Page 7 of Maddox

“So tight,” he said as if answering my cry of passion. He remained on his forearms and there was no way he wasn’t feeling the pain in his shoulder. But he didn’t seem to care.

The man was made of steel, or maybe just determination.

Yet as he peered down at me, I caught the whisper of sadness once again.

He pulled out, thrusting into me again, studying my eyes as if checking for pain. I wrapped my legs around his thighs, holding him close as he plunged into me again. The same electricity jolted through me, the dancing vibrations like live wires.

His chest rose and fell as he attempted to control his actions. We rocked together as he developed a rhythm, my muscles clenching and releasing as he filled me. “Please, fuck me hard.” Our eyes met, and I nodded my head.

He captured my mouth, dominating my tongue as he began roughly fucking me. I doubted any other lover had gone thisdeep. The angle was perfect and within only seconds, the rush of adrenaline shifted into another wave of tingles.

He released my mouth, instead biting one nipple before relieving the pain with his tongue, then repeating his actions with the other nipple. I was pinned to the rock by his powerful movements. His tongue was too much and I felt a scream rising up, and in the heat of the moment I silenced it by biting into his shoulder. He shook for a single moment before fucking me even harder. I released his shoulder, holding on for dear life as he ground us against our warm clothes and the cold stone. My body responded to his, a climax rushing through me just as stars floated in front of my eyes. I bit my lip to keep from making a sound even as the joy increased with every brutal thrust.

His jaw was set, the stubble covering one side to the other highlighting his chiseled features. As a moan finally escaped, I pushed up from the hard surface.

He took a deep breath and I realized he was close to coming.

All I could do was watch, basking in what was left of our few minutes of passion. This would undoubtedly never happen again, but on the ugly night, I felt alive.

With a guttural sound, he erupted deep inside of me, slowly easing down to cover my body with his. His cock continued to throb just as my muscles remained tightly woven around his shaft.

Whatever would happen from here, I knew I’d be alright.

Because of one perfect hero.

CHAPTER 3

Two weeks prior to extraction…

Charmaine

“What do you mean my articles aren’t relevant any longer?” I heard the terseness in my tone and rolled my eyes.

“I mean they aren’t relevant any longer. You’ve been spending too much time with the whales and pontificating about the need for cleaner energy,” Jerry said in response.

Jerry Cane had been my editor and boss at theChicago Sunfor years. He’d been mostly responsible for my rise to fame, my articles usually found on the front page. He was tough but fair, lovable in a curmudgeony kind of way. He’d also given me free rein to write the stories I thought were… relevant. For him to be tossing that back in my face angered me.

Enough so I paced the floor of my little house, trying to calm down so I wouldn’t tell him what I thought about his call.

“First of all, I never pontificate about anything. I state the truth. Did you forget I was solely responsible for uncovering corruption in both the government and in three foreign countries?”

I had a penchant for investigative reporting, which hadn’t won me many friends and over the years, I’d had dozens of threats.

“No, I didn’t forget, but the last article with any meat was over six months ago. You need to find something you can really sink your teeth into.”

I stopped at my desk, glaring down at my notebook that I always kept with me. I’d scoured the internet drafting ideas. I had pages of them, but nothing had inspired me for ages. “You know I’m trying. You could help.”

“You’re a loner, Char. That’s the way you’ve always worked. Maybe what you need is a vacation.”

Snorting, I looked around my living room. I’d lived here for five years, yet it was only half filled. It wasn’t because I didn’t make enough money or that I enjoyed living in a barren environment. It was because my worthless soon to be ex-husband had taken half of everything. Half of which he’d never liked or appreciated. He’d just done so out of spite because I’d made his life ‘difficult.’

The goddamn asshole.

What I didn’t have was extra money to be trotting off to the Caribbean. His lawyers and mine had taken care of my tidy nest egg. I also couldn’t relax by myself. Even going with a friend didn’t have appeal.

Not that I had a lot of close friends other than the few I’d developed in the industry. While I was mostly a print journalist,I’d also developed a talent for being on camera. Maybe I needed to hunt down a story utilizing the camera crew who I worked with so well. When we clicked, we made magic together.

“I’ll figure something out,” I told him and rubbed my eyes. Hearing a blip of my email did nothing but make me groan. Lately, I’d had nothing but disruptive news, often corresponding with Brian on the computer since talking in person usually meant a screaming match.

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