Madison

“I need some company, Maddie. I have another fucking dinner to go to,” Ben says as he sits down in front of me.

“This time, I can’t, my friend,” I pour his favorite beer, “But there’s someone who I think will be happy to help you.”

“Who?” He takes a sip and goes on, “It’s not one of your desperate clients, is it? If it is, I’m out.”

I roll my eyes. Such a fool.

“No. Alyssa.”

“What about Alyssa?” Christopher asks, sitting down next to Ben.

“What can I serve you, handsome?” I ask, smiling.

“The usual, gorgeous,” Chris says, winking at me.

I wink back and turn to get his double dose of one of the most expensive whiskeys in the club. When I turn back to hand it to him, I see Noah, sitting next to them.

“I didn’t think you mingled with the rest of us mortals. I’ll get Ramon for you,” I’m barely done talking and the three of them say, at the same time, “No!”

“We asked Rebecka to change it up. It wouldn’t make any sense, instead of being served by a smoking hot girl, being served by Ramon,” Ben and his honest opinions. I shake my head.

“After the weekend, I don’t want anyone else to serve me,” Chris says, laughing, “Rebecka should make you serve us in the same uniform as the waitresses.”

“No!” Noah cuts him off.

We all stare at him, and Chris asks, “Exactly what does this ‘NO’ objects?”

“I’ll just have the usual,” Noah simply replies.

“Excuse me, Sir, but I don’t know what your ‘usual’ is, because I never served you before. Could you clarify, please?” I say without looking into his eyes.

“An Oettinger.” Oh, his thing is beer, then. A famous German brand. “My ‘no’ is about Miss Harver working with the waitresses’ uniform.”

“With that shirt of yours and the skirt you’re already smoking,” Ben says, looking at Noah, “My invitation is still on the table, Madison.”

“You should control yourself, Benjamin,” Noah’s disapproving tone doesn’t go unnoticed. The other two looks at each other and shake their heads.

“So, what about Alyssa?” Chris asks again.

“Ben needs an escort for one of those boring dinners of his, and I think Alyssa will be a good company since she’s not an option for his bed,” I explain as I adjust the glasses on the bar.

“Well, well...” Rebecka shows up, “I never thought I’d see you out here, you’re always hidden away in the private room. Madison can work miracles.”

I make an ugly face. I don’t like when the attention is focused on me. I make the mistake of looking at Noah, who is also looking at me. The images of that fateful night come back to torment me. I can still feel his hands wandering around my body, his mouth in mine...

“Madison?” I hear someone calling me and I look up, still a little lost. I see Noah smiling from the corner of his mouth. The bastard knows the reason for my distraction.

“Maddie, are you alright?” Rebecka looks at me, worried.

“Our Red here is very distracted today,” Ben says.

“Tell us what’s distracting you, Miss Harver,” the sneaky judge wants to have some fun at my expense.

Let’s see how far he’s willing to go. I crouch on the counter, giving a juicy view of my breasts and I answer, looking into his eyes.

“I’ll tell you, if you tell us where you hid the leash Morticia makes you wear.”

A wave of ‘wow’ breaks out, Christopher spits out his drink. Ben laughs loudly, and Rebecka disguises his laughter. Noah looks at me and, still smiling, says, “You’re gonna pay for this, Red.”

“I can’t wait, Your Honor,” I wink at him. The laughter stops, and I realize that the others are serious now, staring at us. “What?” I ask.

They shake their heads and say nothing. I tend to one of the girls who came to place an order and, once again, I get distract thinking about Saturday night, at the judge’s house. I’m not gonna lie, I loved it. And knowing there was people in the house made me even more wet. That man knows what to do with a woman. When Carly called for him, my blood froze, but there was not much I could do, the orgasm left me with wobbly legs.

As soon as he went upstairs, I heard him say that he’d sleep in the guest room. I really thought about paying him a visit, but, how could I? He’s engaged. I was cheated on, I know how much it hurts. On Sunday morning, I didn’t have the courage to face him at breakfast, much less to have his girlfriend offend me. So, I made up an excuse for Alyssa and got out of there as fast as I could. That night, I barely slept thinking about how to face him at work. But there is a God and he’s shown pity on me, he had meetings outside the city for the next three days.

One of Secret Garden’s most beloved clients, businessman Cole Knight, sits down on one of the bar stools and takes me away from my thoughts.

“Good evening, Miss Madison.”

It’s impossible not to smile at him. His kindness is captivating.

“Good evening, my favorite client. What can I get you?”

“A Madison, how about it?” he replies, more serious than usual.

“Are you ready for it?” he nods, and I prepare one of the most popular drinks we have, mostly for women. I serve him as he loosens his tie, “Rough day, Cole?”

“Very much so...” he makes an ugly face, “It’s getting harder and harder to keep a secret when all you want to do is shout it from the roof tops.”

Cole is gay, and his partner has been demanding that he comes out of the closet for good. But, things are not that simple, he’s from a very religious family, the only man in a family of three women. His father has been asking for an heir for a long time, and Cole comes here to disguise his nights. His boyfriend is also a client at the club, Aidan is even more dear than Cole.

“It’s time to think about you two, Cole. Don’t you think?” I hold his hand.

“I don’t know, Maddie,” he lowers his head, “I just don’t know.”

I go around the counter and hug him.

“Whenever you need a friend, know that you’ve one right here. You just have to call, okay?”

“What’s going on here?” Noah rages loudly. I turn to him.

“There’s nothing going on, Judge Lancaster.”

To protect me, Cole stands in front of me, “Is there a problem, Noah?”

“Yes, there is,” he gets closer, “She’s an employee here, she cannot just stop working to satisfy your whims, Knight.”

“Boys, boys. Let’s keep our cool,” I get between the two and I turn to Cole, “He’s right, I’m working. We’ll meet up later, okay? Sit down, please, enjoy your drink, you deserve it.”

Rebecka calls me over, “Maddie, I’m having trouble with one of the girls. Can you help me?”

“I’m coming,” I pass through them, bumping into Noah, but I don’t look at him. What an idiot! Why doesn’t he just go into that private room and stay there? Well… maybe not.

I head to one of the dressing rooms to find the dancers, these girls need to learn the value of being humble. All the club dancers are professionals. They just dance, no sex involved, at least not here at the club. The shows they perform in the house are thoroughly rehearsed and choreographed by professionals. Strippers, pole dancers and any other dancer here needs to undergo a rigorous evaluation. They are very well paid and treated like stars, some even live in luxury.

For companionship job, top model style girls are selected, with college education. They are paid exclusively for their company, but when it becomes something more, there are specific places inside the club for them to feel comfortable. The price is negotiated by the girls themselves. The club doesn’t meddle in its customers sex affairs. The entire place is maintained by the monthly payment from its the members.

Rebecka doesn’t go looking for the girls, they come looking for it, they leave pictures and resumes at the door, and some of them are called back to go through a sort of audition, where they talk about themselves. Sometimes top models look for Rebecka to become luxury escorts. You know when you see those ugly guys posing next to beautiful models? Yeah, they pay a small fortune for that. I know Rebecka sends them to simply be escorts, but if the girl decides to have sex with the client, she prefers not to know about it. I think they do get something extra out of it, which would explain the fact that there’s a bunch of girls knocking on the club door every day.

Without a doubt, the dancers are the ones that give us the most trouble. Their inflated egos need constant maintenance, otherwise they’ll start a scene over nothing. I think the fact they’re being constantly harassed and desired while they dance makes them think they rule the world. But guess what, they don’t!

I walk towards the screaming sounds in dressing room 2 and I see Selena, a platinum blonde with violet contact lenses, wearing her Frozen outfit. There’s fetishes about anything in this world.

“What’s the matter, Selena?” I ask without much patience.

“The problem is that I’m greatly underpaid. My talent cannot be wasted like that, I’m a striptease Diva, Madison. Dressing room 2? I am the most profitable source of income in this place, I deserve an exclusive Dressing room with two assistants to care for my well-being.”

Dear Lord, how far can this madness go? The bleach must have gone through her skull. There’s no ranking here, and if there was, she wouldn’t even be number 2, maybe 5 or 10. What I want to do is to fire her, but, before I do anything, I raise a finger, asking for a minute, and I go talk to Rebecka.

“Do we need Selena, Becka? Because she’s been giving us trouble for quite some time now. I think it’s time to put her on ice, so she can learn a little humility.”

“She’s good at what she does, I didn’t want to lose her, Maddie. But if you think we should cool down a bit, I can ask Debby to replace her.”

“Where do you find these troublesome girls?” I ask.

“Unfortunately, the problematic ones are usually the best,” Rebecka says smiling.

I go back to the dressing room and I hear her scream about the warm champagne. I don’t have a lot of patience, and the rest of what I had, Noah made sure to waste it. I watch her assistant drying her clothes, the Frozen Queen freaked out and threw a drink on the girl.

“You’re fired, Selena,” I say quietly. I turn around and head for the door.

“You can’t fire me. You’re just a waitress.”

“That’s truth. And you’re nothing but a deluded woman, thinking that everyone should cater to you, because you’re the Diva of the miserable, cartoon-addicted perverts. You treat others with arrogance and mediocrity. We definitely don’t need people like you around here, Selena. Actually, nobody needs people like you, period! Get back to reality, it’s getting ugly. You’re fired, and that’s it.”

She starts to cry. I don’t have the patience for this.

“I’m going through hard times, Maddie. I need this job.”

“How long will these rough days last? Cause it’s not the first time, or the second, you make one of these crazy dramas. If you need this job, stop acting like a crazy person and behave yourself. What would you do if I threw a glass of champagne at your face? I’m sure you wouldn’t like that. Now, apologize to your assistant. A true Diva doesn’t act like that. From now on, this is how it’s gonna be. If there’s any more drama, you lose the dressing room.”

I turn around and leave. I don’t usually deal with situations that way. I usually try to talk and understand their frustrations before I decide on the best way to handle it. But these last few days, I’ve been having no patience at all. I haven’t been handling the day-to-day quite so well, especially after what happened, just thinking about it, my body warms up and longs for his touch. The problem is that the Judge belongs to someone else. I make my way to the locker room, that’s empty at this hour. I sit in the corner to think.

Noah’s with Carly, I need to get away from him. At the Office, I’ll be as professional as possible, and I’ll avoid any contact. Harriet’s two weeks are running out and she’ll be back in two days. Maybe, she’ll assign me to work at the archive room. I grab my cellphone and start to look for someone on my contact list who can satisfy me and make me forget this madness with Noah.

I remember Cole’s friend. We were introduced at a dinner party at Cole’s house. He’s the only one who knows about Cole’s secret and accepts it. His name is Michael, he gave me his phone number, but I never called him back. Maybe it’s time, I hit dial quickly. Two rings later, he answers.

“Michael?”

“I can’t believe the sexiest redhead I’ve ever met is actually calling me. I had already given up hope.”

“Thank you for the complement,” I say, laughing, “I had a lot going on. How are you?”

“Better now. But I’ll be even better when you decide to let me take you to dinner.”

His voice is deep, like a radio announcer. I look at my watch, one o’clock in the morning. Who knows, maybe I can get him to say a few things in my ear. I clear my throat and make my sexy voice, low tone, speaking slowly. Men love a sexy voice on the phone.

“Can you meet me now?”

“Of course,” by his tone, he must be smiling.

“Perfect,” I give him the address, one block away from the club, and we agree to meet in 20 minutes. I rush to warn Becka, who’s my accomplice in sneaky dates like this one.

I find Ramon on the way and I instruct him on some things related to our stock. I also leave some instructions for the girl who handles the assistants of the megalomaniac divas. I finally find Becka, talking to Chris.

“Do you mind if I leave now?” We both understand each other only by the look in our eyes. We’ve developed this sort of communication over time.

“Of course,” she says in a strange voice, and it gets my attention.

“If there’s any trouble, Becka, I can cancel it...” I tell her, sincerely.

“There’s no trouble, it’s just...” she shakes her head, “Never mind. Go and have fun.”

“Who’s going to have fun?” I hear that damn voice right behind me. What the hell! I must be getting punished for something. God must be punishing me for being like Mary Magdalene, fucking the scribes at the temple. It can only be. I give Rebecka a look pleading for help.

“You can go, Maddie. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

I leave without making eye contact with him or Chris. I head to the locker room to change my clothes. They’re not appropriate for a date, but it will have to do. I keep the skirt and put on my black top and leather jacket. I loosen up my hair and freshen up my makeup. Some lipstick and mascara and I’m ready!

I walk out the back door and head for the meeting point. When I get there, I see Michael waiting for me, leaning against his car. He is a very handsome man, short black hair, messy style, dark brown eyes, a very well-drawn mouth. He’s a little taller than me, maybe 5’9”, something like that. Thin, but always elegant. As soon as he sees me, he smiles and comes to meet me, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m glad you called, Madison.”

“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Michael,” I say as I return the kiss.

We hear a car stop abruptly by our side, startling us.

“Madison?”

“Are you kidding me?” I say to God, looking up at the sky. I turn to face the son of a bitch who’s now stalking me, “I can’t believe it.”

Noah comes closer, and I take a step closer to Michael, who wraps his arm around my waist and says, “Is there a problem here, babe?”

“No. I’m just not used to meeting my boss everywhere,” I smile, uncomfortably.

Ben, who probably saw the scene from afar, stops his car and stands next to Noah.

“What’s going on here?”

Really? A club meeting on my date?

“There’s nothing going on. I’m just on a date,” I say, running my hand over Michael’s face and looking at Noah. I don’t know what happens to me when this man is around. I’m already daring by nature, but near Noah I become wild. I don’t know why.

“Let me get this straight,” his voice tone was not a good one, “Did you sneak out in the middle of your shift because you had a date?”

“Yes,” I turn to Michael, “A hot date, by the way,” I kiss him hard, a kiss worthy of the movies, with tongue, steam, and lust.

I hear Ben telling Noah to control himself and just leave. I wanted to look, but I wouldn’t risk the animal finding out that I was just doing it to get away from him. After they were gone, I moved away from his mouth.

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologize. It was a pleasure to help you,” he says, smiling, “Are you hungry? Do you wanna eat something?”

“Yes, I do.”

We went to a restaurant not far from there. We ate, we talked, and, for a minute, I took that bastard out of my mind. Tomorrow, I’ll have to face him at work and I wonder how that’s gonna play out... Certainly, he’ll throw in my face that I’m a bad professional. We got out of there late, I got a cab and went home.

My house is my refuge, few people know where I live, Rebecka is one of them. I don’t usually have any visits and I like it that way.

I hear noises and I open my eyes, I turn to see the time on my cellphone and I can’t believe what I see. Shit! Shit! Shit! I’m late.

It’s already ten forty-five in the morning, it’ll be around eleven-thirty before I finish getting dressed and out the door. Shit! I try to remember his schedule, but as far as I can tell, he’ll be in the Office this morning. Noah is one of the most punctual people I know. Oh, no. He’s going throw that in my face too. I run through the streets in high heels, looking like a crazy woman, I even forgot to comb my hair.

I walk into the Office and face Robbie’s annoying smile. At first, that smile comforted me, but today it only annoys me.

“Is the Judge in yet?”

Her smile goes away. That’s not good, Madison. Not good at all.

“You know he usually arrives early and he’s asked about you several times already. I tried calling your cellphone, but you didn’t pick up.”

As I hunt the fucking phone in my bag, I hear:

“Miss Harver, my room, now!”

I go to his Chambers, praying all the prayers I know and making outrageous promises, because things are about to get real. I stop and think twice before going in. If you want to run away, Red, this is the time! I stand in front of him.

“Good morning, Your Honor. I’m sorry...”

He’s taking off his suit and folding the sleeves up to the elbow, turning my attention back to his body.

“Keep your apologies to yourself. This is just a warning, don’t let your personal life interfere with your work. I can’t fire you, but I can transfer you to a more appropriate place to serve your sentence.”

A knot forms in my throat, and a cold sweat takes over my body. That voice tone added to the look on his face is simply terrifying. He’s not joking, and I honestly wouldn’t dare to confront him right now.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Get me some lunch.” I look at the clock on the bookshelf, and I see that it’s fifteen past noon. Shit! “Is there a problem, Miss Harver?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Then why are you still here?”

I walk into my room as fast as I can. Turned on! He gets even hotter when he gets like this. I prepare his lunch and serve it at the meeting table. While I’m doing that, he ignores my presence. I leave his Chambers towards my Office to catch up on his next appointments. After about half an hour, he opens the door.

“Madison, you’ll have to stay late today. I have some papers for you to review and make notes. Call Rebecka and tell her you won’t make to the club tonight. If she can afford to let you walk out in the middle of your shift, so you can go on a date, she can handle it, if you stay behind to do something useful.”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Quickly, I call Rebecka, “Becka?”

“Hi, Maddie. What’s new? How was your date yesterday?”

“Girl, you wouldn’t believe me. Noah and Ben passed by and I was with the guy, and they stopped the car ...”

“No way…” I have the feeling she’s smiling, “Then what?”

“So, the Almighty Lancaster questioned me about walking out of my shift to go on a date.”

“That’s not like him. What’s happening to him? Yesterday, when I said that you were leaving earlier because of a commitment, his mood completely changed.”

“There’s more,” I say.

“More?”

“I overslept, and I got here very late. Now, I’ll have to make up for the hours at work. He told me to call you to say that can’t make it tonight. That, if you can do without me so I can go on a date, you can do without me for something useful.”

“Are you serious? I can’t believe Noah. Well, alright, we’ll talk later. See you soon.”

“See you,” I hang up the phone and focus my attention on forwarding some emails.

In the afternoon, he shouts my name. Like he never heard of a telephone. I go to him.

“I have a headache, I’m going to work at the penthouse. At least it’s quiet there.”

He gets up, picks up his suit jacket and walks out with his briefcase. And I just stand there, like a statue. Men are very complicated, if he’s leaving, why did he tell me to stay late? I organize his desk and go back to my Office. The hours go by and, close to the end of the day, I start my daily task, going into each room to get a daily report. The phone rings.

“Madison, I want you to be at the penthouse in fifteen minutes with those files I left on the meeting table,” He hangs up without even giving me the chance to ask, “Where the fuck is that?”

I finish my tasks, pick up the damn folders and head to Robbie at the front desk.

“Do you know where Judge Lancaster’s penthouse is, Robbie?”

“Why do you want to know?” That annoying smile from ear to ear again. Give me patience, Lord.

“Because the man just called to ask me to bring those folders up there. The problem is, I don’t know where that is.”

“It’s not too far from here,” she says as she writes down a paper and hands it over to me.

“Thank you,” I nod and run to meet the judge.

I look at the address and go on my way. After walking for a few minutes, I get to the building’s reception. A very nice gentleman talks to me.

“What can I do for you, Miss?”

“I’m Judge Lancaster’s assistant. I believe he’s waiting for me.”

He checks out some small papers on his desk.

“Madison Harver?”

“That’s me,” I say, smiling, and he smiles back at me.

“You can go right up.”

I wink at him and leave. I get into the elevator and curse the bastard in my thoughts. Bastard. Why didn’t he just let me go home? It’s like he’s punishing me for something. Well, he is punishing me, for hitting someone. The elevator doors open, and I face a dark wood double door, all carved in. Okay, he does not play around.

I ring the bell and Noah opens the door, with his shirt open halfway across his chest.

“Come in.”

I wipe my mouth, which is probably drooling. I straighten up my posture and I pass through him, bumping on him, of course, I’m not made of steel. The place is as stunning as its owner. The walls that divide the rooms are all made from glass. From where I’m standing I can see the different environments and the city below us, because the walls of the living room are also glass.

The decor is in black and white, very clean. The furniture is arranged in a way that there is plenty of space left around the rooms. Noah passes through me and I walk behind him towards the home Office, which is as beautiful as the rest of the property.

“Your apartment is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” he points to some papers, “I need you to make a notation of this information, this day and this time, so that I can cross over the information I already have in the files. The first part is here, the second part is in those folders you brought.”

He pulls out a chair for me and, before sitting down, I take off my blazer, pull out my shirt and sit down. I open the first folder and start working. His scent takes over the environment, I look up to analyze him. He’s focused, and even hotter. He has the habit of putting the tip of his glasses in his mouth, making me want to trade places with the damn thing. My belly decides to sing Sinatra. No one deserves that kind of shame. He looks up at me.

“You’re hungry,” I notice that wasn’t a question, but I nod, and he promptly calls some place and orders enough food for an army.

We go back to work and, once again, I lose myself in his beauty. As time goes by, images of him in the pool, and his kisses, invade my thoughts, my body is awakened to sin. Our eyes meet, and we get lost in each other. Noah puts his chair back and the bell rings. He gets up and says, “It must be the food.”

Oh God, I never imagined a judge could be that hot. On TV, I only saw those white-haired fat guys. He shouts for me from somewhere in this apartment, getting me out of my crazy thoughts. I follow the noise of the bags until I get into an impeccable kitchen. The counter was full of food.

“Is this all just for the two of us, or is there anyone else coming?”

“Just the two of us. Sit down and help yourself. I didn’t know what you liked, so I asked for a little of everything.”

“It smells delicious,” I say, and sit down in front of him.

“Can I ask you a question, Madison?”

“Yes, of course...”

He asks, concentrating on his food, “Why are you this Counselor of desperate women?”

“It’s just a sweet nickname they gave me. I’m just that kind of friend who helps the girls see things differently.”

“What kind of things?”

“Things like... you can be happy without having to get married. A lot of women are raised in a universe where they need someone who’ll make them happy, otherwise they’ll be unhappy forever. Perhaps because of a macho culture of many centuries ago in which woman had to be dependent on man in every way ...”

“That sounds very feminist.”

“Perhaps. But I just want to show them that before they’re happy with someone, they need to be happy with themselves, breaking the barriers that are preached to us. They can’t let themselves get carried away by foolish preconceptions. Who knows, maybe that way they can find their Prince Charming after all.”

“Prince Charming,” he says, laughing, “Don’t you think preaching the existence of a Prince Charming goes against what you’re trying to prove?”

“No…” I take a deep breath.

“There are no perfect men, Madison.”

“Prince Charming has more to do with rescue than with perfection. They rescue from a tall tower, from the evil witch, from eternal sleep, and often they rescued damsels from themselves,” this last part, I say more to myself than to explain it to him.

“Are you waiting on your Prince?” His smile is beautiful, and his mouth is perfect.

“No. I’m the little group that likes to have fun with the frogs.”

He laughs loudly.

“You help women change their looks, these kinds of things?”

“Sometimes, yes, when it’s necessary. Other times, I introduce them to things they are curious about, but don’t have the courage to learn more about...”

“Like what?”

“Like sex shops, for instance. I explain to them that sex is part of life, that giving pleasure to herself when they’re alone makes it easier to reach an orgasm when they’re with someone.”

I take my plate to the sink and wash it. Noah leans on me and puts his plate in the sink. I feel his hands roam the sides of my body, and I bravely try to continue to wash the dishes. He says in my ear, “You’re so hot...”

My breathing speeds up, he puts my hair to the side and runs his nose down my neck, then kisses, bites and sucks it, making me moan. He presses me against the sink, and I feel his erection. The dish escapes from my hand and I come back to reality.

“No!” I try to get out of his grip, “I don’t want you to touch me.”

He smiles and raises his hands.

“Okay, alright. I won’t insist,” that’s too bad!

We finished arranging things in the kitchen, went back to the Office, and got back to work. I don’t know how much time had passed, but I was sore. We were able to build up a new outline for the trial, and I was surprised to realize that I really enjoyed participating in it.

It’s no wonder that Noah is an acclaimed judge, his sense of justice is very sharp, his perception is sharp. His ideal of a better world is very vivid in cases where he’s responsible. He had the patience to explain to me the reason for each one of its aspects. His character is immaculate. I was delighted by his legal profile. I thought he was beautiful then, now I think he’s perfect.

I move my neck from side to side.

“You’re tired. We can stop for the day.”

I get up and start organizing the notes.

“Can I ask you something, Noah?”

He looks at me seriously, “Of course...”

“Can I help you again in a next case?”

“Got you interested?” he smiled.

“Very much,” I smile back.

“I’m always studying cases. Instead of staying in your Office, come to mine. How about it?” I nod. “Great. Let’s get going. I’ll take you home, Miss Harver.”

We go down to the garage and, from a distance, I see his car, it’s beautiful.

“I like your car.” Actually, I loved it, I’m crazy about speed.

“Big kid’s toy,” his smile demonstrates how much he likes it too.

We got in the car and headed towards the city. Suddenly, the song Into my life from Coly Hay plays through the loud speakers and delights me with good music. The tingling sensation through my body is still there. In the kitchen, I had to kick myself to come back to reality, he’s taken. He parks the car in front of my house.

“How did you know?” I ask.

“Everyone who works for me is investigated,” he makes an ugly face, “Just a routine background check.”

“Thank you for the ride, Your Honor,” I put my hand on the doorknob of the car and feel something pulling me. When I realize, my mouth is already touching Noah’s. He pulls my hair from the back of my neck, conducting our kiss to his carnal rhythm. My body warms up in the hopes of feeling his hands again. He separates his mouth from mine.

“Good night, Madison.”

“Good night, Noah,” I step out of the car and run my tongue over my swollen lips. I’ll never wash my mouth again!