Maddie barely slept.
After Lucien left her curled in the furs of the greenhouse, after his final kiss and promise—“No one has to know. Unless you want them to.”—she’d stayed behind a while. Let the candles burn low. Let the heat and scent of sex cling to her.
She wasn’t ashamed.
She was buzzing.
But by morning, that buzzing had sharpened into something else.
Something like… anticipation.
She could feel it before she even entered the dining room. The air in the manor had changed. She felt it in the way the housekeeper looked at her a half-second too long. The way the glass doors were left open to let in the breeze—as if someone wanted the room to stay cool.
Because everything else was on fire.
Maddie wore white linen.
Loose, breezy, effortless—but no bra, and definitely no panties.
She needed the friction. The reminder of what had happened.
She descended the stairs, hips swaying, and walked barefoot into the sunlit dining room where the others were already seated.
And instantly knew.
They all knew.
Cole sat at the far end of the long wooden table, black T-shirt stretched across his chest, arms folded, jaw tight. His eyes flicked up—met hers—and held. Unblinking.
Vanessa was radiant as always. Silk robe. High cheekbones. A single gold necklace nestled between her breasts. She held her coffee like it was a chalice. Her expression? Impassive. But her lips curled just enough to hint at amusement.
And Lucien?
Lucien was seated to the side, one leg draped over the other, sunglasses pushed up into his hair, his mouth still flush from where he’d kissed every inch of her just hours earlier.
He looked like he’d slept like a god.
Maddie took the only available seat.
Between Cole and Lucien.
Of course.
The silence was deafening.
Eggs were passed. Toast. A pot of black coffee.
Nobody said a word.
The tension was thick. Sexual. Violent, almost. Like the static charge before lightning.
Maddie cleared her throat. “Lovely morning.”
Lucien chuckled, low and dangerous.
Vanessa didn’t look up. “Mmm. You could say that.”
Cole stabbed his fork into a piece of melon.
“Sleep well?” he asked Maddie, voice cool.
She smiled sweetly. “Eventually.”
Lucien turned his head. Smirked. Ran a finger along the rim of his coffee mug.
Cole didn’t blink. “Alone?”
The word dropped like a stone into the table.
Maddie reached for the butter. “Why don’t you tell me?”
Oh.
Vanessa laughed. Soft and slow, like she was enjoying a movie only she understood.
Lucien poured more coffee.
Cole leaned back in his chair. His gaze slid over her, unapologetic.
“Was it good, Maddie?”
She held his stare. Lifted her coffee to her lips.
“Which part?”
Vanessa raised an eyebrow, finally meeting her eyes. “Darling. If you’re going to misbehave, the least you can do is own it.”
Maddie’s heart pounded.
Own it.
She set down her mug. Turned to Cole first.
“You watched the tapes, didn’t you?”
His jaw flexed.
Lucien raised his brows, amused.
Maddie turned to him.
“And you asked for the key. You knew I’d come.”
Lucien nodded. “And I was right.”
She faced Vanessa last.
“And you… you told them to let me go, didn’t you?”
Vanessa sipped her mimosa. “I did.”
“Why?”
A long pause.
Then Vanessa smiled, slow and wicked.
“Because you needed to learn how to drive them wild. And now that you have…” she tilted her head, her gaze heating, “…you’re far more fun.”
For a beat, no one said anything.
Then Maddie stood.
Walked to the sideboard.
And, with slow, deliberate confidence, bent over to grab a napkin—her white linen dress lifting just enough to show bare ass.
Silence.
Except for the sound of Cole’s fork snapping in his hand.
She turned. Returned to the table. Sat down as if nothing happened.
“Anyone want more fruit?”
Vanessa laughed again, deep and throaty.
Lucien was openly adjusting himself under the table.
And Cole?
Cole stood. Tossed his broken fork on the table. Walked around behind her.
She didn’t turn.
He leaned down, lips brushing her ear.
“You’ll come to me tonight.”
“Is that a request?”
“That’s a promise.”
He walked off, muscles taut, the air vibrating in his wake.
Lucien stood a moment later, tugging his shirt sleeves down.
“Save some of that fire for tomorrow, Maddie.” He winked. “You’re going to need it.”
Vanessa only smiled, sipping her drink like the queen she was.
Maddie sat alone now.
Breath shallow.
Heart pounding.
Soaked between her thighs.
She had never felt more desired… more dangerous… more alive.
And she knew—
This was only the beginning.
XOXO
Maddie’s Page