Take Me Home Tonight by Elle Kennedy
She took him so deep his tip prodded the back of her throat, but she didn’t let that slow her down. As her heart thudded wildly, she sucked him hard, picking up the pace as his fingers fisted her hair and his hips rose to match her movements. She felt him throbbing, heard him moan again, and then he withdrew from the soft suction of her mouth in an abrupt motion that made her blink.
“I’m too close,” he rasped. “I don’t want to come yet.” When she met his eyes, the haze of desire she saw in them floored her. “Undress for me, Maddie.”
Without a word, she stood up and did just that. Scandalous temptress that she was, she hadn’t bothered with a bra or panties, just her jeans and tank top, and Owen’s eyes widened when he realized she’d gone commando.
“Christ,” he squeezed out. “Well, aren’t you a little slut.”
The humor dancing across his face told her he wasn’t trying to be an ass. Laughing, she offered a shrug. “I probably should have mentioned it on my job application, no?”
A laugh rolled out of his broad chest. “Skills—not wearing underwear. God, if I’d known that, I would’ve had my way with you a long time ago.”
“I wish you had,” she murmured. Before he could say anything, she picked up her purse from the coffee table and took out the condoms she’d stashed there. She tossed him one and said, “Put this on already so I can have my way with you.”
His twin brother might have been the army man in the family, but Owen rolled the condom on with swift, military precision. His eagerness made her laugh again, but the amusement faded when he crooked a long finger and said, “Come here, baby.”
Baby. The rush of emotion she experienced from the endearment made her legs wobble. Collecting her composure, she sauntered back to the couch, climbed onto his lap and sat right on his cock.
They both moaned from the intimate contact.
“God, Maddie,” he whispered as she started to move. “God, that’s good.”
She rolled her hips a bit, eliciting another moan from him. They kept to a slow, lazy pace, their gazes locked, their breath coming out in soft pants. Despite herself, she remembered the husky commands Cooper had given her the night they’d been together, how she’d eagerly soaked up the knowledge, playing student to his teacher. Funny, how all those new skills had flown out the window, how they didn’t even matter in this moment. Owen raised his hips to thrust into her, and she moved faster, her body taking on a life of its own. She watched his eyes as she made love to him and saw glimmers of wonder and desire. Tenderness and bewilderment.
He felt it too, she realized. The warmth. The connection. The feeling of sheer and total rightness. It didn’t matter who did what, didn’t matter if each stroke was smooth or unpolished. Everything about this simply felt right.
“Maddie,” he murmured again, reaching up to bring her face to his.
They kissed again, deep and gentle, and then he flipped her over without any warning. She lay on her back, Owen’s hard, beautiful body moving over hers. Wrapping her arms around him, she welcomed each thrust, moaning with sudden impatience. “Faster,” she urged him.
“Slower,” he corrected.
She blinked, and then he was no longer inside her. Disappointment bloomed in her chest, but it was swiftly replaced with a jolt of arousal as Owen slid down her body and brought his mouth to her aching sex. She nearly protested—she was the one who was supposed to take control. She was the seductress. But then Owen looked up at her, his handsome features taut and creased with blatant desire, and Maddie realized all the power was still firmly in her hands. He was clearly ready to explode, yet her pleasure was his priority.
“Tell me what you like,” he rasped out, his breath tickling her damp folds.
She had to smile. “I’m pretty sure I’ll like anything you do to me.”
And she did, each slow lick and flick of the tongue making her claw at the couch cushions. When his tongue entered her, mimicking what his cock had done, she grabbed his head and pressed his face to her core, taking everything he offered, demanding more. Her pulse drummed between her ears. Her thighs turned to jelly. And just before release could crash over her, she pulled his dark hair, yanked his head back, and said, “I want to come with you inside me.”
His eyes glittered. “Fuck, I love the whole bossy thing you’ve got going,” he muttered as he climbed back up.
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. It’s such a turn-on.”
Satisfaction flooded her body, followed by a whole lot of raw pleasure as his erection slid into her and his mouth came down on hers. Slow was no longer on the menu. His hips pounded into her, his tongue thrust into her mouth, and when he reached between them and stroked her clit, mumbling unintelligible words of encouragement, Maddie came apart.
She cried out as the orgasm swept through her, rocking against him as she came so hard, so fast, she couldn’t even breathe. With a groan, he gave in to his own release, and she held him tightly, squeezing her inner muscles around him to prolong his climax.
Eventually their breathing steadied and they grew still. As Maddie lay there, feeling the wild thump of his heartbeat against her breasts, a single, relentless thought burned through her mind. Mine. She loved this man, had loved him for so damn long, and she tightened her grip around his sweat-slicked shoulders, never wanting to let go. Owen Bishop was hers.
And her heart…well, that was his.
“I can’t believe you talked me into a day off,” Owen grumbled two days later as he ducked under a low-hanging branch and followed Maddie deeper into the forest.
“Oh, quit complaining,” she called over her shoulder. “You know you’re having fun.”
He was glad she was ahead of him and couldn’t see his face, because he knew she would’ve teased him about his big, goofy smile. She was right—his griping was nothing more than a show. Truth was, this was probably the best day of his life, and it was only midafternoon.
He and Maddie had shared breakfast in bed this morning, followed by a long shower that ended with the hottest bathroom-floor sex ever. He’d intended to get some work done at some point, but then Maddie had reminded him of what had happened yesterday, when they’d gone to work together only to lock themselves in his office for the entire morning and afternoon. She’d convinced him to take the day off, saying they’d just work extra hard tomorrow, though he couldn’t really see that happening.
Ever since Sunday, when he’d thrown caution to the wind and given in to his desire for Maddie, he’d been like a man obsessed. Obsessed with her delectable body, that is. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her, no matter how many times they had sex. Pretty damn amazing, considering it usually only took two or three days for him to get tired of the woman in his bed.
But he wasn’t tired of Maddie. Not by a long shot. If anything, he only wanted her more, and that, well, that was pretty damn troubling.
“We’re here.”
Maddie’s cheerful voice drew him from his thoughts and he blinked a few times to orient himself. Pushing branches aside, they stepped through the brush. A moment later the trees and shrubs cleared, and they reached the edge of a rocky cliff. Maddie was grinning as they approached the edge. “This was my first cliff dive,” she told him. “I was here with my brothers, and Jim went first, taunting Luke and Josh from the water and saying they didn’t have the balls to jump. They totally didn’t—the two of them were looking at each other all hesitant, trying to figure out which one would make a move first.”
“And let me guess, your balls were big enough for the both of them,” Owen said dryly.
“Yep. While they were debating, I ran right past them and dove in.” She laughed. “When I hit the water, Jim was there, scolding me and threatening to spank me for being so reckless.”
Owen looked down, not sure he disapproved of her older brother’s reaction. It was only about a fifteen-foot drop to the calm, murky lake below, but there were nasty-looking boulders down at the bottom. If the diver didn’t have a good ru
From the corner of his eye, he caught a blur of movement, and when he turned his head, he saw Maddie wiggling out of her jeans.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Don’t want to get my clothes wet,” she answered breezily. “Wet jeans suck.”
His mouth went dry as she removed her T-shirt. She looked so freaking sexy standing there in her bra and panties. He knew her height bothered her, but he loved it. All those long, smooth lines of her body, the endless legs and graceful neck. He went into a daze for a moment, his cock thickening and pressing against his zipper, but he snapped out of it when he noticed Maddie striding away from the edge.
“Wait, what are you—”
“See you at the bottom!”
And then she dashed toward the edge of the cliff and soared right over it. Owen’s heart lodged in his throat as he watched her body curve in a dive. With a jolt of fear, he peered over the edge, relief coursing through him when he saw her slice into the water cleanly. Ripples formed around the spot where she’d submerged. She surfaced a few seconds later, pushing wet hair from her eyes.
Jesus Christ. The woman was insane. How hadn’t he noticed that when he’d hired her as his assistant?
The sound of her melodic laughter reached him. “Come join me, Bishop—or are you too scared to jump?”
His nostrils flared. Too scared, his ass.
Not wanting to be showed up by a grown woman with freckles, Owen hurriedly undressed and got a good running start. He took a quick breath, sprinted toward the edge and said a prayer.
The cool water engulfed him, a refreshing feeling after the hour-long hike in the late August sunshine. He stayed under water for a moment, swimming a few strokes, then emerged to find Maddie treading water beside him, a big grin on her face.
“Isn’t it a total thrill?” she demanded.
He smiled at the jubilant tone of her voice. “Yeah, but I can think of better thrills,” he responded.
“Like what?”
Owen grabbed hold of her hips, brought her body to his, and leaned down to kiss her. Sighing in pleasure, Maddie wrapped those long legs around his waist and kissed him back, her tongue sliding over his in slow thrusts. Lord. It still sent his mind reeling, how sensual this woman was. She had no inhibitions, and no matter what he did to her, no matter what position they found themselves in, she threw herself into it with wild abandon.
He hadn’t expected that. Also hadn’t expected that nothing would change. Incredible sex aside, their relationship was exactly how it had always been. Filled with humor and good-natured bickering, along with the occasional heated argument. They were both too stubborn for their own good, so it probably shouldn’t surprise him that they would still fight like cats and dogs, even as lovers.
Lovers.
Christ, he still couldn’t believe how quickly they’d adapted to the new title, how comfortable it was. He’d never felt this relaxed with the other women he’d dated, which was why he’d made sure to keep everything strictly about sex. But with Maddie…it was so much more.
The scary realization had him breaking the kiss. He floated on his back, pretending he’d ended the intimate contact out of sheer laziness, but the perceptive look in Maddie’s brown eyes told him she hadn’t bought it.
“What’s wrong?” she murmured.
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“Liar.” She swam alongside him. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”
“I…I was just thinking,” he answered in a reluctant tone.
“About?” she prompted.
“About us. About how normal this feels.”
She laughed. “Should it feel abnormal then?”
“No, but…but I just don’t understand how sex…well, why we can still be friends even though we’re having sex.” He felt like an idiot just saying the words, but for some reason, he’d never been able to lie to or hold back from this woman.
“Because we are friends,” she said simply. “Weren’t you friends with any of the women you dated?”
“Well, no.”
They treaded water for a moment, eyeing each other. Maddie wrinkled her forehead. “Why didn’t any of your relationships work out?”
Discomfort crept up his spine. “I don’t know.”
“Sure you do.” She slanted her head. “So why?”
She was touching on territory he didn’t like discussing, and maybe it made him a coward, but he found himself eager to get away from her. “I’m hungry. Let’s climb up and get our clothes.”
He took off in a fast breaststroke before she could answer, but Maddie was a damn good swimmer, and she reached the shore at the same time he did. They climbed onto the rocky bank, water dripping from their bodies. Owen glanced over and saw Maddie watching him with an intrigued look.
“Do you really think I’m going to drop the subject?” she asked with a faint smile.
After a second of silence, he let out a heavy sigh. “No.”
“Then quit avoiding and tell me why you think you’re not cut out for relationships.”
He blinked in surprise. “Who says I think that?”
“I do.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, which only directed his attention to the nipples poking against her sheer pink bra. His mouth grew dry, and his face—or maybe his groin—must have conveyed his rising desire, because she shot him a frown and said, “I’m not having sex with you again until you tell me the truth.”
Owen sighed.
“I mean it,” she warned.
Stubborn woman.
With another breath, he sank down on one of the large, moss-covered boulders. She joined him, tilting her head as she waited for him to explain.
“I think I inherited my dad’s adultery gene.”
Chapter Eight
There was a deafening silence.
Then Maddie burst out laughing. “What?”
As Owen’s jaw tensed, she realized that laughing at him while he was sharing his deepest, darkest secret probably hadn’t been a good idea. She couldn’t help herself, though. Owen’s abrupt confession was so absurd she wasn’t even sure how to approach it.
“Forget I said anything,” he muttered, starting to get up.
She clamped her hand over his bare thigh and forced him to stay put. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. But…are you serious?”
He nodded.
“Owen, that’s crazy. Adultery doesn’t run in the family, for Pete’s sake.”
“How do you know?” he countered. “You’re not a geneticist.”
“Neither are you!”
He opened and closed his mouth, as if he had a tic in his jaw, then released a ragged breath. “You know about my dad, right?”
She faltered. “You mean…”
“That he cheated on my mom with anything in a skirt?” Sarcasm dripped freely from his voice. “Yeah, that’s what I mean.”
“I heard the rumors,” she said tentatively.
A lot of rumors. Even in high school, she’d heard about Henry Bishop’s indecent reputation. Owen and Jake had been two years ahead of her in school, their younger brother Austin a year behind, so it was no surprise that all their peers constantly gossiped about the boys’ father. Apparently Henry Bishop hadn’t tried to hide his behavior either, not from his wife, or anyone else in town.
Owen was quiet for nearly a minute. “Before he died, I asked him why he did it,” he confessed.
Eek. Maddie could just envision that conversation. Henry lying in a hospital bed as the cancer ravaged his stomach, while his son questioned him about his extracurricular activities. Owen would have been about nineteen when his father died.
“What did he say?” she asked softly.
Owen made a harsh sound in his throat. “Oh, he gave m
Maddie raised her eyebrows. “And you think that you’re like him?” She shook her head. “No way, Owen. You’re not weak, and you certainly don’t treat women like objects.”
“But I think I inherited that restlessness,” he said hoarsely. “Even in high school, I’d go out with a girl, but get bored and restless with her after only a few days, already having eyes on someone new.”
“Lots of people get bored with the people they’re with,” she said in a quiet voice. “It usually means they haven’t found the right person.”
He glanced over at her in dismay. “You really believe that?”
“Sure.”
“Then what about my dad?” he pointed out. “Because he claimed that my mother was the right person for him. He just couldn’t stay faithful to her.” He visibly swallowed. “What if that happens to me? I find the right woman, but she’s still not enough for me.”
Frustration filled Maddie’s chest. “My mom used to say that people who live their lives worrying about the what ifs aren’t actually living their lives.”
“That’s pretty perceptive of her.” He focused those sexy gray eyes on her face. “You never talk about your mom.”
“She died a long time ago,” Maddie said with a sad smile. “There’s not much to say about it.”
“Do you miss her?”
“All the time.”
They went quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Maddie wished her mother were still alive, so she could tell her about Owen, ask her advice about the ridiculous fear he’d evidently harbored all of these years. Her mom had always known exactly what to say, but she’d died when Maddie was eleven, leaving her to be raised by a strict father and three overprotective older brothers. Maybe if she’d had a feminine role model, she wouldn’t be such a damn tomboy. Maybe she’d have a better understanding of men as a woman and not just a buddy.
“I think you’re comparing yourself with your father when there really is no comparison,” she finally said, reaching for his hand and stroking his calloused palm. “You’re not going to cheat on your wife, Owen. When you find the right woman, you’ll be faithful to her.”