Page 124 of Maddox
“Yep, there’s also the smothered mate move. It’s when the king, surrounded by his army, cannot move out of check once the knight moves in for the kill.”
“Hm,” I hum and set my piece down, hoping that I haven’t already made an error.
He nods and moves to his own piece while I watch, grateful for this distraction in the wake of everything that’s happened.
It’s only when my stomach rumbles that he looks up, his pretty eyes dancing and says, “Hungry?”
When I nod, he taps out a text before pushing back from the table. “Food will be here soon. Want a soda?”
“Thanks,” I say.
He rounds up two drinks and I follow him to the couch. When he hands me the remote, I stop on the first movie I find and he says, “Classic.”
With a smile, I say, “The remake was better.”
“No fucking way, sweetheart. This is the beginning of the story when Jason spreads his wings.”
“Yeah, but–”
“Am I interrupting?” Maddox interjects from the door and the icy tone sends a chill through me.
Turning, I swallow when his dark eyes meet mine because where before he had a bewildered sort of amusement around me, now it’s sheer fucking hate.
Wow.
Averting my gaze, I watch dumbly as Romeo stands, unfolding his bulky frame from the couch and says, “Nope.”
He grabs the boxes of pizza from Maddox’s hand and sets them on the table. Maddox follows the movement, his mouth folding into a frown when he spies the chess set.
“Hungry, Delaney?” Romeo says and I stand and approach, sitting gingerly in the chair Romeo pulls out before he pushes a box of pizza in my direction.
When Romeo virtually ignores Maddox standing in the door, I follow suit, shivering in the chilly air.
No one speaks and I tentatively take a bite of the pizza as Maddox stalks forward, pulls out a chair and drops into it before grabbing the box sitting in front of Romeo and snatching it away.
Eyeing Romeo sideways, I muster a wan smile when he winks which fades when Maddox barks, “Chill out. She’s half your fucking age and practically a useless fuckingvirgin, old man.”
Once again, silence fills the room, and I mentally cringe at the way Maddox sneered the word virgin.
Avoiding his acidic glare, I see something brewing behind Romeo’s eyes before he turns to me and says with a raised brow, “Virgin’s ain’t so bad. Means you can teach them all the right moves.”
His eyes slide to the game of chess sitting on the table and my cheeks bloom with heat. I see his point. I mean, I think he’s teasing but the innuendo is there.
The pieces go flying when Maddox slams his fist against the table and leans forward, working his jaw. Finally, he says through clenched teeth, “What’s your fucking problem?”
“You are,” Romeo barks. “Get the fuck out before I kick your ass.”
After that, Romeo nods to me and says, “Eat.”
I’m not the least bit hungry but I do as I’m told while Maddox pushes back from the table and stalks to the door.
Once he’s slammed it behind him, I stare at Romeo, eyes wide until he winks again before shoving a piece of pizza in his mouth.
What just happened? And is that what Maddox thinks of me? A useless virgin.
Wow, just…wow.
Maddox
