Unconditional

“Me too.” She runs her hands through my wet hair and pulls gently.

I swallow hard as my cock falls from between her pussy lips and I press my mouth to hers. “I hope you’re not tired,” I murmur against her mouth. I make love to her mouth, rubbing my tongue against hers. She nibbles on my bottom lip before biting down harder and I groan.

“Plans to keep me up all night?” She grins as I set her onto shaky legs but I wrap my hands around her hips just in case they give out on her.

“Try for the rest of your life,” I tell her with a smile. I turn the water off as it starts to cool slightly and lead her out of the shower.

With the water off, I’m hyper-aware of a noise somewhere else in the house and I put my hand over Maddie’s mouth just as she begins to speak. “Did you hear something?”

Her eyes are wide and she shifts them from side to side before she shakes her head.

I open the door to the hallway and I hear the television in the living room blaring. What the fuck?

“Stay here.” I grab my sweatpants and t-shirt and pull them on as I jog down the stairs wondering who the fuck barged in my house unannounced.

r /> I’ve made it two steps into the living room when Henry’s fist comes flying at my face.

HENRY IS TALLER THAN ME by at least two inches, but I’m much bigger. Years of police training has given me muscle and cat-like reflexes, unlike my older brother who spends his days behind a desk as an accountant. I move just before his fist can make contact with my face and instead of tackling him like I would anyone else who thought it was okay to put their hands on the chief of police before I slapped my cuffs on them, I take a step back.

“What the fuck, Henry? What—” He comes charging at me again, prepared to take another swing, when I grab his arm and pin it to his side before slamming him against the wall with my forearm pressed against his throat. Fire blazes in his eyes. Eyes with lines under them from staring at a computer screen eighty hours a week.

“What. The. Fuck.” I grit out at him.

“What the fuck is right!?” He spits out and I loosen my grip on his throat as his voice is strained alerting me that he’s struggling to breathe. I let up so I don’t crush his windpipe and take a step back.

“You take another swing at me and I will take you the fuck down,” I warn and watch as his fists flex and straighten, knowing that a fight against me isn’t one he could win.

“You fucking…” He stares at me with his eyes wide and harsh. Demanding. Angry. “She trusted you. We all did! You’re disgusting, Cal. How could you do that to her, you sick fuck?” He looks at the stairs and my heart races thinking about Maddie sitting on the steps hearing every second of this conversation. “You’re raping her.”

“WHAT?” Bile rises in my throat hearing his accusation.

“Legally. And I use that word because you’re a goddamn cop. Do I think you forced your dick inside of her? No. I’ve seen the way she looks at you with stars in her eyes, I’m sure she got on her knees willingly…” I clench my fist and take a step towards him for his disgusting comment. He glares at me, daring me to come forward. “But she’s not eighteen and in the eyes of the law it’s rape.”

“She’ll be eighteen in less than a week, Henry.” I grit out. A dark thought crosses my mind as I know the law better than anyone. Feelings of shame move through me as I think about what I’ve done. A lump forms in my throat and a shiver slithers down my spine like a snake.

You should have waited, Cal.

Laws are in place for a fucking reason.

“You expect me to believe…you expect anyone to believe you haven’t been fucking her for God knows how long?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

“Bullshit. I saw the way you two were acting at Thanksgiving. I knew something was off the way you treated Penelope on our date…And why are we even arguing the semantics of her goddamn age? THIS IS MADDIE!” he screams, his face full of rage and fury as he spits out her name like he’s damning her. “How can you look at yourself in the fucking mirror? You met her when she was seven years old. And you wormed your way into her heart like a fucking pedophile. God, have you been preparing her for this her whole life?”

“Don’t be disgusting, Henry,” I snarl.

“I’m disgusting? That’s what they’re going to say about you, Cal. It’ll be a witch hunt and they’ll burn you at the stake.”

The television which had been blaring suddenly shuts off and a quiet sob cuts through the tension. My eyes flicker to movement in my peripheral to see Maddie standing there with tears in her eyes, streaming down her pale cheeks. She’s completely dressed, in yoga pants and one of my Academy t-shirts, that really doesn’t do much for our case. Her wet hair, pulled into a bun on the top of her head, matched my wet hair. “Henry…”

“Maddie…” He takes a step towards her, and I grip his arm hard because, in this moment, I just see him as a man, a threat, that wants to touch my girl.

“Don’t,” I growl. He looks at me, and to my surprise, stands down. I suppose even in this moment, he knows better than to fuck with me when it comes to Maddie. “Madeline, go upstairs,” I tell her. Our eyes meet, and for a second I believe she’ll obey, but instead she takes a step closer to us.

She wipes her eyes and shakes her head before pointing at my brother. “Henry, this really isn’t your business.”

“Cal has you brainwashed, sweetheart. You can’t stay here.” My nostrils flare as anger courses through my veins making me feel like I could rip my brother apart. I’ll kill him before I let him take her anywhere.