The Innocent Behind the Scandal (The Marchetti Dynasty 2)

But when he looked at her she could feel herself aligning towards him. Her head and body at war. She was melting. Aching.

She didn’t hate him at all.

‘Maks, what do you want?’ Her voice was sharp. Panicked.

* * *

You. Maks just restrained himself from saying it. Seeing Zoe up close again made him feel primal. Her lithe petite form. That honey-blonde hair, wild and messy from the wind. Cheeks pink. Eyes like two stormy oceans.

He forced his brain out of his pants. ‘I came to say I’m sorry. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. I knew you better than that.’

The pink faded from her cheeks. She looked pale now.

‘You’ve got proof that Dean hacked into my account and sold the pictures.’ Her voice was flat.

‘No, I didn’t need to. I should have trusted you. I gave his name to the authorities. They informed me that he was picked up in Spain yesterday, and he’s admitted everything. They’re extraditing him back to Ireland to face charges. I won’t hold back from bringing the full force of the law down on him, Zoe.’

‘Oh.’

It shouldn’t surprise Maks that Zoe looked troubled at that news. She probably felt sorry for her ex.

She said, ‘You didn’t have to come all the way here to tell me that, but thank you.’

He nodded. ‘Yes, I did. The first time I saw you I accused you of being something you weren’t. You...you have an effect on me. Normally I can be rational, but with you...that goes out the window.’

Zoe bit her lip. ‘I can’t help that.’

Now she sounded injured. Maks cursed himself. Shook his head.

‘You got too close, Zoe. Closer than I’ve ever let anyone get. The only other person who knows me as well is my sister. That’s why I let you go in Venice. When you took my picture, and when it didn’t immediately feel like a violation...it was like a wake-up call. I panicked.’

His forced out words through the weight in his gut.

‘And then, when the pictures came out, I jumped on any excuse to damn you...so I wouldn’t have to acknowledge how much you’d got to me. How much I wanted you. How much I still want you now. Pushing you away was easier than being honest with myself.’

Zoe’s eyes went wide, colour flooding her cheeks. He could see the pulse at her throat beating hectically.

‘I don’t... I don’t want you any more,’ she said.

He moved closer. Unable not to. Zoe looked at him as if in a trance. ‘Don’t lie, Zoe.’

She moved back. ‘So what if I do still want you? You dumped me, remember?’

Maks stopped right in front of her. Her scent, fresh and sweet, wound around him. He smelled the sea too. Salty. Something in him calmed for the first time in weeks.

‘Maybe that was a mistake.’

She’d been looking at his mouth. Now her eyes met his.

‘What’s that supposed to mean? What do you want from me?’

All Maks knew was that what he really wanted was too huge and terrifying to articulate. Far easier to focus on the hunger that had been eating him up for weeks.

He reached out, put his hands on her arms. He felt the tension in her body even as she swayed towards him.

‘I want you. We both want this. We can talk later, hmm...?’

* * *