15. Chapter 15 - Liam
After a quick sweep of the house, I meet the girls back in the entryway.
All clear.
“Lex, help yourself to the guest room shower. It’s right down this hallway here,” I extend my arm, gesturing to the door at the end of the hall. “Madison, I’ll help you get cleaned up in my room. You can use my shower. I want a look at your injuries.”
Lex looks at me, wondering what move to play here. “Alright. I could use some tea to calm down after all the events of tonight. I’ll get cleaned up and meet Maddy in the kitchen in a half hour. If she needs stitches, come and get me, please.”
I tilt my head slightly, encouraging her to start moving. Maddy is looking pale and ready to either vomit or lose it.
“Con has some of his clothes in the closet. He stays here when he’s working the overnight at The Triskelion . Grab something warm. I’ll get the fire going, you girls can warm up by it with your tea.”
Remembering her way around, Madison starts walking towards my bedroom. It’s a few doors down from the hall bathroom, two other guest rooms, and my office. With haste she books it down the hall. The fire can wait a little longer .
Madison needs me.
I follow her, she’s already trying to undress. The bedroom door was left open and I can see her struggling to get her dress off. The zipper snagged a quarter of the way down. As it is, the dress fits her rather snugly. Frustrated hands tug at the material, hoping it will give.
It doesn’t.
“Ugh!” She stomps her foot, kicking her heels into the air to get them off.
That’s my cue, I jog over to her, dodging a flying heel and take in her disheveled, pre-melt down. In an instant I’ve got her curled into my arms as I cradle her head.
“It’s the adrenaline hangover. It’s like a panic attack, sweetheart. You’re okay. I’m right here.“
“Get this fucking dress off me right now. I can’t breathe, Liam. Please , I can’t fucking breathe,” she sobs. She’s hyperventilating. Her breathing has turned staccato.
Spinning her around, I rip the dress at the zipper seam and pull it down her body. She steps out of it and backs into me as my arms come back around her, my head resting on top of hers.
“Breathe, baby.” I inhale deeply, having her mimic my movements. Tremors shake the both of us as her body tries to calm down.
“Breathe. I’m right here. I’m not letting you go,” I say soothingly.
Her head bobs against my chin as she nods. Slow, even breaths replace the erratic, panicked ones.
Good girl.
Christ. I hate seeing her like this. She did good. Lexi is absolutely wrong. I am proud of her. But this is where Madison and I differ. If she still wants to be my woman, as I want her to be, she needs to be protected at all times.
She is always going to be a target .
It’s unfortunately the nature of our lives. Even in our own damn club it can happen. It happened in our home last year.
From here on out she will have someone with her. I was lenient tonight because she’s been asking me to trust that she can handle herself.
And she can, I know she can— I fucking trained her.
That doesn’t mean in situations like tonight she won’t end up traumatized and physically hurt. Seeing blood on her skin and redness around her neck has my hands balling into fists around her.
“Let’s get you in the shower. I want to take a look at that lip, baby.” I clench my teeth with enough pressure to snap my jaw, just barely able to get the words out. Cue the tension headache.
The anger coursing through me is like a pressure cooker. At any moment it will blow. It needs a release, an outlet.
Con better get that son of a bitch to the shed soon.
Dropping my arms to cup her under the legs, I carry her feeble body to the shower. It’s a walk-in, there is no glass. I place her down on the bench and turn the water on, testing the temperature. Like most women, she prefers it practically scalding, so I crank it up a notch until thick steam permeates the room. Completely zoned out, she pulls her legs up and wraps her arms around them, laying her head on her knees.
Fuck . Not giving a damn about my clothes, I walk under the spray and sit next to her. Steam swirls around us as she tilts her head to look at me.
“He said I should have been dead by now,” she mumbles groggily, her voice horse from nerves and asphyxiation.
The organ in my chest skips a beat causing my own adrenaline to momentarily spike. This was personal. It wasn’t a threat towards me or Diego. This was a direct threat towards Madison.
Godfuckingdammit .
The girl comes home for a few days and already she has a threat against her.
“Did he say anything else?” I ask, my voice coated with too much ire.
I’m trying to reel it in. Trying to control it. My hands shake as I tilt her head up to look at her lip. It is going to need stitches. Definitely way too deep and the blood is still having a hard time coagulating. I grab a wash cloth and gently wet it, pressing it to her lip.
“No. He didn’t have time. I spit blood in his face.” Although it comes out monotone, there is a hint of pride there. Her quick thinking definitely gave her the upper hand.
“This is going to need stitches, love. I’ll get you cleaned up and into fresh clothes. Lexi can stitch you up in the kitchen.”
She nods, removing the washcloth from my hand and holding it to her lower lip.
While she tends to the wound, I shampoo her hair, gently massaging her head and scanning her scalp with the tips of my fingers for any further lacerations. Seems okay.
“Anything else hurt?”
“No,” she clips.
Grabbing the detachable shower head, I rinse the suds from her purple locks before moving on to add conditioner. I leave it in, letting it work its magic on her thick strands while soaping up a loofah and cleaning her body. Madison uncurls, allowing me to clean her properly. Her body is still limp with exhaustion.
With legs like a newborn calf, she stands and walks herself beneath the spray to rinse out the conditioner. Suds from the body wash run down her beautiful breasts and over her stomach. After a bit of a struggle to remove my wet clothes, I finally reach out to her, clasping a hand behind her back. She reaches for the loofah, adding a bit of soap before scrubbing my body with it. Her eyes won’t reach mine, purely focused on the task at hand.
“That’s good, baby. Don’t worry about me. I’ll need another shower after what I have planned for later,” I try to bite back a growl. That fucker is going to wish he never stepped foot in my club. Never laid a hand on what is mine.
And she is mine .
She always will be—even if it ends platonically, Madison will always be part of my syndicate and family.
Dainty hands replace the loofah, running up my chest to clasp my face. “I’m sorry, Liam. For earlier.”
Lacing my fingers through hers I bring them to my lips, kissing them. “Don’t worry about that now, baby. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
I reach behind her and turn the water off, grabbing two towels off the vanity. I secure one around my hips before bundling her in the other, helping her onto the bath mat.
Shock is always the result of moments like these. I’m so far past that feeling now, it no longer phases me. Madison has had her fair share, but this was different. She fought back and won. That hand to hand combat, that rush of adrenaline, it’s a lot to come down from. When you finally do, you end up crashing. I need to get her warmed up and in bed.
The chill of my bedroom hits us as we exit. She stands there by the bathroom door looking broken and lost. I dig through my drawers until I find a pair of sweatpants with a drawstring and one of my sweatshirts. I place them on the dresser and toss on a fresh pair of boxer briefs. The sensation of her eyes on my body has my anger easing and lust filtering in.
When I turn around to dress her, the white fluffy towel is now forgotten about on the floor. This goddess is standing with her hands on her hips, stark naked. Her pink nipples are pebbled and the bronze skin around them is dusted with goosebumps. Wet violet hair clings to her arms and over the swell of her breasts leaving water droplets dripping down the center of her chest. I want to lick each one, tracing my tongue over each nipple before climbing higher to lap the water at her neck. My cock pulses, tenting my boxers which directs her gaze to the V at the elastic waistband.
I can’t.
Not now.
She needs her lip fixed and some rest.
“Liam…” I know that tone. God, I fucking love that tone. It’s sexy as hell and has my patience wearing thin. If I don’t change this ship's course soon, I’ll end up inside her the rest of the night.
Grabbing the thick navy blue sweatshirt, I hold it out in front of me.
“Arms up, love.”
Rejection clouds her eyes. She wants me. We have always helped each other through our tough moments by being as physically close as possible. Not being able to give her what she needs right now is killing me.
Her right hand grips the sweatshirt while her other retrieves the sweatpants on my dresser. She dresses quickly, shielding her perfect body from me before heading back into my en suite. Drawers slam open and closed as she searches around.
“I need a brush,” she snaps.
I reach around her to pull open the top drawer, handing her one.
She tugs at the handle, avoiding my skin touching hers. Anger courses through her as she aggressively combs through the knots. It sounds fucking painful—yet she hasn’t even flinched.
“Mad. It’s not that I don’t want to…” I say hesitantly.
“Save it,” she snarls, pointing the brush at me before continuing her task. Fiery eyes meet mine in the mirror before continuing. “That’s twice tonight you stopped. In our past we never would have stopped. Because nothing could have prevented me from being with you. Especially after moments like that. It’s how we heal each other.” Her voice is raspy and full of fire. “ Don’t you remember the night at Declan’s pool house? Our shower?”
She flips her head forward as a few drops of blood drip onto the tile. Securing a hair tie around her messy bun, she side-steps me into the bedroom and out the door.
Goddamnit . She’s absolutely right. Why am I being so cautious around her? So gentle.
This isn’t me.
And this certainly isn’t us .
The real reason is because she doesn’t feel like mine anymore. My woman. Certainly not in the romantic sense. She’s the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. The same woman I fucking proposed to before she married another man. That fact has me scrubbing a hand down my face and releasing a sigh before heading out after her.
Snip .
Whistle.
Crackle.
“There. All done. Only needed five stitches,” Lexi sighs her satisfaction.
“ Only .” Madison rolls her eyes at her best friend. “That’s one too many.”
“It’ll heal. The mouth heals pretty quickly.” Lexi says, dabbing antibiotic ointment onto it.
My eyes drift off the two of them to the kettle on the stove. I grab the handle, pouring water into the two mugs on the counter. Shuffling over to the refrigerator, I hit the ice button, dispensing two cubes and placing one in each mug. It crackles like the fire, taking the heat out of the beverages.
A man can only hope to do the same with Madison.
She’s currently fuming .
The ladies are sitting by the fire. I can only see Maddy’s profile, but her body language screams pissed. Thankfully, the anxiety attack has subsided to be replaced with hatred towards me.
Ya know what? I can’t even blame her. Here I am catching the Hail Mary she threw, only to fucking fumble it, just to watch Diego recover it and regain possession.
I approach them, placing the mugs down on the brick by the fire. “Make sure you both drink up. Your bodies need to warm up.”
“Thanks, Liam,” Lexi says gently, smiling up at me.
Madison doesn’t say a damn thing, she just takes a sip, scalding the taste buds right off her tongue— as usual.
“Con is on the other end of my property. I have a shed where I take care of…situations like tonight. I’m going to head over there. I’ll be gone for a while. At least a few hours.”
As if snapping out of a trance, she looks up, placing her mug back down. “Okay. Can I come?”
Lexi looks as appalled as I am.
“Abso-fucking-lutely-NOT. Stay here. You need rest, sweetheart.”
“No. Stay with me,” she demands, her voice holding a hint of neediness to it. And trust me, I want to. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing right now.
Confliction hits me hard.
I need to extract information out of this guy.
He was after Madison. We need to know why and if he is working with anyone else. I don’t want to scare her, so I don’t say any of those things.
“I…Madison, I can’t. Things have changed now that I’ve become leader. I need to go, I’m sorry, love,” I say with authority.
Avoiding the pained look in her eyes, I spin on my heel and head to my room to change.
This is my favorite sweatshirt— it still smells like her.