The Love Series Complete Box Set (107 page)

“I want you.” Maddy pushes up into me and grinds her hips against my cock. “Oh, God. Reid.” Her voice is throaty and filled with need, and it drives me fucking crazy. My mind can’t even function enough to say anything. I just want her and I don’t want anything to get in the way. I lean back on my calves and unsnap her jeans. Just as she arches her hips so that I can slide them off, Braden unleashes a wailing scream from his room.

We sit quietly for a minute and hope he’ll be able to calm himself, but we’re not that lucky. “He’s lucky he’s cute,” I huff as I stand from the bed. I turn around when I’m at the door and look back at Maddy. Her golden hair is splayed out like sunrays across her pillow and her chest rises and falls quickly as she works to calm her breathing. “Don’t you dare move a muscle. I’ll be right back.” She nods as I wink at her.

The screaming is at an all-time high. Braden’s face is red and streaked with tears, but when he hears me walk in the room, he quiets a little. That doesn’t last long and his cries pick up in intensity. “Hey, hey, what’s going on, buddy?” I try to calm him without having to rock him, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Standing up in his crib, he’s reaching out for me. He’s been crying so hard that he can’t quite catch his breath. “Okay, I gotcha. Shh, shh, it’s alright.” Tucking him under my chin and against my chest, I sink down into the glider once again and rub his back. While the screaming has subsided, he’s still uncomfortable, and more importantly, he’s not asleep.

“Buddy, you gotta learn a little something about Mommy and Daddy time. This is so not cool.” Braden grunts and I can’t help but chuckle. It’s like he actually understood me—right, like I’d be so lucky.

Gently patting his back, I try to soothe him some more. When he stretches out his legs rigidly and grunts once more, I know exactly what the problem is. With a few more pats to the back, he lets it rip and his body relaxes instantly. “Seriously, all of that screaming over a fart?” He coos and cuddles into me. I kiss the top of his head and smile. “You’ve seen how hot Mommy is, right? Do you hate me or something?” I joke with him even though he has no clue what I’m talking about. “Just wait, little man. I’ll get you back somehow. Just you wait.” He farts again as if he’s trying to tell me, “Take that, Dad.” Shaking my head, I laugh at him once again.

I put him back in his crib after a few minutes. Whispering softly, I tell him, “Night, buddy.”

Maddy’s light snoring is the only thing that greets me as I walk back into our room. Slipping out of my jeans, I mumble, “So much for that, huh?” I know she’s exhausted—hell, so am I—but we’ve really got to break out of this once a week routine. It’s killing me!

I slide under the covers and Maddy curls over to her side. Wrapped in the sheets, I spoon up behind her and fall asleep to the thoughts of a very sweet wake up call.

Chapter 2

As the sun filters in the next morning, I reach to my side realize I’m alone. Great. So much for our early morning romp I was looking forward to.

It’s just past six in the morning, and the apartment is wrapped in a sense of calm and quiet which only appears before Braden is awake.

Very carefully, I peek into Braden’s room and see he’s still sleeping. Walking out into the living room, I realize Maddy’s not here. She must still be out on her morning run. Well, at least she’ll definitely be awake when she gets home.

Hmm—thoughts of steamy, shower sex race around in my blue-balled brain.

Just as I start getting the coffee ready to brew, Maddy sneaks in the front door—obviously trying to be as quiet as possible so that she doesn’t wake Braden. She catches sight of me in the kitchen and mimes a sleeping motion with her hands. The gesture that I want to mime about what I want to do to her will likely end in me having to sleep on the couch, so I think better of it and just nod about Braden still being asleep.

I pull down two mugs for us as Maddy walks over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. Heat ripples off her sweat-glistened body as she moves past me. My brain is stuck in some sex-crazed, slow-motion haze and the droplet of sweat that has just beaded at her neck drifts slowly down the upper swell of her breast before plummeting rapidly into her cleavage. She’d always had a nice rack, but ever since she had the baby . . . yeah, really nice. Really, really nice.

And the tops of those exceptional breasts are currently popping out of her tight, hot-pink sports bra. Her chest is heaving as she works to catch her breath while chugging her water. When a rogue drop of water trickles down her chin and races behind the bead of sweat, lodged in between her soft flesh, my cock twitches to life. Of course, she catches me staring and immediately thinks the worst.

“Stop!” Maddy wraps her arm around her stomach as if doing so is going to hide something. “Why do you look at me like that?” She always seems the most self-conscious after she runs, which is ironic if you ask me. I think she looks fucking hot. She should be all high on endorphins and shit like that. But, for whatever reason, since the pregnancy changed her body, her runs became less about doing something she enjoyed and more about doing something she felt obligated to do.

I step closer to her and stare down into her bright, green eyes. Swiping a piece of hair from her forehead, I angle my head to the side. “Like what?” I question with a hint of annoyance in my voice. We’ve already been here before, and while I can accept her body has changed, she can’t.

“Forget it. I’m not getting into
that
this morning.” She chugs the last of her water. “I’m going to shower before he gets up.” She huffs as she tosses her water bottle into the recycling and I’m left speechless at our exchange.

It’s amazing how quickly her attitude shifts. Last night, she was all hot and bothered at the idea of me wanting her; my attraction to her was acceptable. But now, if I look at her like I want her, which apparently makes me crazy, then I’m somehow insulting her.

I mumble, “Okay,” as she walks past me once again and inhale deeply. She smells like a sultry mixture of clean and dirty—citrusy shampoo and salty sweat; fresh, summer air and hot, sweaty woman.

There is no way on earth I’m letting her shower by herself, especially if she thinks it’s wrong of me to be attracted to her “gross, stretched out, baby-body” as she calls it.

When I hear the water start up and the shower curtain slide closed, I quietly open the bathroom door and join her under the hot spray.

With her back to my front, she grunts—an exasperated noise—and leers over her shoulder. “What?” she huffs with an attitude that I’ve seen all too often—one of which I’m not too fond. Her light-blonde-turned-brown hair is splayed across her back as she lifts her face to the water. When she raises her arms to wring out her hair, I band my arms around her waist. Immediately, I feel her tense.

Resting my chin on her shoulder, I nuzzle into her slick skin and lick a path through the water sliding down her neck. “Talk to me, Maddy. Please?”

Marginally, she relaxes into my embrace. Folding her arms on top of mine, she laces our fingers together and turns to face me. “There’s nothing really to talk about.” She shrugs her shoulders lamely.

Turning her around in my arms, I lift her chin with my finger and gaze into her mossy-colored eyes. It’s tough to tell since we’re in the shower and all, but I see the shimmer of tears there. Cupping her cheeks tenderly, I silently will her to open up. When she doesn’t, I have to resort to words. “There clearly is something wrong. Today is supposed to be a happy day. And here we are in a shower, not doing what we do best in showers because you’re obviously upset. So talk to me, please.” I lean down and kiss her forehead as she wraps her arms around my waist and leans into my body.

The feel of her tits crushing into my chest, her nipples grazing along my skin, drives me crazy. But I need for her to open up first before I can push the moment any further. Scenes from some stupid cooking show she made me watch the other day race alongside those of a ball game I watched last night and miraculously, I keep my erection at bay.

For now.

I let my fingertips skim over the peachy skin of her back and smile into her hair when I feel goose bumps dot her flesh. Maddy’s shuddery sigh vibrates against my chest. “Today is a happy day, but I guess I just thought I would be in a different place. That’s all. I know it’s silly to let how I feel get in the way of our son’s birthday, but I just . . . I don’t . . . I still feel disgusting.”

Laughter bubbles in my chest and she slaps my arm. “What?” There’s anger in her eyes. She hates when she thinks I’m laughing at her, but she should know by now that I’m laughing at how ridiculous she’s being.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me? You? Disgusting? That thought
never
crossed my mind.” I hope she can hear the sincerity in my words, see the pleading in my eyes. No such luck, apparently. She just turns away from me and shuts off the water, essentially putting her foot down on the conversation we obviously need to have.

We move around the bathroom like two people who are accustomed to sharing the small space. She steps to the right and wraps herself in a towel as I move to the left to dry my hair. Her shoulders sag under the defeat of her self-consciousness as she walks across into our bedroom. I follow her and marvel at the sexy sway of her hips. The round curve of her ass dances beneath the cotton and the soft slope where her neck meets her shoulder is dotted with beads of water.

Braden is still sleeping peacefully, so I click the door closed behind me and unhook the towel from around her chest.

“Reid! Give that back!” she huffs angrily as she tries to cover up her breasts with her arms. If she thinks that’s going to keep me from getting excited, then she’s most definitely wrong. The sight of her creamy flesh spilling out from behind her lean arms makes my groin jump to life.

Insta-rock-hard.

I drop my towel from my waist and stand so close to her that the evidence of just how hot I think she is pokes her in the thigh. “Drop your arms,” I command with a gruff voice that she doesn’t listen to, of course.

“We have a lot to do today. Can we just deal with this later?” Her annoyed words float over her shoulder as she turns away from me to get some clothes from her side of the dresser.

Now, I’m pissed. I can’t say I understand her insecurities—she’ll always be perfect in my eyes, but I can at least recognize them and try to make them vanish.

I stand behind her and turn her around in my arms. “No, we will deal with this now.” She takes a step back away from me. Whatever clothes she’s just pulled out of the drawer are dropped to the floor when she hears the tone of my voice. “Oh, an eye roll. I’ve never seen that one before, Maddy.” Yeah, that one just gets me another eye roll.

“Oh, it’s on now.” Waggling an eyebrow, I stalk toward her as she moves backward. When the back of her knees bump into the bed, even though she stumbles slightly, she manages to stay upright. Stepping into her space, I motion as if I’m going to kiss her, but pull back from her lips at the last second. I know she wants me, and the inch she just leaned into me, more than proves it. I move into her again, snake one arm around her waist and pull her toward me as my hand splays across her lower back. Fisting her hair at the nape of her neck with my other hand, I tilt her head to the side and unleash my tongue on her neck. Alternating between sweet licks and tender bites causes her body to melt into mine. I press my fingers firmly into the dimples of her lower back—fuck, those are sexy—and lift her slightly off the floor.

As I drop her on the bed, she gasps in shock. I lie beside her and trail my finger down the middle of her body. “Now, you’re going to listen very carefully. You. Are. Beautiful.” She turns her head to the side, trying to deny me my words. Cupping her chin, I turn her face back to mine. “You are. That’s it. Now, let me finish.” She’s still all pouty, so I straddle her. Yep,
that
got her attention, real quick.

With one of my hands, I encircle both of her wrists and raise them above her head. With the other hand, I slowly tickle the soft skin of her arms. I catch her eyes roll back in her head and goose bumps race in the wake of my fingers. “Leave your arms there.” She nods subtly at my command. Lips replace my fingers and I kiss every inch I can reach. When I finally make my way to her breasts, my cock twitches against her belly. She feels it and stares at me—a look of disbelief flitting across her face. “Yes,” I answer her unasked question, “you do that to me.”

My lips return to their previous job of bringing her to the brink of pleasure. As they lick and nip at her neck and collarbone, I gently squeeze her breasts. Strumming my thumbs over the puckered tips causes her to groan. “So responsive . . . so beautiful.” I suck a nipple deep into my mouth while I pinch and roll the other between my finger and thumb. Her hips thrash about wildly and arch in the air searching for some kind of relief. “Soon, baby. Very soon. Just let me finish convincing you.”

I rake my teeth over her hardened nipple one last time and grumble a purely male sound of satisfaction when she calls out my name. My restraint is paper-thin at this point. Whether she sees her beauty or not, I need her. I need to taste her; I need to bury myself inside of her.