Chapter 37 Take Me Home
The car Maddox had hired was old but functional, the kind of vehicle that wouldn’t draw attention. Grace sat in the passenger seat, her injured leg propped awkwardly against the dashboard, wrapped in the makeshift splint Maddox had fashioned the night before.
The silence between them was terribly uncomfortable.
Grace stared out the window, watching the scenery blur past, her mind refusing to focus on anything except the memories from the night before. The feel of Maddox's hands on her skin. The way he'd touched her with such careful reverence, like she was something precious. The sounds he'd made, low and rough in her ear.
She couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't stop replaying every moment, every touch, every whispered word.
Her heart was racing, pounding hard enough that she was sure Maddox could hear it in the quiet confines of the car. But it wasn't the heat anymore, it had finally subsided, leaving her clearheaded for the first time in what felt like days.
This was just her. Just Grace was unable to process what had happened between them.
She was a werewolf! And she didn’t know how to tell Maddox what she was or even make him believe her.
Werewolves weren’t meant to exist. And Maddox was a realist.
She snuck a glance at Maddox from the corner of her eye. He was gripping the steering wheel with both hands, his knuckles slightly white, his jaw tight. His eyes were fixed firmly on the road ahead, but there was a tension in his shoulders that suggested he was as acutely aware of her presence as she was of his.
He looked uncomfortable. Shy, almost. Which was strange because Grace had never seen Maddox shy about anything in the years she'd known him.
Serious? Yes. Judgmental? Yes. But shy? That was new…
And she didn’t entirely hate the look he had on.
But then again, they'd crossed a line that couldn't be uncrossed. Had done things with each other that changed everything between them.
Best friends weren’t supposed to kiss, were they?
Grace's fingers found the hem of her borrowed shirt and she started playing with it, twisting the fabric between her fingers just to have something to do with her hands, she still put on her uniform skirt as she had nothing except her underwear as a bottom.
She hadn't expected Maddox to be so skilled. Hadn't expected him to know exactly where to touch, how much pressure to apply, how to make her body sing in ways she hadn't known were possible.
She'd always assumed Maddox was inexperienced. They'd never really talked about that kind of thing, but she'd just figured he was as clueless as she'd been.
Clearly, she'd been wrong.
"Are you okay?" Maddox asked suddenly, breaking the silence. His voice was quiet, almost hesitant.
Grace turned to look at him. "Yeah. Why?"
"I just wanted to make sure." Maddox's jaw worked, and he still wouldn't look at her. "Last night was your first time and I just want to make sure you're not in pain or anything. I tried to be gentle but I know I'm not exactly small and with everything you've been through I just need to be sure I didn't hurt you or do anything wrong."
The words came out in a rush, tumbling over each other, and Grace felt something warm bloom in her chest at the genuine concern in his voice.
But his assumption that last night had been her first time made her feel guilty.
"I'm fine," Grace said, her own voice coming out quieter than she intended. "You didn't hurt me."
Maddox nodded, but he still looked tense. The silence stretched between them again, heavy with all the things neither of them seemed to know how to say.
Grace turned back to the window, but her mind wouldn't let go of the question that had been nagging at her since they'd woken up tangled together in that narrow bed.
"How did you know how to do that?" Grace asked, the words leaving her mouth before she could second-guess them.
"Do what?" Maddox's brow furrowed slightly.
Grace felt heat creep up her neck and into her face. She kept her eyes fixed on the passing scenery, unable to look at him while she asked. "The thing you did. With your fingers, when you put them inside me."
The car swerved slightly before Maddox corrected it, and when Grace dared to glance at him, she saw his face had gone bright red.
"I, uh," Maddox cleared his throat, his grip on the steering wheel tightening even more. "I watched some videos."
Grace's head whipped toward him. "What? Porn? You watch porn?"
The exclamation came out louder than she'd intended, surprise and something that might have been amusement colouring her voice.
"It's not like that," Maddox said quickly, his face somehow getting even redder. "I'm not an addict or anything. I don't just sit around watching it all day. I just saw it as educational. You know, learning how things work, what feels good for girls, that kind of thing."
He was rambling now, clearly flustered, and before she knew it, Grace burst into a laugh.
It started as a small giggle but quickly grew into full-blown laughter that made her sides ache and her eyes water. She couldn't help it. The image of Maddox earnestly watching porn for educational purposes, taking mental notes like he was studying for a test, was simultaneously ridiculous and undeniably adorable.
"What's so funny?" Maddox asked, sounding both embarrassed and slightly defensive.
"You are," Grace managed between laughs, wiping at her eyes. "You're so adorable, you know that?"
Maddox's expression softened slightly, and Grace caught the hint of a smile tugging at his lips despite his embarrassment.
"I'm glad I could amuse you," he said dryly, but there was warmth in his voice that hadn't been there before.
The laughter helped break some of the tension between them, and Grace felt herself relaxing slightly in her seat. Maybe this didn't have to be so awkward. Maybe they could figure out how to navigate this new dynamic between them.
"I'm glad we could be each other's firsts," Maddox said after a moment, his voice quiet but sincere. "I know the circumstances weren't ideal, but I'm glad it was with you. That we got to experience that together."
The words were sweet. Genuine. The kind of thing that should have made Grace's heart soar.
Instead, she went very still, her laughter dying in her throat. She stared down at her hands in her lap, at her fingers still twisted in the hem of her shirt.
She should tell him. She needed to tell him. But the words felt stuck in her throat.
"Mad," Grace said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "You weren't my first."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Grace felt rather than saw Maddox go rigid beside her. The car jerked slightly as his hands spasmed on the wheel.
"What?" The single word came out strangled.
"Last night wasn't my first time," Grace said, forcing herself to continue even though every instinct was screaming at her to stop. "I've had sex before. Recently, actually. A few days ago."
"Who?" Maddox asked, and his voice was tight, controlled in a way that suggested he was barely holding himself together. "Who was your first, Grace?"
Grace took a shaky breath. "Enzo."
Maddox said nothing. His jaw worked, clenching and unclenching, and Grace could practically see him processing the information. Putting pieces together.
"The night of your birthday," Maddox said finally, and it wasn't a question. "When you left angrily. You went to him."
"Yes," Grace whispered. “Actually… I bumped into him, but let’s skip the details.”
"And then we," Maddox's voice cracked slightly, "last night, you and I, that was..."
"I'm sorry," Grace said, "I should have told you. I should have said something before we did anything but I was so out of my mind that I just needed you and I'm so sorry, Mad."
Maddox didn't respond. His face had gone carefully blank, that mask he wore when he was trying not to show how much something hurt him.
Grace had seen that expression before, one too many times. And she didn't like it.
Seeing it now, knowing she was the cause of it, made Grace want to sink into the car seat and disappear.
"Say something," Grace pleaded. "Please say something." She snuck a glance at him and saw his eyes go blank, she couldn't tell what he was feeling whether he was mad or he just plainly hated her now.
This was probably the worst time and place, but she decided to admit, “I’m actually a were—“
Before she could say anything more, they turned onto their street.
And Grace saw the sign.
FOR SALE.
The words were plastered across a large sign staked in the front lawn of her house. Her home. The place she'd lived her entire life looked abandoned and was up for sale.