Page 12 of Breathtaking

Not now.

Not here.

Not with him.

Maddox’s brilliant blue eyes deepen and darken, full of a lust I know is matched in mine, and that’s it. That’s the only warning I get before his mouth is back on mine. Demanding and dominating. Controlling me in a way no one ever has. And I let him. I give in and give myself over to him.

His tongue pushes into my mouth, and he swallows my desperate moan, meeting it with his own guttural growl. Fuck. This is happening. It’s not a dream I’m going to wake fromalonein a cold sweat.

My body tenses, and Maddox drags his teeth over my earlobe. “Relax, Lennon. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

His voice, deep and dark, calms my suddenly frantic nerves, and I momentarily forget... Who we are. Why we can’t happen. A strong arm wraps around me, lifting me from his lap and lies me down on the couch beneath him. Maddox towers over me before sliding to the floor on his knees. “I’m gonna need you to relax, baby.”

“How am I supposed to relax when you’re looking at me like that?”

“How am I looking at you?” I’m not sure if it’s the wicked grin on his beautiful face or the devil in his dark eyes or the unspoken promise in his words, but my God, it’s intoxicating, and I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything before.

His big hands possessively slide up my legs until confident fingers find their way between the silk of my dress and my bare skin. His rough touch against my thighs stoke the already burning fire, and my breath catches in my throat with each new touch until I’m positive I’ll hyperventilate before the night’s over.

Maddox licks and sucks every inch of my neck as his hands continue their exploration. My body doesn’t know whether it’s coming or going as anticipation courses along every inch of my hypersensitive skin, and I forget how to breathe.

I’m suddenly blissfully ignorant of every reason this shouldn’t happen, and there are many... Instead, I focus on him. On his hot breath and warm fingers. On his weight and his body. On the way I’ve always felt with him.

Safe.

Protected.

Wanted.

It’s a heady sensation and not something I’ve experienced before.

“Tell me you want this.” One hand slides possessively around my throat, and his thumb presses down on my thrumming pulse as he tilts my face to his. “I need your words,picolla principessa.”He kisses the corner of my mouth before dragging my lip between his teeth and biting down.

And holy hell... that earlier spark of electricity fires and crackles between us, lighting my body up in ways I didn’t know possible.

“Please, Maddox. Yes. I want this.” I wrap my fingers around his wrist and hold him there. I hold his eyes for what feels like a lifetime... one of many I’m positive I’ve had with this man, but in reality, it’s one single second frozen in time. Over before it started. Kind of like us.

But this moment... It’s one of those moments I know, with unquestionable certainty, I’ll never recover from. But I’d rather spend one night in his arms and live a lifetime broken than spend that same lifetime never feeling this... with him.

I lean over and wrap my arms around his neck as I press my lips to his and suck his tongue into my mouth. “I want you. Right here. Right now. I want this. Us. No regrets.”

His pupils blow wide with need, and a delicious, guttural groan works its way up his throat.

“Do those words work for you?” I whisper against his lips.

We both know this is it.

This is all we get.

This night.

This weekend.

The question is will he take it.

Maddox’s eyes shudder closed, and I worry I’m losing him.

Damn it... My next words are going to either win me the battle or lose me the war.

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