Page 43 of Captain's Claim

Instead, I’m still sitting here. Still thinking about her. Still replaying the way she hit the ice, falling flat on her ass right in front of the guys.

Shit.

I really am an asshole.

She's been telling me that all along, but as usual, I didn't listen.

Ilet go of her. I let her fall, and when she scrambled up, brushing ice off her ass and throwing absolute fuckingfirein my direction, I… I laughed.

Like a dick.

In my defense, it wasn’t on purpose. It justhappened. A reflex. A knee-jerk reaction to seeing her all flustered, pink, and pissed off.

I mean, that's what we do, isn't it?

We fight. We argue. We bicker.

Jeez. It's starting to sound like we're a damn married couple.

Regardless of all that, here I am. About to do something I’ve never done before.

I roll my shoulders back, jaw tight, my pulse an uneven mess of frustration and… fuck, I don’t even know.

Apologizing isn’t my thing.

Not because I think I’m always right - I don’t. But I don’t fuck up like this. Not anymore, anyway. I did my share when I was a kid, roaming the streets when I should have been at home cooking dinner for mom.

These days, I don’t usually care enough to need to make things right.

But Sophia?

Urgh. For some goddamn reason, the thought of her still being mad at me has my stomach in a fucking knot.

I scrub a hand down my face, scratching into my skin a little so I feel something other than dread.

Just knock, Maddox. Get it over with.

Before I can think better of it, I push out of my Rover, the ball-shrinking wind slapping against my skin as a gust blows across me. My boots crunch over the icy pavement, each step carrying me closer to whatever fresh hell I’m about to walk into.

I hesitate for half a second at her door, exhaling through my nose.

Squeezing my eyes, I knock. Hard.

A pause.

Then, muffled footsteps.

The door swings open.

And fuck me.

She’s standing there in nothing but a robe.

I forget how to breathe.

Because she’s standing there, blinking up at me, wrapped in nothing but a plush white robe, her damp blonde hair twisted up in some kind of messy bun, moisture still clinging to her skin like she's freshly out of the shower.

Andholy hell, she’s gorgeous.

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