Page 84 of Madden

He digs his fingers into my hips, his mouth latching onto my nipple, and I release a low moan. I rake my nails over his scalp, grinding and bouncing on his lap.

His hands roam over my body, tweaking my pert bud, stopping when he wraps his palm around my neck. I roll my eyes closed and moan.

“Brielle,” he whispers, only the sound of skin slapping and our heavy pants surrounding us. “Look at me.”

He brushes his thumb over my chin, and I press my forehead against his while we both chase our release.

“I’m close,” I mutter.

I reach my hand down, brushing it over my clit. My body tenses and my vision starts to blur until I hear him whisper those three little words.

“I love you,” he murmurs, and it’s as if every thought and emotion surge through me.

“Madden,” I groan, bucking my hips to increase the tempo.

He growls, his large hands gripping my ass, forcing me down on him.

I’m unable to hold it back anymore. My body trembles and my breath hitches as my release hits me.

I collapse against his chest with my arms and legs wrapped around his body.

He lifts me in his arms, carrying me out of the room and down the hall leading to the stairs up to his bedroom.

“Where are we going?” I whisper, my body limp against him. I don’t have an ounce of energy left in me.

“To bed.”

It isn’t until he sets me down on the edge of his bed that I start to come down from the seductive haze.

“Hey,” I say, stopping him when he attempts to step away. “What was that down there?”

He lifts my chin, his eyes staring deeply into mine before they flick down to my mouth. I quickly dart my tongue across my dry lips, resisting the urge to kiss him.

Not until he tells me what that was about downstairs.

Did he mean it when he said he loved me, or was it said in the heat of the moment?

“What?” he asks, distracting me by tracing his finger across my lip, following the same path.

I tilt my head, narrowing my eyes. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“Oh, right. That part.”

I nod, swallowing hard. I slide back from him, moving to climb up the bed before his large hand wraps around my leg and pulls me to him.

He shakes his head and shrugs. “I guess I just wanted you to know.”

My chest seizes.

This man. This sweet, protective, and loyal man. How could I not fall in love with him?

He’s nothing like Mitchell. I believe it with all my heart. Even if things end and we go our separate ways, I know he would never do anything to hurt me.

It’s not who he is. He may be a grump or stubborn as nails sometimes, but he would never want to hurt the people he cares about.

I drag my hands up his forearms, holding him.

As nervous as it makes me to say this, nothing has ever felt more right either.