Page 32 of My Silver Fox Savior

“That wasn’t a trade,” I snap. “That wasn’tforanything.”

“So that’s a no, then?”

I go to move toward her. Again, she shakes her head in that urgent way that makes me feel like a predator. It pisses me off, honestly. It’s not like I’ll charge at her when she doesn’t want me to.

“This isn’t about?—”

“I thought so.”

She rushes toward the hallway.

“Lily, what’s gotten into you?”

She doesn’t answer; she keeps walking. I debate going after her. After what we just did, surely we’ve got enough intimacy for that, but I feel unsure. I was so confident when the heat was pumping through us both.

I sit on the mattress and put my head in my hands. Did I make a terrible mistake? Does she feel like I took advantage of her?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

LILY

When I text Maddie, telling her what just happened but leaving out the details, she calls me. I didn’t expect her to respond until the morning. I only texted her because I needed to get out some of this fight-or-flight feeling.

“You didwhat?” Maddie whisper-yells down the phone.

“I know,” I reply quietly. “I can hardly believe it. I went out there, I guess, maybe to talk with him, hoping he was awake. I don’t know, but when it started, the kissing and then …” I swallow, nerves lighting up my body like some lust-filled instinct is trying to make me relive it. “It felt so natural.”

“Then why did you run out on him?” Maddie asks.

“Because he was being too romantic. Saying my first time needed to be memorable and stuff like that.”

“And that’s a bad thing because …”

“Dad,” I whisper, feeling pathetic for even saying it. If I can’t be honest with Maddie, I can’t be honest with anyone.

“You think he’s tricking you like your dad tricked your mom?” Maddie asks.

“I don’t know what to think, but itcouldbe true. Mom had no idea. Dad swept her off her feet. She couldn’t even imagine Dad would ever turn into the world’s biggest prick, but he did.”

“So you think Mr.Good Samaritan might do the same?” Maddie says, doing a poor job of hiding her doubt.

“I don’t know,” I snap. “It’s not against the laws of physics. It’s not impossible. Women have probably felt more natural with a man than I just did and have been fooled and hurt. Anyway, my boss has warned me away.”

“Your boss can’t tell you who to date.”

“He said there’s a darkness in Landon, a demon. Honestly, I think I just saw it.”

“Wait.” Maddie’s tone turns ultraserious. “You’re not saying …”

“No,” I cut in quickly. “It was a good demon. He was so passionate. It was like his world was ending, and the only thing he wanted to do before the end was to be with me. That’s the only way I can think to describe it.”

“That sounds magical,” Maddie says with a dreamy sigh.

“Magical, make-believe … I need to think about this. I’ve got so much work to do. I’ve got so much to focus on. Falling for an older guy was never part of the plan.”

“You’ve fallen for him?” Maddie says.

“No,” I say, wondering if it’s a lie and pondering if I might have fallen for him the moment we reconnected, if that’s evenpossible. “I’m just saying, if Ididfall for him, it would derail my plans.”

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