I Dare You (Truth And Dare Duet 2)

I stood in front of the door, blocking her way out of my apartment. “Undress. Now. Or I will do it for you.”

“Maddox,” Lila warned, taking a tentative step back. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she paused, giving me a suspicious look. “Why?”

She was finally catching on, smart girl. I took a step forward; she took one back. “Because you can’t run away when you’re naked. Simple logic, Sweet Cheeks.”

“Maddox,” she started, before lowering her head, ducking behind her goddamn hair again. She shook her head slowly and muttered to herself, so softly, I almost missed it. “This can’t happen.”

Lila sounded so heartbroken, so lost…and I didn’t like that. Didn’t like the way she hid from me, didn’t like the way she seemed to give up on us, before she even tried to make it work.

Anger and desperation rolled off me as I stalked forward. “What are you so scared of?”

“You,” Lila breathed, when I paused in front of her, a mere inch away. So close I could smell her lavender shampoo, so close I could feel her warmth, so fucking close I could taste her fear. My heart slammed against my rib cage.

“You’re scared of me?” I trailed a finger up her arm, and she gave me a small shiver in return. “I’ll never hurt you, don’t you know that?”

Lila licked her lips, still keeping her eyes downcast. “Not physically.”

Taking her chin between my fingers, I lifted her head up. She closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. “Look at me,” I said to her, my voice hoarse even to my own ears. “Look at me, please.”

My grip on her chin tightened, and she fluttered her eyes open, gazing right into mine. Misery etched her expression for a split second, before she blinked it away.

I had gotten a glimpse of something so good, and I didn’t want to lose it, lose her. I broke my rules for Lila Garcia, and this wasn’t our ending. We were not an incomplete story or a half-written page. We were the whole goddamn book, and I needed her to see that.

I cupped her jaw, as I watched her say a million unsaid words to me with her sad eyes. “I’ve put my whole fucking heart in your hands, Lila.”

Her throat bobbed, and her pretty brown eyes turned glassy. Her next words, her littlest whisper, was my undoing. “You terrify me.”

My sweet Lila. If only you knew what you do to me.

“The feeling is mutual.” A soft confession, a gentle promise.

I released her and quickly pulled my shirt over my head and threw it on the floor. Lila licked her lips, and her attention went to my bare torso, before her head snapped up again. I could see her trying to fight me, having an internal battle with herself.

She wanted me.

But she was scared of having me.

“We were perfect just the way we were before, Maddox. I don’t want to lose that.”

I let out a chuckle at her weak attempt. “Yeah, Babe. It’s a little too late. We stopped being just friends the moment you let me all up in your pussy without a condom.”

Lila shot me a fierce glare, and I grinned harder. She was so fucking easy to tease. I gripped her shirt and started pulling, but she smacked my hand away. “Maddox!”

I paused, watching her resolve grow weaker under my gaze. I wasn’t going to forcibly undress her. A heavy feeling wrapped around my chest, as I realized she could end this, push me back and walk away.

Thud. Thud. Thud. “Do you want to walk away?” I asked, as my voice hardened. “If that is really what you want, I’ll let you go.”

Uncertainty swirled in her eyes, and my palms grew clammy.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

My fingers clenched the fabric of her shirt, waiting. My head lowered, and I leaned my forehead against hers. “Walk away, Lila. Now,” I breathed against her lips. Not touching, not kissing… I waited. I was giving her a choice, a way out. Now… or never.

My heart lodged in my throat, as I waited for her to make up her mind. Thud. Thud. Thud.

She finally sighed softly, her lips parting, and she leaned into me, curling her arms around my neck. “Maddox.”

My name was a whispered prayer on her cherry lips. I loved the way my name sounded, the way it rolled off her tongue, like she was tasting sweet candy.

Goddamn it, my chest tightened, and I let out a ragged exhale. “Whatever we had before, it wasn’t enough. You know it; I know it. We’re perfect now.”

I pulled her shirt over her head, and she let me. The rest of our clothes quickly followed until we were both naked. Leaving our discarded clothes on the floor of the living room, Lila’s arms went around my neck again, and I hoisted her up. She wrapped her legs around my hips, and I walked us to my room. Her lips found mine, as we tumbled together onto the bed, and I slid between her thighs, hovering over her.