Chapter 3

Madelaine

My eyes widened and a smile spread across my face when the first person I saw as I stepped out of the car was Othello, my dad’s capo and personal bodyguard. I ran toward him and hugged him tightly.

“Hi, Princess. Welcome to America,” he said, hugging me back.

It felt good to see someone I actually knew again.

“I missed you,” I pouted.

Othello kissed my forehead just as Ben walked past us into the house while a man carried my suitcases in after him.

“I missed you too. I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, hugging me again. “C’mon, let’s go meet Hermione.”

Hermione is also one of my dad’s best friends, but unlike Ben, my mom allowed her access to me. She has sent me a gift every birthday for as long as I can remember.

I walked into the mansion with Othello, where Ben was speaking to a woman with long, lush jet-black hair wearing a silk night robe.

Hermy.

Her eyes landed on me and she immediately opened her arms for a hug, which I happily ran into.

“My beautiful princess, it’s so nice to finally see you,” she said, hugging me tightly against her thin frame and rocking me side to side.

“How was your trip?”

“It was fine, thank you,” I responded with a smile.

It was really nice to finally meet everyone in person and put faces to the names I had heard all my life.

“C’mon, go upstairs, take a shower, and then come down for dinner. You’ve had a long trip. I don’t want to stress you out with catching up right now,” she said gently, her thumb brushing the side of my face.

I nodded kindly and went upstairs with the housekeeper who showed me my room.

Ben had told me not to unpack much, which meant we wouldn’t be staying here long at all.

Anyway, I took off the ridiculous suit I had been wearing, took a shower, and changed into something more comfortable. I also put on a pair of socks to keep my feet warm before heading back downstairs.

Hermione was already sitting at the dining table while the chef served the plates.

Ben wasn’t here, which strangely made me relieved. I didn’t want his presence unsettling me any more than it already did.

I slid into a chair next to Hermy.

“Hi, my love. I hope you like fried rice and honey chicken?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said with a smile, looking down at the pretty dish in front of me.

“Ben says I won’t be spending the summer here,” I added, trying to start a conversation. Maybe if Ben wouldn’t answer my questions, Hermy would.

“Yes, you’ll be staying at a secret location with Ben. You don’t have anything to worry about. It’s a place you’ll enjoy, I promise. I know you’re not much of a city girl either,” she said.

“Do you know what he did? Why they want him?” I asked.

“Your dad has something these bad people really want. He has something that could destroy them, and they either want to get it from him… or make sure he can never use it,” Hermy explained.

It wasn’t very detailed, but at least now I had a clue.

“I’m scared,” I admitted quietly.

Hermy suddenly burst into laughter, as if the idea of me being scared was ridiculous.

“What are you scared for? You’re no longer in London. You’re here with us. With Benjamin, nothing can go wrong. We have plans in place. Ben would never let any harm come to you.”

I nodded softly, her words bringing me a strange sense of relief.

“Or is it something else you’re scared of?” she asked curiously. “Is it Ben?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could say anything, I suddenly felt warm hands gently cup my chin and turn my head.

“Why would she be scared of me? I don’t look scary,” Ben said, staring down at me with that same practiced smile that deepened his dimples and those dark, empty eyes.

I swallowed.

The way he stood above me and the feeling of his hands holding my chin made my knees weak. If I had been standing, I might have lost my balance.

A sudden wave of heat spread between my thighs, forcing me to clench them together instinctively.

This man is a fucking Greek god.

Hot and majestic.

“You are definitely scary,” Hermione said calmly. “Please try to hide that side of you from Madelaine and make sure you take very good care of her.”

My heart was beating so fast and hard it felt like it might break through my chest.

Ben brushed my cheek lightly with his thumb, studying me with a look that felt dangerously close to hunger.

My nipples hardened instantly beneath my shirt.

I knew this was probably one-sided. I had read that Ben was very charming, the type of man who could easily make women feel things even when he didn’t mean to.

But he was also rumored to be asexual and incapable of sexual attraction.

Which was probably why my dad trusted me with him.

Still… I couldn’t deny how much it burned just to feel the smallest touch from him.

“I have a feeling Madelaine and I will become very good friends,” Ben said softly. “As long as she remains a good girl.”

My lips parted shamelessly at his words, and it felt like I might burst into tears from how intensely my body reacted.

My clit throbbed painfully between my legs.

Fuck.

This is bad. This is really bad.

“She’s a good girl. I know that for sure,” Hermy added.

Ben finally pulled away from me and walked around the dining table.

That was when I noticed he was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants.

His upper body was a perfect blend of lean muscle and strength without looking overwhelming. Broad shoulders, a chiseled chest, and abs I want to trace with my tongue and fingers. His waist is dangerously narrow where it disappears into the fabric of his pants.

Fuck.

I’m practically creaming in my panties.

A tattoo of thorny veins wraps around his right arm, snaking from his wrist to his shoulder.

I quickly looked away.

This was a man dubbed the Mad Doctor because he killed his parents at only eleven.

He is dangerous.

And definitely not someone I should be ogling.