Just for later

Agony and ecstasy

s**t! He hated seeing Maddie this way, so obviously exhausted. Even if it rankled, he’d rather see her spitting fire at him, her eyes flashing, her voice dripping with sarcasm or anger. Seeing her look so tired, so lost, so vulnerable ripped his f**king heart from his chest.

Tearing his eyes away from her, he shifted his Veyron into gear, making a decision that was definitely going to piss her off, but deciding he didn’t give a s**t.

No doubt, if he didn’t intervene, she’d be right back in action in the morning, hauling her drained body out of bed and into the clinic before the rehearsal and dinner the following afternoon.

Not happening! So what if she hates me for it? She already knows that I’m an asshole. Doesn’t matter. As long as she’s healthy.

He plugged his cell phone into its dashboard holder, intending to make some calls as he swung the car into a U-turn and headed back in the same direction he had been driving earlier.

He grinned, shooting a quick glance at Maddie before he dialed the first number, barking orders into the phone even though it was after one o’clock in the morning.

Luckily, his personal assistant was sharp, and responded immediately. It wasn’t every night that Sam called him at this hour; in fact, Sam never had called his PA at this hour, and David caught on instantly that the orders were important to his boss.

Totally oblivious, Maddie slumbered on, oblivious to the fact that she was about to take a short vacation, whether she wanted it or not.

*****

Sam deposited Maddie onto his ridiculously high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets and watched as she snuggled into the soft fabric, tugging the pillow under her head with a satisfied moan - a throaty, erotic sound that nearly had him panting.

There’s never been a day when I haven’t panted after her, not since the first time I laid eyes on her.

Yeah, he’d wanted her then too. His eyes had zoomed in on that bright, fiery mane of hers, pulled back from her face and cascading down her back, his c**k jerking as his eyes landed on her beautiful face with those oh-so-conservative glasses perched on her nose, a slight frown of confusion on her cherry-red lips.

She’d looked like a damn naughty librarian, and he’d gotten instantly hard every time he’d seen her from that day forward.

Wonder what happened to her glasses?

Gently, Sam lifted one of her eyelids to make sure she wasn’t wearing contacts that need to be removed, chuckling as she grunted with displeasure at the invasion.

Satisfied that she must have had her vision corrected with laser surgery, he pulled his hand away from her face and sighed. Damn…he used to love to pull those glasses from her face and kiss her breathless.

A small part of him mourned the loss, but a larger portion was relieved that she could see and that she had been able to get rid of the hated glasses.

He pulled off her tennis shoes and let them drop to the floor, deciding she could sleep in her scrubs. They were obviously clean and probably comfortable.

He stripped, watching her sleep while he discarded his clothing, disrobing until he stood only in his boxer briefs. Walking around the bed, he slipped between the sheets on the other side, flipping off the light beside his bed, his body tense.

It was a big bed, but it wasn’t big enough. Was he completely insane? How the f**k was he supposed to sleep with Maddie in his bed? This moment was surreal, an event he had dreamed about forever and fantasized about often.

Go to sleep, asshole. You’re watching over her. If you don’t stay with her she’ll probably sneak out before you can catch her.

Oh, hell no. There was no way she was working tomorrow. That bullshit needed to stop.

Punching his pillow, he rolled to his side, facing Maddie. God, she was beautiful. Everything about her was absolutely perfect. Unable to stop himself, he reached out his hand, scooting closer to her, as though drawn by a magnet.

He fingered her curls, and then ran the back of his hand down her delicate face. The room was lit only by moonlight, but it was bright enough to see her features.

As he ran his hand down her arm, she stirred, her eyelids fluttering. Her body moving restlessly, she inched toward him until she was rubbing against him, her body plastered against his entire front. Her arms circled his neck, nestling against his body like she belonged there.

“She does,” he whispered fiercely. “There’s no way she could feel this f**king good unless she belongs here with me.”

“Sam?” she murmured in a confused voice.

His heart thundering, he answered, “Yeah?”

“I hate you. Why are you here?” She snuggled against him, belying her words as she clung to his fiery body like a heat-seeking missile.

“I know you do, Sunshine. Just sleep,” he answered gravely.

He wrapped his arms around her. She might hate him, but she needed him right now. And he was determined to be there for her.

Like I should have been all along. I didn’t f**king know she had never gotten married. Unless she got married and didn’t change her name; but what sort of guy would let his woman work the way she does? I thought she’d have half a dozen kids by now.

Sam figured she must at least have a man in her life and he shuddered at the thought.

Mine. She f**king belongs here with me.

Closing his eyes, he let his senses absorb her fragrance, the feel of her body pressed against him.

It was agony and ecstasy all at once.

He lay there, listening to Maddie’s steady, even breathing, indicating that she’d finally settled and was deeply asleep.

Strangely enough, Sam followed her into slumber moments later, his body relaxing, and his mind, for the first in years, completely content.

**********************

Maddie woke the next morning confused, her head pounding like she had the mother of all hangovers- except for the fact that she rarely drank more than a glass of wine.

What in the hell happened? Where am I?

Pushing the hair back from her face, she blinked as she opened her eyes, her whole head foggy.