“But what about all the rumors, all the women who claim that you slept with them?” she asked. “Why would they lie about that?”
“I don’t know, I never understood either. All I know is after a couple of dates with anyone, I just lost interest,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I always let them down gently, but it never went any further than that. I guess it was wrong to let everyone think I was a playboy or something, but it was just easier than defending myself. It’s always been you, Maddie, you’re the only one I want and I don’t care if it’s the bond or just plain love, I’m not fighting it anymore. You’d be surprised how much easier everything is now that I’ve stopped battling my feelings for you. You might want to try it, it feels pretty good.”
The thought of just giving in, of letting it all go and only listening to what she was feeling deep inside was so appealing that she stopped thinking about the past and heard what her heart was saying. Looking up at Walker again, she felt warmth spreading through her and accepted it for what it was for the first time, the love they shared, the bond that tied them together for good or bad. Sucking in a gasping breath, she realized that the last thing she wanted to do was give up that feeling, and she closed the distance between them, then wrapped her arms around him.
Walker’s arms closed around her, a soft sigh escaping from his chest, and she looked up at him and smiled. “I guess I’ll try that for a while,” she finally said. “I’m kind of tired of being mad and upset with you all the time.”
“Good, because it’s wearing me out too,” he said, grinning down at her. “We’ll have a fresh start, Maddie, a do-over or something like that.”
She shook her head. “We can’t erase the past, Walker, but we can learn from it,” she said. “What happened back then will never go away, but we can promise to do better this time.”
“I like the sound of that,” he said, pulling her up against him again. “I was so worried I was going to lose you when you found out the truth about what I really am. That’s why it was so hard to tell you, but I see now that I should have told you a lot sooner.”
“I understand, telling me something like that was a big risk, I could expose you, tell the world about what you can do,” she said. “I don’t blame you for being scared, I would have been too…Actually, I am scared to tell you what I’ve been hiding. I hope you’ll be as understanding as I have been.”
“There’s nothing that will change the way I feel about you, Maddie,” he said. “No matter what it is, we’ll figure it out together, but I think you’ve had enough for one night, it can wait until we’ve had some sleep.”
She wanted to argue with him, wanted to demand that he listen to her right then, but he was right, she was exhausted. “Okay, but we’re going to have a long talk tomorrow,” she said. “It’s time we were completely honest with each other. I don’t want to wait anymore.”
“Sleep first, honesty later,” he said, kissing her on the forehead. “I need to get some more wood in. Maybe you could go check on our patient.”
When he came back inside with a huge armload of wood, she met him in the kitchen. “Betty and the baby are asleep on the couch. I offered her the bed, but she wanted to stay by the fire. Try not to wake them when you go in.”
They went in together and quietly stacked the wood, then Walker banked the fire so it would burn all night and they snuck back out again. “Let’s go get some sleep,” Walker said with a big yawn. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve been up since early this morning.”
Suddenly nervous, she followed him down the short hallway to the only bedroom in the cabin, stopping just inside the door to stare at the big bed, her imagination suddenly going wild with the possibilities. Walker must have sensed her hesitation, as he came back and took her hand, then pulled her farther into the bedroom and closed the door, leaving them in darkness.
CHAPTER 16
***WALKER***
Walker walked over to the window and pulled open the drapes, letting in enough light that was reflecting off the snow that he could see Maddie waiting for him nervously across the room. “We’re not going to do anything but sleep,” he said, walking over to her. “I’ll be happy just holding you in my arms tonight. There’s no rush to do anything more; we’ve waited this long, a little longer won’t hurt either of us.”
Maddie studied him in the near darkness, then started shaking her head. “You’re wrong, I don’t want to wait, I’ve waited long enough,” she said, taking a step toward him. “I know there are still some things between us to work out, but if everything you’ve told me is true, waiting won’t matter.”
He closed the distance between them, but didn’t touch her. “I trust you, Maddie, and I meant it when I said that nothing you can tell me will change my feelings for you,” he said. “We’re meant to be together, I just don’t want to push you, you’ve been through a lot tonight.”
“I think I can handle just a little bit more excitement,” Maddie said, reaching up and starting to unbutton his shirt.“Just promise me that you won’t compare me to that young girl I used to be.”
He captured her hands in his, brought them to his mouth and kissed each palm, making Maddie gasp, then brought them back to his chest. “Let’s get one thing clear right from the beginning, you’re even more beautiful now than you were then,” he said. “You’re a woman now, Maddie, not a girl, and I want you more now than I did back then.”
She’d managed to get his shirt unbuttoned, but he couldn’t wait and pulled her into his arms, then slammed his mouth down on hers in a kiss that instantly ignited the passion between them. Their clothes seemed to fall away on their own, and she was soon naked in his arms, as soft and warm as he remembered. The years faded away along with the pain of their separation. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed, feeling like everything was right in his life again.
He covered Maddie’s body with his own, deepening the kiss while his hands roamed over her body, reveling in the feel of her soft skin as she shifted restlessly under him. She finally became brave enough to reach out and stroke his chest, then let her hand trail down between them until her fingers closed around his swollen manhood. He groaned, only encouraging her, and she gripped him a little tighter and then began to stroke him. This time it was a growl escaping from his lips as pleasure rocketed through him.
A few minutes of Maddie’s ministrations were all that he could handle, his body was throbbing with need and all he could think about was burying himself deeply inside her, but he didn’t want to rush. Gently pulling her hand away, he rolled her onto her back, then leaned up on one elbow to look down at her, his hand trailing up and down her stomach. He leaned down and kissed her gently, then trailed kisses down her neck beforecupping one breast in his hand and sucking the pert nipple into his mouth.
Maddie gasped and arched her back, then began to let out little mewling sounds as he lavished attention on her ample breasts while sliding his hand down to the juncture of her thighs and pushing her legs apart. He could feel her heat before his finger slipped between her folds, sending a wave of anticipation rocketing through him. She was slick and wet, making the throbbing between his legs even more intense, but he wanted her trembling beneath him before he took her.
Using his finger, he began to rub her swollen nib, and Maddie let out a cry of pleasure, then opened her legs wider for him, grabbed his shoulders, and dug her nails in. This time it was her hips that came up off the bed as she gasped in pleasure. He knew she was going to tumble over the edge in just seconds and held his breath until she cried out his name over and over, then went limp in his arms.
Only a few seconds later, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. The raw need he saw there took his breath away, and he didn’t need her to speak to know what she wanted. Slipping between her legs, he shoved them open further, then with one powerful thrust of his hips drove himself deep inside her. Stars instantly exploded in his vision, pleasure nearly overwhelmed him, and the undeniable feeling that he was finally complete settled over him. Still buried deeply inside her, he rode out the emotions, feeling the dragon inside him rejoicing, then Maddie shifted beneath him, and it all drained away, leaving only the deep need to take what belonged to him.
He buried himself in Maddie’s welcoming heat over and over, driving deeper with each thrust of his hips, her answering cries of pleasure only driving him on, until they tumbled over the edge together on a huge wave of sensation. For several seconds,he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but ride out the most incredible feeling that he’d ever had and hold onto Maddie.
When he finally came floating back down to Earth, he collapsed on top of her, then rolled to his side, taking her with him. Wrapping his arms around her, incapable of speech while he was trying desperately to catch his breath, he was aware of her having the same struggle. It was several minutes before he let out a long sigh of contentment and looked down at Maddie, smiling when he saw the look on her face.
“That was better than I remembered,” she said, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “If I’d known it was going to be like that, I would have said yes the first time you suggested it.”
