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Maddox Vested 25
“She looked . . .” I shook my head and laughed self-consciously.“What? She looked what?”“Like someone I knew at university. Impossible, probably.”“Someone you were close to?”I swallowed heavily. “No. Just a girl. No one special. I’m sure I was mistaken.”I clicked my seat belt into place and pulled the car out into traffic. “Let’s go home.”Luckily, she dropped the subject. “Mine or yours?”I made a fast decision. “Yours.”“Okay.”Dee’s hair shimmered in the moonlight that streamed in the windows. She arched, bending so far backward, her hair brushed my legs. She moaned low in her throat, her muscles constricting around me.“Oh God, Maddox. You feel so good.”I gripped her hips, thrusting up hard. I was desperate to feel, to lose myself in her. I tried to focus on her sounds, the way she looked riding me. Her breasts were full, nipples glistening and red from my mouth. Her neck and collarbones bore patches of pink from my scruff where I licked and nipped at her skin. Her pussy was
Maddox Vested 26
MaddoxI SPENT THE night prowling my condo, the oblivion of sleep eluding me. I was in the office early, desperate to lose myself in work. Anything to stop the barrage of thoughts and squelch the sense of dread in my stomach remembering her words.We should talk.I had nothing to discuss with her. I never wanted to see her again.I went through the motions all day. I showed Becca and Richard the apartment. She was pleased with the unit, especially when I promised fresh paint and refinished floors prior to her arrival. The kitchen and bath had been updated a couple of years prior, and it was in great shape. As she looked around, I leaned on the counter in the kitchen, unable to keep my fingers from drumming restlessly on the edge.“You okay, Maddox?” Richard asked, concerned. “You look tired today.”I waved my hand, keeping my face impassive. “No, I’m fine.”“If you say so.”Becca came into the kitchen, interrupting us. “I think this will do for me. It’s smaller than what I’m used to i
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I hoped his gut was wrong this time, but with Aiden, it rarely was.I glanced at my phone and picked it up, overwhelmed with the need to call Dee. Her voice always helped steady me, and her calm demeanor would be welcome.Except, what could I say to her?A ghost from my past had shown up and I didn’t know what to expect? For all I knew, it meant nothing. Jill could simply be messing with my mind. She had done it previously—many times. I could be making something out of nothing.I tossed the phone onto my desk and rubbed at my face in frustration.I had my own gut feeling in regard to this. And it wasn’t a good one.By Tuesday, I began to relax. There were no other phone calls, no unexpected visitors, and nothing came in the mail. I convinced myself that Jill had seen me, and just to be a bitch, tried my old number, heard my voice and left me a message.This morning, I asked Sandy to have my home line disconnected. She frowned in displeasure when I asked her politely not to divulge my
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I looked at her hand that was fisting my coat, the red nails like talons gripping the fabric. Grimacing with distaste, I pried her hand off my coat, resisting the urge to wipe off the feel of her skin on the fabric.“Don’t touch me.”“That’s not what you used to say.”Anger began to replace the anxiety, and I crossed my arms.“What are you doing here, and more importantly, what the fuck do you want?”She smirked and tossed her hair. It was darker than I remembered, almost black under the streetlights. She was dressed for an evening on the town, her high heels making her almost my height. Her makeup was heavy, her lips a crimson slash in her face.I’d found her beautiful once. Now I saw the ugliness she hid from the world.“I’m working here for the next while. Imagine my surprise when I saw you in a restaurant, laughing and enjoying yourself with all your rich friends. I checked you out, Maddox. You’ve done well for yourself.”I barked out a laugh. “Your opinion of what I have or have
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She tapped her chin with a dark smile. “I want a house in a place of my choosing. And five hundred grand.” She ate another olive. “To start.”She drained her martini and slid off her seat. “Once we agree to that, we’ll figure out a yearly fee. I don’t want to work anymore, and I want to enjoy life.”I barked a laugh. “I think you have me confused with a billionaire. I’m not rolling in it.”“I think you can afford me.”I called her bluff. “Why would I do that?”“I may not be a star, Maddox, but I know a lot of reporters. They’d be happy to run the story I tell them about us.” She pushed the pictures in my direction. “About you.”“It would be a lie.”She laughed, the sound sending a shudder down my spine. “Not according to the pictures I have.”She reached over and arranged the pictures into a neat pile, sliding them into the envelope. She laid a business card on top, tapping it with her red talon. “I’m staying in a hotel. I move around a lot, so I don’t have a place. This is my email a
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“I’m not hungover. I ate something that didn’t agree with me,” I lied. “Been up all night.”He studied me. “Right.” He clapped his hands, the loud sound making me wince. “The architect has the final mockups of Ridge Towers done. We’re seeing them in an hour.”I forced some enthusiasm into my voice. “Great.”“Richard is dying to see them so he can incorporate them into his designs.”“Okay. I’ll make sure he gets them.”“He’s coming here next week for another client. He’ll be in the office on Tuesday.” Aiden rubbed his hands along his thighs. “Bent is still wary of sending them on the internet. I keep telling him we’re fine, but he insists.”I huffed out a sigh. “It’s his company. He calls the shots.”Aiden frowned. “It’s our company, and I know that. I hope he can get past what happened and realize it was one man, with one goal—to destroy him. It’s not going to happen again. Our systems are secure.”I swung my chair around, staring out the window. “You never know when people are going
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DeeI shifted the bags on my shoulder, fumbling to press the elevator button. The doors opened, and I stepped in, groaning in frustration when I realized I had pressed down instead of up. Resigned, I let the doors close, knowing I would have to wait for the elevator to return to the main floor anyway.I stepped to the back, lowering my heavy bags. Between the groceries and my bulging messenger bag, they were a lot to handle.The doors opened, and another passenger stepped in as I rummaged for my keys. I glanced up to ask the person to press my floor and froze. Maddox was in front of me, his back turned my way. His shoulders were stooped and his hair in disarray.Was he ignoring me? I hadn’t seen him since Sunday, and it bothered me more than I wanted to admit. He had told me the office was crazy busy, and on top of that, he wasn’t feeling well, but it felt more like an excuse than the truth.I cleared my throat. “Maddox.”He turned his head, and I gasped when his face came into view.
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Long moments passed, and I wondered if he had fallen asleep. I didn’t want to stop or move and disturb him. The intense satisfaction of knowing I was helping him in some way surprised me. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much I had missed him. His smiles and laughter. His warm voice and bossy attitude. I had been restless and upset, worried and annoyed over his absence, but all of it vanished when he was near. I desperately wanted to know what made him look that way, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me until he was ready. I hoped he was confiding in Bentley or Aiden, because whatever he was carrying was too heavy to cope with on his own.An unexpected feeling hit my chest and I held my breath. I wanted to be that person for him. To share his troubles and ease them the way I was doing right now. I had never wanted to be that person for anyone except my sister, and the feeling was different.I cared about Maddox. More than I should. But it was there, and although I wasn’t sure what t
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