Page 166 of Sinful Pleasure

I know I should.

But at that moment, all reason left me.

I was helpless. Helpless like a prisoner, unable to free myself from this pull.LikeI was the one cuffed to a bed, tortured not by him but by myself. The part of me that wanted to stay away, that wanted to protect myself from this chaos, was being drowned out by the overwhelming desire and emotion that surged through me.

I leaned forward, tears still streaking down my face.

The air between us thickened with every second that passed. And then, with a deep breath, I closed the gap, capturing his mouth in a kiss.

A kiss that wrecked me. It was all-consuming, tearing through me like a storm.Every part of me that wanted to resist was drowned out by the heat of his lips on mine. It meant more than it should have, and I hated myself for letting it mean so much.

Even though his hands were tied, and he couldn’t physically push me away, he didn’t want to.

He could’ve pulled away, but instead, he deepened the kiss, his mouth taking mine with a fervor that made my heart race.

I moaned softly, feeling the fire that ignited inside me, every nerve in my body alight with his touch.

His tongue slid into my mouth, and we both fought for dominance, each of us taking the other’s breath, stealing it away until we were one, desperate for more.I felt as if I was falling, but I didn’t know where the ground was anymore. Everything I thought I knew about myself, about him, was slipping away.

All that remained was the heat, the touch, the raw connection between us. At that moment, I couldn’t force myself to care about the guards outside,their whispers or the risk of them barging in to catch us like this.The only thing that mattered was Maddox. Everything else faded into nothing.

I pulled back, gasping for air, trying to steady my racing heart.

His breath was ragged, his body leaning into mine, as if he needed me just as much.

“You have every right to hate me,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

Maddox shook his head, his tired eyes meeting mine.

“I don’t hate you, Allyn,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t think I’m capable of hating you even though I want to.”

His lips curved upward in the faintest of smiles, and his eyes met mine with raw sincerity.

“Everyone else, but not you.”

CHAPTER48

ALLYN

Screwed. That’s the only right way to describe my life right now.

What’s right, what’s wrong? I didn’t know anymore.

Two voices were fighting inside my head and each trying to claim control—I couldn’t decide which one to follow.

One voice belonged to Mikael—the man who gave up everything to find me, to bring me back home, to teach me the truth. He’s my blood, my family, the man who’s been fighting for me.

The other voice led me to Maddox King—the one man who’s saved me in ways I can’t even begin to explain, even when I was too blind to realize I needed saving.

Maddox King was an enigma, a puzzle that I’ve tried to solve for so long, only to find myself completely lost in the process.

I hated him—God, I hated him so much but somehow, in the chaos of everything, he’s become the one person I can’t stop thinking about.

The line between hate and something else is so thin, so fragile, and I didn’t even realize when I crossed it—but I did.

And now, here I was, stuck with a decision I can’t make.

I needed answers, and I needed them now.

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