Dare to Desire (Dare to Love #2)(42)
Author: Carly Phillips

Alex rose to his feet, but the judge banged the gavel hard. “Silence.”

“Your Honor, there are no questions being asked here!” Jonathan said loudly.

Eric’s lawyer looked at the judge, acting contrite and sorry. “I apologize. I was just trying to establish undue influence, Your Honor.”

The judge rapped his gavel. “You’ve more than made your point.”

Hopefully the judge felt sorry for Madison and understood the true dynamic of her relationship with Franny Grayson, Alex thought. It was obvious how much she’d needed a mother, even if she hadn’t said as much.

But as the next group of witnesses testified, things didn’t get any better. Parents of Eric’s friends backed up the amount of time Franny spent with Madison, who they all agreed hadn’t gone out of her way to make friends in her new school. They all said they admired Franny for taking in a difficult child but wondered why she chose her over her own son, the implication of undue influence on Madison’s part clear. Said it wasn’t like the other woman, who valued her blood relatives dearly.

Although the hearing was supposed to last just one day, Eric’s lawyer had drawn things out, and by the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, and it was too late for Jonathan to present Madison’s witnesses to Franny’s intent and state of mind. Or Jonathan’s terrorizing his own mother at the nursing home.

The hearing would continue tomorrow. When, according to the message Alex played during a recess, he was scheduled to fly to New York.

* * *

By the time the long day ended, Madison’s entire body trembled from exhaustion. Outside the courtroom, they parted ways with Jonathan, who promised to meet her at nine a.m. tomorrow.

Alex was quiet on the way back to her apartment, and Madison didn’t have anything to say either. He stopped for food, and they ate it in silence. He allowed her the space she needed to decompress. Once again, she was amazed at how well he knew what she needed. Even last night’s argument took a back seat to today’s drama, and she was too wiped out to even think. He parked in a guest spot at her building, and they walked inside and up to her place.

She sat down on her bed and pulled off her heels, groaning as she stretched her feet. Alex walked past her into the bathroom, and she heard the sound of running water.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he walked out.

“Running you a hot shower so you can relax.” He shot her a smile and headed for her dresser, pulling out her favorite lounging pants and camisole.

“Alex?”

“I’m serious. You need a breather. I want you to take one.”

Her heart melted at his thoughtfulness. “Under one condition.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“You take one with me.” She didn’t care what had kept them apart last night; she needed him now, and clearly he was here.

“I’m glad you asked.”

They undressed in silence. Nothing erotic or sexy about her exhausted movements, she thought. And as she stepped into the shower naked along with him, the hot water streaming over them, she didn’t think anything had ever felt better.

She let out a long sigh of appreciation as she tilted her face up and let the spray wash away the stress of the day. She refused to let her mind replay the embarrassment, mortification, or painful memories, concentrating instead on letting each tight muscle relax.

When his warm body wrapped around her from behind, his chest against her bare back, his thick erection between her cheeks, his arms around her waist, head on her shoulder, she melted back into him.

His hands settled on her belly, palms splayed, fingers dipping downward. “How much do you need to relax, Angel?”

His fingers trailed a path down to her thatch of hair and slid over her outer lips. “Alex,” she moaned, her hips thrusting of their own accord, her clit seeking pressure he wasn’t yet willing to give.

One finger on either side of her sex, he played with her, teasing, arousing her until she couldn’t stand another second. “Alex, please.”

“Please what?”

“Touch my clit. Make me come.” She heard the plea in her voice, the whine through the thick haze of arousal.

His harsh laugh vibrated through her body, his c**k hot and hard against her. “All you had to do was ask.”

He shifted his wrist and captured her clit between his fingers, starting slowly, gliding his fingertip up one side and down the other. She rolled her hips in time to his movements, whimpering at the onslaught of desire peaking inside her.

“Is this what you need?” he asked, sliding a finger deep inside and curling forward, hitting her in exactly the right spot.

“Yes,” she groaned, her body so very close.

In and out he pumped the long digit until the ultimate wave crashed over her. At exactly the same moment, he tweaked her clit with his free hand, and she shattered in his arms. He kept up the pressure and pumping of his hand until she rode out her orgasm and fell against him, limp and sated.

He waited until she could stand and shut off the water.

She turned and looked into his dark eyes. “That was amazing,” she said in a husky voice. “Your turn.” She grasped for his erection, but he stepped out of reach.

“I told you, you needed to unwind and relax. You did. Now, let’s get you dry and into bed.”

She was amazed at how sleepy she actually was and let him run a towel over her hair and helped dry herself off before dressing in the clothes he’d picked out. “We usually sleep naked,” she said drowsily.

“And we usually have sex. If I have to lie next to your naked body, you won’t get any sleep, and that’s exactly what you need.”

“Yeah,” she said gratefully and over a yawn as she climbed beneath the blanket and cuddled into her pillow. “You’re staying, right?” A part of her recognized that, had her defenses not been down, she wouldn’t have asked. She couldn’t bring herself to think, much less care.

“Damn right,” he muttered. “I’m going to get dressed and join you.” He brushed a kiss over her lips. “We’ll talk in the morning,” she thought she heard him say before darkness overtook her completely.

ELEVEN

Madison awoke with a jolt, looked at the clock, and realized they’d both overslept. She remembered falling asleep first, and after Alex had taken care of her, he had obviously forgotten to set the alarm.

She shook him awake. “You have to hurry or we’re going to be late.”