Chapter 57

fifty-seven

MADDOX

I'm scared to breathe. Everything feels like it's balancing on the point of a knife. One wrong move, one rogue breath, and all my hopes could topple over and shatter on the ice. The whole arena holds its breath with me.

Isla opens her beautiful blue eyes—eyes I've missed so damn much—and my heart stutters.

This is it. She'll either agree to give me a second chance, or she'll tell me to fuck off and never contact her again. I deserve the latter, but god do I hope it's the former.

"Yes." Her full lips break into a smile so brilliant it melts my insides. "I say hell yes, I'll give you another shot."

My knees nearly buckle.

"But if you ever do something stupid like that again, I'm getting your teammates to beat you up. Got it?"

The laugh that comes out of me is nearly hysterical. " You got it, Short-Stack. If I ever hurt you again, I'll ask them to kick my butt myself."

"You wouldn't even need to ask," Griffin calls out. "We've got your back, Teach."

It starts with a smile. Then her body shakes. And then Isla's laughing, tears streaming down her face. I hand the mic off to Bash and wrap her in my arms. Where she belongs.

God, I've missed her.

"I love you," I murmur low in her ear. This confession is only for Isla. "I love you so much, baby. I've missed you. I'm so, so sorry."

Isla tilts her chin up to meet my gaze, and I brush a tear away. "I love you too, Maddox. And I'm sorry. I should have told you everything when you called, but I didn't want to ruin your game or make you stress when I was already bringing you grief. But I should have told you. From now on, I won't keep things from you."

My heart squeezes. After everything I did, she loves me. I'm the luckiest bastard in the world. But I hate that she feels responsible for any of this. Yeah, we shouldn't be keeping anything from each other, but this is on me. I don't want her apologizing when I'm the one who nuked our relationship over a misunderstanding.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one that's sorry. I should have brought it up and talked to you about it instead of jumping to conclusions. Yeah, I've been hurt before, but that's no excuse. You're not like the women who hurt me, and you don't deserve to be treated with suspicion. Forgive me?"

"I forgive you," she whispers. Our lips are millimeters apart, and I feel the words as much as hear them. "Now kiss me, Ogre."

So I do. I kiss the hell out of Isla Harding in front of my teammates, my mom and sister, and thousands of cheering fans. We kiss until we're both breathless and the cheering becomes hoots and wolf-whistles.

Panting, I force myself to pull away. "Want to get out of here?"

"Please," the love of my life says.

She doesn't need to ask me twice. I bend down and scoop Isla up. She squeals and wraps her arms around my shoulders, pressing her face into my neck as the fans go nuts. I give a quick salute to my teammates—my brothers—and glide quickly over the ice. I need to get Isla home.

There's a lot to make up for. Conversations need to be had.

But first, I'm going to worship Isla's body and make her come so many times, she won't be able to walk tomorrow.

We can't get our clothes off fast enough.

The moment we step inside my apartment, her fingers grasp at my suit jacket. They shake when she undoes the buttons of my shirt. She's just as frantic as I am.

"I didn't think I'd ever get to touch you again," she murmurs, more to herself than me.

Guilt lances through my heart. "Fuck, baby. I am so damn sorry. I can't say it enough."

"I know," she says. "But talk is cheap, Maddox. I want you to show me."

Oh, sweet Isla. I will show you. Again and again .

With a groan, I tug her pretty purple sweater over her head. It leaves her in a sexy black lace bra that gives me a perfect view of peaked, rosy nipples. Her chest rises and falls harshly, those crystalline blue eyes of hers fixed on my face as I drink her in. My fingers skim over her flushed skin. They blaze a path from her shoulders over her collarbone, then down the valley between her breasts. She's so soft. Inviting.

She's home.

Silently, I drag one strap over her shoulder and down until the lacy cup falls and exposes her breast for me. The hard bud of her nipple begs to be touched. I drag my thumb over her puckered flesh, and Isla gasps. Her eyes flutter shut as she gasps.

"Maddox. Please."

"Are you aching for me, baby?" I bend down and trail nips and kisses down the column of her neck. She tilts her head, giving me better access. "Do you need relief only I can give?"

"Yes." She grips my biceps as I pull the second cup down. "I need you."

I need her too. With an intensity that should scare the hell out of me. But it doesn't. Not now that I know she's willing to give me a second chance. "You have me. Always. I'm yours, Isla."

Wide blue eyes meet mine. Her pupils are blown wide and little pants slip past her bee-stung lips. "Promise?"

With a growl, I pick her up and carry her to the bedroom. "Yes. I'm yours, Isla Harding. And you are mine." I lay her down on the bed and drink in the sight of her. She's flushed and turned on, squirming and needy. "You. Are. Mine. "

Then I'm ripping the jeans off her body and peeling delicate lace from her flesh until she's bare beneath me.

"Beautiful. You're so beautiful."

A tentative smile curves Isla's lips. "And you're wearing too many clothes."

It's a problem I remedy as quickly as possible. Isla watches me with unguarded hunger. She presses her thighs together, needing relief. Relief I'm more than happy to give.

I drop to my knees before tugging her ass to the edge of the mattress. She lets out an adorable squeak, which quickly turns into a moan when I push her thighs apart and give her a long, slow lick from slit to clit.

"Oh, god. I've missed your talented mouth."

Grinning against her pussy, she writhes when I chuckle. The vibration goes straight to her clit, which I suck between my lips. "Gonna show you how sorry I am, baby. How much I love you."

"Yes, yes, yes," she chants as I push one finger, then two, into her drenched pussy. When I curl them, she cries out. I rub that magical spot inside of her again and lap up her arousal as it floods my face. Soon, she's writhing and moaning in earnest. Her spine arches, the muscles in her thighs tighten, and her fingers grip my hair painfully.

"That's it, my love. Soak my face like the good girl I know you are."

"Oh, fuck," she whines. She's so close.

I bring my left hand to Isla's lower belly and splay my palm across her heated flesh. And as I suck her clit and curl my fingers against her g-spot, I push down on her lower belly.

"Oh my god," Isla cries. She thrashes as her body goes taut. I lash at her clit with my tongue and press harder on her abdomen.

"Come for me," I command. And come she does.

Isla cries out as a gush of hot liquid soaks my face. I work her through it, pleased as hell with myself. She shakes and shivers, her perfect, curvy body nearly convulsing with pleasure that drips down my chin and splashes over my chest.

"That's my good girl," I purr against her fluttering pussy. Her eyes are wide as I rise from my knees. She takes in the wetness coating my face and tracks my hand as I wipe my mouth with the back of it.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Her cheeks flame pink with embarrassment. "I've never… I don't know what…"

I silence her with a kiss. My fingers tangle in her hair, and I give the barest tug to ground her. "Why the hell would you apologize for doing exactly what I hoped you'd do?"

She looks bewildered and embarrassed. "I…"

"You squirted all over my face like I asked you to. Fuck, that was hot." I rest my forehead against hers and give her a chance to read the truth in my expression. "One down, baby. Before the night's over, I'm going to make you come at least three times. At least."

She squeals when I slide an arm beneath her and drag her up the bed.

"I need to be inside of you." I smash my lips to hers and let our tongues tangle before I drag myself away and stand.

"What are you doing?" Her slim fingers grip my wrist.

"Just getting a condom, Short-Stack."

"I…" Isla sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. She sq uirms in my bed. "I've got an IUD. And all my tests have been clear."

Staring into her vibrant azure eyes, I swallow roughly. "Baby, are you saying you want to have sex without a condom?" I need to hear her say it. This isn't the kind of thing you make assumptions about. Especially not when trust is a tentative thing between us.

The pretty pink in her cheeks darkens. "Yes. If you want to."

"I'm all clear," I tell her, abandoning my plans to grab a foil packet out of my bedside table. Instead, I turn back to Isla and cage her in with my arms. "And I've never had sex without a condom." Not even when I was with Candace. Some part of me never trusted her enough. But Isla? Hell yes, I want to be bare inside of her.

Her lips part enough to let her tongue run across them. "Then fuck me bare, Maddox."

Her words unleash something wild in me, and I pick her up, settling on the mattress with Isla in my lap. I groan when she straddles me. Her pussy's so warm and wet. And she grinds it across my rock-hard shaft. "Damn, baby. You feel so good."

"I'd feel better if you were inside me," she whines.

This woman. I chuckle, taking her lips with mine. "So impatient."

She opens her mouth to reply, but whatever she was going to say gets lost in a gasp as I lift her hips, line myself up, and pull her down onto my cock.

Holy shit. She feels like heaven. Warm and soft and wet, I never want to leave the satiny embrace of her pussy.

"Maddox," she says in a breathy exhalation. Her arms wrap around my neck as she buries her face in my shoulder. "Oh, god."

It takes all of my self-restraint not to rut into her like a wild beast. I've missed her. I've missed this. But we'll have plenty of time for wild sex. What we both need right now is to reconnect. This incredible woman needs to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I love her and I'm never leaving her again.

"You okay, sweetheart?"

She nods against my shoulder. Isla's hips begin to move, her body seeking friction and relief. She grinds her clit against my pelvis and moans. "So good."

I couldn't agree more. My fingers skim across her back as I hold her. Goosebumps erupt in their wake. And when I can't stay still any longer, I gently grip her chin and silently ask her to look at me. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Our bodies find a slow, sensual rhythm. We stare into each other's eyes. When we kiss, it's deep and drugging. The sensation of her soft breasts pressed against my much harder chest, of our sweaty skin sliding together, and my fingers gripping the softness of her hips is more profound than anything I've ever experienced. This isn't just sex. This is making love.

With every rock of our hips, we profess our devotion. Every breathy moan is a promise for our future together. Every soft cry is an apology. Each kiss breathes new life into the relationship I thought I'd lost.

"You're everything," I whisper against Isla's lips. My hips buck a little faster. I'm so close, but I refuse to come until she's ready to fall over the edge with me.

"Maddox," she cries .

"That's it, baby." I reach between us and press my thumb against her clit as she grinds against me. Her arousal drips down my balls. She's close, too. Shifting, I angle my hips to give her better friction. Isla's breathing turns ragged, and she arches her back. It presses her perfect tits up, and I bend down to take a nipple into my mouth. Swirling my tongue over the tight bud, I nip at her before licking it better.

"Oh!"

Her inner walls tighten and ripple around my cock. "That's it, baby. That's it."

I continue to lavish Isla's breasts with attention as I grip her hips and grind her clit against my pubic bone with every stroke. Her breathing speeds up, and my balls tighten.

"Maddox, I'm so close."

"Let go, Isla. I want to feel your pussy milk my cock as I fill you with my cum." I punctuate every few words with harder thrusts. The head of my cock drags against her inner walls and I have to grit my teeth to keep from shooting off before her. "I want you to scream my name as I paint your insides."

"Oh god!"

And that's all it takes for her to clamp around me like a vise. Her inner walls flutter and contract. I've never felt anything like it, and when she tilts her head back and screams my name, I'm gone. My balls tighten almost painfully, and every muscle in my body flexes as I pound up into her relentlessly. My cock jerks and I fill her with rope after rope of hot cum.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," I chant as we writhe against each other .

"I love you too." She stares at me as we both gasp for air. Her expression is soft and vulnerable. Just like the next words that leave her lips. "This is real, right?"

My arms tighten around her. "Yeah, baby. This is real."

It's my fault she feels the need to ask. And it's my job to make sure I reassure her every single day that she's it for me. I look forward to the challenge.

Isla Harding is everything. She's my present and my future. She's wrapped up in every dream and goal for my life, now. She's a part of me. The best part.

"This is real."

I'll make sure she feels the truth of that vow down to the very marrow of her bones.