Page 38 of Thirst Trap

He should’ve said no.

He should’ve never let her crawl into that basement.

But her lips. Her thighs. Her voice.

“Fuck.”

He stood suddenly, pacing, like that might burn the ache out of his system. Like he could out walk the fact he was falling for her. That he’d created this whole double life and now he couldn’t remember where one version of him ended and the other began.

Then the door opened.

He didn’t hear her knock.

Of course she didn’t.

Maddison stepped in slowly, holding his coffee like nothing was wrong. Her eyes scanned him, took in the rolled up sleeves, the tension in his jaw, the way he wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“Lucas?”

He didn’t answer.

She walked to him. Quiet. Intentional. Placed the coffee down beside him and waited.

He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t.

She sighed and stepped closer. Gently touched his chest.

“Breathe.”

His eyes flicked up and the moment he met hers something in him cracked wide open.

Maddison saw it. The wild, raw panic behind his control. The shaking beneath the silence.

“You think you fucked everything up,” she whispered.

“You didn’t.”

He swallowed hard. “I should’ve sent you away.”

She shook her head, fingers curling into his shirt.

“You didn’t. And now I’m here.”

Lucas let out a shuddering breath. His forehead pressed to hers. Their lips didn’t touch but it felt more intimate than any kiss they’d shared.

“I’m not good at this,” he rasped. “At people. At being real.”

Maddison whispered, “You’re not doing this alone, Lucas.”

A beat. Then he wrapped his arms around her and just held. No words. No tension. Just Lucas Creams, collapsing into the one person who made him feel safe enough to break. And Maddison smiled softly, rubbing his back, knowing this was the moment he’d remember when things got dark again.

Because even the most dangerous men needed someone to whisper you’re not a monster. Lucas held her like he was afraid she might vanish. Like she was the only tether holding him to the ground.

Maddison didn’t speak. She just let him breathe her in. Let him shake quietly, arms locked around her waist, forehead against her temple.

The room was still.

No noise.