Page 65 of His Secret Obsession
We often eat dinner together in the evenings, laughing while we talk about our days. Then at night—well, I usually spend that time between her thighs. I make it my personal mission to wring as many screams from her as I can. I crave the sound of her breathy whimpers, her sweet cries, and the slight pain that comes from her nails raking down my back. When I finally slide home, she grips me so tightly, some nights I think I’ll black out from the pleasure.
I’m lying in bed after one such evening, her naked chest pressed to mine. Even after we’ve both come, I often find it hard to stop touching her. My thumb glides down her wrist, running over the bumpy ridge of the scar there. My stomach churns at the sight of it, from knowing the kind of pain she endured. Cradling her wrist gently, I pull it to my lips and give it a soft kiss.
My mind wanders.
The clock feels like it’s alwaysticking, ticking, ticking, already counting down to the day when I’ll have to let her go. But do I? Do I really have to let her go? Surely, Luke would get over it eventually. It might be weird to see his big brother dating his ex, but he would get used to it. And townsfolk would gossip for a while, until the next big scandal made them forget.
“It’s from the car accident.”
I peer down at Maddie, watching her swallow as she looks away. I realize I’m still caressing her scar. I tend to do that a lot.
“I know.”
“How?” She looks back at me, furrowing her eyebrows. Her searching eyes make me nervous.
“I mean, I assumed it was,” I immediately correct myself and clear my throat. “Do you…do you want to talk about it?”
Her gaze slips back down to her wrist with a thoughtful expression. I hold my breath, waiting to see if she’ll share this piece of herself. She inhales a deep, fortifying breath. “It was fractured. I lost consciousness when the car rolled, and when I came to, my bone was sticking out.”
“I’m sorry. That sounds awful.”
“I had to have surgery on it. The surgeons put it back into place with some pins and screws.” She grows quiet, the silence stretching on until I begin to wonder if I should change the subject. “I don’t remember a lot from that day,” she admits, her voice lowering to a whisper. “Mostly, I remember coming in and out, barely able to stay awake. There was blood everywhere, and everything hurt. Then someone pulled me out.”
My heart lurches in my chest, and I wait silently while the damn organ threatens to claw its way up my throat. My entire body feels like it’s on pins and needles.
“I don’t even know his name, but whoever he was, he was really kind. He saved my life and made me feel like everything was going to be okay…like I was safe even though my parentswere dead and everything hurt.” Her voice wobbles, and a heavy pressure tickles the corners of my own eyes.
“I never got to thank him for making me feel safe on the worst day of my life, and sometimes I still remember the way he held my hand on the way to the hospital. I couldn’t open my eyes and focus, but I could vaguely hear his voice. He got me through it, and I never even got his name.” A tear slips from her cheek, dripping onto my chest. “He’s just out there somewhere walking around and having no clue what a difference he made that day.”
My heart feels like it’s breaking into a million pieces and simultaneously being glued back together.
This woman.
“Would you want to know? If you had the chance to find out?” The weight of unspoken words sits at the tip of my tongue, ready to be blurted out. But she shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut. My heart sinks a little.
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about asking around so I can thank him in person. But sometimes I wonder if it’ll just dredge up bad memories. Does that make me a coward?”
Shaking my head, my arms squeeze around her. I push down the things I want to say, but give her a little bit of truth. “You’re the strongest woman I know.”
Every day, I expose more of my feelings for her, putting my heart on a silver platter and offering it up. But I can’t bring myself to care—not when I’m so irrevocably in love with this woman that I no longer know where I end and where she begins. She’s buried herself so deep into my heart I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let her go.
“I still miss them.”
“I miss my dad a lot, too,” I admit. “I wonder what our lives would be like if he were still around.”
“Will you tell me a little bit about him?” The soft pad of her thumb brushes caressing circles along my chest. I lean my head back, thinking.
“I’m not sure what Luke has shared with you, but my dad was captain at the fire station.” Her soft eyes meet mine, and I give her a wistful smile. “He was a good man, a natural protector.” I chuckle. “He wanted to take care of everyone. If he were alive today, I think he would be retired. Probably out on the deck grilling hamburgers and watching the game on TV.”
She smiles. “I think I would have liked him.”
“He would have loved the hell out of you.” I smirk, imagining his shock if he knew I was in bed with Luke’s ex-girlfriend.
“What about your mom?”
My amusement fades.
“Jax?” Maddie gives me a concerned look. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about her.”
