Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
A lex poured two glasses of wine, watching Madison from the corner of his eye as she settled onto the couch.
Jax was curled up on the other end, dead asleep, his little hand clutching a stuffed dinosaur that fortunately had been in his diaper bag. The kid had knocked out the second he was full and warm, oblivious to the world.
Madison was a different story.
She had barely spoken since they’d arrived. She looked completely exhausted, but there was still something fierce in her expression, and he fought the urge to smile. It was one of the things he admired most about Madison. There was a thread of absolute titanium running through her.
Life had thrown her a lot of blows over the last couple of years, but she was still standing. His gaze drifted to Jax. She was still loving and caring for him with her whole heart.
He rubbed at the burning sensation behind his sternum and glared at the glass of wine.
This is why I don’t drink wine. Heartburn.
Alex set down the full glass and poured himself a vodka.
A vivid picture of what could have happened to Madison or Jax if she’d interrupted the burglary appeared in front of him, causing him to splash the liquor on the bar. By the amount of damage, the crew that had broken in was either full of rage or sent to send a message.
Lifting his glass, Alex swallowed past a sudden tightness in his throat, and his chest clamped around his lungs.
What the fuck?
He mentally shook himself to expunge the unfamiliar feeling. It’s normal to feel bad for someone vulnerable, like a woman alone with a small child.
But the feeling wouldn’t leave him.
Fear.
No matter how much he tried to deny the physical reaction currently wracking his body, he knew what it was.
Pure, unadulterated fear.
An emotion Alex’s father had conditioned out of him in childhood. Fear was useless. You either fight and survive, or fight and die. There was no point wasting energy worrying about it. But he’d never had someone he cared about before. His gaze fell to the two people who had somehow wormed their way into his life, rearranging it.
Care, he reiterated to himself.
Like a friend .
A friend you want to fuck again .
Alex grunted, and walked to where Madison was sitting, handing her the glass. Taking the seat across from her, he rested his forearms on his knees. Madison didn’t acknowledge him, simply stared down at her untouched drink, her fingers drumming against the glass.
She was thinking.
Good.
“Say it.” Alex took a slow sip of his vodka.
Madison looked up sharply. “Say what?”
“Whatever’s running through that brilliant mind of yours.”
She let out a low breath and finally took a sip of the wine. He watched the movement of her throat as she swallowed and willed his body not to react to her nearness.
There was something about having her in his home that affected him on a primal level. He wanted to keep her here. Strip her bare and find all the places he hadn’t yet had time to explore.
Between her breasts, the small of her back, the swell of her hip…
Fuck.
His body hardened painfully, and he shifted in his seat, doing his best to dismiss the fantasy.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Madison lifted her gaze to his. “You think it’s connected? The break-in. The custody battle…”
“Yes, and so do you.”
“I don’t know. Why would he? He’s winning.” Her face scrunched in frustration. “Felix is getting away with too much. It can’t just be because he’s playing the responsible dad part well. He has to be bribing the judge or blackmailing someone—There’s no way he’s doing it on his own.”
Madison shook her head. “And if it is Felix, why go that far? Why escalate like that? What’s changed?”
Alex set his drink down. “You’re still fighting. He wants you to back down. He wants you scared.”
Her jaw clenched. “I won’t stop.”
That.
That fire is why I want her.
The tears he could see she was willing not to fall only made the navy depths more luminescent.
Fuck. She’s beautiful.
“You need to fight dirty, Madison. You are going to have to be just as corrupt as he is, if you are going to keep Jax.”
She snorted. “And just how do you think I’m going to do that? He’s got his father-in-law’s money and power helping him. I’ve got?—”
“Me.”
Her eyes snapped to his. “You weren’t serious about that.”
“I think it’s the most serious I’ve ever been in my life, Angel.”
“Alex, I can’t just marry you. It’s insane.”
“Why?”
Madison stared at him, an expression caught somewhere between disbelief and irritation.
“You don’t know who’s coming after you. You don’t know what they want. What you do know is that Felix is manipulating the system, pulling strings behind the scenes, and you’re running out of moves and time.”
Madison was silent, watching him with wary eyes.
Alex continued. “Felix won’t be fighting just you anymore. He’ll have to go to war with me. That’s not a fight he wants or can win. Plus, the courts can no longer use his marital status in his favor or any financial component they throw at you.”
“Alex, you’ve been incredible, but...” She winced. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I mean the last name… your reputation.”
“Won’t be a problem. I don’t have a criminal record and have never even been arrested in this country. If Felix and his father-in-law are pressuring someone in the family court system, I promise I can be much more persuasive.”
He shrugged and met her look head on. “If that doesn’t work, there are other methods of dealing with him.”
“Alex.”
He could see by her expression that she understood what he meant. “No one threatens my family, Angel. Once my ring is on your finger, that is exactly who you will be.”
“In return, you get what?”
“The wife my brother wants me to have.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“I told you before, I have a situation with my business that requires a wife. That business is keeping my brother happy. And it solves your problem at the same time.”
Madison rubbed her temple, muttering something under her breath before she met his gaze again. “What kind of marriage are you proposing, exactly?”
Alex stretched an arm over the back of the couch, relaxed now. He’d expected more outrage or arguments. While he knew she hadn’t agreed yet, he could tell she was seriously considering it. And he didn’t feel one bit sorry that he was using the attack on her home to help himself.
“One that looks real. It has to, for both our sakes. There won’t be anything fake about our marriage.”
“What does that mean? How real?” Her eyes widened.
“We need to stay married for five years. That’s the minimum needed to avoid scrutiny—from my brother and the courts.”
“In five years, Jax will be six. He’ll know you. We’d be ripping his family apart.”
Alex smirked. “Who knows? Maybe by then you won’t want to divorce me.”
Her knuckles blanched around her glass. “And? What else?”
“And,” he continued smoothly, “I want a child.”
Silence stretched between them.
Madison’s brows furrowed, her lips parting slightly. “You… You want a kid?”
“Yes.”
Madison stared at him, searching his face for something. He wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but whatever she found made her shoulders tense.
“Alex…” She hesitated, her voice uncertain for the first time. “That’s?—”
“I’m not suggesting you get pregnant right away. Jax is young, and you are busy with your career. I think it would be nice for them to be close in age. Maybe three years?”
“Them… Close in age…” Her words trailed off, and she blinked rapidly before she frowned. “Why? You don’t even know me. Why would you want to have a child with me? I might be a terrible mother or some harpy?—”
“I’ve seen you with Jax,” he responded easily. “And I’ve listened to your podcast, and we’ve had some…” His lips quirked. “Moments. From what I’ve seen, you are an intelligent, courageous, beautiful woman who is driven in her career. And you do it with a kind heart. There are worse things to pass down to my child.”
“You want my DNA for the gene pool?”
“Your genes will have some fighting to do.”
She stared at him, ignoring his joke, and jumped to her feet. “Marriage is one thing. Having a child will tie us together for a lifetime.”
Alex rose and took a few steps until he was standing directly in front of her. “I know. You are an incredible mother who has put Jax before yourself over and over. Why wouldn’t I want someone like that to be the mother of my children?”
Her chest rose and fell, and he could see the flutter of her pulse at the base of her neck. “You can’t know that about me. Know I’m the person you are describing. We’ve spent so little time together…” Madison sounded almost desperate.
Alex raised his hand and brushed her hair back from her face and then dragged his fingertips along the silkiness of her jaw. His need to touch her whenever she was close was seriously becoming a problem. He lowered his hand.
“I learned very early in my life to assess people. Who’s being sincere… Who will betray me… Who in the room is most likely to plunge a knife into my back.”
She needed to hear his reality. “I come from a dangerous and brutal world, and my instincts have kept me alive. And my instinct tells me you are a good person.”
Madison scoffed. “Not so great if I’m considering marrying you to defraud the courts.”
“You’re willing to put aside your own happiness and morals for a child you love.” He held her gaze. “That kind of sacrifice, even by mothers, isn’t as common as you would think.”
He could see the conflict written all over her face. She knew he was right. She knew this was her best option.
But she was struggling with what it meant .
So, he gave her a way to understand.
“I’m not going to change.” His tone was cool, almost detached. “I don’t want you going into this marriage with any illusions. This is not a love story. We will have a partnership… One that has the added benefit of explosive sex.”
His lips lifted slightly before he blanked his face again. “You need to know that going in. I like you, Madison, and I like Jax. I think the three of us will get along well. As my wife, you and our children will be my priority. I will take care of you.”
She exhaled shakily. “But it’s not a romance.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not capable of it. I’m not saying this to be an asshole. I’ve never said the words, and they’ve never been said to me. I’m just not built that way.”
His admission affected her more than he expected because her mouth fell open and she stared at him, horrified.
“You don’t mean your parents? They must have told you they loved you.”
Irritation gripped the back of his neck. “Don’t social work me, Angel. I don’t need it. It doesn’t matter. It’s just the way we were raised.”
Madison’s eyes were steady on his. “What about our children? Will you tell them?”
Alex’s mouth opened and closed a few times. It had never even occurred to him, but she looked like this answer might be the key to her decision.
“Yes.” It wasn’t a lie. He would say the words to the children if she thought it was important. Fuck, she was probably right that it was good for kids to hear. Madison was the one with the education.
Her expression softened. “But you don’t believe you’re capable of romantic love.”
“I don’t believe in romantic love, period,” he said flatly. She needed to accept this is how things would be. “I expect we will be friends, and I care about you already, but the rest?” He shrugged. “It’s a fantasy.”
Madison bit her lip. She was trying to hide her hesitation. Had she dreamed of falling madly in love one day? Alex ignored the twinge that thought brought.
She looked down at where Jax was sleeping and then at her feet. Finally, she lifted her chin. “I know a lot of couples who married for love. It’s not a guarantee of even half the things you’re promising me.”
Elation soared through him. She was going to say yes.
Madison squared her shoulders. “Look me in the eye,” she demanded.
Her deep blue eyes stared into his, and he was a little surprised to see all traces of emotion gone.
Is this how she looks when she’s interviewing people? It’s hot.
“Will you hurt me, Alex?”
Her words snapped him back to the moment.
“I have to tell you, Angel, this isn’t a great interrogation technique. If someone wants to lie, then they’ll just tell you what you want to hear.”
“You’d be surprised how many people struggle to lie while looking someone in the eye.”
“And you think I’m one of them?” He smiled, amused despite himself.
“No. I think you could lie without the slightest flicker of guilt.”
“Ouch.” He pressed a hand to his chest and made an exaggerated wince. When she continued to hold his gaze, a foreign, uncomfortable feeling spread through him. “I won’t lie to you, Angel. You can trust me.”
Her eyes remained locked onto his, and for a moment, Alex felt completely untethered.
How had he lost the upper hand here?
“Say it again.”
“You can trust me.”
Madison searched his eyes for a few more moments, and then her lips lifted in a soft smile that took his breath away.
“I could be lying,” Alex warned—needing to take back control of the conversation. “You were right. I lie as easily as I breathe.”
What am I doing? Trying to convince her not to trust me?
Idiot.
“I still believe you.”
“Why?” The word sounded strangled, and he cleared his throat.
You’re getting what you want. Shut the fuck up.
“I’ve interviewed a lot of people for my job. Both as a social worker and for the podcast. A lot of them were terrible people. Evil even. You recognize…” Madison’s eyes turned haunted, and he had the sudden urge to ask for the name of every bad person she’d ever come across.
Her eyes strayed to Jax. “His father is right there at the top of the list.”
She rolled her shoulders as if trying to pull herself physically away from whatever she was remembering. “I don’t doubt you’ve done bad things. Maybe I am crazy.” She pushed her hair behind her ears. “But I believe you when you say I… We can trust you.” She took a deep breath. “I have a few stipulations of my own.”
A wave of exhilaration swept over him.
He had her.
“I don’t want there to be open fighting around Jax. I know this situation isn’t normal, but I don’t want him to have a chaotic home life.”
“I have no intention of fighting with you.”
“Not just me. I don’t know who you have traipsing through here, but I don’t want him to see bodies being dragged out in the middle of the afternoon.”
“I generally like to keep body disposal to the twilight hours.”
Her eyes narrowed again. “Not funny.”
Nor was her assumption about how he lived his life, but he couldn’t say he blamed her.
“I want honesty between us. Even if one of us doesn’t want to hear it… We have to be honest with each other. It’s the only way this will ever work.”
Alex took a step closer, cupped her cheek. “I can be honest with you.” He was surprised at how true it felt.
“And faithful,” she added hastily, and then flushed. “As long as we’re sharing a bed, we are monogamous.”
His gaze fell to her full lips. “That won’t be a problem.”
Madison gave a tiny nod, almost to herself, then lifted her wineglass. “To our marriage.”
Savage triumph ripped through his body.
Madison was his now.
She won’t regret it.
I’ll make sure.
Madison’s eyes glinted, and for a split second, he feared it was with tears.
Alex ignored the unpleasant feeling in his stomach.
He would keep his promise to her.
She and Jax will be safe.