Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Her mouth dried up. “Why, does it matter?”
“Eve,” he growled, his tone unrelenting.
“Fine,” she whispered, the hand on her jaw giving her no choice but to look him in the eye when she really wanted to bury her face somewhere and hide, the vulnerability of the moment so heavy, it thickened her voice like cake batter. “I never trusted anyone but you. Never felt safe with anyone but you. I had t-to wait for you.”
He made a sound she’d never heard before. A sound she’d never heard anyone make and one she couldn’t describe. And she’d never seen this man shed a single tear, not even in the hardest moments during his illness, so the layer of moisture in his eyes felt like the world was ending. “Eve, I—”
The rumble of an engine to Eve’s left was followed by a dual approach of headlights, approximately fifty yards away. An old car rolled into the parking lot playing “Rock Lobster” by the B-52s, the sound muffled by their rolled-up windows, and Madden cursed darkly, pressing her tighter to the wall, which sank his impossible hardness as deep as it could go, and baring his teeth over the top of her sobbing mouth. “Don’t move.”
“I can’t.”
“Am I hurting you?”
“The opposite,” she gasped.
He still had that mysterious sheen in his eyes, but he seemed distracted by whatever had caused the show of emotion. Distracted by the connection of their bodies, which he ground together now, his head falling back on a shaky exhale, Eve jolting at the new, forced angle that kept them hidden from the parking lot, the thickest part of his arousal rubbing relentlessly against her clit.
A car door slammed on the other side of the building.
Two loud voices carried on the wind, making the new arrivals seem close. So close.
“Don’t stop,” she whimpered.
“There’s a good girl,” he groaned, his breath hot on the crown of her head. “There’s my beautiful wife telling me how to make her come.”
“Oh god.”
The voices got louder.
He fucked her harder.
Stamped his mouth over hers, just in time. Just in time for a concrete wave to mow her down, winding up her insides like barbed wire around a fist, then freeing her, letting her whip out into an open, unfamiliar space while this man, this man who made her weightless, held his drive deep between her legs, his entire rock-hard frame shaking like a leaf while she whined and kicked through the orgasm, the door slamming at the front of the building, the voices cutting off, and no sooner did that happen than he was plowing into her two, three, four final times and erupting, letting loose a sensation she couldn’t have imagined accurately if she tried. The white-hot flood, the sudden full-body tremble of him, her own sense of fulfillment watching Madden take his own.
“Love, my love, my love,” he muttered into her neck, rolling his face around, his arms banding around her to hold her tight to his body, like he’d never let her go. Ever.
That should have been a sign of what was to follow.
They slowly came down from the high peak of their own creation, the breaths slowing over the course of a couple of minutes, the sprinkling rain cooling their feverish skin. His mouth lingered in places like her cheek, her temple, pressing hard kisses while his hands moved, fixing their clothing. Stroking her bottom and apologizing in between presses of his lips for being rough, for the bruises she might have in the morning.
His movements were sweet and caring. So much so that Eve wasn’t expecting the look of pure determination blanketing Madden’s features when he finally stepped away from her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
“Deal’s off, Eve. I want more than six months.”
Those words didn’t sink in until after he twined their fingers together and started walking, five steps, ten . . . all the way to the front of the building, where he kissed her hand and let it go.
“Good night.” He leaned down and slanted their mouths together, just one, thoroughly devastating kiss that could have developed into another trip to the shadows if he hadn’t stopped, moving slowly, reluctantly out of her reach. “I’ll be back soon.”
His earlier words came back to her in a rush.
Deal’s off.
I want more than six months.
“Wait,” she called, panic burdening her chest. “Deal’s on!”
“Off,” he roared back, slamming the driver’s-side door shut, starting the engine, and driving off into the night while she stood with her jaw on the worn welcome mat.
What the hell had just happened?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Holy shit, this was really happening.
Eve had expected delays, red tape, asses to kiss. But somehow, the town inspector had not only approved the rear yard of the club for a designated outdoor space, but their contractor’s plans had been approved.