CHAPTER 7

"Hey, Mads...would it be okay if I knocked off early? Kelly is off shift this weekend and we want to get an early start."

"Sure. Why not? At least someone has Valentine's Day plans. Go. Have fun."

"Awww, Mads...you know Casey would if he could."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be fine. It's all fine. Now get out of here."

"Thanks, Mads. You're the best. Love ya." Em blew me a quick kiss before beating a path on the carpet in front of my desk and out the door. It was only 3:00 which meant I had two more hours before I could go home to whopping 120 minutes with Matt before he left at 7:30 PM for another double shift. I was beginning to wonder if they would ever replace Finelli on truck. Not many from second or third shift had stepped up to help, so Matt was stuck doing the lion's share. 'Not the right candidate for the job' had become the academy's catch phrase. Firehouse 51 was one of the busiest houses in Chicago. Only the top graduates were chosen to fill positions there and apparently, none of the recent candidates were qualified enough. Either that or it was some colossal conspiracy to keep Matt and me from spending much time together.

For the rest of the day, I busied myself with finishing up the budget and tying up loose ends. I was tidying up my desk when my office phone began to ring.

"Madeleine Casey, Director of Social Services...how can I help you?"

"You could marry me, but you've already done that." The sound of Matt's voice was a welcomed last minute interruption to my day.

"Hey, husband...I'll be on my way home to you in T minus two minutes." I said, looking at my watch.

"That's sort of why I'm calling, baby…" His voice broke off and I knew exactly what he was going to tell me.

"You have got to be kidding me. Jesus, Matt...isn't enough that they're bleeding you dry with all this overtime? Now they have to take away what precious time we have together? And on Valentine's Day, no less. That's just great." My anger and frustration were at an all time high. I'm sure the sound of my angry voice through the phone line withered his testicles.

"Maddy, I'm sorry...baby, please try to understand. I had no choice."

"Oh no...as a matter of fact, you did, Matt. You did have a choice. You could have chosen to say no. You could have chosen to say that you've been working non-stop since Thanksgiving. You could have chosen to say that they could sacrifice you for two hours to have a quick dinner with your wife, but instead I'll be walking into a dark, empty house to eat Cheerios by myself on Valentine's Day. You had plenty of choices, Matt...you just picked the wrong one."

I threw the phone back into its cradle before he had a chance to answer. I wasn't interested in what he had to say at this point. I had put up with his absence for three months. Enough was enough. I slammed the door to my office as I left. I muttered to myself the entire drive home, speaking to an invisible passenger hoping that my ranting and raving would make me feel better once it was out of my system. I pulled into the driveway and glanced up at the house. It looked grey and solitary in the late winter twilight. It looked exactly as I felt.

I tossed my keys into the glass bowl in the table in the entry hall and rifled through the pile of mail that Matt had left there for me. There, among the bills and credit card offers was a large red envelope with my name on the front in Matt's handwriting. I ripped it open and pulled out a Valentine's card that read "For the Love of My Life". I opened the card and read these words, also written in Matt's handwriting…

"Maddy,

I know this isn't how we planned to spend Valentine's Day, but like I always tell you we don't need a special day to remind us of how much we love each other. We do that every day. I have spent most of my life loving only you and I will spend the rest of my life doing the same. The day that we met, I knew you were the one I was supposed to be with forever and nothing or no one can ever change that. Our love is what gets me through every day, every fire and every minute I spend away from you. I am so much more because you are in my life. It doesn't matter if we're together tonight or apart because nothing is stronger than the love we share.

Happy Valentine's Day, baby,

Matt"

"Goddamn you, Casey." I muttered to myself while brushing away a few tears. How could I be mad at him now? I felt like a complete bitch for having yelled and hanging up on him. I suppose I deserved to feel like a bitch for having acted like one. I hung up my coat and walked up the stairs, thinking that a nice hot bath would soothe my hormonal soul. My gourmet dinner of Cheerios would have to wait. I opened the bedroom door to see Matt standing in the middle of the room. He was dressed in jeans, a tight black t-shirt and was he was barefoot. My favorite look of his...except for his dress blues.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to work?" I asked. The surprise in my voice was obvious.

"I wanted to surprise you, baby. Did it work?" he asked, grinning like the Cheshire cat as he walked towards me.

"Hell, yes," I said, just before he took me in his arms and kissed me. I felt my toes curl inside my black leather pumps at the feel of his tongue in my mouth. "I'm sorry I was such a bitch earlier…" Matt put his finger on my lips. "Don't apologize. I love that fiery temper of yours. Besides, I knew I would be running the risk of making you mad when I planned this little surprise." He was a tremendously forgiving guy. More than I deserved at times. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed myself against his chest. I listened as the beat of his heart thumped against my ear. A few tears slipped from my eyes as we stood there holding each other. Matt said nothing as he gently took my hand and led me into the bathroom.

"How does dinner in the bath sound?" He had filled our garden tub full of bubbles and had lit candles all around the edge of it. Next to the bath on a small stool, there was a pizza and a bottle of wine.

"It sounds perfect. Thank you, Matthew." I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him squarely on those perfect lips of his.

"Don't you know by now that I would do anything for you, Maddy? Anything." he said.

"I do...even when I don't deserve it."

"Hey…" he said as he lifted up my chin, "you deserve it all and more." He kissed me while he slowly unbuttoned my blouse and pushed it off of my shoulders. He reached around and unhooked my bra, pulling the straps forward and off of my shoulders. He unzipped my skirt and pushed it down over my hips until it fell into a puddle around my feet. I stood there in front of him in my panties, thigh high stockings and black leather pumps. He pulled his black t-shirt off and started to kiss my neck. I ran my hands through the hair on his chest, lightly rubbing his nipples as my fingers explored him. I unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his jeans, slowly sliding my hand inside until I was holding his cock in my hands.

"Maybe dinner can wait," he whispered into my ear as he lifted me up and carried me back to the bedroom.

"I'm incredibly hungry, Lieutenant." I tightened my grip on him slightly as I spoke.

"Don't worry, baby...you'll be full and totally satisfied when I'm finished." A wicked little giggle escaped my lips as he laid me down and crawled between my stockinged legs. I eagerly pushed his jeans down off of his ass, exposing his erection. His mouth found mine and his fingers found my swollen clit and the soft wet folds that surrounded it. He gently pushed two fingers inside of me, making me lift my hips up and thrust slightly. I watched his bicep flex while he finger fucked me, getting wetter with every push of his arm and caress of his thumb. I was excruciatingly close to orgasm.

"Not yet. Don't come yet, Maddy." he said as he suddenly pulled his fingers out of me. Before I could get my breathing under control, he grabbed me by the ankles and and in one swift move, flipped me over onto my stomach. He lifted my hips off of the bed and rubbed the head of his cock over my wet lips.

"What do you want, Maddy?" His voice was dusky and low. You, Matt...I want you. All of you." Without hesitation, he pushed the full length of himself inside me. I let out a low grunt as he thrust forward. One of his hands grabbed a fistful of my hair while the other one held onto my hip. He slowly withdrew, then slammed himself harder and deeper into me. He let go of my hair, tracing the skin from my shoulder around to my left breast. His nimble fingers playfully squeezed my nipple before sliding down between my legs and finding my throbbing clitoris. His touch sent ripples of pleasure through every nerve ending until an explosive orgasm rocked through my body. As if on cue, Matt found his release, grunting low as he spilled his warm seed deep into my core.

Matt collapsed onto my back, pulling me in close to him as we landed side by side on the bed together. He placed soft kisses on my shoulder and the nape of my neck, his hand tucked between my legs almost as if he were helping to keep the precious cargo inside. Being held and caressed by him reminded me of just how lucky we were to have found each other again. It felt so good to love this way and be loved back and if Matt and are never able to have children, moments like these would be enough. They would have to be.