“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 and walk away.
Thud. Thud. Thud. “Do you want to walk away?” I asked, as my voice hardened. “If that is really what you want, I’ll let you go.”
Uncertainty swirled in her eyes, and my palms grew clammy.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
My fingers clenched the fabric of her shirt, waiting. My head lowered, and I leaned my forehead against hers. “Walk away, Lila. Now,” I breathed against her lips. Not touching, not kissing… I waited. I was giving her a choice, a way out. Now… or never.
My heart lodged in my throat, as I waited for her to make up her mind. Thud. Thud. Thud.
She finally sighed softly, her lips parting, and she leaned into me, curling her arms around my neck. “Maddox.”
My name was a whispered prayer on her cherry lips. I loved the way my name sounded, the way it rolled off her tongue, like she was tasting sweet candy.
Goddamn it, my chest tightened, and I let out a ragged exhale. “Whatever we had before, it wasn’t enough. You know it; I know it. We’re perfect now.”
I pulled her shirt over her head, and she let me. The rest of our clothes quickly followed until we were both naked. Leaving our discarded clothes on the floor of the living room, Lila’s arms went around my neck again, and I hoisted her up. She wrapped her legs around my hips, and I walked us to my room. Her lips found mine, as we tumbled together onto the bed, and I slid between her thighs, hovering over her.
A flash of uncertainty flitted in her eyes again, before she blinked it away. I didn’t want her to regret this, regret not walking away. I rubbed my thumb across her jaw, and the touch seemed to make her feel at ease. “I’ll always be your best friend, Lila.”
The worry slowly melted away from her face, and there was a small coy smile on her lips, a smile that went all the way down to my dick. “But you’re also my boyfriend now?”
My heart skipped a fucking beat.
Boyfriend. A relationship…
I had never done a relationship, nothing as official as this. My dick was happy enough with all the chicks who eagerly landed on it for a fun time.
But Lila wasn’t just a chick looking for a fun time.
She wanted a relationship, romance… boyfriend and girlfriend.
And fuck me, I wanted that, too.
I gave her my signature smirk, guaranteed to melt anyone on the spot. “It could be worse.”
“What could be worse than this?” She rolled her eyes, but I could see the worry receding from her gaze. She turned soft under me, her hands sliding over my back, dragging her nails over my skin, like the tempting minx she was.
“I could be your husband.”
She smacked my shoulder with her tiny fist. “Maddox!”
I clasped her wrist and jerked her hand down, pressing her palm over my chest. My heart thudded at her touch, and her eyes softened. Feel me.
“I live for the adrenaline rush, Lila,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I love any adventure that gets my blood pumping, my heart racing… I love anything dangerous, anything wild, anything beautiful enough that makes me want to capture it. You are my favorite adventure, Lila Garcia.”
She hiccupped back a gasp, before catching her bottom lip between her teeth. Her fingers splayed over my chest, caressing me with her sweet, torturous touch. “You’re my favorite adventure too, Maddox.”
Her other hand curled behind my neck, and her fingers glided through my hair, pulling at the curled strands. My lips brushed against hers, feeling her soft moan. “I want to wake up every morning at 6 AM, while the world’s still sleeping. I’ll look beside me, and you’re there. I want to fall asleep knowing that you’ll be the first sight I see when I wake up. I want every ordinary day with you. I want your bad days; I want your tears and your laughter. Give it all to me, Lila. Be my girlfriend.”
She returned my kiss with a fierce one of her own, before she pulled away, just enough to whisper the words, “What if we go back to hating each other?”
I grinned down at her. “Then, we’ll just hate fuck. Problem solved.”
Her brows furrowed, and she tensed beneath me. “I can’t hate you. My heart won’t allow me. Even if you break me one day, I won’t be able to hate you. That terrifies me, Maddox.”
“Lila,” I murmured, feathering my lips across her cheek. “Lila… Baby, can you stop overthinking for one minute? Just for a minute. Tell me what you want.”