I Dare You (Truth And Dare Duet 2)

Maddox gave me a heartbroken nod. His eyes flashed with darkness and fear.

He trusted me.

Like I had trusted him.

The only difference between us was that I didn’t, and would never, betray his trust.

I thought Maddox and I were alike. He’d never hurt me, just like I’d never hurt him. Not willingly. Not intentionally.

It turned out… I was wrong.

Wrong about Maddox. Wrong about us.

“Hold my hand,” I told him. He did, grasping my hand like he was afraid I’d let go. “Trust me.”

It took me a few seconds to register what was happening, to realize what I was about to do. But it was too late. I didn’t pause to think.

He needs me.

My lips met his, as I pushed the button on the elevator. It pinged open, and I tugged Maddox toward me, curling my arms around his neck, as I dragged us backward into the elevator.

The moment my lips met his, Maddox went rigid. His wide shoulders stiffened, and his neck corded with tension. He groaned into the kiss – a groan of pain, fear… shock… and so much anguish.

“Lila,” Maddox whispered against my lips, his voice gritty with emotions.

“Kiss me.” I pulled his attention back to me, when he started to understand what was happening and where he was. In the elevator. A choked gasp echoed on his full lips, and he started pulling away from me, his eyes wide with terror.

“Kiss me,” I breathed. My lips parted, and I traced the seams of his lips with the tip of my tongue.

His breath quickened, and I felt his inner struggle, the pain I knew that plagued his mind. His worst nightmare. The moment he opened for me, I shoved my tongue in his mouth. Maddox grunted against my lips, and his hands went to my ass.

He hoisted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his hips, hooking my ankles behind him. His fingers dug into my ass, and he slammed my back into the elevator wall.

It’s okay, I got you. Feel me.

Our kiss was a battle cry, a crazed desperation, so thick I almost cried out as his lips brutalized mine. I inhaled him; yet, he stole the air from my lungs.

He took my soul in the palm of his hand, and I gave him my life.

The kiss consumed us. We lost all sense of time and place.

Maddox pushed both hands into my hair and wrapped his fingers around the long strands. He jerked my head back, kissing me harder.

Kiss. He was greedy. Kiss. I was angry. Kiss. He was desperate. Kiss. I had been ravenous. Kiss. Brutal. Kiss. Frantic.

I hate you, I exhaled into the kiss.

Maddox groaned, and he clutched the back of my neck, his fingers flexing, as he gripped me hard. I don’t hate you, I breathed into his lips.

Feel me, he said.

My heart beat savagely against my rib cage. The elevator pinged, and the doors slid open, as we reached our floor. Maddox dropped his forehead to mine, and our lips parted. His chest heaved, and he inhaled a ragged breath. My nails dragged across the nape of his neck. “It’s okay. We’re here.”

He took a slow step out of the elevator with me still wrapped around him. Maddox turned his back to the wall, as the doors slid closed once again. His knees weakened, and he slid to the ground. I was practically straddling him, as we sat in the empty hallway of the third floor.

His demons had been silenced.

Mine were still wide awake.

“Lila,” he rasped. “Fuck, baby.”

I wrenched away from him and stood on shaky legs. “Don’t. I was only helping.”

My lips tingled, and my skin turned cold, already missing his touch. My lungs squeezed and burned, as I silently gasped for air.

“Why?” Maddox kept his gaze on me. “Why did you help?”

“Because I had to,” I said through clenched teeth, “because even though I can’t stand to look at you, it was the right thing to do.”

Maddox got to his feet, his jaw hardening. “Why?”

My fists clenched at my sides. “I pitied you. That’s why.”

His face clouded over, and I knew I hit the mark. Maddox Coulter hated to be pitied.

“Your sympathy is misplaced,” he snarled, taking a threatening step toward me. “Do you why I did it? Why I kept that fucking secret? Because. I. Wanted. To. Protect. You. Because I didn’t want you to relive your past.”

He continued advancing toward me, forcing me to step back. “I wasn’t protecting Christian like you seem to think. In fact, I want nothing more than to throw him behind bars and watch him rot in fucking hell. He. Is. Nothing. To. Me. Except the person who hurt you.” He thumped his fist over his chest. “My Lila. He hurt you, and I want to hurt him.”

My hands shook, and my core trembled. The lump in my throat grew bigger and bigger, forcing me to choke on it.