Chapter 14 Madi
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Madi
Midnight struck, but I was still wide awake. I should have been buried beneath the blankets and snoring, but every part of me sparked like a live wire. I curled over my tablet, my wrist brace on, pen in hand, sketching things I absolutely shouldn’t have been sketching.
But, that was the best part about being an artist. I loved drawing cute scenes as much as the next person, but I also loved drawing sexy tension.
Right now, that tension was in the form of Dallas’s hands.
They were almost all I could think about. How rough they were, and yet how gentle he was. The restraint, the control, the ease. I swallowed hard as I sketched the vein that ran along the top of his hand.
God, I was a simp. Not only was a simp, I was a perverted one. Ever since we’d had coffee together, all I could think about was what it would be like to explore kinky sex together. It’d been three days, and yet the man was still on my mind.
Our date was on my mind.
Just what exactly was I getting myself into on our upcoming date? Did I want to explore all the kinks our conversation held the promise of?
Every time, the answer that came to mind was yes. Of course it was yes. I owed it to myself to explore some fun with someone as sexy as Dallas, didn’t I? Especially after years of wanting more.
Justin and I had always been mismatched in the bedroom. My libido was a hell of a lot higher than his, to the point where he’d get annoyed when I tried to initiate anything sexual. He wanted to be the one in control, but then when it came to actual sex—he was vanilla as they came.
Spanking? Out of the question.
Bondage? Why would he ever take the time to learn how to tie knots?
Orgasms? I got really fucking good at faking them. Too good.
The only thing I wasn’t sure of now was June.
Kissing her had been a surprise, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I loved her tattoos. I loved her hair. I loved how good her lips had felt against mine.
Even thinking about it now made my thighs squeeze together.
I wanted her in my bed.
Just as much as I wanted to be in Dallas’s.
Admittedly, I’d already done a little light stalking.
I learned that June’s floral shop had been in a couple of Texan magazines.
Whynot Bloom was a small-town darling. All of the pictures on Instagram were of her floral arrangements, the mums she’d mentioned, or her with her two friends—Avery and Evie.
I was a little envious of their friendship. One of my wishes for myself was that I’d be able to nurture new friendships with people who wouldn’t side with someone like Justin.
People who actually liked me.
I lifted my pen for a second, staring down at my screen. The page was covered in a dozen different sketches and poses.
Truly, I was a sucker for a hand flex.
I could feel the hyper-focus setting in. I took a moment to straighten my spine and stretch. There was a proper desk and ergonomic chair in the corner of the bedroom by a large window. It was nice that they even thought about that sort of thing. I had a feeling that was Avery’s touch.
Everyone here was so thoughtful. To a point that made me wonder if I was selfish.
I wasn't sure if I would have ever put the amount of care into a space like this that they had.
The room was large with a small kitchen and a bathroom with one of those tubs I wanted to drape myself in for hours on end.
During the day, the sunlight was perfect.
The bed was stupidly comfortable. The hotel was quiet.
I'd only run into a few guests here and there, but most of them minded their business.
If I didn't have reality breathing down my neck, I'd want to stay here forever.
I had enough money to get by for the next three months. Even though I'd always been on a budget, I'd still managed to be smart about it. Now that I wasn't paying so much in rent, that was helpful too. Plus, my severance pay was a little bit of a cushion.
I just needed to get my shit together. I needed to update my portfolio and apply to other studios and actually create animations for them to look at.
The whole reason I was here was to create something. To feel inspired by Whynot.
But what did I even want to make?
The entire town was beyond charming. Every corner of Whynot was cute. June's floral shop could have been a set from a Hallmark movie. I’d been storyboarding ideas about the town, about the landscape around it—really anything I could think of.
Maybe tomorrow I'd give myself a little tour. Stretching my legs would be good, especially after working late the last four days.
I opened a fresh page on my tablet and twirled the pen between my fingers. At the edge of my focus, an idea dangled itself, taunting me because it was just out of reach.
For so long, I'd been tied down by what my studio wanted me to work on. Most of the time, I was just tweaking the technical process involved in creating animations. But set design and character design were where I wanted to be. Those were the parts of creating that I loved the most.
Then the question followed—what story did I want to tell?
My eyes started to go out of focus, a signal that it was time to turn in for the night. With a groan, I dropped my pen and slid off my wrist brace. I'd been working for almost twelve hours and all I had to show for it was horny yearning and some hand flexing sketches.
I turned my tablet off and stood up from the chaise, stretching my arms overhead with a long groan. Every muscle sighed in relief, thankful for the movement.
Despite the need to sleep, I moved to the center of the room and knelt down on the rug—keeping an ever watchful eye for scorpions. I flowed through a few stretches, spending time on my forearms and neck and shoulders especially. My body would thank me for it later.
I was bad at self-care unless it came to preserving the parts of myself I needed in order to make art. My shoulders, neck, and wrists ached at times, but when they did—I took the time to move them. Stretch them. care for them. Even if it was inconvenient.
Once I finished, I threw myself onto the giant bed and turned out the side table lamp. Darkness swallowed me and I was tired, yes, but I couldn't get my brain to turn off.
The conversation with Dallas had been turning over in my head like a giant, never-ending Ferris wheel.
Primal kink.
I knew what it was. I wasn't completely new to BDSM. While I'd never explored it the way I wanted to, I'd certainly done enough research. The glint of mischief in Dallas’s sweet eyes reminded me of an amused wolf waiting to pounce, and more than anything, I wanted to be his prey.
Running wasn’t my favorite form of exercise. But running from a sexy man who promised he’d made me come so hard I couldn’t remember my name? I’d run for that.
But what about June?
Where did she fit into all of this?
Was I being selfish by wanting two people I’d just met? Was I losing it?
Dallas and June weren't together, but I wanted them to be. If I were still with Justin, I'd be silently lusting after the two of them while rooting for them to be together. Now kiss, I wanted to yell at them.
I snuggled under the blankets, pulling the soft quilt around my shoulders.
Maybe during my little walk tomorrow, I'd do some investigating and find out more about why June just wanted to be friends with Dallas.
Not that I was a matchmaker.
But for those two?
I kind of wanted to be.