29. A Phantom Obsessed
A Phantom Obsessed
Maddox
Two Days Later
It’s nearly ten a.m., and the sun is already pouring through her gauzy white curtains, bathing her bedroom in gold. A vase of forget-me-nots sits on her bedside table—a reminder of me, from me.
It sits right next to the Polly Pocket I got her, which I find to be the cutest thing ever.
I didn’t realize how much it meant to her until she insisted it belonged right next to her bed, and fuck if that didn’t make me want to buy her a hundred more just to make her happy.
She’s curled up on her side, her bare back to me, her hair a soft tangle across my pillow. One of my thighs is slung over her legs, her breathing slow and deep as I keep her close.
I didn’t sleep much. I never really do. Not since prison—it was hard to sleep in that place, if I’m being honest. There were a lot of people who wanted to hurt me because of the notoriety of my case, and I had to stay vigilant. And then, once I asserted my dominance, once people realized they couldn’t fuck with me, I’d lie awake dreaming about all the things I couldn’t have.
And all the things I’d lost.
But now? She’s here. Right next to me. Wrapped in her sheets, wearing nothing but the scent of me and the bruises I left behind on her hips over the last two days.
I haven’t been able to keep my hands off her when we’re together. If I’m not touching her, I’m pretending to work, or read, or cook… but I’m always aware of where she is.
It’s like my body is fine-tuned to hers. Even in the next room, I listen, wait, watch. And of course if she catches me looking at her, if she blushes or squirms in the way I know means she’s aroused…
It’s game over.
Ari hums softly in her sleep, breaking me out of my momentary thoughts, and I stare at her like she might disappear if I blink too long.
My hand slides over her waist, slow, reverent. I press my lips to her shoulder, to that little dip in her spine, and breathe her in. She stirs but doesn’t wake—not fully. Her ass shifts back against me, and fuck, I’m already hard.
Of course I am.
She owns me now. Every inch of me belongs to her.
I drag my palm lower, grazing the curve of her stomach, then dipping between her thighs. She parts them instinctively, still half asleep, her breath hitching as my fingers slide through the slick heat waiting for me. God, if I could bottle this feeling of her cunt…
I pull my cock out of my sweatpants and gently maneuver her onto her back. She sighs deeply but doesn’t wake up. Slowly climbing over her, I trail a hand up her stomach and lightly brush my knuckles against her nipples. She’s completely naked, and I don’t think twice about pushing the head of my cock against her slit, working her wetness all around and making sure I have good lubrication.
For whatever reason, despite her giving me blanket consent to do this yesterday morning, it feels wrong to penetrate her without her knowing. Maybe down the road, but not now. Not when she’s still so newly mine.
I’d never forgive myself if I ruined this before it ever had a chance to begin.
I let out a shaky breath as I thrust my hips up slightly, pressing into her folds but not into her cunt. It must tease her clit, because she moans in her sleep and lifts her hips, writhing her slick channel against my cock, eliciting a watery sound that makes me rumble a groan.
God, she’s always wet in the morning.
And she doesn’t even know what she does to me like this, how close I am to losing every ounce of control I pretend to have when we’re together.
Her hips roll again, slow and instinctive, her soft pussy gliding along the underside of my cock. I hiss through my teeth, fighting the urge to thrust forward and bury myself deep inside her.
“Easy,” I whisper against her neck, my voice ragged. “You’re going make me come before you even wake up.”
She lets out another breathy moan, her brows knitting together, her lips parting like she’s chasing the dream she thinks this is. My hand cups her breast, thumb flicking over her nipple, and she arches beneath me, seeking more.
Fuck, she’s perfect.
I press a kiss to her jaw, then her throat, working my way down her chest like she’s something holy.
“I’m not going to fuck your cunt in your sleep, angel,” I murmur, breath shaking as I hold myself steady. “But damn, you’re making it hard to stay away.”
I keep rutting against her slowly, dragging my cock through her soaked folds, my tip catching against her clit just enough to make her gasp again, legs twitching.
My whole body is on fire. I begin to shake all over when she lifts her hips, topping me from the bottom and slicking my cock up. It feels too good, and she could very easily make me come just like this.
My hips jerk forward of their own accord, grinding against the soft heat of her folds, and fuck, the friction is just enough to make my eyes roll back. I grit my teeth, trying to hold back, but it’s useless. The head of my cock catches her clit again and again, and her body reacts like it knows exactly what it’s doing to me. Like it wants me to fall apart right here on top of her while she’s asleep.
My abs tighten as I bring myself to the edge and pull back as my skin breaks out in goosebumps.
“Fuck, little warrior,” I groan, nearly panting now. “You don’t even know what you’re doing to me.” I let my forehead rest against her shoulder as I press against her harder, faster, chasing that brutal edge that’s been taunting me since the second I woke up pressed against her skin.
It builds fast—too fast—white heat coiling at the base of my spine, every nerve ending pulled tight, ready to snap. My cock is brutally hard, curved up and close to my stomach as I stop moving, breathing deeply as it pulses with no hard-earned release. That was close.
I bite down on the inside of my cheek, trying to wrestle back the wave that’s cresting far too fast. My cock throbs— angry , insistent—slick with her arousal, twitching with every desperate pulse of need. Every time I brush her clit with the swollen head, I see stars behind my eyes. My vision tunnels. My whole body tenses like a drawn bowstring.
I squeeze the base of my shaft hard, willing myself to hold back, but it just makes it worse. My balls coil, pulling close to my body, and my breath comes out in broken pants, fogging against the curve of her throat. The pressure is molten, blinding, a low burn in my gut that threatens to detonate with even one more stroke. My thighs tremble. I’m drenched in sweat, and I haven’t even come yet.
God, when I do, it’s going to be violent .
My hips jerk again, instinct overriding reason, dragging the slick head of my cock along her folds until I feel the telltale sting at the tip— that pulse. The one that says it’s happening whether I want it to or not.
I pull back just in time, my fist tightening around myself, squeezing hard to hold it off. “Not yet,” I hiss, a snarl of frustration and reverence in my throat. “You’re not going to pull it out of me while you’re sleeping, angel. You will be awake for it. You’ll watch me come undone and the only place I want my cum is dripping out of your little cunt.”
But fuck, I’m close. Closer than I’ve ever been without finishing.
My whole body’s buzzing—an ache in my spine, a throbbing between my legs, an unbearable need. I drop my forehead to her chest, breathing her in, letting the scent of her, the feel of her body against mine, keep me there, hovering right on that knife’s edge of pleasure and pain.
And still, she sleeps.
And still, I worship .
The thought wrecks me. Because even here, half asleep, she’s still got more power over me than anyone ever has.
She stirs a little more, lashes fluttering, and I go still.
Not yet.
I kiss her gently, once, then again, lips soft against her temple. “Go back to sleep, baby,” I murmur, voice reverent. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
It’s going to hurt, but it’s going to be worth it when I finally do let myself come undone inside of her.
But I don’t stop touching her. I don’t stop needing her. I don’t stop rutting against her cunt and bringing myself to the edge, over and over and over.
Even if I have to wait for the payoff.
“Maddox,” she whimpers, reaching out for me and shifting just slightly to press her dripping cunt against the overly sensitive head of my cock.
I hiss and pull back, because even one touch will have me throbbing and coming all over her.
Her eyes fly open, and she moans, breathing a little harder as she looks down. “Did you fuck me?”
“Not yet. I wanted—I needed to wait?—”
“Then do it.”
That’s all the fucking permission I need.
I’m just about to slip inside her when there’s a knock at her front door.
Ari jerks against me, groggy and confused. “What…?”
I grit my teeth, pressing a kiss to the base of her neck. “Ignore it.”
But the knock comes again, harder this time. I stop moving, stop touching her. I’m breathing heavily as she looks over my shoulder with a concerned expression.
“Ari,” a voice calls through the front door. “I know you’re home. Your car’s in the driveway.”
“Asher,” she says, eyes going wide.
I go still.
The world tilts for a second.
Because of course it’s him.
Of course the fucking past has to show up the second I try to give her a future—and the second one small breeze might make me come.
She wraps herself in the sheet and hurries out, and I throw on a t-shirt, my blood already boiling. I hide my raging hard-on under the waistband of my sweatpants, and then I pull a baggy sweatshirt on because I’m too long to hide about half my dick, and I’ll be damned if my brother sees it.
I don’t follow at first. I let her handle it. But when I hear his voice, sharp and accusing, something inside me snaps.
I push the door open and step outside just as Asher spits it out.
“You lied to me.” His eyes snap to mine, and he’s not even surprised. How’d he find out? I might never know, but it’s apparent by his lack of shock that he knew before coming over here.
And Ari—fuck, she’s trying to fix it. Trying to soften it. But I’m already walking closer.
“Asher, I swear, it just… happened. I can’t explain it, okay? It happened after we?—”
“At the house?” he yells, stepping closer.
I’m already standing behind her, then beside her, then in front of her like it’s instinct. Because it is. Because she doesn’t have to be the only one defending herself anymore.
“She doesn’t owe you shit,” I say, voice calm, even. “You’re not together anymore.”
Asher’s eyes flick to mine, full of disgust. “Fuck you. You think I didn’t see the way you looked at her?” His gaze slices into Ari. “I came by the other night. I saw him leaving your house.” His eyes shift to me. “What did you do, Maddox? Wait for me to get comfortable, then swoop in?”
“Comfortable? You mean the way you ignored her and still expected her to wait around like a goddamn afterthought?” I grind out, my tone sharp, final. “You don’t know a goddamn thing about her. About what she needs. About what she wants.” I glance at Ari, and when she doesn’t look away, it’s all the permission I need. “She chose me. Not because I swooped in, but because you left the door wide open and never even noticed.”
And then he hits me with it. “You already fucked her, so I guess you feel entitled to speak for her too? Guess she didn’t waste any time. She always did like to keep her options open when things got hard.”
Ari gasps, and my jaw clenches. Red starts to creep into my vision. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m so pumped with testosterone, so fucking edged, that I feel even more unhinged than normal.
“Say one more thing like that to insult her,” I murmur, stepping closer, “and I’ll show you exactly how entitled I can be.”
“You going to beat me up on her porch, Maddox?” he throws back. “Go ahead. Add a new charge to your record.”
I smile. Not a friendly smile. Not the kind you give to someone you once called family.
“You think I give a shit about going back?” My voice drops. “If it means protecting her? I’ll go back with a smile on my face and your blood under my fingernails.”
Asher’s expression tenses. But I’m not done.
“You’re not angry because she left you. You’re angry because I saw her first. Truly saw her. And I didn’t hesitate to give her what she needed, unlike you.”
He laughs, bitter. “You think you’re some kind of fucking savior?”
“No,” I say, stepping closer until we’re almost nose to nose. “I think I’m the man who’d die for her. I think I’m the man who wouldn’t trade her for a promotion or a calendar full of conference calls. I’d never even think of letting let her settle for less than what she fucking deserves. And just so we’re clear—neither of us deserve her—but I’m the only one who’d burn this whole fucking world to the ground just to keep her.”
Asher blinks. And for the first time, I see it in his eyes—that realization that he never stood a chance.
He looks at Ari one more time. “Is this what you want?”
And she doesn’t flinch. She doesn’t hide. My little warrior.
“Yes,” she says, voice steady.
That’s it. Game over.
He nods once. No goodbye. Just turns and walks back to his car like a man carrying a loss he saw coming miles away.
I wait until the door closes behind us before I speak. “You okay?” I ask her, even though I already know the answer.
She doesn’t speak. Just leans into me, rests her head against my chest.
And I swear to fucking God, I’ve never wanted to protect someone more than I want to protect this woman. This woman who chose me despite my past, despite everything.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” she whispers.
I kiss the top of her head. “I’d do it again. Besides, it’s kind of my fault he had to work so much.”
She pulls back. “What did you do?”
I shrug, smiling. “I may know a guy who knows a guy who compromised Asher’s firm.”
Her mouth drops open. “It was you. The reason he had a work crisis.”
I shrug. “Whoops.”
She gives me a conspiratorial smile. “You really are relentless.
“For you? Always.”