Chapter 23
Nate
The force of Maddie’s kiss knocks me flat on my ass, jolting my spine against the hard wooden floor. She doesn’t even notice she’s tumbled on top of me until Skye takes it as her cue to join the fun, launching all seventy pounds onto Maddie’s back and shoving her harder into my chest.
She laughs, breathless, her mouth brushing mine. “She thinks she’s a lap dog, doesn’t she?”
“Shit, sorry.” I wrestle an overexcited Skye off us, setting her loose, and she rockets around the apartment in zoomies. My eyes lock back on Maddie. “You okay?”
The warmth of her smile echoes in her voice. “More than okay.”
“I think she likes you.”
Her lips twitch. “I’m very likable.”
“That, we definitely agree on.” I kiss her once more, then push off the floor and stand, pulling Maddie up with me.
I wrap my arms around her so she can’t escape my embrace and walk us to the open kitchen. When I set her on the counter, she spreads her legs, and I greedily eat up the space between us.
Our lips are a whisper apart. “Do you feel that, Mads?”
The desire that’s never wavered, the love that burns so deep within my bones, I could explode from our raw, insatiable chemistry.
Her labored breaths and blown pupils answer everything. Still, she nods, confirming the connection between us. It was never a question for me.
It’s always been undeniable.
Before we go any further tonight, with great difficulty, I force myself to slow down a moment and take a good look at her. Inspecting her eyes, which no longer look as glassy as they were earlier.
Thank fuck.
I’m not sure how much longer I can hold off.
“How are you feeling, babe?”
Her fingers rake through my hair, tugging to untie my mask; she lost hers in the limo a while ago. “That’s better.”
“Madeline.”
“The drinks haven’t impaired my judgment. I am coherent and know exactly what I am doing.”
“Good.”
I open the freezer, grab a frozen carrot I soaked in bone broth, and toss it to Skye, knowing it will distract her long enough for us to be alone. Then I spin back toward Maddie, and in one movement, she’s up and over my shoulder, fireman style.
“Ah. Nate!” Her laugh vibrates her ass, begging for it to be spanked as I run up the steps to the loft, securing the gate so Skye won’t barge in on us when she’s done. “You’re going to kill us both on these stairs.”
“I’m fit as fuck, Mads. I could run a marathon with you like this.”
In this position, she has the same angle to my ass, so she slaps it in return. “Who knew you were so cocky?”
I ease her down my body, inch by inch, until every line of her presses flush against mine. My cock jerks hard against her stomach, and I wink when her breath catches. “That is cocky.”
She smirks, and I can feel my restraint slipping.
Go. Fucking. Slow.
But the dress, despite being breathtaking, does need to go.
“I’ve missed you, Mads,” I breathe against her neck, dipping my mouth along her collarbone, following the trail of goose bumps down to the swell of her breasts.
A soft moan slides through her parted lips, and her head tips back, surrendering herself to me.
Knowing she feels everything I do only stirs what’s been locked up inside for all these years.
I step forward, causing her arms to fly up and grab my shoulders while easing her back until her legs hit the bed. She pushes up on her tippy-toes to kiss me, but I spin her quickly enough that she falls forward on her stomach with a soft bounce onto the mattress.
Maddie turns her head; her shocked expression is expected, but she’s still wordless, letting me play out every fantasy.
My hand rests over the zipper. “May I?”
Her brows arch in surprise. “Really?”
“I’m a gentleman.” Shrugging my shoulders, chuckling.
She scoffs into the mattress. I slap her ass again lightly. “What was that?”
Her head lifts enough for me to see that her gaze is alight with fire as it rakes over my body. “I said the bedroom is the one place you’ve never been a gentleman.”
My mouth lowers to her ear, my breath hot on her skin. “Don’t test me, Madeline. My restraint is already hanging by a thread.”
She tilts her ass back into me, grinding against the hard length straining my zipper. “Don’t hold back for my sake.”
My palms cling to her hips in an effort to stop her, but when she rolls her body into mine with that sexy, deliberate motion again, I break, hauling her flush against me.
Fuck, this feels too good, and by the loud moan that tears from the depths of my soul, everyone in the city will know how good.
Goddammit.
She knows exactly how to break me.
Fully clothed, I continuously rut against her, tightening my grip as pleasure builds. My head snaps, like I’m the fucking exorcist, and before I know it, Maddie is mimicking the euphoric movement, rolling her hips with urgency.
Every move pulls her dress tighter across the curve of her ass, and the way my hard cock fits perfectly in her crease with each pass is undoubtedly going to make me black out at any second.
I’ve lost all sense when I grab the bottom of her gown and scrunch it up around her waist. I need to see her, and then that’s when I almost die on the spot.
“Fuck. Me.” I growl at her red lace G-string that’s sucked so deep into her ass I barely see the string.
“Yes.” Her answer is a breathless prayer. “Please.”
Who the hell knew dry humping doggy style could be so fucking good?
I spread her apart, yanking the string aside, then roll myself against her bare skin. Maddie’s throaty moan only confirms that she still loves this as much as I do.
We never got around to anal, but she loved all the exploratory play we did. She’d try to deny it, my sweet, innocent Southern girl, but once we were alone in the bedroom, all bets were off.
“Nate. I need…” Maddie’s plea snaps me back from the edge, causing me to pull back on a curse and take a deep breath.
Get a fucking grip.
“Naked,” I pant, saying it more to myself, since I’m the one undressing her.
The dress slides open, revealing the smooth, toned expanse of her back. Another time, I’ll appreciate every inch of her that I’ve missed; however, that time is not now.
My fingers unclip her bra, and in one fluid move, I flip her onto her back, causing the fabric to shed easily.
By the time she’s bared to me, I’m speechless.
“Shit, Maddie.” My teeth sink into my lip as I reach down, tweaking one tight, pebbled nipple. Her eyes roll, and it’s just another reminder of what she likes and how sensitive she is.
She always loved it when I played with her, teasing her until she couldn’t take it any longer, or…when the unexpected happened and she orgasmed from nipple play alone.
Instead of leaning down and taking them into my mouth, I cup her full, perky breast in my hands, rubbing my thumbs back and forth over her sensitive skin, around her areola, and over her puckered nipple, mesmerized by how much I’ve missed her coming undone.
Every moan, sigh, and quiver I elicit from her. I need it now, more than ever.
“You’re perfect, Mads.” And I don’t only mean her body, though every curve could bring a man to his knees.
I mean her.
Maddie’s beauty is staggering.
She’s not just gorgeous, she’s astonishing, otherworldly, a true goddess written in the stars, made especially for me. Her mind, body, and soul are tethered to mine if she likes it or not.
“I need you.” My eyes snap up, lost again in the ecstasy of Maddie Grace. “And I need your shirt off immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I wink.
My hands barely reach the buttons when Maddie swats them away and leans up to do it herself. “Allow me,” she rasps, looking up through her lashes, her eyes twinkling playfully.
She works each button free with those perfectly polished red nails, pressing soft kisses to my chest with every reveal.
Button, kiss. Button, kiss.
Lower and lower until my shirt is untucked, hanging loose over my slacks.
“Tom Ford,” she reads the tag teasingly. “Of course it is.”
She flicks open the last button and leans in, her lips brushing over the rugged ridge of my cock through the fabric.
A strangled “fuck” slips through my lips when she drags her hands up over my stomach, teasing until she gets to my belt buckle, wasting no time unzipping me, and again her mouth presses another maddening kiss over my briefs.
“You’re going to be the death of me, Mads,” I hiss through my clenched teeth.
“Nate.” Still leaning over face-to-face with my cock, puppy eyes glancing up, she says, “I’ve missed you, too.”
“I’ve waited ten long years to do this again. I have no restraint.” I step back, shoving my pants, briefs, and shirt off, my patience completely obliterated.
I lift her higher onto the bed, propping her against the pillows, stripping the last of her dress and panties off. Then I undo her sexy silver heels.
“Gianvito Rossi?” I lift a brow. “Don’t you ‘Tom Ford’ me.”
“Good shoes are worth the price,” she chuckles, wiggling her toes.
When she’s stripped completely bare, I almost blow on the spot. “We can do slow later, shit, we can do slow every day for the rest of our lives. But right now, Mads, I need to consume myself with every inch of you, and I won’t be able to hold back.”
“Slow was never our thing—” She gasps mid-sentence, and for a split second, I think I’ve scared her off, only her eyes are wide like saucers, pointing to my chest.
I glance down, as if I don’t know exactly why she’s shocked. “All four brothers got ink when Claud was born,” I murmur, stepping closer, letting her take in the pink butterfly resting over my heart, tethered to an anchor. “To honor both her and Camila.”
Her hand trembles as it hovers over my skin. “And the anchor?”
My eyebrows arch with amusement, my fingers twisting the bead Maddie made for me all those years ago; she knows all too well its significance.
I cherish that bead more than anything else in my life, besides my niece.