Between Heats (Downtown Aquatics Book 1) (14 page)

To someone watching from the stands, the whole thing was a
blur. But to Aaron, there were lifetimes in those split seconds. Whole
scenarios when something could go wrong, when an off-rhythm movement could
shave off precious time, when even the smallest motion meant the difference
between victory and defeat.

The wall was coming up now.

He executed a perfect turn and his powerful legs gave him the
extra push he needed for the last length. His head and body was perfectly
aligned; his chest, arms, hips, and feet worked overtime to bring him home.
When his fingers hit the touchpad, he surfaced to take a breath.

The world above the water was still a blur to him. But when his
opponents tapped him on the shoulder, he looked up and knew that he had won.

He ripped off his goggles and glanced at the stands, not at the
board. Now there was only one thing left to race for.
 

“Coach Didion,” Madison gasped, unfolding herself and standing
up. “I-I didn’t mean to disturb you guys,” she continued, stammering when he
didn’t respond. “I just wanted to see Aaron swim.”

“I hate to do this when you came all the way here, but I’d like
to politely ask you to leave,” the older man said gently. People in the other
rows tried to look disinterested in what was happening, but Coach Didion was a
recognizable figure, if the bright yellow official ID he wore didn’t give him
away. “Aaron can’t see you here.”

Too late,
Madison
thought miserably. She licked her lips, trying to summon her courage. “I really
don’t want to bother him. But please let me stay and watch him. I promise that
I won’t try to speak to him until after the meet is over. Just,
please...
” her voice dropped to a
whisper, “... let me stay.” She knew that there was a strong chance her
presence would be unwelcome and she didn’t want to jeopardize Aaron’s chances
of winning. But she also knew that if she left now, it would be all over. She
would never get another opportunity to talk to him again and tell him how she
truly felt.

“Madison, I know you understand how much this means to him,”
Coach Didion reminded her. “I’m giving you the chance to do right by him once
and for all.” Coach’s tone was still kind, but there was no mistaking the
undercurrent beneath his words.

People around them were looking on with open interest and over
Coach Didion’s
shoulder,
she thought she saw Frank
Harding looking over at them. She tried one last time, trying to keep her voice
from shaking. “Coach, believe me, I
want
to do right by him. That’s why I’m here. I know he never wants to see me again.
I know he’s mad and he has every right to be. I screwed up. But I just want him
to know that it hurts me that I had hurt him. If I could take it back, I
would.”

Coach Didion looked sympathetic but that didn’t stop him from
putting a hand on her arm. “Maybe it’s best for everyone if you wait
outside—”

“Coach, you can’t just throw the woman I love out.”

She turned at the sound of the new voice, without registering
what the speaker had said. Coach Didion let go immediately and discreetly
stepped aside. A surprised murmur buzzed through the spectators. “Aaron,” she
gasped.

It took all of her willpower not to reach out and touch him. He
looked just as fit and fine as she remembered. He had removed his swim cap and
goggles,
the only evidence that he had been in the water at
all was the open team jacket he wore over his jammers. To keep her hands from
betraying her, she just used them to clutch her bag tighter. She thought she
had rehearsed this moment but her thoughts were a jumbled mess in her
head.
 
I’m sorry that I hurt you. I’m sorry you had to see me before you swam.
I’m sorry for everything.
“I’m sorry I took your cap,” she blurted out
instead.

“It has always been yours,” Aaron said in a low tone. His face
was a chiseled block but his eyes were a soft gray fire that made her ache.
That was when she realized what he had just said earlier.

“Aaron?” she asked, confused. “What did you mean—?”

“About what?” he asked, his tone slightly teasing.

Madison felt her cheeks heat up. “About not throwing the woman
you love out. You can’t— I don’t—”

Where was all her
courage?
Gone, apparently. She felt the tears dampening her eyes. “How can
you say that? I was the one who hurt you. I came here to apologize. I knew how
much you wanted me to be there and I let you down.”

“I was angry,” Aaron admitted. “And I liked being angry at you
because it gave me a reason to block everything else out. But with every day
that we weren’t together, I had less of an excuse to be mad at you—and
every reason to want you back. I love you, Madison. I love every part of you,
the good with the bad. I love what’s important to you. I never wanted you to
give up your dreams for me. I was going to give you time to figure out what you
wanted, but I knew that when this meet was all over, I was going back to LA to
work things out with you.”

Dear God, her name. She had missed hearing him say it. “But
why?” she whispered. She came here with a heart full of apologies but he was
the one saying that he was going to come after her anyway. She was undone by
his words. She didn’t deserve him at all.

“The same reason you’re here,” he said. He took a step closer.
“Because what we had deserves another chance.”

Once the words were finally out of her mouth, they were hard to
stop. “I’m so sorry, Aaron. You don’t know how much I’ve regretted leaving. I
went back that night but you had already gone. I just want it to be you and me
once again.
Just
you and me.
No more secrets.”

“I got all your messages,” he said, a faint twinkle in his eye
that was immediately replaced by a serious expression. “Madison, I want to be
the one you count on. I want to be the one who keeps you safe. But only if you
let me.”

Madison fell into his arms. “Aaron, you do keep me safe,” she
told him. “Safer than anyone. With you, I feel like I’m finally coming up for
air. I was just too stupid not to realize that sooner.” His arms tightened
around her. “I love you, Aaron Harding. I’m all yours, for better or for worse.
I don’t want to let you go.”

Without another word, he pulled her up in a searing kiss. All
those weeks they spent apart now melted into this moment. Aaron didn’t seem to
care where they were.
Madison’s arms curled up over Aaron’s
damp neck and hair, wanting so much more of him.
As their kiss stretched
deeper and longer, she realized that she was no longer scared and uncertain.
Their lips said it all: the longing, the apology,
the
promise. The warmth from their bodies coursed through Madison.

But all too soon, Aaron settled her down. It was
all the
signal the crowd around them needed to start
talking, as if they suddenly realized that they had been eavesdropping on a
very private conversation. But neither Madison nor Aaron cared. He stroked her
shoulders, his eyes trained on her alone. "I'm afraid you're going to have
to, Madison," he murmured without missing a beat. "We still have a
meet to win."

Aaron made good on his promise; it was a podium finish for
all his day’s events. At the awarding ceremony, he brought home six medals for
every leg of every meet where he had placed, four
golds
,
one silver
, and one bronze, all for the 50-m and the
100-m events. His combined points for the entire Splash Circuit Nationals had
brought him in close contention for the grand prize, but the look on his face
told her that he didn’t care about any of that. Aaron only had eyes for her.

There was a flurry of activities when Madison went down to meet
up with her winner right after the award ceremonies. The swarm of reporters and
well-wishers
kept her from going up to him but she
didn’t mind. She saw him beside Frank and a few feet from Coach Didion,
fielding questions from the press. Despite this, she knew he had already seen
her, the way he looked straight at her over the crowd.

She waited until the brief press conference was over and the
group of reporters finally thinned. Aaron made his way to her, quickly giving
his father a brief goodbye on his way. Frank slightly shook his head with a
small smile, but her view was now obstructed by Aaron’s back.

Madison smiled up at him, mouth opened to say something, but
the look on his eyes stopped her. His eyes had a fierce and intent look to
them, completely focused on her face. He pulled her close to finally claim his
victory kiss.

She wanted to keep it short since there were still people
around, but Aaron had other ideas. He eased her lips apart, just as his fingers
started to play with the waistband of her pants, gliding over the sensitive
skin there. When they broke for air, he quickly tugged her towards the exit.
“Let’s get out of here.”

He was silent during the short drive from the sports center.
Aaron drove wild and recklessly, as if in a hurry to get there. Madison had to caution
him plenty of times to slow down, even if she was getting impatient, too. She
was already so aroused. His scent, his heat—all she wanted to do was to
straddle him right now and kiss him senseless. His hand kept straying to her
thighs and she was torn between opening her legs to satisfy both of them or to
just keep them closed so that they could still reach the hotel in one piece.

When they got there, he all but almost dragged her through the
hotel doors and towards the elevators. With a ping, the doors opened, and Aaron
pulled her in as he punched the number to his floor. He then pushed her onto
one side, his hands pressed on the wall on either side of her face. He gave her
a look that could've melted her on the spot, piercing and hot. He leaned forward,
his face only mere centimeters from hers.

“Mine,” he muttered boldly before capturing her lips with his
in a heated manner, breathing her in.

A warm flush rose from within her. She knew that the elevators
would have cameras, but she couldn’t pull away. His kisses always managed to
render her weak, but there was something about this that was different. It was
like had no plans of letting her go anytime soon.

When the elevators opened again, he didn’t break away from the
kiss. In one calculated motion, as if he were back in the water and grabbing
for that final push, he held her close and pulled her towards his room. Deftly,
he fished a key card from his pocket and opened the door.

Aaron had her against the wall as soon as the door was shut,
and made quick work of removing her clothes. Her jeans were tugged down around
her thighs, her tank top rolled up to her chest. When he withdrew to shrug off
his jacket, Madison’s arms automatically reached for him. She may have been
forgiven, but she couldn’t help but think of making it all up to him. A
thousand times over. She pulled him back towards her and kissed him
desperately.
Like a penitent pleading for mercy.

He growled in that sexy way that always turned her on, and he
threw his jacket aside. It hit the full-length mirrors fixed against one wall
of the room, but neither of them cared. The
jacket was then
followed by the rest of her clothes, then the rest of his
.

On the bed they tumbled, and he continued where he had been
interrupted: a slow, wet kiss on her neck, down her collarbone, the top of her
breasts. He licked and play-bit, while his fingers grazed her front in slow
circles.

There was no time for dirty talk it seemed, as Aaron was fully
intent on ravishing her. He went further down, leaving a wet trail between the
valley of her breasts and to her belly. His hands eased her legs apart while
his thumbs massaged the inside of her thighs.

He looked back up at her, and she gasped at the sight of his
gray eyes hooded with lust. She felt his warm breath against her center and
white heat spread from her core. She tried to spread wider for him, to give
herself to him.

Aaron's tongue came in contact with her, licking then sliding
deeper. She felt her arousal taking over. Her mind reeled and she was short of
breath, as she tried to reach for his head, to clutch on his hair.
To hold on to something.
But Madison couldn't move, couldn't
think. Then he rubbed her button while his tongue rolled rapidly against her
sides.

Her cry was deep and primal.

He hooked his arms beneath her thighs, lifting her off the bed.
She turned her torso to one side as her body shuddered in ecstasy, bending over
with each wave. Her eyes fluttered instinctively. She was dripping down her own
thighs, his cheeks, until his one last flurry of licks met with her one last
cry of pleasure.

“How’d you like that, baby?” His voice was guttural, his
breath
hot on her skin as he licked off her juices.

“Very much,” she panted, ready to curl up, cuddle into his
arms, and bask in ecstasy.

He licked her wetness again with the broad side of his tongue.
“We’re not done yet.”

He was far from done, indeed. Madison was still weak-kneed when
he half-pulled, half-lifted her off the bed. She clung to him, pressing her
body against his earnestly. Their lips met again and she tasted oil and sea on
his tongue, a dangerous combination. Madison's arms clutched his biceps, one
leg around his one of his, not caring about anything else.

He pushed her against the full-length mirror, with an urgency
that might have hurt if only she wasn't too busy kissing him. She undulated her
body against him, letting his hardness come in contact with her slick folds.