Chapter 25
“Temptress,” comes Maddox’s groggy voice.
My sleepy eyes snap open in surprise. The room is bathed in a warm glow as the afternoon sun floods in. He’s right there beside me, lying on his side staring directly at me. We’re just inches apart, so close I can feel the heat radiating off his body. My arm is flung over his side. I must have moved in my sleep, needing to be closer to him. Worried about aggravating his injury, I quickly retract my hand and give him some space.
After he stabilized this morning, Ricky moved him upstairs into his bedroom to make him more comfortable. He was still totally out of it, and until now, hasn’t uttered a word. He’s just gone in and out of consciousness all day. When I couldn’t keep my eyes open a second longer, I crawled into bed beside him, and sometime after the sun had already come up, I must have drifted off to sleep.
“What are we doing in my bedroom?” he asks in a haze of confusion.
“You got injured, Ricky had to bring you back here to operate.” I run a hand through his hair, brushing it off his face. “Alex says this place is safe now; there’s a new security system that Enzo can’t watch us through and new guards, ones that are on Alessandro’s payroll, not Enzo’s.” I explain everything the boys told me last night when I was panicked about being back in this house. Geovani backed up the story, so I have to believe them. Since the brawl in the street, it was the only thing he’s said to me.
Maddox rolls away from me and lies on his back; I see him wince in pain as he sucks in a full breath. “Yeah, we were ready to move back in before the fight. But what are you doing here?”
I sit up, pulling my knees into my chest protectively. “Do you need something for the pain? I’ll call Ricky.” I reach for my phone, but he stops me, his large hand reaching out and encircling mine. I meet his eyes, bewildered. I can’t tell if he’s furious with me or not.
“The pain isn’t what I’m concerned with. Why are you here with me?” His eyes bore into me, and I know for sure he’s pissed. He has every right to be.
“I… I was worried about you, big guy. Last night was… I’m so sorry you were hurt because of me. I never should have run.”
“No shit!” he mutters dismissively. He runs a hand over his face, trying to wake up, then lets out a pained groan.
My hackles rise. I’m fucking sorry for running, but they made me. “You assholes made me watch that fight and scared the hell out of me. How did you expect me to react?” I snap back.
His intense gaze meets mine, his forehead furrowing with deep concentration. I narrow my eyes and shoot him a defiant glare. I was ready to grovel, but now I’m pissed all over again. Neither of us say anything else. Eventually I’m sick of the silence and move to get out of bed. Maybe he needs some time to simmer down away from me. I could do with a shower and something to eat now that I know he’s going to live. But his fingers find my wrist, and he pulls me back into bed with him. Wrapping his arms around me, he draws me in close, smelling my hair.
“Be careful of your injury,” I whisper.
“I’m fucking fine, temptress,” he snaps back. Even though we both know he’s not. He brushes my hair over my shoulder and kisses my neck. “You scared the shit out of us last night,” he admits. Making me feel terrible all over again.
“I know, I’m really sorry. I never meant for anyone to get hurt, I just wanted to escape all this. I was scared, and I reacted on instinct.” I move in his arms so I’m facing him, needing to see his handsome face. “I won’t do it again, I promise. Seeing you hurt and knowing it was my fault is eating me alive. You have been so good to me, and I…” Tears slip from my eyes as an awful pain gets lodged in my chest. I know how I feel about him, but saying it out loud is almost impossible for me. “I love you, Maddox. I don’t want to imagine a world without you in it. And I’m not sure how we move forward from here, but I’m not doing it without you.” I exhale, feeling a wash of relief coming over me. Those words have been rattling around in my head for way too long. It feels good to have finally told him.
He sighs heavily, and I see the subtle wince of pain as he moves his arm around me. His hand trails up my arm before landing on my chin, the pad of his thumb running over my bottom lip. “You stayed and fought with us, you put yourself at risk to save me. What you did last night was dangerous on so many levels, but you proved who I am to you.”
His bedroom door abruptly opens, and Alessandro and Ricky stride into the room in a wave of expensive suits and fresh aftershave. How can they look so fine after what we all went through yesterday? I go to pull back from Maddox, feeling the energy shift, but he holds me close. I figure he needs it, so fuck it, and I snuggle back down with him.
Alessandro marches around to my side of the bed. He’s fuming, I can already tell from the dark look in his eyes. “You signed a motherfucking contract with Geovani. He fucking owns you now!” he growls out, and I feel Maddox’s arm that’s wrapped around me flinch.
The harshness of his words sends a shiver down my spine, making me stiffen involuntarily. In typical Alessandro fashion, I’m having a nice moment with Maddox, and he has to mess it up with his dramatics.
Maddox releases me, and I slide out of bed, coming to stand in front of Alessandro. “I did what was necessary to survive.” I tilt my chin up defiantly. “It wasn’t like I had any other choice, now did I. Since you were insisting I marry you and Enzo had other ideas, like selling me off to Carlo, signing a work contract with Geovani’s company seemed like the lesser of two evils to me. Don’t you think?” My snippy attitude is back in full force, but what did he expect? Can’t he just have a normal conversation, why does everything have to be a big show.
“That’s where you’re wrong, princess. He fucking owns you now.” His voice booms off the bedroom walls. I know by the silence coming from the other boys that they agree with him.
I take a deep breath, trying not to escalate the situation. This is hardly the place. “No, he doesn’t. No one owns me,” I remind Alessandro. “Not you and especially not him. I work with him, and he’s helping me and Marco run my papa’s businesses, that is it.”
“Can you two take this lovers’ quarrel elsewhere? I need to check Maddox’s vitals,” Ricky finally interrupts us, and I’m grateful for the distraction.
I turn back to face Ricky, knowing Alessandro won’t give me the answers I need. “Is any of my old stuff still here? I desperately need a shower and a change of clothes.” I offer a half smile, hoping he’s not on the hate-Harley warpath again along with his brother.
“You’re set up back in your old room, baby doll.” He smiles, but the warmth doesn’t reach his eyes like it normally does when he smiles at me. They’re all pissed with me still, and I know after last night, I have a lot of groveling to do to fix my mistake.
My shoulders sag under the weight of the heavy burden. “Thanks,” I mutter, taking off for the door. I have no intention of getting into some massive fight with Alessandro this afternoon about what I did while I was staying with Geovani. For a start, I’m not even sure what I’m allowed to say, but clearly Geovani has been running his mouth, or Alessandro wouldn’t know I signed that contract.
I glance back at Maddox. “I’ll come and check on you later.”
“I’m not finished with this conversation, princess,” Alessandro calls after me.
I turn back toward him, feeling a rush of anticipation in my chest. “That’s a shame, because I am. If anyone wants me, I’ll be in my room.” I walk down the hall and slam my door shut. I’m back.