Page 28 of Cry Madness
“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 constructedspecially 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.Myhouse. 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 huffandanother 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 suckerfor 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.
And then her lips are on mine, and time freezes, suspending us in this perfect stolen moment. Alice becomes my next breath. My next heartbeat. My entire world. She’s always flooded my life with her light. For me, this isn’tone last kiss. It’s a fresh start, and when I grab the back of her head and fist her hair, I put all of myself into the kiss. Force open her jaw and invade her mouth, our tongues collide and battle for power, but ever the gentleman with her, I allow her control. Allow her to guide this kiss even though it’s killing me to hold back. There’s a desperation in how she clings to me, in the way her fingers knead me. It’s a demand for more contact, more friction, more…me.
And I give it all to her, gripping her ass and lifting her onto the edge of the white porcelain sink. Step in close and grind my cock against her heat. “Down in It” by Nine Inch Nails is a muffled and hypnotic background beat. I pluck my hat from myhead and drop it to the floor to angle my head for a deeper kiss. Grab her bare thighs, opening them wider. Giving them a gentle squeeze—and damn near cum in my pants at her whimper. When I lean away to catch my breath, I see the glaze in her hooded eyes.
“You look drunk,” I tease.
She pulls a face and, with a slow shake of her head, says, “Nope, not even buzzed. You don’t need to worry that you’re taking advantage of me. Believe it or not, I’m sober and fully aware that I wanted to kiss you.”
Thank fuck.
My morals may be as black as my soul, but not with her. Never with her. I’d rather she be sober and hate me than be drunk and kiss me.
“Good. Now that we’ve clarified that, let’s get one more tiny detail straight.” I shift my hold on her, circling my hand around her throat. “You’re mine, Malice. Admit it.”
“No,” grinds out between clenched teeth.
“Always stubborn,” I mutter and release her throat to rest my forehead on hers. “It’s going to be fun fucking the defiance out of you.”
She pushes me away and snorts out a laugh. “Never going to happen.”
“Wanna bet?” I counter.
Alice grabs my face. “Jesus, Maddox, stop ruining it and kiss me again before I change my mind.”
Well, that’s one way to shut me up. Her lips slant over mine, her tongue sliding inside, and my God, this moment with her feels so damn fragile. Like a spider’s web spun around us, and one wrong move—a single breath—will rip it to shreds.