“If you spend any more time with the sassy antichrist, I might have to throw myself back into the void. Stop giving me attitude and take your shirt off.” He dropped the first aid kit onto the floor before taking a seat.
Kneeling in front of me, Maddox looked up. He didn’t quite meet my gaze. Instead, his attention caught on the blood on my chest. Concern softened the creases on his forehead. Looking down at him made my heart skip a beat.
I didn’t know that I’d have a thing for a man on his knees, but seeing Maddox before me sent my heart into overdrive. My core warmed and made me wet between my legs. I clenched my knees together because I knew he’d be able to catch the scent if I let them part at all.
The only thing missing was the collar that I’d grown so fond of. I reached and ran my fingers along the circle of his throat where the collar would sit. Maddox’s eyes drifted closed. He let out a soft groan that filled the room with warmth.
Neck-deep in dead things, we were both very much alive in here. The thunder of my heart and heat of my desire reminded me that I wasn’t dead yet.
“I’m trying to take care of you,” Maddox said, voice low and eyes still closed. “You’re making it very hard to focus.”
At the mention of the wordhard, my gaze dipped. Maddox was, in fact, very hard. My breath hitched at the sight. Of course, I’d seen him naked before. That had been out in the open when danger loomed over our heads.
We were alone now. I wanted him to push me back into the bathtub and cover my body with his own. I’d never had sex in a bathtub before. In fact…
I’d never had sex before.
It wasn’t easy when I spent every minute afraid that my arcana might kill the man between my legs and raise an undead army in the back yard at the same time. There was absolutely no way to get in the mood when that scenario sat in the back of my mind.
My arcana couldn’t hurt Maddox, though. He drank it down like it was life-giving water. The thought made me flatten my palm against the side of Maddox’s neck. I lifted my hand until I could cup his jaw and pull him in for another kiss.
He grabbed my calves and spread my legs apart so he could pull me onto his lap. His lips were rough against mine. I didn’t mind. The bite of his teeth on my lips chased away the pain lingering in my limbs. I couldn’t feel anything other than Maddox’s touch.
When he pulled back, he didn’t stay far. His breath warmed my cheek as he pressed his forehead to mine. “I never thought I’d enjoy getting on my knees for a woman.”
“It’s a good look for you. Probably your best angle,” I whispered.
He gripped my thighs hard, echoing my own aching need.
“We need to get busy, though,” he said.
Just when I opened my mouth to warn him that I’d never been with anyone, Maddox lifted me from his lap and set me back onto the edge of the bathtub. Without him, the room was cold all over again. I sat there, stunned had how badly I’d misunderstood his statement.
I turned my face away as he reached for the first aid kit.
Maddox
I wanted her.
More than anything.
The whole time I busied my hands with the first aid kit, my beast fed me images of Addie naked beneath me. I couldn’t stop thinking about filling her and hearing her moan my name. My soft and sweet Adeline…
She was mine. No other could have her. I’d thought that I could hold off my feelings for her, but they consumed me now. There was no world in which I didn’t belong to her. Even the cold space around my neck begged for the collar just so I could show her that I was hers.
Idiot, I thought,that’s what a wedding ring is for.
Addie pulled her shirt over her head. Five raw circles, like fingers digging into her flesh, marred her perfect skin. Blood dripped down her chest. I shoved my horny, possessive thoughts aside and dabbed at the mess with a cotton ball.
I’d told myself that I would never get married again, but I was thinking about it now. The strange part was that I knew Addie wouldn’t hurt me the way Paige had. The trust that I’d been afraid would never return had made a surprising comeback. With Addie, I had faith that I could love again.
Now, if only the world would stop trying to take her from me.
Blood dribbled from her wounds. She looked down, confusion knitting her brows together. When she touched the blood, her fingers came away red.
My beast snarled at the problem that it could not immediately fix. It seemed strange how the wounds continued to bleed. Sure, they were still fresh, but the blood should have clotted by now. The gouges were shallow. They hadn’t delved too deep into her skin.
“It’s not going to stop,” Addie said, thoughtfully.