Do You Dare? by Lylah James

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Maddox

“I don’t like him,” I growled, folding my arms over my chest. I stayed rooted in front of the door, as if I could somehow stop her from leaving.

Lila rolled her eyes, bent over and touched her toes. She stretched, and I had to look away because, goddamn it, her ass looked good in those jeans.

I was pissed at my own reaction and this whole situation. And I didn’t exactly know why.

“It’s not up to you,” she said in a sing-song voice. Somedays, I wished she was intimidated by me. It’d make this whole friendship thing easier, but nope. Lila Garcia was fucking feisty, and she constantly butted heads with me. “You’re not going on that date with him. I am.”

Yeah, that was exactly my problem.

She was going on a date.

With someone. Grayson’s friend. A fucking date that Riley set up. Now that she had a boyfriend, she was under the assumption that Lila needed a man in her life, too.

Well, too fucking bad, she already had a man. Me.

“I don’t trust him,” I said again.

Lila faced me, hands on her hips. She was wearing makeup, which she rarely did. Ripped jeans, ankle boots and a black tank top that should be illegal. Sure, Lila didn’t have big boobs, but her tits looked juicy in that tank top. Juicy, sinful, forbidden… and–

Fuck, she even painted her nails. She looked… beautiful. For him.

“You never even met him,” she argued. My jaw clenched, and I was about to pop a vein.

“He could be a fucking murderer for all we know!” He could hurt her…

And he wasn’t me.

Lila’s eyes turned to slits, and she nudged her chin high, giving me that haughty look of hers. She really mastered that look that says – You’re not the boss of me and I can do whatever I want.

“I’ve met him twice, and he’s a gentleman, Maddox. Stop it.”

“I don’t like it. I don’t like him,” I said for the hundredth time tonight. “What if he touches you, and you don’t want him to?”

Touch… her. He could touch her and fucking kiss her…

She rubbed her forehead, her eyes looking bleak. Lila was already tired of my bullshit. “Maddox, stop it. You’re not going to ruin this date for me.”

“He could… hurt you.”

A smile ghosted her lips. “Daren can’t and won’t hurt me.”

Daren? Even his name sounded dumb. I imagined Lila moaning out that name, and the urge to pummel his face, someone I had never met before, was strong.

“Can you give me a guarantee that he won’t hurt you?” I shot back in my defense. “I won’t complain and let you go on this stupid date if you can give me a hundred percent guarantee.”

I was playing dirty because I knew she couldn’t.

I didn’t know why I was reacting this way when Lila told me she was going on this date. There was an uneasy feeling in my stomach and a heavy weight on my chest.

“You’re acting like a jealous boyfriend, Maddox,” she warned, her lips twisted in displeasure. Her words were laced with a warning.

Jealous… boyfriend?

Jealous… me? Ha.

“I’m acting like a caring friend,” I amended.

She snorted, quite unladylike. I loved that about Lila. She wasn’t fake around me, and she wasn’t vying for my attention. Lila didn’t mold herself to fit my standards. She stayed true to herself and gave whoever dared to douse her fire the middle finger.

Lila fixed up her winged eyeliner and glanced at me through the floor length mirror. “No, you’re being a child. A petulant, bratty child. You went on a date last week, and I didn’t stop you. Does that make me any less caring?”

“I didn’t go on a date,” I mumbled, fighting back a grimace. She didn’t need to know the details.

Her eyes hardened. “No, you’re right. You don’t date. You fucked her.”

I rubbed my forehead and sighed. This was getting us nowhere, and I was only growing more agitated as the seconds ticked by. Dickass-ren or whatever his name was, was about to pop up any minute now, and Lila would be on her way… to her date…

Jealous?

No, that wasn’t it.

Lila and my relationship was clear–there were no hidden feelings and no secrets. We cared for each other, deeply, but that was it. The mere thought of us being anything more was a forbidden idea, and my stomach churned.

I’d rather have Lila like this, than risk losing her later because our feelings were fucked up. There was no going back if we crossed that line.

“He’ll hurt you,” I said one last time, hoping it’d change her mind.

It was just the idea of her being with another guy, as close as she was with me, that didn’t sit well with me. I wasn’t jealous.

I was just a bit territorial of my best friend.

Lila stared at me for a moment, the expression on her face unreadable. Her gaze was unflinching, and her small fists clenched at her side. She looked like she was having an inner debate with herself.

She swallowed, her throat bobbing with the small action. Then she did something I least expected and sure as fuck wasn’t ready for it. Not at all.

My eyes widened as Lila dragged her tank top over her head, letting it slide through her fingers. She stood in front of me in her jeans, boots and bra. Lila wasn’t shy, never was. In fact, she could be as crass as me if she wanted to, and most days, she was. She had always been bold and confident.

The determined look on her face should have warned me, but I was too focused on her… chest.

I inhaled, and my dick twitched, straining against my jeans. Shit. “What the fuck?”

“What do you see?” she asked calmly.

I see… tits. Titties I could fuck. “What are you doing?” I groaned. “Lila?”

She took several steps forward until we were standing toe-to-toe. Lila was my little midget, so tiny that the top of her head barely came to my shoulders. She had to nudge her head back to stare up at me because I basically towered over her.

Her gaze was somber as she waited. “Maddox, look at me.”

My fists clenched and unclenched. I kept my eyes on hers, refusing to let my gaze wander… down. I’d probably bust a nut if I did. “I am.”

“No, you’re not. Look. At. Me. Look closer,” she persisted in that same soft voice.

I did… and I finally saw what she wanted me to see.

“Do you see now?” she breathed.

My heart stuttered, and I lost my breath as my stomach tightened. My eyes fell to her chest, where her breasts were clad in a lacy, black bra.

And I saw…

Pink and white jagged lines… scars…on her beautiful pale skin. Right at the center of her chest and between the two heavy mounds.

“No,” I choked. Jesus Christ, sweet Lila.

Before I could stop myself, my hand came up as if to touch her. When I realized what I was about to do, I stopped an inch away from her skin.

Lila took my hand in hers and placed it on her chest, right in the middle, where her scars laid. She let out a shuddering breath the moment I touched her. Her heart thudded hard against my palm.

“Is this–?” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Lila nodded. “From the accident.”

My shaking fingers brushed over her scars, feeling the slight bumpiness on her skin, whereas the rest of her was soft and smooth. “It’s ugly,” she whispered, trying to hide a grimace, but her face said it all.

“You’re beautiful,” I confessed, my voice strained.

And she truly was.

Lila had been through hell and back. That was the most beautiful part of her; she was a woman who wore her pain like a diamond choker around her neck. Strong, unyielding… a survivor. Lila Garcia straightened her own crooked crown because she didn’t need anyone else to do it for her.

Lila let me in, not because she needed me.

It was because she wanted me–as a friend, a companion and a partner.

She gave me a bittersweet smile. “Daren can’t hurt me because I’m already hurt. He can’t break my heart because it’s already broken. Do you understand now?”

I nodded. Lila exhaled in relief.

I stepped closer, our bodies pressing against each other. Mine–fully clothed. Lila’s–in a state of half dressed. Her skin was warm underneath my touch. She peeked at me through her thick lashes with a look in her eyes that should have told me something… but I couldn’t understand what she was trying to convey.

She breathed.

I breathed.

The world came to a stop, and the colors faded away, leaving us in a state of black and white.

Lila shivered, a silent tremor running through her body. It wasn’t from the cold because her room was hot, and I was sweating. Her gaze fell to my lips before they wavered, and she looked back at my eyes again.

My head descended toward hers, and my lips brushed against her forehead, a simple kiss. Lila sucked in a harsh breath, and her eyes closed.

I’d never given a girl a forehead kiss before. That shit was cheesy as fuck, but it came natural with her. It wasn’t like I could kiss her… lips. Lips that looked so soft, so kissable. She’d sock me in the face if I ever tried.

So, we settled with a forehead kiss. That was safe and friend-like.

“Lila?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re a beautiful dragon,” I said.

Her shoulders shook, and a small laugh escaped past her lips. “Dragon, eh?”

“Dragon,” I agreed. “Daren should be worried because you’ll probably eat him for dinner if he accidentally steps on your tail.”

I closed my eyes and breathed in her scent– she smelled of peaches from the shampoo and body lotion she used.

Lila slowly pulled away, and I let her go. She grabbed her tank top, and once she was dressed again, she checked her phone. “He said he’s on his way to the restaurant.”

“Can I chaperone?” I asked, only half joking. Actually, I was serious.

Lila wasn’t amused. “No, Maddox,” she said. There was a note of exasperation in her voice.

She walked past me and out the door; I watched her go with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

I considered following her to the restaurant and keeping an eye on them, just in case, Dickass-ren tried to do any shit to my girl-friend. But Lila would never forgive me, and I’d rather stay on her good side. She could be brutal, and she had sharp claws.

I never thought of myself as a possessive person… but apparently, I was.

Of our friendship.

Well, fuck.