Rose:
"You ready, baby? Are you sure about this?" Maddox asks for the hundredth time as Tyler kills the engine and steps out of the car. He's still worried even after I've been contantly assuring him I'm okay for the past two hours.
I roll my eyes. "Stop worrying. I told you I'm fine."
"Did you just roll your eyes at me, Angel?" He asks with a low, dangerous voice that has my heart racing instantly. My eyes quickly find his, and I notice how darker the blue irises I love are.
"Did I?" I swallow.
He leans over and whispers in my ear. "Guess I need to bend you over my knee after all."
I clear my throat, my blush evident on my face as I bite my lip to stop my smile from breaking out. "Let's go, yeah?"
He chuckles and we get out of the car.
I watch Eddie parking behind us and breathe in relief. I understand that no one here would purposely harm me, but I can't deny that my heart feels at ease as I watch my parents walk over to me with soft smiles.
"Ella, can I have a word, please?" Eddie asks and I nod my head. I give Maddox a quick smile before tangling my arm with Eddie's.
We walk a few feet away, and I ask. "Is something wrong?"
He sighs, facing me. "Are you sure you want to do this? My sweet girl, I don't want you to feel pressured. I can decline their invitation if you want me to. Hell, I can invite them over to ours and arrange for a grand birthday party for your boyfriend's mother if that'll make you feel better."
I smile at him, my heart happy with how much love I have around me. "I love you, Eddie. You're the b-best father a girl can have. And I'm truly okay, because I know I'm safe with you and Mama here. It means so much to me that you're doing this. I can't thank you enough."
"As long as you're happy, my darling. Your mother and I would walk this earth and back for you and your brother." His eyes shine with affection and fatherly love.
"I know. I'd do the same for you too." I beam at him. He drops a kiss to my head with the soft smile I've grown up seeing. We attach our arms again and head back to the awaiting company. And I suddenly realize that I no longer feel uncomfortable when he and Mama touch me at all.
Maddox looks nervous when I hold his hand, and he leans down to whisper. "Is everything alright?"
I nod my head and grin stupidly. He gives my hand a squeeze and we follow after his parents.
"Ella." Sofia is standing at the door with glossy eyes and her husband beside her. "I'm so sorry for the way I reacted. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I know you didn't mean to push Anna. Maddox has explained everything beforehand, and I knew it was a reflex. I just..." She shakes her head and looks at the floor, ashamed. "I'm really sorry."
"I'm s-sorry too." I take a deep breath, my hand tightening its hold on Maddox's instinctively. "Please b-believe that I would never intentionally hurt you or your f-family at all. I'm sorry for s-scaring you and making your girl cry."
Maddox clenches his jaw beside me but takes a deep breath and remains silent.
"You don't have to apologize at all." She quickly shakes her head, but I can see the appreciation in her eyes. "Are we good?"
"Y-yeah, we're good." I smile, glad that I've gotten my apology off my chest. Even if Maddox believes I've done nothing wrong, I still want to make sure that we can all move past this, regardless of whose fault it is.
"I'm glad you're alright, Ella." Her husband says sincerely and I wonder why I ever thought these kind people would hurt me. I know it was all in my head, but it's obvious to me now how much they love and care for each other, Maddox included. And if they love him so much, they would never want to hurt or upset someone he cares about.
My smile widens and I give him a polite nod. "Thank y-you, Peter."
Maddox introduces my parents to his sister and brother in law briefly and I ignore how grumpy Eddie still is. Mama Magy gives my parents a quick tour of the house before we reach the second floor.
"Again, thank you for having us, Magy." Mama says as Mrs. Hunter leads her and Eddie to the guestroom they'll be spending the night in.
"It's the least we can do, Lily. The bathroom is right down the hall. Ella and Theo's room is the second door on the right." She points and Eddie sends a subtle glare towards Maddox but when he sees me narrowing my eyes at him he rolls his with a reluctant nod.
This man could be a baby sometimes, but I love him with my whole heart. So I shake my head at him with a smile on my face before we all say our goodnights.
"Fuck, your step father scares the shit out of me." Maddox visibly shudders as soon as we shut the door of his old room.
I laugh at him. "He's a big teddy bear, actually."
He snorts, grabbing my waist. "Right."
"He's just being protective. I'm sure you, out of all people, can understand that." I raise my eyebrows at him, because Maddox too is as protective and possessive as a person can get. He has always been, even when we were only friends.
"Yeah," he sighs, pulling me closer. "I do get it. He still scares me though."
"That's okay." I shrug, escaping his hold and walking to the bed.
"Wanna sleep, Angel?" Maddox asks, taking off his shoes.
"Not really." I shake my head. The sedative they gave me has officially left my system and I feel too hyper to sleep.
He starts unbuttoning his shirt and my eyes involuntarily follow the movement of his fingers, quickly working the buttons all the way down. The sight of his broad chest and defined abs does something to my insides and I feel my stomach knot. He pushes the shirt off his shoulders and throws it on the chair next to his old desk, but my mind is too focused on his body to notice him studying me.
"Quit looking at me like that, Rose." His voice is deeper than before and my eyes snap to his.
"L-like what?" I clear my throat and play dumb.
"Like I'm your favorite dessert and you want to fucking lick me clean." He states, a challenge hidden in his words and I wonder.
What if I actually do want that?
I've always been shy, Maddox knows and loves that too, but I feel like I'm a few seconds away from pouncing on him like an idiot.
I bite my lip to stay silent, my heart beating loudly behind my chest, and I push my thighs closer to each other.
Maddox keeps his eyes on me, scanning my figure and I know he can see my chest rising with every heavy breath and my thighs moving in a weak attempt to cause some kind of friction, of relief. He takes off his pants next, and I don't find it in me to care that he can see me stare at his muscled legs, big thighs, and what I really want in between, that's still covered by his boxer briefs.
I know his eyes are still on me when I lick my lips and swallow the water in my mouth, squirming again.
"Maddox..." I don't want to speak the rest of that sentence aloud, and I know he already knows what I want.
"Yes, baby?" He plays dumb too, and I almost groan in frustration. "What do you want?"
I bite my lip again, watching him as he walks over to me and grabs my head in his hands. He kisses the corners of my mouth too slowly, never actually kissing my lips and I whimper in my need for him. My hands find his arms and I clutch on them in a silent command.
"Is my sweet little angel feeling horny?" He asks and I moan and blush at his words, because whenever he speaks like that the knot in my stomach tightens, moving lower.
"Maddox." I repeat, unable to find enough boldness to say much more. I find another solution, though, and I grab his face and pull his mouth on mine, but he pulls back right before my lips could touch his.
"If I kiss you right now, I won't be able to stop with just that, Angel." He breathes his warning out, but that's exactly what I want. So I pull his head toward me again, successfully attaching my lips with his. I kiss him so hard that he groans into my mouth, his hands clasping around my waist tightly, driving me right into heaven.
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"Fuck." Maddox mumbles, carefully pulling his length out of me and I let my body fall on the mattress, totally spent and sedated. He walks into the bathroom attached to his room, and I thank the heavens that he has a private bathroom, before I hear water running. I cover myself with the sheets but keep lying down, catching my breath and hiding my blush. Because that was the most mindblowing sex I've ever had.
"Come on, baby. We'll take a shower." Maddox removes the covers before sneaking an arm around my shoulders and another behind my knees. He carries me easily in his arms to the bathroom and I hide my face in his neck. "Was it too much, my love?"
I'm ashamed to admit how much I actually liked it. But this is Maddox, and I've never been anything but honest with him. "It was too good, you mean."
He chuckles, his chest vibrating against me, before he drops a kiss to my forehead. "I love you so much, Rose."
"I love you, Maddox." I smile at him as he sets me down carefully, but I clutch on his arms because my legs are still shaking. "Oh, shit, I can't stand. You broke me."
His head falls back and he barks out a loud laugh that fills my entire being with warmth and love. "God, you're so fucking perfect."
"Bath?" I ask, desperate to sit down and remove my weight from upon my legs.
"Bath, baby." He nods, bending down to cover the drain before gathering me in his arms. We settle down, cuddling like we have a hundred times before, with his chest against my back and I sigh in content.
Because my heart knows that this is it. Maddox is it, and as he plays with my hair, dropping soft kisses to the back of my neck and shoulders and showering me with sweet words, I realize that he has always been it. That everything that happened to me had to happen in order to lead me here, to him. And I couldn't be more glad, because I want this to last forever. I would, without a doubt, go through everything again, just to end up here with his arms around me and mine around him.
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Sorry, it's so short! It was just a filler, because the end is right around the corner!
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