Chapter 20
Come Up
Lucas sat astride the matte black motorbike, parked just across the street from her apartment building. The engine was off. The helmet rested beside him.
He wasn’t stalking.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
This wasn't an obsession.
This was protection.
It was quiet out here. The kind of quiet that made him itch. But he needed to be here.
Needed to know she was inside, safe, untouched by Creams Tower, the press, Bonnie, Logan. He lit a cigarette with shaking fingers and stared up at the windows until he found hers. The soft light of her kitchen. Movement.
Maddison.
He didn’t know how long he sat there for ten minutes? An hour?
Then his phone buzzed.
Maddison:
I can see you.
Come up, you freak.
He stared at the screen. A laugh barked out of him, short, helpless. He should’ve driven away. Disappeared into the night like a ghost.
Instead, he grabbed the helmet and crossed the street.
She was waiting at the door in pyjamas and a giant t-shirt that said I licked it so it’s mine. Her hair was a mess. She had no makeup on. And Lucas forgot how to breathe.
“You gonna keep hovering like a weirdo or come inside?”
He stepped in.
Maddison closed the door behind him. Didn’t touch him. Just walked back toward the kitchen.
“You didn’t need to babysit me,” she said, pulling a mug from the cupboard.
“Didn’t say I was.”
“Didn’t need to. You’re terrible at being subtle.”
Lucas shifted uncomfortably. “I needed to make sure you were okay.”
Maddison turned, eyes softening.
“You could’ve just… texted me, Lucas.”
He stared at her. “You’re the only person I’ve ever wanted to keep safe.”
That stopped her cold.
Then she crossed the room, stood in front of him, and reached for his hand.
“You don’t have to do this alone anymore.”
Lucas leaned down and kissed her slowly, aching. A silent thank you. Desperate, don’t leave and this time, when she led him to the bedroom… he followed.
***
He followed her down the hall like a man walking into the eye of a storm. Maddison didn’t rush. She didn’t ask. She didn’t even look back. Just peeled her shirt off over her head in the doorway and let it drop, like she knew damn well he’d catch up.
By the time he stepped into her bedroom, she was standing in nothing but a black bra and lace underwear, framed in soft lamp light. Lucas opened his mouth. He closed it and tried again.
“Maddison, I don’t know if I …”
She pushed him gently, and he sat back on the bed before he even realized he was moving.
“That’s the point,” she murmured, climbing into his lap. “You don’t have to know.”
Her fingers found the buttons of his shirt, slow and deliberate. He couldn’t stop staring at her freckles, curves, the power in her posture. She straddled him like she’d earned him. Like she owned him.
“You’re always in control, aren’t you?” she whispered against his ear. “The empire. The image. The mask.”
She kissed just below his jaw. He shivered.
“But down here…” she dragged her nails down his chest, now bare, “...you don’t want control.”
He let out a shaky breath, head tipping back.
“You want someone to take it from you.”
And Maddison did.
She slid his belt off slowly. Unzipped him with her mouth on his neck, one hand on his thigh, steady and commanding. Lucas couldn’t stop shaking. Couldn’t stop feeling everything too much, too sharp.
She pushed him flat and climbed on top of him again, warm and slick against his cock.
“I’ve dreamed about this,” she said, dragging her hips just enough to make him gasp. “About you under me. Begging.”
Lucas bit his lip, too hard. His eyes fluttered shut.
“Open them,” she said. “I want you to watch.”
And he did. He watched her take him inch by inch. He watched her rock her hips like she was built for this. For him. Watched her fuck him slow, deep, relentless until he was moaning, writhing, whispering her name like prayer.
Until he came with his hands gripping the sheets, not her, because she didn’t want him to hold on to her. She wanted him undone. When he finished thighs trembling, chest rising like he’d run a goddamn marathon she leaned over him, kissed the sweat on his neck, and smiled.
“Good boy.”
And Lucas Creams CEO, legacy, killer, control freak almost started crying again.
***
The room was quiet now. Only the hum of the city below and their ragged breathing filled the space.
Lucas lay there flushed, dazed, wrecked his arms slack beside him like he’d surrendered everything.
Because he had. Maddison stroked her fingers down his chest, slow and grounding, as she leaned forward and kissed his damp forehead.
“You okay?” she whispered, brushing his hair back.
He nodded, barely. Still catching his breath. Then suddenly, like it had built in him too long he pulled her down into him, arms wrapping tight around her waist, burying his face in her shoulder.
“It’s okay, Lucas,” she murmured into his hair. “You’re safe.”
He breathed her in. Hot and fast. Then.
“I used to think about this,” he said quietly, voice hoarse. “Us.”
Maddison still.
“For years. Since your first DM. Booklover69.”
He laughed softly, almost embarrassed. “You sent this pic once… in a red lace bra with strawberries on your thighs. You were reading Dracula and licking whipped cream off your finger and I… I fucking kept it. All of it. The messages. The voice notes. The pictures.”
He pulled back just enough to look at her eyes raw and unguarded.
“Okay, I’m sounding like a stalker now.”
Maddison’s lips curved into a wicked, fond smile.
“You are a stalker. But you’re my stalker.”
She kissed the corner of his mouth, then whispered:
“And I sent those for you, idiot. Every. Single. One.”
Lucas stared at her like she’d just handed him a galaxy.
Then he laughed soft and breathless before pulling her fully on top of him again and letting his forehead rest against hers.
“We’re so fucked,” he murmured.
“Totally,” Maddison agreed, smiling. “But at least we’re in it together now.”