Page 59 of Make You Mine

Or at least, that’s what it feels like.

She has no idea what danger she faces being here by herself in that state. Always fragile, always the prey. While that might have bothered me when I first met her, how easily I could crush her, now it ignites a protective instinct in me.

“You came.”

“You called,” I remind her.

“Yeah.” She captures a piece of hair between her fingers and twists it.

If I didn’t know her, I’d think she was flirting with me.

“Let’s go home.”

“Or…” She pauses, her words elongated and slow. “We could stay and have a drink together.”

“Absolutely not.” I extend my hand toward her, palm open and welcoming. “Let’s go.”

She stares at it, hovering her palm above mine, tracing her finger over the creases of my own. A ticklish sensation overtakes my tired hands.

She pouts, staring at me with a mix of innocence and mischief. “Suddenly, I don’t want to.”

“Little Demon, come on. We’ve got work tomorrow. You called me. I’m here to take you home. Let’s go.”

She spins around in her seat. “Nope. I’ll stay here, with my friend, Joseph.”

A crease forms between my eyebrows. “Where is he?”

My eyes drift from one side of the room to the other. I barely remember what most of the staff look like at school. I’m not sure I’ll recognize a damn janitor.

“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “Maybe he isn’t here.” The pout returns to her face. “Of course, he isn’t. He left, just like my date. Leaving me here all alone.”

“You’re not alone,” I grunt.

“I am. It’s okay. It’s my destiny. I accept it. Just me, myself, and this glass of delicious poison.” She grabs her almost-empty glass, twirling around the remaining liquid in it. “I’m going to get another, to celebrate my misery.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Would you just let me sit here and drowninmysorrows?” The last part comes out in a slur. “ImeanIdon’tknowwhythiskeepshappeningtome.”

Too bad I’m too stubborn to let her do that.

I take the empty seat next to her and press my palm against her exposed thigh. I probably shouldn’t, and she probably shouldn’t let me. But it does the job. It brings her full attention to me.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I ask.

Her mouth opens in an O shape.

“It’s because you haven’t found the right man for you, yet.”

“I don’t want the right man. I just want someone to want me. To make me feel desired.” She sighs. “And I want to get laid. Is that too much to ask? I don’t wanna die a virgin.”

And there goes my moment of sincerity. Ruined. And now I can’t stop thinking about her words. And my cock’s hard in my pants.

All these years—and my Maddy’s still a virgin. Mine to take. Has she been waiting all this time for me?

No. That’s stupid.

“You should keep your voice low, saying something like that,” I whisper.