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But I don’t move, still battling within. It would be so easy to grab her and kiss the living daylights out of her. The air crackles. As Maddie searches my face, her eyes cloud over.
“That's what I thought,” she murmurs cryptically, turning away from me and heading for the stairs. “They’re waiting for us. Let’s get this over with.”
Downstairs, Roger rises to graciously greet us, a crystal glass in hand.
“There are our charming love birds! Come, have a nightcap.”
I steer Maddie subtly toward the curved chaise settee, unable to resist placing a hand on her lower back.
“Alicia already retired for the evening,” Roger mentions, taking his own seat across from Walt, who immediately launches into talk about our VR software as he pours us bourbon.
“Some port for you, dear?” He hands Maddie a small glass, and she takes it with her usual hundred-watt smile.
I nod along, keeping a hand around Maddie’s shoulder. She manages polite smiles, but I sense that she is otherwise miles away.
“Revolutionizing therapy for military PTSD is quite the ambitious endeavor, Jack,” Roger observes, ice cubes clinking in his glass. “Though I imagine it stems from feeling obligated after your own service.”
I swirl the amber liquid, choosing my words. “You could say that. Men come back after fighting for our country and are promptly and conveniently forgotten.” I meet his gaze. “I have the means to make a difference. Advanced technology paired with immersive simulations can rewrite their lives.”
Walt claps my shoulder firmly before launching into an effusive monologue on scope and interfaces. Roger asks thoughtful questions on scalability and the measurable neurological impact, while I nod along, keeping an eye on Maddie. She has taken out her phone, immersed in it for a while.
She leans in and whispers in my ear, her breath tickling me. “I’m going down to the beach for a bit.”
Without awaiting a response, she slips silently out the nearest doorway onto a dark veranda facing the sea.
I try tuning back into our chat, nodding along distractedly. But I feel the void next to me, and as a subtle break in conversation arises, I take the opportunity. “Let me go check on Maddie,” I murmur, already half out of my seat, lunging toward the terrace door.
I frown into a moon-washed darkness, the sound of distant waves filling the night air. The familiar silhouette I’m looking for is down by the lapping surf, faint music drifting up from her phone. Curious, I pick my way across pristine sand until a recent catchy hit registers.
Hypnotized, I watch her sway barefoot to the rhythm under the star-kissed sky. With closed eyes, she runs her hands up the plush, warm velvet of the bare skin of her own arms, as if caressing a phantom partner. Each roll of hips and shoulders is precise, and yet unchoreographed.
The air suddenly feels scorched. Unable to look away, I drink in her performance. My hands curl at my thighs, still trying to fight her magnetic pull.
When she finally notices me, Maddie stops short.
“Escaped the boring men?” I attempt a joke, hoping to dispel some of the tension.
She looks down, avoiding my gaze as she grabs her shoes. “I was trying out some dance moves. Before we leave tomorrow, I’d like to shoot a video.”
She brushes past me, but I grab her elbow. She wheels around, unexpected anger blazing across her face. “Did you change your mind about me again, soldier? Because your girl here is sort of done playing the hot and cold game.”
My girl.
Her eyes are a striking, night devouring thunderstorm. Her lips tremble, and I want to taste them, to stop the soft quaking with my own mouth.
She attempts to stalk away again, but I grab her waist and pull her back. Something dangerous flashes in her eyes. Frustrated about the strong hold, she launches her fists at my chest. “Damn you, Jack,” she cries, still trying to wiggle away. Adrenaline surging, I toss her easily over my shoulder and carry her flailing form up the sandy steps.
“Put me down this instant, you ass!”
“Ok,” I say once we reach the house. I set her down gently under the arched entrance, still blocking her path inside. I kneel in front of her and grasp a slim ankle. Maintaining eye contact, I brush the lingering sand off her skin, then slide on her discarded heel. I repeat the ritual with the other foot, fingertips trailing up her calves.
Maddie is flushed a furious rose color that begins at the top of her breast, spreading to her throat and cheeks. She stands very still, surprise widening her eyes as her chest rises and falls rapidly. Once finished, I rise slowly, then lift her hand to my mouth, brushing a feather-light kiss across her trembling knuckles.
“Come. I believe we have some unfinished business.”
She gasps, but I don’t wait for a possible protest as I sweep us back inside, calling casual goodnights to Walt and Roger. Still holding Maddie’s hand, I firmly guide us up the winding stairs.
“This scrap of fabric you’re wearing is deadly,” I growl, opening the door to our room. Once it clicks behind us, I place my hands on her hips, sliding them under her dress. It shows off her sculpted thighs, her legs stretching endlessly. She attempts to kick her heels off, but I stop her.
