Last night had been going so great until Maddie froze on him.

“You know I would never hurt you.”

“I don’t know what this is about.”

“You wanted my kisses last night, Maddie. You were enjoying my touch.”

“Is that what this is about?” she asked. “Because I changed my mind. A woman can do that, you know? She can change her mind.”

“I have no problem about you changing your mind. What I want to know is why.”

“I don’t have to tell you why,” she said.

“No? And you think that’s fair?” he asked.

“Does it matter if it’s fair? I don’t have to give a reason. I…” She closed her eyes and held one hand out. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”

“Bull fucking shit. Don’t try to play me, Maddie. It won’t fucking work. I’m the master at that shit.” He took a step toward her. He was a grown man and could handle a shit load of rejection, not that he’d experienced much of it. Most had come from this woman in front of him, but she had also shown him part of herself. The part that had started out enjoying his touch. “I saw you, Maddie. I felt you. I … I know you were like fire in my arms, ready to go up in flames. I felt it. I know what it was like. I wanted you again, and again. You craved my kisses, you wanted my hands on your body. What the fuck did I do to change it?”

Tears glistened in her eyes, and her lip wobbled.

She shook her head, biting her lip, and he saw how torn up she was. It broke his fucking heart. No woman had ever hit him like this, but damn it, Maddie was proving to be more special than he anticipated, and it was fucking killing him inside.

“Maddie, talk to me.”

She took a deep breath. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

This made him laugh, and it wasn’t a natural one either. This was very much forced.

“Maddie, I was there, I felt the difference between us. I know something wasn’t right.”

She licked her lips, which she pursed immediately after.

He watched her sigh, and then, she nodded. “I … I’m not like the other women you’ve been with,” she said.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You haven’t spread your legs for every single guy at the club. That isn’t something to be upset about.”

She shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant.” She unfolded her arms and moved her hands up and down her body. “I don’t look like the women you go for.”

He stared at her and knew instantly what she referred to. She wasn’t slender. She was all curves everywhere.

“So?” he asked.

She looked up to the ceiling, and tears fell down her cheeks. He hated seeing her like this, so cut up, so miserable. This wasn’t what he wanted her to feel.

He took a step toward her, and Maddie took a step back.

Bull stopped. “Did you like my kisses?”

“What does that have to do with it?”

“Just answer the question.” He needed her. Seeing her cry and hearing the slight break in her voice broke him. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and tell her how fucking desirable she was. How he ached for her. How he’d waited so long to tell her that he’d wanted her.

For years, he’d been admiring her curves, wanting to get closer to her, but she seemed so far away.

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Damn it, Bull. You know I liked your kisses. You know I loved having your hands on me. I loved it. It felt incredible, and I didn’t want it to stop, but I don’t want to be a damn pity fuck. I don’t want to be that person. Not again.”

“Not again? You mean this has happened before?”

She released a growl. “Ugh, can’t you just accept that I’m not the kind of woman you want?”

“Hell no. Not when you don’t fucking see what is clearly right under your stubborn nose.”

“I know how this goes. You have your fun. You’ve done your deed to charity and then I’m tossed aside.”

“First of all, I have never in all my life been so insulted, and considering I fucking run Chaos and Carnage, that’s saying something. I would never pity fuck you, Maddie French. In fact, what I want to do is strip you naked, bend you over all the surfaces, and fuck every single part of you. I crave you that much.”