Chapter 17
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Brogan
“Strip,” he says, his voice commanding yet soft. It’s a contradiction, and I can’t help but smile, because that’s Maddox. He looks like a bad boy at first glance, the kind of man your parents warn you to stay away from. Once you get to know him, you understand that his outward appearance is nothing of who he is inside. His tattoos tell a story of his journey through life, and his heart? Well, it’s full of gold. I’m certain of it. He’s been so good to me. He’s patient, kind, loving, and although I’ve seen passion from him before, I have a feeling tonight I’m going to get to see a whole new side to my husband, and that excites me just as much as knowing that I’m about to give the man I love a piece of me, that no one else will ever have.
“Brogan?”
Shaking out of my thoughts, I turn my attention back to my husband. “I spaced out for a minute.” I smile to let him know I’m okay.
“We don’t have to do this.”
“Oh, I think we do.” I reach for his jeans, and this time, he doesn’t stop me. I’ve already got them unbuttoned, so I ease his zipper down and tug around his waist until I can get them over his hips. He does a little move to get them off his feet and kicks them to the side. Next, I go for his boxer briefs. They're emerald green and do nothing to hide his erection.
Once I get them off him as well, I fist his cock in my hand. He’s so close, standing before me as I sit on the bed. He’s at the perfect angle for me to do something I’ve only thought of doing with him.
Moving in, I put him into my mouth. We both moan. I glance up to find his eyes on me.
“You don’t have to do this.”
I let his hard cock fall from my mouth. “I want to. You tasted me.”
“Fuck, baby, I really want you to, if I’m being honest. That hot mouth and those sexy lips wrapped around my cock will be a memory I take to the grave with me, but I’m not coming down your throat, not tonight.”
I’ve never had a man talk to me like this before. Then again, I’ve never dated, so everything with Maddox is new and exciting. “Then where do you want to… come?” I finally ask, feeling my face heat, but also feeling brazen and bold from his heated stare.
“Inside you.”
Heat pools between my thighs. “I’m on the pill,” I tell him.
He nods, letting me know he heard me. “I’ll wear a condom if you want me to.”
“Do you want to?”
“No. I don’t want anything between us, but it’s not my call to make.”
“Is it better without one?” I ask, because what the hell do I know?
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“I’ve never had sex without one.”
“But you want to with me?” I know I sound like a teenager right now, but I have zero experience with this. Sure, Briar and I, and even the girls, have had talks, but no amount of girl talk prepared me for my husband standing before me, telling me he wants nothing between us.
“You’re my wife, Brogan. I never want anything to come between us, whether that be a thin layer of latex on my cock, or any other outside distraction that could potentially take you away from me. I saved this for you. I know it’s not the same as what you’re giving me, but I, too, have never trusted someone to not try to get pregnant on purpose, so I made sure I always supplied the protection, even if they had it, we used mine. Fuck,” he says, tilting his head back. “I hate talking about my past with you while you’re staring at my cock like it’s your next meal.”
“I was kinda hoping it would be,” I say, shrugging.
“Tell me what you want, Brogan, and it’s yours.”
“What if I get pregnant? I mean, nothing is one-hundred-percent, right?”
“Then we start our family.”
Tears burn, but I blink them away. “Just like that?”
“Yeah, baby, just like that.”
I want that. I want him and the life he keeps saying that we can have together. “Okay. Then we don’t use one.”
“You sure?”
“I want something of yours that no one else has.”
“Baby, you have my heart. That’s only ever going to be yours. We can wait on this one.”
“I don’t want to wait. No more waiting, right? That’s what you said. That if we do this, if we take this step, then it’s us forever.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Then let’s start our forever.” Five words. That’s all it takes for me to seal our fate, for me to accept that this is real. That Maddox is my husband, and not because we got married when we were drunk in Vegas, but because he chose me.
Every single day, this amazing man chooses me.
I choose him too.
Bending, he captures my lips in a kiss that I’m certain would make my knees weak if I were not sitting. When he finally pulls away, he’s all business. “I need you naked.” Stepping back, he offers me his hand and helps me stand.
I expect him to help me get undressed, so I’m surprised when he climbs into bed in all of his naked glory and places his hands behind his head as he watches my every move.
“You’re not going to help me?” I ask him.
“Nope.”
There’s something about his heated gaze as it washes over me that gives me the courage I need to strip for him. Not just take off my clothes, but I do it slowly, swaying my hips, and putting on a show for him.
By the time I’m finished, he’s stroking his cock, and his eyes burn with desire. “Come here, baby.”
I do as he says and climb on the bed. Despite not having any clothes on, I’m not cold. My body is feverish with how much I want him. I start to settle beside him, but he grabs my hips and moves me to straddle him. His hard length rests just below where I need him to be, so when I rock my hips, his cock rubs against my clit. I moan at the contact.
“I thought maybe you might want to take control. You take as little or as much as you need.”
My face heats, but I don’t let that keep me from telling him what I want. If I’ve learned anything about my husband, it’s that I can say anything, and he’s still going to be here. My heart knows that, and my head, well, it’s starting to get on board with that realization. I’m certain I’ll have days where I have setbacks, but tonight, that worry is pushed to the side.
“I don’t want to be in control. Not tonight. Not this time. I feel like so much of our time together has been me trying to steer us to something that was inevitable. My head tried to convince me we’d never be here, but my heart knew better. Tonight, I just want to feel. I don’t want to have to think or make any more choices. Tonight, I want to be your wife, and I want my husband to have his wicked way with me.”
His cock twitches as a slow, sexy grin tilts his lips. “Not just tonight, baby. Every night, for forever, you are my wife.” He grips my hips, and before I know what’s happening, he’s flipped us, so I’m on my back and he’s hovering over me.
I widen my legs, making room for him, and he settles between them, exactly where he’s meant to be. Not sure where to put my hands, I rest them against either side of his face, cupping his cheeks. “I love you, Maddox.”
“I love you too, Brogan.” He drops his elbow to the bed, shifting all his weight to the left side, while his right hand ventures between us. “I need to make sure you’re ready.”
I laugh at that. “I’m ready, trust me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It’s supposed to hurt the first time, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t want it to.”
“I trust you.” As I say the words, I feel them cement themselves in my mind.
“Just let me make sure.” He slides his fingers through my folds and hisses. “Fuck, wet silk. That’s what I’m feeling right now.”
He slides one long thick digit inside me, and I lift my hips, needing more. His lips find mine in a kiss so sensual, I feel like I could combust just from his mouth on mine. However, my husband has other plans. He adds another finger, and I moan because it feels good. Too good.
“You, Maddox. I want you.”
“You have me.”
“In-Inside me,” I pant. “Please. I’ve waited so long.”
That’s all it takes for him to remove his fingers and bring them to his mouth. He sucks them clean, then smirks as he kisses me again. I can taste myself on his tongue, and that makes me even hotter. I’ve imagined this so many times, but my imagination has nothing on the real thing.
With his hands braced on either side of my head, he pushes forward. I tense up when I feel him, and he freezes.
“Don’t stop. Why did you stop?” I ask him.
“You tensed.”
“Don’t stop.” I lift my hips, and he slides in a little further. “I want all of you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You’ll make it better.”
“Every day, baby.” He slides in a little at a time, giving me time to adjust with each push of his hips.
“Just do it, Maddox.”
He nods and thrusts forward, and I feel a pinch of pain, but nothing at all like I was expecting. He bends and buries his face in my neck. His heavy breaths fall against my neck as I bury my nails in the exposed skin of his back.
“I’m okay,” I tell him.
“I just need a second,” he tells me.
“I promise you, I’m okay. You can move.”
He lifts his head, and his blue eyes, filled with so much love, stare down at me. “I’ve never felt anything like this, Brogan. I don’t know if it’s because there’s no barrier between us or because I love you so fucking much, but this… it’s like nothing ever before, and if I move right now, I’m going to lose control, and this is going to be over far too soon.”
“That’s okay, we have forever, right?” I ask, smiling up at him. My tone is light, and I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It doesn’t matter how fast this is over, because we have the rest of our lives to repeat this night.
He huffs out a laugh. “That is most certainly not okay. You come first. Always.”
“What kind of rule is that?” I ask him, smiling at the way he’s always taking care of me.
“It’s my rule. It should be every man’s rule.” He slowly pulls out and pushes back in. “You feel incredible wrapped around me. So hot and wet. I could live here, inside you, for the rest of my life.”
“Well, how about unlimited access the rest of your life? We still have jobs and families we have to see,” I tease him.
“There is no one else but you. You’re all I see, all I feel,” he says, pushing back in. He’s finding a rhythm, and I love every second of it.
I want him closer. I need—I don’t really know what, but I know that I need something. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I hold on tightly, and he slides deeper.
“Fuck,” he rasps, as he continues to pump in and out of me. “Touch yourself.”
“What?”
“Slide your hand down to your pussy, and rub your clit. I need you to come because I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hold on.”
Too turned on to care about what he’s asking me to do, I slide my hand between us and rub on my clit. Instantly, I moan at the contact. I’m so sensitive.
“There you go,” he praises. “Good girl. Keep going. I need you to come for me, Brogan.”
It’s as if his words have a direct line to my pleasure, because I feel it building. “Mad—” I try to say his name, but the feeling is too much. The fire of my orgasm builds as it rushes to my core. When it finally hits like a tsunami, I call out for him.
“That’s it, there’s my girl,” he says, pumping faster. “Fuck, you’re sexy. Your pussy is going crazy, baby.” He grits his teeth, and I feel the moment he releases inside me. Pulse after pulse until we’re both spent. Maddox somehow manages to flip us both over so I’m lying on top of him without losing contact.
He’s still buried inside me as I rest my head on his chest, feeling the rapid rise and fall as he labors for each breath.
“You doing okay?” he asks, kissing the top of my head.
I lift so that I can see him. “When can we do that again?” I ask, and he sputters with laughter. I find myself smiling at his reaction, even though I was deadly serious.
“You’re going to be sore,” he tells me, his breathing more even now.
“Worth it,” I say, and his body shakes as he laughs.
“Come on, wife. We’re all sweaty and messy. We need a shower.”
I climb off him, missing the connection, and he’s right. We’re messy, and we definitely need a shower. He follows me into the bathroom and turns on the water. As it’s warming, he lifts me into his arms, and I lock my arms and legs around him, accepting his kiss.
“I love you, Mrs. Lanigan.” His eyes are bright, and he looks happy.
He looks as happy as I feel, and I need him to know that, so I return his smile. “I love you too, Mr. Lanigan.”
“Why did we agree to do this again?” Maddox asks. He’s standing behind me while I try to finish getting ready. He trails his lips down my neck, distracting me.
“Because they’re our family, and we’ve been married for over five months and we have yet to host family dinner.”
“I want you to be my dinner.”
“Stop.” I laugh. “You are not going to get me all worked up before everyone gets here.”
“We have time.”
“They’ll be here in ten minutes.”
“I can be quick.”
“We both know that’s not true.” It’s been two weeks since we first slept together, and I’ve lost count of how many times since. We can’t keep our hands off each other, and it’s been… glorious.
“Fine, but I get to tell them you’re mine.”
“I’m pretty sure they already know.” Briar swears they could all see through our “we’re giving it six months” mantra.
“Don’t care. I’m telling them.”
“Are you going to keep your hands to yourself today?”
“What? No. Why in the hell would I do that?”
“Because the kids will be there.”
“Baby, those kids have seen it already. If you think for a second, Roman, Legend, or Forrest keep their hands off their wives because their kids are around, you’re wrong. Besides, it’s good for them to see strong, healthy, loving relationships.”
“Well, aren’t you insightful today?”
“Nah, I saw it on TV, one of those talk show things Lyra likes to watch at the shop.”
I burst out laughing just as we hear someone call out to us. “Go. Greet them. I have to put my earrings in and I’ll be right there.”
“Fine. Love you.”
My heart melts for him. I’ll never get tired of hearing him tell me that he loves me. “I love you too.” I peck a kiss to his lips. “Now go.” I push at him playfully, and he backs away, hands raised, winks, and walks out the door to greet our family.
“There she is,” Maddox says as I enter the living room. The gang is already here. I make my way to where he’s sitting, and he pulls me onto his lap. “Did you hear the good news?” Maddox asks the room.
“Are you having a baby too?” Rayne asks.
Briar freezes as her eyes find mine.
“You’re pregnant?” I ask.
She nods with tears in her eyes. “We told the girls first. We were going to tell everyone today. We just found out yesterday.”
“Briar.” My voice cracks, and tears fill my eyes. I stand, and so does she, and we meet in the middle of my living room to hug. We’re both crying, and when I feel arms wrap around me, I see it’s Maggie, Monroe, and Emerson.
The five of us stand huddled together, all crying because of this beautiful moment. My sister didn’t have anyone but me and our dad when she found out about her first pregnancy. Despite all she went through, she loved her babies, and now, here we are, both married to incredible men, and she’s doing it again. This time with the father by her side, every step of the way.
Finally, we break our little huddle and go back to our seats. “Are you?” River asks, and I laugh.
“No, sweetie, I’m not having a baby.”
“We could,” Maddox whispers, and as always, my husband knows what to say to claim another broken piece of my heart as his.
“We’re married,” Maddox tells the girls.
“We knowed that, Uncle Maddox,” Rayne replies.
“Yeah, but this time, it’s different,” he says, trying to explain it to my nieces.
“How?” River asks.
“Well—” Maddox starts, and I jump in to save him.
“It’s not different,” I tell them. “It’s better. We’re just really happy, and we wanted to tell you all about that.” The adults in the room are able to read between the lines. The ladies smile with happy tears glistening in their eyes. Whether that’s from our announcement or Briar’s, I’m not sure. Probably both, and the guys, they’re all smiling and nodding, wearing smug expressions. Yeah, I know, I was late to the game, but I’m here now, and I’m ready to take in everything it entails.
The twins seem to accept my answer as they rush to the corner where we keep toys for them and start to play. Lilly chases after them while Kane sleeps peacefully in his daddy’s arms. Maddox wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder while Roman tells him about his client yesterday. Everyone is laughing and talking, and happy.
Me most of all.
I never knew I could have this. I’m so thankful for this life and what’s yet to come. I’d like to think our dad had a hand in guiding us here. Maybe it was Mom too. They’re together now, and I know they’d want nothing more than for Briar and me to be happy and settled.
We’ve found our tribe, our people, our family.
“Let’s eat,” Maddox says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
With a flurry of activity, we all find our way to the kitchen to make our plates, and I can’t help but think back to the day a little over a year ago when everyone was here for the twins’ fourth birthday. So much has changed since then, but I wouldn’t change a single second of any of it.