Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Maddox leads me through the alleyway to his car that’s parked in a garage a few blocks down. It’s a brisk walk, and I have to move double-time to keep up with his long legs. Soon we’re in his Rolls-Royce.
I rub my hands together. “Blast the heat, if you can. I’m freezing.”
“Of course.” Maddox starts the car and the heater comes on. “It’ll take a second for the heater to warm up. But I also had the seats outfitted with warmers when I refurbished the car. I’ll turn yours on.” He flicks another switch.
“Oh, thank God.” I sit back. “It should be illegal for a car not to have these.”
He chuckles. “I’ll call my contacts at the mayor’s office.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Your contacts where?”
He blinks for a minute. “Just a joke.” He puts the car in reverse and backs out of the parking spot. He then drives us out of the garage, fiddling with the stereo buttons.
“Is there a classical station you like?” he asks.
I widen my eyes. “No man has ever changed the station in his car for me.”
He laughs. “Then you haven’t dated any good men.”
Good grief. If that isn’t the truth…
“Ninety-eight point seven. WFMT. A very good station. Though they sometimes play some weird shit this late in the evening.”
“I like weird.” Maddox tunes the radio, and some atonal chamber music starts playing. He winces. “Okay, maybe that’s too weird.”
I chuckle. “The classical composers went a little off the rails in the early twentieth century, especially the twenties and thirties. I think this is a string quartet by Schoenberg.”
“Well, I suppose cats being butchered alive need musical representation as well.”
I can’t help it. I let out a guffaw at that.
He chuckles. “Glad you found that amusing.”
“I did.” I reach over, place my hand on his elbow. “I find you wholly amusing, Maddox.”
“Likewise, Alissa.”
We drive the rest of the way in silence, listening to Schoenberg’s scraping strings.
The drive isn’t long—after all, it’s pretty late—and within fifteen minutes, Maddox is pulling up in front of my apartment building.
He stops the car, looks over at me. “I had a wonderful evening, Alissa.”
“Me too. That’s a remarkable place you belong to.”
He cracks a small smile.
I reach for my car handle, but he holds up a hand. “Absolutely not. One sec.”
He unbuckles his seatbelt, opens the driver-side door, and walks to the other side of the car to open the door for me.
I look up at him. “Do you make a habit out of opening doors for ladies?”
He smiles. “Alissa, if you stick with me, you’ll never open another door again.”
A chill runs down my spine, and it’s not from the icy wind rushing through the air.
He walks me into my building, up the stairs to my door on the third floor.
Moment of truth.
And I…
I lose my nerve.
“I’d invite you in for that drink, but I’m worried I’d just pass out if I allowed another drop of booze into my system.”
He narrows his eyes, looking down slightly. “Of course, Alissa.”
“But I had a wonderful time tonight, Maddox.”
His eyes brighten. “I did too. I’d love to take you back to the club. Now that you know what it’s like, you’ll be able to enjoy it more. Live in it, soak it all up.”
“I’d love that.”
“Wonderful.” He looks into my eyes. “Well… Good night, Alissa.”
“Good night,” I say, keeping my gaze fixed to his.
He crinkles his eyes playfully, keeping our shared stare unbroken. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
“I won’t,” I chuckle, but then I gather my courage and wrap my arms around him. “No promises for me, though.”
His eyes erupt into dark pools of fire again, the same fire I saw in them when he finished off my drink. “I hope not.”
He finally leans in and touches his lips to mine.
The kiss is gentle at first, almost chaste. We stand there, allowing our mouths to overlap with one another. His lips are softer than I imagined, like two puffy clouds.
But from clouds, lightning forms.
And within a few seconds, he’s probing the seam of my lips with his tongue.
I open instantly, sliding my tongue against his. I tighten my hold around his waist as he wraps his own arms around me, digging his fingernails through my coat and into my flesh.
“Alissa,” he moans into my mouth.
The deep timbre of his voice vibrates into me, reaching my heart.
I catch on fire. All lips, teeth, and tongues. He tastes of the elderflower liqueur, of leather and musk. And of something solely unique. God, this kiss. I move my arms away from his waist up to his head, tangling my fingers in his soft hair.
He breaks the kiss and heads to my neck. Jolts of pleasure spike through me, sending sparks that ricochet everywhere and land between my legs.
He’s sucking at my neck but never stays in one place too long—thank God, I don’t need to arrive to work tomorrow with a neck full of hickeys. He finally lands at my ear, nibbling first at my lobe and then sinking his tongue inside.