Groans rippled through the group. Someone muttered something about killing the vibe, about me being a cockblock, but I couldn’t care less what any of them had to say. Mas lingered, leaning against the stone wall with his arms crossed, grinning with his I-told-you-so crooked smile. “Two is always better than one, Freckles.”
I wasn’t sharing her. Not with him. Not with anyone. “Get the fuck out, Mason.”
He laughed, taking the stairs two at a time after the others followed until it was just Hales and me. Now that we were alone, just what did I plan to do with her? Her lips were slightly swollen from the kiss. Red and tempting and mine.
The quiet pressed in, wrapping around us and waiting to see what would happen now that we were alone. “Maddox,” she whispered, my name barely more than a breath.
“Do you want to stay, Hales?” I asked, running a finger over the edge of her lacy mask, praying she wouldn’t say no, wanting to lose myself to her.
She answered by pressing her mouth hard against mine, and whatever thread of fragile control I’d been holding on to crumbled.
17
MALLORY
Rising onto my toes, I reached for him, pulling Maddox’s mouth to mine. The kiss wasn’t gentle. It was heat and want that had been building since I first laid eyes on him. Desperate and demanding. Even the vastness of Maddox’s arms wasn’t enough. I needed to be closer to him.
As if I’d telepathically communicated my wants, he gripped my hips and spun me around, pinning me to the wall as the hard length of him pressed into me. The stones dug into my back, but I welcomed the pain because it was overridden by so many other intense feelings.
The contrast of cold and heat made me gasp into his mouth, his body blazing against my front, the ancient chill of stone biting through the thin fabric of my dress at my back. Fire and ice. He swallowed the sound, his lips claiming mine harder, deeper.
My hands slid from his shoulders to his chest, feeling the play of muscle beneath cotton as I trailed my fingertips lower, grazing the hem of his hoodie.
He let out a growl that vibrated my lips when my fingers slipped under to touch his very damn defined abs.
God, he knew how to kiss.Not that I had much experience, but it was impossible to think that anything could feel as good as Maddox’s mouth moving over mine. His tongue touched my lips, seeking entrance I freely granted. Our tongues touched, mixing my taste with his, and the kiss became frantic.
His mouth moved hungrily over mine, making my knees weak, and I was grateful for the wall at my back and his body pinning me there. I might have slipped to the floor otherwise. One of his hands stayed firm at my waist, holding me in place, while the other traveled up to cup my jaw, tilting my face to the angle he wanted. His thumb stroked along my cheekbone, the gesture almost tender despite the urgency in his kiss.
I made a sound between a whimper and a sigh, and he shuddered against me in response.
“This is madness,” he muttered. “You’re madness.”
My fingers found the rim of his mask, and I hesitated long enough to realize I didn’t want the barrier between us anymore. I lifted his away, his eyes meeting mine as the mask came off, unguarded now, pupils such a dark green. Too intense. Looking at me like I was the only thing in the world worth seeing. “Some people skirt their entire life on the edge. I know when to jump.”
He never broke eye contact as he reached up and slid my mask off as well, his fingers brushing my temple, tangling briefly in my hair. The lace caught for a moment before coming free, and he let it fall somewhere behind me.
No disguises.
No pretense.
No excuses.
Just us, stripped down to something raw and honest and terrifying.
I had no idea what I was doing with Maddox Corvo, but I didn’t care, not when it felt this good, this right.
His mouth moved to my ear, taking the lobe between his teeth as he rolled his tongue around my studded earring. “Clearly you’re smart, Hales, which makes me wonder what the hell you’re doing with me.”
Turning my head a fraction so our lips were slightly aligned, I whispered, “Losing my mind.”
He trailed kisses along my jaw, down the column of my throat, and I tilted my head back against the stone, giving him access, my breathing coming in short, desperate gasps. His lips found my pulse point, and he paused there, his tongue darting out to taste, and he smiled as my fingers twisted tighter in his hoodie.
His other hand traveled up my leg, fingers trailing heat through the thin fabric of my dress, bunching it higher as he moved in delicious torture. When he gripped the soft skin of my thigh, his palm was hot and possessive against my flesh. His fingers dug in just hard enough to leave marks I’d feel tomorrow, and I gasped against his mouth as he claimed my lips again.
He hooked my leg up over his hip, pressing closer, and the new angle made stars burst behind my eyelids as he pinned me harder to the wall.
He kissed me again, and this time, it was different. Slower. Like he was trying to memorize the shape of my mouth, the taste of me, the way I responded to him. When his tongue swept along my bottom lip, I opened for him without hesitation.
