Page 75 of Maddest Temptation

“I didn’t know if you liked it, but I knew you liked anything with sugar so…”

“I do. I like breakfast food.” I added. We got back to eating and as strange as it sounded, Francesca was the most relaxed about all of this. I was the one who was on edge. I don’t think she even realized how uptight I was about this situation.

“Did you cook a lot?” I asked trying to take my mind off the dirty thoughts that kept coming back. Especially about the one where she ended up sprawled on this very island as I ate her up.

“No. Not at all. Paolo hated that I cooked. He wanted a trophy wife, not a domestic one.” She bit her lip and looked at her plate. “I try cooking for my mother though, but she hates it as usual.”

“I like it.” I don’t know why I felt the need to add that, but I did. She gave me a weak smile in response, but it was obvious she didn’t believe me. Standing up, she took her plate to the sink and left it there.

“I should go.” Suddenly she was awkward and blushing. It made her eyes bluer, and her hair looked even more golden as the sunlight lit her up. “I promise I won’t ever call you again. I don’t want to be a problem. I’m not your mess and I didn’t mean to be yesterday. I can’t take back what I said yesterday,” she blushed even harder. “But now that you know the entire truth, I’m sure you’re beyond glad that I’ll be gone.”

Yeah, I don’t think so.

“Sit down.” I simply ignored all the bullshit she just gave me.

“What?”

“Sit.” She did. “Where did you think you were going?”

“Hmm?” she frowned and tilted her head, looking at me as if I was an airhead. “Home, I literally abandoned Reginald, and well, you know, I visit my mother every day.”

I pushed my finished plate aside and stood up. Stretched my legs and looked at her confused expression.

“Come then, let’s go.”

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t poison that thing, so you’ve probably come down with something on your own. Are you feeling well?”

Fan-fucking-tastic.

“Good to know you thought about poisoning me. I’ll add that to the list of things I need to worry about. Now let’s go.” I urged her.

She didn’t realize it yet, but Francesca wasn’t going anywhere. Yes, I heard the entire truth yesterday, and all the unspoken words in between. The hidden truths about her. There was more to her, so much more and I was going to figure it all out. Goodbye, my fucking ass. Not now and not in a million years. This was where she belonged.

“Come on, Francesca,” I said impatiently. “Let’s get that ugly gray rat of yours and visit your mother.”

“You didn’t!” She looked possessed. “Don’t ever talk about my baby like that.”

“You have an ugly baby,” I pointed out and she gasped but was fighting a smile.

“Reginald is not allowed at the hospital,” she said pointedly.

“Who cares, I own the place. Now come on.”

She fought a smile again and finally relented, coming toward me. She stopped right in front of me, got on the tip of her toes, and when I thought, she was going to kiss me, she leaned in, grabbed my balls and whispered against my ear.

“Call my baby ugly again and poison is the least of your worries.” She let go, spun around, and left me hard as a fucking rod. Did she just threaten me?

God. She was trouble.

The best kind of trouble.

21

CASSIO

“Okay, so something is wrong.”

I pinched my nose, feeling the start of a migraine. “What?”

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