20. Dean
Dean
“I can’t…” Madison’s voice broke as she sobbed on her knees in front of me, her hands fisting against the sandstone floor.
I could see her tears falling and soaking into the dirt as she fought off the war raging within her. The knife that Adrian had dropped to the ground glistened in the flickering lights with his freshly spilled blood.
“And if you don’t choose within the next five minutes, I’ll kill them all.” Adrian’s all too casual voice echoed over Madison’s whimpers and cries.
I hated seeing her like this—couldn’t stand it. A woman who took shit from no one and was always in control, brought down by the words of a man who didn’t even deserve her in the first place.
“Mads…” I hissed through gritted teeth, the pain from the beating his Anathema followers had given me sinking in.
As soon as the lights had gone out, fists flew at my body and face, knocking me to the ground as my hands were bound behind my back.
Derek and Atlas were in no better condition themselves. “Take the knife and kill me.”
Madison’s pleading eyes snapped to mine, and she violently shook her head.
“No—”
“Yes. Do it.”
“I won’t…” She breathed as her eyes flicked over to her sisters, who were currently restrained across the room from us, before reconnecting back with mine.
“They’re your family, darling. Choose them. Save your family.” My voice was shaking with my words as I fought against the fear of dying.
I didn’t want to die, but I’d give my life for her happiness without hesitation. Madison and I barely knew each other, and she had every reason not to choose me.
Was I out of my goddamn mind? Fuck yeah, I was. But since the breakup with Amber, I felt like I had nothing left to live for, and she had everything worth protecting right here in this room.
Madison had pulled me out of my depression in just one night spent with her. She would still have Marcus; she didn’t need me.
“Dean, you don’t get to come into my life and then rip yourself out of it days later. You don’t get to make my choices for me, and I refuse to give up what’s mine.”
Hers…
“So. Fucking. Sweet,” Adrian crooned, rolling his eyes at the both of us. “This is a new low for you, sweetheart. We’ll have to fix this attitude of yours later.”
Madison’s eyes darkened as she broke eye contact with me and looked up towards Adrian.
“I don’t need fixing, Adrian.” She snarled just before the entire cavern erupted into chaos.
Madison hasn’t spoken a single word since I brought her home. Marcus was slightly annoyed that I wrapped her up in my bed instead of his, but he was going to have to suck it up.
This wasn’t about him anymore, it was about her, and Adrian fucked her up in that underground home base.
She gave her sanity to protect me down there when I didn’t even deserve it. The way Madison looked at me—her shattering heart visible through her eyes as she tore herself apart, deciding between her sister’s lives and mine—
“Has she said anything yet?” Marcus asked as I entered the living room, giving Madison some space and much-needed rest .
“Nothing… she’s just staring out the window in silence. I’m not going to force her to talk right now.” I sighed, unable to think of how to help her out of this state of numbness.
“Adrian really fucked her up over the years they were together,” Marcus mumbled, staring blankly at the coffee table as I fell onto the couch and stretched my arms out across the back.
“How do you know that?”
“After you made me realize that I knew nothing about her, I started doing some digging into her history and past relationships.”
“Don’t tell her that.” I chuckled lightly. “She’ll consider you a stalker—”
“She attempted to file a restraining order against him—Adrian—but it never held up in court,” Marcus added with a frown, chewing the side of his cheek.
“Doesn’t surprise me… but doesn’t make it any less fucked up in the end.” I groaned as I ran a hand through my greasy and matted hair.
I needed a fucking shower. I had been so worried about Madison and her mental state that I hadn’t even taken a second to breathe myself.
Marcus stood from his chair, stretching his arms up before placing his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants.
“Well… I’m sure you need a break after everything that just went down. Why don’t I lay with her while you…” He gestured to my disheveled appearance. “Get yourself cleaned up and eat something. You’re not going to be any help to her if you’re dead.”
I huffed a laugh, shaking my head as Marcus skirted around the couch and made his way down the hall to my room.
If only he knew…
I had yet to tell Marcus the full details of what happened in those tunnels, and I was still unsure if I ever would.
Even a shower failed to shut my mind off from the events of last night. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about Madison and how she called me hers . The thought of her choosing me over Chyler and Alexis. Why?
“You don’t get to come into my life and then rip yourself out of it days later.”
Days. We had known each other intimately for less than five days, and it wasn’t even on an emotional level. It was sex, just sex.
Madison was closer to Marcus than me and she knew him a hell of a lot longer, too. Yet here she was, ready to pass up the opportunity to save her sisters, saving my life instead.
Amber wouldn't have bat an eye had someone been holding a gun to her best friend's head and mine, giving her a choice to save only one of us. She would've chosen Mel, the only friend she had, over me.
Amber and Madison were vastly different. One believed in self-sacrifice, while the other couldn't give a fuck about anything or anyone unless either somehow benefited her in the end. And I knew for a fact that Amber thought I'd never be good enough for her.
I leaned forward in the shower, pressing my weight onto my palms against the cool tile wall. The warm water from the shower head cascaded down my back and wrapped around my waist before falling to the floor .
For the longest time, the only woman I ever saw myself ending up with was Amber, and now, for the first time ever, all I could think about was Madison. Her piercing blue-grey eyes, long, silky white blonde hair, and the curve of her plush heart-shaped lips.
It was freeing to imagine someone other than my ex, closing my eyes and seeing someone worth my desire—someone who desired me in return.
As I stood under the water with my eyes closed, I could feel a break in the water as cool hands glided from my lower back to the front of my waist before descending even lower.
I stiffened, in more places than one, sucking in a sharp breath as I felt a small body press up against my back, one hand sliding down to grab my semi-hard dick while the other moved up my chest to grip my shoulder.
“What did she do to you?” Madison’s voice was muffled by the sound of the water hitting the tile floor of the shower. I didn’t even hear her enter the bathroom, let alone the rustle of pulling the shower curtain aside to let herself in. Where was Marcus? Did he send her in here?
“She took me for granted.” I sighed, my shoulders sagging from finally releasing everything I was denying.
“I was always the problem that needed fixing; never giving her enough of what she needed, never being good enough for her—period. Everything was my fault, never hers. If I wasn’t with her twenty-four-seven, I was out cheating with some other woman. ”
I knew I was as faithful as they came—a golden retriever. I would never even consider going behind my partner's back. Just the thought alone of doing something so wrong made my stomach twist and turn sour.
Madison pressed her cold lips to my shoulder blade, peppering kisses along my back as her hand holding my cock started moving slowly up and down its length.
“Did you love her?”
I huffed a laugh in disbelief that she was asking me these kinds of questions while stroking me.
Did I love Amber? Yes—before shit hit the fan, and I realized I had to get myself out of that toxic excuse of a relationship. But did I love her now? No—and I never would again. Not even with a gun pointed at my head.
“The thing about love—” I paused, curling my hands into fists against the wall as I clenched my jaw with a deep groan, feeling Madison increase her pace, giving my cock a firm squeeze as she continued working it.
“The thing about love is that it blinds us to obvious red flags… and even if we do see them, it’s easier to brush them off rather than face the reality that you fell for a monster in the first place. ”
Madison told me she knew my pain, and I didn't believe her until last night when I saw the monster she had once fallen in love with.
I could feel my balls beginning to tighten as she drove me closer to the edge of salvation.
Madison released my shoulder and ran her free hand up my spine, dragging her nails along the entire length of my back before firmly gripping the hair at the back of my head.
She tugged the strands, forcing me to jerk my head back towards her as she rose up on her tiptoes, soft lips meeting the shell of my ear.
“Let her go, babe.” Madison purred against my ear as my erratic breaths and deep moans filled the room, holding myself back as long as I could. “You don’t need her anymore. You’ve got me.”
With one last pump of her hand, I felt my climax burst through me, spilling my cum over the ceramic tiles. I groaned my release louder than I had ever done before, not giving a damn who could hear.
As I stood there panting, Madison released her hold on me, dipping under my arm and gripping my face in her palms. The white shirt she wore was drenched, clinging to her body like a second skin and leaving nothing to the imagination.
Fuck she was stunning when soaking wet.
Madison peered up at me, standing between my arms with bright, comforting eyes. I didn’t waste any time bending forward to claim her mouth with mine—savoring the one thing I wanted in this life.
Words didn’t matter anymore, as I immediately dropped my hands to grip her thighs, picking Madison up and digging my fingers into her smooth skin. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I pressed her up against the wall, moaning into her mouth, begging for more of her.
Nothing compared to the feel and taste of this woman—no one compared.
I was in trouble, but I didn’t give a single fuck.