Page 13 of Tomorrow's Never Promised

“Liam!” I cry out before sagging against his body like Jell-O.

She’s fuckinggorgeous when she comes. This woman is the definition ofperfection. Her slick wet body against mine. Taking what she needs from me. Riding my hand to orgasm. I remove my fingers from her, placing them in my mouth and sucking them dry. Sweetness seizes my tastebuds.She tastes better than I imagined.I can’t wait to feast on her…but that will have to wait ‘til later.

I grab the condom packet I left next to us, rip the foil off with my teeth and spit it onto the shower floor. She lifts her head off my chest as I raise my hips up to sheathe myself.

I stand, hoisting her up and cupping her delectable arse. She wraps her legs around my hips and arms around my neck. My cock twitches against her stomach, more than ready to dive deep inside her. I want to fuck her hard and fast, but that’s not what she needs.It’s not what I need.This is all about savoring the time I have with her. That’s the thing about time—tomorrow’s never promised.

Maddy molds her lips around mine as I move us under the warm water. Long, dark brown hair pools down her back. I steal one more kiss, before pushing her up against the tile and placing my cock at her entrance. Her long lashes glisten with water droplets as she gazes into what feels like my soul. With just her eyes, this little enchantress has me feeling profusely vulnerable. I take a second to admire her beauty. She is naturally stunning without a stitch of makeup on.Fuck me.This woman makes me feel thingsnowoman ever has.

I slam into her, slapping her arse against the wall. She cries out, muffling her scream by biting my shoulder. Shock, regret, and outrage hit me all at once as I am met with resistance. My mind is racing a million miles a second.Is she a virgin? She had a boyfriend for almost three years.There is no way they weren’t intimate.My mind snaps me out of my tangent like a rubberband.Fuck. Did I hurt her?

“Maddy, are you okay?” I ask with a shaky breath. She looks up at me with a fiery expression on her face. Gone is my tremulous girl; a brazen goddess just replaced her.

“Don’t you dare stop now,” she demands, her eyebrows coming together. Her fingers grip my shoulders tightly. “I’m fine—more than fine.”

“We need to talk about this,Madelyn. I can’t believe you let me take your virginity in a fuckingshower,” I raise my voice, realizing how much of a selfish prick I really am. I should have stayed away from her from the beginning. My intuition was spot on, and it usually is. She istoo goodandpureto subject herself to a man like me.

Gently, I pull out of her, and place her back down. I step out of the shower and toss the condom in the trash. The towels are on a rack by the sink. I grab one, drying off as quickly as possible. She’s crying, but hasn’t made any effort to follow me out. I dress promptly before I do something stupid again—like go back in there and fuck her ‘til she can’t remember her name.

I’m slipping into my boots when the water shuts off. The curtain flings open. Out steps Maddy,a very flustered Maddy. She grabs a towel and aggressively wraps it around herself.She’s pissed.

“Liam, why are you so upset? I wanted this!” she shouts, barricading her body against the door.It's cute as hell that she thinks her little frame will stop me from getting through.

“You know damn well you deserve better than an arsehole bouncer like me taking your virginity. Especially after everything you’ve gone through andespeciallysince you were on ecstasy,” I hiss. I cross my arms over my chest to prevent them from reaching out for her. It’s sick that my cock is still hard seeing her dripping wet and flustered. Her cheeks heat red with a mixture of lust and anger.God, how I wish things could be different.

“Liam, I haven’t feltthis aliveever. I mean it. Yes, Sean and Ineverhad sex. He was deployed for almost our entire relationship. I was lucky if I got to Skype with him from time to time and even luckier if we found privacy to get each other off over the phone,” she admits as tears slide over her red-rimmed eyes. I can’t tell if they are angry tears with me or sad tears for Sean—maybe a combination of both.

Closing the distance between us, I walk over and wrap her in my arms. Wet arms wrap around me in return. She buries her head in my chest and starts sobbing. I run my hands in gentle circles around her back, trying to soothe her. “Shh…Madelyn…” I want to say it will all be alright.But that would be a lie.

“It’s Madison, not Madelyn,” she mumbles over my shirt.

“What’s that?” I pull her back to look at her.

“My name is Madison. My fake ID says Madelyn.” She holds her hands up in surrender and then places them on my biceps. “I promise no moresecrets,” she laughs. “Can wepleasestart over, Liam?” Thelook she gives me is one of hope.

Fuck—this woman is so wholesome and innocent.Ineedto be strong for her sake. She can’t be tarnished by my world. I pull her face to mine one last time and kiss her with every ounce of pain I feel.

“I’m no good for you,Madison,”I say her name like a prayer. “There are secretsI holdthat I can’t tell you about—just know that I am adangerousman, and you deserve better.” I leave her standing in the middle of the bathroom. I force my feet to keep walking out of her home and out of her life.

* * *

Once inside my car,I lose it. I slam my fists against the steering wheel and shake it for good measure. A rush of profanities leaves my lips as I run my hands through my hair. And then, for the first time since my mom died, I cry.

Madison iseverythingI want in a woman. I want nothing more than to make hermine.

Memories flash across my mind’s eye.Her mouth open and her head thrown back in passion. The sight of her delicate hand wrapped around my cock. Her adorable smile—

Then I remember the last memory I will have of her.The look of betrayal on her face when I pushed passed her.

I angrily swipe at the tears, start my car and peel out of her driveway. Not daring to look back in my rearview.

My phone vibrateson my end table a few times throughout the night. I don’t bother checking it. It doesn’t matter if it’s Liam. Whateverthat was, whateverwe were,or I thought we were heading toward—is done now.

Thank God for blackout curtains. My eyes are swollen and irritated from crying. Even the backlight from my phone is bothering me. It feels like I’ve been in my bed for days.Who the hell even knows what time it is.

I don’t think I’ve cried this hard since Sean’s funeral. It’s strange. I didn’t think it was possible to feel this way about another man, yet here I am, mourning another loss. It was over before it even started. Liam meant so much more to me than I ever realized. Last night, I opened up entirely to the possibility of what we could be; of what was right in front of me for so long—only to be sorely mistaken.

Fuck himfor making that choice for me. ‘Dangerous man’… because you smack people around at a bar when you need to? I think I can handle that.Who is he to decide what I want?

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