Page 28 of Taking Adalisa (Montgomery Syndicate #2)

ADALISA

“ I can’t believe you are here,” I whisper as I wrap my arms around her. “I thought you were dead or had disappeared. I looked around the city, trying to figure out where you were.”

“She landed herself in the asylum looking for her.” Matthias shakes his head, and I pull away from Margery, keeping close in case I need to do something to get us away from them.

“Only because I told her about it. I wanted to know whether she was in there or not,” I point out as Ethan looks at me strangely.

“I didn’t know you were seeing Matthias. How long have you been keeping this from me? Is he who you met at the speed dating thing?” Margery asks, grabbing hold of my hand.

“Yes, he is. I didn’t know who he was or how dangerous, but he captured my attention, and I couldn’t get away.” I keep my fib from weeks ago going.

Guilt fills me up as I look at Margery, and she cracks a smile. “You can stop lying,” she chuckles. “I knew you were lying the first time. You going to a speed dating event? You would never.”

I look at her, shocked. “You knew the whole time?”

She nods.

“It wasn’t hard to figure out you were lying, but I knew what you were going to do was something you’ve probably thought about a lot. I knew you would be safe, so I didn’t say too much. But I’m glad you met him.” Margery gives my hand a squeeze.

“More like he stalked and found me.” I roll my eyes as I look at Matthias. “He came to the store several times in disguises.”

I still can’t believe he did that. Did he not think that I wouldn’t go out with him if he asked? I would have said yes in a heartbeat.

“I don’t know Matthias that well, but that tracks,” Margery chuckles.

I fidget in my spot as Ethan continues to look at me. Does he not want me here? That isn’t going to fly with me. I will see Margery whenever I want to, and he can’t keep me away from her.

“I heard you have found some trouble.” Ethan raises an eyebrow.

I nod. “My brother. Should be in prison, but he’s out and in New York.”

“And you want Matthias to take care of him?” Ethan inquires.

I look at Matthias. Do I want him to take care of it? Yes, but at the same time, he is blood related to me. I know what he did was bad, but there is still some small piece that makes me want to work on it and see if we could have a normal relationship. But I know that isn’t likely.

“I will be taking care of everything,” Matthias says before I can answer. “I already have Rolo on it. Once I have a location, I’m going in.”

And part of me is happy he’s going to be kill him. Gerard deserves to die after almost killing me. If I could do it, I would but I know I wouldn’t be able to.

“Good. You guys can move in here if you want,” Ethan offers.

I open my mouth to say something when Matthias wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close to him.

“We’ll think about it,” Matthias replies. “Thank you for the offer.”

“How about we eat?” Margery pipes up. “I’m starving.”

“We just ate and were about to head to bed. Both of us have had a long day,” Matthias once again answers before I can.

I glare at him. “I am perfectly fine. Yes, we did have a an eventful day, but everything is fine. I can stay up and hang out with them.”

Matthias pulls me away from Margery and shakes his head. “No. We are going to go to bed. You need the sleep..”

Margery holds her hand up and stares at me.

“Yes?” I ask.

“Is this the man you were talking about on the phone?” she asks. “The one who comes into your apartment at night, and you know?” She wiggles her eyebrows.

My face heats up as I feel Ethan and Matthias staring at me. I completely forgot about the conversation I had with Margery about that. How I told her I was seeing someone who would come into my apartment and have sex with me. Though it was only once and very hot.

“You talked about me?” Matthias kisses the side of my head. I can hear the smirk in his voice, and I don’t dare look at him.

“Just briefly. I talked about how awful you were in bed and how I didn’t know someone could be that bad.” I look at Margery, trying to keep eye contact with her so I don’t giggle.

“I’ll show you how bad I can be in bed,” Matthias whispers in my ear.

I shiver, arousal flooding me. I can’t wait until he shows me later on.

“Okay, don’t do that in front of me.” Margery fake gags. “I don’t need to see what my best friend is up to. Stop. No. I can’t take it any longer.”

I chuckle and pull away from Matthias. “We aren’t doing anything.”

“Yet.” She points a finger at me. “You guys aren’t doing anything yet. But give it a couple more seconds… I do not want to see that. No matter how much I love you, there are just some things that need to stay private… at least for me.”

I crack a smile at her. “Right back at you. Well, you guys weren’t doing anything, either.”

Margery playfully glares at me. “We like to keep it in the bedroom where no one else can see. Ethan is a little possessive when it comes to me.

“Just a little?” Matthias chuckles. “More like a caveman.”

Ethan glares at Matthias.

“We are going to go to bed. She needs her rest, and we have a full day tomorrow,” Matthias says before anyone else can say anything.

“But—”

Matthias picks me up and starts walking out of the living room.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Margery yells.

I wave right before Matthias turns a corner. “That was mean,” I mumble. “I haven’t seen her in weeks, and I wanted to talk to her. Maybe you could have taken Ethan with you so he would stop glaring at me.”

“He wasn’t glaring at you,” Matthias huffs. “He was just assessing whether you are going to make it in this lifestyle or not.”

I look at Matthias like he’s grown two heads. “Who is he to judge if I can make it or not? I’ll show him,” I grumble.

How dare Ethan assess if I can make it or not when he doesn’t even know me? I can and will live in their world.

“I’m sure you’ll prove him wrong,” Matthias gently assures me. “You like to do that.”

“You bet I do.” I cross my arms when he sets me down on the bed.

Standing up, I walk over to the bathroom and start to get ready for bed quickly so I can relax.

Oh, that sounds so good. Getting under the soft covers, getting warm and comfortable.

I look at my toiletry bag to see the silver bracelet Matthias gave me to show that I was consenting.

Slipping it on, I look in the mirror and stare at myself.

So much has changed since I first met him. A lot has changed since I moved to New York, and not all of it is bad.

When I’m ready, I make my way to the bed and pull my shirt off, leaving my sports bra and shorts on.

I want to sleep naked, but I don’t want to do so next to Matthias.

I’ve done it before, but we had sex before, and it was completely different.

So much stuff has happened since then, and I don’t know if I will be comfortable.

“Stop thinking and come into bed.” Matthias pats the sheets right next to him.

I crawl into bed, snuggling next to him and placing my head on his chest. I could get used to this. Having his strong arms wrapped around me, holding me close the whole night. It feels like heaven and makes me feel so safe.

“I’m proud of you today.” Matthias kisses the top of my head. “You have done so much. You should be proud of yourself as well.”

“Why?” I ask.

I freaked out in the grocery store. I felt like I was drowning after I saw my brother. How is that anything to be proud of?

“You ate food you didn’t make or buy,” Matthias points out. “I’m so proud of you for trusting me.”

It dawns on me that I did eat the food Matthias prepared.

“I did do that,” I whisper.

“I know it took a lot to trust me, but I’m so glad you did.” He holds me closer. “I will never take your trust for granted.”

Matthias starts playing with my bracelet, and I’m thankful I can’t see his face right now. Mine is bright red as I stare at my wrist. Am I really doing this?

Yes, I am.

I shouldn’t, with everything that has happened, but I want to. I can’t keep denying the attraction I have. There are a lot of red flags with Matthias, but I can be color blind for him. Some people might call me crazy, but I don’t care. I think I might love him.

I suck in a breath. I love Matthias. I want to spend the rest of my life with him, no matter how crazy life is going to get. I want to do it with him.

I’ve never felt like this with anyone before, and I don’t want to let it go. I don’t want to miss the opportunity and compare everyone to him. No one is going to come close to how he makes me feel.

I trace my finger against his stomach as he continues to play with my bracelet. Is he thinking about the same thing I am? I want to rip off his boxers right now and have my way with him, but I want to be woken up with pleasure. Pleasure I crave from him.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Us,” I reply honestly.

“What about us?”

Am I ready to give him the truth that I want to stay with him for the rest of my life? That I’m okay with what he does for a living?

“How good we look together, Daddy.” I look at him.

A smile spreads across his face, and it takes my breath away.

“Do that more often,” I mumble, tracing his face. “I love it when you smile.”

“Only for you.”