She laughed some more, easing my nerves because it was really beginning to feel like she might push harder for this. In pure Madeline fashion, she didn’t push any further, not verbally anyway.
When we’d first arrived and she’d begun to set up her easel, she’d also set up a blanket for us to sit on but mostly for this. So we both knew my concern about splinters in our asses was a bit of a stretch. As I devoured her mouth again and things got heavier, I rolled onto my side, and she started to slide under me. Fuck, what I’d have given to just be able to make love to her already, but it wasn’t happening, not here anyway. Only I could feel it in her body, hear it in her panting; her body’s desire for more was deafening.
I brought my hand over her belly and slid it down between her legs over her shorts. A moan escaped her against my lips as she spread her legs a little. Sliding my hand between her legs, I kissed her deeply, trying my damnedest not to give into the temptation of doing more, but then her body trembled, and she moved my hand. At first, I thought she wanted me to stop, only instead of pulling it away, she just brought it up far enough for me to slide it into her shorts.
With a heavy groan, I undid her shorts button and zipper, and it was all I could do to keep from ripping them off her. But I managed to refrain as my hand touched the warm flesh between her thighs. “Fuck me,” I said, gasping away from her mouth.
Madeline giggled softly, biting my lower lip as she wiggled out of her shorts. We cannot do this, not here. I should have been saying this out loud, but it was clear who I was really trying to convince.
As my fingers reached her hot, wet, forbidden flesh, I nearly lost it, but then I had a thought. My fingers indulged in her juices just a bit longer as her entire body trembled with each touch. Just one dip of the tip of my finger to her opening and I could feel just how tight she was. No way was this happening here.
But my mind was back to my earlier thought, and I was already on the move. Madeline tensed when I moved my body down hers, as if she wasn’t sure what was happening, except she knew I wouldn’t be putting a stop to this anytime soon.
Her shorts were halfway down her hips already, so I pulled them all the way off. “D-do you have protection?” she asked with a mixture of excitement, but there was no hiding the anxiety as well.
I smiled and shook my head because I was glad I knew my girl so well. “Won’t need it.”
I actually did have condoms on me because I wasn’t stupid. Each time things had gotten this heated I’d been that much closer to giving in. This was probably the only thing that’d hold me off a little while longer.
Spreading her legs, I positioned myself between them and kissed her inner thighs slowly, leaving a few marks on her milky white skin where I got a little carried away. Even this made me smile. Down here I could mark her up all I wanted. No one else would be privy to it.
Feeling her body’s reaction to my tongue so close to the forbidden fruit got me worked up as well. Sprinkling kisses up her inner thighs, I breathed in the scent of her, and it was nearly enough to finish me, but I was determined. I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing in the heavenly scent again before getting my first taste of her.
Madeline’s back immediately arched as my tongue swept up her slit from bottom to top where I took her clit in my mouth for just a second. A weaker man might’ve already stripped down and plunged into her. But who was I kidding? The fact that my fingers and tongue had been anywhere near the places they’d been tonight was a sign of just how weak I really was.
Before I could talk myself out of doing this—as if—I plunged in. As expected, it didn’t take long. Just like the first time over clothes and all, Madeline felt like she was just a few more perfect touches away from coming undone.
I slowed a little, swirling my tongue around and swallowing as much of her delectable juice as I could. When I spread her opening bigger with my fingers, my eyes nearly rolled back as they took in her sweet wet entrance.
Other throbbing parts of my body may have had to hold off a bit longer, but no way could I refrain from burying my tongue in her as far as I could. Madeline moaned in response to having me inside her, even if it was just my tongue. “I’ll never . . .” I said as I went in again, this time flicking my tongue in and out. “Get enough of this.”
That was no exaggeration. I barely finished my statement, and my tongue was sucking her again. Feeling her body tremble uncontrollably was my signal to slow if I wanted this to last even a little longer, but I couldn’t. Her clit throbbing in my mouth felt and tasted just too good to stop.
I slipped my finger in her just in time for it to be swallowed up by her throbbing wet flesh, and Madeline cried out,. “Oh my God!”
Flicking her clit softly because she was already coming and I didn’t want this to get uncomfortable, I kissed it a few times in between flicks then finished her off by greedily licking her clean again. I was just glad it was dark now and we were far enough away from anyone because Madeline’s boner-inducing moans were pretty loud.
As she lay there, catching her breath and holding her hand to her chest, I got her shorts and panties back on her. She wiggled her hips again the way she did when she took them off, and within a few minutes, I was up next to her, staring at her tired but very satisfied eyes.
“I love you,” I whispered as she turned to me and indulged me with one of her sweetest smiles to date.
“I love you more.”
Not possible, but I wouldn’t argue. Instead, I showed her by kissing her long and deep. Even after doing what I’d just done to her, I could have kissed her forever. Because I never exaggerated when it came to the things I said and felt for my Maddie. I’d never get enough of her.
Chapter 9: Ms. HELLman
At first, I was beyond nervous about the rumors of our relationship having gotten back to Loretta. How could they not? In hindsight, I knew now I’d also been beyond delusional to believe we’d be able to keep what was going on from anyone. The whole town was still abuzz about it.
Madeline was now the first thing I thought of when I awoke and the last thing on my mind before I passed out—usually to dream of her. So at this point, I was more worried about her mother putting restrictions on how often we could see each other. I’d since looked further into the whole age-of-consent thing, and my dad was right. Loretta couldn’t come after me legally. But technically, Madeline was still a minor, so her mother would still have the right to make our lives hell if she chose to. Though Madeline still insisted I let her handle her mother.
“Her bark is worse than her bite. Trust me.”
Only reason I chose to trust Madeline about this was because I had no other choice. It was either that or break things off, and at this point, that wasn’t even a consideration. Just a few months into this and I already knew Madeline had a hold on me like no other girl ever had—like no other girl ever would. But she did agree that holding off telling her mother until she was eighteen might be for the best.
Despite my family’s reservations about how serious this had gotten so quickly, I’d already made it clear to them that backing away from Madeline was no longer an option. We were going forward with our relationship, and Madeline was just as adamant about it as I was. Though she was far more sure of being able to handle Loretta than I was. She laughed it off any time she saw the dread in my eyes whenever she mentioned her mama having questioned her or her sister about us again.
Madeline had mentioned being close to her grandmother more than once. It seemed they had a special bond. For years, she’d been able to share things with her grandmother she didn’t even share with her mom. It already made me nervous that her mother had seen fit to ask her about us again despite Madeline having been adamant that everything getting back to Loretta was just rumors. We were out on the abandoned pier again when she hit me with another stomach-dropping admission.
“I’m thinking of just telling Grandma about us.”
“What? No way! Why?”
Of course, she laughed as she
popped an M&M in her mouth. The kind with peanuts was her favorite. It was our thing. I always brought her a bag when I came to see her, ever since that first day at the theater when she told me about how growing up she and Maggie had told people often that the candy had been named after them. “We had a lot of the kids going in grade school.”
Ever since, I couldn’t see the damn candy at a store without thinking of her and buying some for her. It’d even become my pet name for her. She was my peanut now, and I was like an addict who lived to please her. Anything to see her smile as big and as beautiful as she always did when I arrived. But if you asked her, the giddy smiles I was greeted with had nothing to do with the candy.
At the moment, though, I could barely manage not to groan as she continued to laugh. “Grandma’s so bored in that hospice, and from the looks of it, she might be in there a while.”
I didn’t have the heart to remind her that hospices are usually meant for those not expected to ever walk out alive. Her grandmother’s diabetes had reached the amputating degree, and she’d already lost partial sight in one eye. She was in there supposedly so they could monitor her more closely to avoid having her lose any more limbs. She was already down a foot and a few toes on her other one. She was also on daily dialysis now, so it was just more convenient for her to be there for her treatment.
Both Maggie and Madeline spent a lot of time visiting their grandmother, but it seemed Madeline was there more often. Though if I’m being honest, it was my selfish ass missing time with my girl.
“It’s so weird.” Madeline explained to try and assuage me further about her considering telling her grandma about us. “As alike as Mama and Grandma are, they butt heads on a lot of things. How strict Mama has always been with us is one of them. Grandma’s always sided with us girls or rather”—she giggles again— “with me since I’m the one who always gives Mama a harder time about the things she’s being so pigheaded about. She’s even gonna help me talk Mama into letting me get a Volkswagen Beetle.”
“A Beetle?” Suddenly, my worry about her telling her grandma about us was overshadowed by a new worry. “You mean you want one of those little bugs? Why?”
“Because they’re the coolest and cutest.” She immediately tapped away at her phone screen then glanced up at me. “Not just a regular Beetle either. I want a convertible. Can you imagine Maggie and me cruising around with our tops down?”
She smiled wickedly then yelped when I spanked her ass. “No, I can’t imagine that.”
“Top, I meant top,” she clarified, still smiling playfully, and handed me her phone “Look. This one is just a few towns away and totally in my price range. Mama already said she’d match whatever I have saved up, and I have almost twenty-five hundred saved up.”
I stared at the photo of what looked like a newly repainted original convertible VW Bug, not the new ones Volkswagen started putting out a few years ago. “Peanut, the newest one of these out there is over fifteen years old.”
She leaned into me to look at several photos of it posted on the Autotrader website. “But isn’t it the cutest?”
I kissed the top of her head but shook mine. Just like a girl. All she was concerned about was how cute it looked. “Just because it looks nice doesn’t mean anything. They don’t even list the mileage, and that’s probably for good reason.”
“It says it runs great.”
Now I couldn’t help but laugh. That had her giving me the hairy eyeball. Even when she did that, she was incapable of looking anything but adorable. “I’ve always wanted one, Nico. And it’s not like I’m planning any long-distance trips. It’ll mostly be to get Maggie and me to and from school, and to work. And so we can finally not have to count on Shelby’s mama’s car whenever we want to go out.”
“You don’t have to already. You can count on me for that.”
Madeline looked up at me with that look that said it all. “You know, good and well, it’s gonna be hard enough to convince Mama once I’m eighteen that, like it or not, you and I are just meant to be. Telling her I’ll be on your bike all the time will only make it harder.” She stopped and smiled big. “But I’ve been thinking. If I have my own car by then, and assure her I’ll be in it and not on your bike when we’re together, she might give in more willingly. It’s the one thing she keeps harping on the most. I think, deep inside, she knows talking about you being bad only makes things worse.” She laughed, running her hand through my hair, then leaned in and kissed my forehead three times. As usual, it instantly calmed my altered nerves. “I know Mama as well as she knows me. She’s a sly one. If she reminded me of all your tattoos, the Cortez rep, and whatnot too often, on the off chance that maybe the rumors about you and me are true, she knows it’ll only make me more stubborn about proving you’re not a bad guy at all. So she’s mostly mentioned how dangerous motorcycles are.”
That brought back my anxiety full circle. Her mother wasn’t the only sly one. I’d picked up on a few things about Madeline. As far as I knew, she’d never lied to me. In fact, as uneasy as she knew anything about her mama made me, she was always honest and upfront as she had been every time she’d told me her mom asked her about the “rumors” again. Just as she did today when she openly admitted she was considering telling her grandma about us, she cleverly changed the subject to talk about the bug, so now, if she ever did tell her grandma, she could in clear conscience say, “I told you I was going to.”
“Baby, you’re not worried about your mom and grandma having a secret pact?” I stared at her nervously, even as she smirked then peered at me admonishingly for even suggesting it. “I’m serious. It’d make perfect sense that they’d be in cahoots. You said it yourself. You’re the one who gives your mama the hardest time. Maybe, for your own good, it’s how they keep tabs on you.” She was already shaking her head like I knew she might. “It’s not that unreasonable a thought.”
Madeline sat up and straddled me, cradling my face then kissing me softly. “I’ve already told my grandma about you. Not us,” she added quickly when I stiffened. “She knows as much as Mama knows. That we chat and I’ve gotten to know you. She thinks it’s admirable that you and your brothers are staying put to help your dad run his business and aren’t just planning on leaving town now that you’re adults like so many of the other town’s youngins.”
She smiled big, sprinkling kisses all around my lips, and I wrapped my arms around her waist tightly, already knowing I’d be giving into her. Jesus, would I ever be able to say no to her?
“The other day when Mama made a snide remark about not liking the rumors she kept hearing about me and that Cortez boy, Grandma countered that maybe she should hope I end up with one of them. That way I wouldn’t be leaving Huntsville.”
This had me raising my brow and smiling. Her mom making a snide remark about me was no surprise anymore. But her grandma may have been onto something. Maybe this could be a good selling point on our relationship. Though I already knew it wouldn’t take much for Madeline to convince me to move out of town if she really wanted to.
“Grandma knows me too well,” she whispered, smiling at my obvious appreciation of her grandma’s comments. “I’d never leave Huntsville if it meant leaving my soul mate behind. As long as I’m with you, I could stay in Huntsville forever and live happily ever after.”
Sliding my hands in her shorts from behind, I groaned as I buried my face in her neck then kissed my beauty mark like I always did. “Tell your grandma, I guess.” She squealed in delight as if she actually thought I wouldn’t be giving into her. So I pulled away to look at her. “You really think I could ever say no to you? Even that stupid bug. I don’t like it. I don’t think it’ll be reliable, but if it’s what you want, if it makes you happy, baby, I’ll even drive out with you to get it.”
Our marathon kissing started up again, and I already knew there was no way we were leaving there without me making my peanut blissfully happy in every way.
It was obvious now I wasn’t the only one wh
o lived to see Madeline smile. For as big a hard ass as Loretta could be, she, too, was a pushover when it came to her daughters. Madeline had already told me the story more than once, and even showed me photos of her and Maggie’s sweet sixteenth birthday present from their mama. A trip to New York. For a woman from a small town making a modest living working at a feed store, I could only imagine such a trip must’ve taken years to save up for. But it was Madeline’s dream to visit the art galleries of New York, and with Maggie’s interest in the culinary world, she was just as excited about visiting some of the world famous restaurants there. So Mama delivered.
Now just a few weeks after our bug conversation, Madeline was in heaven driving around in her new convertible Volkswagen. It still made me nervous because, as expected, it had a ton of miles and was not in the best shape. Though its fresh coat of baby blue paint made for a very “cute” Beetle. So I checked it routinely to make sure everything was running on the up and up.
Madeline tried to call it their car—hers and Maggie’s. It was what her mom called it when they got it. Only just like everything else the twins were polar opposites about, while Madeline got her license first chance she got when she turned sixteen, Maggie had yet to get hers.
“The very thought of getting behind the wheel,” Madeline had explained when she first told me Maggie still didn’t have her license, “makes her really nervous.”
It was why Madeline did all the driving, and with the bug being a stick shift, I seriously doubted Maggie would be working up the nerve to learn to drive any time soon. But as Madeline put it, “Maggie doesn’t have to worry. She knows she has her very own chauffeur right here, who’ll gladly drive her around until she’s good and ready to get her license.”
As things got more serious between Madeline and me, it was like we both knew, no matter how much her mother protested, there was nothing that’d keep us apart now. We’d even started talking about the future. Between her artistic talents and my family’s embroidery business expanding little by little, we’d started talking about designing our own leather motorcycle apparel. We’d been doing custom designs for as long as I could remember, but with our resident artist, Nolan, looking to eventually become a tattoo artist and open up his own separate shop, we’d be in need of another artist to design our new stuff. Of course, I couldn’t think of a better person for the job.