Page 74 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

I kissed my way up her body as I got to my feet, licking water drops all the way back to her lips.

“I want you inside me,” she moaned as I kissed her. “Now.”

She reached behind her, turning off the spray, dragging me from the shower. We hastily toweled off, kissing and groping and moaning. Then we stumbled our way back to the bed, the chill doing nothing to douse the heat of my desire. Madison scrambled back onto the mattress, touching herself with one hand, curling her finger with the other, beckoning me.

My cock throbbed in response.

I riffled in the drawer next to the bed, finding a condom, and rolled it on. Then I settled myself between her thighs, reaching down to feel the wetness that gathered there.

Madison moaned, eyes fluttering closed. “Fuck me,” she begged.

Oh, I was going to. I shifted, sinking into her with a long groan, the pressure sending sparks down my spine.

I wanted to snap my hips, to grind against her, to go as fast as I possibly could, but I knew that wasn’t what she needed tonight. She needed tenderness and sensuality. She needed to know just how much she meant to me. I pulled out slowly, sinking back in as achingly slowly, and Madison’s breath stuttered.

She felt fucking amazing.

My head was going to bloody explode as I arched my back, driving her to the edge of oblivion. I wanted to throw us both over that cliff. I wanted to help her forget about tonight. I wanted to take care of her. Always.

Pressure coiled at the bottom of my spine. I could feel as her muscles started to flutter around me. “That’s it,” I told her, kissing her temple. “Let go, love.” I pulled out, pressing back in as deep as I could, holding her as her body finally started to tremble.

She threw her head back, eyes clenched, swearing under her breath as the orgasm took her.

The shock of my own orgasm caught me off guard, and I grunted as I sank into her one last time, the pressure at the base of my spine erupting into pure pleasure. I collapsed onto my forearms, feeling her hands drift over the muscles of my back.

In the hazy bliss that followed, I knew some of the earlier tension between us had eased, the bond restored. I kissed her, whispering sweet words into her ear as I pulled out, standing to get rid of the condom.

Madison curled into my side as I got back into bed. I pulled her close, tugging the comforter around us, then stared at the dark ceiling, my thoughts racing as I listened to her breathing even out.

Worry needled at me over what tomorrow might bring. I took several long, slow breaths trying to match Madison’s, but my thoughts kept returning to what could’ve happened today, which had me feeling like an arse.

I rested my chin on her head, determined to enjoy the scent of her shampoo and the feel of her in my arms, and closed my eyes. Morning would be here soon enough. In the meantime, I fully intended to enjoy this moment together.

22

MADISON

Two days.

That’s how long I was giving myself to mope over my fiasco of an attempt at glassblowing.

I sighed heavily, the breath buzzing my lips together. Kenna crawled across the floor of the playroom to where I was sitting and leaned her head against my arm. I’d twisted her hair into two matching braids today, the ends tied off with bows, and I stroked my hand over them as she stared up at me with those big blue eyes. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Are you sad?” she asked.

“Oh!” I’d thought I was doing a good job of hiding my feelings, but apparently, she’d picked up on them anyway, despite the distraction of playing unicorn princess rescue. “I’m not really sad.”

Kenna placed her hands on my cheeks, tugging my mouth into a smile. “You have sad lips.”

I laughed a bit. “They’re more disappointed lips.”

“But why?”

How did I explain an existential crisis to a child? Years of feeling out of step in my own life? “You know how I had my cool glassblowing lesson yesterday with Lesley?”

She nodded.

“Well, it didn’t go very well.”