“Are you sure?” he murmured into my neck, and I replied almost in a whisper, “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure.”
One second, we were in the entryway, and the next, I was being picked up and carried toward my bedroom. His strong arms lowered me onto the bed, his gaze full of hunger.
“You really think I’m the one who’s going to break first?” he murmured. “Sweetheart… you have no idea what you’re doing to me. Undress for me.” he said as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, revealing himself to me. His chiseled chest is barely visible in the dim light, but I didn't know he was hiding all of that this whole time. I slowly pulled off my dress, leaving me in just my bra and panties. I haven't been with anyone since Olive’s father, and for a moment, I felt insecure. My body has changed since having a child, and I don't look the same as I used to. All these feelings melted away when Seth grabbed me and laid me back against the mattress.
“You deserved to be worshipped, Madison”, he said, trailing his fingers along my stomach. I instinctively tried to cover up my stretch marks, but he pulled my hand away and slowly lowered his head. “Don’t ever feel like you have to hide yourself from me, sweetheart. Every part of you is beautiful.” I felt heat pooling in my lower abdomen, my panties became wet from arousal. I felt my breath catch as his words sank into the places I’d kept guarded for years.
“Please… don’t stop,” I whispered, surprising even myself with how badly I meant it. He slowly pulled my panties off and threw them on the ground.
“You're so wet for me,” he said as he grazed a finger over my folds, coating it in my slickness. He slid a finger into me, and his tongue darted out, teasing my bundle of nerves. He stroked me slowly, yet I felt myself beginning to unravel. My head snapped back, and I fisted the sheets as I moaned. “God, yes, Seth, just like that.” I grabbed a handful of his hair as I felt myself reaching my breaking point. My back arched, and I felt him smile as he slid another finger deep inside me, causing me to break. He let out a deep moan and licked me clean, lapping up every last drop.
I laid still for a moment, processing what just happened. Seth climbed back up and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I palmed the growing bulge in his pants and muttered, “Take them off.”
He obliged, pulling off his pants, then his boxers. His cock sprang free, the head glistening with precum. He reached down for his discarded pants and grabbed a condom from the inside of his wallet, then rolled it down his length.
I moved back further onto the bed. I finally unhooked my bra, and my breasts spilled free. He leaned down, palming one at a time, and then slowly pulled my nipple into his mouth, lightly sucking. “You are so beautiful,” he said, and planted another kiss on my lips before lining himself up with my entrance. His eyesmet mine, and I gave him a nod of reassurance, then, in one swift movement, he slipped inside me.
I instantly became full, my walls stretching to fit him. He started thrusting, slow at first, and then eventually quickened his pace. I buried my face in his chest, my nails scratching his back. He let out a moan and picked up his pace even more, and I felt myself getting close. “God, you feel amazing, sweetheart, almost like you were made for me,” he moaned, his strong hands wrapped around me.
“Oh my god, yes, Seth. Just like that, I’m almost there,” I cried out. He slammed into me as he growled, “That's it, sweetheart, give me another one.” I screamed his name as the orgasm hit me like a train. I hadn’t felt that good in years, and for a moment, I almost didn’t remember what it was like to be touched with intention. I felt him start to tense up, and a guttural growl escaped from his lips as he came inside me.
When we finally separated, both of us gasping for air, he brought his hand back to my cheek like he couldn’t help himself. His eyes were dark with something I didn’t dare name.
“You undo me, Madison.”
Heat spread through me at the rough sincerity in his tone.
“Good,” I murmured, smiling despite the storm inside me. “Because you’re undoing me too.”
He kissed me once more, slower, sweeter, before finally pulling back. He didn’t push for more, and that restraint, that respect, only made me want him more.
I crawled out of bed and slipped on a t-shirt and PJ shorts. I saw Seth slowly getting up from the bed and reaching over to grab his clothes. Once dressed, he leaned down and kissed me on the lips. It was slow, passionate, and tender.
As I walked him to the door, my pulse still racing, I realized something I had been too afraid to admit until now. I didn’t just want him. I was starting to need him.
And that thought didn’t scare me anymore.
Chapter 42
Seth
The sun was already creeping over the horizon when I stepped onto the porch of the main house, coffee in hand. The air was heavy with the warmth of summer, the kind that promised another sweltering day, but the world was quiet except for the drone of cicadas. I lowered myself onto the steps, staring across the yard at the guesthouse.
Last night replayed in my head like a song on repeat. The way Madison’s voice had caught when she invited me in. The taste of her lips, slow and certain, carrying both hesitation and hope. The way she had whispered it was exactly what she wanted, and the way her hands had clung to me like she was done holding back.
It had not been rushed. It had not been careless. It had been deliberate, tender, the kind of moment that shifted the ground beneath my feet.
I rubbed my thumb across the rim of the mug, thinking about how different it felt to wake up knowing that last night had happened. For years, I told myself closeness was dangerous. That letting someone in meant giving them a weapon to use against me. But Madison was different. Olive was different. They weren’t prying or demanding. They had simply walked into my life, and somehow, I was the one lowering the walls.
The thought unsettled me. Because this wasn’t just Madison. It was her little girl, too. If I let myself fall and then failed them, I wouldn’t just break one heart. I’d break two.
The crunch of gravel pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up to see Blair’s SUV rolling to a stop by the main house. She climbed out first, coffee in one hand, her hair pulled back into a messy braid. Greyson followed, closing his door with the ease of a man who didn’t rush for anyone. His steady presence grounding in a way I had come to expect from him.
“Well,” Blair called as she walked toward me, “don’t you look like a man with something on his mind.”
I scowled, raising my mug. “Good morning to you too.”
Greyson’s mouth quirked as he joined her, his arm brushing hers like it always did. “Morning, Seth.”
