Page 9 of Dottie's Forbidden Wizard
A shiver runs down my spine as I contemplate the meaning of her words. How does she know the guys?
I shake my head, filing it away for later. Time is of the essence.
Stashing the tray behind an enormous potted plant, I slip out and turn right, plastering myself against the wall until I reach the hallway. I gasp as I round the corner, narrowly avoiding a run-in with a large security guard. I shrink against the wall, but the hulking man walks past as if I'm invisible.
What the hell?
Hearing footsteps behind me, I dart to the end of the hallway and push through the gaudy, ornate door.
Jackpot. A large golden desk fills the space, and a cupboard lines the opposite wall. I close the door quietly and tiptoe tothe desk. Opening the top drawer, I find stationery. The second drawer holds stacks of what appear to be household bills. I try to open the third drawer, but it's locked.
And that's when I hear footsteps.
I race across the plush carpet, trying to decide on the best place to squeeze my round ass, and duck into the cupboard just as the door opens. I will myself not to breathe, even as my heart pounds in my ears.
"Griselda, I have no interest in having this conversation now, or ever." Maddox's voice booms in the small space.
"Like you have a choice," Griselda bites back, all flirty desire erased from her voice.
The door closes, trapping me inside the room with two people who would like nothing more than to ruin me—which is exactly what they'll do if they find me here.
Shit. This was a bad idea. And now I'm about to spoil the night for Toto.
Please forgive me, dear friend.
Chapter five
Maddox
My chest squeezes painfully as I glance around my father’s study. Dottie is hidden from Griselda’s perceptive abilities—for now, at least. But Griselda is like a dog with a bone, especially once she’s tasted blood. I realize too late that I've led my evil ex-fiancée right to the hidden treasure she’ll be only too happy to destroy in front of my eyes.
Idiot.
Every time I look at Dottie’s pouty lips or catch a whiff of her incredible scent, I want to destroy the world for keeping me from her. She’s the ultimate forbidden fruit, and I’m tired of being so fucking hungry for her.
What the fuck is she doing back here now? Of all the times to return. I clench my jaw in frustration. I left this world ten years ago, partly to keep Dottie safe. If anybody had figured out my obsession with her, she would’ve been used as a pawn to get me to do my father’s bidding, or eliminated. My stomach turns at the thought of a world without her in it.
When I caught Dottie slipping through the ballroom doors, I cloaked her with my magic. She was stealthy, but not nearly enough for a room full of wizards. Especially in that uniform. It's hard to blend in with a body like hers on display. She has more curves than a mountain road. An icy pit forms in my stomach when I think of what might have happened if I hadn't helped her. Demetrius, my father's head of security, would’ve crushed her without a second thought if she hadn’t been invisible.
I followed her, so preoccupied with getting her safely away from everyone else that I didn't consider Griselda's persistence.
"Maddox, you can't run away from this." Griselda stands in front of the door with her hands on her hips, tapping her pointed fingernails against her dark green dress. "I know your father wants you to pick a wife."
"Do you?" I ask, leaning against the desk with feigned disinterest. Of course she does. Griselda is the most sought-after public relations director and political fixer in the city. She knows everything about everyone. Or at least about the wealthy and famous who sell their souls to get what they want.
Griselda runs her gaze over me, lingering around my zipper for a moment before pursing her pouty lips. "My job is to put out fires, Maddie. And this fire is raging out of control."
I hate that nickname, and she knows it. Nobody has ever called me that but her, which tells me everything I need to know. Griselda doesn't want to marry me. She wants to marry into my family.
But I've known her my entire life, and it's not worth making her mad. Griselda is a cruel woman. Even when we were children, she delighted in torturing others.
I clench my jaw, wanting desperately to get her the hell away from Dottie, but Griselda walks further into the room and straddles my outstretched legs, batting her eyelashes at me. She runs her hands lightly over her body in a seductive move, and I try not to vomit in my mouth.
"Some might say it’s you who starts the fires, Gristle," I say, using the nickname I know she hates.
Her grin is sickly sweet and makes my skin crawl. "If I have to start a fire here to put out a fire there, all the better." She shrugs her thin, bony shoulders and taps her finger lightly on my chest. "Just depends on who's paying me more."
A tiny, almost imperceptible noise emerges from the cupboard where Dottie is hiding, and Griselda's head whips in that direction.
