Page 78 of Fourth Wheel
“I’m actually not feeling well, so I’m gonna catch a cab back to the hotel.”
He wraps a hand around my wrist, freezing me in place. “Did you get sick? Are you okay?”
I resist rolling my eyes as his caregiver instincts take over. I should have come up with a better excuse. “I’m fine. Or I will be. I just want to go to bed.”
He starts to rise as he speaks. “We’ll head back together. Brooke, it was so good to—”
“No,” I insist, pushing against his shoulder and willing him to sit back down. “Stay. Catch up. I don’t need you to come with me.”
“Maddie.”
“Dempsey,” I mimic his stern brunch daddy voice.
“It was nice to meet you,” I offer, turning to Brooke and mustering up what I hope is a cordial smile.
I look back to Dem and school my expression. “Don’t rush. I’m fine. I’ll see you back at the hotel,” I insist with finality as I stride toward the exit.
I make it as far as the lobby.
I don’t know what he said to Brooke or how he took care of the bill that fast. But before I can push out the doors, his arm is ensnaring my waist.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he hisses in my ear. The heat and stink of the city hits me at the same time I feel his solidness at my back. “I’m not letting you walk around New York City alone at night.”
I don’t stop, but he doesn’t loosen his hold. Instead, he guides me to the corner of the bank of doors, tucked away behind a giant potted plant.
He looms over me as the marble tiles of the building façade cool my back.
“Go back to your friend, Dem. I’m fine on my own.”
His mouth falls agape before he catches my chin in his hand. “What is wrong with you?” he demands, scanning my body like maybe the answer is hidden beneath the fringe of this damn dress.
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong withyou?” I spit back, swatting his hand away from my face. “You’re so stubborn. You know that? That girl—thatwomanup there is clearly still in love with you, Dempsey! Do you think it’s random happenstance that she was here tonight? Maybe you were supposed to run into her here! What the hell are you doing wasting time chasing after me?”
The words tumble out of my mouth. I don’t even know why I’m saying any of this. I don’twanthim to go running back to her. But we were only ever a summer fling. If there’s a reason the Universe brought them together tonight after all this time…
“She’s not who I came with,” he growls. “And she’s not who I’m leaving with tonight.”
I shove my hands against his shoulders, desperate to dislodge him and send him back to her. “It’s fine, Dempsey. You’re being ridiculous. Just go back in there and have a good time. You deserve to put yourself first for once in your fucking life.”
He smirks, then peels my hands off his body, one after another. “Nice try, princess.”
“I’m serious!” I insist.
“No, Maddie.I’mserious.” He pins me against the marble with his body, then slowly brushes one hand down the length of my torso. My legs part involuntarily as he travels farther south, my cunt a traitorous bitch under the spell of his touch. When he cups my pussy, I whimper.
“You listen, and you listen good.”
I open my mouth to cut him off. He pushes my panties aside and circles my clit to silence me.
“Keep that bratty mouth closed for one goddamn minute, princess, or I swear—”
I’m already slick enough to coat his hand. He pushes two fingers into me with almost no resistance.
“You.” He bows low and blocks me in, shielding us from view of the chaos and traffic of Times Square. Even if someone was watching, I wouldn’t notice. The way he’s commanding my attention in this moment—my only focus is him.
“You’re my number one, Maddie.You. This is me putting myself first for the first time in a long time. Choosing you is choosing me. And it’s fucking terrifying.” He moves his fingers in and out of me slowly, creating enough friction to make me tremble, but not enough to build me up.
“I walk around every day thinking it could be our last. That you’ll come to your senses. Because why would you want me? My life’s a mess. My time’s not my own. I’ve got more baggage than I know what to do with.”
