39. Leona
LEONA
Max and I watched the SUV pull away from the garage and turn onto the road. They were headed to Connecticut to get Chiara, while Max and I were stuck on house arrest.
Fuck the fucking FBI that had us hiding like cowards.
I bit the nail on my thumb. I had called Chiara earlier to tell her we were coming to get her—and fill her in on some of the latest developments in the Max department.
She had almost screamed my ear off with excitement.
We’d only hung up the phone so she could start packing.
One man Max had stationed there was still with her, and he spoke with Max for a couple of minutes, but the other had left days ago after being called by Greco and had never returned.
That was eating at me.
Chiara assured me she was fine, but I wouldn’t feel relaxed until I could squeeze her in the tightest hug known to man. Or woman.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent her a quick text while I walked back inside.
Leona: The guys are on their way. They’ll hopefully be there in about an hour
Chiara: I’m so excited to meet them! After everything you’ve told me, they sound so hot
Chiara: And see you, of course
Leona: Glad to know I’m an afterthought
Chiara: I know what you look like. I don’t know what the hot guys look like. Besides Cas. He’s always been hot
Leona: Get packed, loser. I’ll see you soon and we’ll have a sleepover
Chiara: Yay!
I collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table. My phone clattered on the tabletop. With a huff, I crossed my arms over my chest and fumed. Max stared at me while he leaned with his back against the island, both hands braced on the countertop.
“I should have gone with them,” I said with a frustrated sigh. “I’m nervous about her.”
“It’s your fault we got stuck here at the house,” Max quipped. His eyes appraised me. “Don’t blame me.”
I scoffed. “Excuse me?”
“If you would have just been quiet,” he started as he pushed off the island, “and not made a big deal out of it, we both could be out there right now. Nobody would have cared. So, really, it’s your fault.”
He pulled out the chair next to me and sat down.
“You can’t turn this around on me,” I argued. “If you weren’t so stubborn, at least one of us could have gone. Then you could have stayed here and cleaned the house for us.”
Max snorted. He leaned forward and braced his forearms on his knees. “If you want me to clean the house, I’ll clean the house.”
I sat straighter. “Fine, then. Clean the house.”
He scooted closer. “It’ll be spotless.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“What else can I do for you?” he murmured.
My lips thinned as I considered. “Make us dinner every night.”
“Done.”
“And I also want gifts. Lots and lots of gifts.”
“Our queen deserves no less.”
“And you’re not allowed to hide in your room anymore,” I said. My leg still bounced with anxiety, but at least this was taking my mind off the guys and Chiara. “You’re part of the family, so be part of the family. That means hanging out in the living room and eating meals with us and—”
“—And even listening to Ryuji’s dumb jokes?”
I gave him a look. “Yes, especially those.”
“I’m a Shadow,” he said with a whiff of pride. His eyes crinkled with warmth. “I’ll be one.”
I nodded tightly, but I’d run out of things to say.
“I promise, I will keep showing you how serious I am about you and about this,” he said while he gently took my hand. “Now, tell me what’s bothering you, Leona.”
I let out a breath and looked out the window. “I’m worried about her. I know she has someone there to protect her, but why hasn’t that other guy returned?”
“I don’t know.”
I chewed my nail again. “If something has happened to her—”
He grabbed my hand and pulled it from my mouth. “I know. Leona, just so you know,” he sighed and cocked his head to the side. “I never wanted her to get hurt. That’s why I tried to keep her away from all this.”
“I know, Max.” Everything he’d said about Chiara had lined up with what she said about him.
He had only gone to her father, Vincenzo Tommaso, to get his men.
Then, when Tommaso died and Max went on the run with Chiara, he had always tried to keep her apart.
He’d sent her to Connecticut so that the Albanians wouldn’t hurt her, and that had ultimately kept her safe while we fought them.
Wrong as he was to lie to me, to keep things from me and Cas, he had true intentions. I felt the same way about how he’d dealt with Chiara.
But once we got her back, none of that would happen anymore.
Max grabbed my chair and pulled it closer to him. He gingerly reached for one of my curls, twisting it around his finger. Then his fingers stepped one by one over my collarbone and up my neck. Inside my chest, my heart pounded furiously. His fingers hovered over the pulse in my neck.
“I can feel your heartbeat,” he said softly. “It’s going pretty fast, Leona.”
I leaned forward, drawn to him like a moth to a flame. “No idea why. Certainly not because of you.”
Sitting face to face, the pull between us was magnetic. His thumb brushed down my lips.
“Don’t be so upset.” His mouth drew near mine. “We’re alone.”
He dipped his head, and I pulled back slightly, just out of his reach. “So?”
His eyes locked on mine. “So I get you all to myself.”
“And?” I teased, the corner of my mouth pulling up.
Our breaths mingled, our lips just barely brushing.
Soft touch. Pull back. His palm on my thigh, pushing higher.
Brush. Gasp. Tease after tease until I couldn’t fucking take it anymore.
I leaned forward, grabbing at his knees, but he pulled away at the last second, and I missed his lips.
My eyes flew wide open only to watch him stand and walk away from me.
“And nothing,” he smirked, glancing at me over his shoulder.
I gaped. My racing heart stalled to a stop. He strolled through the kitchen, pausing only to grab a grape from the freshly washed fruit that Wynn had left on the counter. He popped it into his mouth.
“Are you fucking serious?”
He turned around and crossed his arms over his chest with the cockiest fucking smirk. The entire length of the kitchen now spread between us. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I huffed, but I stood from the table, then shrugged. “Fine, then. I’ll just go back to my room.”
I didn’t wait to see what he said. I turned and scurried through the house until I reached the stairs.
My heart pounded inside my chest while I hoped he’d get the hint.
I swore I wouldn’t chase him, and that would not change.
But he could chase me. My hand gripped the rails, and I pulled myself up each step, my ears pricking to pick up any kind of sound.
Don’t look back, I repeated in my head over and over.
I was almost at the top when an arm looped around my waist. I squealed as it yanked me back and my body flattened against the stairs.
“What do you think you’re doing?” His body pressed against my back. His hands looped around my waist and his palms spread wide. The heat from his touch bloomed through my entire body.
“Making you chase me,” I breathed, arching my ass against him. “I’m owed that much.”
“Yeah.” Kisses dragged up my neck. “You are.”
“At the very least.” Goosebumps peppered my skin with every touch of his lips. “Probably even more.”
He flipped me over and pinned my arms above my head.
“Way more,” he whispered. “And don’t forget about the clean house.” His head ducked to sear his lips against mine, his tongue darting inside my mouth. I whimpered at the press of his body. When the kiss broke, my core was pulsing with need.
“I deserve more than a clean house,” I teased as he pulled me up. He caught me easily as I hopped up into his arms.
“Everything,” he answered, nipping at my lips as he walked down the hallway toward our bedrooms. His grip on my thighs was strong when he opened the door to my room, and then he kicked the door shut behind us. My back bounced against the bed when he dropped me, and his face went slightly concerned.
I giggled, reaching for him. “Come here.”
He folded his body over mine, and our lips met in a tangle. “Leona.”
I arched underneath him while he pulled at my waist, trying to get us both closer and closer, even with the layer of clothes still between us.
The last forty-eight hours had been…a lot.
First, arrested. Then, almost killed. Max’s confession.
Incredible sex. The gauntlet. Chiara. Planning a strategy.
Just one fucking thing after another. I could feel my body spinning higher and higher, my brain struggling to latch onto anything besides the narrow points of contact between his body and mine.
The happiness at his love bubbled up inside my stomach. There was so much relief and joy that he seemed to have shed so much of his pain and heartbreak. The man before me was different.
A Shadow.
Ours.
And I still felt…overwhelmed.
I twisted my hands into his shirt. “Max, wait—”
He froze and pulled back. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said with a quick, nervous nod. “I just…wanted to say something.”
The two of us stared at each other, with only the sounds of our heavy breaths spinning between us. His nose brushed mine. “Leona. Whatever it is, it’s okay.”
I swallowed before cupping both of his cheeks. “You…you just…I…”
“Shh,” he said. He lowered himself to one arm and brushed his free hand across my cheek.
I half expected his face to shutter, to mask, like I’d gotten used to, but he looked earnest. A little vulnerable.
The same way I felt. “Take your time. Unless you’re breaking up with me, in which case, get it over with. ”
I laughed. “I’m not breaking up with you. Also, are we even together?”