DARE-TO-LOVE-TRUTH-AND-DARE-DUET-COLLECTION-by-Lylah-James-pdfarchive

Mine were still wide awake.
“Lila,” he rasped. “Fuck, baby.”
I wrenched away from him and stood on shaky legs.
“Don’t. I was only helping.”
My lips tingled, and my skin turned cold, already
missing his touch. My lungs squeezed and burned, as I
silently gasped for air.
“Why?” Maddox kept his gaze on me. “Why did you
help?”
“Because I had to,” I said through clenched teeth,
“because even though I can’t stand to look at you, it was
the right thing to do.”
Maddox got to his feet, his jaw hardening. “Why?”
My fists clenched at my sides. “I pitied you. That’s why.”
His face clouded over, and I knew I hit the mark.
Maddox Coulter hated to be pitied.
“Your sympathy is misplaced,” he snarled, taking a
threatening step toward me. “Do you why I did it? Why I
kept that fucking secret? Because. I. Wanted. To. Protect.
You. Because I didn’t want you to relive your past.”
He continued advancing toward me, forcing me to step
back. “I wasn’t protecting Christian like you seem to think.
In fact, I want nothing more than to throw him behind bars
and watch him rot in fucking hell. He. Is. Nothing. To. Me.
Except the person who hurt you.” He thumped his fist over
his chest. “My Lila. He hurt you, and I want to hurt him.”
My hands shook, and my core trembled. The lump in my
throat grew bigger and bigger, forcing me to choke on it.
Maddox grasped my elbow and tugged me to him. I fell
against his chest, and he lowered his head, practically
snarling into my face. “You are my everything, and the last
thing I wanted to do was betray you. But I had to, Lila. I
had to, so I could protect you.”
I slammed my fist into his chest and pushed away from
him. Stop, I silently begged. Just… stop.