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“Why did you do it?” I demand, my tone unwavering. “Why did you bring me here, against my will, into this mess? Just to treat me like this.”
His response is measured, his gaze never leaving mine. “I brought you here because you have a role to play in closing the Rift. I know it’s not what you signed up for, but it’s necessary.”
I scoff at his explanation, my frustration deepening. “And you thought kidnapping me was the best way to convince me? You didn’t even give me a choice, Professor. I don’t believe you. I don’t think you needed to kidnap me. I don’t think that’s the only reason.”
“If you don’t stop asking questions, then I’ll be forced to shut you up, Mahalia.”
There’s no amount of boring math equations that can stop the growing damp between my legs. I part my lips, about to say something but nothing comes out. For the first time ever, this man has left me speechless.
Maddox’s grip on me tightens. “If you don’t stop using your body against me, I’ll take it as an offer.”
“What am I doing? I’m not doing anything.”
His gaze turns hungry as he runs his eyes up and down me, devouring me in the way he used to only in my imagination. “You know exactly what you’re doing.”
The tension between Maddox and me lingers in the air, like a storm ready to break loose. Despite the anger and confusion that has defined our interaction, there’s an inexplicable pull between us, an undeniable attraction that neither of us can deny.
My mouth drops open. “Don’t you think if I could stop it, I would?”
That’s not the right answer—because he growls low in his throat before jamming his tongue in my mouth in the roughest, hottest kiss I’ve ever experienced in my life. Holy shit, my head immediately starts spinning. I can feel every damn inch of him. He presses his body up against me, grinding his rock-hard cock against me. If I thought I was hot and wet before, well it’s nothing compared to now. I know that kissing my professor is a bad idea, and every logical part of my brain is screaming at me to stop, to put some distance between us. But as his hands hook around the back of my neck to keep me in place, I know that I’m lost. My knees are weak, he’s pretty much turned me to jelly. I’m struck.
This isn’t like being with Kit. It’s like there’s a competitive edge between us. I’m very aware it’s my high school bully and me and him don’t quite know where we stand with one another. It isn’t like kissing Vaughn either. We had love between us and genuine feelings buzzing. This is lust. Pure, animal lust and I have to admit that I can’t get enough of it. I never want this to end.
By the time we break apart, we are left staring breathlessly at one another, unsure as to what we should do now. We’ve already crossed that line, it’s way behind us, and now we’re stuck in this strange impasse. One of us should say something, because we can’t just leave things hanging in the air, but Maddox looks as though he’s as speechless as me.
“I… I…” I try to back away because I think we might need some distance between us, but I can’t move anywhere.
“We should… carry on, right?”
Maddox is asking me. Is he asking me? I can’t tell. This is weird. I don’t know how to handle it.
My mind is a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, and I can’t seem to form a coherent thought. All I know is that we can’t stay here, locked in this strange moment of desire and uncertainty.
I manage to find my voice, though it trembles with uncertainty. “Yeah, we should… carry on,” I reply, my gaze still fixed on Maddox. But my words sound hollow, lacking the conviction they should carry.
Maddox nods, his expression a mix of regret and longing. “Right. Let’s… continue searching for the Rift. We’ll talk about this later.”
Oh God, we’re going to talk about this later? I don’t know if I’m any good at this. I don’t know if I will be able to talk about this with Maddox. But he’s edged away from me now and he’s back on the mission to find the Rift once more. I don’t think I can tackle any monsters with my heart pounding like this. I don’t know if I can do anything, but if I ask Maddox to take me back to the cavern then he might start yelling at me again, and who knows where that will lead.
NINE
MADDOX
What am I doing?
I know this is wrong. I know it deep within my soul. That was wrong. So wrong. Kissing Mahalia was possibly the worst thing I could have done. I definitely didn’t kidnap her to kiss her… but at the same time, holy hell what a kiss! I might have been with my share of women, but none of them have made me feel like that. Oh my God, that was something else.
My heart is still pounding in my chest, so violently it could break free at any given moment. I can’t bear to look back at Mahalia in case I lose my damn mind again. I’ve never seen her in that way before, she’s only been my annoying student. But then, in the heat of that argument, something overtook me completely. Holy hell, I’m going crazy here…
“Where are we even going, Maddox?” Mahalia suddenly asks me, forcing me to turn back to look at her. the sight of her jolts pleasure all the way through my body, making me fizz with excitement. Much as I want to stuff all of that down, it wants to overwhelm me.
“I… I don’t know, we’re trying to find the Rift, you know that.”
But she cocks a knowing eyebrow my way, reminding me of all the times that she has stood in my office, giving me that same look, driving me insane… just in a different way.
“It seems like we’re just walking around in circles right now. Maybe there is no Rift open right now. Maybe we should head back to the others.”
As she folds her arms defiantly across her chest, I kinda know that she’s right, but I don’t want to go back yet. All the guys will be able to tell what’s surging through my veins. They’ll know that something has happened between me and Mahalia and I will never hear the end of it.
