Page 95 of Enticing the Enforcer
Impatiently, he withdraws his fingers and crawls over me, lining himself up and grazing the tip of his cock against my entrance, giving me what I crave.
It’s fast. Hard. A punishing thrust inside that I feel in my bones. I wrap my legs around him and he pulls me close, fucking into me like I’m the answer to everything.
I circle his bicep with my fingers, marveling at how solid and warm he is under my hands. How good he feels inside me. At the urgency that builds between us, the need and the raw, unfiltered connection. I’m on the edge, one blink away from falling apart, when he looks down at me, gray eyes steady, and says it again, “I love you.”
It’s those words that trigger the spiral, the shatter of my body, my psyche, my soul. The orgasm rushes through me, pulsing and hot around him. I barely have time to think, time tobreathe, because the muscle in the back of his jaw draws tight and his body seizes up. I’m still spiraling when he thrusts into me one last time and groans.
I’m addicted to this man. To his face and body and, yeah, magnificent cock. I’m obsessed with the way he touches me, holds me, carries me like my weight and the burdens that come with Ingrid Flockton are light as a feather. I’m completely consumed by the way he looks hovering over me, dick twitching inside, making sure that I take every drop of him, and fuck, I just want more.
He pulls out, and we tumble back across the expanse of silk sheets, mouths fused, bodies greedy after too many days apart. He kisses me like he’s been starving, like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he stops.
My nails rake down his back, pulling him closer. Skin against skin. I flatten my hand over his chest, feeling the hammer of his heartbeat. It matches mine.
“I love you,” I tell him, pushing a lock of that blond hair out of his eyes. “You, and your magnificent cock.”
“Yes!” He grins, fist pumping like a dork. “I knew it.”
He’s so silly, but that’s what makes this so incredible. Love doesn’t have to be painful and fraught. It can be fun and respectful. Sexy and confident. It can be a long moment, where we lie there, tangled together, the night silent except for our breathing and the distant crash of waves.
Love can be a place where the outside doesn’t matter–only this bed, this room, and the man who showed up for me.
I leaveJefferson tangled in my sheets, his chest rising slow and steady, the exhaustion of the night finally catching up to him. He looks peaceful, unguarded–satiated by our night together. I brush my fingers over his shoulder, then slip out quietly.
Some things can’t wait.
By the time I’ve made it through the drive-thru and parked outside Madison’s place, the weight of two large coffees in my hand feels less like a peace offering and more like armor. She answers the door in sweats, her hair twisted up, eyes already glassy with guilt. Relief flickers across her face when she sees me.
“Ingrid,” she breathes out, like she wasn’t sure I’d ever show up.
I hold out the coffee. “Figured we’d both need caffeine for this.”
She takes the offering, but I’m not feeling overly generous. I’m not joking about the caffeine. I’m going to need to be sharp if I’m going to handle this the right way, because Madison has been my friend since we were kids, but what she’s been doing? It’s not okay.
I step past her and enter the kitchen. My voice is sharper than I mean it to be, but I don’t back down. “We need to figure this out.”
Madison twists her fingers in her sleeves, then blurts, “I’m sorry. Again. For all of it.”
I fold my arms, holding her gaze. “Sorry doesn’t cover pushing Jake in front of me at every turn even after I told you that our relationship was toxic. Or telling me about Jefferson’slist when you knew how much it would hurt me. You’ve been pulling strings in my personal life, Madison. Why?”
She flinches and I think for a moment she’s not going to answer me, but she sighs and says, “Because I was tired, Ingrid. Not just physically but mentally. Tired of being in the shadows. Tired of always being the assistant, the sidekick, the one cleaning up after whatever guy you were with took the spotlight. Jake, Jefferson, whoever the boyfriend was sucking up all of the oxygen in the room. They took precedence, always, and I guess I thought that if I stirred things up, if I controlled the narrative a little, I could matter.” Her voice cracks, and she wipes her cheek with the back of her hand. “I told myself it was helping you by keeping you relevant, distracting the press when you needed cover. But somewhere along the way, it stopped being about you and started being about me.”
The coffee sits between us, untouched, steam curling like the last fragile thread of patience. “But why Jake? You know how much he hurt me and how hard it was to get over him.”
Guilt flickers in her eyes. “I guess I knew that Jake wouldn’t take you away from me. That it wasn’t ever going to be long term, and every break up kind of brought us closer. You know?”
The admission sends me reeling, so much so I’m unable to speak. She was pushing us together so that I would get hurt. So I would need her.
“I hurt you. I know that. I’m sorry.”
“You did more than hurt me. You made me question someone I love. That’s not your place. It was never your place.” I try to manage the emotions stampeding through my veins. “I trusted you, Mads. Implicitly. I gave you access to every part of my life and in return you used it against me.”
“I know. It got out of hand.” Madison’s voice cracks, tears finally spilling free. “I just don’t know where we go from here.”
For the first time in weeks, something like clarity settles in my chest. I set my coffee down and fold my arms. “I think we start with a break. The tour is over, and other people can handle my schedule for a minute. I think we both need to take a little time off to rest and recover. The past two years have been insane.”
Madison lets out a tired laugh. “Absolutely insane.”
I smile back because we both feel that exhaustion down to our bones. “Once we have space to breathe,” I continue, “maybe we can try again. But with different boundaries for both of us.”
