Page 74 of Rising Star

“Maddie, everything about you is beautiful and endearing. The scar is just that, a scar. It’s not a testament to who you are as a person. It doesn’t define you.”

Never detaching my eyes from her, I unclasped her bra and let the lacy fabric fall next to us. Trying to lengthen the pleasure when all I craved was to bury myself deep inside her, I leaned forward, my mouth finding her erect nipples. Madison let out a sharp yelp that vibrated through me and got me harder for her. My palm shaped to one of her breasts, and I kneaded the softness of her flesh.

With the pad of my thumb, I traced the red tissue marking her abdomen. “All I see when I look at it is strength. And vulnerability. And life. Because you could have died. This is proof you survived an experience that could have ended in tragedy. It shows me how brave you are. And resilient.”

“You mean it?” she asked in a low voice.

“Yes. Every word.”

Her fingers tugged at my hair, their tips digging into my scalp and sending tingles down my spine.

With my hand around her nape, I kissed her senseless. Our tongues tangled in a choreography of a dance we hadn’t rehearsed often enough. Madison tugged my lower lip between her teeth, and I groaned, deepening the kiss when she released me. Our hands ventured all over each other, desperate to touch every inch of bare skin.

“Can I taste you?” I asked as we broke apart to catch some fresh air.

“I never…Nobody ever…”

“Relax, I’ll make you feel good. I promise,” I said, helping her to her back and kneeling on the floor.

“Sam?” I twisted my neck to meet her eyes. “Don’t get repelled by my choice of underwear. Emily ordered those.” She grimaced while I peppered kisses around her navel and along the scar. She tensed for a second before letting go as my tongue drew patterns over her bare skin.

“Maddie, you should know by now nothing that you say or do can turn me off. Much less a pair of—how does this thing work?”

She stifled her laughter with a hand pressed against her mouth. “Way to kill the mood, huh?”

I watched her laughing, and it eased the wounds of my heart her absence had caused.

“There’s a Velcro on the left side. Sorry, it’s anticlimactic.”

I slid them off delicately. “No, I think it’s clever. It serves its purpose.” I threw it behind me. “No need to worry. They’ll not be needed anytime soon.”

Now that I got rid of the last piece of clothing shielding her, I returned to my exploration. Still on my knees, I kissed my way down her stomach.

The air charged around us.

My pulse kicked up.

Madison trembled underneath my touch when my lips brushed the soft flesh of her clit. Using my tongue, I licked the seam between her thighs, and her hips bucked off the bed. “Oh, Sam.”

I stopped, making sure her cries were from pleasure and not from pain.

“Why did you stop?” she asked, lifting her head from the mattress and searching my gaze.

That was all it took to unlock the side of me I’d been restraining for two years. I devoured Madison with my teeth, my tongue, and my lips. I sucked on the mound between her legs until a series of moans tumbled out of her mouth and she begged me for more. Sliding one finger, then another in, I moved them back and forth, spreading her arousal over her folds and bringing her closer to the edge. My tongue toyed with her at the same time until an orgasm built inside her, and she clenched around my digits, surrendering her pleasure to my greedy self.

Still not satisfied, I stood at the foot of the bed and hovered over her, caging her naked body between my arms.

We had sex before, but this…this felt like the first time. The one that mattered the most. The beginning of something erotic. Beautiful and exciting. The beginning of us.

“Can we keep going?” I asked.

Madison nodded.

My dick stood tall between us, and with steady movements, she unbuttoned my denims and freed it from the confinement of my boxer briefs.

She worked my length, and shivers spread through me. With half-masted lids, pleasure ignited deep inside me at the sight of her hand around my cock.

Taking my wallet out of my back pocket, she picked up one of the condoms, ripped the foil, and sheathed me with dedicated gentleness.