She froze. Logic demand that she push him away. He was a stranger… a terrifying one at that.
Her heart kicked up and thudded loud in her chest, the sound echoing in her ears.
And thrilling.
Heat rolled through her, loosening her limbs, so much so that her feet slid off the edge of the doorframe.
And Maddox had a solution for that. With his hands still there, he guided her legs around his waist. Her traitorous body responded by locking her ankles behind his back.
He rewarded her by pressing his pelvis even tighter into her and rolling his lean hips against her, sending shockwaves through her most sensitive areas.
She gasped at the sensation, giving him just enough of an opening to masterfully take her mouth with his tongue, devouring her.
Her shoulders drooped, her back rounded, and her body slumped with the assault. She tried to memorize it all: the feel of his warm tongue coaxing hers, the taste of mint chocolate on his lips that told her he had a sweet tooth and a stash somewhere in his truck, and the overwhelming sense of safety that came with those strong arms surrounding her.
She cupped his jaw, exploring the rough stubble there, so abrasive compared to his soft lips. The contrasting sensations ignited her curiosity, making her want to explore more.
Sans clothing more.
Bodies entwined more.
So she could find all of his contradictions.
She thought her life changed when she found Skylar and a break in the Shepherd case.
No. It changed here. Now. With Maddox climbing into her soul, mutating the person she thought she was to the core into something unrecognizable, desirable, and thrill-seeking.
He pulled back, still holding her face, and searched her eyes. The haziness in them, that she imagined matched her own, cleared with a blink.
He dropped his hands and took a step back. “That was a mistake.”
“Chicken,” she said before rolling her lips inward and tasting the last of him he left behind.
His eyes darkened and narrowed as he stared at her mouth, making her keenly aware of her damp lower lip.
“I’m not chicken. What are we, twelve?” he ground out.
She nodded, and pursed her lips. “Yes, you are… but that’s okay, it’ll be our little secret.” She pulled her legs back into the truck and righted her skirt.
She turned to him. “Well, are we going?” she asked, with a glance back at him.
His lips, the ones that had just given her so much pleasure, tightened before her. He shut the door in her face, heading for the driver’s seat.
His retreat said the conversation was over, but the set of his shoulders told her that whatever was happening between them had only just begun.
four
Maddox satup in bed at 6AM and glanced at the monitors for the cameras set up throughout the house. No movement, which meant his new houseguests were still sleeping.
Good.
After walking them in half-asleep and depositing them in their rooms, he’d lain in bed wide awake. He’d bet he’d only gotten an hour or so of sleep, tops.
And it was all Brynn’s fault.
He winced. Nope, that honor went to him, but she didn’t have to push his damn buttons and challenge him the way she had.
Why had he claimed to like sassy women?
