Stepping into view, I threw my arms wide as I spun in a circle, showcasing my new look. “What do you think?”
Maddox leaned a hip against the island. “Honestly? I like you better like this.” When I rolled my eyes, he doubled down. “Seriously. Because right now, when I look at you drowning in my clothes, I see a girl who belongs in my home. My girl.”
I raised an eyebrow, closing the gap between us. “Is that so?”
“Mmhmm.” He pulled me into his arms once I was within his reach. “You’re gonna smell like me.” Maddox dipped his head, letting his nose trail along the curve of my neck.
Arching into his touch, I sighed. “Maybe I’ll just keep these clothes, then.”
“They’re yours. Everything I have is yours.”
I pulled back, frowning. “Come on, Maddox. We just got the all-clear to date today. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
He let out an annoyed huff. “Do you really believe that? That today is the start of us?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Not in my mind. We’ve been tiptoeing around this for months, on a collision course with this moment right here, where you finally accept that there’s something deeper between us. It was always going to end here. With you in my arms, in my home, a permanent fixture in my life.”
Bristling, I stepped back. “So, that’s how it’s going to go? You’ve decided the rest of my life for me without asking what I might want?”
“Of course not.” His brow furrowed. “I don’t want to bully you around in our relationship, and I’m sorry if that’s how you see it. All I’m trying to do is tell you howIfeel.”
“And how is that?” I challenged, my heart racing in anticipation of the unknown answer.
“That I’m falling for you. Hard. So fucking hard. And it’s terrifying to think that you might never get to that same place.”
My lungs stopped working, the ability to draw in air seizing at his words.
Maddox’s hands cradled my face, concern alighting in his stunning emerald eyes. “Why are you crying?”
“Am I?” I brushed my fingers across my cheeks, surprised when they came away wet.
“Was it too much? I know you think it’s too soon, but I can’t help it.”
Swallowing, I tried to find the words. “I think I am too.”
“You’re what?” His eyes searched mine.
I knew once I said it, there would be no taking it back. But my heart had already decided, so what was the point in denying it any longer?
“Falling.” When Maddox simply stared at me, I added, “In love. If that wasn’t clear.”
He let out a ragged breath, his eyes sliding closed as his face transformed into an expression of pure relief. “Thank God.”
It was impossible to stop the joy bubbling within me. Maybe this was it. I’d kissed my fair share of frogs and had finally found my prince. Only time would tell, but for now, I would allow myself to be happy with a man who wanted to cherish me—his words, not mine. Seemed like a pretty good deal from what I’d witnessed of my best friend’s relationship.
“Maddox?” I looped my arms around his neck.
“Yeah?”
“Suddenly, I’m not very hungry anymore.”
His head dropped to the crook of my neck. “Hmm. That’s too bad. Because I’m starving.”
I moaned when his teeth sank into the skin of my shoulder where the neck of his shirt I wore gaped. Maddox gripped my hips through the loose fabric of his clothing, lifting me with ease, and I locked my ankles around his waist.
Moving rapidly up the stairs, he laid me gently onto his massive bed, eyes scanning hungrily when I sat up to tear the T-shirt over my head to reveal I wore nothing beneath.
