My father’s theory about Maddie is that she’s a gold-digger, only interested in me for my money.

I’ve never fully embraced his viewpoint. Only once in my life did I believe his words, and that was in the immediate aftermath of her departure from the cottage. And even then, my hurt had more to do with the fact that she left without a word of explanation, than my father’s gloating revelation that she accepted fifty thousand dollars from him to stay away from me. Maddie isn’t a mercenary person. If she needed the money to protect her sister and move away from her abusive family, I’m almost glad she took it.

This morning, holding Maddie again, kissing her soft lips, sliding into her hot, eager body, I realize that I don’t care about the past. Yes, there’s a small part of me that wishes that she would explain her side of the events that surrounded her departure from the cottage, but mostly, I’m just glad she’s here with me.

“We should get ready.” Maddie rolls over and looks at the clock next to the bed, reluctance etched on her face. “Your grandfather would probably disapprove if we’re late for breakfast.”

I trace the curve of her hip with my finger. “Screw my grandfather. It’s been nine years. Breakfast is the last thing on my mind.”

She’s tempted, I know, but she shakes her head and pulls away from my grasp. “You want to buy the cottage, remember?” she says. “For Aunt Emily? Well, if that’s going to work, we’ll need to make a good impression.”

“Okay.” I stretch on the bed, and the sheet covering my dick slides off. Maddie’s eyes immediately move to my cock, which is stirring again. “One more round before we get up?” I ask.

“Cam,” she scolds. “We don’t have time.” She starts walking toward the bathroom, giving me a wicked grin over her shoulder. “Join me in the shower?”

That sounds pretty damn good. “Do you want your back soaped, Maddie?” I ask as I follow her to the en suite. My grandfather has spared no expense here--the walls of the shower stall are embedded with Jacuzzi jets. I turn the water on and watch steam fill the space. My cock hardens as I imagine pressing her round, firm ass against me, sliding a finger inside her and making her come over and over again.

“Yes.” She steps into the shower and groans in pleasure as the streams of hot water massage her body. “God, this shower is amazing. You should get this installed at your place.”

“Are you offering to visit me if I do?” I enter after her and pull the glass door shut.

“Oh.” She flushes. “That wasn’t a hint.”

“No, you’re not the type that hints,” I tell her easily, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her toward me, her back against my chest. “You’ve always been pretty direct.”

She relaxes against me with a sigh. “Is that a compliment or an insult?” she asks dryly.  

I smile and kiss her neck. “It’s definitely a compliment, Mads. You have no idea how refreshing it is to be with someone that doesn’t play games.” I move my hands to caress her breasts. “Talking about games, let’s play one.”

Her breath catches as I rub her nipple between my thumb and forefinger. “What kind of game?”

“Pick a number between one and ten,” I reply.

She shivers as my fingers trail down her flat belly to her mound. I play with her, teasing the crease between her lips, avoiding her clitoris for the moment. “Five,” she gasps out.

I bite back my grin. She’s not a gambler, my Maddie. Her choice is smack dab in the middle, but it’ll do for my purposes. “Good number,” I tell her. I unhitch the hand-held showerhead from the wall. “Five orgasms it will be.”

She turns around to see what I’m doing, and inhales sharply when she catches sight of what I’m holding. “Are you going to do what I think you are?” she asks. There’s a mixture of nervousness and anticipation in her tone.

“I am.” I nudge her thighs open with my knee. “Turn around and lean against me, and wrap your arms around my neck. And keep those legs spread, honey.”

She obeys with a nervous chuckle, her skin soft against mine. “You’re crazy, you know that? We’re going to be late for breakfast.”

“We have plenty of time.” I adjust the nozzle and part her folds with the fingers of one hand. “Ready, baby? Here we go.”

The jet of water hits her pussy and she rises on tiptoe to meet it. “Oh my God,” she sobs out, pressing into me harder, her nails digging into the back of my neck. She moves and writhes, her face contorted with pleasure. She’s at the edge in less than two minutes. “I’m coming,” she groans as her body tightens in climax.

“That’s one.”

She half-chuckles, half-moans. “You’re an evil man, Cameron Drake.” She squirms as the stream of water hits her puffy, swollen clitoris, dancing around to try and avoid the spray. “Cam, it’s too much,” she gasps.

“Want me to stop?”

“No,” she chokes out. “Not yet.” That’s my Maddie. She might not be a gambler, but she also won’t back down. A fact I’m taking full advantage of at the moment.

Her pants and her moans, her ass rubbing into my dick, her soft cries of pleasure have me ready to burst. She comes a second time, then a third and a fourth, but before she can come one final time, I drop the shower-head and twist her toward me, rolling a condom on my dick.

Her eyes open wide. “You brought a condom into the shower?”

I’m too far gone for conversation. “I used to be a boy scout,” I grind out as I lift her up and lower her on my cock, moving us until her back is pressed against the wall. “This is going to be hard and fast, baby, with an emphasis on fast.” I’ve watched her come four fucking times. I’m not going to last much longer.

She isn’t listening. She’s making mewling sounds as I slam her down on my cock. She’s so tight. Her pussy is swollen after her orgasms, and each time I bounce her on me, she whimpers. “Touch yourself,” I order. “Come with me.”

Her hazel eyes are clouded with need. She moves her hand between our bodies, down to her pussy. She starts rubbing herself, her entire body trembling. Her muscles clench around my cock, and her fingers graze against my shaft as I thrust in and out of her.

“Fuck,” she wails, on the verge of her climax. “Cam, I can’t hold on…”

My thrusts aren’t controlled anymore. I see spots in front of me as I move faster and faster. The water still drenches our bodies, and steam fills the shower stall. I don’t notice. All that matters are the tremors that run through her pussy. My world narrows, my body stiffens and, just as her climax overtakes her, I erupt.

As we make our way downstairs for breakfast, I look out of the window and grimace. It’s raining outside, and we’re going to be stuck indoors all day. Great. I’d hoped to spend as little time as possible with my family, but the weather has found a way to thwart me.

It gets worse. We reach the dining room and I come to a stop at the doorway. Sitting at the table are the two people that are responsible for my entire ruse. My cousin Ryder is sipping a cup of coffee and is saying something to my grandfather, one arm possessively draped around the shoulders of his wife, Zoe.

Fuck.

“Ah, there you are.” My grandfather smiles at Maddie with more warmth than he’s shown so far. “Did you sleep well, my dear? Noah tells me you had a migraine last night.”

“I did, thank you.” She squeezes my hand and takes a seat at the large dining table. “Cameron took very good care of me.”

My grandfather gives me a searching gaze. “I’m glad to hear it,” he says. “It’s time he settled down and took his responsibilities seriously.”

I ignore the implied rebuke and reach across the table to shake Ryder’s hand. I don’t know my cousin and his wife very well, but Ryder seems like a decent guy, very unlike his father, who had been the family black sheep. “I hear congratulations are in order,” I tell them.

“Thanks, Cameron.” Zoe smiles widely at me. “And this must be your fiancée.” She turns to Maddie. “Hi, I’m Zoe.”

The two of them exchange handshakes. “Pity about the weather,” Zoe sighs, looking at the rain. “I was hoping to spend some time on the dock working on my tan. Still, there’s always tomorrow, right?”

I think rapidly. Ryder being here has complicated things. When my grandfather talked about selling the cottage, I assumed I had some time to change his mind, but it appears that things are moving faster than I anticipated. “Are you guys here for the weekend?”

Sure enough, Ryder confirms my hunch with his next words. “No, Zoe persuaded me to take some time off. We’re here all week.”  

Zoe snorts. “I think Ryder means to say that I threw a tantrum,” she says frankly. “Is Cam a workaholic too?” she asks Maddie. “You have no idea how hard it is to get Ryder to take a vacation.”

“Hey,” Ryder protests, giving his wife a fond look. “Let’s change the topic from my many failings, shall we? Cameron, nice car, buddy.”

We pass the time in idle conversation while we wait for Noah, Aunt Emily, and my father to join us at breakfast. After the meal, Zoe pulls a game of Pictionary from a bookshelf. “I haven’t played this in years,” she exclaims. “Shall we?”

My father immediately excuses himself and leaves the room. My grandfather declines to play as well, but settles himself on an armchair in the living room with a book. That leaves six of us. “I won’t be any use,” Aunt Emily protests, her face distressed. “I can’t draw.”

“You don’t have to, Emily,” Maddie says, squeezing my aunt’s shoulder. “You can guess though, right?” She smiles persuasively at my aunt. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

We draw up teams. Maddie, Emily and I are in one; Ryder, Zoe and Noah are on the other.

The game gets underway.  Ryder, being an architect, is very good at sketching, so their team solves the first clue and takes the lead. Then it’s our turn. “Which one of you is drawing?” Noah asks.

“Maddie,” I announce with a smirk.

She groans. “I can’t draw for peanuts,” she says. “We’re going to get killed.”

Ryder looks up. “Really?” he drawls, a gleam in his eyes. “How about we make this interesting? Cam, a wager?”

I quirk an eyebrow. “What’s at stake?”

“We win and you let all of us drive your car.”

Zoe laughs out loud. “I wouldn’t let Ryder attend the classic car auction,” she confesses. “He’s been pouting ever since he found out you bought the Carrera.” She shudders in mock horror. “You drive it,” she says to Ryder. “I’m not going to. That car is a little too rich for me. A million dollars, right, Cameron? I’d be terrified of wrecking it.”

My grandfather speaks up from his corner. “I doubt Cameron’s going to take this wager,” he says. “From what I hear, he doesn’t let anyone drive his car.”

Maddie looks up, surprised. “That’s not true. He let me drive it here.”

“Really?” My grandfather gives me another long, considering look. “Is that so?”

I kiss Maddie’s cheek. “You’re not anyone, baby,” I say to her. “You’re my fiancée. What’s mine is yours. Of course you can drive the Porsche.” To Ryder, I nod. “Alright, you’re on. And if you lose?”

He shrugs. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

Good. That’s exactly what I hoped he’d say. Ryder’s a decent enough guy. I think he’ll walk away from this cottage deal if he knows why I want it, but even so, a little extra help will come in handy.

Maddie draws a card and frowns when she reads the clue. “Ready?” Noah asks her, his hand on the little plastic sand hourglass. She thinks for a second, then nods.

She draws some squiggly lines, then adds a stick figure in the middle. “Swimming,” I guess. She beams at me and starts drawing more stick figures. One with its arm raised in the air, another with it extending forward. “A kind of stroke? Freestyle?”

“Yes.” She throws her pad in the air in jubilation. “Cam, you’re my hero.”

“Come on.” Noah rolls his eyes. “You guys met during a swim-meet, didn’t you? That’s not even a challenge.”

I roll the dice. Six. Yes. Advancing our token, I smirk at the other team. “Game on.”

It’s a close game. Ryder can draw, but Zoe can’t and neither can Noah. Though Maddie likes to claim she can’t draw a straight line with the help of a ruler, she’s pretty good at getting her meaning across.

Both teams draw for the final turn. Zoe and I read the clue, and I chuckle. Bacon. I’ve got this.

I draw a woman with a ring on her finger. “Me?” Maddie guesses, her eyebrow raised. I nod. Smart girl.

Across from me, Zoe’s trying to draw a pig, but it looks like a blob with four legs. Ryder’s forehead scrunches with puzzlement. “Cat? Dog?”

I quickly sketch a table with a plate on it. “A meal?” Maddie asks. “A meal for me? Something I like to eat? Bacon?”

“Yes.” I punch my fist in the air and kiss Maddie soundly on the lips. “I love you, Mads.”

Ryder and Noah are too busy laughing at Zoe’s pig to pay attention to us. But Aunt Emily is right next to us, and she hears what I said, as does my grandfather, watching intently from his corner.

I don’t have eyes for them. I’m watching Maddie.

She goes still as she registers the words, then her expression closes. Pasting a polite smile on her face, she rises to her feet, refusing to meet my eyes. “Will you excuse me?” she says stiffly. “I need to get a coffee refill.”

That’s not the reaction I’d hoped for. Not at all.