Page 35 of Broken Bodyguard

She laughed. “I sleep next to you, remember?”

I silenced the compliment with a kiss, moving my finger in and out of her slowly, up to pinch her clit, then back inside. She moved against my hand, urging more friction. My cock stiffened the more she moaned and whimpered. Her thighs clenched around my hand.

“God damn, Maddie.” I snagged her lips in a deep kiss as I rolled on top of her. She smoothed her hands over my bare chest, bleary eyed and beautiful. I pushed my hands underneath her sleep shirt, palming the big handfuls of her tits. “What a way to wake up.”

“You’re better than coffee,” she teased, clamping her legs around my waist.

“That’s a high compliment, coming from you.” I tugged her panties down, until they flew across the loft. “If that’s true, how can you live without me?”

I’d meant the question as something innocent and playful, but as soon as the words tumbled out, I realized how serious they were. Because this was the end, and somehow, we had to go our separate ways.

Something heavy crossed her face, but it didn’t last long. I made sure of it. I pulled off my boxer briefs, letting them join her panties across the loft, and then eased myself inside her. Stretching her, deliciously slowly, until we both forgot anything that had existed beforethis.

I couldn’t see anything beyond her hazel eyes as I pushed into her, over and over again. Her fingernails dug into my biceps. Her pussy walls clamped around me at the same time my balls tightened and the coil of pleasure released. Heat swarmed my body as I released inside her, her low moans filling the cabin loft.

Maddie was jello when we were done. Once we’d cuddled and laughed together for a few minutes, I scooped her into my arms and carried her to the bathroom.

“Troy,” she hissed, swatting at my arms. “Put me down. I’m too heavy.”

I tutted. “I don’t make it a habit of telling beautiful women this, but you’re wrong.”

She laughed, wriggling out of my arms in the bathroom. “You shouldn’t carry anything heavy with an injured knee you refuse to get checked out.”

I bit at my bottom lip as my gaze followed the delectable curve of her ass. “It’s fine. Remember what I said? You make it fine.”

She expelled a burst of air that sounded equal parts frustrated and amused. I gave her a cheesy grin in return. Truth was, my knee still hurt. And sometimes, it locked up.No bueno.But my approach was to ignore it until it resolved on its own. Besides, I had way more important things to tend to while Maddie was with me. I didn’t plan on giving away a second of my time to anything that wasn’tmy girls.

Maddie and I made quick work of cleaning up, then she slipped down the stairs to return to her own bed for when Grace woke up. And I got to continuing my day like I always did: with exercise.

I was determined to keep my routine the same. Not just today, but in general. I only looked ahead.

No matter how much it gnawed at me.

As the morning wore on, I tried my best to click into gear for what came next. Nash Nightingale’s new assignment. The trip to Ecuador—which startedtomorrow. Conjuring any sort of excitement about the gig was impossible because I couldn’t yank my attention from Maddie. Not when I was sharing my last breakfast with her and Grace, and thinking about what might happen while I was gone. Maddie got to tidying the kitchen after breakfast while I loaded their bags into the Jeep. When I came inside the cabin, Grace was hopping around, ready for one last round of Twisty Monkey.

I was happy to oblige. Because who knew when I’d be able to again?

After five—okay, six—near-puke inducing rounds of Twisty Monkey, the worst and best game ever invented by accident, Maddie and Grace waited in the Jeep while I closed up the cabin. I sent Len a quick text to let him know we left, pausing before I could add anything else. I didn’t want to say I fell in love under his buckhorn chandelier or anything, but I felt like Len needed to know that I’d definitely fallen for someone in there. Maybe later, after I dropped off the girls, I could admit to someone what was happening inside my chest.

Since it wasn’t a school day, I drove to Maddie’s parents’ house. Grace got excited as she recognized the neighborhood.

“We see Nana!” She clapped.

“Yes, sweetie. It’s time to see Nana.” Maddie unbuckled her seat belt slowly, looking over at me. Grace made a racket kicking and wriggling in the car seat, wanting to be unbuckled so she could go inside. Maddie slipped out of the car to release Grace, and her daughter bounded up to the front door.

“You think she’ll forget about me?” I asked Maddie, who sank back into the front seat once Grace had gone inside the house with her grandparents.

“No. She’ll probably talk about you for the next year.”

Silence settled between us. It was almost awkward, the first time I’d felt that way around Maddie since meeting her. I didn’t know what to say. Where to even begin. She nibbled on her lip as she looked over at me.

“Willyouforget about me?” I could barely force the words past my lips.

“Never.” There was no hesitation in her voice. Only a challenge.

One that I wasn’t sure I could meet.

“Gonna talk about me for a year too, huh?” I squeezed her hand, hoping to see a smile at my corny joke. I got one, but it didn’t last long.

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