I Dare You (Truth And Dare Duet 2)

Maddox tucked stray hair behind my ear, and his lips caressed my temple. “You’re so goddamn beautiful, Lila,” he said in his deep, raspy voice.

My chest fluttered, and my eyes closed, as I shoved my face into his chest and inhaled. I was addicted to him and his scent. It was like I wanted to breathe him in, all the time. Who knew you could get addicted to someone’s smell? That was so weird, but damn my hormones.

It scared me. Being so addicted to him.

God, it scared me shitless.

And this was why…

“Maddox?”

He hummed. “What?”

“Can you promise me something?”

“Babe, I’m dick deep inside your soft pussy. You can ask me anything right now, and I’d say ‘yes,’ before you can finish your sentence.”

I gave him an internal eyeroll. Of course, I should have known he’d spout some shit like that. Maddox had a one-track mind.

I breathed in a ragged breath, preparing myself for what I was about to say. There was a sudden, hard lump lodged in my throat.

His fingers smoothed down my back, as if he could sense my worry. “What is it, Lila?”

I loved the way he said my name.

I loved the way he touched me.

I loved the way…

I loved…

Keeping my eyes closed and my face buried in his chest, I spoke, “If you ever get tired of this… tell me.”

Maddox’s hand paused on my back. “This?”

“Us,” I whispered.

He was silent for far too long. My lungs squeezed, until I suddenly couldn’t breathe. “Why are you so quiet?”

“I’m thinking…”

Did I just fuck this up? “What are you thinking about?”

Maddox’s head lowered, and his hot breath feathered across my cheek, sending another round of shivers down my spine. “I’m thinking… that maybe I didn’t fuck you hard enough, just now, if you’re doubting this… us…”

Oh, God.

His hand came up, and he gripped my jaw, lifting my head up. His teeth scraped along the column of my throat. I squeezed my eyes closed. “What do you want, Lila?”

That question again…

“You,” I gasped.

His hand inched down to the base of my throat. My breath hitched when he wrapped his fingers around my dreamcatcher. The necklace I never took off. Our dreamcatcher.

“Ask me what I want.” There was a hard command in his voice, thick and deep.

I swallowed, my tongue feeling heavy in my mouth, and I could barely push the words out. “What do you want?”

“You,” Maddox murmured.

His cock hardened inside me, twitching, and he gave me a slow thrust. “Look at me,” he grunted. My eyes snapped open. Darkness casted a shadow on his face and oh my, the look in his eyes.

It was downright territorial and predatory. “Ask me again.”

“What do you want, Maddox?”

“You,” he said. “Never, ever doubt my feelings for you again, little dragon. Next time, I’ll whip your ass.”

I gasped, and my ass clenched at the threat. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me,” he challenged, with a dark look.

“I don’t doubt you, Maddox. But I need you to promise me something.”

Maddox waited patiently for me to continue. Damn him, for being so sweet… so understanding… so patient with my overthinking self.

“You’ll never lie to me. You’ll never keep secrets from me.” I brought my hand up and showed him my pinky. “Promise?”

Maddox’s face darkened, flashing with an unreadable expression, but it was gone too quickly for me to consider it. He wrapped his pinky around mine. “Promise.”

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. His chest rumbled with a deep sound in response.

Maddox was the person my dad told me about. “Always choose the person who makes your heart beat a thousand miles an hour,” he had said to me. I remembered telling Maddox that I didn’t want to ever fall in love.

Because I wasn’t strong enough to lose yet another person in my life.

That was four years ago.

And now…

Daddy, I found him. Wherever you are, if you’re watching over me… I found my person like you found mom.

I took the pumpkin pie out of the oven, fresh and hot, as Gran set the table. The pie, with its walnut crust, was Maddox’s favorite, and I always made sure it was for dessert, as often as I could.

You’d think Gran was feeding an army with all the food, but there were only four of us. She placed her famous pulled pork, made in her newly acquire instant pot, in the middle of the table, as Pops and Maddox joined us. My chest filled with warmth at the sight of the two of them together.

The two most important men in my life. I was just glad they got along so well.

Maddox met my gaze, and the pit of my stomach fluttered. It was some cosmic reaction I couldn’t explain because we didn’t need words; we just looked at each other and smiled.

This was my favorite time of the year. Only because I got to go back home to visit my grandparents since it was Gran’s birthday. It also happened to be Maddox’s favorite too because of two things: food, and, even though he’d never admit it, he loved the feeling of being part of our little family.