Page 106 of Tempting My Mafia Monster

“I care about him,” I admitted. “He protected me from Sean, and… you should trust him. He really does want McKenna dead.”

“That didn’t answer Liv’s question. Were you two…” Gio trailed off, rubbing his chin.

I glanced down at my hands. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I wanted to tell them the truth, but I didn’t want them to hurt Maddox for lying. I didn’t know what to say. I needed to speak to Maddox. This was such a mess.

“Is it any of our business?” Lili interrupted, and we all looked at her in surprise. “Seriously? Raya’s been through hell. Clearly, so has Maddox. Of course they’ve bonded after what they’ve been through together. The important thing right now is that they both made it out alive and that Maddox is willing to help you find Sean.” She grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. “Raya’s hungover, and no offence…” She looked at me. “…she stinks. How about we continue this conversation later, after she’s showered and had another coffee?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she pulled me out of the room and headed straight back to mine.

“I could kiss you right now.”

“Please don’t. I’m serious about the morning breath. And we can’t have you looking and smelling like a rabid ferret when he next sees you, can we?”

My face cracked into a smile as my heart fluttered. It still didn’t feel real. It wouldn’t be until I was in front of him, in his arms, kissing him. Just the thought had me showering and getting ready in record time. For the first time since I’d been home, I dived into my dressing room and rummaged for a cute dress. I didn’t bother with too much makeup, knowing Maddox had never seen me wear any. I tried to hide the dark circles under my eyes with a little concealer and added a touch of lipstick, though. I swept the top half of my curls back and tied them with a pretty black bow. When I stood in front of the mirror, I looked like the old me. Only different.

I was His Little Monster in a pretty dress.

I turned to Lili, who was lying on my bed, reading. She glanced up and beamed. “Ready?”

“More than ready.”

My heart hammered with every step I took down to the ground floor of the mansion. Voices travelled from the living room, and we paused, glancing at each other. His deep Irish accent drifted towards me, sending a rippling caress down my spine. I closed my eyes and tried not to cry with joy.

“Come on,” Lili whispered, grabbing my hand. She pulled me towards the double doors of the living room, slightly ajar, and paused so we could listen.

My lungs stopped working the moment I heard his voice, more clearly than before.

“I’m leavin’,” Maddox said, and my lips parted in panic. “I don’t want to upset the girl. That was never my intention when I came here last night.”

The girl.

He referred to me as the girl? He was really selling this amnesia bullshit.

“We’ve spoken to Soraya this morning, and she’s okay. She was just shocked to see you alive. She told us that you protected her from Sean and his men and that you saved her life.”

There was a pause before Maddox muttered, “Like I said, I don’t remember any of it, or her.”

A pain in my chest sharpened. Lili looked at me, confused. I tried to catch my breath.

“Well, whether you remember it or not, Raya trusts you. So we will, too,” Alessio said as Giovanni walked towards Maddox. “Unless you give us a reason not to.”

He had his back to the door, so all I could see was his black hair, partly shaved at the back where a nasty scar was, and a white vest stretched over his muscular back. His arms were exposed, showing off all his ink.

He was there. In flesh and blood. Breathing. Speaking to my brother in the middle of our living room. I swear I could have fainted again. I nearly did when Gio held out his hand to him.

“Grazie for protecting my sister from Sean. For that, I’m in your debt.”

Maddox stilled at the outstretched hand. A few moments passed, and I wondered whether I couldn’t hear anything because of my roaring pulse.

“I won’t shake your hand,” Maddox said, prompting Gio’s eyes to narrow in response to the disrespect. Oh, fuck, what was he doing? “Not for somethin’ I don’t remember. I also don’t want to be in your debt. Which is why I’ve decided to leave. I’ll find McKenna on my own.”

Maddox bent down and picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. Panic and impulse took over, and I shoved the doors open and walked inside. Gio and Alessio looked at me, but my eyes were fixed on the back of Maddox’s head. On the scar that was evidence of how close I had come to losing him.

Slowly, he turned. He froze when he saw me. The world and everything in it collapsed around us as I fell into the obsidian galaxy of his eyes. I took a step forward, then another, until I was right in front of him. Neither of us looked away from each other. I don’t think we knew how to.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I whispered as his eyes danced between mine and then slid over my features, taking me in as if it were the first time he had really seen me.

I felt stupid the moment the words left my lips. There were so many things I wanted to say. I wanted to reach for him, throw my arms around his neck and kiss him, but it wasn’t just the other bodies in the room that were stopping me. It was the cold, distant look in his eyes. The tightness of his jaw. The defensive aura he was projecting, building cement walls I’d once torn down.