Page 99 of Wretched Heart
“I can’t guarantee it,” he says, continuing to resist. “But I’d die for you, Maddie. I’ll put myself between you and every bullet, every blade,every fist.”
Tugging his belt, I step us back until my ass is pressed against the walnut table that may or may not be sturdy enough to take my weight. I’m happy to take that risk. I’m happy to take any risk for Hunter.
“There’s nothing between us now except your damn stubbornness,” I say as I unbuckle my husband’s belt.
“You love me?” he asks as if he’s only now letting that register.
“I love you,” I whisper just before Hunter’s lips crush against mine.
His tongue stabs into my mouth, and I taste him as he tastes me. He shoves my panties down my thighs and lifts me onto the table. It creaks as we continue to devour each other, but I need more than his mouth. I take over removing my panties while Hunter undoes his pants. When his rigid cock springs free, he hooks an arm under my knee and opens me wide.
There’s no teasing. No waiting. Hunter lines himself up and as he punches forward, he fills me quickly, and so damn completely. On a gasp, our lips part and I fall back against the table. Hunter hooks his arm beneath my other knee and he thrusts deeper.
The slap of our bodies is sharp and our movements desperate as he pounds into me. Leaning over the table, Hunter rolls his hips to increase the friction against my swollen clit. I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on as the tremors he sets off with each punch forward vibrate up through my spine. My lips part and I hum into the mouth that meets mine.
“You want more of this, little bird?”
“Yes!” I hiss. “I want a lifetime.”
The table groans in sympathy as we gasp and grunt in unison. Hot, unrelenting pressure builds in my core. Andbuilds some more. I can hear my blood pounding against my eardrums as I thrash beneath my husband.
Hunter moves at a piston pace as if it’s a race to see who comes first, but he’s always going to let me win. The rush is hot and intense as I come apart, screaming his name. And as I shatter, Hunter rails into me with a ferocity that we both deserve. He roars with his own release, and as we splinter, so does the table.
I feel it collapsing beneath me, and scramble to hold onto Hunter’s neck while my ankles lock around his back. There’s a second when I think Hunter’s going to fall on top of me, but of course he doesn’t let that happen. He takes a step forward to keep his balance, and the muscles in his arms shake as I’m suspended over the collapsing table. When it crashes to the floor, he straightens up with me in his arms.
“I’ve got you, Maddie.”
Chapter 37
Hunter
Our request for an urgent conference call was accepted without question, and Ash and I are sitting next to each other in front of the kit Mace has set up. We don’t normally use a video link when talking to Alice. We prefer not to speak to her at all, if possible, but on this occasion, I’m looking forward to seeing the expression on her face.
We’re each nursing a whiskey, and the amber fire-water warms my insides almost as much as the sight of Maddie as she returns from the bathroom. She’s wearing a shirt and skirt borrowed from one of our flight attendants, but she’s paired it with a woven scarf to make it look less like a uniform. Her hair is tied back in a French twist, and the make-up she’s acquired leaves her face radiant – or else it’s the afterglow from us breaking Barrett’s table.
I still have an overriding need to protect her, but I have to recognize that she’s not completely defenseless. This woman is formidable, and I should have more faith in her.
“It’s time,” Mace says from the seat behind us. He’s sitting with Reid, who’s watching the missed calls light upon Ray’s cell phone. Ray’s currently in one of the SUVs outside with Jake. He might need our protection. His boss is getting pissy.
“Are you ready?” I ask Maddie as she accepts a drink from Reid.
“Just let me get to my seat.”
Like the other two, she’s going to be sitting out of sight, but Mace has set up a screen so they can watch the action. And my wife is very much part of this meeting. I’m not taking Maddie’s voice away, not ever again. I doubt she’d let me.
Mace chuckles. “Mommy’s waiting.”
Ash raises his glass so those in the back seats can see. “Cheers, everyone.”
Ash and I clink glasses, and we’re smiling as Mace connects the call.
“Hello, Alice,” Ash says as she fills the screen in front of us.
She’s seated behind a mahogany desk. The Emerson’s Chicago home is furnished just as opulently as any of their others, and the matriarch looks as fresh as always despite the late hour. At sixty, she’s still beautiful by anyone’s standard. Her complexion is flawless and her deep brown hair shows no sign of grey. Life has been good to Alice Emerson. She expects nothing less.
“I wish you’d call me mother. We are in private, Asher.”
There’s a splutter and a cough that can only belong to Maddie as she chokes on her whiskey. I should have told her, but admitting how the Griffin’s bloodline is intermingled with the Emerson’s is something that has meant less and less to us over the years. My mother, on the other hand, seems to be craving what she gave away.
