It’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s crazy.

The words flew through my mind over and over as I felt Maddox’s grip tighten on me. His tongue explored my mouth without a care. It was sexy that he was so boldly commanding, leaving me feeling vulnerable and protected at the same time.

He walked me to the dining room table.

Finally, for the first time ever, the table had a purpose.

He sat me right on it and grabbed my face with both hands.

The kisses then got wet, sloppy, and ungodly sexy. Kissing, sucking face, whatever you wanted to call it, the sounds filled the apartment, and each one was hotter than the last, laced with intention for something more.

His hands stayed on my face way too long. But that was part of it all. That made me want him more. That made him hotter. I fully expected him to rip every piece of clothing off my body, but he just wanted to kiss me for a little while.

And with each kiss…our tongues would flirt, lips would close, and he’d pull away. That left the echoing sound of the kiss, the real audio proof that this was happening. I could taste him, everything wrong about him, but everything I wanted. Everything I needed in that moment. To chase away the bad. To chase away the darkness. To chase away the fact that I woke up this morning in a hotel with an empty glass of wine next to me. To chase away the fact that I ate a free, lonely breakfast, packed up my stuff, and left the hotel, feeling disgusting for what I let happen again.

Maddox took all that from me as he kissed me.

His hands then moved down to my shoulders and my arms. Next thing I knew, he was gripping my wrists tight. He thrust himself forward, making damn sure he was between my legs, his body tight to mine. I could feel him through his jeans. A thickness so hard, showing me what the kiss was doing for him.

I shuddered and groaned, putting my head back.

Maddox pulled away for a split second, then he kissed my neck. Letting out a small growl, his teeth grazed my skin right before he kissed my neck again. I felt the tip of tongue cut a perfectly straight line toward my ear. His grip on my wrists became tighter, and that’s where all my focus went.

His hands. My wrists. Holding me. Restraining me.

I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t breathe. The room started to spin a little. My heart raced even faster, and not in a good way. I willed myself to just move my hands, but my mind convinced itself that my wrists were incapable of moving. That I was trapped. That I was in trouble.

I swung my feet to bring them together in front of Maddox’s body, nudging him back. I twisted my neck like a bee had been flirting with my hair. I let out a yell that was far too dramatic for what was actually happening.

“Hey,” Maddox whispered as he backed away.

He released his grip on my wrists, and I clutched my hands to my chest. I saw a small opening and I brought my right foot up and kicked at his stomach. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help myself.

There I was, leaning back on my own dining room table, my right foot extended, pushing at Maddox.

He showed me his hands, surrendering out of pity, a look of confusion on his face.

“Go,” I said.

It was all I could say.

I wasn’t going to have that conversation with him. Not a chance. Nope.

“Hazel…”

“Just go,” I said. “Don’t come back here, Maddox. Don’t look for me. Don’t listen to my neighbors.”

“Whoa. What is this? Why are you so scared of me?”

“I’m not scared of you. I’m telling you to go. Now listen to me.”

“What happened, sugar? I sat outside your door for an hour…”

“You did what?”

“Yeah. If someone was here trying to hurt you…”

“Get out, Maddox. Get out and stay away.”

He backed up a little more after I gave a push with the heel of my foot. Truthfully, I couldn’t have moved him if I really wanted to. My foot felt the hardness of muscle under his shirt. It sent a radiating pulse of heat up my leg and nestled right between my inner thighs. I was torn up in more ways than one.

“Get out and stay away,” he whispered. “That’s what you want?”

“You heard me.”

Maddox grabbed my ankle and threw it out of the way. Then he came charging at the table. The panic tried to kick up, but my heart refused. For the first time in my life, my heart took control and refused to end up scared.

Maddox put a hand to the small of my back. He grabbed my hand with his other hand and stared down at me.

“I get it, sugar,” he whispered. “I get it.”

“I don’t think you do,” I said.

“Anything I don’t get, you can tell me.”

I shook my head. “Maddox, no. Don’t come here. Don’t look for trouble here. Let me do my job, and I’ll be gone soon enough. Then nothing will matter between us.”

Maddox nodded. “Right. Nothing between us. Except all the times you took a picture of me. Each time you pressed that button, sugar, you were poking at me. Tempting me. Messing with me. You have no idea what the camera means to me.”

“Because of the girl in the picture. Right?”

My interest rejuvenated itself. I felt a surge of excitement.

Maddox squeezed my hand. Then he pulled me to the edge of the table. He lifted my hand and touched his chest with it.

“We all bleed, sugar,” he whispered. “And for some reason, our hearts are still kicking and ticking.”

Maddox backed away.

“Maddox, wait. Please.”

“You asked me to leave,” he said. “I’m going to respect that wish. I don’t want to bother you, Hazel. I don’t want to put you in a corner. I don’t want to scare you. But I want you to know that you are not alone. Whatever that means to you. You know how to get in touch with me.”

He kept walking away. I was frozen on the table, my body reacting to too many things at once.

“Maddox, I want to know about her,” I said. “Please.”

“I think you can appreciate that some stories aren’t meant for exposure.” He opened the door and stood there for a moment. “Don’t ask me why I give a damn about this, Hazel, but I do.”

“I know why,” I called out. “The girl in the picture. You think she’s me, and you want to save her.”

Maddox didn’t respond.

He reached into his pocket, and I tensed up. My instinct told me something bad was going to happen.

Maddox took out his phone. He touched the screen and then held it up.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

I heard the sound of a picture being taken.

I tilted my head and sighed. “Maddox…”

“Now I have a piece of you. Think about how that feels. I can stare at it for hours and try to pick you apart. Guess things. Assume things. Wonder about anything. Okay?”

He then shut the door.

I was alone again.

In an apartment that didn’t feel quite like home anymore.

I wanted Maddox. I wanted him in a way that scared me. Yet I was the one who stopped the kiss and demanded he leave. Because as much as I wanted him, I didn’t want him to get hurt.

He had no idea how dangerous my situation really was.