“Cops are coming.” I straighten up to look at him through watery eyes and sure enough the wails of sirens can be heard off in the distance. I look in the direction it’s coming from and spy the red, blue, and white lights against the night’s background. I know it seems implausible that he should be here considering we were three towns away, but panic takes hold of me at the thought that Tim might be one of the officers in the squad car. “We need to go.” I can’t agree more. No matter how irrational my thinking, Tim could appear this far away from his jurisdiction, and I’d feel better not staying around to find out.
We make our way to the fire escape that’s located on the side of the building. He goes down first and I follow. It’s a pretty easy climb down until I find myself missing a step. Futilely, I reach for one of the metal rungs to steady my balance but I’m not fast enough. I only have time to hold my breath, squeeze my eyes shut, and tauten my body for the inevitable impact of the fall. Instead of the hard, unforgiving ground I expect, I land awkwardly in Maddox’s arms.
“You hurt?”
I shake my head, “No.” I hate he feels the need to set me down on my feet again. But I guess it’s necessary if we’re going to get out of here without getting caught. He reaches for my hand and interlocks our fingers before he takes off again pulling me behind him. In the dirt parking lot, everyone is getting in their cars and scattering. Just as we make a dash for his truck, I see Mallory. Henri is nowhere to be seen. I can’t immediately decide whether that’s a good thing or not but I know I would prefer seeing him with Mallory than the two guys she is currently sandwiched between.
Like before, I come to a sudden standstill, letting go of Maddox’s hand. He halts about a few feet away, mid-run, and turns to me with a frown.
“What’s up?”
“I see my friend,” I say, and then quickly turn away from him to call out to her. “Mallory!” I shout across the parking lot, cupping my hands around my mouth to amplify my voice. “Mallory!” I take a few running steps toward her and stop again. “Mallory!” She looks around for a bit and waves fanatically when she finally sees me. She’s smiling like an idiot as she races barefoot toward me. She looks terrible. Smeared makeup, mussed hair, and her dress is hiked up so far up her legs I can see the lacy material of her panties beneath.
“Oh my gawd, Aylee!” She crashes into me with a giggle. She smells like smoke, bathroom, and sweat. It’s obvious she’s a little high. Nuzzling my neck, she grabs a tendril of my hair and rubs it between her index finger and thumb. “So soft. You have pretty, pretty hair, Aylee.”
I put my arm around her waist to keep her steady on her feet as she leans into me. “Where are your keys? I’m taking you home.”
She pulls away with a frown. “No…no, I’m not going home. There’s an after-party. I’m going to party with these guys.” She swings halfway around and points a thumb toward the two guys who’ve followed her. They’re older, of course. More late twenties, younger than the geriatric crowd Mallory is so fond of. Both long-haired and grungy-looking, with a myriad of tattoos decorating their skin; they look like the sort of guys you’d find at a dive bar that catered solely to the outlaws of a motorcycle gang. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what they want from her. Or maybe they already took it and were ready for more. Neither one of them look like they’re up to any good. “I know you don’t want to come, so I’ll catch you later, OK?”
I don’t see him approach. But I know instantly he’s close, standing directly behind me in fact.
“Eh, yo, Max, man, what’s up?” The one flanking Mallory right steps forward at the same time Maddox does. They do the customary handshake of open palm to palm and fist bump that every guy seemingly knows how to do. He’s next to me now but the way he’s positioned is more like he’s standing in front of me, outwardly blocking me from the two men.
“Not a damn thing.” He keeps his response short and clipped. It’s something I’ve noticed he does when he’s on edge about something. He doesn’t look away from the other two men but gives only the slightest incline of his head in my direction to indicate he’s talking to me, “We’re out of here.”
“Mallory, let’s go.” I hate coming out of the shadow of Maddox’s protection but I do so anyway to reach for Mallory’s arm.
“No!” she screams, pushing me away and stumbling backward. “I told you, I’m partying with these guys. I don’t need you to babysit me; I’m fine.”
I wish she wouldn’t make this difficult. “You can party with them some other time, right now you need to come home with me and sober up.”
“Damn it, Aylee, you’re totally fucking with my vibe right now. Listen, I know you can be a little slow sometimes so I’m going to say this really slowly. I’m. Fine. Leave. Me. Alone.”
“Mallory.”
“This your bitch, Max?” the other one asks with a lewd smirk. He pins me with his stare as he tosses a careless arm around Mallory’s shoulder. “If you’re so worried about your friend here, you’re more than welcome to come with us. I’m sure Max won’t mind sharing you. He’s done it before. What do ya say, Max? We sharing pussy?”
With complete ease, he slides a hand beneath my hair and grasps my nape, smoothly tucking me against his side. “Not hers.” His voice is quiet. Glacial. Those two little words are saturated with clear possession. “I’ll be seeing you.” Retaining his hold on me as we turn to walk away, he replaces his large hand with his arm.
Looking over my shoulder, I say, “But…Mallory.”
“Your friend’s a whore,” he says, bluntly. “She’s a fucking drive-thru, not much you can do for her, unless you want to join her?” He stops next to his truck and stares pointedly down at me. “You got fast food pussy you want to offer?”
My tongue darts out to nervously lick my bottom lip. “No,” I murmur, ducking my head as heat explodes in my cheeks. “Not to them.”
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!
Please let me have said those words in my head!
God, please!
When he tucks his fingers beneath my chin to slowly raise my head, I’m beyond mortified to see his expression, afraid I’ll find mocking laughter there. But when I look up at his face, there’s an intense, smoldering blaze in his hooded eyes. “If you’re offering up your pussy to me, be damn sure it comes with no emotional baggage.” Still holding onto my jaw, he angles my head slightly before leaning in to place his warm lips at the shell of my ear, “I’ll take your pussy, Aylee, gladly.” An eruption of shivers bursts along every inch of my skin as flames of heat lick between my thighs, liquefying my pulsating flesh. “But I don’t want your heart. You can keep that,” he adds.
I plummet from the height of burning desire and fall into a pit of cool despair. He’s so good at taking me from one spectrum of my emotions to another so quickly that I need to know how he gained this ability. When did I give him the power to hurt me?
“Good.” My attempt at playing cool I’m sure is an epic failure, but I maintain my composure. “It’s not something I’d offer you anyway.”
Curiosity bleeds into his unerring stare before the corner of his mouth lifts into a half smirk. “Let’s keep it that way.”
Chapter 16
Maddox
I read her like a book. She thinks she’s hiding her emotions, but they play across her beautiful face like a silent movie. I have to admire her for trying, though, even if her large, expressive eyes make it impossible for her. But honestly, this is the way it’s going to be. I’m stupid enough to think about going a few rounds in the sheets with her. And I’ll even find someone to complete the trio, but I can’t have this turn into anything that resembles a relationship.