Maybe we can make your day less meh. Come to your door.
I gasped in shock.Holy heck, is he here?
My heart was hammering as I stood from the couch, wariness and excitement coursing through me in equal measure. I looked down at my outfit and groaned in dismay. Dressed in sleep shorts and a baggy sweatshirt with my long dark hair thrown up in a haphazard bun was hardly how I’d envisioned seeing Maddox again.
I opened the door, finding an impossibly gorgeous Maddox on the other side. Dressed in a white tee, leather cut, and jeans that molded to his powerful thighs, he was every bit as breathtaking as I remembered. Hell, he was more so. He lifted a brow, offering an impish grin. “Hi.”
“Um, hi,” I stammered, pushing my glasses up my nose. “What are you doing here?”
“Brought dinner.” He held up a paper bag, striding into the apartment with a confidence that suggested he’d done it a hundred times rather than never. The already small space felt more so with him in it. “Got tired of you dodgin’ me, sweets,” he said simply.
He’d wanted to get together many times in the previous weeks and I’d declined each time. “But my uncle…,” I protested as he unloaded cartons onto the counter.
He paused, stepping into my space so that I had to tilt my head up to look at him. “I parked a few blocks over. No one saw me come in. I was careful,” he assured me quietly. “The fact you’re so scared of him doesn’t sit well, babe.”
“I’d be an idiot not to be afraid of him,” I replied matter-of-factly. “Especially now,” I muttered.
Since our first meeting, I’d shared whatever tidbits of information I’d overheard from my uncle with Maddox, and by extension, his club. Despite the danger, the opportunity for vengeance no matter how small was too enticing to pass up.
His jaw clenched. “I don’t like you putting yourself at risk. The information you’ve shared has been helpful, but we can get by without it.”
It was a conversation we’d had more than once over the past few weeks. “You know how I feel about this,” I argued.
He cupped my neck, his callused hand warm on my skin. “I do know how you feel, I just don’t knowwhy.”
“Are we having a date or getting into the gory details of my past?” I tried to quip, though it came out forced.
He eyed me steadily. “We can do both.”
I shook my head. I wasn’t ready to open those wounds. “Not tonight.”
He sighed, biting back frustration, and after a tense moment nodded in agreement.
“What’d you bring me?” I asked, desperate to lighten the mood.
To my great relief, he grinned. “Chinese.”
I was touched by his thoughtfulness. I’d told him the night before how much I’d been craving it. “Potstickers?”
He scoffed as if I was crazy to ask. “Of course.”
I grinned. “Thank you.”
He pulled me in for a hug, which immediately became my new favorite thing. His arms were strong, his body hard pressed to mine, and yet I’d never felt so comfortable or secure. He smelled delicious, like soap and leather, and I had to fight the urge to audibly breathe him in.
We stood embracing in my kitchen for several moments before he kissed the top of my head and let me go. “Let’s get you fed.”
My mouth was watering for another reason altogether as I nodded.
We ate on the couch since I didn’t have a dining table—or chairs. He didn’t seem to mind as we dug into the copious amount of food he’d brought.
When I couldn’t eat another bite, I leaned back against the couch with a satisfied groan. “That was good. I’m stuffed. Should I be embarrassed that I think I ate more than you?”
He chuckled. “Not at all. I’m glad you have an appetite. And some curves,” he noted, his heated gaze sweeping over me.
I fought the urge to squirm, his words making my heart pound.
He pushed his plate back, leaning back on the arm of the couch while I did the same on the opposite side. After a moment of hesitation, I stretched my legs out toward him and fought a shiver as his large hand cupped my bare calf, his thumb stroking over my skin.