“You good?”
The raspy growl of the voice edged with a pitch of gruffness draws my eyes to the person speaking to me. In that precise moment, a strobe light focuses on him, casting immaculate features in haunting blue laser light, giving him this unworldly appearance. He’s a familiar face in a sea of strangers. The furthest thing from a friend, and yet, the overpowering rush of elation that spirals through me at the sight of his brooding face nearly knocks me to my knees.
Maddox.
An incredibly large, incomprehensible part of me wants to jump into his arms, hide my face against the sturdiness of his chest, and thank him for what he just did. But the very thought of being so close to a guy when I was just assaulted by one keeps me rooted while a flood of trepidation swishes like ice water through my veins. It’s a paradox, the inconsistency of emotions raging a war inside me.
“Hey.”
That one hushed demand has me meeting his gaze. “Did he hurt you?” he asks, a bit more firmly now.
With a shake of my head, I reply, “No.”
“Good,” he says, and then turns his attention to my assailant while still speaking to me. “How long do you think he’ll stay in the air before his body smacks into the ground?”
“Fuck, man! Shit. I’m sorry, all right? Didn’t realize she was your girl!”
“Aylee?”
My eyes fly to his face and though he just said my name, he’s still not looking at me. But from where I’m standing I have a good view of him and he looks completely unfazed by what’s happening. By what he’s doing. He sports the same hard, incisive expression he had when he’d held the sledgehammer to the Infinity driver’s throat last week. “He won’t stay airborne for long.” I find myself replying with an astounding level of coolness that rivals Maddox’s own. “The impact of his body hitting the concrete will be worse.”
“I’m thinking we test that theory. I’m kind of curious now to see just how gravity works. Extra credit toward our astronomy project.” The guy screams in protest when Maddox pushes him a little further over the railing. Sick fascination has me wondering whether he’ll actually do it. When our eyes meet again, I find my answer.
“How about we get extra credit without committing murder? I’ve done it plenty of times before,” I utter.
I see his mouth twitch. “Commit murder?”
I’m not at all surprised he can find humor in this. I’m slowly learning Maddox Moore is a little off that way. “Get extra credit,” I correct. “You should let him go.”
It does something strange to my insides when he actually complies and tugs the guy back from the edge and steadily brings him onto his feet. But he keeps the gun exactly where it is against the guy’s head. “You should apologize for putting your filthy fucking hands on her.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll never do it again. I’m sorry for touching you!”
I know it’s not sincere, I know he’s only doing it because he’s under duress, but I don’t really care. It makes me feel good to see this jerk grovel, it feels amazing to hear him apologize for invading my space. For putting his hands on me without my fucking permission. Without thinking, without any form of hesitation, I walk up to the perverter, raise my booted foot, and kick him as hard as I can in the balls. His eyes widen as he doubles over in pain. When Maddox releases him, he crumples to floor into a fetal position, cupping a hand between his tightly-clenched thighs. I have no pity for him.
All I can think about is him doing this to some other girl who wouldn’t be so lucky as to have anyone step in to help her. I look down at him and I raise my foot to kick him again. It’s like the haze I fall into when I’m cutting. I forget where I am. Nothing else exist except to see how perfectly I can execute my internal emotions and turn them into something physical. Kicking this man is my anger being executed. The anger feels so good. For once in my entire life, I’m given a small chance to feel powerful. To be in control of something other than my razor blade.
I feel arms wrap around my waist, feel myself being lifted inches from the ground before Maddox sets me back down again, effectively stopping me from inflicting any more damage. The instant his cool hand curves around the left side of my face and he lowers his head close enough for us to share a breath, the haze dissipates.
Huskily, he asks, “Feels good, doesn’t it?” I suddenly have no idea to what he’s referring because the way he’s looking at me now, the soft, gentle caress of his thumb at the corner of my mouth, him teasing my bottom lip open makes me forget I’m ever anything but mindlessly intoxicated by him.
“What?” I’m stupid with lust, it’s a heady pheromone percolating in the air we share.
“The anger? Letting go…” He inclines his dark head, comes within inches of my partially open mouth. My eyes flick up and down between his smoldering gaze and his insanely sensual mouth as my lips tremble for a taste, for a small helping of what I can only imagine to be mind-blowing sustenance. I can feel my heart beating even while I momentarily stop breathing. I’m faint from anticipation.
Kiss me, Maddox. Please…please…press your beautiful mouth to mine.
I think he will.
I pray he does.
I feel myself die a little when he doesn’t. But it’s a short-lived, emotional death. It’s only mere seconds later that he rouses embers of such raw, carnal desires in me. His wicked mouth coasts past my lips, the combination of his hot breath and the slide of his wet lips trailing along my cheek produces an explosion of goose bumps along my skin. I forget that kissing is even a thing. This… This simple, tantalizing play of breath and flesh on flesh is more intimate than if he were to simply kiss me. This is sweet, tortured eroticism.
“Feels…good…?” A gasp escapes from my lips as my eyes widen. His hand on my bare skin falls on the outside of my thighs and then in the space between my skirt and the leggings. He strokes that bit of skin with the backs of his curved fingers. Up and down. Up and down. Slowly, ever so slowly inching upward until his hand disappears beneath the skirt. “I like the way you feel, Ay…lee.” The low, indescribably sexy whisper of his words and the guttural exhalation of my name evokes a body-tingling shudder. I have to lift my hands to grip his shoulders when he gently strokes up the curve of my right butt cheek, and my knees turn to jelly.
“Maddox…” I barely recognize the utterance of my own voice so thick with want. So desperate with need. The potency of the emotion rippling through me right now is astounding. “Please, I…”
There’s a sudden deafening boom off in the distance that shakes the building and rocks the unsteady foundation beneath us. The scaffold creaks in protest as it wobbles from side to side. We see the fire before we hear the screams. A roar of orange and bluish-white flames shoot up into the ceiling spreading quickly outward. Chaos ensues as the crowd stampedes in the direction of the nearest exit. Every single person is trying to squeeze out of the one entrance, causing a bottleneck effect.
“Come on!” He grabs ahold of my forearm and takes off into a run, pulling me behind him. We’re racing across the scaffold in the opposite direction that everyone else is going.
“Wait!” I dig in my heels, causing him to stop. “My friend, Mallory…she’s in the bathroom.” Looking behind me, my eyes widen in horror as I see the entire dance floor now engulfed in flames. “Oh, God…”
“We have to go!”
“But…”
“Now!” He gives a brutal tug of my arm causing me to stumble but I catch myself before I can fall and widen my strides to keep up with his longer ones.
Huge, black billows of smoke thicken all around us obstructing our path. But he keeps going, one foot in front of the other without missing a step, his grip is unrelentingly strong as he pulls me behind him. The air is stifling, so hot that every intake of breath scorches my nostrils with noxious fumes that bring tears to my eyes. It feels like we’ve been running forever and just when I think I can’t take another step, we come to an abrupt stop. He lets go of my hand as h
e steps forward to try the knob of the door in front of us. Nothing happens.
“Fuck! It’s jammed!” He swings an arm out. “Stay back,” he warns before he lifts one leg into a powerful front kick. It takes three more kicks with the same momentum before the door finally crashes open.
The instant we step outside, I take in great gulps of air with my open mouth. It feels like delicious agony as it skitters down my parched throat. A fit of coughs has me hunching over with both my hands on my knees so I can properly catch my breath.
“Cops are coming.” I straighten up to look at him through watery eyes and sure enough the wails of sirens can be heard off in the distance. I look in the direction it’s coming from and spy the red, blue, and white lights against the night’s background. I know it seems implausible that he should be here considering we were three towns away, but panic takes hold of me at the thought that Tim might be one of the officers in the squad car. “We need to go.” I can’t agree more. No matter how irrational my thinking, Tim could appear this far away from his jurisdiction, and I’d feel better not staying around to find out.
We make our way to the fire escape that’s located on the side of the building. He goes down first and I follow. It’s a pretty easy climb down until I find myself missing a step. Futilely, I reach for one of the metal rungs to steady my balance but I’m not fast enough. I only have time to hold my breath, squeeze my eyes shut, and tauten my body for the inevitable impact of the fall. Instead of the hard, unforgiving ground I expect, I land awkwardly in Maddox’s arms.
“You hurt?”
I shake my head, “No.” I hate he feels the need to set me down on my feet again. But I guess it’s necessary if we’re going to get out of here without getting caught. He reaches for my hand and interlocks our fingers before he takes off again pulling me behind him. In the dirt parking lot, everyone is getting in their cars and scattering. Just as we make a dash for his truck, I see Mallory. Henri is nowhere to be seen. I can’t immediately decide whether that’s a good thing or not but I know I would prefer seeing him with Mallory than the two guys she is currently sandwiched between.
Like before, I come to a sudden standstill, letting go of Maddox’s hand. He halts about a few feet away, mid-run, and turns to me with a frown.
“What’s up?”
“I see my friend,” I say, and then quickly turn away from him to call out to her. “Mallory!” I shout across the parking lot, cupping my hands around my mouth to amplify my voice. “Mallory!” I take a few running steps toward her and stop again. “Mallory!” She looks around for a bit and waves fanatically when she finally sees me. She’s smiling like an idiot as she races barefoot toward me. She looks terrible. Smeared makeup, mussed hair, and her dress is hiked up so far up her legs I can see the lacy material of her panties beneath.
“Oh my gawd, Aylee!” She crashes into me with a giggle. She smells like smoke, bathroom, and sweat. It’s obvious she’s a little high. Nuzzling my neck, she grabs a tendril of my hair and rubs it between her index finger and thumb. “So soft. You have pretty, pretty hair, Aylee.”
I put my arm around her waist to keep her steady on her feet as she leans into me. “Where are your keys? I’m taking you home.”
She pulls away with a frown. “No…no, I’m not going home. There’s an after-party. I’m going to party with these guys.” She swings halfway around and points a thumb toward the two guys who’ve followed her. They’re older, of course. More late twenties, younger than the geriatric crowd Mallory is so fond of. Both long-haired and grungy-looking, with a myriad of tattoos decorating their skin; they look like the sort of guys you’d find at a dive bar that catered solely to the outlaws of a motorcycle gang. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what they want from her. Or maybe they already took it and were ready for more. Neither one of them look like they’re up to any good. “I know you don’t want to come, so I’ll catch you later, OK?”
I don’t see him approach. But I know instantly he’s close, standing directly behind me in fact.
“Eh, yo, Max, man, what’s up?” The one flanking Mallory right steps forward at the same time Maddox does. They do the customary handshake of open palm to palm and fist bump that every guy seemingly knows how to do. He’s next to me now but the way he’s positioned is more like he’s standing in front of me, outwardly blocking me from the two men.
“Not a damn thing.” He keeps his response short and clipped. It’s something I’ve noticed he does when he’s on edge about something. He doesn’t look away from the other two men but gives only the slightest incline of his head in my direction to indicate he’s talking to me, “We’re out of here.”
“Mallory, let’s go.” I hate coming out of the shadow of Maddox’s protection but I do so anyway to reach for Mallory’s arm.
“No!” she screams, pushing me away and stumbling backward. “I told you, I’m partying with these guys. I don’t need you to babysit me; I’m fine.”
I wish she wouldn’t make this difficult. “You can party with them some other time, right now you need to come home with me and sober up.”
“Damn it, Aylee, you’re totally fucking with my vibe right now. Listen, I know you can be a little slow sometimes so I’m going to say this really slowly. I’m. Fine. Leave. Me. Alone.”
“Mallory.”
“This your bitch, Max?” the other one asks with a lewd smirk. He pins me with his stare as he tosses a careless arm around Mallory’s shoulder. “If you’re so worried about your friend here, you’re more than welcome to come with us. I’m sure Max won’t mind sharing you. He’s done it before. What do ya say, Max? We sharing pussy?”
With complete ease, he slides a hand beneath my hair and grasps my nape, smoothly tucking me against his side. “Not hers.” His voice is quiet. Glacial. Those two little words are saturated with clear possession. “I’ll be seeing you.” Retaining his hold on me as we turn to walk away, he replaces his large hand with his arm.
Looking over my shoulder, I say, “But…Mallory.”
“Your friend’s a whore,” he says, bluntly. “She’s a fucking drive-thru, not much you can do for her, unless you want to join her?” He stops next to his truck and stares pointedly down at me. “You got fast food pussy you want to offer?”
My tongue darts out to nervously lick my bottom lip. “No,” I murmur, ducking my head as heat explodes in my cheeks. “Not to them.”
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!
Please let me have said those words in my head!
God, please!
When he tucks his fingers beneath my chin to slowly raise my head, I’m beyond mortified to see his expression, afraid I’ll find mocking laughter there. But when I look up at his face, there’s an intense, smoldering blaze in his hooded eyes. “If you’re offering up your pussy to me, be damn sure it comes with no emotional baggage.” Still holding onto my jaw, he angles my head slightly before leaning in to place his warm lips at the shell of my ear, “I’ll take your pussy, Aylee, gladly.” An eruption of shivers bursts along every inch of my skin as flames of heat lick between my thighs, liquefying my pulsating flesh. “But I don’t want your heart. You can keep that,” he adds.
I plummet from the height of burning desire and fall into a pit of cool despair. He’s so good at taking me from one spectrum of my emotions to another so quickly that I need to know how he gained this ability. When did I give him the power to hurt me?
“Good.” My attempt at playing cool I’m sure is an epic failure, but I maintain my composure. “It’s not something I’d offer you anyway.”
Curiosity bleeds into his unerring stare before the corner of his mouth lifts into a half smirk. “Let’s keep it that way.”
Chapter 16
Maddox
I read her like a book. She thinks she’s hiding her emotions, but they play across her beautiful face like a silent movie. I have to admire her for trying, though, even if her large, expressive eyes make it impossible for her. But honestly, this is the way
it’s going to be. I’m stupid enough to think about going a few rounds in the sheets with her. And I’ll even find someone to complete the trio, but I can’t have this turn into anything that resembles a relationship.
Inside my truck, I can’t keep my eyes off of her. It’s like I’m seeing her for the first time and my brain and dick don’t quite know how to cope. I know she’s pretty, beautiful even, in that helplessly sweet and innocent way that calls to a guy’s protective instinct. It makes you want to wrap her in your arms and fight monsters for her. But right now she’s the furthest thing from vulnerable or sweet and innocent. Right now, she’s sexy as fuck. Aylee in that outfit is appealing to a far more baser, darker part of my instincts that wants her on her knees in front of me, jacking me off until I spray my cum all over her stunningly beautiful face. Mark her, claim her, right down to the most animalistic level.
The skirt, the top, and those goddamn thigh-high socks, they’re all a working visual for my dick. The only thing keeping my hand from slipping beneath her skirt is knowing if I touch her, I know for damn sure I’m not going to be able to stop until she’s bouncing on my dick.
“Watch out!”
“Fuck!” I stomp on the brake, and quick reflexes are the only things keeping us from ramming into the car in front of us. There’s no impact, but our bodies lean forward from the abrupt deceleration of the truck, only to slam us back into our seats when we come to a dead stop.
“You all right?”
She nods, and her eyes are wide with fear when she looks at me and all I want to do is grab her face and kiss the hell out of her plump, dark red lips.
“I’m okay.” Like a shark with the scent of blood, I track the path of that little pink tongue as it darts across her lips and disappears inside her mouth. What I wouldn’t give to taste it. Taste her. “How about you? Are you all right?” she questions.
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