5. Miles
Maddie is the most unexpectedly perfect interruption I didn’t know I needed in my life. She has been on my mind since I ran into her earlier this week. When I saw her walk outside in those shorts and black top, I knew she was going to be mine.
She doesn’t even realize the effect she has on people—on me.
Every guy in that backyard had their eyes on her.
I saw the way they looked at her, even Chase was eyeing her.
The idea of anyone else’s hands on her body had me seeing red.
I need to stake my claim on her now, and make sure she knows it, too.
I walk her over to Chase's room, knowing he won’t be coming up here for a while, locking the door behind her once she’s inside.
Turning to look at her, I notice how nervous she looks to be in here with me—a guy she knows nothing about.
Maddie is looking around the room, playing with her hands as she takes in her surroundings.
“Is this your room?” she asks, running her fingers along some of the books on the bookcase.
“No, this is Chase’s room. I’m not in a fraternity.”
She nods, though she looks more nervous now that she knows this isn’t my room.
“You don’t think he’ll try to come up here? Maybe bring his own girl to his room?”
I laugh at the thought of Chase having enough game to bring anyone to his room. The poor guy can’t flirt with women to save his life. But I don’t miss how she insinuates that she’s mine.
Fuck, I like the sound of that.
“No. Definitely not. Chase isn’t the best at getting women to swoon over him.”
“I see.”
She sits on the edge of the bed, her hands idly stroking the comforter beneath her. I wonder what’s going through that beautiful head of hers. She probably thinks I sleep around, not that she’d be wrong, but all that is about to change.
I sit beside her on the bed as she folds her hands neatly in her lap.
My hand finds her knee before slowly gliding up her thigh, savoring the softness of her skin beneath my fingertips.
A tiny birthmark rests on the inside of her right knee, shaped almost like a little heart.
I trace it gently with my fingertip, and her legs tremble beneath my touch as goosebumps ripple across her skin.
When I lift my gaze, she’s already watching me.
Her teeth catch her bottom lip, worrying it ever so slightly, and my attention locks onto the gesture, my pulse stuttering. What I’d give to steal that lip between my own.
I softly grab her chin between my thumb and forefinger, running the pad of my thumb across her lip and removing it from between her teeth. Her breathing is heavy, her chest growing closer to mine with every exhale.
“You can’t keep doing that in front of me,” I breathe.
She looks at me with confusion, so I push further.
“The next time you bite this lip in front of me, I’m going to take it between my teeth. Do you understand?”
I watch her as she visibly swallows, her delicate neck rolling before me. I can see her pulse from here, loving how responsive she is. Leaning in, I’m ready to taste her lips, but she pulls away, interrupting me.
“I’ve never done anything…I mean, before. I-I’ve never done anything…with anyone else.”
Her chest rises and falls quickly as her eyes shift back and forth between my own, the weight of her words lingering in the space between us. Her emotions are easy to read on her freckled face.
Before I can even get a word out, she’s standing. “I’m sorry, I can go—”
“Maddie, no.” I grab her hand, pulling her back to the bed. “Has anyone ever touched your lips?” I palm her cheek, slowly brushing my thumb across them. Her eyes flutter shut, a breath slowly releasing from her mouth.
I run my hand through her thick hair. “Has anyone ever run their fingers through these curls?” I grip her hair, tugging gently. A soft moan escapes her at the pull, and I can see the goosebumps prickling her skin.
“Have you ever been touched at all?” I place my hand back on her thigh and glide my fingertips along her skin. Her eyes are still shut, and she shakes her head slightly. I can tell she likes my touch, but she hasn’t given me any verbal consent to keep going, so I stop.
She opens her eyes, her gaze meeting mine, and leans closer, stopping when her knee grazes my own.
“Maybe, uh. Maybe we can just take things slow?” she whispers as she looks back down at her hands, interlocking her fingers and releasing them again. A slight blush reaches the apples of her cheeks, embarrassment clear on her face.
“Of course, whatever you want, Princess,” I say, meaning every word.
Stroking her face, my thumb skates along her cheek. I gaze down at her lush lips and watch as her tongue darts out and glides across the bottom one. I lean into her, her breath catching as my lips come within a breath of hers.
I don’t even get a chance to kiss her.
A brick tears through the window, glass shattering everywhere. Maddie screams as I dive on top of her, trying to shield her from the flying shards.
“What the fuck! Maddie, are you okay?” I quickly examine the exposed skin on her body, searching for any traces of blood and find none. A sense of relief washes over me knowing she wasn’t hurt.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you? Oh my god, Miles, you’re bleeding!”
I pull a sliver of glass out of my arm, blood pouring from the wound. Quickly, I grab one of Chase’s shirts hanging from his closet and wrap it around my arm tightly to stop the bleeding.
“I’m fine. Who the fuck threw a fucking brick through the window?”
I kick the remaining shards of glass from the window and look around outside. No one from below is even paying enough attention to look up. The music from the party must have muffled the sound of the glass shattering.
The thought that whoever threw the brick could be on the roof crosses my mind. Without thinking, I’m climbing out of the window, ready to find whoever tried to hurt my girl.
“Oh, my god…Miles.”
I look back at Maddie to see her trembling on the bed.
She’s staring at her phone. The blood drained from her face, one hand covering her mouth, the other gripping her phone tightly as she shakes.
If someone is on that fucking roof, they’re lucky she is more important.
I climb back inside the window and kneel in front of Maddie, grabbing the phone from her shaking hand and looking at what has her so scared.
On her phone is a text message from a blocked number.
Unknown: The next time he fucking touches you, the brick is going through his skull.
What the fuck?
A million thoughts are going through my head, but one in particular stays at the forefront.
“Who did you see earlier, Maddie?”
Her whole body is shaking now as she sobs quietly.
I stand from where I was kneeling in front of her and sit back on the bed, pulling her onto my lap and holding her close to me.
I run my hand across her curls, soothing her until she finally stills.
She pulls away, taking her glasses off and cleaning them with the bottom of her shirt, and puts them back on.
I grab her face to have her look at me. Her honey eyes are glistening from the tears she shed.
“Baby, whoever you said you saw tonight could have done this, and I can’t protect you unless you tell me who that is.”
Tears rim her lower lashes and she nods in understanding, taking a deep breath before she speaks.
“A guy from back home. He was my best friend growing up, but he couldn’t have done this. He would never hurt me. And there’s no way he could have known where I was. He’s in Alabama. I never told him I was leaving.”
“Did anyone else know you were leaving that could have told him?” She stills, a look of utter terror on her face at the question I just asked.
“What? What is it?” I’m searching her face for any answer as to why she’s so afraid right now. Aside from the fact that we almost got taken out by a fucking brick.
“No. No one else knew I was leaving.”
“What about your parents? Could they have told him you were leaving? You said you were staying with your aunt before. Does she know him?”
She starts to cry again and I wonder if I overstepped, but honestly, I don’t care. I need to know who the fuck did this. She looks down at her hands, curling her fingers together, and shakes her head.
“I don’t have parents. Not anymore. And my aunt doesn’t know who he is. There’s no way for him to know where I am.”
Fuck. Whoever this guy is, I’m going to fucking kill him.
“Alright, well, if you’re okay with it, I think it would be best if you stayed with me at my place tonight.”
“No!” She practically yells in response and I pin her with my gaze.
If she honestly thinks I’m going to let her out of my sight after everything that just happened, she’s fucking crazy.
Some weird ass guy from her past is out there trying to keep her from me, and I’m not going to let that happen. I’ll tie her to my bed if I have to.
The thought of tying her up and doing what I want to her makes my cock throb painfully against the zipper of my jeans. Now is not the time, but this head has a mind of its own.
“Miles, I don’t even know you. We just met the other day and apparently, us being around each other is already a problem. You’re going to get hurt. It’s going to be my fault, and then I’m going to feel like shit for it.”
I snicker at the thought. She’s actually worried about me getting hurt. What’s even funnier is she’s more worried about feeling guilty about it. Her eyes bore into me now, and I realize I pissed her off by laughing.
“I would rather go back to my dorm. Oh my god, I have to find Kaitlin. I hope she’s still here.” She stands and heads for the door, but I grab her arm and pull her back into me.
“Let me at least take you home. I don’t want to put your safety in someone else’s hands.” She eyes me suspiciously, probably wondering if I’m as drunk as she is right now.
“Haven’t you been drinking tonight? I don’t think driving is a good idea for you.”
I smirk at her. She’s so damn cute when she’s concerned.
I grab her face in my hands and brush a kiss on her forehead.
“I’ll walk you. C’mon, it’ll be nice. We can get to know each other better.
” I grab her hand and interlace our fingers, tugging her out the door before she even gets the chance to interject.