Without You (13 page)

“You look amazing tonight, Maddy.” He plucked at the spaghetti straps of my dress and pushed them down my shoulders. “But this has to go.” Gently, he turned me around, tearing my hands away from his pants. His strong hands rose to the zipper on the back of my little black dress. Slowly, he inched the zipper down and placed his warm hands inside. Freeing it from my body, the dress fell to the floor. “Christ, Madison. You’re naked. Thank God I didn’t know that earlier or we would have never made it to the party.”

I loved the reaction my nude body evoked from him. I turned around and Evan drank me in with his dreamy eyes. He didn’t touch me at first. He just raked his eyes up and down, biting his plump bottom lip in the process. He was hot. Watching him watching me had the heat strumming between my thighs. I was flying high with arousal. All he had to do was kiss me and I’d explode.

Not waiting another second, I went to work on his belt. When it was undone, I made quick work of unbuttoning and unzipping his pants, pushing them to the floor. All that remained were his black boxer briefs and his tank.

“Take it off,” I told him, gesturing to his remaining clothes.

He raised a questioning eyebrow at me, and it was sexy as hell.

Reaching behind his neck, he grasped his shirt, pulling it over his head in one swift motion. He had a tattoo. It was new and I needed to get a better view of it.

I stopped him, moving his hands away from his briefs. I pressed my palms to his chest, studying the ink that covered his left side from his nipple to his shoulder. “This is beautiful, Evan,” I said, taking in the detail of the sun rising over a measure of music. I couldn’t read sheet music, but I’m sure it was something special to him. And the sun, I was hopeful that it was a symbol of us. Our love.

“Like you,” he said. “When I couldn’t have you in my arms, I put you over my heart. The sunshine is a symbol of you, Maddy.”

Tears sprung to life in my eyes. When one fell, he caught it with his finger and quickly wiped it away. “It’s black and white, but I never lost hope that we’d get back together. I told myself that when we did, I would add the color. Like you add light to my life.”

He always knew the right things to say, but I knew that they were sincere. He filled my heart with love and I so hoped I did the same for him.

“What about the music?” I asked.

He peered down at his tattoo. “These are the first few notes of the first song I ever wrote.” He smiled, knowing I remembered. It was a really dark, love song that he wrote in junior high. It was awful, but it was his.

Tracing the treble clef of his tattoo with my fingertips, I puckered my lips to his chest, feeling the emotion of what it meant pour into my soul. He had branded himself with a symbol of me. Words could never describe how that made me feel. So instead of saying something, I decided to show him.

Digging my thumbs into the waistband of his boxer briefs, I tugged them down from his hips until they fell to the floor. Evan was finally naked and so was I. I circled my arms around his waist, pulling him closer to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders before they traveled up my neck and got lost in my hair. I kissed his tattoo again and all that it meant. “Make love to me, Evan.”

He walked me back to the bed and pulled back the covers. I lay down, scooting to the center and getting comfortable on his pillows. He followed me, slowly climbing up the length of my body, dropping kisses on my hot skin along the way. He sprinkled kisses on my hips first, taking time to drag his wet tongue along my belly. Then, he moved up toward my breast. He looked up at me and met my gaze. Without breaking our stare, his mouth came down on the bud of my hardened nipple, gently at first, but then with a fervor that shot straight to my center. I arched my back and his knee ground into the sensitive spot between my legs. “I want to come with you inside me, Evan. No more playing. I want you, now.”

He leaned over me to reach for his drawer, but I stopped him. “I’m not some groupie, Evan. I want you. All of you. If you trust me, I trust you.”

Settling himself between my legs, his hands framed my face as he swept strands of hairs from my view. “Always, Sunshine.”

With one tender push, Evan was inside me. Oh god.
Finally
. Our bodies created music of their own as he rocked against me. Pulses, throbs, and lightening shattered throughout me as his hips met mine thrust for thrust. It was exquisite and I didn’t want it to end. Every part of me felt alive. Every. Part. Evan had always had this effect on me. Our lovemaking had always been intense, filled with heat and love. This was no different. The feel of his smooth skin, lightly dusted with hair, moving against mine made me tremble. The friction. He filled me completely. Again. In and out. In and out.
Shit it felt too damn good.
The look in his eyes; lust, love, desire. It was raw and it was all for me.

I couldn’t hold on. I had waited for this for too damn long. I held on to him, my arms wrapped around his sweat-moistened neck and my legs tied around his damp back. I bit down on his shoulder as we both found our climax. I hadn’t needed him to stroke me to make me come. All of my senses were alert to his touch. His movement. His passion. His thrusts. Just him. Moans, whimpers, and heavy breathing were the only sounds that could be heard as Evan ground slowly against me, still milking me for anything I had left. It felt so good I could scream. Or cry. But I just held on, sucking on the flesh of his chest until his body stilled. He gathered me in his arms with his chest pressed to mine. Nuzzling his face into my neck, he planted tender kisses up and down my throat and shoulder while a tear slid down my cheek. Then he lifted his eyes and stared into mine. We stayed like that for a few minutes—joined together—staring into each other’s eyes feeling the love pour through us by the intimate connection of our bodies and our souls. Evan was meant to be mine and I was meant to be his. Hell, it made even me believe in fate. It certainly caused me to believe in us. Again.

Amazing. Evan pulled his slick body away from mine and gazed down at me. I was still winded, as was he. He bent down to kiss me, his tongue sweeping against mine, pouring love into me until I was full and content. Then he rolled onto his side and pulled me against him, spooning me tightly until we both fell asleep.

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E
VAN

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N
ever having been to a wedding rehearsal before, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I know for sure that I didn’t expect to be knocked in the chest with the force of a heavyweight punch. When Maddy walked down the aisle, holding a rolled up magazine, no other woman had ever looked so beautiful. And this was only the rehearsal. She was wearing jeans and a hoodie, I couldn’t imagine how I would feel when she did her thing all dolled up on the day of the wedding. But what I was completely sure of is that someday soon, she was going to be doing this for real, for our own wedding.

The rest of the rehearsal was a blur as Genna sauntered up the aisle with her father. There were tears, ooos and awwws, a few bouts of laughter, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Maddy. She was going to make the most gorgeous wife any man could hope for. I may have been jumping the gun, but dammit that man was going to be me.

After Genna and Luke said their fake I dos, we all headed to their house for dinner. Against everyone’s pleas to have it at a restaurant, Genna refused. She was adamant about having it in her own home where the guests were free to get up and mingle with each other. She reasoned that at a restaurant, everyone was tied to their seats and you could only talk to the few people around you. I guessed that made sense, even though there was really only one person I wanted to talk to.

When it came time for us to show the slide show, family and friends gathered in the bride and groom’s living room, squeezing in on their humongous sectional sofa. With the remote in my hand, I turned on the TV, but hit pause before the movie started. “Before we begin, I just want to thank everyone for coming today. Genna and Luke are very lucky to have such amazing family and friends to share this special time in their lives. It was never a matter of if they would get married; it was always a question of when. There were never two people more made for each other. Because really, who else would be willing to put up with Genna’s bossy ways and her sassy mouth?” Laughter erupted just as I thought it would. And Gen chucked a pillow at my head, which didn’t surprise me at all. “But really, I’m honored that Luke chose me to take his brother’s place as best man. I’d like to wish Lisa a speedy recovery so that she and Tom can get out here as quickly as possible to celebrate with the newlyweds.”

“What are you talking about?” Luke’s mom said, completely confused. “They arrive Saturday morning. Lisa still has six weeks until she delivers.”

Genna popped out of her seat. “Yeah, we’re really excited about that. The anticipation is killing us. Go ahead and press play, Evan. Let’s get the show on the road.”

Taking a glance in Maddy’s direction, she held up her hands, obviously as confused as Luke’s mom. My eyes narrowed on Genna and Luke and they just smiled. They had been caught. And the funny thing was I couldn’t be mad at them. Their crazy lie had brought Sunshine back into my life.

* * * * *

“T
hat was pretty sneaky of those two. I can’t believe that they lied to get you to be the best man. I was really worried that his brother wouldn’t even make it to the wedding,” Maddy said, as she took off her coat and laid it across the armrest of her sofa. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

I closed the open space between us, circling my arms around her waist. “Not at all. Genna thinks that fate brought you into the club that night. That may be, but she and Luke picked up where fate left off. I owe them the world for bringing you back to me.”

Maddy turned her head to the side, peering up at me, giving me that sweet and innocent look that drew me to her in high school. Gently, I placed a kiss on her nose and she snuggled deeper into my embrace. “Remind me to thank them. I’m so happy you’re home and we’re together again.” Then, she turned around in my arms and tenderly cupped my face in her small hands. “I love you, Evan. Always have and always will. That has never changed.”

My chest squeezed and my eyes got misty, but the feeling of happiness that washed over me with her words was the ultimate. “Tonight, when you walked up the aisle, toward me, I wished that it was me and you getting ready for our wedding day. We’ve waited long enough. I don’t ever want us to be apart again, Madison Grey.” Slowly, I bent down on one knee. “Marry me, Sunshine. Be mine forever.”

Her eyes welled up with tears as she dropped to her knees along with me. “Forever,” she said as she threw her arms around my neck. “We’ve spent far too long apart, Evan James. Call me crazy for jumping in the deep end head first with my clothes on, but we’ve wasted enough time.” Her lips pressed hard against the side of my neck, and then she said, “I never want to be without you again.”

In that moment, I had never been happier. “So that’s a yes?” I said, pulling her away from me so I could look in her eyes. She nodded, tears trailing down her cheeks. “I love you. Always have and always will. That has never changed.” I repeated her words knowing that what we felt was the same. A love that lasted and a love that was true. If I was at home, I might have taken out an instrument and played a melody, because hearing her tell me she loved me and that she’d marry me was music to my ears. A song that was sure to be written and sang to her every day for the rest of our lives.

“Take me to bed now, Evan. I want go to sleep and wake up in your arms.”

I took her hand and led her to her bedroom, and shut the door behind us. Pulling her close to me, I traced the outline of her face with my fingertips. “This is how it’s going to be from now on, we’ll always wake up in each other’s arms. Get used to it, Sunshine. I’m yours, forever.”

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M
ADISON

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P
anic struck me as I looked at the clock on my bedside table. I had to get to work and I only had an hour and a half to shower, get clothed, and figure out what I was going to do with five periods of testy seventh graders. I had every intention of knocking out an awesome lesson plan when I returned from the rehearsal dinner the night before, but I was just a tad bit distracted. That distraction was still lying comfortably in my bed. The white sheet had slid away from his body during the night and it was only covering from his ass on down. The things I wished I could do right then flashed through my mind, but I had to go.

When I got out of the shower, I was towel drying my hair when Evan finally stirred. “Why didn’t you get me up?” he asked.

“I have to get to work. I thought I’d let you sleep in. We didn’t get much rest last night.” I tried to hide my smile, but the blush crept up my neck and straight to my face. “I hate to run out, but I’m in a hurry. I need to get into my classroom and try and figure out what I’m going to do today.”

“Been a little distracted, huh?” Evan freed himself and stood in front of me. Naked. If that didn’t hinder my focus, I didn’t know what could. “How about we do Career Day today?”

“Are you a nude model and forgot to tell me?” I traced my fingers down his chest until I reached his growing erection. My fingers stretched around his length, feeling his silky skin against my palm.

“If you keep doing that, I might be a porn star.” He reached for my hand and held it behind my back. “Don’t start what you can’t finish.” He pecked me on the lips, and then swatted my ass as he walked into the bathroom. “I’ll see you in a bit. I’ll come talk to your classes about music. It will save you and I’ll have some fun.”

I watched him for a minute, turning on the water and adjusting the heat before he jumped inside. The fact that he’d be willing to come and talk to my class made my heart skip a beat. Evan just kept on surprising me. First, the song. Then, the flowers. The tattoo, the slide show, the dining room table. The engagement still had me flustered with excitement. The more I thought about it the more my palms were sweaty and butterflies worked double time zipping around my belly.