I step on my jeans to pull them off the rest of the way and Maddoc sits back, staring up at me, completely fucking naked.

His eyes trail over me from head toe, and he grips himself, his tongue coming out to wet his lips. Hooded eyes slowly lift and lock with mine.

“Sit on me, baby.”

I swear to God, I grow ten times hotter.

His head is tilted back, his chin tipped back.

He moves his knees together to make room for me, but I turn around instead, my hands planted on his strong thighs as I lower myself onto him.

He sucks in a breath, before growling and sitting up to pull my shirt off, my bra next.

One arm comes around to wrap across my chest, cupping my breast as the other slips between my legs.

I push down farther and we both moan.

And I start riding him, reverse cowgirl style, following the beat of the music seeping from under the door. It’s slow and sultry and sets the perfect fucking mood for an erotic ride.

And with the way he’s touching my body, it’s perfect.

He’s got a tight grip on my nipple, as his palm massages my breast, the other smashed tight under his forearm.

The hand between my legs slaps against my inner thigh and I jolt, widening my legs for him, just as he requested without a word. His fingers slide down the crease of my sex until they’re gliding around himself and me, before sliding back up to my clit. My body starts to shake. He does it again, and again and then pushes on my clit, pulling both of us back until his back hits the support of the chair, mine against him. My pussy is in the air, his hand covering it and together we roll and grind and fuck, deep and bare and son of a bitch.

My legs start to quiver, my moans getting louder and louder.

He lets it happen, doesn’t fight to keep me quiet and soon his match mine.

We’re loud and carnal and covered in sweat.

His dick starts throbbing inside me, so I flex around him and he growls in my ear, biting it as he does.

My toes curl against his feet and his thighs lock under me and together, we come, hard and long and satisfying.

It’s not until our breathing slows that I realize I gave Maddoc exactly what he wanted tonight.

If I’m not careful, he might take more.

I squash the little voice that tells me he already has.

A raspy ass groan has my eyes peeling open. I push my hair from my face to find Maddoc burying his head in the pillow. When he looks up, he tosses the blankets over his head.

“You need to start remembering to close the fucking curtains. It’s too damn bright in here every morning.”

“That’s easily fixed.”

“Yeah, by closing your curtains.”

“Or ... by sleeping in your own bed,” I joke.

He jerks the blanket from his face, frowning.

I laugh lightly, looking to my window.

I never had a window that faced the sun. I mean, the first window I really had was the one at the Bray house, but it faced the opposite side, so the sun didn’t shine through it like this one.

“Hey.” Maddoc’s unexpected gentle tone has me jerking to look at him. His features match his voice and my stomach starts to turn. “You like the sun?”

I shrug, and he gives me a pointed look that has me grinning.

“Yes, big man, I do.” I look away and continue. “Our trailer had a couple windows, but I wasn’t allowed to move the sheets to let light in.” I frown thinking about it. “Not even when the electric was out.”

“Why not?”

“Plenty of reasons. She didn’t want people to see inside, didn’t like the sun in her face when she was coming down, slept through the day to work through the night. The list goes on and on.”

“So you were locked inside a small, dark space most of the time. How’s that work for someone scared of the dark?”

I lick my lips. “It doesn’t. I spent as minimal time home as possible. Once I got older, I tried to only be home when she was gone, but she was so unpredictable I never knew for sure. She’d work from home for a couple weeks then take off for one, come home and sleep for days at a time, then start over. But I mean, it was all normal to me, so it didn’t seem as fucked up as it sounds now.”

He stays quiet.

“I know nothing about her life before me other than her dad died from hepatitis from using dirty needles – it’s why she’s always stayed away from injecting.”

“And her mom?”

“A different type of lethal drug combination.”

“Damn.”

“Sounds crazy, but” – I think about the younger kids in my trailer park and the things they see, parents they live with and the vices they can’t escape – “others have it worse.”

“And you punched that girl, ready to go right back. You can’t prefer that over this place.”

“I know that place. I ran through those streets at night. Not without danger, but at least I know my role. I don’t have to think to function there, everything is second nature. I’m not saying it’s where I belong, but ... at least I know what to expect if I decide to go back.”

I look over at Maddoc.

He stares for a few seconds and I know he wants to argue, maybe even say I belong thinking I need soothing or something when I don’t, but he accepts it for what it is and nods instead.

I stretch against the mattress and flip over on my stomach, facing him.

I change the subject.

“Were you ever gonna admit you sleep better in this bed than yours?”

He groans and pulls me half on top of him, my torso laying sideways across his naked chest. “No. I wasn’t. My brothers have big mouths.”

“And big dicks!” Royce shouts from the hall.

Maddoc reaches over, picking up his water bottle from the nightstand and chucks it at the door. “Quit fucking listening by the door!”

“I was doing no such thing!” Royce shouts from the other side. “I was simply walking by and heard you talking.”

“Keep walking, Royce!” I shout and I hear his feet carry him away.

Maddoc shifts his frown to me. “Why’s he listen to you?”

“’Cause.” I grin, running my fingertip across his pec lines. “He likes an authoritative woman.”

Maddoc glares, making me laugh.

“We need to get up. You have practice and I need to go to the store.”

He lets me go, but I feel his questioning eyes on me as I stand and pull out a pair of jeans from the drawer, slipping them on. I pull a hoodie over my tank top and put my hair up into a ponytail, smoothing the top with my hands before dropping onto the mattress to put shoes on.

I stand and turn to Maddoc, finding him still staring.

“What?”

His eyes travel over me with unnerving thoroughness, and a small smile pulls at his lips. “Just like that, huh?”

When I tilt my head in question, he makes his way to me. Slipping his hands up the back of my shirt, he pulls me to him.

“You just stand, throw some shit on, run your fingers through your hair and come out looking like a fucking wet dream?”

I pop a brow. “Thanks?”

His eyes bounce between mine before he takes his time leaning down and catches my lips between his. He nips, then kisses me with a slow, obsessive rhythm.