My fingers raked through his dirty blond hair. “If I remember correctly, I did the seducing last night.
Our gaze collided. His chest rumbled and I throbbed at the deep sound. “And I’m weak to my goddamn knees for you, Lila.”
My heart lurched but all of this was too good to be true. This couldn’t be happening, not with Maddox… not after years of friendship… not after years of playing it safe. Now, everything was complicated.
“You probably fucked someone else last week, and you’re here, now, telling me you want me? Don’t, Maddox.” The words spilled out before I could stop myself, and my voice cracked. I bit my lip, hating that I’d shown him a sign of weakness.
Maddox was a predator; he’d pounce on my vulnerability.
Except he did the complete opposite…
“I haven’t.” His eyes bore into mine, smoldering with an intensity I couldn’t put in words. “I haven’t slept with anyone for… weeks.”
I blinked, my chest caving in. “You’ve been celibate for months?”
“My dick doesn’t seem to like the idea of another girl.”
I shook my head, tensing, and tried to close my legs, but Maddox was still between my thighs, forcing them apart. “You think you want me… especially after last night. I won’t lie, it was amazing. Whatever happened last night–”
I broke off with a choked gasp. Smack.
My body jolted, and a hot flash of pain seared through my pussy, before it quickly disappeared, replaced by a dull throbbing pleasure that lingered. Did Maddox just spank my…?
Oh God! I sputtered and glared, but he was already speaking, his voice almost furious. His tone held a dangerous warning and my mouth snapped close.
“That,” he growled. “was the best fucking night of my life. So, don’t tell me what I think and don’t tell me how I feel.”
Maddox grasped my wrist and placed my hand over his chest, his skin warm and smooth under my touch. His heart was pounding. Thud, thud, thud.
The hard glint in his eyes had softened by a fraction, but the intensity of his gaze was just as fierce. His words rippled across my flesh, and my heart stuttered, before caving inside my chest. “Don’t tell me how I feel. You have no idea, Lila.”
This was so… difficult.
A pained sound escaped me, but I quickly smothered it. Falling into Maddox’s trap would be dangerous for my heart. I’d end up being just another conquest.
Maddox wasn’t the type of man to settle down. I didn’t think he’d ever be. He was too wild, too reckless, too… wounded.
I had always known Maddox would never be the type of man to do a long-term relationship.
This wasn’t going to be an easy week or a simple affair. I was already tittering over the edge of a very dangerous cliff; I was already at risk of losing my heart and having it broken by Maddox.
But I had already lost this fight.
He moved up my body, and my legs instinctively wrapped around his hips. His lips skimmed over my throat, before he claimed my lips into a long kiss.
Maddox Coulter – my best friend, now my lover – was maddeningly irresistible.
He knew exactly how to twist my hearts into knots, and he turned me into putty in his hands.
One week.
A seven-day affair.
Seven days to fall deeper in love with Maddox Coulter.
Seven days to have my heart… broken by him.
3
Maddox
The hotel’s bar was packed tonight. There were a bunch of men who attempted to look expensive and proper with their high-end suits and a drink in hand, as they surveyed the dim-lit bar. Supposed ‘Gentlemen’ but they were leering at the women, and it was clear as day, there was nothing proper about their thoughts.
There was another crowd of people who were too drunk to give a shit.
And lastly, we had the opportunists, the women and men who were here to catch the attention of someone who was probably as wealthy as the President of the United States – for a night of luxury and passion. Or, well… more than one night.
This was Paris’ finest hotel, and daddy dearest probably paid a shit-ton for mine and Lila’s stay here. My birthday present.
He threw money at me, in my face, even though, all I ever wanted was for him to acknowledge my existence with a simple “Happy Birthday.”
I guessed he was too busy for that.
Yeah, fuck you, Dad.
Conversations swirled in a dirty cloud of smoke and the stench of cigarettes. My nose tingled at the strong smell of perfume surrounding me, and I downed