She sinks her teeth into her plump lower lip, and my pulse races. I know that look, and I’m here for whatever filthy thoughts are going through her mind. She shifts to straddle me, wrapping her thighs around me. Now her amazing tits are right there in my face, nipples already stiff and pebbled through the thin cotton of her top. I let out a grunt as my cock strains at my jeans.
“Talking is just one way to communicate,” she says, sighing as I dust kisses along her collarbone.
When I look up into those hypnotic eyes of hers, I see the love shining there. More importantly, I see the acceptance. She knows it all now, and my girl is going nowhere.
In fact, she’s grinding against my dick like her life depends on it, letting out little mewling sounds. I kiss her neck again, trailing my lips and tongue over her sweet-smelling flesh.
I thought I loved her before. Now I know what it really means to worship someone, body, mind, heart and soul. She is my Goddess, and she always will be.
Chapter 32
Ellie
It’s late, and I’m still at work. I’ve had meetings all day, racing from one to the other, and now I’m finally catching up with myself. I glance at the clock on my Mac and see it’s just after six. Maddox will have found out by now if his application for the business loan was successful. He had his final meeting with the investors at four, and I’m desperate to know how it went.
I gave him a little set of Guatemalan worry dolls last night. They’re the sweetest things, tiny and dainty. Made of brightly colored wool and cloth, they’re from the Mayan tradition. You’re supposed to tell them your worries and put them under your pillow before you sleep at night. Then by morning, the dolls will have taken all your worries away. He loved them and made sure they were all tucked away beneath his pillow before we fell asleep. Given how nervous he was this morning, I’m not entirely sure they worked, but this is a huge thing for him.
I’m confident that he’ll get what he’s asking the bank for, and I hope he calls soon and puts me out of my misery.
His plan is solid. It’s well thought-out and researched. Beautifully presented, if I do say so myself. He could buy the place outright with his trust fund, but he wants to succeed without using his money as a crutch. He rarely touches itanyway. Setting aside the odd spontaneous purchase of a signed Yankees cap, of course. I smile at the memory. Our early days, when we were still tip-toeing around this thing between us.
Now, months later, here we are. In love. Coupled up. Living in our own little bubble of bliss. We’ve been even closer since Maddox confessed what he did all those years ago, and I couldn’t be happier.
I meant what I said to him. I have no problem with the morality of it. I’ve spoken to Uncle Loz since and told him that I know. Lorenzo is the kind of man who will take many secrets to his grave, and Maddox’s would have been one of them, but I don’t want him to feel like he has to keep it from me. It’s better this way.
“That’s good news, Ellie,” he’d said. “I’m glad he told you. It shows how much he trusts you, and how much you mean to him. And just for the record? That boy handled himself well. He dealt with a situation that needed a tough solution, and he wasn’t scared to go down that path. I know you’re going to tell me you don’t need it, but he’ll look after you.”
No use arguing with a man like Lorenzo Moretti, who looks after Mia in a way that blows my mind. Besides, I might be a feminist, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like feeling safe. Being a feminist means doing what I want, doesn’t it? Choosing what’s right for me? And Maddox is right for me. In all his goofy, possessive, dominant-yet-tender, dark-yet-light glory.
There’s a knock on my door, and Maddox pops his head around. My heart actually jumps at the sight of him. How is it possible to love one person so damn much?
“You still busy?” he asks.
I shake my head, eager for news. “No. Get in here. How did it go? I’ve been waiting for your message, or a call.”
He grimaces. “I forgot to charge my phone again. And I knew you were busy with meetings until late, so afterwards I went andvisited Nathan and Drake to tell them the news, and then I came here to let Elijah and Mase in on the plan.”
“Oh. Is that the only reason you came here?” I ask, fluttering my eyelashes at him.
He grins. “Of course not, baby. You’re the main attraction. The star of the show.”
He walks into the room, and I get my first full look at him. “Wow, actually, can you just stop for a second and let me admire this view? If they were giving out loans just for hotness, thenkerching.”
He laughs and gives me a twirl. He’s wearing a suit, and, unusually for him, it looks new rather than vintage. He shrugs, bashful. “I just thought it’d be good to have one of these things in my wardrobe. You know, for business meetings.”
I laugh and come out from behind my desk. He is so wonderful, this complicated man of mine. Rich enough to buy his own Caribbean island yet still awkward about wearing a new suit. I already know enough about him to guess that it’s made of organic materials and from a sustainable brand with an impeccable ethics policy.
It also fits him perfectly and makes me want to peel it off him and then lick him all over.
“So come on. Stop teasing me and tell me how it went. And don’t do that thing they do on TV shows, where you pretend it’s bad news but it’s actually good.”
He looks a little confused. He doesn’t watch a lot of TV. He gives me a slow grin that transforms his face. “I got it. All of it. They said they were willing to take a chance on me because they had every faith that I could make a success of my own place. That I combined passion and drive with solid business sense.”
“Yay!” I shout, then start to dance around the room, throwing my hands above my head and shaking my hips. “Come on, Mad. Surely this is deserving of a happy dance.”
He grins and joins in, showing off some killer moves. I know how much this means to him. He was desperate to go it alone, to prove that he could do this himself. His brothers are all fantastic, and they think the world of him, but he felt the need to show them what he was capable of. That he wasn’t the fuck-up anymore. I don’t think any of them really see him like that, but I get where he’s coming from.
“I’m so proud of you, Maddox,” I say, once we stop our happy dance. I glide into his arms, letting my hands slide inside his jacket. His firm, muscular body is as swoon-inducing as ever, even more so beneath the suit. It’s a thin veneer of sophistication that he can swap out for brute force with a moment’s notice.
