If only I had graduated and secured a decent salary.
Now I was stuck under their roof, living by their rules.
Chapter 10
Maddox
The tension was delicious.
The thought of Stella infiltrated every moment of my workday. While patients spoke, their voices blurred into background noise. I nodded where necessary, asked the right questions, but my mind kept drifting back to the same place.
Back to her.
In the end, I left early to prepare everything for the only appointment that mattered.
Her parents wouldn’t be a problem. Not with Stella firmly by my side.
My sweet Stella would never be neglected again.
The doorbell rang just before seven.
I drew in a slow breath before opening the door.
Her head tilted up as the door swung wide, her hair tumbling back from her shoulders. Our eyes met instantly. I watched the familiar shift in her expression as she instinctively used the breathing technique I had taught her.
Her lips parted.
A shallow inhale.
Another.
I stepped aside with a silent gesture.
She walked past me, and we both pretended not to notice the tension stretching between us like a wire pulled too tight.
I took her jacket.
It was longer than anything I’d seen her wear before, but as it slid down her arms, I understood why.
Gone were the flat shoes and shapeless clothes.
She wore heels—three, maybe four inches. Net stockings hugged her legs, begging to be torn, and the short dress above them looked like it deserved a firm hand and a sharp reprimand.
The rest of the outfit was deceptively modest. Long sleeves. A conservative neckline.
A careful balance.
“How did you manage to get out of the house looking like this?” I murmured, reluctantly stepping away to hang her jacket.
“I left early,” she said softly, dipping her chin.
“Upstairs today. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
I nodded toward the staircase.
I nearly groaned watching her ascend. Her heels tapped rhythmically against the wood, each step making her hips sway just enough to keep my eyes fixed on the round curve of her backside.
I followed her up the stairs, though my gaze never left her.
