Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
A lex had planned to go straight home after working late. The only one in the office, and without the normal distractions, he’d been able to clear several items from his to-do list. However, all thoughts of a quiet night vanished when Liev called with the news that Madison had just walked into one of Mikhail’s clubs.
By the time he’d arrived, the nightclub pulsed with life. Amid the swirling chaos of flashing neon, a deep thrumming bass vibrated through the floor. Above it all, glittering lights draped over the ceiling reflected off a giant disco ball, showering the crowd in shards of silver.
Somewhere in this carnage was his angel.
From Liev’s last message, Madison and her friends were hanging out in the VIP section on the second floor. Apparently, one of the young women was Ivan’s flavor of the month.
She hadn’t noticed him when he joined Liev on a small sofa tucked away in the corner. It was far enough out of the mess, but he had a clear view of her.
For the next two hours, he watched as Madison danced. Her smile was wide, but it was obvious, at least to him, that something was wrong.
“Why does she keep doing that?” Liev nudged his arm. His cousin had stayed by his side most of the night, happy to just watch the festivities.
“What?” Alex tore his eyes away from Madison to glance at his companion.
“Keep putting the tops back on the bottles.”
Alex’s lips lifted in a slight smile. “Because she’s incredibly intelligent. She’s trying to make sure no one doses them when they are on the dance floor.”
Not that anyone who wanted to live would dare in this club.
Despite his brother’s various criminal activities, the Kovalyov Bratva strictly forbade the abuse of women and children. His brother wasn’t morally opposed to it—The truth was humans were a messy and unpredictable income stream and brought attention like no other crime. All Mikhail really cared about was the steady stream of money that flowed into his accounts.
When Madison started downing shots, Alex leaned back, one arm slung casually over the sofa back, though there was nothing relaxed about him. His jaw was tight, tension twitching every muscle in his body as he watched Madison’s movements become loose and less coordinated.
“Are you going to put a stop to this?”
Alex didn’t have to ask what Liev meant. During the last two songs, Madison’s friends had dispersed, offering an opportunity to the men who’d been watching his angel.
His attention returned to the group of men near the stairs.
“Not yet. She’s having fun.”
The men had their eyes on Madison all night, and he could easily understand why.
She was the most beautiful woman in the building. Fuck, probably the city. Her blond hair swayed around her as she moved her hips to the beat.
Alex might have understood their attention, but it didn’t stop the anger pulsing through him.
His gaze sharpened as they began elbowing each other and laughing. When one of them rose, tugging at his shirt, Alex shifted forward. His movement alerted Liev, who came to his feet, looking to Alex for direction.
Alex shook his head. He wanted to avoid a scene. First, because he doubted Madison would appreciate it, which would be bad for his long-term plans, and second, if Mikhail heard about Alex getting into a violent brawl at his club, he’d be curious about who Madison was.
Also, bad for his plan.
No, he needed to take the soft approach… Like a normal person would.
Alex’s plans flew out the window the minute the fucker put his hands on her.
“Keep it clean, Alex.” He heard Liev’s warning as he reached Madison in four long strides.
Clamping his hand down hard on the cluster of nerves between the man’s neck and shoulder, he enjoyed the man’s yelp of pain.
“What the fuck?” The asshole tried to twist, freeing himself from Alex’s painful grasp, but only ended up whimpering again when Alex tightened his hold. Baring his teeth, he yanked the man forward and hissed into his ear.
“Touch her, lose a hand. Stare at her, lose an eye.”
The satisfaction of the man’s terrified expression cooled his anger slightly. Alex thrust the man toward where Liev was already escorting the man’s friends out before turning back to Madison.
“You really should invest in a white horse.”
When his eyebrows bunched in confusion, she beamed up at him, her eyes slightly unfocused. “It would let people know…”
Her breath hitched when he brushed the hair falling over her face back, tucking it behind her ear. The sensation of her silky strands slipping through his fingers proved too hard to resist, and he repeated the motion.
“Know what, malyshka ?”
Madison closed her eyes and made a humming noise in her throat, the sultry sound sending jolts of need shooting through his body.
“That you really are Prince Charming.” She murmured. Her eyes opened and her gaze found his as she swayed closer. Alex hooked an arm around her waist to hold her flush against him.
The look in her eyes made him feel like she was seeing straight through to his soul. As if she had the answer to a question he’d been asking his whole life. Along with the pure lust heating his blood, some unknown emotion crawled through his chest.
She blinked slowly and then lifted one palm to cup his jaw, the sensation of her warm hand against his skin causing him to become rock hard.
Madison stroked her fingertips through his beard, her nails setting his nerve endings on fire. “You think you’re the bad guy, but you’re not…”
It was suddenly too much. She was too much. Sharp pangs stabbed through his chest.
He had a plan. A nice, simple, clean plan with no space for emotion.
With a low growl, Alex dipped his head and kissed her. He was being too rough, and he knew it. But the need to silence her words and banish the uncomfortable feelings they evoked were driving him on. He should slow down, not act like an animal. Madison didn’t seem to mind as her plush lips separated, allowing him entry with a moan, and all thoughts of slowing down were gone.
His tongue swept over hers, and she met him frantically stroke for stroke, hot and slick until she moaned into his mouth. Raising her arms, she shoved her fingers through his hair, her nails scraping against his scalp as she leaned her weight against him. The feel of her soft breasts crushed against him, her hips tilting into his, overloaded his senses.
And then she stumbled, and reality slammed into him like a fist. They were in the middle of one of his brother’s clubs. Alex didn’t want to think about how many eyes were on them.
His hand still tangled in her hair, he pulled back with a growl.
“Stop,” he rasped. His heartbeat was thundering in his chest, and his cock was screaming at him that he was an evil masochist.
Madison’s chest rose and fell quickly, her eyes on his mouth, and she leaned forward as if to kiss him again.
“You’re drunk, Angel,” he said through clenched teeth, his body still throbbing with the need to pull her close.
“Just a little,” she breathed. “Not enough to worry you.” She trailed her nails down the front of his shirt and then lower until she hooked his belt loops and tugged him closer. “Not enough that I don’t want you to follow through with what that kiss promised.”
He stared down at her for a long minute before he caught her hand and dragged her toward the stairs.
“Wait.” Madison ripped her hand away, and for a second Alex thought she’d changed her mind, but she only grabbed her purse and waved to her friends. Catching his hand again, she smiled up at him. “Let’s go, Charming.”
Liev must have contacted his driver because Alex’s car was waiting at the curb. Alex immediately pushed the button to put up the privacy partition.
“Where are we going?”
“A suite I keep in the city.”
“Okay.”
He waited, expecting her to say something else, but Madison remained silent, turning her head to look at the city lights slipping past the window.
By the time they reached the residential entrance to the hotel, Alex wondered if she’d changed her mind. But when she allowed him to intertwine their fingers, he felt something ease inside him.
Alex had half expected her to refuse to come in with him, but she didn’t hesitate as they crossed the small lobby. He nodded at the doorman behind the security desk and pressed his thumb to the panel that activated the elevator.
Madison leaned back against the mirrored panels, watching him. The silence was full of tension, the electricity crackling between them. He would have paid a great deal to know what thoughts were going on behind those gorgeous eyes.
She wore a slight smile, but there was something fragile about her expression that had alarms ringing in his head. The soft ding of the elevator as it reached his floor sounded, and he used his thumb again to authorize the doors to open.
Madison’s brows shot up as she scanned the wide-open space in front of her. Large windows showcased the city beyond, but the cement floors and industrial lighting were at odds with his other home.
“Fancy.” She walked to one of the black leather sofas and turned to lean her hips against the low back.
She licked her lips nervously, and her chest rose with an unsteady breath. He knew his continued silence was making her uncomfortable.
“Are you just going to stand there?” The challenge in her voice was clear, but there was also a vulnerability that did something unexpected to him.
“Would you like some tea?”
Her smooth forehead furrowed. “What?”
“Tea?” He strode toward the kitchen island. “I think I have some herbal in here.” Alex turned his back to her.
There was no mistaking the look on her face and what she was offering. He wasn’t a good man by any stretch of the imagination but having sex with her like this would be a mistake.
Madison would regret it in the morning.
You.
She’ll regret you , a voice hissed in his mind.
He silenced it. How she felt about him didn’t matter. To get what he wanted, Alex needed her to trust him.
Every rational thought and good intention evaporated when he turned back around, mug in hand, to see Madison lowering her dress to her waist, her breasts completely exposed.
For a moment, he could only stare. His throat went dry, and his grip on the mug tightened until his knuckles turned white. The vision of her perfect creamy breasts, topped with mouthwatering rose nipples, would be burned into his brain until the day he died.
His eyes drifted lower, and he caught a glimpse of the gentle curve of her stomach and the blue fabric clinging to her hips as she tried to shimmy the tight dress down further.
“Fuck,” Alex muttered under his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, tipped his head back, and willed himself to breathe.
Fabric rustled again, and when he opened his eyes, Madison was standing completely nude in front of him, the soft glow of the overhead light catching on her curves and her silver heels. She stood before him without a trace of shyness, her chin lifted in quiet confidence.
“You’re exquisite,” Alex rasped.
Madison stared back at him, her pupils wide and welcoming. His mind urged him to take control, but his body seemed locked in place, overwhelmed by her beauty and the sheer force of his reaction to her.
Her pupils were wide, dark pools of heat and want as she stared back at him, her lips parting slightly.
Desire rushed through him, his entire body instantly hardening as she reached for his belt loops and tugged him forward until their bodies brushed.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” she whispered. The soft, sweet scent of her skin wrapped around him like a drug when she stepped closer.
“Are you going to use me for my body, Angel?” His tone was mocking, but his heart raced out of control.
“Absolutely.” Her lips curved. “Are you saying you’re doing anything different?”
Alex’s pulse kicked harder, a dark heat curling low at her words. “Maybe I was looking for a friendly conversation?”
She rose up and nipped his jaw. “I don’t want to talk.”
“What do you want?” His fingers bit into her hips, and he jerked her forward so that she couldn’t help but feel him against her.
“To forget,” she breathed without hesitation.
He slid his hands over her ass to cup her as he bent to run his nose along the graceful line of her neck.
Fuck! She smelled good.
“Forget what?”
“Reality.” The words were barely audible, but he heard them and lifted his head.
“I can definitely help with that,” he said, and then crushed her lips beneath his.
If she thought fucking him for the next several hours would help her forget, he was more than happy to oblige.
Alex ripped at the buttons of his dress shirt, hearing the satisfying pop and ping of several hitting the floor as he yanked it off. His chest rose and fell with the force of his breath, and Madison’s eyes flared as she drank in the sight of him. Her mouth parted in an O, and a slight flush pinked her cheeks. She lifted one hand, and it hovered over his exposed torso.
He froze. He hadn’t thought before taking his shirt off. It wasn’t as if tattoos were unusual, but he knew that his chest and arms, covered in the tattoos that told of his rank and his history in his family’s bratva, were at odds with the suits he wore.
The feel of her fingers, tracing the intricate lines over his shoulder, and then lingering over the crown with a star rising out of it that covered his pectoral, had his skin twitching.
“These are…” he braced for her next words, reminding himself that it didn’t matter whether or not she liked them. They simply were , and it had no bearing on what was going to happen between them.
“Beautiful,” Madison said, her eyes heating as her fingers moved to the skull lower on his abs. Her touch was feather-light, and the sensation sent a jolt of electricity through him.
“Beautiful?” he echoed, his voice rough.
Her lips lifted in a wicked smile as Alex’s skin burned beneath her touch, every stroke of her fingers setting him on fire.
Madison might want to forget, but he suspected he never would.