The Maddest Obsession (Made, #2)

by Danielle Lori

His voice was professional and disinterested, though an elusive timbre intertwined each word: an abrasive edge, like a deep, dark sin one kept locked in the pits of their soul.

the stance oozed confidence and devastation, as though brick and mortar and female hearts could turn to ash at his single command.

His dark hair was shaved short on the sides, faded with an expert hand. Broad shoulders and crisp black lines, his suit molded his toned body. Control. Precision. He exuded it, like the colorful stripes on a venomous snake.

But his face was what grabbed one’s attention first. Symmetrical, and flawlessly proportioned, not even his cold expression cut from stone could mar it.

“You want to give an opioid-addicted prostitute”—

she tilted the shoe to look inside—“Jimmy Choos?”

“Well, whatever it was, I hope you got something from it, Gianna. Because we’re both going to hell.”

“Gianna, you are as beautiful as always.”

We love a gorgeous queen

His were an ocean beneath ice, where nothing but the darkest creatures could thrive, while mine were a wide open plain. He saw everything.

Every bruise. Every scar. Every slap against my face.

“Gianna, are you coming to the Fall Meet this weekend?”

“Gianna, are you betting on Blackie?”

“Gianna, what about the a...

“You don’t like it? I did it for you. I heard you like blondes.”

“You been thinking about me?” he drawled.

“Every day, every hour. You’re always there, like a fungus, or an incessant bug s...

Glancing at my thigh-high boots, I clicked my heels together like Dorothy. Unfortunately, it didn’t take me home.

His gaze narrowed in distaste as it fell to the pen I’d bitten between my teeth.

I licked the end of the pen like a lollipop, tucked it into his front jacket pocket, and gave his chest a pat.

I squeezed my eyes closed, tears escaping my bottom lashes.

“Do you want to know my favorite?”

“Andromeda.” Allister

“An autumn constellation, forty-four light-years away.”

“Look up.” It was an order, carrying a harsh edge.

“Do you know her story?” he asked, his voice close behind me.

“Andromeda was boasted to be one of the most beautiful goddesses.”

“She was sacrificed for her beauty, tied to a rock by the sea.”

His gaze fell to me. Down the tear tracks to the blood on my bottom lip. His eyes darkened, his jaw tightened, and he looked away. “She did.”

“It means ruler of men.”

I did it for every bruise. Every scar. Every slap against my face. Most of all, I did it because I wanted to. I screamed.

I was young. Pampered. Full of ennui. I imbibed anything that made my heart race. Made me forget. Made me feel alive.

“You have such a handsome face. Does it get you everything you want?”

“Almost.”

“One look from you, and women swoon at your feet.”

He was growing annoyed with me. “Yet here you stand.”

Nowhere in those dreams had I ever planned for a Gianna Marino.

My face had been a curse when I was a kid, but now, I took advantage of it. To intimidate, to manipulate, to get whatever I wanted. Power. Information. Women. Ironic, that the one thing I now wanted, I couldn’t fucking have.

“You don’t kiss on the mouth.”

“It’s messy and unnecessary.”

Balloons floated to the ceiling, distorting the view of a photo of me blowing a kiss to the camera that took up the entire far wall.

His gaze drifted to my photo on the wall behind me before he met my eyes.

I smiled, lifted a hand, and blew him a sweet kiss.

A sliver of irritation ran through me. I hated when he told me what to do. Like he was my lord and master, and I just wasn’t aware of it yet.

“You need confirmation that everyone adores you, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I said,

“Surely your watch is too much? It’s a Rolex.”

“Okay, if you insist.”

The Rolex slid halfway down my forearm when I put it on, but I still waved it around like I would a new conflict-free diamond ring.

“Thank you,” I said brightly. “I love it.”

“And what am I supposed to get out of this?”