Page 14 of Sinful Pleasure

The white diamond choker and earrings completed the look, giving me an air of elegance despite the rebellious storm brewing inside me. I straightened my hair, letting it cascade down my bare back like silk.

One last check, then I was out the door.

But as I reached the bottom of the stairs, laughter broke through the silence of the house.

It was my mother’s unmistakable laugh. I ignored it and kept moving toward the door, but then I froze.

There they were—my mother and Maddox—standing in the middle of the hall.

“Allyn, where are you going?”

My mother’s voice sliced through the air, and I immediately turned, my heels clicking against the floor with each step I took back toward them.

“And what the hell are you wearing?” she added, her tone dripping with disapproval.

I didn’t care. She could hate it all she wanted, but I wasn’t about to change just to please her.

What caught my attention, though, was Maddox.

He wasn’t standing as rigidly as usual.

His arms were crossed over his broad chest, his dark eyes narrowing in on me as if he were dissecting me piece by piece.There was no judgment in his gaze—at least, not the kind I was used to seeing from him. His eyes slid down my body slowly, almost methodically, and something in me shifted.

Was I imagining it, or was there something else in his eyes? I couldn’t tell, but the intensity of his gaze made my pulse race, a strange warmth creeped up my neck and spread across my skin.

Why was I reacting like this?

He was dressed casually tonight, ditching his usual sharp suits for something black and simple. Still, he looked freaking lethal. The way he stood there—motionless, calculating—his presence dominated the room.

“I’m going out with Tamara,” I said, grabbing my black coat from the hook. It wasn’t for warmth—it was to cover up. To hide from him, from his gaze that felt like it was stripping me bare every damn time he looked at me.

“You can’t just go out without saying a word.’’

I rolled my eyes, not bothering to hide the irritation.

“I could’ve, but you decided to act like a concerned mother for once.”

‘‘Don’t talk to me like that, Allyn,” she snapped, her voice sharp.

I didn’t even flinch. Instead, I shot her a smile, cold and fake, just like her entire facade.

“Whatever.” I brushed it off, my attention now focused on my phone,where Tamara’s name was flashing on the screen. “Can I go now?”

“Only if Maddox is accompanying you.”

“I’m sure Maddox is tired and coulduse a little break.”

I looked at him, pleading with my eyes, silently begging him to give me a moment’s peace, to let me breathe without his suffocating presence.But, of course, I should’ve known better than to expect any empathy from him.

“I’m ready to go whenever you are ready, Miss Delgado,” he replied, his tone a low growl, as if my frustration only amused him.

He grabbed the keys to his car, his eyes locking onto mine for a brief second—no kindness, just cold determination.

Once again, I was powerless.

Without another word, I turned and walked out, the click of my heels echoing through the silent house.

Maddox’s steps followed behind me, as inevitable as the next breath. We reached the sleek, black, matte Audi parked in front of the house.

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