Page 72 of Skin In the Game (The BlackWater)

By the time Friday came Maddie was close to blowing a gasket. She got that she and Kelsey were different, that Kelsey was messy but there was messy and then there was damn right being a slob. She left empty drinks bottles everywhere, empty crisp packets dropped on the floor when she finished them, she didn’t even always flush the god damn toilet after she peed.

It didn’t help that at work she had all the photos there now, pinned to the board, staring at her. She’d given an explanation for the cave one, a good explanation that fit but also made it sound nothing. There were enough other insignificant photos in the mix to hide it well and though a part of her felt guilty for the lie she knew it wasn’t connected so what was the point in saying the truth? Better to keep it to herself surely, to keep the secret then force herself to face it for no reason that even made sense.

She’d barely seen Cole the entire week either and for some reason that was getting to her too. It felt like there was no let up. She wondered if he was avoiding her even though she knew that was crap. She didn’t need him, she thought, it was just sex even if it was great sex but it felt like it was more, that the way he controlled her, the way he dominated her had made it more and that thought scared her more and more each time it raised its ugly god damn head in her mind. She was so desperate for Cole just to waltz back in in that arrogant way he always did that it was scaring her.

And the cherry on the cake was when Maddie returned Friday evening, after a particularly frustrating day, and the agents on the door told her that a limo had come to pick Kelsey up, that she had given him her address, that she had ignored everything Maddie had said and she was fucking furious then. She called her brother, called Richard, and ranted to him for over an hour before he calmed her down and agreed that Kelsey was a fucking nightmare and had seriously crossed the line this time.

“What do I do? I’m not joking when I say I want to move. I want to get out of this place right now.” Maddie said.

“Maddie be serious, he’s never made contact with you before, he’s never even been interested in you to be blunt.” Richard reasoned.

“I know but…” Maddie began.

“Let it go. He won’t look for you. He doesn’t want to know you because you remind him of what he did.” Richard stated.

She nodded knowing it was true. Knowing he was right.

“Thanks Rich. You always make things make sense.”

He chuckled down the phone. “I’ll remind you of that next time we’re having an argument then.”

“We don’t argue, we debate.” She said and he laughed again.

“I have to go, Rupert’s being a shit but if you need anything more, any other words of wisdom you know where I am.” Richard said.

“Thanks Rich.” She said before hanging up and noting that Rich was finally acknowledging what a problem his eldest child was with a smirk.

She looked around, seeing the state of the place and shaking her head. She was so rock n roll she thought as she started cleaning up the mess, bleaching and scrubbing on her knees on a Friday night when the rest of London was out living the high life, enjoying the beginning of their weekend.

When she was done she took a shower then decided it was time to scratch that itch hoping that maybe it might help ease some of the weird frustration she was feeling around Cole’s disappearance as well as clear the other thoughts in her head, the ones about the photos and what the hell it all meant.

She hadn’t touched herself in a while. She hadn’t needed too because Cole was always there, sorting her out, making her come in such intensity it didn’t feel like she needed anymore.

She tossed the towel back over the rail, pressed the button for the tv to pop up out of the bed, switched on some porn and pulled a toy out from her side cabinet.

She lay naked on top her sheets because it felt hotter, and also liberating to actually be able to do what she wanted again now that Kelsey had finally fucked off.

She started slow, as if trying to remember what her own hands felt like, what her clit felt like to her own fingers again. She spread her wetness over herself moaning slightly as she glanced up at the screen. The porn was basic, standard vanilla boy fucking girl stuff but the noise, the sound of it was helping to turn her on.

She closed her eyes then and imagined Cole for a minute, imagined his hands and how they felt, the way he always knew when to go hard and when to lightly play. The way he had given her pain too, just a little, just enough to make the pleasure feel more heightened, more intense. She’d never been with anyone like him, anyone that just got her body, got where to touch her, how to almost instantly make her scream. She moaned again running her hand up and down and then something made her open her eyes.

He was there, right by the door, leaning and smirking and watching every damn move.

“Having fun?” He asked her and she gasped.

He glanced at the screen then back at her, staring down at her body, at her pussy and where her fingers were now frozen.

“Keep going Maddie.” He said and she swallowed. She realised he must have been enjoying the show for god knows how long.

Slowly she moved her hand, her eyes now watching him and he leaned there, not moving, just staring right back at her.

She moaned again and he grinned.

“You are so fucking hot.” He said taking his jacket off and then his shirt, never taking his eyes from her pussy. She glanced down at herself then back at him.

She felt so turned on, so fucking wet now. How did he do that, how did he have that effect on her even when he hadn’t touched her?

“I said keep going Maddie.” He ordered and she realised she’d stopped. Stopped playing with herself, her fingers were there lingering on her entrance. He frowned taking his trousers and boxers off and she waited still, waited to see what he was going to do.

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