“Fuck. Holy f**k.” He collapsed on top of her, his chest heaving, his breathing ragged. “Shit. I’ll crush you.” He rolled to his back beside her, pulling her against his side, wrapping his arms around her.
They were silent as their heartbeats slowed and their bodies came down from their orgasmic high. Maddie rested her head on his chest, her body more sated and content than it had ever been.
“We didn’t use a condom,” she finally mentioned in a remorseful voice.
“I gave you my medical records,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse.
She hadn’t read them yet, but it wasn’t diseases she was worried about. He wouldn’t have given her his medical records to clear himself if everything wasn’t negative. “I didn’t give you mine,” she replied with a sigh.
“Then I guess we share whatever you have. If it’s fatal I’ll die with you,” he answered, completely seriously. “I can’t be without you anymore, Maddie. It’s too f**king painful.”
She had to swallow the lump in her throat. She felt the same way. Living without Sam had been like living in the dark, waiting for daylight to come. “I’m clean. But I’m not on birth control. It’s not a likely time of month, but it was still careless. I’m a freaking doctor, for goodness’ sake!”
“You’re marrying me, anyway,” he rumbled, rolling to trap her body beneath his. “You are marrying me, Maddie.” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand.
She smiled, eyeing her alpha male above her, so damn masculine in his dominance. “I said we’d discuss it later.”
“It is later. And you’re mine,” he stated possessively.
“We’ll see,” she murmured, pulling him down for a tender kiss that quickly grew passionate. Kissing Sam was like putting a flame to gasoline, the ignition almost immediate and white-hot.
“Are you trying to change the subject?” Sam demanded when he came up for air.
“No. Not really. I was just hoping to make up for lost time,” she told him seductively, teasingly.
“I thought you didn’t like sex,” he reminded her in a sultry voice.
“I’m starting to change my opinion.” She ran the sole of her foot along his calf playfully.
“I think I need to work on you doing a total three-sixty,” he answered in a husky voice.
“Are you always able to do anything you set your mind to?” She gave him a torrid look.
“Damn right I can,” he said aggressively, burying his fingers in her fiery, disheveled mane of hair.
As he proceeded to master her with just one kiss, Maddie was fairly certain that he was correct.
Chapter 8
“Sam proposed to you?” Kara squealed in delight as she hugged Maddie, her packing forgotten.
Maddie hugged her friend in return. “Um…I wouldn’t say it was exactly a proposal. It was more like an ultimatum.”
Kara laughed lightly, sitting on the bed beside her suitcase, staring up at Maddie. “Figures. He’s a Hudson male. I think world domination is in their genes, especially Sam’s, and they both have a severe overload of protective instinct with the women they love.”
Maddie shared a knowing smile with Kara. After she and Sam had snuck back into the house and up the back stairs, they had separated, Sam explaining that he had some business with Simon before he and Kara left on their honeymoon. Maddie had quickly showered and come to say goodbye to Kara, and had promptly told her everything, desperately needing to talk to her friend about Sam. Kara was probably one of the few people who understood the Hudson men.
“He never said he loves me. And it’s more like a business proposition than a marriage,” Maddie replied, her heart sinking. The minute they had left the dock, she had felt Sam drawing away, the closeness they had found in each other’s arms receding.
“Maddie, it’s always been pretty obvious that you and Sam had something going, something that never ended for either of you. I can verify that the story about him helping the FBI is true. Simon told me about Sam helping to break up the organization. Simon’s always admired Sam for it. But they did have to be protected for quite a while. I have no doubt that everything Sam said is true,” Kara said softly, thoughtfully. “For all his faults, Sam’s a good man. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Maddie answered her honestly. “He’s pushing and I need time. Hell, we don’t even know each other anymore. Our relationship was years ago. We were barely adults. So much has happened since then. We’ve both changed.”
“Uh…I can tell you from personal experience that patience isn’t exactly a Hudson virtue,” Kara snickered.
Maddie rolled her eyes. “I discovered that a long time ago.” She waved her hand at the open suitcase. “Speaking of which, you better get packing, girlfriend.”
Kara stood, her eyes soft and warm as she spoke. “Maddie, I doubt that either Sam or Simon could have survived the childhood they had without some collateral damage. Don’t listen to Sam’s bluster, look into his heart.”
“I’m not sure he’ll let me in,” Maddie admitted. “I don’t really understand any of this. Everything is happening so fast.”
Kara folded a pair of jeans and dropped them into the suitcase. “I don’t think so. I don’t think Sam ever got over you. For him, it never ended.”
“I don’t think I did either,” Maddie whispered, knowing what she said was true. Sam may have changed over the years, but he was still…Sam. She had been able to resist him when she thought he had cheated on her, when she had thought she had loved a man who had never existed. Now that she knew he had been trying to protect her, that he had wanted her, stopping herself from falling back into his spider web of sweltering heat and desperate need was nearly impossible.
“Give him a chance. Sam’s always been restless, unhappy. He covers it up well, but he’s miserable,” Kara remarked, her voice pleading. “I want both of you to be happy.”
Maddie sighed. “I’ll try to slow things down so we can get to know each other again.”
Kara snorted. “Good luck with that. When a Hudson male decides he wants, he takes, and Lord help the woman if she protests.”
“You learned to manage Simon,” Maddie reminded her friend teasingly.
“He just lets me think I’m managing him. I’m really not. He pacifies me, but he’s really quite devious,” Kara replied, her voice adoring.