Page 58 of Masked Darling

“You’re perfect like this,” he murmured against her hair, his lips pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. “Soft, safe, completely mine.”

Her small hands started to trace their own patterns against his back and she buried her face in his neck to place soft kisses there.

“Still floating, sweetheart?” he asked, but there was a hint of a smile there.

“Mmhmm.”

“I love you,” he whispered against her hair.

Her heart clenched at the warmth in his voice. “I love you, too.”

Kade’s lips curved into a smile against her temple. “Good.”

His hands continued their gentle work, covering every inch of her that had felt his dominance earlier, ensuring that all she felt now was his tenderness. When he was satisfied, he pulled back a little to look at her face.

“Are you ready to take the blindfold off?” he asked after a moment.

Madison hesitated, then whispered, “Not yet.”

His grip tightened slightly around her, reassuring. “Okay. You don’t have to.”

He didn’t rush her, didn’t push. He simply held her close to him again, letting her exist in this moment as long as she needed. He just spoke to her in a calm voice as he gave her time to gather herself.

“I forgot to tell you,” Kade began.

“Hm?” Madison hummed.

“Sadie’s mom ran the local paper here for years. She offered to have her put in a good word for you when we get to Arizona. She thinks that you could write about Green Light as your first journalism piece and submit it once you get there. It would get you in the door wherever you want to work.”

Madison didn’t say anything at first, but then she spoke and her voice was firm.

“I think that would be very healing for me. I’d leave out any mention of the bar and Rebels, of course.”

Kade kissed the top of her head. “I don’t think you have to. Maybe it would be good if everyone knew that we did something good once.”

Minutes passed, his heartbeat pulling her heart further into safety, until finally, she shifted. “You can take it off now.”

Kade reached up, his fingers delicate as he untied the blindfold. The fabric slipped away, and Madison blinked, adjusting to the dim red lights. The first thing she saw was him—his dark eyes gentle, a grin on his full lips as he gazed at her.

“There you are,” he murmured, his thumb brushing over her cheek.

A slow smile curled her lips, her heart swelling in her chest. “Here I am.”

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Kade said and placed a quick kiss on her mouth.

A small whimper of protest left her lips as she clung to him, her body still boneless from the intensity of their night.

Kade chuckled softly as he backed away to the small sink and towels he’d placed there earlier. “I know, baby. But you made quite the mess.”

She sighed and leaned back on her forearms to watch him. “You meanwemade a mess.”

Kade ran one of the washcloths under warm water before coming back to clean up the floor first. “Touché.”

After disposing of that towel and quickly cleaning himself off, he knelt in front of her, taking the new warm washcloth and gently running it over her skin. His touch was slow, reverent, as he cleaned away the remnants of their scene from between her legs and everywhere he could reach, soothing the areas he had marked with tender strokes. Madison let out a soft hum of appreciation as he worked, her body leaning into every touch.

“There we go,” he murmured as he finished, pressing a final kiss to her knee. “All clean.”

Kade stood, collecting a thick black blanket from the cabinet next to the sink to put around her shoulders before lifting her into his arms.

---