Helen kept talking.

I didn’t hear a single word.

Maddox stood at the end of the foyer in a black button-down with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, watching me like he was peeling every layer of clothing off my body with his eyes. The same eyes that had stared down at me while he fucked me through two orgasms in a hotel room I never wanted to remember.

My mother’s voice finally cut through the roaring in my ears.

“Dove? Sweetheart, are you all right? You look pale.”

I forced my mouth to move. “Fine. Just tired from the drive.”

Maddox’s gaze dropped again—deliberately—to my stomach. It was still...