Chapter 134: Madeline
Reid’s body is solid against mine—unrelenting, unmovable—pressing me so hard into the rock wall behind that I can’t tell where I end and he begins. His mouth devours mine, all heat and command and hunger. His tongue moves with the same confidence that every part of him carries, exploring me, learning me, and each sound that leaves him—a low groan, a sharp breath—feels like it’s pulled straight from my chest.
One of his hands is anchored at my hip, keeping me flush against him; the other moves restlessly—up the back of my neck, along the side of my face, down the curve of my arm—like he’s trying to memorize every inch of me. Every place his skin touches burns.
And through it all, my brain barely works.
Because Charlie is his cousin.
He’s not taken.
And he’s into me.
The thought floods me with so much heat I almost can’t stand it. The hardness of him against me tells me just how into me he is indeed and somehow, it makes me dizzy. I push against him, desperate to get closer, to feel more, to drown in this. He groans against my mouth, and the sound vibrates straight through me.
When my lungs start to protest, when my chest aches for air, I tear my lips away just enough to breathe. My head drops back against the wall, my pulse hammering in my throat. He doesn’t move far—his eyes dark, stormy, his hands and body still caging me in.
I look at him—really look—and something inside me twists. My fingers move before I can think, brushing his hair back, tracing his jaw, sliding down his throat to the edge of his chest. His skin is hot beneath the fabric, his heartbeat thudding strong. The shyness hits me all at once, sharp and real.
“You…” My voice is a whisper. “You feel like something forbidden. Like something I shouldn’t even be able to touch.”
A low chuckle rumbles in his chest, his breath ghosting over my lips again. “No part of me is inaccessible to you, Madeline,” he says, voice rough and slow, every word sinking deep into me.
I feel it everywhere—heat spreading through my stomach, my chest, my throat. I can’t think straight.
My mouth parts again, ready to say Reid, or what are we doing, or maybe nothing at all—but he shakes his head slightly, one hand coming up to cup my jaw.
“No,” he murmurs, softer now, the ghost of a smile tugging at his mouth. “This won’t get you fired.”
A laugh bubbles out of me before I can stop it—a small, breathless giggle that breaks the tension for half a heartbeat.
He grins faintly, still close enough that our noses brush, and the sound that escapes him isn’t a laugh—it’s more like a low growl that promises this isn’t over.
He looks at me for a long moment, his eyes tracing every line of my face like he’s trying to memorize it—like he’s fighting something inside himself. Then, slowly, he leans in again.
This kiss is different.
Softer. Slower.
Like he’s reminding himself—and me—that he can be gentle.
His mouth moves against mine with aching patience, tasting, lingering, drawing it out until my knees feel like they’re made of water. When he finally pulls back, I can’t breathe. My lips feel swollen, my heart’s going too fast.
Before I can fall, he lowers me down carefully, setting my feet back on the ground—but his hand stays at my waist, firm and steady, holding me upright.
“Ready to go back inside?” he murmurs.
I shake my head immediately. “I’m not sure I want to.” My voice is small, shaky. “Not yet.”
He nods once, the muscle in his jaw working. “Didn’t think so.” His hand stays at my waist as he exhales slowly, looking out at the dark sea behind me before meeting my gaze again. “I’d walk you home,” he says, his voice dipping low, rougher now, “but I’m not sure being in a closed, empty space with you is a good move right now.”
“Why?” I whisper, though I already know.
His thumb strokes a small circle at my hip. “Because I want you too much, Trouble. And after the night you’ve had… that’s not fair to you.”
The words make something deep inside me twist tight. I look up at him, caught between wanting to argue and wanting to melt into him again.
He clears his throat and says, quieter this time, “Let’s go inside. I’ll find Jake—we’ll both walk you home. Then we’ll come back here.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to. I can go by myself.”
His expression hardens instantly. “No way in hell.”
There’s no room for argument in his tone. None.
So I just nod, looking down as we start walking back toward the bar. My skin still hums everywhere he’s touched me. Every step feels surreal—like I’ve stepped out of one world and back into another, one that’s too bright and too loud and not meant for what just happened.
And then it hits me—Jake.
The thought makes my stomach twist. After this, how can I even look at him?
As if he hears the question in my head, Reid says, low and certain, “Jake won’t mind.”
I glance up at him, startled. “How do you know that?”
He’s silent for a beat. His jaw tightens. Then, eyes fixed on the street ahead, he says, “I’ll let Jake talk to you.”
My pulse skips. “Talk to me about what?”
He just gives a small, unreadable smile and says, “You’ll understand soon enough.”
And I don’t know whether to be terrified—or thrilled.
He disappears into the bar, the door swinging shut behind him, leaving me alone with the salt air and the faint taste of him still on my lips.
I’m half-ready to turn and run home, half-hoping he comes back and pulls me into another kiss that ruins every boundary I’ve tried to set.
It’s barely a minute later when the door opens again.
Reid steps out first—and behind him, Jake.
And just like that, every ounce of air leaves my lungs.
They both look… different now. The party’s noise glows behind them, lights flashing off their shoulders, but the two of them look carved from something darker, steadier. Their strides match, their eyes fixed on me. I feel their energy before they even stop walking.
And when Jake’s gaze lands on me—oh god.
He looks at me the way Reid did just minutes ago.
Like he’s hungry.
Like he already knows what just happened.
Like he’s not angry about it—he’s intrigued.
The same hunger burns in Reid’s expression now, and standing there, both of them in front of me, it’s suddenly too much. The heat. The way they tower over me. The way their energy fills the space until I can barely think.
Reid’s eyes drag over my face before landing on Jake for a second. Some silent exchange passes between them—one I don’t understand but feel all the same.