“I don’t want you alone with him, especially not here.”
“I can play nanny and keep watch,” the redhead suggested with a cheeky smile.
Luca scoffed. “I don’t see how that’s supposed to help.”
“I can keep them from ripping their clothes off each other and getting it on your expensive leather couches.”
My eyebrows shot up. Did she really just say that?
Marcella’s cheeks turned red and fuck, the sight almost undid me. I’d never seen her this embarrassed. Talking sex in front of her old man was obviously a red flag.
“Dad,” she said firmly. “You have to trust me. Maddox isn’t a danger for me. Please let me have a word with him alone.”
Luca searched her face and nodded eventually. “Gianna will be in the same room. And if I hear anything suspicious, I’ll check on you.”
I had to stifle the impulse to roll my eyes.
All that mattered was that I finally got to spend some time with Marcella.
I could tell Maddox wasn’t feeling comfortable in our home, and I couldn’t really blame him. But I was so glad to have him near. I was feeling terrifyingly frail today, as if a touch of air could break me apart. Dad’s expression was warning but Maddox only briefly glanced his way before he turned to me. Seeing his worried face, I felt better. His concern for me was like balm on my worries. “Let’s go into the living room.”
Maddox followed me and Gianna trailed after us and closed the door to Dad’s tense face. He probably wouldn’t leave the foyer in case he needed to burst into the living room to save me.
Gianna let out a sigh, her eyes meeting mine. She rolled her eyes toward her purse. I mouthed ‘later’.
She nodded then she stalked toward Maddox and held out her hand. “I’m Gianna, Marcella’s aunt.”
Surprise crossed Maddox’s face before he shook Gianna’s hand. I couldn’t help but smile. This was a tiny step but I hoped Maddox could see that not everyone in my family was unwilling to give him a chance.
“I’m Maddox, pleasure to meet you,” he drawled, the hint of his Texas accent coming through.
“You got yourself a biker cowboy,” Gianna said with a laugh. Then she narrowed her eyes at him. “I hope you know what kind of catch you made.”
Maddox looked straight at me and a small smile spread on his face, revealing his scar that looked like a dimple. “I sure do.”
“Good, now I’ll sneak out into the garden so you can have a few moments to yourself,” Gianna said and gave me a wink before she slipped out through the door and sat down on a chair on the patio with her back to us.
“I like her,” Maddox said. “She seems less stuck-up than the rest of your clan.”
“Gianna is cool.” My voice sounded off. My longing for Maddox’s touch was almost physically painful, but I didn’t want to be the one to rush into his arms like a damsel in distress.
His brows pulled together in obvious concern, and he immediately went over to me. He cupped my cheek, his calloused palm rough and yet perfect against my skin. “You okay?” he asked quietly.
I stared at him, wanting to nod yes but unable to do it. Maddox stepped closer until his warmth seeped into me like a comforting blanket. “Fuck, Snow White. Say something.”
“I just…” I trailed off, my eyes aching in a familiar way.
“You just?”
He waited patiently for me to find the words, but for the first time in my life I felt at a loss about what to say, how to describe the sensations overwhelming me.
Eventually, I settled for the most apparent thing. “I feel ashamed.”
Maddox bridged the remaining inches between us, his chest touching mine, and I sagged against him, burying my nose in the crook of his neck and released a shuddering breath. God, how I had missed him. How was it possible to feel the loss of someone’s touch this strongly after knowing them only such a short amount of time?
“Why the fuck would you feel ashamed?” He lowered his voice. “Not because you slept with me, right?”
That was definitely what many people would want me to feel ashamed about. My eyes darted up, seeing the trepidation in his face. “No,” I whispered. “For the tattoo and the ear…”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. That’s nothing you have to be ashamed for. If anyone should be ashamed, then it’s me because I was unable to protect you. I’ll forever hate myself for that.”
He kissed the top of my head. Such a small gesture, but it radiated through my entire body, making me feel loved and validated.
“I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I just can’t shake it. I feel like people finally have something they can use against me, something that’ll hurt me.”
“Only if you let them. Nobody can hurt you with thoughts or words if you don’t let them. Channel your inner queen, Marcella, and make them bow.”
I couldn’t help but laugh against his skin. Maddox’s familiar scent flooded my nose. That and his words lifted the weight off my heart. I pressed a soft kiss against his skin.
His hold on my neck tightened briefly. “Don’t give me ideas. You don’t know what your lips are doing to me,” Maddox rumbled. Hearing his deep, sexy voice, my own body reacted with a wave of heat.
I tilted my head up to catch his mouth for a kiss, needing to feel him closer. My tongue teased his lips and Maddox immediately took me up on the invitation and deepened the kiss. We kissed like that for a long time, Maddox’s warm hands stroking up and down my back, and soon the pulsing between my thighs became almost unbearable. I wanted to be with him, find comfort in his body. I didn’t want to take it slow, even if that was what my brain told me to do. My heart and body had a mind of their own.
Our eyes met and Maddox pulled back with a groan. “You’re giving me ideas, Snow White.” I glanced at the growing bulge in his pants and smiled.
My eyes darted to the French doors where I could still see the back of Gianna’s head. With a sigh, I took a step back from Maddox. “We can’t.”
“I definitely can,” Maddox said, shifting his erection in his pants.
I laughed. “I don’t doubt it.”
Maddox leaned down, his voice dripping with desire. “What about you, Snow White? Are you as excited about our reunion as I am?”
I was. Embarrassingly so. I gave him a teasing smile instead of an answer. But Gianna caught my eyes in that moment, pointing at her watch and then at her purse.
The test.
I swallowed. “There’s something else I have to discuss with you.”
“Okay,” Maddox said slowly. “Nothing good, I assume. Does your family want to kill me again?”
“Not today,” I said with a shrug. I worried my lower lip. “I asked Gianna to buy a pregnancy test for me.”
Maddox took a step back, his eyes growing huge. “Holy shit.” He glanced outside. “Holy shit.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“You’re dropping this on me as if this was nothing when it’s a huge ass deal,” he murmured.
“It’s probably nothing. I’m just being extra cautious because I didn’t get my period yesterday and we never used protection.”
“Fuck, I was such a stupid asshole.”