“I like being near you.” I also want her to be dependent on me, so much so she’ll need me to forever open doors for her because she’ll forget how. Then she can never go anywhere without me.
“And little did you know,” she says as we go through the back door heading up the stairs to my room, one I don’t have to share with Grant, “men used to open car doors originally so they could help women manage heavy, bulky dresses and protect them from street hazards.”
She follows me up the stairs without another word, and I unlock my door, stepping aside to let her in first.
She heads straight for my dresser, pulling open the second drawer where I keep the shirts I don’t mind her stealing. That’s one of those random gobbledygook facts; she’s got lots of them. It’s hard to pay attention to what she’s saying while she’s changing in front of me.
“During World War II,” she wiggles two fingers at me, “a cat named Oscar survived the sinking of three separate warships and was officially nicknamed ‘Unsinkable Sam.’” A wistful expression crosses her face as I cross the space between us. “I’ve always wanted a cat.”
“Then we’ll get a cat.”
“Luke.” She shakes her head at me. “But we’ll get one, one day.” Soon.
She leans down, her lips brushing mine, tentative at first, then deeper when I pull her closer. I groan against her mouth and lift her off her feet. She wraps her legs around me.
“Madeline,” I warn, my hands gripping her hips. “You have to still be sore.” I had only taken her once last night. I should ask her to stop, but my control is zero with her.
“I’m fine,” she whispers, her mouth trailing down my jaw and my throat. “Right now, I just want you.”
And fuck, I’m weak. I’m so fucking weak for this girl.
I take her down to the bed, pinning her beneath me, and she arches up, her legs staying wrapped around me. The shirt rides up, and my hands are everywhere, greedy, like I haven’t already had her. Like I might never get to touch her again.
“Luke,” she gasps when my mouth finds her neck, sucking a mark just above her collarbone. A claiming. A reminder every time she catches sight of herself in the mirror that she’s mine and I’m hers. She doesn’t stop me, only lets out a small laugh, knowing what I’m up to.
I lift my head to stare down at her glowing face. No one has ever looked at me the way she does. She makes me want to be a better man, one she’s proud to be with.
“I love you,” I say. The words slip out before I can stop them, raw but true. I can no longer hold them in.
She goes still, her eyes widening. For a second I think I’ve fucked up, pushed too hard, but then her face softens, her hands framing my jaw, pulling me down to her.
“I love you, too,” she whispers against my lips. “You terrifying, possessive, ridiculous caveman.”
I laugh, the sound breaking something open in me, and I kiss her like I’m trying to crawl inside her and stay there.
Tomorrow, the school announces a murder. Tomorrow, we talk to Emily. Tomorrow, everything could change.
But tonight, she’s here. She’s mine, and if anyone tries to take her from me, I won’t only burn Kingmakers Prep to the ground, I’ll burn the whole fucking town.
Chapter Thirty-Three
MADELINE
Iwake up to the feeling of being watched. I don’t need to open my eyes to know who it is. Luke’s scent still clings to me. I kind of love it. This is going to sound insane, but I find it relaxes me and comforts me in a way I didn’t know I needed.
Slowly I flutter my eyes open.
Before they are even fully open, I know he’s there, Luke, propped on one elbow, staring down at me with an intensity that should be creepy but somehow isn’t. It’s adorable. His hair is messy, falling over his forehead, and there’s a softness in his eyes that I’ve only ever seen him give me.
He told me some about his childhood. It wasn’t a loving home. It was cold, and everything came with a price. Even his own parents treated him that way. He expressed how he felt it was the same now with the world he lives in: Everyone uses everyone.
Love and affection didn’t exist. Luke said it got worse after Bennett left to attend Kingmakers and then went off to college. His admission made me realize that I was right that something was strained between them, that they hadn’t always been tight. He said at times he felt abandoned.
That’s why he’s a jerk to everyone, at least that’s what I told him. He doesn’t know how to let people in, and it’s easier to make sure they stay the hell away. He’d done well at keeping everyone at a distance. Hell, I’ve seen people in the hallways of school scurry to get out of his way when he’s coming down them.
Now he sees it doesn’t have to be that way. That not everyone is out to use you. There are still good people in the world. While it’s okay to be guarded, you also have to be open. If not, you’ll lose out.
The second my eyes meet his, he moves, pouncing and pinning me to the mattress, his body fully covering mine. He kisses me deeply and hungrily, like he hasn’t seen me in weeks instead of hours. I laugh against his mouth, the sound muffled, and he pulls back just enough to grin down at me.
