17. Maddy

Chapter 17

Maddy

"What if we just ate dinner up here?" I asked for probably the tenth time in a row as I sat on the edge of Niko's bed.

"No, princess. We're going downstairs and eating with everyone else. No reason not to," Niko chastised me gently, rubbing a towel through his still-wet hair. He had just gotten out of the shower, after having spent a full twenty minutes longer in there after I got out.

My pussy still ached with the memory of both our play in the woods this afternoon and the sex in the shower. Aftercare, he called it, and while it was care for the most part, it almost always led to round two for us. Or round ten, depending on the night. I smirked to myself. I was certainly one lucky girl to be shacked up with this sex god of a man.

"But I don't see why it would be a problem to just eat up here," I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest.

He walked past me, leaning down to kiss the top of my head on his way to the closet to dress.

"First of all, because I don't allow food in my room. We live in the boonies out here, princess. Too many bugs will end up in the house if we start that shit. Second, I'm not letting you get away with being shy. And third, we will go down and eat with them because I said so, and I'm the Dominant." My eyes followed his form as he walked to the closet, noting that his round ass was surprisingly hairless for a man. He cut quite a figure, if I did say so myself — and I did.

"What if I want to be the Dominant?" I asked. His only response was a loud guffaw of a laugh from inside the closet. I rolled my eyes, resigning myself to my fate of being mercilessly teased and embarrassed at dinner. Oh well. I guess I'd have to bring my A-game, then.

Niko came out of the closet a few minutes later, looking sharp as fuck in his slacks and yet another button-down shirt.

"Do you even own jeans?" I asked as he held a hand out to help me from the bed.

"Yes."

"Why have I never seen you in them, then?" I asked, genuinely curious, as we made our way downstairs. A heady fragrance ascended from the staircase, curling around my senses and igniting a delicious anticipation that set my mouth watering.

"Because I don't wear them often, princess," he whispered against my temple, tugging me in for a kiss before we descended the staircase to join the others.

I could already hear their chatter from down the hall. Nervousness and apprehension filled my stomach, almost to the point of canceling out my hunger. The only thing that saved me was the scent of Sully's cooking. The man was an absolute genius in the kitchen. I would be sad to lose that when I left.

Instantly, the idea of leaving this place shot a pang of despair through my chest, surprising me. I didn't want to think about that. Shoving the emotion deep down inside of me, locking it tightly away, I plastered a smile on my face as we walked into the kitchen.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Jax quipped.

"Yeah, Niko. Nice to see you in one piece," Deacon joined in, teasing Niko.

"Yeah, it looks like Maddy really sunk her claws into you, didn't she?" Sully cackled as he hunched over the oven, opening the door and pulling out something that smelled like heaven and looked just as delectable.

"Alright, guys. Enough," Niko chastised them. He pulled out a chair for me, a gesture I wasn't sure any man had ever actually done for me before. Honestly, it seemed more like a thing they did in the movies rather than in real life.

"What's the problem, Niko? Can't stand the heat?" I joined right in, throwing him a wink as he took his seat beside me.

"THEN GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN!" Sully yelled, laughing loudly as he pulled off his floral-printed oven mitts.

"Sully, your oven mitts match your apron," I praised the big lug, his answering smile of pride bringing a grin to my face in return.

"They do! Do you like them?" he asked, pure joy written on his face.

"They are perfect." I shot him a thumbs-up with a wink of approval.

"You're the best, Maddy." He waved his hand towards me demurely, and I swore I could see the large man blush.

"Careful, Sully. She'll end up with a big head," Niko snorted derisively. I shot him a look.

"Well, how else am I supposed to catch up with the size of yours, buddy ?" As soon as the word left my lips, he snarled, drawing the attention of everyone at the table. Even Sully looked up from his casserole dish with wide eyes.

"Did you just snarl at her?" Jax asked, chewing on a piece of the crusty bread Sully had placed in the center of the table.

"I did, and you'd be best served by letting it be. She knows better." Niko's eyes never left mine as he spoke, letting me know, clear as crystal, that his focus was solely on me.

Good. Right where I wanted him.

"Do I? I'm pretty sure you have your own issues to worry about, buddy," I pandered, pushing my luck further by patting his cheek as though he were a child.

In a flash, his hand shot up, capturing my wrist in his firm grasp as he growled low in his chest, lowering my hand off his face.

"Careful, princess," he muttered quietly, under his breath so that no one would hear, though I doubt very much that they were unaware of our little exchange.

"Fine…" I sighed, rolling my eyes. But his grip only tightened .

"Princess," he warned, low and deep in his throat. My eyes lifted to his, seeing the seriousness in his dark blue gaze. He meant business. And I was dangerously close to crossing a line.

"Yes, Sir," I whispered, as softly as possible. Immediately, his scowl changed to a big, almost goofy grin before he pulled me in for a kiss.

"Ew, get a room!" Jax called, throwing a torn piece of bread at us.

"We have two, thank you very much," Niko chuckled as Sully brought the food to the table, setting the steaming casserole dish on a trivet.

"And having rooms isn't the problem with these two," Deacon reminded. "After what we heard today—"

"And the other night," Jax added.

"And the night before that," Sully joined in, making Niko roll his eyes and drop his head down into his hands with exasperation. I simply sat back and giggled at their antics. They were a funny lot, not at all what I thought they'd be when I'd first arrived.

No, this motley crew was full of wit, sass, and a strong desire to do right . They were good men. Really good men.

As Sully dished out the food — a delicious Moussaka, as he explained in great detail — I sat back, realizing that I wasn't sure I'd ever met truly good men before.

But these men? These were just plain, good men, doing hard, good work.

"Jesus Christ, Sully," Jax groaned after shoving the first bite into his mouth — and making a spectacle when he realized it was still far too hot to consume.

"Yes, Jax?" Sully asked, taking his seat at the table and batting his eyelashes at the man, waiting for his due praise.

"This is…" he trailed off, shoving another bite into his mouth just as the rest of us took our first bites. Groans rang out around the table. Sully, much to my delight, clapped his hands together with a smile on his face so wide it showed off dimples I hadn't even realized he had.

"You know who would love this?" Deacon asked, taking a sip of his drink before speaking.

"Carrick!" The rest of them called out, laughing together.

"You guys keep mentioning this Carrick guy. What's the story with him?" I asked, stabbing my fork into another piece of the delicious Greek casserole.

"That's a long story," Niko answered after swallowing his own bite with a guttural, almost sexual moan.

"And one possibly not best suited for the dinner table," Deacon added with a short-lived chuckle.

"So… does he live with you guys, too?" I asked, turning my curiosity to a question that might give me better answers.

"He does," Niko answered, still using clipped sentences in between stuffing his face with food. I had to admit, it was hard to put my fork down long enough to carry on a real conversation. Sully sure as fuck could cook.

"So why isn't he here? I mean, I know you guys said he was working, but I've been here for a few weeks now, and haven't seen him around once. What the fuck is up with that?" I asked, my eyes scanning the table as each of the men stared at their own plates, not meeting my eyes for a moment. "What, is it a secret or something?"

After a long pause, Niko cleared his throat. "Carrick is away on a job."

"You've said as much before," I reminded him, taking another bite of food. Christ, I was going to be as large as a house by the time I left here, with the way Sully kept me fed. Granted, I was burning off most of the calories with the way Niko kept me well fucked. I made a mental note to make time for a run one of these days, all the same. It had been far too long since I'd done any real exercise, excluding bedroom activities.

"That's all we really can say," Jax said carefully between bites.

"Well, when is he coming back?" I asked curiously. Niko's hand snuck under the table, his large palm encircling the top of my thigh and squeezing gently. It was such a simple gesture, just a little thing to tell me he was right there with me still. And yet, that very tiny, small thing took my breath away.

"We aren't ever really sure about Carrick. He kind of comes and goes as he pleases. He keeps us somewhat informed, but most of the time it's a guessing game, and we don't know when he's coming back until he just appears one day." Sully's answer was simple and to the point, and yet I had to wrack my brain to remember the question I had even asked. I was so caught up in the little moment beneath the table with Niko.

"What's he like?" I managed to ask, finding my voice once again and trying my hardest not to focus on Niko's hand beneath the table where it stayed gripped around my thigh, like he was claiming me. And something about that did things to me. Wild, almost feral things.

"What's he like?" Sully chortled around his bite of food before swallowing loudly. "He's a character, that one."

"Yeah, he is," Jax interjected.

"Imagine, if you will, if one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse was a Hemsworth brother—with the arrogance to boot," Sully explained with a chortle of laughter.

"Sounds like a bit of an asshole, if you ask me," I scoffed. I raised my glass to take a drink. Just as I was about to take a sip, I felt Niko's hand beneath the table shift on my leg, sliding towards my inner thigh. With a finger, he tapped twice, lightly.

Instinctually, I spread my legs a little wider. He tapped my inner thigh again, insistent. Fighting the urge to blush, I spread my legs wider, careful not to nudge Deacon's leg to my right.

"You're right about that," Deacon replied. "Carrick is a total ass. But he's a good man under it all. A hard worker, too. After all that we've been through together," he said as he gestured around the table, "I'd trust that man with my life."

"Cheers to that," Jax agreed wholeheartedly. My mind could barely stay focused on the conversation. Niko's hand slid further up my thigh, finding its way under the edge of my summery dress. I spread my legs a little wider with a smirk on my face, knowing what he was about to find.

Sure enough, as his hand slid higher still, his fingers searched for the edge of panties that were just — not there. I smiled to myself as I took another sip of water, not daring to let my eyes pivot to him as I heard him groan low in his chest.

Game. Set. Match.

But just as soon as I felt I had won the battle, he reminded me that his goal was to win the war. His fingers delved between my folds, finding my clit with fingers that were entirely too accurate, teasing the little nub as he sat there eating his food as though nothing were happening.

The chatter around the table continued without me, as I had grown uncomfortably silent. It was all I could manage, keeping my lips tightly shut, and trying my hardest to not make a sound as he drove me crazy with his circling, flicking fingertips.

The chatter dissipated into silence, each of us filling our faces, and I tried not to moan as Niko's fingers worked me closer and closer to orgasm.

"So are you from here originally, Maddy?" Jax asked, surprising me as I was working diligently to keep my face completely stoic through my impending orgasm.

"What?" I asked, my voice raspy and hoarse.

"Lost in thought?" Jax teased as he scraped his plate with the side of his fork, unwilling to let even a single morsel of the delicious casserole go to waste.

"Something like that," Deacon muttered under his breath, his eyes catching mine for a split second. But that split second was all it took for me to realize that he knew exactly what was going on under the table. A heated blush flooded my cheeks as Niko's hand pulled away from me, ending my bliss and sending me into aching agony.

"What was the question?" I asked, clearing my throat and taking another sip of water. What I really wanted to do was press the cool glass against my heated forehead. Better yet, I wanted to pull Niko from this table and haul his ass upstairs, where we could continue the little play he had begun.

"Are you from here originally?" Jax repeated, wiping his mouth on his napkin before relaxing against the back of his seat.

"No, actually," I answered, realizing I still had two bites of food left on my plate. I was not about to let this good food go to waste.

"Really?" Niko asked, turning to me with a look of confusion.

"Nope. I'm actually from up north, a small town near the Iowa border," I answered, after finishing those last two bites of food. They were every bit as good as the first bites, though they were a touch colder now.

"You don't strike me as a small-town girl," Deacon muttered, rising from his seat to gather plates up.

"Don't worry about the dishes, man. I've got them," Sully fussed, quickly rising from the table.

"Hush, Sully. You made the food. Let me do the washin'," Deacon drawled, leveling the big man with a look that mirrored many I had seen Niko throw — mostly my way.

"Fine." Sully begrudgingly sat back down in his seat, throwing Deacon a look of frustration at being fussed over.

"So, you're from up north, Maddy?" Deacon continued as he carried the dishes to the sink to rinse and load them into the dishwasher.

"Yeah. A small, rural town," I answered, finally relaxing back into my own chair, much as the rest of the guys had.

"Didn't like small-town life?" he asked.

"Not one bit. It was a friendly town to grow up in, mind you. Great community, amazing support of the high school and college."

"College town, huh? Trenton or Maryville?" Jax asked, his eyes darting back and forth in that characteristic way he had any time he was recalling information from that prodigious memory of his.

"Maryville. How did you know?" I asked, genuinely surprised that he'd even heard of it. It wasn't that it wasn't a well-known college town. It was more that here in the city, people didn't really pay attention to the smaller surrounding towns. Plus, Maryville was a good two hours from where we were now.

"Jax knows everything," Sully chuckled.

Niko suddenly piped up out of nowhere. "Well, I think we're going to call it. We'll see you in the morning?" He pulled me from my seat as the guys all waved us goodnight.

"We can stay down here and chat, Niko. It's barely nine o'clock at night," I whispered as he pulled me from the room towards the stairs.

"Not on your life. I have other plans for you."

And for once, I didn't brat. Not one bit.

Until we got to the bedroom, at least.