Page 53 of Maddox
It’s achingly silent between us and I don’t know what to do or say to ease the tension, turning instead to the winter vista on the way home.
Did I do something wrong?
My only previous experience was with Micah, and he was so eager that I never stopped to wonder about me, but Maddox seemed to like it.
Right?
Except what grown ass man would refuse to have the favor returned otherwise?
I’m thoroughly confused and fighting back the brutal burn of humiliation when we pull up to the trailer and I dismount.
Doing my best to avoid his gaze, I look up when he taps the helmet, his lips curving into his trademark devilish smile, complete with that fucking dimple.
Unfortunately, his eyes are prohibitively cool as I hand him the helmet before he tips my chin and says, “The other day…the cop…”
“Peter?”
“Yeah, Peter. How do you know him, princess?”
Confused by the trajectory of this conversation and how he can be so distant after what transpired between us, I shake my head but mumble, “He’s my stepdad.”
I’m guessing this was the wrong answer when he clenches his jaw and looks away.
Ignoring the burn in my chest, I bow my head until he touches my cheek. “Delaney?”
Shivering under the gentle caress, I don’t answer because I’m not sure that I’m ready for whatever else he has to say.
“You’re beautiful.”
Despite the compliment, I sense a “but” in there somewhere and I muster a smile that fades when he says, “We can’t be friends.”
Friends? What?Friends? What the hell does that mean?
“Why?” I whisper after swallowing back the lump in my throat.
“We’re not like other people, princess,” he says gazing over my shoulder, his brows furrowed, “and your stepdad would shit a brick if he found out you were with me.”
He’s not saying anything that isn’t true but…
“I’m not Peter,” I say and his lip curves as he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear.
“You might as well be,” he says before turning to his bike, revving the engine, and accelerating down the street.
Maddox
The snow swirls around her body as I turn away. My lips still taste like her skin and my fingers itch to explore her deeper.
Her sweet little moans and sexy sighs rebound around my brain, and I adjust my hard-on as I rev my bike.
I like you.
I’m not sure that I will ever forget the way her eyes glistened when she spoke of her brother and while my throat burned to share my loss, I couldn’t get the words past the lump lodged there.
It was a mistake to take the pretty little cheerleader anywhere but home. How could I resist though when she looked at me with those achingly sad blue-gray eyes?
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt anything but this cloying sense that time is going by while the fucker who killed my mom walks free.
With Delaney I can breathe. She’s a much-needed distraction from the other shit painting my life in shades of darkness.
