Chapter 30 #2
“So, I have to ask—and you can absolutely tell me to shut up, that it’s none of my business.
..” Bonnie said, as she stuck a fry in her mouth.
“You and Maddox?” I blushed immediately and cast my eyes down to my food.
“I knew it!” She squealed. “I absolutely love this. He has never been with anyone—not really. I have never seen him with any girls, and I am one of his favorite people. I could tell right off the bat that there was something between you two, and that he is serious about it.”
“Why do I feel like you’re one of everyone’s favorite people?” I was unable to hide my smile. Her joy was palpable and contagious. “Well, I hope he is serious. I really didn’t want to get hurt.” I couldn’t hide how I felt about him.
“If he hurts you, I will hurt him. But please don’t hurt him either,” she had a pleading look on her face.
“I have no intention of messing this up on my end,” I said, being as honest as possible.
“When we are done eating, I have a bunch of clothes for you to try on.” She took a bite of her sandwich.
We chatted and ate our fill. Once we were finished, we cleared the table and put the dishes back onto the cart.
Now it was time to play dress-up, like I was a child going through her mother’s closet. That used to be one of my favorite things to do. Charlotte and I were always going through both of our mother’s closets.
By the time our day was done, I had tried on so many different outfits for so many different things.
I would be wearing suits for the meetings with Alexander and Scott.
I had cocktail dresses for dinners and casual dresses for the arrival reception and brunch.
Then there were the formal dresses that I had tried on for the gala. So many clothes.
Before I left her office, Bonnie said she would be doing a trial run with table settings and décor for each space. The plan was for her to contact me to let me know when it would be ready for me to sign off on.
“You are amazing and seem to have everything in order. If you need anything, just let me know.”
“Thank you so much. I will get in touch if I have any other questions.” She wrapped me in a hug, and I exited her office.
I pulled out my phone and called Maddox.
“Hello beautiful.”
“Hello, my love. Where are you at? I just left Bonnie’s office.”
“I am in my office next to the control room. Do you want me to come find you?”
“No, I will come to you.”
“Alright, baby, I will see you in a few minutes.”
I hit the end button on the phone and slid it into my pocket.
I arrived at Maddox’s office a few minutes later and knocked on the door.
He opened it and pulled me inside. As soon as the door was shut, he pushed me up against it and closed his mouth on mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and melted into his kiss.
The sound of cat calls and whistling pulled my attention away from Maddox.
I looked around and realized that there were windows in his office that allowed him to view the control room. I blushed immediately seeing about a half a dozen people looking at us through the glass.
“I should probably close the blinds.”
He gave me an evil grin as he lowered the blinds, blocking us from prying eyes.
“Can they hear us?” I asked, because I had heard them.
“Only if I press this button,” he said, pointing to a small button next to the phone on his desk. “I can always hear what’s going on in there unless I mute it in here.”
“So don’t press that button, okay?” I said as I walked toward him.
“I don’t need every man in my department having fantasies about you. I don’t intend to let anyone hear the sounds that I can coax from those sweet lips.” He started kissing me again as he pushed my jacket off my shoulders.
“I am not stripping down in your office.” He picked me up and walked to his desk.
His eyes locked on mine. “I am fully committed to making sure you scream my name at some point today.”
He hooked a finger under my chin and leaned down, pressing his lips to mine. I did want him. I wanted him all the time, but things needed to get done. Later—we would have time later.
“So, since we aren’t going to have sex at the moment did you have something else in mind?” I asked, teasing him.
“I would like to show you the cabins.”
He took my hand and led me out through the door. We made our way downstairs and exited the building out the back door, leading to the gardens.
“I think this will make you a little more comfortable.”
We walked through the garden and down a paved path that led through the woods.
It opened into a cul-de-sac. There were seven different cabins that all looked the same but different.
They were of varying sizes, but all were painted light gray with white trim.
Each one had a small porch with Adirondack chairs, and all of them were absolutely charming.
I would much rather stay here than in the main building.
The cabins were currently buzzing with activity.
Staff members were carrying towels, bedding, paper products, toiletries, and cases of water into each one.
It was like a resort; a huge firepit was directly behind the cabins and an inground pool off to the right side.
Next to the pool was a hot tub that was large enough to comfortably hold ten people or more.
“This is kind of amazing; I can’t wait to see what the inside looks like. Which one is mine?” I asked with my childlike excitement bubbling over.
Maddox smiled. “The one in the middle; it’s slightly larger than the others. Normally, you would spend a lot of time here. The conveniences of home can be priceless.”
We approached the cabin and walked onto the porch. There was a wooden swing on one side and two chairs on the other. Maddox turned the door handle and pushed it open.
Inside there was wood flooring everywhere, aside from the living room.
The layout allowed the kitchen, living room, and dining room to flow seamlessly from one to the other.
The living room had charcoal-colored furniture, and light grey carpeting.
White cupboards and black granite countertops made up the kitchen.
A huge island stood in the center, making me smile at the thought of cooking a full meal or baking something here.
The dining room held a beautiful wooden table and matching chairs with gray padded seats. I proceeded down the hall and there were two doors on one side and one on the other. In the center was a spiral staircase leading to the second floor.
I opened the door on the right, and it revealed a master bedroom with an enormous wooden four-poster bed. Maddox squeezed my hand and I looked over at him. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. The same thought was rolling around in our heads—rolling around in that bed.
“Later, big guy,” I said, patting his chest. I heard a low growl and smiled at him.
I walked into the room, noticing a matching dresser and a walk-in closet.
A dressing table was against one wall, with a chaise lounge next to it.
The closet was empty, and I assumed the dresser was too.
There was a stereo sitting in the corner of the room next to a set of double doors that led outside.
The ensuite bathroom had a large claw foot tub, and a shower with multiple heads and enough room to bathe a wildebeest—or a werewolf. A huge vanity lined one wall with two sinks and a full mirror. The room was made up of mostly white tile. The towels and rugs were all a very deep red color.
I returned to the bedroom and peeked through the doors leading outside.
There was a patio with a hot tub. Beyond that was the gathering area where the large pool and firepit were.
This was obviously my room. A thought snaked its way into my brain, threatening to derail me.
He had slept in this room, probably countless times.
Even at home, I didn’t take over his room—hadn’t even thought about it.
I needed the thoughts to stop. I wanted out of this room, just for a minute.
I was done running, but damn it, I didn’t need to meet every, tiny, thing, head-on.
I crossed the hall and found a second bathroom and a small bedroom with two sets of bunk beds. That’s weird.
“Security sleeping quarters,” Maddox answered the question before I asked it. Less weird, kind of.
We climbed the staircase and there were two more rooms. One had a king size bed, a dresser, a makeup table, and a lounge chair. The other bedroom was set up the same way. Each bedroom had an adjoining bathroom.
“This is really nice. I can stay here when I’m on property?”
“You are the boss—you can stay here whenever you want.”
“I would like my personal items brought here. The clothes and bathroom stuff are all I have here.”
“I have a meeting with Bonnie in a little bit. While I’m there, I will arrange to have your things moved.”
“What are you meeting with Bonnie about?”
“Things need to be set a certain way due to security. She also handles stocking the cabins, so she will be needing the head counts that I obtained today.”
“I would like to talk to Alexander about Charlotte. I want to find out where her head is and if he is serious about her. If he is doing nothing more than babysitting her, then enough is enough. She needs to come home.”
“You know you can’t make her do that. You are not her keeper, and she is an adult. Maybe if she is causing Alexander grief then he has earned it somewhere along the line. He is no angel, trust me.”
“Because you are?”
“Oh, you know, I’m no angel.” He leaned in close. “Do you think an angel could fuck you the way I do?”
I felt my face go hot. He did that on purpose. He pulled me tight against him and pressed his lips to mine. I felt his strong hand squeeze my ass and I pushed in closer to him. He smacked it and squeezed again.
“I’m still calling,” I said with his lips still pressed to mine.
“And I’m still making you scream my name later.”
“Bet your ass you are,” I said, kissing him again.
We left the cabin, walking back toward the compound. When we got inside, I turned to Maddox. “I have an office?” I asked, wanting to have my own space that I was able to work from.
“You do, and it is near my office and Ronan’s.
” He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and placed them into my palm.
“These are your keys for the cabin, the apartment, and your office. You are able to get a master set for the whole building, but these are your keys for your personal spaces. I do have copies of them; because I am head of security.”
“So, are you going to show me the office?” I asked him.
“I will walk you up there, but I will leave you at the door. This was Ray’s office; there may be things in there that could be triggering.
His personal things, we didn’t want to touch anything without you saying, what goes, and what stays.
I think you should have some time to yourself, to process while you are in there—especially the first time. ”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.”
“You may want to redecorate the whole thing. It is a very masculine office.”
“I’m sure I will over time but for now I’m certain it will be fine.” We rode the elevator to the top floor and Maddox took me to the opposite side of the control room.
“This is it.” He kissed me on the forehead and wrapped his arms around me.
“I will see you soon. I am meeting with Bonnie for about half an hour or so. Text me if you need me or when you are finished. Seriously, Jos, if you need me, just call my phone.” I pushed up onto my toes and gently pressed my lips to his.
“See you in a bit.”
He squeezed my hand and moved toward the elevator.