Trouble in Sudden Falls: A Sudden Falls Romance (24 page)

“Rogan would respect it. He’s never woken me in the middle of the night, but if he does, this’ll assure that he knocks rather than barges in.”

Maddie took him by the hand and led him to the bed, toeing her shoes off before laying down and tugging him down next to her.

He settled on his back his right arm stretched out in an invitation which she immediately accepted, snuggling in to his side, resting her head against his shoulder and wrapping her arm around his waist.

For the first time all night, he felt like things might eventually be all right.

Eli’s neck smelled better than any scent she’d inhaled in her life. She buried her nose in his throat before dropping a line of nibbling kisses up to his ear. She heard his breath catch as she nipped his earlobe.

When she gently sucked it into her mouth, he seemed to lose it.

Eli groaned as he tightened both of his arms around her. He rolled so she was under him and the heavy, welcome weight of his body pressed her deep into the mattress. His lips met hers and he devoured her.

Maddie clutched at Eli’s back, wrapping one leg around his, completely caught up in the moment.

Desperation fueled every stroke of their tongues, every quick breath, every fevered caress of their hands against each other’s body.

It wasn’t enough. She needed to be closer. She needed to feel his skin against hers, his heartbeat pounding in rhythm to hers.

Maddie grabbed the hem of his golf shirt and pulled it up. He disengaged long enough to rip it up over his head.

Her shirt came next.

Eli gently nipped her neck sending a shockwave from his teeth to the very core of her being. As he flicked the front closure of her bra, she tunneled her hands between them to unfasten his khakis.

The light dusting of hair over his chest abraded her already tight, sensitive nipples and she couldn’t help the moan of pleasure that escaped her lips.

Their hands got in the way as they each tried to remove each other’s pants. Eli laughed a desperate, tight chuckle as he pulled her hands from his fly and shucked his pants and boxers in one swift motion.

Moments later, they were both bare, arms, legs, lips and tongues entangled.

“I need you. Now,” Eli rasped in a guttural tone which demonstrated the same madness that Maddie felt.

“Yes,” she answered, digging her fingers into the firm muscles of his buttocks trying to pull him ever closer until he filled up all the empty places inside of her.

Eli groaned and ripped himself away from her and Maddie whimpered. He dug frantically in the drawer of his nightstand until he came away with a condom.

She dragged her fingernails down his back as Eli rolled the protection on and then finally, after what seemed like years but was probably seconds, he came back to her. Maddie wrapped her legs around his hips as he guided himself into her.

It felt a million times better than she’d expected and she’d expected it to be good. It had been more than a year since she’d had sex and oh, how
she’d missed it.

She looked up into his face to see the strain showing around his mouth, his eyes closed in concentration.

He moved within her slowly, which sent a short-circuit through every nerve ending in her body. She had to bite her lip to keep from moaning out load.

He stopped and she whimpered.

Eli’s eyes opened and he smiled, moving again. “Oh, God.” He looked directly into her face. He took a deep breath slid deep and stilled again.

Maddie couldn’t take it anymore. She rolled them until she was on top, then sat up.

“Maddie,” Eli whispered, whether in warning or wonder she couldn’t say.

She raised herself to her knees until they were nearly disengaged before sliding back down until he was buried to the hilt.

“You feel so good.” Her voice sounded as hoarse as his.

She moved again, faster this time. Eli’s eyes rolled back in his head as she began rocking against him.

He clutched at her hips urging her into a furious rhythm, before pulling her down to him. “I-I’m sorry. I can’t last,” he groaned.

Maddie held him tight as he whispered her name and his body arched under hers then shuddered violently, his eyes wide and fierce—and trained on her as if she was his whole world.

At that moment, she wanted to be.

Afterward, Eli couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes. This would go down in history as his most embarrassing sex story ever. Not that it was a story he’d ever willingly tell.
Oh, God.
Even in high school he could go at least a few minutes before blowing his wad.

That couldn’t have been good for Maddie.

He waited long minutes before speech returned to him. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, still hiding his face in her neck. He couldn’t face her.

“Don’t you dare apologize.”

“I never lose it like that.” But in his defense, he’d never felt like that either. Like the whole world spun on the energy and passion put off from the two of them.

She kissed his shoulder at the curve of his neck. “Do you hear me complaining?”

“No. But you should be.”

She nipped him where moments before she’d licked his skin.

“Ow!”

“Well then shut up and let me enjoy the afterglow.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

Finally he decided to look into her face. She brushed his hair back from his face and he nuzzled into her palm. He moved to separate them and she whimpered.

“Shh.” He kissed the end of her nose. “I’m going to ditch the condom.”

Maddie let him go, but he sensed her reluctance to do so. Eli made it back in record time to find Maddie under the blankets, lying on her back. She lifted the corner in invitation and he slid in next to her.

Propping himself up on his elbow, chin in his hand, he didn’t know what to say to her. This was
Maddie
. He’d known her since birth… and suddenly, they were lovers—even if he’d done a lousy job of it.

“Hi.” She smiled softly.

“Hi yourself.” He found himself grinning for the first time since he arrived home and found Rogan trying to get his car started. “So… about that.”

“You’re not going to try to apologize again, are you?”

Eli bit his tongue. He actually had been.

“I know it didn’t go quite as you planned but it was…”

He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to finish.

“Well, flattering.”

“Really?”

“Look at it in reverse. If you made me… finish within seconds, how would you feel?”

“Um,
Hooray?
”

“Exactly.”

Eli leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth. “You
are
looking very satisfied with yourself,” he noted. “Almost smug.” He kissed a short trail from the side of her face, up to her ear. “Know what?”

“What?” Her voice cracking as he licked the outer rim of her ear.

“I’m also about to look very, very smug.” He bit her lobe and Maddie sucked in a long breath and squeaked.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and moved as if to sit up. “You don’t have t—”

“Oh, yes I do.” He grabbed both of her wrists in one hand and held them over her head, thereby giving him the ability to kiss her neck and access the rest of her body with his other hand.

He took his time, stroking the pad of one thumb over her right breast while suckling the other. She squeaked as he pulled her nipple well into his mouth.

“Eli!” she gasped.

He kissed, licked and nibbled a trail down her front, stopping for a moment to elicit a giggled response as he swirled his tongue around her belly button.

She stopped giggling when he moved lower, nuzzling her thighs apart. He took a moment to run one finger over her, barely touching and her legs fell completely open.

Eli let go of her hands and circled an arm around each of her thighs, positioning her for his feast. He sensed more than saw her grab handfuls of the sheets at her sides as he ran his tongue around her tight bundle of nerves before licking into her.

She tasted so good and the noises coming from deep within her throat made him feel like a king. To his amazement, Eli felt his own body begin to respond again.

He slid one finger into her and she moaned loudly before pulling a pillow over her face. Eli chuckled before reapplying himself to his task. Moments later she clamped down on his hand, every muscle in her body going taut as she let out a muffled scream into the pillow.

She reached down and grabbed a handful of his hair while still crying out in pleasure. Eli allowed her to tug him directly up her body until he was cradled between her thighs.

Her face was flushed and her hair lay mussed and tangled on the pillow. “That’s better,” he said, unable to stop the grin from spreading over his face.

“You are definitely looking smug,” she whispered.

“And you’re definitely looking satisfied,” he responded.

“That’s good. I’m feeling mostly satisfied.”

“Mostly?”

She wriggled until her legs were wrapped around his waist and he was positioned at her opening. His body surged against her.

“You’re going to be looking really smug again in a few minutes,” he said, grabbing a condom and rolling it on before slowly sliding into her hot, wet depths, his heart sending his blood pounding through his veins.

“A few?” she whispered.

He rocked into her and she arched her back and gasped.

When they awoke the next morning, they were in exactly the same position as when they’d fallen asleep, Eli’s front to her back and his arm wrapped tightly around her, brushing the underside of her breasts. Eli started when the phone rang before reaching for the cell on his nightstand. “H’lo?”

Maddie turned to watch him, praying it was good news from the vet. He didn’t give any indication from his expression or tone of voice when he hung up. She reached out a hand to touch his back.

He turned around, taking her hand and holding it to his chest. “That was Chloe.”

Her stomach sank. It couldn’t be good news. “How’s Fluffy?”

He stayed quiet for a long moment. “She made it through the night. Chloe said the next twenty-four hours would determine whether she’d pull through. She wasn’t willing to give me any sort of odds of her chance. Better than it was last night, but she’s not out of the woods yet.”

“You going to tell Rogan?”

Eli nodded, glancing over at the clock. “Yeah. I might as well wake him up now. You want me to give you a minute to make your escape?”

She nodded. That was it? No Good morning kiss? No
Thanks for the memories, babe
? “Yeah. Thanks.” She slid out from underneath the blankets.

Eli grabbed her wrist and gave it a tug. “Not so fast,” he said, a slow grin lighting his eyes and turning up the corner of his mouth.

One more tug, and Maddie found herself flat on her back.

That’s more like it.

His lips met hers with urgent insistence. She was fully engaged by the time he made a light biting trail down the side of her neck. She quickly found herself directly under two hundred or so pounds of very turned-on man. With little or no input from her consciousness, she wrapped her legs around his hips, the feel of his hardness against the soft, hot juncture of her thighs making her whimper.