Page 7 of Let it Crackle
“Maddox,” I croak, already limping faster toward him. “What are you doing?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just scrolls. One finger. Slow. Measured. Like he’s taking his time.
I round the desk and see it. The paragraph I was working on. My little side hobby of writing romance novels.
His voice is low, amused at first—until it isn’t. He starts reading aloud, his tone shifting as the words swirl around me and sound hollow in my ears. Surely this is not real. Maddox isn’t reading the silly novel I was writing. But then the words start making sense, my words as he reads on.
His tattooed arms circled her head, a cage she never wanted to escape. His mouth crushed hers, as one hand trailedbetween her thighs. He didn’t ask permission. He didn’t need to. Fingers slipped into her panties, stroking her wet pussy, coaxing soft, helpless sounds from her lips. “You’re so wet for me,”—
“How dare you?” I snap, slamming the laptop shut with trembling hands, my voice a pathetic squeak. My stomach nosedives. The heat creeps up my neck, staining my cheeks. I feel it in my chest, my ears, the tips of my fingers. That scene—the one with the wall, the hands, the growl.Thatscene. My throat tightens. I expect him to laugh, to make some crude joke like he used to. But he doesn’t. He just stares. Like he sees me. Really sees me. And that’s somehow worse. Mortified, I shove my laptop in my bag, spin on my crutches and bolt toward the back office, slamming the door shut behind me before the shame eats me alive.Why did Maddox Cole come back into my life now?
Chapter 4
Maddox
She bolts. Disappears down the hallway so fast, I barely catch my breath. The door to the back office slams shut behind her. I flinch at the sound, shame crawling up the back of my neck like fire ants.
Shit. Shit. Shit
I didn’t mean to read it.
Okay,maybeI lingered longer than I should’ve, but it was open. And that first line? It grabbed me by the throat. Now the words are embedded in my brain.His hands were fireproof, but nothing could stop them from burning me alive.Jesus. I need to get to the firehouse. But I can’t leave while she’s upset with me.
I shake myself out of it and cross the library floor, quietly stepping past the “Shhh” signs like basic library etiquette will make up for.
I knock gently. “Maya?”
Nothing.
I wait a second and knock again, softer this time. “Maya, come on. Please talk to me.”
“Go away, Maddox.” Her voice is sharp, tight, wounded. And it guts me.
“I didn’t mean to—” I stop, press my forehead to the door like that’ll somehow bring me closer to her. “Look, the laptop was already open. I didn’t go digging, I swear.”
Silence.
Then, after a beat, “Youreadit.”
“I didn’t mean to,” I say again, because what the hell else can I say? “But I did. And Maya... it was good. Like, really good. You’re talented.”
“Shut up.” Her voice wobbles.
“I’m not teasing you.”
Another beat.
The door cracks open a few inches, just enough for me to see her face. Her cheeks are flushed, her mouth tight, and her eyes—God, those eyes—are burning with fury and something far worse. Hurt, the kind I’ve put there. And still, even in her anger, she’s fucking breathtaking. All I can think is that I never want to be the reason for that look again. Not if there’s a single thing I can do to stop it.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I say quietly. “That I’m gonna laugh or make some dumb comment like I did in high school. But I’m not that guy anymore. I swear to you.”
She doesn’t say anything. Just grips the laptop tighter like she’s holding her dignity together with her bare hands.
“I was a dick back then,” I admit, stepping just inside the doorway. “I made fun of you to impress people I don’t even speak to anymore.”
She lets out a sharp breath, something between a scoff and a laugh. “So this is what? Redemption through flattery?”
I shake my head. “No. It’s just the truth.” My voice drops a notch, rougher now. “That scene you wrote… it was hot as hell. And the writing? Maya, it’s good. Really fucking good.”
