Page 22 of A Dangerous Proposal

It was giving him indigestion. Or at least that was what he chose to label the painful burning sensation in his chest.

Alex wasn’t exactly sure why he’d brought her back to his home. He could tell himself it was because she might be in danger from the brother of the man at the office, but it wasn’t true.

He just wasn’t ready for her to leave.

Standing outside the room for a long moment, he tipped his head back against the wall as he regulated his breathing.

The image of that bastard lunging at her with a knife… The terror on her face when she used her body to protect the boy.

His next actions had been pure instinct.

He hadn’t stepped in front of the knife to protect her, Alex assured himself. It was only because it gave him a better shot. Alex pushed off the wall and rolled his shoulders before striding toward the kitchen.

I don’t need to explain my actions to anyone. Including myself.

While he waited for the kettle to boil, his mind sifted through the afternoon and the possible repercussions. Alex was confident that he would be left out of it. Declan would make sure that his brother and Cami understood the importance.

His lips quirked as he remembered how the tiny brunette had taken charge of the situation despite being injured. He could see why she and Madison were friends.

Alex was usually an excellent judge of character and could size up most people in a matter of seconds. It was a vital survival skill in the world he’d been born into. And no one could mistake the steel that ran through Madison and Cami.

He didn’t doubt that others had underestimated them in the past because of their appearance. Cami for her stature and Madison because… As much as it irritated her, she possessed the kind of angelic beauty that made people stop and stare. Giant navy eyes, full lips, and the almost platinum blonde hair framing her heart-shaped face hid what he knew was a sharp mind.

“Once you have—” His words cut off abruptly as he took in the scene from the doorway.

The fire crackled quietly, and the room had grown dim with the storm outside and the approaching evening. But there was enough light to make out the two sleeping figures on his sofa.

The boy, Jax, he mentally corrected himself, was on his back, his arms and legs spread like a starfish. In contrast, Madison was curled up in a tight ball, one arm extended over her head so that her fingertips rested against the edge of the pillows she’d placed around the child.

Something twisted in his chest. Even in her sleep, she was checking on him.

Alex winced when the teacups rattled as he set the tray on the tufted-leather ottoman. Opening a small cabinet against the wall, he pulled out a throw blanket and laid it over Madison.

He stepped back and gazed down at both of them before a tendril of warmth curled inside him. Alex liked seeing her in his home, and he suddenly had the unbearable desire to keep her. He wanted to do as his ancestors would have done and lock the doors to keep her here for himself.

As quickly as the unwelcome thought popped into his head, his brows dove in a deep frown.

What the fuck? You want to keep her?

He shook himself, but his heart was still beating a little too hard, and his skin felt itchy. With the heat of the fire warming his back, conflicting emotions battled inside him.

Alex rarely allowed people into his home. It was his sanctuary, the one place he could relax. He had the odd meeting here with members of the bratva in relation to finances, but it was infrequent. Other than his mother’s extremely rare appearances, the only other family member, besides Liev, to cross his threshold was Mikhail, and he could count those visits on one hand.

Never a woman. Much less a woman and a child.

Butthis... Madison and Jax relaxed in his home… The fact that she’d fallen asleep was evidence of a level of trust he didn’t deserve.

She shouldn’t trust him, and part of him was irrationally angry with her that she had let herself be vulnerable…. But deeper, in a place where he hadn’t detected life in years, he wanted to protect that trust. Be worthy of it.

Alex sat on the opposite side of the sofa, watching them sleep. His lips quirked, thinking how Declan would love the opportunity to tell him how creepy he was being—even for Alex.

Jax made a noise in his sleep and Madison’s fingertips twitched, but they both remained asleep.

He didn’t know them.

They weren’t blood.

Alex steepled his fingers.

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