Chapter 8 #2
I haven’t forgotten the shape of her lovely ass cradled against my groin or the weight of her splendid B-cups nestled in the palm of my hands.
The phantom echo of her soft moans and desperate whimpers as I fucked her has me so damn hard that I need to shift my stance to give the crotch of my jeans a bit more room to accommodate my raging dick.
Alice is nodding at whatever Ivory is saying to her. She wraps her ponytail around her hand and holds it up while she fans herself. She says something back to Ivory, drops her hair, and points to the hallway. Without a backward glance at Brantley, she heads for the bathroom.
With a tug on the fitted vest, I settle the material in place. Then I ensure my top hat sits right on my head as I approach Benson. Leaning a hip against the wall, I fold my arms across my chest, feigning nonchalance. “Hello, Brantley.”
“Hey, Mad, what’s good?”
I tilt my head to slide him a frigid glare. “Not much at the moment.”
His blonde brows knit in a frown as he scans the room nervously—probably searching for backup. “Yeah, why’s that?”
First, I shrug, then I throw my arm around his shoulders. “Seems some people like to fuck around.”
Poor, simple Brantley. He looks confused. “I’m not following.”
Curling my lips under my teeth, I give him a slow nod before saying, “Yeah, you are.” I notice his cowardly friend, Kent, wisely takes a few steps backward. “Care to explain why you were cozying up to Alice?”
Benson tries to duck out from under my arm, but I tighten my hold on him, giving him a hard squeeze and a little jostle. “I wasn’t—”
“Yeah, you were.” I give his shoulder a little smack for emphasis. “And you knew I was watching.” Before he can answer with some more bullshit, I pretend I’m taken aback as I look at his face. “Holy shit, I never realized you have such nice eyes.”
“What?” he asks with a baffled and slightly nervous laugh. Again, he tries to squirm away, but I keep him right where I want him. Nice and close. “The fuck, man?”
“Yo, Brant, let it go.”
I nod at Kent with my chin. “Yo, you have a smart friend,” I tell Brantley. “You should heed his advice.”
Brantley bunches his shoulders, and this time, when he tries to slip out from beneath my arm, I let him. It’s adorable how he puffs out his big ol’ jock-chest as if that’s supposed to intimidate me. “You’re a fucking freak, man.”
Aaannnddd…here we go.
I heave out a dramatic sigh a second before I grab him by his hoodie, staring deep into those baby blues. “Wouldn’t it be a crying shame if those pretty eyes stopped working because you got too close to the wrong fucking person?”
His head whips to the side, his wide-eyed stare landing on Alice, who is waiting near the bathroom for her turn in there. Brantley’s gaze swings back to me. “Maddox, man, I didn’t realize you and Alice are still a thing.”
“Bull. Shit.” I give him a hard yank. “Let me be clear. Alice and I? We’ve never not been a thing.” I release him, only to rustle his blonde hair. “Now be a good boy and focus your attention elsewhere. It would be tragic if you suddenly needed a cane and a dog to help you navigate the world.”
Brantley swallows hard, nodding vigorously. “Yeah, sure, Maddox. Of course. Sorry, my dude, won’t happen again. Swear to God.”
“Of course it won’t.” I haul him in, slamming his chest into mine and whisper, “And if you ever call me a freak again, we’re going to play a game I like to call Let’s See How Far You Get with a Severed Achilles Tendon.
” I shove him away, then slap my palm against Kent’s chest. “I’ll be highly upset if I find out you boys left the party early.
” I toss my hands in the air and yell over the music, “The night is young. We’re young. Drink and be merry!”
I stroll away, frisky as fuck. Ready to cause some chaos. Ready to grab hold of Alice, and…
Damn.
Cherry Riding, the petite redhead who lives out in the woods with her reclusive grandmother, exits the bathroom, with Alice slipping in after her.
I flinch when the door shuts like she slammed it in my face.
Guess it’s time to make a terrible decision.
I’ve made worse ones, and before I second-guess what I’m about to do, I say, “Fuck it,” out loud, to myself.
Feeling around on the upper ledge of the picture frame near the locked door, I grab the key we hid up there.
After that one shitfaced guy passed out in here and we had to kick in the door to get him, we hid the key above the picture to save us future hassle.
I unlock the door and inch it open, silently chanting, Please don’t be peeing. Women are weird about that sort of thing. Bad enough I’m barging in on her. Alice would probably never forgive me if I caught her with her skirt around her ankles, mid-stream.
Oh, thank gawd.
She’s at the sink washing her hands. Her head snaps to the door, and there’s a loud gasp right before a growled, “You.” Followed by, “You’re such a dickhead.”
“Shocker, right?”
Whomp, whomp.
My attempt at humor hits like an unflushed turd.
With a roll of her eyes, she shuts the water and declares, “I don’t have time for this.” Then strides past me toward the door, hands still wet.
Goddamn, she’s quick in those big-ass black boots on her tiny feet. But I’m faster, and I snag her by the elbow. I spin her around and slide admiring eyes over her, ignoring her outraged glare. “You look stunning tonight, as always.”
Alice’s nostrils flare, and she pinches the bridge of her nose before asking, “What do you want, Maddox?”
“You.” Direct is always best.
“Oh, my God, seriously?” She backs away until her ass bumps the sink. “You can’t have me. I’m not yours.”
“Really?” I destroy the distance between us, stopping within arm’s reach of her. Close enough to cast her in my shadow. Her cheeks flush with fury, and the blue fire in her eyes burns me right down to the remnants of my sinful soul. “Dare to test your resolve?”
“You’re delusional.” She tries to storm by me, but I block her.
“Hate to burst your bubble— Actually, no, I’m wrong.
I’m happy to burst it. You and me? We’re not happening.
What we did, it was a one-off. We’re not having a do-over of a mistake we made three years ago. Not tonight, not tomorrow, not ever.”
Mistake?
Goddamn, that would sting—if I thought she believed it, which I know she doesn’t. The way she’s staring at my mouth, like she wants to dive inside it, screams otherwise. “Sure about that?”
“Fucking yes,” she shouts. I’ve always loved that I’m the only person who can rile her up with barely any effort. “You need to leave me alone.”
I lift a brow. “Give me a reason to stay away.”
“I’ll give you two. Because I’m asking you to and because you complicate things.” That second one comes out as a pained whisper. As if that was torture to admit. “I came home because I needed life to be simple again.”
Meaning what? Things weren’t simple in Riverton?
Whatever happened while she was away, though, is a worry for another night. My current dilemma is breaking through the goddamn wall she built around herself. A wall constructed specially to keep me out. Yeah…it’s about time I tore it down brick by fucking brick.
I purse my lips and tap my index finger to my chin.
“And yet here you are, at Folly House. My house. Where you were one hundred percent certain to find me.” I inch closer, even though there’s a loud knock on the bathroom door.
“I think you came here because, despite whatever nonsense you’ve told yourself to justify being here tonight, you want me to bother you.
” Boldly, I touch her exactly where she put her hand on Brantley and draw her so close to me that our chests brush.
Then I dig my hand in her soft waves. Let the silvery strands spill between my fingers.
“In fact, I’d wager my last breath that you want me to do a helluva lot more than simply bother you. ”
“Wrong.” Alice’s denial is brittle, the lie crumbling like an old leaf. “You’re so damn full of yourself, Maddox. I wonder how you fit your giant ego under that fucking hat. Now, move out of my way.”
I’m an immovable force when she tries to push past me again. Ignoring her audible huff and another sloppy bang on the door, I mold her little body to mine. We’re broken puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together.
“How demanding of you.” I lean low and press my cheek to the side of her head, suppressing a smile at how she bunches up her shoulders against the kiss I feather across her neck. “You know what else I think?”
“I don’t care what else you think.”
Lie. In fact… “I think you missed me very much.”
Tension radiates off her in tangible waves when she says, “You can tell yourself whatever you want, but that won’t make it true.”
“Stubborn wench.” When I nip her neck, she gasps at the shock of pain.
Perhaps I bit a smidge too hard, but I’m a sucker for the whimper that slips past her lips and the shiver that passes over her.
I trace my tongue over the bite, soothing it better.
Trail the lightest of kisses along her soft skin.
“Maddox, please…” Alice groans.
“Please, what, Alice?”
I expect to be blasted with more rejection.
Expect Alice to shove me away again. Have her demand I go straight to hell.
For fuck’s sake, this is the person who refused to text or call me the entire time she was away, and while I complied with her wishes to keep my distance, I never gave up on her.
Simply took a step back to give her breathing room.
Pardon my complete surprise when she rises onto her tiptoes, wraps her arms around my neck, and hovers her lips over mine.
“One last kiss,” she murmurs against my mouth.
Last?
No, no, Malice. This is the first in a new chapter.