"I'm extremely pleased too. And I understand you had reasons for testing me." I glance at Maddie. "Will you be going back to the resort with me? If you'd rather stay here…"
"No, I'm with you."
My mind can't help interpreting that statement as some sort of declaration of…what? Not love. We barely know each other. Affection? That makes more sense, and I feel affection for her too. In the brief time we've been together, I've come to care for her more than I've cared for anyone in a long time.
"I'll ring the helicopter service," Dex says, "and have you picked up as soon as possible."
"Thank you," I say. "I really am looking forward to reading your books."
And my gut instincts tell me I won't be disappointed. Have I saved my company? It's too early to claim that, but I know one thing for certain. I have been saved in other ways—by Madeleine Solberg.
Chapter Twenty-One
Maddie
An hour after Dexter handed over his books, Richard and I enter the lobby of the resort with the eight boxed manuscripts in our arms. I carry two while Rick carries six. He insisted on that since the boxes are kind of heavy. A bellboy took our suitcase, the one Dex had given us to carry the clothes he gifted to us from his private collection. That bag will be waiting for us in our suite.
Though I've been sleeping in the same bed with Rick for over a week, it still feels strange, in a good way, to think about sharing a suite with him.
We stop at the concierge desk to arrange for lunch to be sent to our room, then we hurry up to the fourth floor. The bellboy has already come and gone, and our shared suitcase waits for us just inside the door. The concierge promised our lunch would arrive in thirty minutes precisely.
"What should we do until the food comes?" I ask.
"I need to get started on reading these books." He sets his stack of boxes on the floor. "This might take weeks."
"Can I help?" I drop my two boxes on the bed. "I'm a fast reader, but I also have high reading comprehension even when I speed read."
"I have no doubts you do. You're the cleverest woman on earth."
"You keep saying things like that. I appreciate the compliments, but you don't need to go overboard."
"I'm not going overboard. You are the most remarkable woman, the most remarkable person, I've ever met." He slings an arm around my waist, pulling me close. "Your sister told me you save lives every day, and you told me how you confronted drug traffickers. Not only that, but you have stayed with me throughout this whole nonsense with Dexter. I would've given up days ago, but you convinced me to see it through to the end. You are more than remarkable, Maddie. You're a miracle."
My cheeks warm, despite the fact he's spouted another overblown compliment. I don't care. Everything he says about me makes me want to snuggle up with him forever. It's a little embarrassing to receive such extravagant compliments, but I know he means every word. "Thank you, Rick, but it's not like I'm a superhero. I do my job to the best of my ability, that's all. And I stay with you because I want to, because you make me feel so good."
"The feeling is mutual." He kisses my forehead, then steps back. "If you really want to help, let's each take a manuscript and start reading."
"You trust me to review books for you?"
"Absolutely."
I pick up a manuscript box. "Let's get started."
For the next half hour, we read while sitting side by side on the bed, our legs stretched out. When our lunch arrives, we take a short break to eat, but then it's back to the grindstone. It's hardly a chore reading Dexter's writing. Though I'd loved his early books, this new one I've got in my hands is even better. The story has emotion, insight, and just enough steamy scenes to make me want to rip Richard's clothes off. I restrain myself, though, and keep reading. We take the occasional breather to relax and give each other neck rubs, and once we even take a swim in the infinity pool. We also order snacks—cupcakes, naturally, in a multitude of flavors—and feed each other like newlyweds, stuffing cupcakes into each other's mouths.
By evening, we've both finished our books.
Richard gets to the end first and watches me while I finish the manuscript I've been poring over all afternoon. The second I set down the last page, he speaks.
"How was it?"
"Wonderful," I say. "Even better than his earlier books. How was yours?"
"The best thing Dex has ever written. And his sex scenes make me so randy I've had a devil of a time keeping my hands off you."
"I have the solution to that problem." I dump the manuscript I've had on my lap onto the floor. While the pages spill across the wood, I climb onto Rick's lap and straddle him. "I'd love to have your hands all over me, not to mention the rest of you."
"There's no reason to hold back anymore, is there? We've had more than a week of getting to each know each other the celibate way." He grasps my hips, rocking them forward into his stiffening cock. "I want you, Maddie. Right now."