Chapter 18
MADDIE
As Rio escorts me out of the restaurant, I see a group of women my age watching us with envy.
To them, we personify what the tabloids now call us: The Engagement of the Year.
Inside our suite, the air is cool and quiet. My stomach flips with anticipation at what could happen next.
It has been a long time since I had a man. The pull between Rio and I this weekend is undeniable. My body is on fire for him.
Rio turns to me, his fingers tangling in my hair. Then he tilts my head back as he pulls me toward him.
He bends slightly, his enormous height dominating my petite frame.
His kiss is soft. Featherlight. A tease.
I respond immediately, melting into his embrace and pressing my lips harder against his. I open my mouth, inviting him in, my hands clutching the lapels of his silk jacket.
Yip!
Rio pulls back slightly.
Yip! Yip!
We pull apart, breathless. I look down to see Snorty sitting between our feet, looking up with an indignant expression.
I adore Snorty, but damn, that dog and his sense of timing.
"I am sorry, Maddie," Rio says, chuckling breathlessly. "Snorty is right. I better leave. Keith needs me at practice."
I boldly take his hand and stand on my tiptoes for another kiss.
"Tell them you are going to be late," I whisper against his mouth. "Or never."
"Can't do that. They will likely storm this place trying to find me," he murmurs.
But I kiss him again, and he kisses me back. Then he pulls me toward him, indulging me. His tongue sweeps against mine in a way that makes my knees buckle.
But then he pulls away again.
"I have to leave now before I'm tempted to blow off the gig entirely," he says, his eyes dark with promise. "But I’ll be back."
I watch him leave, Snorty trotting after him to the door.
“He’ll be back,” I tell my dog, trying to convince myself.
The room is quiet now. Especially after the fire between us.
The hotel’s turn-down service has already passed through. The lights have been lowered. And a gorgeously wrapped 'designer chocolate' had been placed on the pillow like a sealed invitation.
It’s the kind of scene most people only see in movies.
What would it be like to live in a place like this? What would it be like to live as the version of me that Rio looked at—really looked at—just now?
I let out a breath, but my body is still burning with tension that has nowhere to go.
I move toward the bathroom but pause by the full-length mirror. The dress I wore to dinner still hugs me like a second skin. I reach for the zipper at my side and lower it, letting the garment slide to the floor.
The hotel carpet feels plush under my bare feet. Standing in the soft glow of the room, I catch sight of myself in the mirror.
I'm draped in nothing but the black lace lingerie Antoine insisted on earlier.
Damn. He was right about lingerie.
It truly is architecture.
The bra lifts my breasts just enough to make them look fuller, rounder, a contrast of soft skin and dark lace.
I run my fingertips along the scalloped edge where the fabric cuts sharply against the curve of my breasts.
The matching panties hug high on the hips and dip low in the front, tracing a perfect frame around my body.
I turn slightly and see what Rio would see. The cut flatters the swell of my ass, round and bare.
With my hair still fresh from the stylist and my makeup untouched, I don’t look like a teacher anymore.
I look like a woman meant to be touched.
Touched and ravished. I bite my lower lip and wonder what Rio would do if he walked through the door right now and saw me like this.
I walk into the oversized marble bathroom and run the tub. A wide display of luxury bath products lines the edge.
I choose a jar of lavender soaking beads and pour a generous handful into the streaming water. They dissolve on contact, releasing a delicious scent.
Then I climb in slowly, inch by inch, until the water swallows me. My legs float, weightless. My arms drape along the tub’s sculpted edges.
The warmth pulses through every inch of skin, softening muscles and silencing thoughts.
Almost.
I close my eyes and picture Rio’s face above mine. The strong line of his jaw, the rough scratch of stubble against my neck. His mouth demanding but gentle. Hungry.
My hands drift beneath the water, grazing my thighs, hips, and belly—tracing the same path his fingers might follow.
I slip my hand between my legs. The warmth of the water makes everything more intense—more vulnerable.
But it’s not enough.
I reach for the silver shower wand beside the faucet hook, detaching it from the wall.
I turn on the pulse setting, flicking through the speeds and angles until I find the right one—a gentle, steady rhythm.
I bring it down between my legs, just over my clit, careful to aim it low and build slowly into the sensation. Tiny sparks zip up my spine.
My head falls back against the tub edge as my eyes flutter closed.
In the darkness behind my lids, it’s not me in the tub.
It’s us.
Rio behind me. His hands gripping my hips as the water splashes around us. His cock hard against me, teasing, pressing. His voice rough and low in my ear.
Mine.
I moan softly. “Rio…”
The water pulses in circles as I chase the sensation. My hips rise slightly, toes curling, every muscle tightening.
My release comes fast—almost too fast—and when it does, it unfurls in wave after wave until I can’t do anything but gasp in pleasure.
The wand slips from my hand and splashes into the water.
Steam swirls around me as I sink low into the tub—not quite submerged, not quite floating.
Just breathing.
For a moment, there is peace.
But only a moment.
As the bubbles fade and the warmth begins to cool, a loneliness winds its way back into my bones. I touched the edge of something electric.
And now it’s slipped away.
I don’t just want the release.
It's Rio's heat, his weight, his mouth at my neck I desire.
I want the tension of hands holding me still.
I want the man behind the rockstar swagger.
Not just for tonight.
But for ever and ever.