14. Miles #2
Once there’s nothing left to clean, I head for the bathroom, strip out of my filthy clothes, and crank the shower as hot as it’ll go. Steam quickly fills the room, fogging the mirror while I pull my phone from my pocket one last time.
I don’t know why I bother checking again.
Nothing.
Maddie still hasn’t texted me.
I stare at her name for a few extra seconds before locking my phone with a frustrated sigh.
Maybe she actually broke the damn thing when she threw it earlier.
God knows she launched that thing hard enough.
The thought sticks with me long enough that I make a mental note to stop somewhere tomorrow and buy her a new one.
Hell, I’d buy her a dozen phones if it meant she’d never disappear on me again.
I leave my phone on the counter and step beneath the spray.
The hot water pounds against my shoulders, slowly working some of the tension from my muscles, but it does absolutely nothing for the knot twisting itself tighter and tighter in my chest. I scrub both hands through my hair before planting one against the shower wall, letting the water beat against the back of my neck.
My gaze drifts down through the steam. I’m already rock hard, standing at full attention and aching with a desperate, painful need for release.
“Fuck,” I curse, my mind drifts to an image of Maddie spread open for me on my bed.
She was so fucking wet, her skin glistening, body wrecked, and entierly mine. I grip myself hard, the memory of how she tasted hitting my gut like a physical blow. I can still hear the exact pitch of her whimpers, the way she screamed my name when I drove my fingers deep inside her soaking cunt.
I think about the tight, possessive way her walls clamped around me when I added a second finger, the desperate arch of her back as I buried my face between her thighs, licking up her clit until she came all over my face.
I pump my hand faster, my breath coming in ragged gasps, chasing the memory of a high only she can give me.
“Ugh, fuuuuuck,” I groan, the sound torn from my chest as my spine goes rigid.
I blow my load into my palm, my body trembling under the water.
I stroke myself a few more times, watching as the cum drips from the tip of my cock onto the shower floor.
She’s driving me crazy. I want nothing more than to bury myself inside her, to feel her tight pussy wrapped around my cock instead of just my own hand.
If she decides to shut me out, I am going to tear this city apart looking for her.
Maybe she’s right. Maybe being around me really is making everything worse.
The problem is…I don’t fucking care. That probably makes me selfish, maybe even a little obsessive, and I know she thinks she’s protecting me, but all she’s really doing is leaving me alone with my thoughts.
And let me tell you, those are a hell of a lot more dangerous than any asshole trying to scare me away from her.
I shut the water off a few minutes later and wrap a towel around my waist, staring at my reflection in the fogged up mirror while I wipe away the condensation with the palm of my hand.
“You’ve lost your fucking mind,” I mutter.
Fuck, maybe I really have. I barely know this woman, and somehow she’s managed to become the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep. Shit, I can’t even take a damn shower without thinking about her.
As I dry off and pull on a clean pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, one thought keeps repeating itself. If Maddie isn’t ready to tell me about her past, then I’ll find out on my own. Someone is targeting her, and I’m done sitting around waiting for answers to magically fall into my lap.
The asshole who tore my apartment apart made sure of one thing—my computer is completely fucked. The local electronics store isn’t exactly known for carrying the kind of equipment I normally use, but any decent laptop will get me by until I have the time to build another workstation.
Unfortunately, what should’ve been a quick trip turns into an absolute nightmare.
Apparently, buying a laptop requires listening to three separate sales pitches about warranties, antivirus software, cloud storage, extended protection plans, and every overpriced accessory they can possibly convince me to buy.
By the time the store manager finally accepts that the word no isn’t a negotiation tactic, I’ve wasted nearly two hours of my life that I’ll never get back.
I leave with the laptop, my patience hanging by a thread, and a headache that’s only getting worse.
By the time I get home, the apartment somehow feels even quieter than it did before.
I set the upopened laptop on the kitchen island, grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and take a long drink before pulling my phone from my pocket.
Still nothing.
I don’t know why I expected anything different. My thumb hovers over Maddie’s contact while I argue with myself. She asked for space, and I should respect that.
Yeah…fuck that.
The worst she could do is ignore me, but the worst would fucking hurt. Call me a masochist, because I’m going to text her anyway.
Me: I can’t stop thinking about you. Space fucking sucks.
The second I hit send, I regret it.
Jesus Christ, Miles. Real fucking smooth.
I toss my phone onto the counter and immediately pick it back up again, my eyes refusing to leave the screen. Five minutes crawl by before I realize I’m literally sitting here waiting for the three dots to appear like they’re going to solve all my problems.
They never do.
I tell myself she’s probably busy, then I convince myself she’s asleep. Then I remember she almost never takes naps this late. That’s when my mind starts doing what it does best. What if she’s ignoring me? What if something actually happened?
What if the same bastard who’s been threating her finally found her while I was jacking off in the shower, buying new computers, and fucking sitting here staring at my phone?
My stomach drops so fast it makes me feel sick.
“God fucking damnit!” I yell, throwing my bottle of water at the fridge.
Fuck texting.
I hit her contact and press call, because if something happened to her, I’ll never forgive myself for letting her leave.
The phone rings four times before going to voicemail. Every muscle in my body tightens.
FUCK.
I call again. She doesn’t answer.
Third time’s the charm. I call again, and on the second ring, she answers.
“Miles–”
The sound of her voice hits me like someone finally let me breathe again.
“Maddie! Thank fuck, I thought something happened to you. Why didn’t you answer me?!”
She’s quiet for a second, and once again, I think the worse.
“Maddie?!”
“I’m here. I’m sorry. I didn’t think by not answering you would assume that something happened to me. I guess that was pretty stupid of me.”
I laugh because how is it she’s the one feeling stupid when I’m the one calling her three times like a fucking idiot?
“Damnit, Princess, you got me going crazy, you know that? I was about ready to start burning down buildings if you didn’t answer soon.”
“Miles,” she sighs. “I told you we needed space. You can’t keep calling me like this—it defeats the term ‘space’.”
I laugh again, because she can’t be serious.
“We don’t need space, Maddie. Don’t you get that? This is what he wants. He wants to keep us apart and keep you vulnerable.”
“Vulnerable? Are you fucking kidding me, Miles?”
Shit. I did it again. Foot, meet mouth.
“Maddie, you know what I mean. I didn’t mean it like that, baby. Please. Just listen to me for a minute.”
When she stays quiet, I know she’s listening, so I continue. “I miss you. I know it’s only been a few hours since you left, but knowing that you want this space between us is killing me. We don’t need space, Mads. I don’t want space, and I know you don’t either.”
“Oh yeah? And how do you know that?”
“Because if you really wanted me to leave you alone…” I say, leaning back in my chair, “you would’ve ignored the third phone call too.”
A quiet laugh reaches my ear. It’s small, barely more than a breath, but hearing it feels like winning the lottery.
“I’ll let you go,” I tell her. “Just do me one favor.”
“What?”
“Text me tomorrow. That’s all I’m asking. Just let me know you’re okay.”
She sighs and I know I got to her. “Yeah, okay. I can do that.”
“Good night, Princess.”
“Good night, Miles.”
When the line clicks, I set my phone down and rub my face with both hands. Fuck, this girl is getting to me. Grabbing the box for my new laptop, I break into it.
Time to get to work.