13. Madeline
Chapter 13
Madeline
I followed up my text to Ryan with a text to Saige. When Candee put me in touch with her, she said Saige was a personal friend but considering everyone in Love Beach knows one another, I should have known there was more of a connection. It wasn’t until meeting Wells at the bar and speaking with Saige that I saw the resemblance. Even as cousins, they’re very similar and I’ve enjoyed getting to know her more.
Me: Can we meet at noon?
Saige: Sure thing. I’ve got everything set
“Sarah! I’m running out. I won’t be more than thirty minutes.”
“Go!” She waves me on and I’m out the door. I’m so excited to be signing papers today. Yes, it’s only for a year's lease but it’s the longest I’ve ever committed to being in one place.
And it’s not making me panic.
I’m hoping Ryan sees it for the gesture I plan it to be. And then in a year's time? Well, I'm hoping he and I can make new plans.
I arrive at the realty shop and walk in seeing Saige at her desk. She’s outstanding with long black hair and a gorgeous shape. She’s dressed very professionally.
“Hey, Madeline! Come on over.”
“Hi.” I pull out the chair and sit, laying my purse on the chair next to me.
“How are you feeling?” She slides the paperwork out from an extra-large envelope and fans it before thumbing through it.
“I feel good. Happy.”
She looks up. “Does Ryan know?”
I smirk and shake my head. “Not yet. We’re having dinner tonight. I’ll tell him then.”
“I think he’s going to be happy, too.”
“I hope so. I really hope he sees I’m putting in the effort. I want Love Beach to be where I grow old.”
She smiles. “It’s a perfect place to be.” She slides the contract closer and hands me a pen. We go over the details. I sign my name to the line and twenty minutes later I’m stepping back out onto the sidewalk and heading towards the hospital.
“Oh!” I bump right into Maddox as I take the corner.
“Nurse Torre! I’m so sorry. Are you alright?”
I step back and adjust my purse. “I’m fine, Maddox.”
He looks at the door I just came out of and then back to me, getting a sly grin. “Looking for real estate, Ms. Torre?”
I shake my head. I know Maddox is a wild child, I saw it with my own eyes over the years. Candee has told me countless stories about him growing up and I know Ryan is always having to rein him in. But he’s got a heart of gold and everyone adores him. It’s evident just by the way people speak about him when he isn’t around to hear it.
I roll my lips in. “Why yes, actually, I am. And I found a place and just signed a contract.” I raise a brow as his eyes light up. I laugh at him. “This town and their gossip!”
He laughs. “Oh, this is much more than gossip. This is a five-alarm fire!”
“Shh!” His laugh is contagious. “Listen, please don't say anything yet. I’m trying to surprise him.”
He puts his hands up in defense mode. “I won't ruin it for him.” His hands drop and a sincere smile spreads across his face. “Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“You’re what he’s been missing.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been missing him, too.”
When I first arrived in Love Beach years ago, the cottages were described to me as quaint, which is also another word for tiny. But as the years went on I looked forward to coming back and staying in them more and more. Coming home tonight, knowing this would be my home for the next year, with an option to buy at the end of that term made the quaint place so much more special.
I set my dining room table, which only has room for two chairs, and lit a candle adding to the ambience I want to create. The wine is chilling, and I also have Ryan’s favorite beer from Love Beach Brews on ice. Lasagna and garlic bread are staying warm in the oven. A knock draws my attention and I take a deep breath as I head for the front door. Opening it I’m always taken back by just how handsome this man is. Tall, built and the most perfect hair. And he smells good all the time, like the beach salt water mixed with a bit of smoke.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” He enters and hands me a small bouquet of flowers.
“This is so nice. Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
I quickly head to the kitchen pulling down a vase and filling it with water. “So, flowers? Are you trying to woo me?” I ask as he follows me into the kitchen. I face him. “Are we too old to woo?”
He shakes his head and grins. “Never too old to woo.”
“It should be me that woos you,” I say, placing the vase on the middle of the counter.
He leans on it, with one hand on his hip, and god, why is that so fucking hot? “I’ll never turn down a woo.”
My lips twist. “I heard that about you.” I grab a beer from the fridge and refill my wine glass, nodding toward the table. “Come sit. How was the firehouse today? Quiet?”
He nods. “As quiet as it can be when Maddox is working.”
I snicker. “Candee has told me so many stories about that boy.”
He sighs. “It’s nothing compared to being in the department when he and his dad were at the firehouse together.”
“I can imagine.” He sits at the table while I dish out plates and place them in front of him.
He quickly digs in. “This is really good. I forgot how well you cook.”
I narrow my eyes. “Are you making fun of me?”
He laughs. “No!”
“Because I remember I didn’t cook that often. I still don’t.”
He winks at me. “Well then, tonight must be special.”
“Mmhm.”
“So, how was your day?” He asks with a know-it-all tone and it makes me pause. When I look at him, a smirk is plastered across his face.
“He fucking told you!” I throw my napkin on the table and Ryan bursts into laughter.
He shakes his head. “It wasn’t Maddox.” I raise a brow and purse my lips. “It wasn’t! Think about the town we’re in, then think about who your realtor is. Let’s run through the neighborhood watch list, shall we?” I sit back in my chair and snicker at him as he begins to tick off names. “Saige and Wells are cousins. Which means Wells told Vienna. Of course Vienna told Jace because those two can’t keep secrets from each other. Jace told Poppy who swore she wouldn't tell her cousin Marigold. But that was a lie. Marigold ran right to the firehouse to snitch to Maddox but by then Bill Baylor had already come down to ask when I was moving in with you.”
“Why would that lead to you moving in with me?”
“Because he and Candee love to play matchmaker.”
I sigh and lean on the table, chin in hand. “I wanted to surprise you.”
His eyes soften as he says, “You did.” He reaches his hand across the table and I place mine in his.
“I meant it, Ryan. I want things to be different this time.”
He nods. “It’s definitely a start. How long is the lease?”
“A year.”
He nods again, looking down at the table. I know he thinks it’s just an extra few months but to me, it’s a big deal. “And what happens at the end of that year?”
“I have an option to renew for another year, or an option to buy.” I squeeze his hand. “Or maybe there could be a third option by then?”
His lips roll in before he smiles. “I like the way that sounds.”
I wrap up the remaining lasagna in a to-go container so he can take it for lunch at the firehouse and place it in the fridge. He cleared the table and put our dishes in the dishwasher. It’s all very domestic and again, it’s not making me want to run. It’s showing me how easily we fit together.
“Thank you for tonight. A home cooked meal was just what I needed.”
For some reason hearing him say “home cooked” makes me feel sad. It brings back every hurt I placed on him by leaving. We could have had so many home cooked meals together.
I wipe my hands off on the kitchen rag and lean against the counter. “I’m trying here, Ryan. I’m trying to make up for lost time.”
“I know you are, and you don't have to try so hard, just be you. It’s okay.”
“It’s not. We lost so much time and I?—”
“Maybe it’s not lost. Maybe you’re right on time now.” He moves closer to me, pulling me in tight to him. “Maybe if you had stayed last time, it wouldn’t have been the right time and we would have ended anyway. You may have gotten another call for a travel assignment a month later and needed to leave or you may have felt trapped if you said no. And it would have been that much harder to watch you go.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“I’m saying it to make me feel better. Since you left, I’ve been telling myself something went wrong, but if we were meant to be, you’d come back.” He brushes the hair from my face. “And you did.” He kisses my forehead, cupping my face. “But this time I’ll prepare myself. I’ll take what we have now, I’ll enjoy every minute of it. And I’ll do my damned best to make sure you do, too. And if you choose to go again, if I’m not enough for you, then I’ll know I did my all this time.”
A single tear runs down my cheek and he uses his thumb to brush it away. “You are enough. I shouldn’t have left.”
He shakes his head. “Everything happens for a reason and the world makes sure our time doesn’t run on its time. You know that story about the Love Beach lighthouse, right?” I nod remembering the story that Marigold told me. Every year for a few nights, the people gather at the Pier and wait for the lighthouse beams to dance across the dock and disappear into the sky making it appear to rain stars. Folklore tells the town that if the light beam passes over a couple, they are meant to be together forever. It happened to her and Maddox on one of their first dates so she swears by the old story. Ryan continues, “Maybe we needed to be caught in the lights in order to see what was right in front of us.”
“But we never went to the beach during the light show.”
“No, we didn’t. And maybe it’s because I didn’t need a light show to see who I love.”
My eyes close and I lean into him. Hearing him say love , I know this was hard for him and I need to make it easy this time around.
“Ryan...” His name leaves my lips on a whisper as his hands roam my back, lifting my shirt and his touch on my skin sets me alive. I unbutton his shirt one by one slowly, before brushing it from his broad shoulders and he shrugs out of it, dropping it on the floor. In an instant, he scoops me up bridal style and walks me to my bedroom.
“I hope this isn’t going to be another tease like last night.”
He gives a smug grin and tosses me to the bed. “You got yours last night.”
I shake my head and kneel on the bed, pulling my shirt off. “It wasn’t enough.” He stands rigid in front of me, eyes full of lust, chest on display and hands clenched at his sides. I beckon him closer and when he steps up to the bed, I hook my fingers into the waist of his jeans pulling him close.
“Then by all means, let me give you more.” He nips at my neck and shoulders while I undo the button of his jeans, sliding them down his legs as he steps out. His body is amazing and I run my hands over his abs. He slides my pants over my hips and ass and I fall back and kick them off only for him to spread my legs and kiss his way up my inner thigh. I thread my fingers through his hair and lay back on the bed, allowing him to lick and bite over my panties and up to my waist.
“You are so goddamn beautiful, Madeline.” His touch makes me feel electrified. I’ve missed him so much. He urges me to sit up while he then unhooks my bra and slides the straps down my arms. I let him take it from me and I sit unashamed at how my body has changed in just the few short years since he’s seen me last.
He cups my breasts, rolling my nipples with his thumbs. “You are,” his breath leaves him as he bites his bottom lip, “still the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
“You make me feel beautiful, Ryan.”
“Please remember that because what I want to do to you right now? It’s not going to be very gentleman-like, or soft and sensual. It’s going to be beautiful but dirty. We’ve got lots of time to make up for.”
My laugh turns into a moan as he pinches my nipple. “Dirty huh?”
“So fucking dirty.”
He bites at my breast before sucking the spot to ease the sting and threads his hand through my hair. He grips it tight at my neckline holding me in place while tugging at my nipple with his teeth before flicking it quickly with his tongue. Every pass of his tongue has me on edge already. I pull at his boxers sliding them down his thick thighs and my mouth waters at seeing his hard cock spring to attention for me.
“The night you came over, after Ted was burned, and you were kneeling in front of me, the moment you left I went into the shower and jerked off to the thought of your mouth on me.” He lays me down on the bed and climbs over me straddling my chest and gripping his cock, teasing my lips with it. “And after leaving here the other night and still not having your lips on me? I need it, Madeline. I’m dying for you to suck my cock.”
I flick his tip with my tongue and he groans. “Then give it to me, Ryan.” I grip his base and take him in, twirling and sucking as he begins a rhythmic thrust into my mouth. He holds my head as I take him deep down my throat and I gag at his size. I look up at his eyes which are trained on me, his lips slightly parted before they turn into a grin.
“So beautiful.” He slides out of my mouth and I chase him for more. “Not yet,” he says as he dips down and captures my kiss before moving down my body. Nipping and licking at my skin, my breasts, my ribs until he slides my panties off and runs a finger through my pussy. I call out at his touch and he smirks. “Turn over.” He rolls me and grabs my hips, hoisting me to my knees. In a matter of seconds, he has spread me apart, licking straight up my core.
“Ryan!” I scream out, falling face first into the bed. I spread my knees wider, begging for more of him there. He flicks my clit before flattening his tongue and licking straight up my center to my back hole.
“You're pulsing for me, Maddie. Jesus, I almost forgot how hot this is.” He delves his tongue inside me and I’m so close to coming right now.
I push back on his face. “I’m close, Ryan, please. Make me come.’’
He chuckles and groans low. “I don’t know, Madeline. I kind of like you on the edge like this.”
“No,” I whimper. I feel him move behind me. He grabs my hips before teasing my back hole once more.
“Oh, yes. You're dripping for me, your needy cunt is?—”
“Ryan!” I yell out at his filthy mouth.
“—waiting for me. I can already feel how tight you’re going to be. Sucking me in so deep.”
I call out as he grips my hips and impales me in one fluid motion. His one hand drifts up and down my back as the other has a tight hold on my waist as he drives into me from behind. With every strike he gets deeper and I reach under my body to touch my clit.
His low laugh has me whimpering once more. “I need to come, Ryan.”
“Do it, Madeline. Fuck, you’re going to make me come.”
I work my hips on him while playing with my clit and though I’m dying for the release the closer I get to it, I slow it down, not wanting to come yet.
“Don’t fight it, Madeline.” His thrusts increase and his words are choppy. “There will be more later. Get this one now. Take me with you.”
He falls over my back and I turn my head, our eyes meeting, his just as desperate as mine. And when he bites his lip and gives me a wink I fucking lose it. My orgasm washes over me and I scream out. A second later I feel him pulse inside me and match my yell.
We collapse to the bed, him on my back and I relish in his weight over me. Our breathing is heavy and I laugh when he lays his head on my back and says, “I can’t move. I’m sorry if I’m crushing you but I think you broke me.”
I twist and he rolls to the side until we’re both on our backs looking up at the ceiling. He reaches for my hand and brings it to his lips kissing it before dropping it lifeless next to me again.
“Don’t ever leave me again,” he pants out with a chuckle and I turn my head sharply to him. I see the moment he registers what he said and his eyes get large before he turns his head facing me. “What’s said post orgasm can’t be held against me, right?”
I smile and curl into him. “I’m holding it all against you.” He huffs a laugh and lifts his arm so I can cuddle up next to him. “I’m getting used to having you around again.”
“Are we going to date now?” he asks.
I lean up on my elbow. “Are you asking me to go steady?”
He laughs. “The town made it official the moment you drove back in. We might as well.”
“Is that what you want or are you just moving with the gossip train?”
He sighs. “You know it’s what I want, Madeline. It has never been about me not wanting you.”
I kiss him lightly. I smooth my hand over his eyebrows and around his hairline. “I know. And me leaving was never about me not wanting you either. You have to know that.”
“I do know that.”
I nod. “Good. Because I want you. All the time, I want you, Ryan.” He pulls me in close and I feel the safest and most content I ever have.