Page 22 of The Question of Us (Fisher & Church #2)

“We’re all agreed on that,” I assured him. “But our choices are kind of limited. Lee has seen both of us now. It’s not going to be easy getting near him again now he knows what we want, and I won’t put him in danger by going to the house, not after what we’ve learned.”

Gazza frowned. “So, what then?”

I shared a look with Mads. “Well, Mads and I were thinking our best shot might be this bloodstock sale that’s on tomorrow.

Todd said it has a big community side, with food trucks and rides, which means no one should look twice at us hanging around.

If we spot Lee alone at any point, we could try again.

Slip him the phone if he’ll take it. Tell him we’d like to work with him in whatever he comes up with to get himself and his brother safe. We have to try, at least.”

Gazza rolled his beer bottle around on its base, his brow furrowed. “What about the party?” He looked up. “Maybe I could sneak in as part of the catering team or something.”

“Absolutely not,” I snapped. “That’s far too dangerous. Samuel would kill us. Well, me, anyway.”

Gazza eyed me coolly. “I didn’t think you cared what Samuel thought.”

I eyeballed him. “I care about you .”

Gazza’s eyes widened in surprise at the admission, and a tiny crease formed between his brows. He looked about to say something but thankfully didn’t.

Mads broke the silence, “The bloodstock sale is our first choice and best bet. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll think again.

Plus, we still need to scope out the house.

I say we call it a night. It’s been a big couple of days and my brain is fried.

” He stood and wandered across to Gazza, bending down to place a kiss on the man’s forehead.

“Thanks for coming with us. It means a lot.”

The affectionate gesture clearly surprised Gazza, who failed to hide a pleased smile. His cheeks darkened and he returned a flustered, “You’re welcome.”

I caught his eye and shot him a grin. “Would you like one from me too?”

He scowled and flipped me off. “In your dreams, arsehole. I still haven’t forgiven you.” But he was smiling when he left the room and closed the interconnecting door between us.

Mads followed and flipped the lock. Then his eyes found mine and he stalked back across the room. I stood and opened my arms and he walked right into them.

“How are you feeling?” I breathed in the scent of his shampoo.

His face pressed into the side of my neck, his breath hot on my skin. “Tired but okay. Worried about Lee and his brother. I can’t help picturing what could be going on in that house. Those bruises, Nick. The threat to his brother. Jesus. What have we walked into?”

My hands smoothed up and down Mads’ spine.

“I know, although we should’ve guessed. They didn’t shy away from kidnapping and murder, after all.

” I leaned back to look at him, my fingers untangling the wig-mussed hair on his head.

He looked in one word... shattered. “How about you get yourself into bed and find a movie for us to watch while I clean up and organise some snacks.”

He cocked his head, a slow, sexy smile spreading over his face. “That’s the best you can offer in the way of entertainment. A movie and some snacks?”

I ran my knuckles down the side of his face. “I’m sure I could do better with the right incentive.”

Mads turned and pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. “If memory serves me right, I recall some comment about sharing a bath?” He loosely cupped my dick, and I couldn’t stop the groan that fell from my lips or the answering thrust of my hips.

He grinned. “Is that a yes ?”

His sultry expression sent a bolt of lust to my balls. We’d done nothing but kiss and engage in some light making out since his shower theatrics the previous week, almost like we’d been waiting for this trip. Or maybe Mads had just been waiting for me.

Between finishing up our work so we could leave, packing, the lessons in hair and makeup, and all the tiptoeing around the whole actual sex question, we’d fallen into bed exhausted and happy simply to snuggle. No pressure. No expectation. No... sex.

Which was totally down to me. I was sleeping with one of the sexiest men I’d ever known and I’d never so much as held his dick yet. Seen it, yes. Watched him come, yes. Touched it, no. Guinness Book of World Records material, right there.

And I was pretty much over it.

Reading my mind again, Mads went up on his toes to kiss me. “It’s your call. No pressure.”

I cupped his face and held him in place, deepening the kiss and licking my way into his mouth. He whimpered needily, his arms sliding around my waist, pulling me close, until I was consumed by everything Madigan Church.

And just like that, I knew. Every worry and doubt that had been circling my brain for months, along with every fear about screwing this up—they all drifted away, leaving nothing but the taste of Mads on my tongue, the feel of his hard lines and soft curves against my body, his silky grey hair trailing through my fingers.

He moved against me, the hard ridge of his thickening cock pressed alongside my own. My heart thundered in my ears, the beat of it tangling with his, the crush of his lips on mine, the heady scent of his arousal.

This was Mads. My Mads. Kissing him and wanting more was as natural as breathing, as natural as it had ever been with Davis.

There was no guilt. No comparison. No..

. confusion. I should’ve known that would be the case.

Sex had never been just sex for me. It was always sex with a certain someone.

Their scent, their sound, the feel of them in my arms, as singular and particular as the way each one thought and looked and moved.

Mads wasn’t Davis and Davis wasn’t Mads, and I was richer because of the difference.

Mads pulled away and looked at me. “What’s going through that big brain of yours, because I know something is?”

What indeed? I smiled and nuzzled my nose alongside his, my hands running up his back and under his arms until I was lifting him up on his toes.

I pressed my lips against his ear and whispered, “What I’m thinking —” I pulled back to look at him.

“—is that I want you to fuck me, if that interests you at all.”

He froze in my arms, his expression watchful.

I almost smiled, wondering if it was the fucking bit or the topping part that had him most worried.

Most men expected me to top, but I could go either way.

Davis preferred me to top and that had been our norm.

It was never an issue because we were great between the sheets.

But something told me Mads was going to be a very different kettle of fish in bed, and just thinking about it stirred my blood in ways I couldn’t explain.

“You want me to fuck you?” Mads looked at me sideways, a fiery heat licking at those green eyes, the promise of something I really hoped he could deliver on.

I kissed him again. “Yes. Was I unclear about that?”

He leaned back, more wary now. “No. You were perfectly clear. It just feels like a big leap from shower voyeurism to full-on fucking, wouldn’t you say?”

He was right, of course. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t ready. “I know.” I cradled his face. “You might say I’ve had a bit of a revelation.”

He arched a brow. “Oh, really?”

“Mmm.” I tilted his head and pressed a kiss to his throat. Then another. And another, until he groaned and yanked my hips to his, our hard cocks aligning in a delicious tease. Then he moved, grinding against me, slow and rhythmic, until I almost lost it on the spot.

“Hang on.” I stepped away with both hands raised. “There’s no way on earth I’m doing this half-clothed against a fucking wall or over a chair.”

“Is that right?” Mads stalked toward me.

I put my hand on his chest to keep him at a distance. “Yes, it is. I want you naked, lights on, spread-eagled on my bed. I want the all-inclusive, full-sensory Madigan experience, nothing less.”

He huffed in amusement. “Fine, but don’t blame me if you regret your life choices once you catalogue all my wrinkles and grey hair under such unforgiving conditions. Even my pubes have a platinum sheen to them in the right light. There’s a dimmer in my bedroom for a reason.”

It was my turn to laugh. “I assure you, there is nothing about your body that I don’t already love.”

Mads shot me a somewhat startled look, and okay, I hadn’t necessarily intended to use that particular word.

I continued like I hadn’t noticed. “Besides, my body is in exactly the same stone-washed, lived-in, slightly distressed condition as yours. Plus, our vision is hardly what it once was. Soft focus is a wonderful thing, don’t you know? Now get your sweet arse in that bed.”

Mads chuckled. “You’re awfully bossy for a guy who wants to be topped. I can see we’re gonna need some ground rules.”

“More rules,” I groaned, feeling my cheeks heat.

“I can’t wait.” I took his hand and pulled him into the bedroom where I dropped the air conditioning to freeze your balls off territory.

If I wasn’t sweating like a pig by the end of whatever Madigan was about to do to me, I’d be hellish disappointed.

When we reached the bed, I fumbled in my toiletry bag for lube and threw it on the mattress. Then I turned and drew Mads into my arms. “You want a condom? I tested negative about six months after Davis’s accident, and no one since.”

Mads considered my question, then shook his head. “There’s been no one since Craig, and I was negative after him too. Five years and counting.”

I popped a gentle kiss on his lips. “How is that even possible? Someone as great as you?”

Mads dropped his head to my shoulder and his hands slid under my shirt, sending goosebumps fluttering up my back. “I’m difficult, haven’t you heard? A loner. Old before my time.” He tried to make it sound like a joke, but the hurt shone through.