Page 20 of The Love We Make

A shiver ran down my spine at the sound of her voice. My chest started to rise and fall with deep breaths and if I am being honest, my dick started twitching with the thought of taking the rest of my clothes off for her.

I was a lot of things, but I was not dumb. She was baiting me. She was playing a new game that I wasn’t sure I knew the rules to.

So instead of taking off my jeans as any other man would do, I left them the way they were and turned the light on.

“No?” She asked. “Not up for it?”

“Maddy? What are you doing?”

“I have been waiting for you.”

Yeah, this was a trap. She wasn’t waiting on me as my best friend or even as a woman that actually wanted my pants off. Her voice, as sexy as it was, said she was waiting on me as Enemy Number One.

I was about to get her wrath and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

Chapter 8

Madison

I spent all of Friday and Saturday stewing over how angry I was at Ethan; and even Chase.

By Sunday, I was mad at myself for leaving Ty and not sticking around to get to know him more. He had given me the feeling that he could have been special. And I left him with Chase because I was too angry to think past what they were talking about.

I went to work Monday and had to answer to Kristin about disappearing during girls’ night. But I didn’t care. I was too sad and mad to care about whose feelings I hurt.

I decided to confront Ethan when he got home. I waited at his apartment longer than I thought I would have to. At one point, I started to leave thinking he probably went to my place, but before I made that final decision, I heard his key in the door.

He never turned the lights on but from where I was, I could see him taking his clothes off. He hadn’t seen me in the corner near the window yet and with the moonlight shining off his torso, I took a small minute to ogle him.

Shit, I really did need to have sex if I was eyeing Ethan like candy.

Maybe I moved, or maybe my breath hitched a little, but something made him pause and I knew then he could see my form sitting by the window.

“Keep going,” I said. “Take them off.”

I meant it, I wanted him to keep going. But I also wanted him to squirm for a minute. I wanted him to question my motives.

I wanted to scare him.

But he didn’t scare the way I thought he would. He never closed his jeans back up or grabbed for his shirt. I had seen him in nothing but his boxers a million times but this was different. Intentional.

He was playing me right back.

I grew angry. He had no right to try and play some weird game of Russian roulette with me. After him questioning why I was even there, I quickly remembered why and now I was ready to let him have it.

“You went too far,” I said.

“You knew Chase was keeping an eye on you for me.”

“I didn’t know he was going to be scaring away someone that I met, someone I actually liked.”

“He said he didn’t even see you Friday night.”

“He lied!” I yelled. Chase was a liar.

“Maddy, I am so sorry that things went so far. I really am. All I ever wanted to do was protect you.”

“I get it, Ethan, I really do. I am protective of you, too. But how am I supposed to ever be with someone and fall in love and be happy if you are around? How am I supposed to have the life I want?”

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