Because He Plays Me (Because He Owns Me, Book Seven) (19 page)

“
D
o
you Madden Alexander Cross take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” the minister asked.

Madden looked at me, his eyes bring with emotion. “I do.”

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. We stood in the backyard of Madden’s home six weeks after her proposed, in our home, with a small crowd of friends and family watching us exchange vows.

Once the story had broken about Madden, he decided that he needed to fully reconcile with his past. He found his mother who had since sobered up and was a nurse’s aid in Oregon. She’d remarried and she had not stopped crying or apologizing since he had them flown to Boston.

She’d followed his success over the years and had wanted to reach out, but after being such a horrible parent, she thought he was better without her. Tears filled my eyes every time I saw her watching him with so much pride that she glowed with it.

Company executives and their wives looked on with smiles on their faces. I expected to be ignored or shunned or any number of things that the rich do when a poor person infringes upon their circles when we were all introduced, but it never happened.

They had made me feel welcome from the moment they arrived.

Many more people from the company sat in the chairs facing us. People I had met as they arrived in a whirlwind of names and congratulations and well wishes. It was obvious that Madden was a well-liked and respected boss.

I glanced at the front row where Lindsay sat, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She represented my family and that was okay. My father had another five years on his sentence and my mother was nowhere to be found, though Madden had tried.

My only regret was that Gran wasn’t there to see me walk down the aisle. I knew that she’d approve of Madden.

“Do you Skylar Ella Kinsey take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the minister asked me. I stared up at the most amazing man I had ever met. Tears filled my eyes. “I do.”

I never thought I could be this happy. Half a year ago my life looked so very different. I had accepted how it would be. Who knew that one moment of courage could have led to my happily ever after.

As soon as the minister said, “you may kiss the bride,” Madden had me bent back over one of his arms and he was kissing me like he’d never get enough. People in the crowd whooped and clapped. When he finally stood me upright, my face was red and my heart threatened to beat right out of my chest.

And I could not stop smiling.

“May I present Mr. and Mrs. Madden Cross,” the minister shouted. “May your life be full of happiness and love.”

I took Madden’s hand and together, we walked back down the aisle, now husband and wife.

“
Y
ou took
my breath away when you came down the aisle, but right now, right this moment, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”

I stood on the threshold of our bedroom wearing a long nightgown made entirely of black lace. A slit ran up the side and ended at my hip. The front dipped down low and formed a V that ended just above my naval. The material slashed down across my barely covered breasts and Madden had not taken his eyes off them since I walked into the room.

When he finally lifted his gaze, the love that shone from his eyes took my breath away.

“I am the luckiest man on earth,” he said, reaching for me.

I slipped my hand into his and he led me to the bed. It would be the first time we made love as husband and wife and I was strangely nervous. I already knew we had this part down very well, but something about getting into bed with the man you pledged your life to only hours earlier made it real.

“I love you,” I said.

Madden sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me onto his lap. The slit allowed me to straddle his lap where only the thin material of his silk lounge pants came between us.

He cupped my face and kissed his way from my eyelids to my chin. “You are my everything, Skylar. I love you.”

He slid the straps off my shoulders and ran his thumbs over my nipples. Each time he touched them, pleasure fissured through my body. He knew how to play my body and he did it so well.

He shifted and I was on my back. His lips were on mine, so gentle and so reverent that tears burned my eyes. I shifted and opened my legs enough so that he could move between them. I needed to feel him; I needed the physical connection to go with the expanding emotion in my chest.

Today had been perfect. Madden was perfect. And soon, our lives would be even more perfect.

Madden slid slowly into me and I gasped. He gripped my hair, holding my head steady so that he could stare into my eyes every time his hips moved. There was no hurry, nothing frantic about tonight. The friction was agonizing, but I was mesmerized watching the changes in his eyes.

With each thrust, they grew darker. His breath came out heavier. He moved his mouth so close that I could feel every warm exhale.

“Skylar,” he groaned.

I lifted my hips just a fraction and his strokes now slid across the nerves just inside that would take me over the edge. I felt him swell, grow thicker as he rested his forehead against mine. His eyes were black now and low growls rumbled in his chest.

Though his thrusts were still slow, my climax raced through me and my body tensed.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

I forced my eyes to remain open, even as the pleasure crashed over me like the biggest waves in the ocean. They sucked me under and still, I kept my gaze locked with his.

“I love you,” I said.

His jaw clenched and after just a couple more slow thrusts, I felt him stiffen, then burst apart inside me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and pulled him as close as I could. We lay like that, completely entwined in each other until the early hours of morning. Husband and wife.

I
stirred first
.

Madden had his arm over my waist and I slid out from under it. A sour taste coated my throat and I ran for the bathroom.

It had been like this for the past few weeks.

I already knew what it meant and had waited to tell Madden until we were married so that I could give him the best wedding gift I had to give. I wiped my face and rinsed out my mouth and went back into the bedroom with a smile on my face. It was finally time to share.

Madden was just stirring. I climbed onto the bed still naked and leaned down so that I was only an inch from his ear.

“I have one last surprise for you,” I whispered.

A lazy grin curled his lips up. “I already like how this one is starting.” He ran a hand up my thigh and over my ass.

I bit his earlobe and shifted my lower half out of his reach. “You know the room across the hall?”

“I know there is a room across the hall, yes,” he said, distracted now by trying to slip his hand between my legs.

I loved that he didn’t have any idea what was coming. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“I was thinking that we should redo it.”

“You want to talk about redecorating now?” He changed tactics and ran his fingers down over my chest until he cupped one of my breasts. His thumb flicked over the tip. I couldn’t ignore the stab of desire that radiated through my body when he moved his head so that he could take it into his mouth.

“Well I suppose we could always put the baby in the east wing since there’s plenty of room there.”

He murmured his agreement, then several seconds later, he froze. When he lifted his head the question was burning in his eyes.

“We’re going to have a baby,” I said softly, taking his hand and moving it to my stomach. “In about seven and a half months.”

Unrestrained joy broke over his face and he started to grin. “No fucking way.” His gaze dropped to where his hand rested. “A baby?”

“I hope you don’t mind,” I laughed.

“Mind?” He leaned forward and gently kissed my stomach. “I promise that there won’t be a single day in your life where you doubt that you are wanted and loved little one.”

Tears burned my eyes. Neither of us had known what it was like to grow up in a home surrounded by loving parents. The same would not hold true for our children. I already loved the child growing inside me more that I thought possible, and it was a love that was only matched by how much I loved Madden.

Somehow, some way, we had found our way to each other and in doing so, had conquered our pasts and opened the road up to a future limited only by ourselves.

We had our entire lives ahead of us now, and every minute would only get better.

I had found my real life Prince Charming and he was so much more than the fairy tale had promised.

I
really hope
you enjoyed this series, and that you were as elated for Madden and Skylar’s happily ever after as I was! Please leave a review and let me know. If you want to get updates on new releases, please
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.

-Ella