Rival (Fall Away #2)

Clad only in my red lace thong, I walked down the dimly lit hallway and entered the theater room, thankful that the chill on my body distracted from the drumming in my chest.

I hated this room.

And I loved this room.

Slowly turning the dial on the wall, I brightened the area only enough to cast a soft glow. As I looked around, I took account that nothing had changed. Not that I expected it to.

This room was used rarely, but it was built for a crowd. Several black leather recliners and two long black leather couches all sat facing a massive flat screen mounted to a wall that was adorned with three smaller screens on each side. Family photos and more sports paraphernalia dressed the coffee-colored walls, and with the cream-colored carpet, everything looked cozy and cavelike in here.

Madoc and I used to watch TV in here a lot, even though we rarely said anything nice to each other. And the only time Jason Caruthers came in here was for Super Bowl Sunday.

Walking up on soft feet, I ran my hand over the cool, smooth black leather of our couch. The one we watched the Vampire Diaries on. The one we ignored each other on, despite the thick cloud of tension between us. And the one we last slept on together before I was taken away.

My womb tightened, and a shock weaved down between my legs, making my jaw tingle with a smile.

This place should be intimidating to me. This was the place I’d been shocked awake by one screaming parent and another one so angry, he couldn’t even speak. My mother had hauled me off the couch nearly naked, wearing only Madoc’s shirt. Jason Caruthers had stood in the hallway, refusing to even make eye contact when I was dragged past him. Madoc was nowhere in sight, and within twenty minutes, I was dressed, packed, and driven away, unknowingly carrying a child inside of me.

This room should’ve been bad news to me, but it wasn’t.

This couch had felt good on my skin, and I remember being so grateful Madoc had talked me out of finally leaving my room that night.

Climbing onto the sofa, I knelt up against the back and rested my forearms over the top. I wanted to see Madoc when he found me. When the door handle started to turn, I had to swallow down my smile and curl my toes to keep my excitement at bay.

As Madoc opened the door, his eyes shot straight to me, and I gave him a sexy, little smirk, hopefully coming off as playful and not the nympho I’d become. He wore black pajama pants that hung low, and his golden skin looked so warm and smooth that my mouth was watering. The little hills of his six-pack flexed, and I trailed my eyes up to his pecs and further, loving the way his kind-of wet hair stuck up like it’d been styled that way. When I got to his face, though, his ever present amusement was gone.

He swallowed and held up the riddle I’d left. “The theater room.”

Why wasn’t he looking at me? His eyes were shifting around.

“I’m . . . a . . .” I stammered. My heart was starting to pump too fast. Shit! Was he mad?

“I’m glad you figured it out,” I said, cocking my head to the side, trying to entice him to come in.

“Yeah, well . . . the last line helped.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Look, Fallon. I don’t want to be in here. Can we just go to bed?”

What? Why?

“Madoc.” I rushed to stop him. “I know that this is the last place we saw each other before I left, but we don’t have to be afraid of it.”

I got off the couch and stood up next to the arm, my hands folded in front of me. His steamy blue eyes fell down my body and then trailed timidly back up to my face.

He walked over to me, every hard step vibrating through my veins. Taking me by the back of my neck, he kissed me deep, slipping his tongue in immediately and making every part of me warm.

“Madoc,” I gasped when he pulled me up off the ground. As he cupped my ass, I wrapped my legs around his waist.

I loved that he picked me up.

But I didn’t like that he started walking us to the door.

“We leave in six hours,” he threatened, “and that may or may not be enough time to taste every part of your body. But I want to get started right now. We’re going to bed.”

“Madoc, no!” I shot out my arms and caught the door frame, stopping him in his tracks. “No! I want to be in here.”

He pushed a little, and I tightened my grasp on the door frame against the stretch in my arms. If he wanted to get me out of here, he only had to push a bit more. He was going easy on me.

“Well, I don’t,” he shot back. “Come on. We’re not kids anymore. We’re going to do it in a bed like grown-ups and not on a couch like horny teens.”

“We are horny teens.”

He scowled up at me. “Let go, or I tickle.”

My chest tensed, and I almost closed my arms with the threat, but I didn’t.

Squirming out of his grasp, I lowered myself to the ground and slammed my hands into his chest, pushing him backward. Reaching over, I grabbed the door and threw it shut.

Madoc’s wide eyes locked on mine as I walked the few short steps over to him, backed him up against the back of the sofa, and started to maul him. My hand dug into his hair, my lips kissed him hard and fast on his mouth and then his neck, and my other hand shot down to his thick erection already pulsing in my hand.

“Fallon, Jesus,” Madoc cursed.

But his head fell back as the pleasure overtook him, and he threaded his fingers into my hair as I trailed kisses down his chest and stomach.

Setting down on my knees, I freed him from his pants and, taking him in my hand, I circled my tongue around his tip, my tongue ring bumping with his piercing. He jerked, and his eyes popped open, looking down on me with fierce eyes and bared teeth.