a habit of loving dangerous things. They called me heartbreaker, thrill-seeker and danger-devil.
And Lila?
She was danger with a big, red sign. Damn it all to hell, I craved her.
Lila let out a string of curses and peppered my back with her tiny fists. Once she came to the realization there was no point in struggling, she let out a soft cry and went limp over my shoulder. That was better. I lived for her fiery attitude, but, sometimes, I preferred her docile.
I walked down the corridor. When we passed hers and Riley’s apartment, Lila snarled. “My apartment is next door.”
I walked through my apartment and shut the door behind us. “This is our apartment now.”
I smacked her ass once – because, why not, she was mine now – and she gasped, before I placed her back on her feet. Grinning, I raised an eyebrow.
She gaped at me, her mouth hanging open. “No,” she sputtered.
“Get undressed.”
“Excuse me?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “No. This is kidnapping, Maddox.”
I stood in front of the door, blocking her way out of my apartment. “Undress. Now. Or I will do it for you.”
“Maddox,” Lila warned, taking a tentative step back. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she paused, giving me a suspicious look. “Why?”
She was finally catching on, smart girl. I took a step forward; she took one back. “Because you can’t run away when you’re naked. Simple logic, Sweet Cheeks.”
“Maddox,” she started, before lowering her head, ducking behind her goddamn hair again. She shook her head slowly and muttered to herself, so softly, I almost missed it. “This can’t happen.”
Lila sounded so heartbroken, so lost…and I didn’t like that. Didn’t like the way she hid from me, didn’t like the way she seemed to give up on us, before she even tried to make it work.
Anger and desperation rolled off me as I stalked forward. “What are you so scared of?”
“You,” Lila breathed, when I paused in front of her, a mere inch away. So close I could smell her lavender shampoo, so close I could feel her warmth, so close I could taste her fear. My heart slammed against my rib cage.
“You’re scared of me?” I trailed a finger up her arm, and she gave me a small shiver in return. “I’ll never hurt you, don’t you know that?”
Lila licked her lips, still keeping her eyes downcast. “Not physically.”
Taking her chin between my fingers, I lifted her head up. She closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. “Look at me,” I said to her, my voice hoarse even to my own ears. “Look at me, please.”
My grip on her chin tightened, and she fluttered her eyes open, gazing right into mine. Misery etched her expression for a split second, before she blinked it away.
I had gotten a glimpse of something so good, and I didn’t want to lose it, lose her. I broke my rules for Lila Garcia, and this wasn’t our ending. We were not an incomplete story or a half-written page. We were the whole goddamn book, and I needed her to see that.
I cupped her jaw, as I watched her say a million unsaid words to me with her sad eyes. “I’ve put my whole fucking heart in your hands, Lila.”
Her throat bobbed, and her pretty brown eyes turned glassy. Her next words, her littlest whisper, was my undoing. “You terrify me.”
My sweet Lila. If only you knew what you do to me.
“The feeling is mutual.” A soft confession, a gentle promise.
I released her and quickly pulled my shirt over my head and threw it on the floor. Lila licked her lips, and her attention went to my bare torso, before her head snapped up again. I could see her trying to fight me, having an internal battle with herself.
She wanted me.
But she was scared of having me.
“We were perfect just the way we were before, Maddox. I don’t want to lose that.”
I let out a chuckle at her weak attempt. “Yeah, Babe. It’s a little too late. We stopped being just friends the moment you let me all up in your pussy without a condom.”
Lila shot me a fierce glare, and I grinned harder. She was so easy to tease. I gripped her shirt and started pulling, but she smacked my hand away. “Maddox!”
I paused, watching her resolve grow weaker under my gaze. I wasn’t going to forcibly undress her. A heavy feeling wrapped around my chest, as I realized she could end this, push me back