I, Maddox Finch, am the luckiest male to have ever lived.
Not only is there a female wrapped in my arms wearing nothing but the scrap of lace between her thighs, but I know the taste of her mouth and her skin.
Me. Maddox Finch.
I should have dragged Nia Quill to the bottom of the canyon the moment I first laid eyes on her.
This thought makes me chuckle quietly. If I had done that, she would have scratched my eyes out, and then I would not be able to see the way the light plays on her features this morning.
Outside our haven, the rain no longer falls, and if the brightness in our cavern is any indication, the sun has finally found us. I should go to the ledge and check if the water has receded, but this hard ground is my favorite place to be. Especially when Nia is using my body as her mattress and my arms as her quilt.
She stirs awake with a quiet mewl of satisfaction, her lashes fluttering open and a smile overtaking her parted lips. “Good morning.”
This morning is not just good. “It is a wonderful morning.”
Her laughter is a rush of warm air against my throat. “You’re stuck in a cave on the side of a cliff. I’d hardly say that’s ideal.”
“But I am stuck with you.”
She curls deeper into my embrace. “I wouldn’t want to be down here with anyone else.”
Nia wants to be with me.Me.Maddox Finch!
This day, I do not hesitate to run my hand down her hair and kiss her forehead while she leans into me with a happy little hum. I have never wished for more rain than I do in this moment. Any reason to be trapped longer.
She rolls to her feet and starts for the entrance. I study the sway of her hips. The roundness of her backside. The way her white curls swish down her back.
“The water has gone down.”
I adjust myself before joining her at the entrance. Sure enough, the water has fallen back within its banks. We will still need to wade along the cliff wall, but that should not be a problem. What is a problem, however, is the lack of stones to climb down. Yesterday there was a staircase of sorts; now there is a large gap which will be tricky to navigate.
As much as I would enjoy remaining here for another day, we need food and somewhere to relieve ourselves.
Quietly, we don our damp clothes, and when we reemerge, the sun has slipped behind a heavy curtain of clouds once more.
I take Nia’s hand in mine, giving her cold fingers a squeeze. “Are you ready?”
She grimaces as she peers over the edge, her normally tanned face pale. “No.”
“I will not let anything happen to you.”
“I know. But I’m still frightened.”
“Think of Gia Gill.”
Her brow furrows.
“The poor female will have to deal with a very inexperienced male if you stay in this cavern. Put aside your fear for her.”
“For Gia Gill,” she laughs, some of the color returning to her cheeks.
We pick our way carefully down the stone ledge, me testing each step’s sturdiness, and Nia following, her knuckles white as her hair where she clings to the stones.
“Look at you, as agile as my Biscuits.”
She shakes her head, her pale lips tilting into a half-smile as she stretches her slippered foot toward the next stone. “Biscuits lives in a flat garden.”
True, but: “In his heart, he is a goat of the mountains.”
