I pull out my finger, replace it with two, and match the rhythm of her thrusts.

“Stop,” she pants. “Please. It’s too much...I can’t...I’m going...shit...fuck!”

Her hips lift, her fingers gripping my hair tighter. Her thighs tense...and then…

“Oh...oh...OH!”

She moans through every single wave of her orgasm.

“Fuck. Shit. Holy shit.”

She collapses, her phenomenal breasts heaving as she tries to catch her breath. A sheen of sweat coats her entire body. I kiss her mound one more time before making my way up, wiping my mouth as I do. I kiss her stomach, each breast, up her neck and to her ear, my cock resting at her entrance. “Are you sure, Maddy?”

Her hands run down the center of my back and rest on my hips.

She doesn’t respond with words, but she raises her hips and grips mine, pulling me inside her.

My mouth clamps around her shoulder, muffling the moan that escapes me.

I lean up on my elbows, resting them on either side of her head. Her eyes lock on my lips. She licks hers. Then she leans up, pressing her tongue against my mouth. I open my mouth for her, reveling in the feel of her tongue against mine, tasting her own pleasure.

I pull back quickly. “Condom,” I pant. “Shit, I forgot.”

I start to pull out but she stops me. “I’m protected.”

My gaze flicks between her eyes and her lips. “Are you sure?”

She nods.

I pull back, almost all the way out, and then I slowly push back in.

Her eyes roll before they close.

I do it again.

And again.

And again.

I keep doing it until her whispers of my name turn to moans and I can no longer hold out.

And then she says it.

“I love you, Kyler.”

And I fall over the edge.

Physically.

Emotionally.

And wholeheartedly.

25

KY

I SIT ON the couch after training the next morning—phone in hand.

Madison and I spent the entire night naked and in each other’s arms. She fell asleep right away. I stayed up most of the night—lost in a sea of my own thoughts.

I was still that way when I fumbled my way through this morning’s sparring session. She’d sent me a text and told me she was at Debbie’s and would be home about an hour after I got here.

And for the first time since I met her, I’m grateful she isn’t around.

I stare at Jackson’s number, palms sweaty and heart racing at the thought of how he’ll react to what I’m about to tell him. I flake out last second and dial Christine’s number instead.

She answers, but she doesn’t speak.

“Ma?”

“I just wanted to hear you say it again,” she says, and I can actually hear the smile in her voice. “How are you, Ky?”

I sigh loudly and rest my head on the back of the couch.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“How do you know something’s wrong?”

“Kyler.”

I clear my throat. “I’m in love, Ma.”

“No shit.”

I laugh.

“So...what’s the problem?” she asks.

I swallow down the knot in my throat—the revelation of the truth feels like a vise surrounding my heart. “I don’t feel worthy of her, or love, in general.”

“Shut up, Ky!”

“Ma—”

“No. You listen, and you listen good. I will not let you sit there and talk nonsense, do you hear me?” Her voice is strained, like she’s holding back tears. “I will not listen to you talk about yourself like that. After everything you’ve been though, Kyler, that night when you fell through my back door, bleeding and pleading for help—I thank God every day that you chose me. That you let me help you—because Lord knows you needed help. Those people that raised you—those monsters—they’ll rot in hell for what they did—for the way they treated that poor, poor boy you used to be. How you—” She chokes on a sob but recovers quickly. “How you got out alive...I’ll never know. But fate was on your side, and on ours, and you became a blessing in all our lives. So don’t you dare—” Another sob. “Don’t you dare ever, ever,” she grinds out, “believe that you aren’t worthy of every great possibility this world has to offer. And Madison—she sees that. And she appreciates you for everything that you are. And she loves you for everything that you’ve accomplished and the man you’ve turned out to be.” She pauses to take a few calming breaths. “Don’t live in the past, Kyler, dream about the future. You and Madison—you can have a future. You can have it all.”

“Like you and Jeff?” I whisper.

“Better. Because you, more than anyone, knows how quickly life can change. You’ll know not to take it for granted. Every sense. Every step. Every breath, Ky. There’s so much of everything—”

“And all I have to do is exist,” I finish for her.

She laughs through her tears. “Yes, Ky. Exactly.”

“I love you, Ma.”

“I love you too, son.”

“I’ll come by soon, okay?”

“You bring that girl of yours with you.”

“Of course. It’s hard to be without her.”

I stare at my phone long after she’d hung up. Then I blow out a heavy breath—Christine’s words the final push I need to gain the courage.