Page 81 of Mine
That earned the smallest huff of a laugh from him.
“Are you hungry?” I asked. If he were staying the night, I should probably feed him.
“I could eat.”
“Don’t laugh, but I have leftover pizza.”
His brow lifted, surprise flickering across his features.
“Morbid, I know,” I added, setting the box on the counter.
He shrugged. “Fuck it. I can always eat pizza as long as it doesn’t have pineapples on it.”
“No fruit. I promise,” I assured, flipping the box open. “But technically, this one wasn’t ordered by a psychopath.”Just a murderer.They weren’t the same things, were they? Well, they weren’t in my book.
I set two slices on a plate and slid one across the counter toward him, keeping the other for me. I had more of an appetite than I thought I would, finishing my first slice just as he went in for a second.
“Hold on,” I said, setting my pizza down.
“What?” His eyes glanced at me.
I slid around the counter, stepping in front of him. “You’ve got—” I lifted onto my toes before he could move away, my hand lifting as I brushed the pad of my thumb across his bottom lip, catching the pizza sauce. The motion slowed halfway through when I realized how close we were. His breath ghosted across my face, and his pupils dilated, swallowing the green.
Maddox went still as my thumb dragged lightly across his lip, the touch lingering longer than necessary. The soft give of his mouth beneath my touch sent heat curling low in my stomach.
I hadn’t meant to touch him or get this close. My eyes lifted, finding his gaze already fixed on my face with an intensity that stole my breath. The green in his eyes had darkened.
Electricity crackled between us like a live wire. Without breaking eye contact, I lifted my thumb and slipped it into my mouth, sucking the sauce from it slowly, mirroring the moment by my locker when he’d sucked the blood from my finger.
His reaction was visceral. His hands shot out, gripping my wrists hard enough that I felt the press of each finger. Pulling my hand away from my mouth, he held my wrists captive between us, and my breath hitched in my throat.
What am I doing tangling myself with Maddox?
He stared at me, his chest rising and falling too fast. My heart pounded too quickly. I was dying to know what he was thinking about, why he hesitated, if he had someone else on his mind.
Then he swore under his breath, and I stopped thinking entirely as he yanked me against him. His mouth crashed into mine. Hard. Demanding. Angry. The kiss was nothing like the teasing heat from the cellar, nothing like the careful exploration we’d started down there in the dark.
This was deeper. Hungrier. Desperate in a way that made my knees weak.
My brain went completely blank, every thought scattering like leaves in the wind. I gasped against his mouth, surprise and want and need all tangled together, and he took the opportunity immediately. His tongue swept in, claiming and kissing me harder as his hands slid from my wrists to my waist. Fingers dug into the soft fabric of my sweater, finding the curve of my hips beneath and holding on as if I might disappear.
“Maddox—” My sigh dissolved into a breath when he lifted me easily. One smooth motion, his hands gripping my thighs as he hoisted me up and set me on the counter. My legs wrapped around him, pulling him closer and trapping him between my thighs.
He stepped in deeper, eliminating any space as his hands braced on either side of me, palms flattening against the counter and caging me in while our mouths found each other again. Every kiss sent sparks racing down my spine. His hand slid into my hair, fingers weaving in the strands, tilting my head back at the angle he wanted.
His mouth left mine, trailing along my jaw in hot, open-mouthed kisses, making me shiver. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing, Hales?” he muttered against my skin, the words vibrating through me.
“I think I have a pretty good idea,” I managed, breathless, my fingers finding the front of his shirt and fisting the fabric. “You might have skilled fingers and unforgettable lips, but I’m not clueless.” To prove my point, I cupped his erection standing straight up in his sweatpants.
Who was this girl?
Surely, she wasn’t me.
He hissed, his teeth scraping lightly against my throat, right over my pulse point, and I made a noise I’d never heard myself make before. “You don’t really want this, Hales.” The confession came out huskily as my fingers moved over him. “You’ll regret it in the morning.” His tongue darted over my skin, and my core went molten.
I bit my lip, stifling a moan. “Let me be the one to decide when I’ve had too much, and right now, I really want you to kiss me again, Maddox.” My fingers stroked over him, and he grew harder if possible.
Whatever control he’d been holding on to snapped. He complied, kissing me again, deeper this time, consuming, as if he’d finally given up fighting and pretending there was any version of this where we walked away unscathed.
