All Fired Up (Green Valley Heroes #7)

Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

HUNTER

S hit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

What are the chances Lydia, of all people, walks into the same fucking ice cream shop I’m at with Madeline? I’ve never even been here before.

Does she remember what we talked about at that party? What am I thinking? Of course, she does. I should be grateful word hasn’t got back around to Madeline about what I said, even if the two girls don’t run in any of the same social circles.

“You want to get out of here?” I ask, eyeing Lydia, who hasn’t noticed us yet. She’s with her sister and nephew, studying the list of ice cream flavors on the wall.

Madeline pointedly looks at her unfinished ice cream cone in her hand, then Lydia. “Yeah, okay,” she says quietly.

Shit. She knows I want to leave specifically because of her. She probably thinks something’s up between us.

As we stand, Lydia notices us, and she gives us a delighted smile as she walks over.

“You two look cozy,” she says, giving us a once-over. “I see things are working out for you.”

I give a noncommittal nod. “Yeah, we were just going.” I only need her to not say anything for a few moments longer.

“So, what we talked about the other night helped?” she asks.

Madeline’s gaze flicks between me and Lydia, that overactive mind of hers hard at work.

“We ran into each other at a party,” I explain, not that it explains anything.

“And who knew I’d be giving relationship advice to this guy, huh?” Lydia shakes my arm and laughs. “Totally caught me off guard when he said you two were dating.”

And there it is. I should have grabbed Madeline’s hand and ran as soon as Lydia entered.

Madeline, bless her soul, doesn’t display the extreme shock I thought she might. In fact, she hardly has any reaction at all. She simply takes another lick of her ice cream and gives Lydia a strange smile. “I didn’t see it coming, either.”

“It was good seeing you,” I say to Lydia, even though it wasn’t at all, and usher Madeline out, dropping the rest of my cone in the trash. My appetite is gone, my mind going a million miles a minute trying to figure out what to say.

“So...when were you going to tell me we’re dating?” she asks when we get to our cars. There’s amusement in her tone, along with a healthy splash of bewilderment.

I pace between our cars, my chest tight. “It’s not what it sounds like.”

“It’s not?”

I lace my hands behind my neck, not knowing how to explain this. “Okay, it is. But I only said that because she wanted to have sex with me.”

Okay, now she’s shocked.

Shit. I shouldn’t have said that.

She shakes her head, as if she’s stunned. “I guess I’m more surprised you turned down a girl propositioning you than anything else,” she jokes. At least, I think she’s joking.

“She’s not the only one lately,” I say, thinking of Josie at the bar the other week.

Her eyes widen again.

Fuck. What is wrong with my mouth? Why can’t I say the right thing?

“I’m messing this all up. What I meant to say is I don’t want to sleep with Lydia or Josie or anyone else. I only want to sleep with you.” No, that’s not what I meant to say, either. “I mean, I want everything with you. I...” I swallow hard. “I really like you, Madeline.”

Her mouth falls open as she blinks rapidly at me.

Fuck. This is not going well. It’s like I’m in one of those dreams where I’m pantsless in front of the whole school and they’re all pointing and laughing. Not that she’s doing those things, but she’s also not responding.

How the fuck did this happen? I wasn’t going to confess anything to her tonight. We were just having that really great personal talk in the shop, and then Lydia ruined everything.

“Madeline, I...” How can I make this better? “I know I don’t deserve you. That you could do way better than me.” No, that’s making things worse. “But I promise I’ll always treat you right. I’ll always make you feel like you matter. You’re so important to me and you’re all I think about and...”

I trail off, not sure if I’m making things any better.

“What are you saying?” she whispers after what feels like forever. “That you want to actually date me?”

Was that not clear? “Yeah.”

“You said you don’t do girlfriends.”

“That was before I met you.”

Her lower lip trembles. Did I upset her? Completely read her wrong? I’d thought she’d been into what we were doing this morning, but maybe she’d only been into it sexually. Maybe she’s not interested in anything more than that.

Maybe all I’m good for is a hookup.

The punch to my gut has my knees weakening as I back away from her. “Forget I said anything.”

“Hunter—”

“It was a long shot.” I bump into my car, then fumble to find the door handle. “I understand if you don’t?—”

“Hunter, stop.” She places her hand on my door to stop me from opening it. “I’m overwhelmed, not rejecting you.”

I look at her, really look at her, and any thought of fleeing leaves my mind.

“Fuck, baby. I’m sorry.”

When I open my arms, she’s in them in an instant, and I hold her close. Her head resting against my chest is the most natural feeling in the world. Her arms wrap around my middle and we stay like that for I don’t know how long. I’d stay like this all night if it means I get to keep holding her.

“Why are you overwhelmed?” I finally ask.

“Because you mean so much to me, too.”

Her words and accompanying squeeze do more than she knows to reassure me. Even so...“Then why do you make it sound like a bad thing?”

She shakes her head against my chest. “It’s stupid,” she mumbles.

“I’m sure it’s not.”

She releases her hold on me but doesn’t meet my eye. “I don’t want to lose you.”

My brows knit. “You won’t. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I mean . . . if you change your mind.”

I blink, taken aback. I’ve never heard such raw vulnerability from her before. That tight control she used to cloak herself in has completely unraveled, leaving her bare.

I lift her chin until she meets my gaze. “You think I’ll change my mind?”

She tries to turn her head, but I won’t let her. Her face turns pleading instead. “I don’t know.”

“What makes you think I would?”

“Hunter . . .”

“I’m being serious. I want to get everything out in the open. To reassure you. Because there’s nothing that’s going to change the way I feel about you.”

She sways toward me, her expression changing to longing for an instant before she squeezes her eyes shut. “I just don’t understand how I could hold your interest when you know what you’re missing with all those other girls. I’m not as sexy or adventurous or kinky or the million other things you’re probably used to.”

That’s what has her worried? I nearly laugh in relief. “First of all, you’re wildly overestimating my sex life. And there’s nothing to miss. They were empty, meaningless encounters.”

“Then why’d you have them?”

“Because I didn’t know what I was missing.”

She finally opens her eyes, the deep brown of them penetrating me. “Missing?”

I grip her shoulders. “You. I was missing you. Any other experience isn’t comparable. This morning, all you did was put your hand on me and it was the hottest thing I’ve ever felt.”

Her gaze flicks over my face. “You’re serious?”

“Of course I am. And if you want to talk about comparisons, I could argue that you dated someone for two years. How am I supposed to compare to a relationship as long as that?”

She shakes her head before I’m finished. “No. The way I feel about you...You’re right. It doesn’t compare.”

“So, what would make you feel better?” I ask her. “You want me to get Madeline’s Bitch tattooed on my forehead or something? To keep all the girls away?”

She laughs, just like I wanted her to, the tension in her loosening.

“Maybe a temporary tattoo,” she says, biting her bottom lip.

“I’ll do it. Don’t tempt me.”

She smooths her hands over my chest. “In all seriousness, don’t ever get a tattoo for me. I’d hate it.”

“Duly noted.”

“And no funny business at the fire station. I want them to take me seriously, not just be someone’s girlfriend.”

My breath catches. “So you’ll . . .”

She nods, looking equal parts nervous and excited. “I trust you. And I want to be with you.”

How in the world did all the shitty things that happened today lead to this? If Dad hadn’t gotten busted and Nate hadn’t shown up looking for bail money, we never would have gone out tonight. And if Lydia hadn’t run her big mouth, we never would have had this conversation.

The universe works in mysterious ways, but I’ll take it if it leads to this.

I kiss her, holding myself back, wanting to take her right here against my car in the middle of town. “Please tell me you’ll come back to my place.”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

I force myself to break away while I still have the willpower. “I’ll meet you there, okay?”

The drive back to my house is the longest it’s ever been, but I get there first, probably because I treated a few stop signs more as suggestions than commands. When she finally arrives, I can’t help myself as I press her against the back of the front door, my lips on her neck, my hands on her ass pulling her closer.

“I want you,” I murmur, stripping off her top.

Her hands slide over my hair, my neck, my shoulders, every place they touch like a brand, marking me as hers. I only want to be hers.

Unhooking her bra, I slide the straps down, revealing her perfect breasts. Her nipples are beaded, eager for me, and I give them each a strong suck, ready to play with them for a while.

“Hunter.” She’s panting already. “We’re not even in the bedroom.”

She’s right. Against the front door for the first time isn’t very romantic.

Picking her up, I carry her through the house and to my bedroom, tossing her on the bed. She reclines on her elbows, observing me as I grab my T-shirt at the back of the neck and slide it off, then toe off my shoes and socks. My gaze is all over her, from her bare breasts to the way she keeps rubbing her thighs together, seeking relief.

“You look like you’re the big bad wolf watching me like that,” she murmurs. “Ready to eat me alive.”

“Oh, I’m most definitely going to eat you up.” I pull her to the end of the bed, removing her sandals. “I’ll huff and puff and make you come so hard, you’ll see stars.”

Her breathing grows heavier as my palms slide up her legs, to her inner thighs.

“I want to go down on you so bad.” I unbutton her jeans and slide the zipper down. “That good with you?”

She nods, her eyes wide.

I fully undress her and pause a moment, taking in her beautiful body. I will never get enough of this sight.

Hooking my arms under her thighs, I pull her even closer, to the edge of the mattress, and kneel next to the bed. I part her legs, spreading her wide until she’s fully open to me, and bend my head to lick teasingly along her pussy.

Her hands grip the comforter and a whimper escapes her as I lap at her.

“You like that?”

“Yes,” she breathes, angling her hips up to give me better access.

That’s my girl.

“You taste so fucking good.”

I nestle into her, the honeyed taste like ambrosia, and set a leisurely pace. My dick is straining against my fly, but I ignore it for the moment, wanting to make her first experience one to remember.

A thrill of possession runs through me knowing I’m the first to do this, the first to taste her pussy, the first to put her needs first. She deserves it, and I take my time worshiping her. I discover what makes her moan low in the back of her throat, what makes her thighs shake, what makes her arch her back as she offers herself to me, wanting more.

I give her everything she wants, until she’s panting, saying my name with reverence. She just needs a push to reach the other side.

My hands glide over her inner thighs and to her pussy, my thumbs parting her folds. Focusing my tongue on her clit, I add in a finger, then two, working her until she cries out. Her fingers tear at the bedsheets as her hips buck against my face, and I keep at it as her orgasm rolls through her, drinking her down.

When she finally goes limp on the bed, I back off, kissing my way up her body, exploring all the dips and valleys I mapped out last time with my hands, this time with my lips. I can’t get enough of the taste of her, pride filling me knowing I worked her up that much.

When I reach her mouth, she kisses me back hungrily, twining herself around me. “That was incredible.”

“Baby, that was only the beginning.”