29. Chapter 29
Halloween Morning
She woke to warmth. To the brush of fingers against her jaw, slow and reverent. To the soft inhale of breath behind her, the heat of a body wrapped around hers like a second skin. His skin. His scent. His heartbeat steady against her spine.
Maddie blinked against the light filtering through the curtains, and found Heath watching her—already awake, already here.
He was propped up on one elbow, golden hair rumpled, bare chest warm against her back, eyes darker than usual. He reached out, trailing a finger down the side of her neck, over the fading bruises. Yellow now. Nearly gone. But not forgotten.
He didn’t speak at first. Just touched her like he was memorizing her. Like he didn’t quite trust that she was real yet.
Then he leaned in and kissed each mark. One. By one. By one.
Soft. Deliberate. Devotional.
“No one,” he murmured, his voice rough and thick, “will ever touch you like that again.”
Her chest pulled tight. She turned toward him, threading her fingers through his hair. “I know.”
He kissed her shoulder. “Come to Natalie’s today.”
“For the Halloween party?” she asked, blinking sleep from her eyes.
He nodded, pushing the sheets down to her waist so he could see more of her. “Yeah. The kids’ll be in costume. Jesse and Hayley are bringing baby Chester. You should come.”
She gave him a look. “You just want me there for the pumpkin cupcakes.”
He smirked. “I want you there because I love you.” His hand slid down her side, anchoring her to the bed, palm warm over her hip. “And because you’re mine.”
God. That word in his mouth.
Her stomach flipped, heat coiling low.
He leaned in, his mouth brushing her jaw. “And because this is it for me, Maddie. You. No one else.”
Her eyes burned. “You say that…” she whispered, “but I can’t give you everything.”
He stilled slightly. “What are you talking about?”
“The kid thing,” she said softly. “Doctors said it would be difficult. Maybe impossible.”
He didn’t flinch.
“Okay,” he said, calm as anything. “Then we talk to them again. Maybe it’s fixable. Maybe not. If it is, we take it step by step. If it isn’t... we find another way.”
“You’d really be okay with that?”
He rolled her onto her back gently, hovering over her now, his voice steady.
“Baby. If I get you and no kids? I’m still the luckiest son of a bitch alive.”
Her throat went tight.
“If you want them,” he said, “we’ll figure it out. And if you don’t, I’ll still build a life with you. One that doesn’t need anyone else’s version of complete.”
Tears blurred her vision. She gripped his arms, grounding herself in the reality of him. Warm. Solid. Fierce.
“I love you,” she said, barely a whisper.
Heath kissed her. Slow and deep and full of promise.
Then—
He pulled back just enough to smile, something wicked curling in the edge of it. “You know what else I want?”
Her lips parted. “What?”
He slid lower, mouthing down her neck, across her collarbone. “You. Every damn inch of you.”
Her breath caught.
“I want to fuck the memory of him out of your skin,” he whispered. “Not because you need it. But because you deserve to remember exactly who you belong to now.”
She gasped as his mouth moved down, teeth grazing just above her breast.
“Heath—”
“You wanna feel good?” he asked, voice ragged. “Let me give you that.”
She nodded, breathless.
And then his mouth was on her, open and hot and hungry.
He peeled her shirt up, tossing it somewhere behind him. His palms traced over her ribs, slow and reverent, then down her sides as he pushed the sheets off completely. She was naked now. Laid out in morning light.
He stared for a second.
“Jesus, Maddie,” he murmured. “You look like something I’m not supposed to touch.”
She smirked. “Then don’t.”
He grinned, eyes flashing. “Not a fucking chance.”
His mouth was hot on hers, deep and hungry, tongue stroking hers until she was gasping, arching into him, her fingers clawing at his back. He rolled over her, one hand braced beside her head, the other dragging down her body like he needed to map every inch from memory.
Her shirt was gone. At some point, so was his. There was only skin now—his against hers, hard muscle over softness, heat pressed into heat.
He kissed down her throat, slow and reverent, then lower, his lips brushing the bruises that still lingered on her chest. She tensed, just for a second. But he didn’t stop. Didn’t flinch. Just kissed them—soft, slow, sure. Like he was rewriting the memory with every brush of his mouth.
Then his tongue dragged over her breast, warm and wet, circling her nipple until it was tight and aching. He sucked it between his lips, lazy and deep, until she moaned and arched beneath him.
Her thighs shifted. Her breath came faster. She needed more.
Heath moved lower. Kissing, licking, nipping his way down her stomach. His hands slid beneath her knees and spread her wide, groaning low in his throat when he saw her.
“Fuck, baby,” he murmured, eyes dark. “You’re so wet already.”
His fingers stroked her once, slow and deliberate, just to feel the heat of her. Then again, firmer, sliding through her folds, teasing her clit until she whimpered.
And then—his mouth.
She cried out when his tongue touched her.
Hot, slow licks. Long, devastating drags that made her hips buck and her fingers knot in the sheets. He groaned against her, low and filthy, the vibration making her whole body clench.
His hands held her open. His tongue worked her open. Circling, pressing, flicking until she was panting, gasping, begging. He didn’t let up. Didn’t speed up. He just stayed there, licking her like it was the only thing that mattered in the world.
“Please,” she gasped. “Heath—God, please—”
He pulled back just enough to look up at her, lips wet, eyes burning.
“Come for me,” he growled. “Let me taste it.”
She shattered.
Her back bowed, her thighs trembling, her orgasm ripping through her in waves so hard she sobbed his name. And Heath stayed with her, groaning into her as she came, licking her through it, dragging every last drop of pleasure from her until she was shaking.
Then he moved.
Crawled back up her body like a man possessed. His mouth found hers again, kissing her slow and filthy, letting her taste herself on his tongue. She was still panting when she felt the weight of him between her thighs.
He reached down, stroked himself once, twice. Pressed the thick head of his cock against her soaked entrance and just—held there.
“Ready?” he asked, voice rough.
She nodded, dazed and desperate. “Please.”
He pushed in.
Not slow. Not gentle. Just deep. All the way to the hilt in one long, punishing thrust that knocked the air from her lungs.
Her mouth fell open. “Oh my God—”
He grunted, burying his face in her neck. “Jesus, you feel good. So fucking tight.”
He pulled back and thrust again. And again. Setting a rhythm that was brutal and relentless and perfect. Their bodies slapped together, sweat-slicked and needy, the bed creaking beneath them.
Heath grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head with one hand, his other bracing beside her face. His eyes locked on hers, wild and blazing.
“Mine,” he said, each thrust punctuating the word. “You’re mine.”
“Yours,” she gasped. “Yes—God—Heath—”
She came again without warning, screaming his name, her body clenching so hard around him he swore out loud, hips stuttering as he lost control.
And then he was coming too—deep inside her, with a growl that came from somewhere animal, his whole body shuddering as he emptied himself into her.
They stayed like that for a long second, still trembling, still breathing hard, her wrists still pinned in his hand.
Then Heath dropped his forehead to hers, exhaling hard.
“You okay?” he asked, voice low.
She laughed, breathless. “I don’t even know what planet I’m on.”
He smiled, then kissed her again. Slower now. Sweeter. But still… hungry.
Eventually, he rolled them onto their sides, pulling her against his chest, tucking her under his chin.
“Never letting you go,” he whispered, voice already thick with sleep and something deeper.
“Good,” she murmured, eyes already drifting shut. “Because I’m never letting you stop doing that.”
He chuckled, kissing her hair.
Then—quiet.
Warmth.
Peace.
And everything exactly where it should be.