That was true. But it didn’t make it hurt any less or make her any less confused about everything that happened tonight. She did know that she was not in the mood to party. “Hey, listen, do you mind if I skip out on the party tonight? I’m not feeling very festive.”
“Absolutely.” Emmett came around the bar and wrapped Maddie in his arms. It felt so good to be there. The warmth of being wrapped in his protective cocoon made everything seem better somehow. She wanted to stay there all night, but she knew that was impossible. “I’m sorry about all this. It ruined your big night.”
“I think it still went okay,” she said, taking a step back while she still had the strength to pull away. “The movie played on. And who knows, maybe the drama and the aftermath will encourage more people to attend the next event. You never know what will happen around Rosewood.”
“I’d let you hide out in my apartment until I get off work, but it’s going to be after two. You won’t get much sleep with the Monster Mash going on down here.”
“That’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’m going to take a sleeping pill and try to forget tonight ever happened.” Rising onto her toes, she planted a kiss on his lips to say good night. He wrapped his strong arms around her, making her wish that tonight wasn’t Halloween and there wasn’t long hours of partying in his future. She’d rather curl up with him on the couch and lose herself in some television. Unfortunately, all she could do was pull away and look up into the big green eyes that comforted her. “You be sure to tell all those girls tonight that Han Solo is taken.”
Emmett smiled and winked. “I will.”
; Chapter Eighteen
For the first time since Maddie got back from Paris, she skipped Sunday dinner with her family. She didn’t know if she could face her father—or anyone in her family, really—after what had happened last night. She didn’t want to see anyone except Emmett. That’s why when the text tone she’d assigned to Emmett went off, she finally picked up her phone.
“My bed is cold and lonely,” he wrote.
Her house was feeling the same way. It was also feeling like the wrong place to wait around. If she didn’t start responding to calls soon, people were probably going to show up at her door. Emmett’s apartment was the ideal hideaway, at least for a while.
“I’ll be right there,” she responded.
Minutes later, she was across the street and sequestered in the dark comfort of Emmett’s place. She crept into his bedroom and found him lying there, waiting for her. She shed her clothes and crawled into the bed beside him, letting his body heat warm her bare skin like a radiator.
“That’s more like it,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a kiss in the soft hollow beneath her ear. “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” she said, curling her head into his chest. She listened to the slow, steady rhythm of his heart and it made her feel more at peace. “Better now that I’m here.” She meant it. She felt ten times better here than she had sitting in her house alone all night. It had been a long time since someone had made her feel as comfortable and safe as she did when she was with him.
“Have you spoken to anyone?”
“No. And right now, I don’t want to. It’s starting to feel like you’re the only person I can trust.”
Maddie expected him to say some soothing platitudes in the vein of “of course you can,” or “I’m not the only person you can trust,” but he just lay silent, holding her. Perhaps he was right and words were overrated at this point. Action was better.
“Make love to me,” she said, her hand caressing his stubble-covered jaw. “Make me forget about all that for a little while longer.”
“Absolutely.” Emmett’s mouth met hers in a tender yet firm kiss.
Maddie met his enthusiasm, running her fingers through his messy blond hair and tugging him closer. She couldn’t get enough of him—the rough feel of his hands on her body, the taste of his mouth and his skin on her lips. His scent lingered on the sheets and filled her nostrils as he moaned softly into her mouth. He was a feast of the senses and she was starving.
She responded instantly to his touch. It continually amazed her how quickly Emmett had learned her body. He effortlessly stroked and teased her into arousal, bringing her to climaxes faster and more often than she’d thought possible.
They came together quickly. Maddie was eager to empty her mind and feel nothing but the pleasure of being in Emmett’s arms, and he was happy to indulge her. She lifted her hips, welcoming him into her body with a contented sigh.
As they moved together, Maddie realized just how perfect this moment was. No matter what else was going on in her life, this was real. This was right.
She needed to stop being afraid. She couldn’t let the past ruin what she had with Emmett by making her second-guess everything. He hadn’t done anything to warrant her suspicion, it was her own fears getting in the way. She just needed to admit to herself that she had feelings for Emmett . . . real feelings. And that was okay. Making one bad choice in a man didn’t mean she was doomed to make them forever. Emmett was thoughtful and kind and honest. He deserved whatever love she had to give him.
Love?
Her heart leapt in her chest as she realized what she was thinking. Looking up at those green eyes she could get lost in, she pulled his jaw down to kiss him. She was worried that if she didn’t, she might say the words aloud. There was a lightness in her chest, and the words threatened to bubble up out of her. She’d barely come to terms with the idea herself, so she wasn’t ready to announce it to him when they hadn’t been together that long. It was possible that Maddie was way ahead on the emotional curve and she needed to let the relationship develop at the proper pace.
Reaching down between them, Emmett stroked at her center, teasing her swollen flesh as he drove into her again and again. All thoughts of love and confessions, all thoughts of her family and betrayal, slipped away as she was jerked back into the here and now of her physical desires. Every muscle in her body drew taut as she bit her lip and waited to reach the pinnacle of pleasure.
“Yes!” she shouted out as she peaked, clawing at his shoulders. Soon, his own cries mingled with hers as he rocked with Maddie through the waves to the end of their release.
Exhausted and spent, Emmett collapsed. He slid to the side and shifted his weight to keep from crushing her, but Maddie didn’t care. In this moment, everything was perfect, including the heated touch of his body pressing heavily against her own.