Maddox was mocking me. Taunting me.
He never stopped being a jerk. He just hid it behind a sexy smile and a nonchalant expression.
I thought he had left his asshole ways behind. But no, I was wrong. So fucking wrong about him. About us.
Friends. We were friends.
I thought maybe… he wanted more. More of me. More of us, of what we were or could be. I was so goddamn wrong.
Maddox Coulter was still an asshole behind a pretty mask.
And I was the stupid girl who fell in love with her best friend.
39
Lila
I waited, my heart thudding in my chest. His warmth behind me had my stomach twisting in anxiety. His shirt brushed against my bare shoulders. Maddox crowded behind me, and my gaze moved to Lucien.
He looked miffed as Maddox came between us. Lucien and I had spent the whole day together. He took me sightseeing while Maddox stalked us from a distance. Lucien didn’t know, but I saw him, following us everywhere we went.
Lucien planned to take me out for dinner later at the Eiffel tower. He said it was romantic and beautiful up there. I knew from the look in his eyes that he was expecting something tonight.
A one-night stand?
And Maddox dared me… so it was happening. Tonight.
I tried to pull away from my best friend, but then the fireworks went off in the dark Paris sky, and it stole my attention. People cheered on the rooftop of the hotel where we were standing.
Someone had just gotten married; they were celebrating. The City of Love, indeed.
Because of the noise of the fireworks as well as the music and laughter that surrounded us, Maddox thought his secret was safe; he thought it was loud enough that I couldn’t hear the words he whispered in my ear. But I did.
“If there’s a God, He doesn’t want me to be happy. Maybe it’s my fault because I pushed you into the arms of another man. But He won’t let me have you even though I begged him to let me love you freely. I can’t remember the last time I asked Him for something. I guess... I’m not meant to have what I want. My parents. A family. You. You. You,” Maddox whispered in my ear, his voice a low rasp.
Another set of fireworks went off, loud and booming into the sky.
His lips caressed my neck, warm and soft against my skin. “All of you.”
He sounded so broken, so tortured.
If only...
Maddox and I...
We were more than friends but less than lovers. That was our relationship; there was no real definition. We were somewhere in the middle, tangling over the edge of something that could forever break us.
I turned around and his face held an expression of a wounded beast: a bleeding warrior, a broken boy.
“Lila,” he started, his voice a gruff baritone, but Lucien came forward. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into him.
Maddox’s eyes clouded, and he stepped back, without finishing the sentence and whatever else he was about to say. Lucien’s lips caressed my temple, and Maddox stalked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Maybe that was all we were or could ever be: an incomplete sentence and a story without an ending.
But his secret confession changed everything.
Maddox wanted me.
God, how stupid could we be?
“So, we shall meet in an hour?” Lucian said, breaking through my thoughts. “Is that enough time for you to dress?”
I nodded, mutely, and sent him a tentative smile before striding away.
I walked inside my room, grabbed a few things, and then stalked over to the adjacent room. His door wasn’t locked, and I walked inside to find Maddox sitting in a sofa chair, staring out the window – into the dark night.
He was still in his black slacks, his tie hanging loosely around his neck, his rumpled white shirt unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His legs were stretched out in front of him. He had a cigarette between his lips and a drink in his hand.
Maddox looked… rugged. Angry. Intense.
He owned the room, his mere presence sending out a dominating mood. His gaze fell on me, and Maddox tensed. His whole body tightened at the sight of me. His face hardened, his expression dark and brooding.
I wished the situation was different, but there was no other way. I couldn’t unlove Maddox, and I didn’t want to. We weren’t something, but we weren’t nothing either.
I sucked in a breath and hung on to my courage, while sashaying inside. I dropped the two dresses on the bed, and my lips curled.
My legs trembled, but I locked my knees together. “I need your help.”
He simply grunted in response, his face flashing with uncontrolled frustration. I wondered if the thought of another man touching or making love to me was killing him and the fact that it was him who sent me into the arms of another man.
My stomach cramped, and I inhaled. Exhaled.
The room was growing hotter, and a sheen of sweat slid down between my breasts. I slowly pulled the robe off my shoulders and let it pool at my feet, standing in front of Maddox in my lace panties and bra.
His eyes widened before they narrowed on my bare skin.
I’d been half-naked in front of Maddox plenty of time before. This time, it was… different.
I grabbed the first dress and stepped into it, shaking my hips a bit, so I could pull the tight fabric over the curve of my ass.
Once the dress was in place, I turned to face the mirror, giving Maddox my back.
A single beat passed.
One breath.
Thud.
I caught his eyes through the reflection. “Is this sexy enough to tempt him into fucking me before we can even get to his bed?” I crooned.
I was playing with fire.
And I was about to get burned.
His gaze traveled down the length of my body. It was a red fitted, sleeveless dress, and the bodice cupped my breasts like a second skin with my tits practically spilling out. The dress was indecently short, and it was the best way to say – fuck me.
Maddox’s fingers clenched the glass in his hand so hard, I thought he’d break it.
I smirked. Am I breaking through your walls, Maddox?
His eyes grew darker, a vicious glint in his gaze. I smiled sweetly, trying to appear unfazed by his reaction, even though my heart was beating so fast it threatened to burst through my chest, and my knees were so weak, I wondered how I was still standing.
I licked my lips and blinked my eyes innocently. We were still watching each other through the mirror. “Can you zip me up?” I croaked. “I can’t reach the zipper.”
Another heartbeat.
A low exhale.
Thud.
Maddox stood up, tall and tensed, and the harsh look on his face had me whimpering silently. He stalked forward, eyeing me like a predator.
I was the prey, the willing captive.
Maddox pressed against my back, crowding into my space and pushing me closer into the mirror until the tip of my breasts were brushing against the coldness of it.
A silent gasp spilled from my lips, and his fingers skimmed over my bare back.
He inhaled and exhaled a shuddering breath.
If I died tonight, it’d be a sweet death.
We continued to watch each other through the mirror, our reflection staring back at us.
Not blinking.
Not breathing.
Maddox then slowly zipped me up, before his hands dropped to my hips, and he held me tight. Oh God, my heart catapulted in my chest.