quickly shoved it away. “Sheesh. I was only joking, no need to get all serious, Coulter.”
His thumb feathered over my lips, a tender touch.
Stop. You’re making this harder.
“I am serious. I’ll give you romance, flowers and all, with a side of dick to go with it.”
A snort escaped me, quite unladylike, and I smacked his chest. “I knew it! You can’t do romantic to save your life.”
Maddox’s eyes darkened. “Was that a challenge?”
I chewed on my lip to keep from giggling. Me – giggling. Shit, the Maddox’s charm was getting to me. “Maaaybe.”
A deep rumble came from his chest. “Try me,” he growled, before his lips crushed against mine, in one long, deep… searing kiss.
He claimed my lips.
He stole my breath.
One… simple… kiss.
Maddox captured my heart.
I expected him to want more, but he ended the kiss, pulling away slightly. “Get up. I’m about to give you my birthday present.”
Dazed, I blinked at him. “Huh? That’s not how it’s supposed to work. It’s your birthday, and I give you a present. Not the other way around.”
Maddox grinned. “We’re going on a date,” he said more softly.
“A date?” I repeated.
He rolled off me, and I watched, as he ran his fingers through his blond hair. “Woo you,” he mouthed.
Holy shit, Maddox was serious.
A date… I was going on a date with my best friend.
Wait… my lover?
Boyfriend?
Nervousness zinged through my veins, and my stomach twisted. This wasn’t going to end well. No, all of this had just gotten way more complicated.
My breath halted when Maddox curled a finger around a lock of my hair and tugged, pulling my attention back to him. “You’re overthinking, Lila. I can practically hear your thoughts.”
“Maddox–”
“No,” he cut me off. “If I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you around on our date, I will. Don’t tempt me, Sweet Cheeks.”
Maddox didn’t make empty promises.
In fact, he always carried out his threats, one way or another.
I got off the bed and quickly grabbed for his shirt, pulling it over my head. “A casual date? How am I supposed to dress? Where are we going?”
He turned over onto his side and propped up on one elbow. The muscles of his bicep bulged, and the blanket slid down to his hips, barely covering his crotch. His bare torso and v-line were on display. That simple move shouldn’t have looked this sexy, but Maddox made it downright sinful.
His ocean blue eyes flickered to my bare thighs, before he looked up. “You look good in my shirt,” he said, his voice laced with something akin to… affection? Adoration? Something more…
“And you ask way too many questions, woman.”
“But–”
Maddox shook his head. “Get in the shower, Lila. Or we’ll never leave this hotel room.”
Huffing back a response, I stomped to the bathroom. I locked the door, just in case he got any ideas. I needed some time alone to think, to prepare myself and my… heart for what Maddox had planned. Because, regardless of what I said or did… or how hard I tried to push Maddox away and to keep my heart in a cage, he made me weak.
I found my disheveled reflection in the mirror and groaned. The end result of a sex marathon.
Rubbing a hand over my face, I leaned against the sink. Everything was happening too fast. Two days ago… the mere idea of sleeping with Maddox was forbidden, almost taboo.
Now, I was so tightly entangled with him, there was no way out.
I didn’t even know how to step back, how to go back to how we were before. My throat tightened with a choked sound.
Before Maddox, I didn’t know how to fill in the missing piece. I didn’t even know I was missing a piece of my puzzle until he sauntered into my life, with a dirty smirk. I didn’t know I was incomplete until he made me whole.
Before Maddox… I didn’t really know me.
I covered my chest with my hand, and my scars tingled as a reminder. After the death of my parents, I went on with the motion of life. I woke up, went to school, reminded myself to breathe, smiled because I was expected to, slept while praying the nightmares stayed away. And repeat.
I breathed.
I lived.
But I wasn’t… alive.
Not until him.
My fingers grasped my necklace, feeling the weight of it, chasing the same soothing feeling it always brought me. The pendant, our dreamcatcher, felt heavier than it was before.