Regardless of the silence, I can’t help but steal about twenty glances at her over the course of the fifteen-minute car ride. Loose strands of hair have fallen out of her braid, and she looks beautifully fresh faced, albeit tired.

She has the waistband of my sweats rolled over at least three times to keep them on her hips. The way my shirt falls over her chest—a chest I haven’t stopped thinking about since she whipped off her shirt and let me play last night—does all sorts of twisted things to my brain. And my dick.

There was never any question about whether I was attracted to Maddie Wheeler. But watching those videos unlocked an all-consuming sense of duty in me. That, paired with permission to take something for myself, as she put it, has my mind finally on board with this scheme.

She’s mine. Mine to have. Mine to keep safe. Mine to protect at all costs. I haven’t been able to think of anything else since she clicked play on that first video.

I pull into her driveway, a sense of déjà vu slamming into me as I recall the first night we met.

That was only a week ago.

Since then, everything has changed.

The second I put the car in park, she’s reaching for the door handle.

“Maddie—wait.”

She freezes on command, then slowly turns to look at me. She’s got this adorable smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose that I hadn’t noticed until now. I’ve been so determined to push her away over the last week… it’s disorienting to let myself appreciate all the little things about her I’ve been working so hard to ignore.

“I...” I reach out and take her hand in mine, willing her to feel my sincerity. “I wanted to say thank you.”

She scoffs and side-eyes me. “Don’t make it weird, Dem.”

Dem. I never told her she could call me that. Like it matters. We’ve already established that this woman does what she wants.

“I mean it,” I insist, leaning in and bringing her hand to my mouth so I can kiss her knuckles. “Thank you for helping Fielding last night. And thank you for…”

For what? The best head of my life? Letting me slide my dick between her perfect, perky tits?

I blow out a breath and try to get my head on straight. “Thank you for really seeing me,” I try.

She raises her eyebrows in challenge, but she doesn’t call me out on the overly simplified description of what we shared last night.

“So what happens now?” she asks quietly, tracing her thumb over the veins in my hand.

“What do you mean?”