Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,101

new reality in Florida, it was the middle of January.

Being back felt like rereading a beloved book. You kind of knew what was coming yet still reveled in every familiar minute.

Ricky eased back into a part-time working schedule, managing the behind-the-scenes tasks for RMR out of his office in Fort Lauderdale. I kept busy substituting or tutoring at the community college until a permanent position became available in University of Miami’s English department. I also started a book, a motivational homage, if you will, for anyone struggling with their sexuality. If I could help one teen, one person, by sharing my experience, then mission accomplished. It would probably take me years to finish it, but pouring my emotions through words I hadn’t voiced out loud was almost therapeutic.

As far as our relationship went, we fought like any other couple, but he has come a long way with his communications skills. If something was on his mind, he told me. If something worried him, he told me. If something pissed him off, he most definitely told me. I’d never forget after our first real fight how he so proudly included sweet potatoes with the dinner he had prepared, knowing I despised them.

Bastard.

Yes, our arguments were hot, fiery, and honest. But they always ended before we went to bed. Sometimes we just held each other; sometimes if he was at fault, he gave me a massage, which would lead to receiving one from me. He now loved them as much as I did. And our sex life was explosive. There was a time I’d wondered if I’d ever call the shots, and those concerns held no validity, since Ricky loved lying back and submitting to me as much as he loved taking control.

Overall, we were living our best lives… together.

“Where are you?” Ricky called out, his deep voice breaching the glass door behind me. There was no reason to respond, knowing he’d find me within seconds. Sure enough, he bolted onto the balcony, smirking when he saw me tapping away on my laptop. “Are you in the zone?” he asked, referencing what he considered my writing mojo.

“Yes, but has that ever stopped you from interrupting before?”

“No.” He pressed a hard kiss to my lips and plopped in the chair beside me. “You need to pack. We have less than an hour.”

“Pack for what?”

“I just decided we’re hopping on BV’s next voyage.”

“Did something happen?” Ricky, or even Marco, hadn’t been on board in a management role since last May.

“No. This trip will be purely for pleasure.” That was the way Ricky rolled—on a whim and impulsively. “What?” he asked when I blinked a few times, processing it.

“What if the university calls?”

“Then you’ll tell them you’ll be back in a week,” he responded with an eye roll. “You’re not the president, Cooper. You can take a trip without the world imploding.” Sensing my hesitance, he looked at his Rolex and added, “And now we only have fifty-seven minutes.”

“You’re exhausting. You do realize that, right?”

“And you wouldn’t want me any other way.”

Even though our real anniversary should’ve been marked in June when we’d come together as a couple, Ricky insisted that night on Bella Viaggi’s deck one year ago would be the day we forever celebrated as the moment our union truly began.

That was the reason he had me dropping everything to hop on board the ship, where we were now being treated like kings by his crew.

If anyone on staff had been shocked to see us embark as a couple, they didn’t reveal as much. Even their cruise director, Lara, schooled any surprise, remaining professional and accommodating, with a constant smile. Granted, I had to lecture Ricky and have him promise he wouldn’t embarrass her by alluding to the fact he knew she liked me.

As far as the guests on board, Ricky wasn’t interested in mingling with the small group traveling with us. He specifically asked his employees to keep the little detail of being co-owner to themselves, and during our stay we were just another couple on vacation. On deck, he kept it professional, refraining from PDA.

Behind doors, all bets were off. The man was insatiable, and now that we’d taken our relationship to the next level and way beyond, he constantly pushed the envelope by introducing kink. Not only had my sex life been hetero until him, but looking back it had also been very vanilla.

Speaking of our sex life, after having spent a day at the beach, we returned to our