8. Axel #2
I hate that she’s here with no one to help her. No one to protect her.
Maddie shrugs, “I’m used to it.”
My feet take me closer until we’re only an arm’s length away from each other. “How long have you been living by yourself?”
An emotion I can’t place flitters across her face before she answers, “A while.”
Her eyes leave mine and she bites her lip again.
The act makes her seem nervous, but she literally just told me that I make her feel safe so that can’t be right.
But then she turns, leaving the living space, heading towards what must be her bedroom. And I can’t look away because each step she takes causes her ass and thighs to jiggle. And… Goddammit! I want this woman.
Frozen in indecision, I stay exactly where I am as she disappears into the room.
A quiet click preludes a soft pink glow fills the previously dark doorway.
I want to follow her .
Obviously, I want to follow her.
But she’s been drinking. She’s not falling down drunk, she’s hardly even unsteady on her feet anymore, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing can happen between us. Well, nothing more , I correct myself. That kiss shouldn’t have happened.
“Axel?”
Maybe one more kiss wouldn’t be the end of the world. But that’s it. Hard stop.
“What is it, Baby Doll?” Feeling warm, I unzip my hoodie as I slowly follow her footsteps.
There’s a rustling of fabric, and I step into Maddie’s room just as she crawls into bed. Her bed.
The sight of her shimmying into bed, hair spread out across her pillow, waiting for someone to tuck her in… it steals my breath.
Her gaze doesn’t meet mine, instead it’s focused on my chest and I remember the reason why I’d worn the hoodie in the first place.
My hand runs down the front of my shirt. “It’s not dirty, just stained. I promise.”
The corner of her mouth tips up and this time she does meet my eyes, “I wouldn’t mind either way.”
She’s on the far side of the bed from my spot in the doorway, and she’s lying on her side, facing me, leaving half the mattress open.
“Would you stay for a little while longer?” she asks.
And to dispel any questions about what she means when she says stay , Maddie grips the top of her fluffy yellow blanket and pulls it down.
My pulse kicks up and I wonder if I’m finally having that heart attack my son keeps claiming I’ll suffer if I don’t chill out.
Maddie’s hand releases the blanket, and she curls her fingers under her chin, making her look even younger and more vulnerable. “Sorry, you don’t have to. It’s a dumb idea. I can walk you out if you’d like to go.” She starts to move like she’s gonna get out of bed.
“No!” Softening my tone I repeat myself, “No, I’d like to stay.” Her little fist loosens, and I sense some of the tension leave her. “I can’t stay the whole night though.”
I don’t elaborate on why, because the why is simply that I won’t be able to control myself if I’m still here in the morning. If I’m still here in the morning, there’s zero chance I won’t fuck this woman, and she deserves better than me.
“That’s okay. I just figured it’s late and you might want to rest a little before you drive home?”
“You worried about me?” She rolls her lips in at my question, and I can’t stop my smirk. “That’s sweet.”
Maddie rolls her eyes, “I’m worried about the other drivers. I’ve seen how you drive.”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Uh huh, sure.” Unclenching her fists, Maddie traces a finger over the geometric pattern printed on the pillowcase. “Sorry, but I don’t have anything your size for you to put on.”
“Put on?”
“To get comfortable.” At my blank stare she clarifies, “Like pajamas.”
“Oh. Right.” Why my brain went straight to condoms … I’d rather not speculate.
She gets a look of thinking on her face before tilting her head, “I suppose you could just take your pants off.”
“Um…”
Yes. Yes, I could do that.
I expect her to blush, or to back track, but clearly she doesn’t realize how suggestive that sounded since she continues on with the thought.
“I can’t stand wearing jeans for a single second longer than I have to.
And dropping face first onto the couch after work is one thing.
But getting into bed, under the covers, with jeans on?
” She shivers, making a disgusted face. “No, thank you.”
I wait for the angel on my shoulder to tell me to keep my pants on and to walk out the front door. But the devil on my other shoulder has the angel tied up and gagged. So, pants off it is.
Moving further into the room, I pull my hoodie the rest of the way off.
In for a penny…
Finally moving my eyes away from the temptress in the bed, I take in the room around me.
The walls are painted a light color but with the pink glow the side lamp is emitting, it’s hard to tell the exact color.
There’s a large window opposite the bed, but thick dark velvet curtains have been pulled closed blocking out the rest of the world.
The furniture doesn’t match – a padded white headboard, yellow side tables, a gray dresser and a small chair in the corner that looks like it’s covered in fur. It’s a little weirder than what I’m used to, but it’s nice. And just like her living room, this room feels like Maddie.
I let the hoodie drop onto the chair.
Time to stamp my one-way ticket to eternal damnation.
My fingers move to the button of my jeans and with a quick motion, I have them undone and unzipped.
Turning back to face Maddie, I give her one last chance to stop me, to tell me to leave.
But she doesn’t do any of that. She just stares, right where my hands are, holding my pants up.
So I do the only thing that’s left to do, and shove my jeans down my legs, stepping out of them when they pool at my feet.
And standing in my white t-shirt and gray boxers, I accept that one night of laying in the same bed as Maddie will be worth any punishment the universe decides to dish out.