Page 38 of A Dangerous Proposal

His gaze sharpened as they began elbowing each other and laughing. When one of them rose, tugging at his shirt, Alex shifted forward. His movement alerted Liev, who came to his feet, looking to Alex for direction.

Alex shook his head. He wanted to avoid a scene. First, because he doubted Madison would appreciate it, which would be bad for his long-term plans, and second, if Mikhail heard about Alex getting into a violent brawl at his club, he’d be curious about who Madison was.

Also, bad for his plan.

No, he needed to take the soft approach… Like a normal person would.

Alex’s plans flew out the window the minute the fucker put his hands on her.

“Keep it clean, Alex.” He heard Liev’s warning as he reached Madison in four long strides.

Clamping his hand down hard on the cluster of nerves between the man’s neck and shoulder, he enjoyed the man’s yelp of pain.

“What the fuck?” The asshole tried to twist, freeing himself from Alex’s painful grasp, but only ended up whimpering again when Alex tightened his hold. Baring his teeth, he yanked the man forward and hissed into his ear.

“Touch her, lose a hand. Stare at her, lose an eye.”

The satisfaction of the man’s terrified expression cooled his anger slightly. Alex thrust the man toward where Liev was already escorting the man’s friends out before turning back to Madison.

“You really should invest in a white horse.”

When his eyebrows bunched in confusion, she beamed up at him, her eyes slightly unfocused. “It would let people know…”

Her breath hitched when he brushed the hair falling over her face back, tucking it behind her ear. The sensation of her silky strands slipping through his fingers proved too hard to resist, and he repeated the motion.

“Know what,malyshka?”

Madison closed her eyes and made a humming noise in her throat, the sultry sound sending jolts of need shooting through his body.

“That you really are Prince Charming.” She murmured. Her eyes opened and her gaze found his as she swayed closer. Alex hooked an arm around her waist to hold her flush against him.

The look in her eyes made him feel like she was seeing straight through to his soul. As if she had the answer to a question he’d been asking his whole life. Along with the pure lust heating his blood, some unknown emotion crawled through his chest.

She blinked slowly and then lifted one palm to cup his jaw, the sensation of her warm hand against his skin causing him to become rock hard.

Madison stroked her fingertips through his beard, her nails setting his nerve endings on fire. “You think you’re the bad guy, but you’re not…”

It was suddenly too much.Shewas too much. Sharp pangs stabbed through his chest.

He had a plan. A nice, simple, clean plan with no space for emotion.

With a low growl, Alex dipped his head and kissed her. He was being too rough, and he knew it. But the need to silence her words and banish the uncomfortable feelings they evoked were driving him on. He should slow down, not act like an animal. Madison didn’t seem to mind as her plush lips separated, allowing him entry with a moan, and all thoughts of slowing down were gone.

His tongue swept over hers, and she met him frantically stroke for stroke, hot and slick until she moaned into his mouth. Raising her arms, she shoved her fingers through his hair, her nails scraping against his scalp as she leaned her weight against him. The feel of her soft breasts crushed against him, her hips tilting into his, overloaded his senses.

And then she stumbled, and reality slammed into him like a fist. They were in the middle of one of his brother’s clubs. Alex didn’t want to think about how many eyes were on them.

His hand still tangled in her hair, he pulled back with a growl.

“Stop,” he rasped. His heartbeat was thundering in his chest, and his cock was screaming at him that he was an evil masochist.

Madison’s chest rose and fell quickly, her eyes on his mouth, and she leaned forward as if to kiss him again.

“You’re drunk, Angel,” he said through clenched teeth, his body still throbbing with the need to pull her close.

“Just a little,” she breathed. “Not enough to worry you.” She trailed her nails down the front of his shirt and then lower until she hooked his belt loops and tugged him closer. “Not enough that I don’t want you to follow through with what that kiss promised.”

He stared down at her for a long minute before he caught her hand and dragged her toward the stairs.

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