“Because I like the way our broken pieces fit, even if they were never meant to.”
So do I.
I kiss him again, and as I do, I feel the aching warmth in my heart spread through my extremities. It’s deliberate and soft, his tongue sweeping longingly against mine in a way that isn’t entirely lustful but rather threaded in promises to one another.
When we part, I take another deep breath, forehead against his, my fingers twisting in his beard.
Maddox frowns at my fingers. “Why are your hands green?” he asks.
“Shit, they’re going to be green for a week,” I say, stepping back. “I found Reed trying to dye his hair after we went to bed, so I helped him. Speaking of which, we have to get you ready, too.”
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“You have—” I tap twice on my phone screen “—four hours until the concert. I’m doing Reed’s makeup there in the dressing room, but it might be easier to braid your hair here, so it’s done.”
“Braiding my hair?” he questions, brows raised.
“I mean, yeah. You said you’re wearing the Bane mask. Have you tried it on? We might have to braid your beard, too.”
Maddox juts his chin out and scratches beneath his messy chestnut hair. “Sounds like a lot of prep. I thought I was going to get to take my time with you before.”
I snort. “Let’s get you sorted, and we’ll see.”
Maddox grabs the costume and the mask from the bedroom. I take one look at it and know he'll have to have his beard braided as well, so I sit on the back of the couch and have him sit in front of me so that I can work.
“I think you can do this with your pussy in my mouth, too,” he says with his back turned to me.
“Why, are you hungry?” I taunt him.
“Starving,” he groans.
I can tell he’s grinning, and I laugh. “If you think I would be able to do anything except pull your hair while you’re doing that, you overestimate my willpower against you. Besides. Reed is upstairs and will probably burst through that door at any moment.”
He acts like he wants to sulk but turns on a scary movie instead.
It doesn’t take me more than a few minutes to finish pulling back his hair in a French braid. He’s massaging my calf and foot in a manner that causes me to take longer than it should have.
After a lingering kiss, I shove him toward the bedroom to change his clothes, as he hasn’t tried it on yet.
“What are you going to be tonight?” he says from the bedroom.
“I have a Sally dress that I’m going to wear,” I tell him. “I wonder if Bonnie dyed her hair already or if she’s waiting for me. I—”
Maddox comes out of the bedroom with the Bane mask on and the vest, and I grab onto the counter to stay upright. He has the camel-color long wool jacket as well, and as he slides it on and adjusts the lapels, I feel every ounce of feminism leave my body.
Mother fuck, how am I supposed to breathe tonight?
I can’t speak. I can’t look anywhere except his body because I know if I look into his eyes, I will lose my mind.
I tuck my arms around my chest, elbow bending as I start biting my thumbnail.
“Andi?”
My eyes widen. I stiffen. His voice is muffled, somehow raspier behind it.
I have to swallow when my eyes lift. “Hm?”
“What do you think? Does it work?”
