawled, “In fact, I don’t think I’ll be forgetting anything about tonight soon.”
Denise shook her head and laughed. She took the remark in the lighthearted way it was intended, but she couldn’t argue. She had a feeling this night would stay with her for a long time.