46. Madden

46

Madden

T essa will be my downfall. I've tried so hard to keep a professional distance, despite the blip the night we watched the movie together, but it's proving increasingly difficult.

I'd find it a lot easier if she was a petulant mafia princess, which was what I expected when Kade first called. But she's not. Tessa is a strong, independent woman. She's endured so much, not least her ex's betrayal, and yet she still gets up every morning and puts on her game face.

What I love most about her is the fact she'll do anything for those kids of hers. Both of whom are fucking adorable.

Tonight, though, the cracks are showing. The stress of Harry's near-miss kidnapping has broken her. She's exhausted, stressed, and on the verge of falling apart.

Pulling her into my arms was a moment of madness, but the longer I hold her, the more right it feels.

She's nothing like Cin. Where he's all hard muscles, she's soft curves. Yin and Yang. I love Cin's body - nothing excites me more than the sight of his taut muscles gleaming with sweat as he fights against me. But with Tessa it's different.

Her skin is so soft. She feels like silk beneath my fingertips. If I press down hard enough, I know she'll bruise beautifully. And that's a dangerous road to travel.

Cin can take it rough. He thrives on it. Tessa isn't like that. I suspect she'd be horrified if I revealed my deepest, darkest desires to her.

"What am I then?" she asks, looking up at me with her gorgeous dark eyes.

"I—"

She has me there. I don't know what she is to me. More than a client. Not yet a lover. Not exactly a friend - we've barely spoken to each other in the whole time she's been here, apart from mundane conversations about the kids and the house.

All I know is that she is something .

"Important. That's what you are," I tell her.

From the way she sucks in a breath and chews her lip, my reply isn't what she was expecting.

"I'm not important," she says in her usual self-deprecating manner like she's had all the stuffing knocked out of her time and again and the wounds refuse to heal.

"You are important. Important enough for Kade to bring you here, where it's safe. Important enough that Cin and I have put our lives on hold to take care of you, and you are the most important person in the world for those two kids. Never forget that."

"Not important enough for my father to keep me around after Mom died." The words are so faint I almost miss them.

It sounds like she has some deep-rooted emotional wounds. This woman is damaged, like all of us.

Maybe we can heal each other.

I know Cin has been much happier lately. Instead of the depressive episodes he's prone to when we're not working a job, he's been upbeat almost every day. And I can't take credit for that because he and I have taken a step back in our relationship since Tessa arrived.

Not that I'm complaining. While I miss the physical intimacy, I know he's much better off with her, even if she is a client and technically off-limits.

I'm no good for him and we both know it. He needs someone emotionally available. Tessa isn't quite there yet, but she will be once the threats against her have been eradicated.

"I should go to bed," she says and I reluctantly release her. The room feels cold when she's no longer in my arms.

"Go, get some sleep," I order, back to my usual gruff self.

"Madden, I..." she pauses, chewing her lip, and my cock thickens in my pants. I wish she didn't have this effect on me, but she does. I'm just grateful the shadows are deep enough to hide my reaction. "Never mind." Her face shutters and she turns, but before she can walk away, I grab hold of her slim wrist.

If Kade has found her ex and he's no longer breathing, the threat to her life is potentially over. Kade told us Mashkov has gone overseas, which suggests his plans have changed. We can't be 100% certain, but with additional security measures in place, nothing is stopping Tessa from returning to the city. And once that happens, she's out of my reach.

I'm not ready for her to leave me. This might be the only chance I get before she takes her kids away and I never see her again.

I pull her back into my arms, well aware she'll feel how hard I am. Her eyes flare with surprise, but before she can protest, my mouth is on hers.

She tastes of whiskey and toothpaste. Her lips are soft and pliable and she submits to me more easily than I expected. Whereas every kiss from Cin is an aggressive skirmish, a fight over who is the more dominant one, Tessa allows me to take what I want.

And I do.

With impunity.

My tongue sweeps inside her mouth, exploring, tasting. Her sweet little moan ramps up my excitement levels to fever pitch, and I can't resist the urge to grab her sexy ass and pull her into my erection.

She moans a little louder as she melts against me. God, I want this woman with everything I am. It's been a long time since I desired a woman as much as I desire her.

In recent years, I've gravitated more toward men. Cin, mostly. Women have always been too different. Impossible to fathom. Like a popular book in a foreign language; I understand the gist of the plot, but the details are lost in translation.

With men, I know what I'm getting up front. A hard no-strings fuck. A partner who can withstand my brute strength.

There are no emotional entanglements. No feelings. No complications. Cin is the only person who's got close enough to bust through my barriers. And that's only because I owe him my life.

If he hadn't carried my half-dead ass over five rocky miles to the extraction point, in the raging heat of the midday sun, we'd both be dead.

Tessa's arms wind around my neck. She's no longer trying to pull away, and I'm more than ready to take things further. Professional client relationship etiquette be damned.

We break apart, both of us breathing like we've just crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon. This is madness. I'm fully aware of that, but my libido is a runaway train that refuses to stop, even when the track ahead disappears over a bottomless ravine and death is mere seconds away.

She stares up at me as if she's seeing me for the very first time. The light is poor in here, but the look on her face isn't disgust or shock, or even confusion. It's pure, 100% lust. The woman knows her own mind, and she wants me.

"I didn't think..." she says, her voice trailing off as if she's afraid of voicing her true thoughts. Once they're out there, in the universe, there's no taking them back.

"Didn't think what, baby?" I ask, wrapping some of her hair around my fist and picturing how she'd look on her knees while I fuck her mouth. My dick gets harder, if that's even possible, pushing obscenely against the front of my cotton pants.

"I didn't think you wanted me that way," she admits before breaking eye contact.

I'm not surprised. I've given her no reason to think I want her. Every time we've had a moment I've been very careful to put some distance between us. It was the right thing to do.

As I've told Cin more than a few times, Tessa is vulnerable. She doesn't need us slavering over her like a dog with a fucking bone.

Guilt balloons in my head and threatens to kill the moment, but I force that fucker down. I can feel guilty in the morning, in the harsh light of day, when I remember what a piece of shit I am.

"I do want you, Tessa, but I try to maintain a professional distance with clients."

"How's that working for you?" She snorts with genuine amusement, and I smile wryly. Tessa doesn't laugh anywhere near enough. Not that she has a lot to laugh about, but still.

"Badly," I admit, trailing one hand down her chest, lingering over her breast. She takes a breath and leans into me, inviting me to take more. Fuck, she's so sexy, and yet she has no idea how beautiful she is.

"You know Cin and I have been fooling around, right?" There's a trace of uncertainty in her voice like she's afraid I'll reject her once I know she and Cin are involved.

"Baby, I know all about the naughty things you and Cin have been doing," I whisper in her ear. "I picture it every night when I fuck my hand in the shower."

"You... do?" From the breathy way she says it, she's turned on at the thought of me fucking my hand while thinking about her.

"Yeah. I imagine you riding Cin's cock while sucking me off. Or better still, he fucks you while I fuck him."

"Oh god," she groans, her eyes fluttering shut as she grips my shirt.

"Does that sound good, baby girl?"

"Fuck yes," she whimpers.

I'm probably going to hell for this, but fuck it, I want to see her tits. She doesn't protest when I push up her little cotton tee. My mouth waters at the sight of her glorious tits, all swollen and flushed with arousal.

I swipe my tongue over her pebbled nipple and she moans softly. "Please..."

"Please what, baby girl? Tell me what you need."

"I need you to suck on them. It feels so good." Cin's been obsessed with her tits since the day she arrived. I'm not normally a breast man, but I can see the appeal. She really does have the most amazing breasts. Big and soft, yet still perky.

Because my only desire is to make her feel good, I bend my head and latch on to one of her breasts. The way she mewls like a greedy little kitten sends more blood pumping to my cock, which is on the verge of blowing.

I know she's still feeding Chloe, so the sweet taste of her milk isn't unexpected, but fuck me, it's hot. She rubs against me as I switch to her other breast, pinching and squeezing its twin.

God, she's so responsive. I bet if I slide my hand between her thighs, she'll be dripping wet, ready for my cock.

I step back and fall onto the sofa, taking her with me. With her sitting astride me, her breasts are more accessible. The way she rubs against my erection is driving me insane, but I force myself to ignore my own needs.

This is about Tessa and what she needs.

"That's it, baby girl, use me to get yourself off," I urge before sucking on her hard nipple.

"God, I'm so close!" She presses down against the hard ridge of my erection, treating me like a human sex toy. But I don't mind. Her thin shorts have a damp patch where her arousal has soaked through and I can smell her feminine musk as she gets closer to the edge.

What does she taste like? Sweet? Cin knows, which makes me furious, but as much as I want to drown in her, we don't have long and she needs this orgasm.

I love the way she rides me and it isn't a stretch to imagine releasing my cock and thrusting up into her hot, wet hole.

Seconds later, she's coming hard. I can feel her body shuddering as the pleasure rips through her, almost taking me with her. Fuck me, I need to come too, but I can wait. She's not ready for all the depraved things I want to do to her sweet body.

I'm not sure she ever will be, but I refuse to think about that.

"Well, well," a familiar voice says. Tessa's head snaps up in shock and we both turn to look at the tall figure standing in the doorway.

I knew he was there because I heard the floor creak five minutes ago. But instead of making his presence known, he stayed silent, watching while Tessa ground her sweet pussy into my cock and got herself off.