I Dare You by Lylah James

Maddox had been… quiet. Which was unusual. His cocky, arrogant attitude had been replaced with a brooding, silent Maddox. He looked like he was lost in his thoughts, and it had been three days since we returned to school from our visit to my grandparents’. We were back to our regular schedule and classes, but the Maddox, who returned with me, was not the same who left for the long weekend a week ago.

“I’ve never seen you stare at a business textbook so hard,” I said, placing my elbows on the table and leaning forward. We were sitting in a quiet corner in the library, and it was one of our late-night studying sessions. But I’d bet he wasn’t even focusing on the text he was supposed to be reading. His eyes barely moved across the paragraphs, and he was still on the same page for the last thirty minutes.

I could be overthinking again, but…

Something wasn’t right. Something was up with him.

I had been watching him carefully for the past three days, waiting to catch a glimpse of my Maddox behind the silent mask he now wore. He touched me, kissed and fucked me… but something was different.

Our love making was rough and quick. There wasn’t much to complain about, since he still made me feel good, but I missed his tender touch, his sweet kisses, his soft words.

I missed him making love to me.

I missed my Maddox.

Dread washed through me as I started overthinking the situation. My head told me he was tired of me. Maddox wasn’t the relationship type, and maybe, he realized this was a mistake. My heart argued with that fact, refusing to believe Maddox would be so careless with my feelings.

Maddox blinked at me, then scowled. “Sorry, I don’t understand shit,” he muttered, shoving his textbook away and slamming his laptop closed.

That was definitely not Maddox. He wasn’t a genius, but he was a smart student and on top of his classes. He worked relentlessly to keep both his football scholarship and his grades up where they needed to be.

“I’d help, but I’m more of a chemistry person,” I teased, nodding toward my own textbook, which was filled with highlighted paragraphs and pages. My yellow highlighter laid next to my laptop.

My heart withered when Maddox barely cracked a smile. His muscular neck corded with tension, and he looked a little… lost. Maybe angry. Something was terribly wrong, and I didn’t know what to do. “What is it?” I asked slowly.

His shoulders went rigid, and his jaw hardened. I could practically hear his grinding molars. His blue eyes, deep as an ocean that I could easily drown in, and I… did, were fixated on mine.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” The knot in my chest began to build, growing tighter and tighter around my lungs.

Talk to me, Baby.

Maddox shook his head. “There’s nothing to tell. I’m just so fucking exhausted and stressed about the upcoming midterms.”

Lies. He was lying…

And when he lied… he didn’t meet my eyes.

“Maddox–”

“Maddox?” I turned to face the voice who cut me off.

Bianca.

What the hell was she doing here? The last time I saw her was at the club six months ago, where she threw a bitch tantrum after Maddox ‘broke-up’ with her. Not that they were ever dating, but she was slightly delusional.

Out of all his conquests, Maddox liked Bianca the most. Or I thought so…

She was the one who lasted the longest, and the only one who got away telling the whole university they were dating, and he never put a stop to it. Until he threw her to the curb after the bitch fit.

I looked for any bitchy signs, but her face was smooth, and she actually looked shocked at the sight of us. So, this wasn’t a planned encounter.

This library on campus was open twenty-four hours, but, late as it was now, there was barely anyone here, except for a few students scattered around each study corner.

I waited for Bianca’s sneers and drama, but she gave us none of that.

It was then I noticed, she looked completely different than her usual appearance. Bianca always looked like she had just walked out of Vogue magazine or she belonged on a billboard.

She had bare-minimum makeup on her face, her curly blonde hair, which was always perfectly styled, was in a messy bun, and she was wearing… a baggy sweater and yoga pants. Bianca looked pale, and it was a weird combination, since she always looked her best.

Her eyes bounced between Maddox and I, before she plastered a fake-ass smile on her face. “Long time no see.” She was definitely not speaking to me. “You look… good. Um, did you get my text?”

Her text? She was texting him…? Bitter jealousy clawed its way to my throat, and my chest burned with it. Was this why he was so distracted the last few days? Like he had something else on his mind and barely… speaking to me.

I knew Maddox had a lot of fuck buddies; although none of them were his girlfriends, they still had him. Whether it was briefly or not.

I had decided to look past it… but I wasn’t okay with them hanging around him or texting him. Maddox had told me he blocked most of them.

Bianca eyed my man, and I didn’t like how she was acting like I wasn’t even there.

I convinced myself I wasn’t a jealous person.

But I felt… bitter and angry. The mere thought of Bianca texting Maddox, even though she knew he was taken and after they ended on such a bad term, had me wanting to claw her eyes out. The little dragon as Maddox liked to say, red and fierce, that lived inside my chest, rattled against my rib cage and wanted to be let out.

I was really trying to not let any negative thoughts get to me, but it was hard, as the little dragon grew bigger and bigger inside me, but she, thankfully, held her fire.

The only relief I got was that Maddox barely spared her a glance. He looked down at his textbook again, thumbing through the pages. “I got your text, and I didn’t find a reason to reply. As you can see, Lila and I are busy right now.”

Bianca’s expression fell, and she finally glanced at me. “I think,” she started, suddenly looking nervous, “I should apologize for how I acted last time.”

I blinked, slack-mouthed. Was she on drugs? Or high? Bianca was apologizing, and she actually looked remorseful.

I cleared my throat. “You should. You were awful and extremely rude.”

She gasped, as if she wasn’t expecting me to agree. I gave her an internal eyeroll. If she was expecting me to sugarcoat things for her…

Yeah, right. Not. Going. To. Happen.

Her face flushed, and she chewed on her lower lip. Where was the high and mighty Bianca? This one was nothing like her.

“You’re right,” she admitted. “I’m sorry.”

Maddox grunted in response, and I sat there, speechless. Bianca fidgeted with her hands, as she waited for me to give her some kind of reaction. I sat forward in my chair and leveled her with a hard look. “I don’t do well with name-calling, and if I remember correctly, you called me a bitch, for no reason whatsoever,” I told her bluntly.

Her face turned red, and she opened her mouth as if to speak, but I cut her off. “The last girl who called me a bitch, I broke her nose.”

That was in high school, back when I had to defend myself against wealthy, filthy rich princesses who thought everyone had to bow down to them. Ha, right.

Bianca’s throat bobbed with a hard swallow. Once I was sure she got my message, my lips widened with a smile. “Apology accepted. Have a good day,” I dismissed her.

Maddox raised his head, gave her a final stare – his eyes darkened, and his face flashed with an unreadable expression. Like he wanted to say something, but he was too angry to. He was so confusing!

As soon as she stepped away from our little corner, my nerves eased up, but I was still strung tight with… strong, vivid emotions. Jealousy.

God, I loathed that word.

It made me feel insecure.

And… small.

Like, I wasn’t good enough or… I didn’t think I was good enough.

I hated, hated feeling like that. Especially after the way Maddox had been acting lately.

“She texted you?” I blurted out, but then winced. My annoyance had been so evident in my tone that I flushed. I was acting unreasonable, I told myself.

“She did, a few times. I didn’t reply,” Maddox responded.

A few times? But why… why now? He and Bianca were long over, and she had moved on to the next available man.

My chest squeezed. “Oh.”

Maddox made a sound at the back of his throat, a deep rumble coming from his chest. My head snapped up, as he pushed his chair backward and leaned back. His eyes explored me lazily, and his lips twitched with a cocky grin. His whole demeanor changed. Gone was brooding Maddox.

I was about to get a whiplash with all his mood changes.

“You’re jealous,” he deadpanned.

“Excuse… me?” I sputtered.

He grinned harder. “You were practically spitting fire.”

Even though that might have been true, I was outraged he brought it up like this. Especially after acting so shitty the last few days. “I wasn’t… jealous. I just don’t like the fact that your ex is texting you.”

“She’s not my ex.”

“Right, she was just a fuck buddy.” As if that made it any better.

“So, that was you pissing all over your territory?” Maddox smiled crookedly, and my cheeks heated up.

God, did he have to be so blunt…?

“Don’t be an asshole,” I hissed.

“You look cute when you’re pissed, Garcia.” My teeth rattled at his teasing tone, but I chose to ignore the bait. Looking back down at my textbook, I thumbed through the pages.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Maddox moving. He dragged his chair closer and next to me. Great, now he wanted to talk.

First, he acted so strangely the last couple of days, making me question everything. Then, here he was… teasing and being cocky like nothing else mattered. Maddox Coulter was complicated, and I accepted that fact a long time ago.

I belatedly noticed that the subject had changed. He still hadn’t told me what was wrong… I didn’t know if he was going to admit to anything, before Bianca interrupted us. And now the moment was gone… and Maddox was in the mood to play.

I wanted to fall for it… his teasing, his charms, his dorky side. But I couldn’t stop the nagging feeling in my chest. The prick of unease and creeping worry burrowed itself under my skin.

I asked him not to keep secrets, but I knew he was hiding something. I just knew.

Maddox settled beside me, and my body twitched at how close he was. His scent and warmth wrapped around me, like a safe cocoon.

His leg pressed against mine, and my back straightened when his hand landed on my thigh. His hot breath skated on my neck, as he leaned close, putting his mouth right next to my ear. “Why are you so mad, little dragon?”

“Why are you lying to me?” I retorted.

Maddox tensed for a brief second, before his fingers started to inch upward, toward the apex of my thighs. “Why do you think I’m lying?”

“Something is wrong, I can tell.” My eyes dared him to deny it, to lie to my face again.

Maddox didn’t reply. He leaned in, and his lips skimmed over the column of my throat, his intention clear. His hand cupped my sex through my jeans. A breathy hiss escaped past my clenched teeth. “We’re… in the library. Someone could see, Maddox!”

“Being in a public place never stopped you before,” he grunted against my skin. His teeth scraped across my flesh, and I let out an involuntary shudder. “Spread your legs for me, Lila.”

I really shouldn’t; I really, really shouldn’t have.

But I did. Because I needed him, because I wanted to feel like he was mine.

“That’s a good girl,” he praised. His lips and teeth dragged along my neck, suckling and biting on the soft, tender flesh. I let out a little whimper, as he unbuttoned my jeans and shoved his hand inside. I shivered almost violently, as my gaze swept around the quiet library.

His fingers teased my wet slit through my panties, before he nudged the thin fabric aside.

“Why are you doing this?” I breathed.

“You tell me.”

“Because you love to torture me.”

His tongue licked a tantalizing trail of desire up my neck and another shiver rolled down my spine. My toes curled in my shoes.

“No,” Maddox said, his voice taking a deeper undertone. “Because you look so fucking cute when you’re jealous, and I just want to eat you up and watch you come.”

He shoved a finger inside me, and I gasped.

My back arched, and my eyes squeezed shut at the sudden penetration. I was wet and ready, as the single digit slid in and out of me. My sex tightened around the intrusion, as he slowly pushed a second finger into me. “And that’s exactly what you’re going to do for me. You’re going to sit here, with your legs spread, and you’re going to let me finger-fuck you because you want it. Because you like being my naughty, naughty girl.”

In frantic need, I reached out for him, and my fingers dug into his thigh. He hissed and then chuckled. “Can you hear how wet you are?” he teased in my ear. “Feel how wet you are…”

Jesus Christ!

“You love being fucked in public, like the dirty little minx you are.” Maddox taunting did nothing but heighten my arousal, causing a warm fuzziness in my stomach and a pool of desire gathering between my thighs. “Your pussy is practically begging for my cock. Feel how tight it is around my fingers, how hard it’s clenching and seeking for something harder and bigger.”

Soaked… needy… gasping… wanting…

His thumb circled around my clit, and he rubbed me, as I ground my core against his hand. I wanted to be reminded that I belonged to him, that he was mine.

Wanton need filled me, as I rode his fingers, shamelessly, in a public library where anyone could have caught us. Maddox made me lose control and all sense of decency. He made me want filthy things; he made me crave him in the most dangerous way. My core tightened, and I locked eyes with him.

My heart thudded.

Maddox’s expression was hard with lust, his blue eyes flashing with molten desire. He looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing ever, and when his gaze lowered between my legs, I let out a small whimper.

His fingers curled inside me, hitting the sweet, sensitive spot that had my eyes rolling back in my head. Maddox let out a grunt, before his lips attacked mine. “Lila,” he rasped into the kiss. “You.” Kiss. “Drive.” Kiss. “Me.” Kiss. “Fucking.” Kiss. “Crazy.”

The feeling was mutual.

The buildup to my orgasm was quick, and I almost groaned in disappointment, because I had wanted it to last. I wanted him to keep his hand between my legs, and his lips on mine.

A loud groan escaped past my full lips when he ground the heel of his palm against my clit. A storm brewed inside of me, hot and intense. My fingers wrapped around his wrist of the same hand he was using on me. My nails dug into his flesh so hard, I was sure I drew blood.

“Oh God, Maddox!” His mouth slammed against mine, swallowing my moans, before anyone could hear them. I almost bit his tongue, as I shuddered and writhed against the fullness of his fingers inside me. He strummed and played with every nerve in my body like he owned them.

“Come for me,” Maddox said, his voice low. A hot wave of pleasure zinged through me, before crashing like a rough, violent tide.

His thrusts were brutal, relentless, as he brought me to the brink of orgasm.

I fell. Hard. I landed. Harder. I cried out and wept into his kiss, as I found my release, my whole body spasming. The intensity of my climax blinded me for mere seconds, before the world fell into balance again.

I came down from my high, my vision blurring and my heart hammering into my rib cage. My body was still twitching from the aftermath of my orgasm. Maddox groaned and pulled away from the kiss. My lips felt tender and swollen.

He pulled out of me and stroked my folds gently, before he brought his hand up to my mouth. His eyes were dark and daring; he waited. My lips parted and wrapped around his wet, glistening fingers. The taste of my own arousal took me by surprise; my clit swelled and pulsed. This was so… dirty, but I licked his fingers clean.

“Good girl,” he praised in a low rasp. I hummed in response, as Maddox cupped the back of my head and kissed me. I forgot where he started and I began or whose air I was breathing. His or mine. My heart missed its beats.

This kiss was pure… raw… so intense, it bled through us, sinking under our flesh and into our bones. If this ever came to an end, I’d never forget the feel of his lips on mine. Strong, full, needy. Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

Maddox sucked out all the oxygen from my lungs, until I was gasping and breathless.

His kiss slowed, and my heart beat faster, thudding like a raging violin, screeching and loud. “I’m yours, Lila. Every part of me is yours,” he whispered.

I wanted to believe him… and I did. Maybe that was foolish of me…

I had a weakness for Maddox. “Do you promise to tell me if something is wrong?” I asked softly, my voice barely audible. He had my fragile heart in the palm of his hand, and he could crush it, so easily, with a simple squeeze.

“Lila.” My name was a gentle whisper on his lips. “I’ll never hurt you, not willingly, not intentionally.”

When his mouth claimed mine again, I felt him breathe something on my lips. But I didn’t catch it, and I was too lost in his kiss to care.

I believed him.

Maddox would never hurt me.

Not intentionally.

He was my best friend, after all.

And that was the exact reason why he had the power to destroy me.