Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“And you?”
I finally take his hand and gently squeeze. “Lyra Vale.”
He nods. “Pretty name. Kinda name that warns a guy that you’re heavy into star signs and reading horoscopes. Bet you know exactly when your moons are rising and Mercury’s doing . . . whatever the fuck Mercury does.”
I stare at him for a long beat. “Did you just say my moons?”
Maddox shrugs. “Was I close?”
A laugh bubbles up my throat. “Not even remotely. You sound like a man who thinks astrology is sponsored by NASA.”
He winks. “Isn’t it?”
Jesus Christ. Am I blushing?
This man flirts like he was breastfed on confidence and bad decisions. Like breathing is optional. And damn it, I like it more than I ever should.
He grins and inches even closer. “You live around here?”
I smirk back at him. “You trying to figure out if your bed is closer, or mine?”
“You’re forward. I like that.”
I purse my lips for just a moment, really considering him as I allow my gaze to drop again. A beat passes before I raise my gaze back to his and nod toward the building behind me. “I live just here.”
Maddox arches a brow, intrigue thick in his stare. “Is that so?”
His tone makes it feel like this is a challenge, and I’m so here for it. Wanna tick me off your bucket list? You won’t see me complaining. “Mm-hmm.”
There’s something so irritatingly magnetic about him. Maybe it’s the confidence or that wickedly cocky smile. Or, maybe it’s just the week of pent-up frustration invoked by the devil spawn otherwise known as Hunter Cole who ghosts girls midconversation.
He looks at me like I’m the perfect mix of dessert and emotional damage, and it draws me in until I start closing the gap between us, the electricity rising like static before a wild, reckless storm.
His eyes drop to my mouth, and the air tightens between us as I lift my hand and brush my fingers over his chest. “Do you always shamelessly flirt with women on the street?”
“When they look like they bite for fun,” he tells me as his hand reaches out and clutches my waist. “Either that, or when they look like they’ll ruin my life just for something to do.”
I nod, my chin lifting as my voice lowers to an almost whisper. “Nothing I love more than ruining a man’s life.”
“Mmmm . . . just how I like it.”
Fuck. I’m in deep water.
My hand knots into the front of his white tee, and I pull him in even closer, and as his hand twines around my back, tightening around me, he arches a brow in question. “Well, that escalated beautifully.”
“You talk too much.”
“Wired that way.”
I laugh, and before I know it, his lips are crushing down on mine as my body melts into his. At the speed of light, I’m lifted off the ground. My legs lock around his lean waist as he moves. I don’t know where I am until my back hits the brick wall in the alley beside my building.
Our chests rise and fall against each other as his lips move shamelessly against mine, our tongues fighting for dominance. I pant into his mouth as deep, needy groans rumble through his chest.
His hands on my body are firm and warm, not holding back, and I quickly realize that this is about to be exactly what I need to take the edge off. If anybody can put out the fire that Hunter started, it’s this perfect stranger. And if the massive bulge in his pants is anything to go by, then I’ve more than found myself a winner.
Maddox’s lips roam over mine before dropping to the base of my throat and sparking a wild hunger within me. “So, am I a rebound or are we pretending I’m special?”
I laugh as my fingers knot into his hair and bring his lips back to mine. “Rebound,” I groan against his mouth. “For a very messy hookup that got me extremely worked up and left me high and dry.”
“Well shit. I love the honesty.”
“Just saying, you have a very high bar to clear, and if I’m risking bad alleyway decisions for you, I expect to be more than satisfied. And if I’m not . . . I don’t think you’ll survive the night.”
I feel his grin against my lips. “Fuck, you’re a little savage. I like it, but you ain’t gotta worry about me. I can rise to the challenge.”
Savage. There’s that nickname again. It’s almost comical that it comes up now while I’m telling him about Hunter, but maybe this is a little less about Hunter and more about the cutthroat way I treat men. Who knows? Maybe he just knows I’m going to be trouble.
I shake it off and quickly recover as my hand glides up his shirt, feeling the tight ridges of his abs beneath. “I don’t know. The other guy looked at me like he would ruin me.”