Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
A lex stood at the bar, vodka in hand, as his gaze betrayed him again. He felt off-kilter, and he hated it. He had a perfect plan, and it felt like it was all slipping out of control.
Madison.
He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. The moment he had seen her emerge from the house in her wedding dress, his heart stopped, and his lungs decided to stop filling with air. His reaction was so unexpected and so strong he’d had to turn his back to hide his body’s response to her.
She was so fucking beautiful. It was almost painful to look at her as she had floated up the aisle in that dress. Madison was standing at the edge of the garden, framed by flowers and soft candlelight, looking like something out of a dream.
The deep V of her neckline highlighted the swells of her cleavage, but the gauzy sleeves and skirt had made her look exactly like the angel he always called her. But it was the back of the dress–or lack of—that had ruined him. The two dimples just above her tailbone had him fighting an erection for the past hour as he imagined kissing his way up each vertebrae.
Then there was Jax .
The toddler wore a miniature black suit that matched his own, his small bowtie slightly askew. He was currently playing with the hem of Madison’s dress, babbling in delight as he tugged on the fabric.
Alex’s grip tightened around his glass as the weight on his chest grew heavier. The way she looked at her son—like he was her entire world—did something to Alex he didn’t understand.
“You’re staring,” Liev muttered from beside him.
Alex tore his eyes away from his bride and turned to his cousin. Liev had worn a stupid grin on his face the whole afternoon, and Alex was thinking about beating it off him.
“Don’t be stupid.”
Liev shrugged. “I don’t blame you. If she were my?—”
“Blood or not, I will spill yours all over these fucking stones if you finish that sentence,” Alex snarled, wishing they didn’t have an audience.
Liev laughed loudly. “I’m just messing with you. You were over here being all broody. I thought I’d remind you of what a lucky bastard you are.”
“Are you drunk?” Alex’s blood was still pumping hot in his ears, but he took a breath in an effort to calm down.
“Not yet.” Liev chuckled again. “Why don’t you just admit it?”
“Admit what?”
Liev shot him a knowing look. “You wanted her, and you found the perfect excuse to have her.”
Alex finally tore his gaze from where it had returned to watching Madison, and he pinned Liev with a flinty glare. “If you want to keep your tongue, I suggest you shut the fuck up.”
His cousin smirked, clearly unbothered. “You’ve always had a soft spot for women. And she’s amom who clearly loves her kid…”
Alex’s jaw tightened. “Liev.”
“I’m just saying… It was probably inevitable. So don’t fight it.” Liev lifted his hands in mock surrender.
Alex downed the rest of his drink, ignoring the way his body hummed with tension.
“You care about her,” Liev continued. “Fuck, you had me following her for months. I heard what happened at the club. All your bristly attitude lately, all this bullshit you keep spewing. You’re trying to convince yourself that this is about keeping Mikhail happy. Admit you’re obsessed with her. It won’t kill you.”
It might.
Liev patted Alex’s chest, his expression sobering. “It’s okay to let yourself be happy, Alex. She’s given you what you’ve always wanted.”
Alex scoffed to hide how his cousin’s words affected him. “And what’s that?”
“A family.”
The words hit Alex like a punch to the ribs.
Ignoring Liev, he joined Madison where she stood in the garden with Cami and James, sipping a glass of champagne.
Alex slipped behind her, resting a hand against the warm skin at the small of her back before pressing a brief kiss on her cheek. “Angel.”
She tensed for the barest moment, but when she turned to face him, her lips twitched, amusement flickering in her blue eyes. “Charming.”
James Bloom exhaled sharply, his expression tight with barely concealed irritation. Alex was well aware that James hated being at Alex’s house, and it gave him a perverse pleasure that the man was forced to be there because he was in love with his own wife. Alex wasn’t thrilled to have James there either, but their wives were best friends and business partners, so both of them would have to get used to occasionally seeing each other.
Plus, it was just so easy to aggravate the man. How could he resist that kind of fun?
Alex let the moment stretch before casually asking, “How’s Declan?”
James’s jaw ticked. “Recovering.”
Alex nodded, his thumb absently brushing down Madison’s spine. She was so soft.
“Good. Tell him to rest up. He owes me a lot of favors, and I plan on collecting. Poor form to try to die to get out of settling up.”
James grunted, clearly restraining himself from saying something rude.
Cami, however, watched the exchange with barely hidden amusement. “You’re enjoying this.”
Alex widened his eyes with mock innocence. “What do you mean?”
James muttered something under his breath and took a deliberate sip of his drink, but Cami just laughed, shaking her head.
Jax let out a frustrated whine, his tiny face scrunched with exhaustion. His patience with the adults clearly gone.
Alex crouched and lifted him, settling him against his chest. Jax made a tired, grumpy noise but almost immediately collapsed his weight and stuck his fingers in his mouth.
“Are you sure you want to take him tonight?” Madison’s brow wrinkled. “He’s probably over tired, and he hasn’t been sleeping well.”
“It’s your wedding night, Mads. He’ll be fine. Besides,” she said, taking Jax from Alex and pivoting to hand him to James. “If he screams, then it’s good practice for James.”
Alex tensed. He hadn’t realized they were taking Jax, and it made him… uncomfortable. Jax took his new position in stride, however, clearly comfortable with Bloom, and Alex relaxed.
James patted the toddler’s back, and when he looked up, he gave Alex a begrudgingly reassuring nod.
“Come on, Cam. I have a feeling we’re on borrowed time with the little guy.”
“Okay.” Cami leaned in to give Madison a tight hug, and Alex just barely caught her quiet whisper. “What you said inside earlier... I think you’re right.”
Madison stepped onto the terrace, a glass of wine in one hand, a vodka for him in the other. Alex had removed his suit jacket, leaving his dress shirt open at the collar and his sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms. It was deliberate, and when Madison’s eyes were immediately drawn to them, he did his best to keep the smile off his face.
Alex took a slow sip of his drink, letting the burn settle in his chest as he stood on the back terrace, watching her. She was barefoot now, her gauzy white dress pooling on the ground as she leaned against the stone railing, staring out at the darkened garden. “The day was… better than I expected,” she said after a beat, her voice quiet.
Alex took another sip before nodding. “Agreed.”
It was as if neither of them seemed to know what came next. Which was odd. They’d fucked before, talked before… Why was tonight different? He refused to entertain the concept that it was their wedding night and therefore special. It was just a night, he told himself.
Madison suddenly cut through the silence, her tone light, but he heard the edge beneath it. “How come you don’t have guards? In movies, guys like you always have security following them around.”
“I don’t like people in my space,” Alex admitted. “I can protect myself. And you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Madison smiled, the unexpected brightness of it grabbing him by the throat. “I wasn’t. But nice to know.” She paused. “You don’t mind having a housekeeper multiple times a week?”
“Angela is family. I’ve known her since I was small. But even she doesn’t live in.”
“You don’t trust her?” Madison frowned.
“I don’t trust anyone in my home.” His mouth quirked. “Except you apparently.”
A delicate flush covered her cheeks, and he could tell she was pleased by his admission.
“You’re worried they’ll spy on you.” Not a question. “That’s why you don’t let anyone get close.”
Alex’s jaw tightened at her eerily accurate observation. His expression cooled. “Exactly.”
She frowned. “That sounds awful.”
“You get used to it.” He took another sip of his drink, his gaze flicking toward the horizon. “My mother saw the guards as a mark of how much my father valued her.”
“Was it?” Madison tilted her head.
Alex’s lips twisted. “Who knows who they reported to. My father? His wife… my brother?” His laugh was humorless. “She never saw that she only existed in a pretty cage.”
Her expression changed into something softer. Sympathetic.
He didn’t like it.
Didn’t like the way she was looking at him.
Didn’t like the way the space between them suddenly felt too small, or the way his body responded to her presence like it was driven by a primordial instinct.
And yet?—
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and he took a slow step forward.
Madison’s grip on her wine glass tensed, her breath hitched. Alex reached for it, gently taking it from her hand and setting it on the stone railing.
Lifting a hand, he trailed his fingers along her jaw, watching the way her lips parted and her chest began to rise and fall a little more quickly.
She was exquisite.
And she was his.
His thumb brushed her bottom lip, his voice rough. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get enough of you.”
Madison swallowed, her throat bobbing, but she didn’t pull away. Alex leaned in, hovering over her lips so that his breath mingled with hers in the cooling night air.
He’d thought about going slow, teasing her until she felt just as out of control as he did, but in true Madison style, she didn’t wait for him to decide. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into her.
Alex took her lips in a searing kiss, hard and deep, as he hauled her against him, the fabric of her dress smooth beneath his fingers. Madison moaned softly as his tongue swept into her mouth, stroking hers, as his hand tangled in the loose fall of her hair.
He had intended to take his time, to savor the moment, but patience had never been his strong suit.
Not when it came to her.
Madison arched against him with a whimper when he gripped her waist, fingers digging in.
She gasped into his mouth at the feel of his arousal, hard and insistent against her belly. His lips left hers, trailing down the elegant line of her throat, and she tipped her head back, letting out a small, shuddering sigh as his mouth traced back up to the sensitive skin just below her ear.
His hand slid up her side, skimming along the soft fabric of her gown, until his fingers found the deep V of the neckline. He tugged it aside, exposing one creamy breast to the night air.
Alex groaned low in his throat, his mouth moving down the column of her neck to her collarbone, then lower, until he took the taut nipple between his lips.
Madison gasped, her nails raking over his shoulders as he sucked, his tongue flicking over the hardened peak. Her hands tunneled in his hair, fingers clutching roughly at the strands, and when she pulled, he sucked hard, his teeth grazing her sensitive flesh. She writhed against him with a needy whimper, and Alex almost lost it.
The sounds she made were addictive, every tiny moan and gasp driving him closer to the edge. His vision narrowed until all he could see was the flush across her breasts, and he suddenly needed more.
Lifting her abruptly, he placed her on the stone railing and roughly shoved her knees apart. Madison inhaled a quick breath at the sudden change in position, her hands bracing on his shoulders. Stepping between her legs, his hands pushed up the soft fabric of her skirt.
When his fingers traced the inside of her thighs, her hips rocked toward him desperate for more contact. Alex continued to draw lazy circles higher and higher, never quite reaching where she wanted him. Until finally, he couldn’t resist, and they skimmed over her heated skin. Primal satisfaction surged through him when he found her bare.
His gaze rose to meet hers, and something dark and possessive coursed through him. “No panties?” he murmured.
Madison exhaled, her cheeks flushing. “They would have shown through the dress.”
He smiled. “Liar.”
She shrugged, but just then his fingers slid between her thighs, finding her soaked and ready for him, and she cried out.
“Fuck, Angel. You feel so perfect.” His muscles were tight, and it felt like every nerve in his body was focused on how this woman felt beneath his hands.
Madison trembled and moaned against him, her hands clutching his biceps, as her breath came in soft, uneven pants. He relished the way her nails dug into his shoulders as he tormented her, his touch lazy, deliberate.
Then, without warning, he pushed her skirt higher, baring her completely, and dropped to his knees.
“Oh god.” Madison gasped when his mouth replaced his fingers, his tongue stroking over her. She shivered, a strangled sound leaving her lips as he devoured her, his hands gripping her thighs, holding her open for him.
“Alex.” Madison’s entire body tensed then trembled violently, and a hoarse cry ripped from her lips as her thighs clenched around his head.
Alex rose to his feet, his hands already undoing his belt.
He freed himself, his cock hard and aching, the tip pressing against her entrance as he grabbed her hips. Without preamble, he lined himself up and thrust into her in one powerful stroke.
Madison moaned, her fingers clawing at his back as he stretched her, filling her completely.
Alex’s hands gripped her hips, anchoring her to him as he began to move. He held her in place as he pulled back, then slammed into her again.
“I’ve been thinking for hours about fucking you in this dress,” he growled in her ear, and then his lips latched onto her neck.
Each thrust pushed her into the stone, her back arching, her nails biting into his skin.
He wrapped an arm around her lower back, lifting her slightly, angling her just right. Her moans grew louder, her body clenching around him, as her hands fisted in his hair.
Alex growled, his forehead pressing to hers.
“Say it,” he demanded.
Madison’s lips parted, her breath coming in ragged gasps. “Say what?”
“Say you’re mine.”
She shuddered, her body tensing, but Alex drove harder into her.
“Say it.”
Her fingers curled against his scalp, her walls squeezing him.
“Yours,” she whispered.
His teeth grazed her throat. “And who am I?”
She shuddered, gasping for air. “Alex?—”
He pressed his palm hard against her clit, and she ground against him with a desperate cry.
“Who am I to you?” Heat crept up his spine, his control slipping. But he wanted the words. The need for her to acknowledge it relentless.
Her eyes met his, heavy-lidded and wild with pleasure. “My husband,” she moaned. “My?—”
Her words broke off into a cry as she came again, shattering around him. Alex groaned, a violent shudder wracking his body as he found his own release.
They stayed there, tangled together, their breathing ragged, the night air cool against their overheated skin.
Finally, Alex pulled back slightly, his hands sliding down her thighs. Her body was warm, pliant, her dress still bunched high around her hips. She looked like sin itself perched on that railing, with her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.
He shifted back, pulling her dress into place. Without a word he bent and lifted her into his arms.
Madison let out a small gasp, her hands flying around his neck. “What are you?—”
Alex adjusted her in his grasp, enjoying the way she clung to him.
“You didn’t think we were done, did you?” He carried her across the porch and into the house. Dipping his head, his lips skimmed just beneath her ear, and he relished the way she tensed and then melted into him all at once. “Time to christen our bed, wife .”