Maddox grunted in response, picking up his menu.
With his wife dominating the conversation, Lewis remained silent throughout dinner, and I wondered if it had anything to do with how standoffish his stepson was, or if he was normally reserved.
Guess I wasn’t the only one with people in their past who made them uncomfortable.
Stepping through the door of Maddox’s hotel room, I slipped out of my heels, sighing in relief. Strong arms slipped around my waist as his voice spoke in my ear. “Need a foot rub?”
While I knew he was good for it, always putting me first, there was a suggestion that it would lead to sex.
I let him hold me, giving myself a minute to enjoy the comfort of his embrace. The tension he’d carried since entering the restaurant earlier that evening seemed to melt away through our body contact.
Maddox’s face nuzzled my neck from behind. “I love you.”
“Hmmm.” I would never tire of hearing those words from his mouth. “I love you too.”
Peeling his arms away from my waist, I walked across the room to put space between us while I dug through my suitcase.
“Want to talk about why you were a grump all night?”
“Not particularly.” His tone changed from playful and sexy to annoyed.
I sighed. “You want to talk about a future together, but we both know that requires battling the demons of our pasts. I’m not blind, Maddox. Your demon was sitting across the table from me at dinner.”
He blew out a heavy breath, raking a hand down his face. “Lewis and I have a complicated relationship.”
“You don’t say.”
I slid my dress over my head, leaving myself only in my underwear and tights. Maddox’s hungry gaze roved over my form, and he took a stepforward, reaching for me, most likely in hopes of distracting me from this topic of conversation.
Navy silk slid through my fingertips as I pulled pajamas from my suitcase, holding them in front of my body like a shield.
A groan split the air as Maddox’s head tilted toward the ceiling. “Not the big pajamas. Why do you even pack those?”
While he was distracted, I rolled my tights down and shed my bra and panties before letting the cool silk caress my skin. He was still standing in the middle of the room, so I moved close enough to wrap my arms around his waist.
With my face pressed against his chest, I said, “The last time I wore these when we were in a hotel room together, we had a really productive talk.”
His chest expanded with a deep breath, and he kissed the top of my head. “Yeah.”
Pulling away, I climbed onto the bed, sitting up against the headboard. I patted the spot beside me in invitation.
Not bothering to undress, he simply removed his shoes before joining me. Instead of mirroring my position, he dropped his head into my lap. I couldn’t help but smile at the intimate position, even as he stared up at me with those beautiful green eyes full of sadness.
When I began to stroke fingers through his hair, his lips parted on an exhale, and his eyelids lowered.
The silence stretched between us for so long that I wondered if he’d fallen asleep. I could imagine the inner turmoil he suffered tonight had been emotionally taxing.
“Lewis was my dad’s business partner,” Maddox finally spoke.
“Was?” I prompted.
A scoff flew past his lips, and his eyes opened. “Hard to keep working together when you find out the man you are supposed to trust is fucking your wife behind your back.”
I gasped, empathy gripping my heart for Maddox’s dad.
Before I could ask, he explained, “My dad, Trent, is a good guy, so Lewis used his trusting nature to screw him over. In more ways than one. Not only was he having an affair with my mom, but he was sending my dad all over the country on fools’ errands while Lewis worked to cut him out of a company he’d started.”
“I’m assuming at some point he found out?”
