Page 116 of A Dangerous Proposal

Madison crouched beside Jax to press a kiss to his head, but he only glanced at her for a millisecond, his attention still riveted on the TV.

“Pretty gross actually,” she said hoarsely. “I took some more medicine.” She paused, looking a little uncertain as she straightened. “Thank you… for taking night duty, I mean.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Alex held her gaze.

She gave a small, self-conscious shrug, but he refused to let it go. “You aren’t alone anymore. It’s okay to let me take the weight for you sometimes. We’re a family.”

Her eyes flooded with tears that she tried to blink away before batting the few off her cheeks that escaped. She waved a hand in the air. “Sorry. Just ignore me. Fevers always make me weepy.”

Alex didn’t argue, because his own body was reacting in unfamiliar ways. Swallowing past the thickness in his throat, heplaced one of the throw pillows flat on the sofa next to him and patted it. “Come here.”

Madison hesitated for only a second before sighing and climbing onto the couch. The second she settled, Jax turned and threw himself down, his back pressed to her chest, his little face still glued to the television. Alex pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and arranged it over both of them.

He returned to emails on his phone, but within fifteen minutes, soft snores had him glancing down. Alex exhaled, running a hand over his beard. They were both asleep, tucked together like puzzle pieces against him.

Alex’s chest tightened painfully with an emotion he didn’t care to analyze too closely.

He’d always liked to think of himself as a man ready for anything, but he was beginning to realize that he could never have prepared for her.

Or the way she would change his life.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Madison could tell she’d slept late by the bright glow seeping around the edges of the bedroom curtains. She stretched cautiously, testing her body. Her limbs still felt heavy, and her head was a little fuzzy, but she could tell the fever was finally gone.

Pushing back the blankets, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, bracing her hands on the mattress. Madison couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this sick. Thankfully, it appeared Jax had bounced back quicker than she had.

It had been three days since Alex had taken over, stepping in to take care of her and Jax. The strangest part was it felt so natural. Which was odd because, since Opal had died, Madison had never had anyone to help. Her parents were completely hands off, and Cami, while willing to lend a hand, didn’t live with her and had her own hands full with her mother’s mental health problems.

For so long, she’d handled everything on her own. There hadn’t been a choice. There was no one to lean on, no one to step in when she needed a break, no one to make sure she ate, took her medicine, or slept.

Alex had done all of that—without her having to ask.

I’m so screwed.

The first day after he’d returned from his trip, she’d been too out of it to do more than mumble a few weak protests, which he’d ignored with his usual mix of arrogance and humor.

Alex had even worked from home, handling business from his home office so he could be there to monitor her and Jax. When Angela had offered to come help, he’d refused.

“Angela said she could come by,” Madison had murmured weakly from bed the first afternoon, still feverish.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to expose her to this.”

Madison had agreed, not just because Alex’s tone left no room for argument, but she didn’t want the older woman to catch what she had.

Every time he kissed her head, or put his arm around her on the couch, she voiced the concern that he would get sick. He just stared at her with that inscrutable expression of his and said, “I don’t get sick.” His tone made it clear no virus would dare.

So far, he’d been right. Three days in, and he still showed no signs of illness.

After a quick shower where she washed and conditioned her hair for the first time in days, she risked a glance at herself in the mirror. Her skin was still pale, dark smudges lingering beneath her eyes, but at least she no longer looked like she was on death’s doorstep.

Pulling on her clothes, Madison’s mind drifted to their conversation the day before. Knowing Jax was due at Felix’s, she had already begun to panic. Jax was much better and didn’t need regular breathing treatments anymore, but he wasn’t a hundred percent yet.

When she’d found Alex in his home office, she stared nonplussed at the make-shift playroom he’d erected by his desk.

He arched a brow at her. “When I said I had things handled, I meant it, Angel. I spoke with our lawyer. Amandaexplained to Felix’s counsel that Jax’s pediatrician believes Jax is still contagious and that the visitation this weekend should be cancelled.”

“What?” Madison was torn between outrage and monumental relief. “When did she say that?”

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