He kicked the door closed behind him, put the food down, and pulled her into his arms. “Your family doesn’t want you here with me.” Even as he spoke he stopped caring that her parents had asked both of them to take it slowly.
Fast. Slow. It didn’t matter. He wanted to take her again and again, here on the stairs, later in his bed. It had been days since the first time he’d been with her, and a need to have her again had been building inside him.
She laced her fingers behind his neck and said, “Let me worry about them. I don’t want to sleep in bed by myself in town, wishing I were here in yours.”
Richard kissed her deeply, then growled, “Who said we would make it to the bed?”
He lifted her and carried her to the bottom of the stairs. “Let’s play a game, ma puce. There are twenty stairs leading to the bedroom. We’ll stop on each one. You tell me what you want and I’ll do it, whatever it is. Then we’ll move up a stair and it’ll be my turn to tell you what I want. Let’s see if we make it to the top.”
Maddy’s eyes widened. “What if it’s something I don’t want to do.”
His daring little American virgin. It was easy to forget that their last time had been her first. “Even when you’re having sex with yourself you should care if your partner enjoys it.”
Maddy’s eyes rounded more. “Who is your partner when you’re having sex with yourself?”
“It was a joke,” Richard said with a chuckle. “A joke that was funny in my head but lost something in translation, I think.”
“I think I get it.” Maddy shot him a huge smile, and in that moment of uninhibited joy, Richard knew he would never see a more beautiful woman. She glanced over her shoulder at the steps behind her and asked, “Were you also joking about the stairs?”
“No,” he said and kissed her sweet smile. “Think of it as having ten sex wishes.”
Maddy’s mouth fell open. She looked adorably worried. “I can think of about three things I’d like. Maybe four.”
Richard kissed her again and said, “It’s our game, Maddy. I’ll help you if you run out of ideas. But you have to start. Tell me what you want.”
She liked that. He could tell. She looked him over said, “You need to strip.”
“Strip?” He cocked his head to the side. “Oh, you mean my clothes. Of course.” He began to unbutton his shirt, then stopped. “Do you want me to take them off slowly or like I can’t wait to fuck you?”
Maddy cleared her throat nervously. “Like the second one.”
He tore off his shirt, stepped out of his shoes and socks, dropped his pants and threw them behind him onto the floor. Once freed, his cock stood high and fully erect between them. “Move up one step,” he ordered.
Maddy did.
“Sit down. Spread your legs for me and rub yourself until you’re wet.”
Maddy didn’t move at first. She looked away nervously, then back and said, “I thought this was about doing things to each other.”
“For each other,” he corrected. “You said you’ve never pleasured yourself. I want to see you learn to. I want to watch while you do it. Will you do that for me, Maddy? That’s my first wish.”
Maddy sat but self-consciously kept her knees together. “I don’t think I could come with you watching.”
Richard smiled and shrugged. “Maybe not the first time, but we won’t know, will we, unless you try? You can say no, Maddy, and I’ll pick again. But there is no shame in knowing your own body. And no need to be embarrassed in front of me. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and you will become even more beautiful as you become comfortable with your own body. Sexy is on the outside, yes? But the more important sex happens up here.” Richard pointed to his head. “When a woman puts aside her fears for her lover, there is nothing sexier.”
Maddy hesitantly spread her legs and brought her hand to her own sex. She started to rub slowly, almost cautiously, all the while watching Richard’s face. Richard took his cock into his own hand and pumped it slowly. Maddy rubbed a little faster and a rosy blush spread up her chest and neck. In the quiet of the house, the only sound was their breathing.
After a few minutes, Maddy’s fingers were wet with her own juices and her eyes were heavy with desire. Richard asked himself what his last electricity bill had been in an attempt to slow himself down. He could have lost his load on her right there on the second step, but he didn’t want to rush.
“Move up another step, Maddy.”
Maddy lifted herself up one more step, leaving her legs wide and her dripping slit open to him. “I want you to lick me like you did that first night. I want to come in your mouth.”
Richard sank down to his knees in between her legs. “My Maddy, I was hoping you’d say that.” He parted her lower lips and blew gently on her clit before moving his chin back and forth over it. He watched her eyes as he tested what drove her the wildest. His teeth, his tongue, nipping, suckling, thrusting inside her. He took his time learning how best to please her, then maintained a rhythm he knew she enjoyed. She buried both of her hands in his hair and held him to her. He gripped her ass and lifted her so he could plunge his tongue deeper.
She was sweetness and boldness, and the taste of her drove him out of his mind with desire. He thrust his tongue in and out and alternated that with rubbing his chin back and forth over her clit. She cried out and he lapped her juices as they came.
He placed her back on the step and wiped his face with his hand. “Move up another step, Maddy.” This time he stood and held onto the railing with one hand. “It’s my turn, Maddy. Take me in your mouth. Bring me to where I just took you.”
She took his cock in her hand, then almost shyly licked the side of it. She ran the tip of her tongue around the head of his cock and he shuddered. Her hot breath surrounded him, promising more. When she opened her mouth he had to restrain himself from jutting forward.
At first she took only an inch or so of him into her mouth. Richard groaned, wanting so much more. She opened her mouth wider, took him deeper, and Richard closed his eyes from the intensity of it. Her soft lips moved back and forth over the length of him while her tongue caressed him. She bobbed her head up and down on him. He gripped the hair on the back of her head and guided her to a rhythm that would bring him to climax. He watched her expression as he came deep in her mouth, loving how excited she looked as she drank his own juices.
She pulled her head back and her eyes were as feverish with desire as they had been when he’d been licking her. “Move up another step, Maddy.”
She did so eagerly and Richard smiled. “Do you like this game, Maddy?”
She spread her legs and rubbed herself without his prompting. “I do. I really do.”
“Slow down,” Richard joked, even though he was pleased with how comfortable she was becoming with him. “We have sixteen more stairs and all night to get to the top.”
***
Winter gave way to spring, spring blossomed into summer, and Richard fell slowly, hopelessly in love with Maddy. They spent every day together. In the beginning, being followed around by Gino had felt awkward, and Richard had resented it as much as Maddy did. Over time, though, he’d come to understand the commodity of immense wealth her family had made her. Gino was a constant reminder of what Maddy had walked away from to be with Richard.
If Maddy missed anything about her life in the United States, she never hinted at it. She enthusiastically signed up for French courses at a local school and had quickly made friends in the area. Richard had offered to teach her French himself, but she said when he spoke his native language she couldn’t concentrate because it made her want to rip off her clothes and pounce him. Richard always smiled when he remembered the results of the first time he’d tested that theory. They’d been driving on a country road on their way to the coast. They never did make it to the beach. They’d made love in the car and ended up spontaneously renting a room at an inn they drove by. He’d spoken to Maddy in French often after that.
Sex with Maddy was incredible, but Richard was equally addicted to her presence in all other areas of his life. She opened the restaurant with him each morning, greeting his staff with such a big smile that they, too, fell in love with her, regardless of how she butchered their language. Bertrand flirted shamelessly with her, but Richard didn’t mind because Maddy didn’t take him seriously.
His restaurant was better because she was part of it. They came in on days it was closed, made love in every corner of it, and spent hours just lying in each other’s arms talking. Later, he would cook for her, and the new dishes she inspired would make it onto the menu the following week. The reviews of his restaurant had never been better. One reviewer said his dish had made love to his taste buds in a way that would forever leave him searching to re-create that pleasure.
Just when Richard thought Maddy could not amaze him further, she invited his mother and his sister to his restaurant to celebrate one particularly good review he’d gotten. His relationship with his mother had always been complex, but Maddy asked him to put that aside long enough to enjoy a meal with her. She asked him to put the past behind him for the sake of his sister. It wasn’t until he and his family sat, laughing over old stories long after the restaurant closed, that Richard saw Maddy’s a true genius.
She loved completely, unconditionally, and with an almost childlike belief that if a person gave love a chance, it would always prevail. When Richard was with her, his own natural pessimism fell away. He wanted—no, needed—to see the world through her eyes.
Only one thing weighed on him. In all the months that Maddy had lived with him, she hadn’t spoken of her family. In fact, it was the only topic that was off limits with them. He’d been beside her when they’d called and heard her come up with excuse after excuse why she was too busy to talk to them. He didn’t like to eavesdrop on her conversations, but he’d done so accidentally one or twice and what he’d heard concerned him. She didn’t want to go home for a visit. She didn’t want her family to visit her.
Richard had gone out and bought an engagement ring for Maddy. It was a single, brilliant solitaire that reminded him of her brilliant smile. He carried it with him, more than ready to propose.
But he held back.
He knew there was something he needed to do first.
***
Maddy stood beside Alyson’s car and gave Richard’s sister a kiss on either cheek. She gathered her bags from the trunk of her car and smiled with satisfaction. They’d spent the day, as they had many times before, hunting down vintage clothing to sell in Alyson’s store. The two had laughed their way through trying on many of the outfits and, as usual, Maddy had found a few pieces for herself. She and Alyson had an easy friendship that sometimes made her miss her mother, but she would push those feelings aside—determined to live in and enjoy only the present.
Not a big problem, since the present was pretty damn amazing.
Alyson leaned back against the passenger side of her car. “So, Maman is coming this weekend. She wants to know if you’d like to meet her newest boyfriend.”
Maddy wrinkled her nose. “Didn’t we already meet him? He took us on his yacht in the Riviera? Remember, he had that onboard chef who argued with Richard about how long a soufflé should bake?”
Kicking a rock delicately aside, Alyson said, “That one? He’s long gone. This one owns very expensive racehorses. I told her I’d go if you did.”
Well, that cements it. “If you want me there, Alyson, I’m in. I can’t promise not to accidentally call him the wrong name, but I’ll try to keep up.”
“Richard will come if you do. Thank you for that.”
Maddy smiled. “It’s wonderful to see all of you together—regardless of who your mother brings along.”
“Family is important, non?” Alyson asked. “I look forward to seeing yours again when they come. Will they spend the holidays here again? Or will you go home this time?”
Maddy shrugged and adjusted the weight of her bags in her hands. “Well, these are heavy, so I’m going to head in. I’ll have Richard call you about this weekend.”
Alyson looked like she wanted to say more but didn’t. She nodded and waved good-bye. Maddy didn’t want to talk about family—not hers, anyway.
Gino rushed forward as if appearing from out of thin air and took the bags from Maddy’s hands. He studied her face for a moment, then said, “You look tired, Maddy. Are you unwell? Would you like me to run to the pharmacy for you?”
Maddy sighed. “Gino, you don’t have to carry my bags, and if I’m sick I’ll take care of myself. Don’t hover over me. You’re driving me crazy.” And you’re a constant reminder of what I’m trying to forget.
Gino’s expression tightened. “I told your father I would take care of you. I may not have been able to hold you to your promises to him, but I will keep you safe.”
“I’m old enough to decide for myself where I will live and who I will live with, Gino,” Maddy stormed.
“Which is why Richard’s legs are not broken,” Gino said blandly. “Still, I don’t like that you haven’t been honest with your parents. I am loyal to you, Maddy, but you put me in an uncomfortable position by forcing me to also lie. When are you going to tell your family the truth?”
Feeling cornered, Maddy snarled, “They don’t deserve the truth. I’ll be honest with them when I see them being honest with each other. Don’t talk to me about this again, Gino.”
Gino’s eyebrows rose, but he nodded with offended deference.
Maddy instantly felt awful for snapping at someone who had spent so many years caring for her. “I’m sorry, Gino. Maybe I don’t feel well today. I have a headache and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“Should I call Richard? You shouldn’t be alone if you’re ill.”
“It’s nothing, Gino. Probably too much wine with lunch. I’ll have something to eat, then go lie down.”
Gino walked her into the house, did his normal sweep to make sure the house was secure, then said he would be nearby if she needed him. Maddy was tempted to tell him once more that he didn’t need to worry about her, but it would be like telling the wind not to blow. Gino was the type who would probably stay with her even if her parents never paid him a dollar more for his service. He didn’t deserve her impatience.
I’m sorry, Gino.
Maddy stepped out of her suede boots and bent down to pick up the cat that was twirling around her legs. She looked him straight in the eye. “Well, it’s me and you until Richard gets home. What do you want to do? Practice verb conjugations with me? I have a test on Friday.”
The cat meowed loudly.
Maddy made a tsk-tsk sound at him. “Don’t judge my language ability, Minet. I don’t see you doing any better with it.” The cat struggled to get down and Maddy let him go. “See, if you judge others they tend to toss it right back at you. There is a life lesson in there for you.”
Thirty minutes later, Maddy was carrying a bowl of soup and a baguette to the kitchen table when she heard the door to the house open. She put the food down, and when she recognized Richard’s footsteps, she rushed to him. A passionate romp with him was exactly what she needed to clear her head. She threw her arms around his neck and welcomed him home with a kiss that normally would have had him stripping her clothing off.
Instead, he broke off the kiss and held her back so he could look her over. “Gino said you weren’t feeling well.”
Maddy started unbuttoning Richard’s shirt. “Gino worries too much.” She couldn’t understand why Richard was still talking when they could be getting naked and enjoying something that involved little to no words.
“He cares about you.”
“Forget Gino. Forget everything except this.” Maddy kissed Richard’s neck and heard him suck in a harsh breath. She didn’t want to believe it, but it felt as if he was about to tell her stop. Usually it took nothing more than a look from Maddy for Richard to get so excited he couldn’t think of anything be
sides having her. She told herself she was being paranoid and reached for the clasp of his trousers.
Richard stilled her hands with his. “Maddy, we need to talk.”
A wave of embarrassment flooded over Maddy. She’d never been sexually open with anyone, and his words hit her like a rejection. She released his pants angrily. “Talk? Seriously? Right now?” Panic set in. He took a step back from her and frowned. She’d never seen that expression on his face before, and every awful possible reason for it ran through her head. “Oh, my God, what is it? Are you sick?”
He shook his head.
“Are you losing your restaurant?”
“Of course not.”
“Oh, my God, you’re married.”
Richard pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment before answering. He opened his eyes and said, “This is not about my health, my work, or another woman. This is about us.”
Maddy’s eyes rounded. “If you don’t say it, I may throw up on your feet. That’s not a threat, it’s a real possibility. Not because I’m sick, but because you’re scaring me.”
He raised a hand and caressed her cheek. “Please don’t, these are new shoes.”
She didn’t laugh at his joke. The air was pregnant with the promise of bad news. “Just say it. Whatever it is, just get it out there.”
He tipped her head up and ran his thumb over her lips. “I love you, Madison Andrade, more than I ever imagined I could love anyone.”
“This is how you finally tell me you love me?” She slumped at his words. “That is the worst delivery of those three beautiful words I’ve ever heard of.” She pushed his hand away from her face.