I’ve always had a thing for Kenny’s oldest brother, though it wasn’t anything like her crush on Theo. I liked to flirt with Maddox because it made my stomach flip when he narrowed his eyes at me. I never had butterflies over gentlemanly gestures or pretty-boy smiles. Instead, they only came out to play if there was a promise of a firm hand or a stern tone.
That was another reason the man from the show last week had affected me so much. Most of the men who watched me perform either couldn’t handle my brattiness or let me walk all over them. Guestie not only handled it, but reined it in perfectly and used it against me, resulting in one of the best orgasms I’ve ever given myself.
Unfortunately, exploring those desires in real life left much to be desired. I wasn’t stupid enough to put myself in a situation where I could be hurt just because my pussy wanted us to be manhandled, and there wasn’t a single man I trusted enough to experiment with.
Maddox holds Kendall’s keys up and she reaches to grab them, but he tugs them away childishly. “Next time a dash light comes on, you need to tell me immediately, Kendall.”
“It literally just came on,” she snarks back irritably.
“You said it came on a few days ago,” he argues, dropping the keys in her hand.
“Right. So, like I said, it literally. Just. Came. On.”
I laugh at her frustration. I love watching the dynamic between the Whittaker siblings, but especially between any of them and Maddox. Kenny’s usually a sweetheart, but a surefire way of drawing out her mean side is by nagging her. If there’s one thing Maddox loves to do, it’s nag. “Yeah, Maddie. Like she said,” I goad.
He turns his head and his eyes narrow on me. “Any of your dash lights on, brat?”
“Why? Gonna crawl up under my hood and put in some work if so?” I ask, fluttering my lashes at him and pretending thenickname does nothing for me. The oddest twinge of familiarity hits, but it’s gone before I can understand why.
He doesn’t dignify my flirting with a response, but then again, he never does.
“My car’s all good, sir,” I say in a put-on, coquettish tone, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. If he wants to treat us like we’re incompetent, I can play that role. “Thank you for asking, though. I’ll be sure to be a good girl and let you know if I see one of them real pretty colors on my dash now that I know they’re not Christmas lights like I thought.”
Maddox huffs, but the way one side of his mustache quirks tells me he’s squashing a smile. Kenny’s laughter doesn’t help matters—it only makes me break character and grin at her. I love making her laugh.
“I was just trying to be nice, Tex,” he explains, his voice more gentle than I care to hear it.
“I know.” I drop my hair. “It’s weird. Quit it. I ain’t one of your sisters.”
I can just barely see his tongue dart out to wet his lips past his mustache, but my eyes zero in on it all the same. “Trust me. I’m aware.”
My eyes dart back up to his. I swear they’re darker than usual and it makes my breath hitch.
Is he… flirting? He never flirts back with me. It’s always been one-sided. I tilt my head, studying him. He snaps out of it and looks back at Kenny.
“I mean it, Kendall. Tell me immediately next time. Don’t wait a week.”
He leaves before she can growl at him again, not giving me another glance. I watch his Wrangler-clad ass as he does, sighing wistfully and resting my chin on the heel of my hand. “One day, Ken.”
“God, shut up.”
“Does this mean you won’t be my maid of honor?”
The door to the diner closes behind Maddox and I finally look at my friend again.
“Probably not, no. Only because you’ll never make a move on him for real,” she says, popping a huckleberry in her mouth.
My mouth gapes. “Me? I’ve been making moves on him for years! I ask him to take me home every single time he comes to the bar! He’s the one that’s chicken-shit, not me. I bet it’s because he knows I’d have him pussy-whipped in no time.”
She pushes her plate away. “Ugh, I’ve lost my appetite.”
“I bet I fuck your brother before you fuck your boss.”
“God, please stop talking,” she whines, rubbing her temples like I’m the one being difficult.
EIGHT
MADDOX
