Shameless (18 page)

She laughed.  “I’ll be sure to add that to
my list of skills on my resume.”

We relaxed in silence for a few minutes
before Maddie raised her head and rested her arms on my chest.  “What’s your
last name?”

I blinked at her.  “What?”

“What’s your last name?”  She asked again. 
“I’ve fucked you I don’t know how many times now and –“

“Eight,” I interrupted.

“What?”  She asked.

“You’ve fucked me eight times.”

She laughed again.  “You’ve been counting?”

I nodded solemnly.  “Ninety-seven times,
kitten.  Remember?”

She blushed slightly and I tugged playfully
on her hair.  “I thought about putting notches in your bedpost but figured
you’d kick my ass if I marked up the wood.”

She slapped me lightly on the chest and
rolled her eyes as I grinned at her.  “Should we try and make it an even ten
before tomorrow?”

“As delightful as that sounds, I do need to
be able to walk tomorrow,” she said.

“Oh c’mon, kitten, I’m big but I’m not that
big,” I said.

“It’s my thigh muscles that are sore,” she
said tartly.  “But it’s good to know that your ego is as big as your dick. 
Seriously though – what’s your last name?”

“You didn’t look in my wallet when I was
drugged up?”  I asked.

“Of course not!”  She said indignantly.  “I
wouldn’t rummage through your personal belongings like that.”

She suddenly gave me a suspicious look and
I grinned again at her.  “Don’t worry, kitten.  The only thing I rummage
through while you’re at work is your panties drawer.  It’s not weird that I
spread them all out on the bed and nap on them, is it?”

She stared wide-eyed at me before bursting
into giggles.  I tugged again on her hair as she rubbed her hand across my
chest hair.  “You’re nuts, Riley.”

“Yep,” I agreed.  “And it’s Walker.”

“Your last name is Walker?”

I nodded and she repeated my name softly
before smiling at me.  “It’s a good name.”

“Thanks.  What’s your last name?”

“Smith.”

“Really?”  I cocked my eyebrow at her and
she giggled again.

“Yes, really.”

“I’m going to need to see one of your
fancy-ass lawyer business cards to confirm it,” I said teasingly.

A shadow flitted across her face before she
gave me a strained smile and rested her head on my chest again.

“Tell me what happened at work today,” I
said.

“Nothing happened.”  She started to get up
and I tightened my arm around her and pulled her back against my chest.

“Tell me, Mads.”

“Why?”  She asked.

“Because I want to know,” I said.

“I want to know who Andrea is and you won’t
tell me,” she said quietly.

I stiffened against her and she stared up
at me.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said that.  I – it was a rough day at
work but that doesn’t mean I can be a jerk to you.”

I almost laughed out loud.  “If that’s you
being a jerk, I think I can handle it.  I once dated a woman who tried to stab
me when I wouldn’t introduce her to ma.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“I wish I was,” I said solemnly. 

She smiled faintly and I stroked her hair
back from her face.  “Tell me what happened at work today and I’ll tell you who
Andrea is.”

A look of surprise crossed her face before she
said, “I have a client – let’s call her Jane – who is going through a nasty
divorce with her husband.  They have four children, she’s been a stay-at-home
mum for the last ten years, and her husband left her and the kids for his
secretary.”

“You’re joking,” I said.  “There’s no way
that happens in real life.”

“You’d be surprised,” she said quietly. 
“Anyway, Jane has been fighting tooth and nail for child support and alimony. 
Her asshole of a husband hired an expensive and experienced lawyer and, long
story short, he kicked my ass at the hearing today to discuss child and spousal
support.  Because of me, Jane isn’t going to get nearly as much child and
spousal support as she should.”

I rubbed her back as she sighed loudly. 
“The worst part?  She isn’t even upset with me.  My boss accepts a lot of
pro-bono cases and Jane was one of them.  She actually thanked me after the
hearing for helping her and getting her at least a little in support.  She
should have been angry with me, should have gone to my boss and had me fucking
fired but she thanked me.  I’m pretty sure she feels like she can’t complain
because it was pro bono and that makes me feel like shit.”

She wiped discreetly at her eyes and I
squeezed her waist.  “I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you think.”

“It was,” she said morosely.  “Bad enough
to make me wonder if I’m in the right career.”

I rubbed her back wishing I could think of
something comforting to say.  I wasn’t good at shit like this, never had been,
and until this moment I had never really felt the need to be.

“I think you’re a great lawyer,” I finally
said.  “One bad day doesn’t mean you need to rethink your whole career choice.”

“Maybe not,” she sighed before looking at
me expectantly.  “Your turn.”

“Andrea was my sister,” I said.

“You said you didn’t have any siblings.”

“I lied.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s dead,” I said bluntly.

She gave me a sympathetic look.  “I’m
sorry.  Why do you have nightmares about her?”

“That wasn’t part of the deal,” I said.

“Riley, it might help if you talk about
it,” she said.

“No.  Let it go, kitten.  I agreed to tell
you who Andrea was and I did.  The rest of it is none of your business.”

A look of hurt flashed across her face. 
“No, I guess it isn’t.  I know it’s early but I’m really tired and I think I’ll
call it a night.”

She turned her back to me and pulled the
covers up to her chin.  I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling, listening
to her soft breathing for nearly ten minutes.  I didn’t feel guilty, I told
myself grimly.  There was nothing to feel guilty about.  Maddie didn’t need to
know the details and it would do more harm than good to share it with her.  Her
feelings were hurt but she would get over it.  I was not going to say sorry.  I
had nothing to be sorry about.

Another ten minutes passed.  I had spent
the last few nights curled up against Maddie, her arms around me and her warm
body tucked into mine and I wondered bleakly if the nightmares would return. 
If she wasn’t touching me, if I couldn’t feel her soft skin, would a dead
Andrea invade my dreams again?  Worse, would it be Maddie?

I shuddered all over.  The thought of the
nightmares returning was bad but knowing that I had upset Maddie made me feel
fucking awful.  She had been nothing but nice to me and I, like usual, had
acted like a real asshole.

I slid over to Maddie’s side of the bed and
wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her stiff body against mine and
nuzzling the back of her neck.

“I’m sorry, Mads,” I whispered into her
hair.  “I’m sorry but I can’t talk about it.”

She sighed before turning and putting her
arms around me.  “I’m sorry too.  I shouldn’t pry.”

I buried my face in her throat and rubbed
her back.  “Good night, Mads.”

“Good night, Riley.”

* * *

M
addie

I closed the front door and hung my jacket
on the hook.  I was incredibly happy it was Friday and even happier to be
home.  I was hungry and tired and –

Horny
, my
mind whispered.

I smiled wryly to myself.  Yeah, I was. 
Every night for the last week, I would barely be in the door before Riley was
leading me to the couch or the bed, tugging off my panties and burying his face
in my pussy.  I would start to feel the pulsing ache of need when I was driving
home and I was wet by the time I walked in the door.  I found it embarrassing
but Riley loved it.  He would tease me gently about my wetness, kissing my inner
thighs and licking me clean with his tongue before bringing me to orgasm. 
Frankly, it never took long – another embarrassment – and I had begun to crave
Riley’s daily ritual with a fierce type of need I had never experienced before.

I paused and listened intently for a moment. 
Unlike the past few nights, there was no smell of dinner cooking and Riley
hadn’t appeared in the hallway.

“Riley?”  I called loudly.  “Where are
you?”

There was no answer and adrenaline shot
through my veins.  I hurried into the kitchen.  It was empty and I checked the
living room as dismay started to build in my stomach.  Riley had left.  He had
finally grown tired of me and left.  I blinked back the sudden tears.  Maybe if
I hadn’t given in so easily each night, he would still be here.  He wanted sex
from me and I had given it to him willingly every fucking night.  I should have
played hard to get.  I should have denied him what he wanted at least once or
twice.  Maybe he would still be here if I had.

Jesus, Maddie.  What the hell is wrong
with you?  So Riley left.  You knew it was going to happen sooner or later and
I hate to tell you this, girl, but you denying him sex wouldn’t have made him
stick around.  He would have left even earlier – found a woman who was good in
bed and didn’t say no.  Stop being such a damn baby and be happy you had him
for as long as you did. 

But he didn’t even say goodbye
, I thought with a tinge of sadness. 

We’d had a quick round of morning sex
before I showered and left for work and nothing had seemed different or off. 
If I’d known I would never see him again, I would have held him a little
longer, would have memorized the sound of his voice saying my name, the look on
his face when he was deep inside of me.  I would have –

Maddie!  Stop it!  You’re acting like
he’s dead, for fuck’s sake. 

The tears were starting to leak down my
face and I wiped them away before taking a deep breath.  Okay, Riley was gone. 
I needed to accept it and –

The front door opened and my eyes widened. 
I scurried out of the living room and into the hallway, relief flooding through
me when I saw Riley.

“Hey, Mads.  How was your – “

He stopped and stared at me.  “Mads? 
What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t know where you were!”  I blurted
out.  “I thought you had – “

I stopped and smiled weakly at him.  “Never
mind.  How was your day?”

He pulled me into his arms and I sagged
against him, burying my face in his neck as he patted my ass.  “Tell me what’s
wrong.”

“Nothing,” I said.  “There’s nothing
wrong.  It was just, um, weird to come home and you weren’t here.”

I gave him a kiss that was almost a bit
desperate and he returned my kiss hungrily as I reached between our bodies and
rubbed at his cock.  My relief that he hadn’t left had turned into a fiery
hunger for him and he groaned when I tugged frantically at his belt.

“Maddie, wait.”

“What’s wrong?”  I asked.

“Nothing.  I just – I have something to
tell you.”

I stiffened against him and he rubbed my
hip through my skirt.  “It’s nothing bad, Maddie.”

“What is it?”

“I got a job.”

I blinked at him.  “You got a job?”

He nodded.  “Yeah.  I went to see my old
boss at the construction company and as luck would have it, he had a guy quit
on him yesterday.  He hired me and I start Monday.”

He gave me an oddly vulnerable look.  “It
doesn’t pay much but it’s something.”

“Riley!  Congratulations!  That’s
fantastic!”  I kissed him enthusiastically before hugging him.  Some of the
tension eased from his body and I kissed him again.  “Are you sure you’re
healed enough to do construction, though?”

He nodded.  “Yeah.”

“Maybe you should double check with Roman,”
I said.  “You’re going to his place tomorrow to teach him some exercise stuff,
right?”

He nodded.  “Yes, but I’ll be fine.”

“Promise me you’ll mention it to him,” I
said.  “Just to be on the safe side.”

He rolled his eyes and I pinched his ass. 
“Promise me, Riley.”

“Fine, I promise.” 

I gasped when his hand slipped under my
skirt and cupped my pussy through my damp panties.  “My kitten’s nice and wet
again.  You been thinking all day about getting your pussy eaten?”

I ignored the slow beat of arousal coursing
through me.  “Maybe.  But we need to celebrate, Riley.”

He grinned at me.  “Tasting your sweet
little pussy is celebrating.”

“I’m taking you out for dinner,” I
announced.