[BRANDON]Sleeping on the couch had to be one of the worst things in the world. At least for those who weren’t used to it, what’s with all the neck pain and all, or was it just me? Unfortunately, that did nothing to stop me from lying on one and staring at the ceiling of Zara’s apartment. After her dickhead father showed up yesterday, I couldn’t leave Mrs Fisher alone.I hadn’t got a single clue about what was going on with Zara anymore, which deeply troubled me. We had been friends for so long that she was more of a family than just a friend. I was worried about her because she was not the same person anymore. I was worried about her because she’d got herself in deep trouble, and no matter how much she denied it, something didn’t feel right.Maddox Richmond was not just any trouble, he was dangerous. He might not be aware of my existence, but I knew him all too well. I knew the hideous face he disguised behind those charming smiles and fancy suits. I knew a lot more about him than an
[MADDOX]Two days after Richard Milton announced his arrival, I found myself at mom’s place. Zara stood by my side with only Nathan and his wife joining us over dinner.The dinner at mom’s place turned out to be pretty pleasant. Not a single mishap happened. Normally with Nathan and Nadine (his wife) around, mom made situations pretty irritating and mortifying for me—not that I ever let those feelings get a hold of me, and make me feel incompetent. Deep in my heart, I always knew I wasn’t ready for a commitment.But with Zara by my side, mom looked rather elated. She couldn’t stop smiling. Shining through her entire being, her smile touched everyone in the room. She was a laughing and giggling mess and only scolded me and Nathan for like fifty times tops. Which wasn’t terrible. Honestly.Although I couldn’t deny that more than half the time spent having dinner and chatting about shit that somehow felt funny for no apparent reason, my eyes had been glued to my pretty woman in red.She
[ZARA]It wasn’t every day a man like Maddox Richmond dropped on his knees and begged you to give him your worst. It wasn’t every day that one of the richest people in America was willing to risk the reputation he had done so much to protect. The reputation for which he shattered me. The reputation that forced me out of my home—my job. Perhaps that was the reason I had no clue what I was supposed to do with him, or myself, or this moment that seemed to have stopped for an eternity.Because this was not supposed to happen, and yet, here we are…But I knew it was only in my imagination. Time was moving, just like it usually did, and Maddox Richmond could never be that sincere in what he was trying to be in front of me. This might be his twisted version to ask for my forgiveness, but I was a simple person. I didn’t need enormous gestures to know how sorry someone was.And Maddox Richmond was not sorry.Not yet.But I would be an idiot to not take advantage of this opportunity. So, while
My entire body sizzled with a fresh wave of electricity when I straddled him and pecked his lips once. Only once. And when he tried to go for another, almost desperate for another, I pulled my head back and glared.With a soft furrow, he retreated like the good pup that he was. With how tense his muscles were and how hard he was down there, I knew he was struggling to have his way, to shift the control back in his hand.But he didn’t. His loss.Getting off of his lap, I moved my wet hair in a bun and secured it lazily up there.“Take off your clothes and lie down,” I told him and walked over to my walk-in closet.By the time I returned, Maddox was only in his briefs, his eyes following my every move as he lay obediently.I closed the distance between us.Maddox tensed and grabbed my wrist when I hooked a finger in the elastic of his boxers. But I refused to hear whatever he was trying to convey and freed my hand from his tight clasp. I felt his hot rod the second my hand slipped insid
[ARMONICA]“I’m sorry—why am I stuck with you again?”Zach rolled his eyes, tapping away something on his iPad while the car drove through the evening traffic.“Because I don’t have a date and Tyler’s flight is three hours delayed.” He said, without even looking at me, and for the hundredth time perhaps, I let out a heavy sigh.Just the mention of Tyler had my gut twist.“Quit being dramatic,” Zach spared me a brief glance before dropping his focus back to the screen. “It’s only a matter of a few hours, then you’re free to go back to whatever.”I knew where he was going with that insinuation. “Are you mad at me?” I asked, frowning.It wasn’t even surprising anymore. Recently, everyone had been mad at me. Maybe I did have a role to play for Zara and Brandon to ignore me like a plague. But God knows, I didn’t mean to hurt them. Over the last few weeks, Zara had grown on me. And not only because my idiot cousin was crazy for her, but also because she was the kind of person I always aspir
[ZARA]The next morning when I saw Maddox, he was soaring down the stairs with the grace of royalty while I sat at the dining table, minding my breakfast. When one of the maids working in the kitchen noticed him pulling the chair, she quickly dropped whatever she had been up to and rushed to set his plate.I rolled my eyes and focused on my breakfast, trying my damn hardest to ignore the heatwave of his gaze. Unlike any other day, all my efforts seemed in vain, considering the role I had played to piss him off by denying him his share of satisfaction. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a smidgen of guilt myself. Maddox had never denied me the pleasure that was so hard to resist when he filled me so completely. In fact, he made sure to give me more than I hoped. He satisfied me beyond imagination. Not once, or twice, but every single time.With a short mental groan, I tried to suppress that tiny little voice in my head. The one time I take some revenge on him and serve him what he be
“Don’t what?”“Don’t start something you’re not gonna finish,” after all, why would he treat me any differently than the way I did last night? I knew he would walk away the way I did. He was here for revenge.“Darling, I would like nothing more than to finish you off,” he whispered seductively, grazing his luscious lips against the length of my neck.I clenched his shirt tightly, imagining his face buried deep between my legs, consuming me like no other. “No. You won’t.” I shook my head, reminding myself to breathe, eyes still firmly shut. “You’re doing this to punish me.”“Do I need to prove you wrong?”“You can’t prove me wrong when I’m right.”“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing…” a chuckle rippled out of him, but he did nothing to move away or give me some space. Maddox continued to hold me tight, his warm, large hand too close to my thrumming hole. “You’re practically tempting me to prop you on this damn table and widen you enough to shove my cock deep in your pussy. I be
[ZARA]I had seen Maddox angry. I had seen him throwing a fit.I had seen him dazzle a million-dollar grin just so he could get on my nerves.I had seen him snap my father’s wrist with no hesitation at all.But never had I caught him with tears in his eyes. I never thought he was capable of it. I always thought it was humanly impossible for him to feel anything other than vanity and narcissism. It kind of broke my heart a little when worried tears rolled down his cheeks as he clutched the steering wheel too tight, his knuckles turning pale and stiffening every time his phone buzzed with a notification.When I asked him to take me with him, he only nodded before sucking in a deep breath, pulling himself together, as if hoping for the best.Now, we were in the hospital, and Louis was in the Emergency room. Nathan met us at the reception, looking just as dishevelled and worried sick as Maddox was. I could see Nadine trying not to unleash the tears glimmering in her eyes.It was only yest