Page 164 of Sinful Pleasure

“You wanted her out,” I said, changing the subject quickly. “Now talk.”

“Bossy, I like that.”

“Maddox,” I said, my voice almost a whisper, tinged with exhaustion. “Cut the games. I don’t have the energy for it.”

His eyes lingered on me— as if he were studying me in a way that made every inch of me feel exposed. His gaze wasn’t just on my face, though. It moved downward, slowly taking me in, a look so dirty and shameless it made my skin prickle.

My heart raced when his attention finally settled where my body brushed against his leg. Such a simple contact, but it burned.

“You’re sitting too close for someone who’s afraid of me,” he muttered, still eyeing where our bodies met.I quickly moved my leg away, forcing myself to ignore the spark of heat that lingered.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

His smirk deepened, and I saw the challenge in his eyes.

“You’re lying.” His words struck harder than they should have. “You are scared.”

I froze, tension flooding my body as his words sank in. I hadn’t noticed my hands shaking until now, my fingers trembling against his skin as I tried to focus on the task at hand.

“You’re afraid that if my hands weren’t tied behind my back right now, I could do something very bad to you.”

His words lingered in the air like a dark promise, and I could feel the weight of the truth in them. I didn’t want to acknowledge it, but I couldn’t lie to myself.

He was right. I was afraid. But despite the fear, I was still here. And I wasn’t leaving. I sucked in a breath, my eyes flickering to the ground, avoiding his gaze.

“I’m sorry for everything they did to you,” I whispered after a long moment of silence.

My voice barely rose above a murmur.

‘‘If I knew—’’

“What?” he interrupted, his tone as cold as ever. “You were going tochange your mind about what you did?”His laugh was cruel, cutting through the silence like a blade. “Cut the bullshit, Allyn.”

I lowered my gaze, letting the silence settle between us.

Minutes passed before he spoke again, his voice low and gravelly, as though every word he said carried weight.

“I have no part in what my father did to you,” he muttered, the words eerily familiar, almost echoing the ones he said that night in the hotel.

Back then, I didn’t believe him. I didn’t want to.

But now, just like then, there wasn’t a drop of uncertainty in his eyes or on his face, a quiet confidence as if he expected me to see the truth in his words.

“Did your father tell you that I came to see him the day before he took you from us?” He clenched his jaw, his gaze hardening. “He was the one who told me the truth— he showed me everything.”

His words left me frozen in place, too stunned to move. Mikael had never mentioned this to me.It made no sense.

“Now what? He’s trying to make you believe I have something to do with all of this?” Maddox’s voice was bitter, his laugh ironic. “If that’s the case, your father is no different than mine, princess.”

I blinked. “Why would he do that?”

“To get what he wants.” Maddox nodded toward himself, the look in his eyes turning darker. “To see my family dead.”

“You’re lying,” I hissed through clenched teeth, my body bracing against the truth that threatened to unravel everything I thought I knew.

Maddox shook his head, his expression unflinching.

“Why would I lie to you?” he asked, his tone quiet but firm. “Ask your father.”

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