Page 186 of Maddox
“Princess?” Maddox rasps and I roll over to find him sitting in a chair.
When I push to my knees, his lips tilt into that sexy smile complete with the dimple that I adore, and I leap off the bed before jumping into his arms.
“C’mere,” he growls, wrapping me up.
As soon as I’m in his lap, tears prick my eyes. So much has happened and I guess it’s all pressing at my chest now that I have a moment of calm to process.
All the while, he holds me close and I breathe in his warm, spicy scent until he asks, “Are you okay?”
When I lean back, meeting solemn gaze, he presses a kiss to my forehead and then my nose before our lips meet. It’s slow, tender and absolutely amazing and when we eventually break away, I lean my head against his chest, asking, “Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hm,” I mumble, and he touches my cheek.
“Those two will have to work it out together,” he says, “but I think the fact that he went home with her is a good sign. True love, right?”
When his lips tilt into a crooked grin, I touch his mouth, whispering, “True love.”
Those dark eyes turn to liquid, and he runs the pad of his finger down my skin and over the bow of my lip. Tingles follow in his wake, and I lean into his touch as I say, “Maddox, I…”
“Princess,” he says. “I don’t care about anything but making sure you spend the rest of my life by my side, feel me?”
Searching his eyes, I slowly nod before saying, “Are you sure?”
Just because Ice turned out to not be my father doesn’t mean that I don’t come with baggage. My stepdad is a cop and my mom a recovering addict with a lot of shit hidden beneath the depths of her addiction.
Late last night while I stared at the wall, I came to realize that even though Kidd was not my brother, when he sacrificed himself for me, he became my family forever. Somehow, I have to honor him and that might be another sticking point between us.
“I’m fucking positive,” he says. “Me and you, this is it, princess.”
My heart warms at his declaration and I touch the dimple in his cheek before he darts his tongue out and sucks the pad between his teeth. My core clenches at the erotic rasp of his tongue and I watch his eyes darken before he presses a last kiss to my finger, cups my cheeks and says, “I’ll never let you go now, Delaney.”
Tears fill my eyes because after everything, this has to be the most romantic proclamation ever, but I don’t know about his family, although I have hope that we can figure it out.
“I hope not,” I say, and he grins, revealing that damn dimple again.
Epilogue
Delaney
It’s Christmas Eve. The last few days have been quiet while we all stuck to our corners and tried to process everything that’s happened.
Although I still struggle over the choices that Mom made, including hiding the identity of my father, I can never truly understand the why because I wasn’t there.
We’ve spoken briefly over the phone, and I feel better knowing that she still sounds clear, but she has a long way ahead of her. I didn’t want to pry too much while everything was so fresh but what she said helped me to come closer to understanding.
Ice’s assault changed everything for her and unfortunately with her miscarriage and being trapped under his thumb, Isuspect the drugs she turned to were the only blessing…until I came along.
I will forever be grateful to Diablo for helping her to get clean and I think, checking in on her all those years to make sure she stayed that way. Unfortunately, when he disappeared there was no one to keep her in line and the frail thread holding her together unraveled.
What I didn’t understand was why Diablo let Joey and Peter claim me, but her words soothed some of those wounds when she explained that he wanted me to be safe and cared for and he knew that staking his claim as my father would only put me in danger.
However, Ice always suspected something, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her he knew about Diablo the night I met him at the sanctuary. The asshole is still out there but I have a feeling his days are numbered.
Thankfully, Peter seems to have dropped his vendetta to arrest Maddox in the wake of everything that’s happened, and the Saints can rest a little easier but for the killer still on the loose.
While I only want the best for my parents, I think they need time to work through the lies between them and hopefully Peter can forgive her for her sins.
