Chapter Twenty-Seven
Moon
Taking a break and enjoying dinner was good for Madison. She needed a sense of normalcy and Gabriella provided it. I would like nothing more than to take her to bed before my meeting with the men. She’s now part of that meeting, though, so I won’t be tucking her in for the night until afterward. We chose to take a walk around the property with the short time we have.
Even with the sun down, the temperature is in the nineties. I left my suit jacket behind after Madison gave me the look. My skin is damp beneath my dress shirt, so I’m glad I did. Autumn can’t get here fast enough.
With Madison’s hand held firmly in mine, Two Dogs runs around stiffing the trail in front of us. The path circles the property inside the fence offering a landscaped oasis in the desert complete with a small water fountain I had installed to commemorate the place where I touched Madison intimately for the first time. I never told her why I put the fountain there. The look in her eyes when she saw it was enough.
“I’m not sure if I want to return to the agency,” Madison says into the quiet night, interrupting my thoughts. I have extra men on duty and they’re being as covert as possible. It’s something she’s grown accustomed to because of necessity. Her words are meant for my ears alone because she said them softly knowing voices carry out here.
“Don’t go back,” I tell her with conviction. “You can help me with business matters or pamper yourself and eat bonbons all day.” I grin down at the pout that immediately appears on her lips.
She squeezes my hand. “Bonbons would go to my hips, I’d turn fat, and I would probably go stir crazy within a week.” She gives my arm a small punch for emphasis. “You really want me involved in your business dealings?”
“Your hips would look good with a bonbon or even a hundred,” I add for good measure. She’s lost at least five pounds these past few days. The thought of Madison heavy with my child lightens my heart. Some day. “You’re my wife.” I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles. “I always want you by my side. I’m just not sure if this is a part of my life you really want to see. There are aspects you could have trouble dealing with.”
“Are your business decisions up for discussion?”
“Most of the time,” I answer honestly. “If it’s an instant decision and you don’t like it, we can discuss it in private. I’m not saying I’ll change my mind, but you do have a way of convincing me to see your point.”
She gives me a sexy grin before making her case. “I need to be more involved. I’m done with burying my head in the sand. I know what you’re involved in and when I said ‘I do’ I knew exactly what I was in for. Planning to kill Fernandez is a first for me. Even if he is a pig, I’ll live with the consequences of my actions. I’m ready for the future with you.”
Crickets chirp in the distance and then go silent as we walk closer. “We’ll start looking for someone to take over the service if you want me to keep it.”
Surprise changes her expression. “You would let EE go?”
I nod. “My aunt ran it and I let her because I had little interest. When you took over, I again let it ride. You did a good job and you worked hard to keep the place successful.” I glance at her profile. “I’d rather have you with me and now I won’t need to leave you behind when I go to New Mexico.” We reach our special section of the yard, the water from the fountain surrounds us, and I do what I’ve done so many times before. I pull her in close and kiss her beautiful red lips. This dead zone is the only place where the cameras can’t see us nor can the guards due to the foliage unless they move closer. I’ve thought about having the cameras adjusted hundreds of times but then we walk out here and enjoy our few feet of privacy and I change my mind.
My hands glide over Madison’s hips and I pull her against my hard cock. She always tastes divine. We don’t have long and I plan to kiss her until she can’t breathe. I don’t care if the men in the meeting tonight have their own women. I want them to know Madison is mine. Her lips will be swollen when she speaks, and I have no doubt she’ll speak up when needed. I angle us so my scruff leaves a little redness in its wake too. I’m truly a wicked man, but she doesn’t complain.
I run my tongue across her lips simply to taste before delving inside. Her fingers curl into my ass possessively. She moans into my mouth and my dick throbs. A life without Madison would be a life without sustenance. I could never live without her. I’d rather be making love to her in our bed right now, but kissing her is exquisite and I’ll survive with just kisses until after the meeting.
Her breasts slide against my chest and I feel the hard pinpoints of her nipples through the material of our shirts. The ache in my cock doubles. It’s not just her taste or the feel of her nipples, it’s her scent. When she’s turned on, the scent magnifies. Its only purpose is to drive a man wild. I deepen the kiss and swirl my tongue deep, battling with hers for supremacy. I never thought I could love any woman enough to simply kiss her and walk away with a hard cock. Not that I’ll walk far from Madison. She’s my sunlight and before she came into my life, I was filled with darkness. I don’t know if she’ll ever understand how she’s changed me. I had settled into the life of a lonely crime lord, convinced I would be alone forever and not even knowing how bad I needed a woman by my side. From the moment I laid eyes on her, she was mine. Ornery and frustrating as hell, she was in way over her head when I realized how badly I needed her. She fought me every step of the way. It was a battle I had no intention of losing.
Really, though, I never won. Madison wrapped me so tightly around her finger that when it comes to her, I’m little more than a lap dog. Seeing Alex, Dax, and now Austin with their women reminds me of what love truly is. Madison is that love. A man will give up everything for that one special woman and if he won’t, he doesn’t deserve her.
“I want you,” she whispers.
“That’s the thing about all these damn meetings,” I whisper back. “They’re hell.” I kiss her again and now she’s rubbing herself against my thigh like she did on our very first walk. I grab her ass and press her harder into me. Her desire flares and this way at least one of us will be satisfied over the next hour. When I get her back to our bedroom after the meeting, all bets are off.
∞∞∞
I’m at the head of the table with Madison on my left. Dax and his man, along with Austin, arrive on time. We make small talk while we wait for Alex.
He enters a few minutes later with a sheepish expression. “Sorry, boss,” he says with a grin he can’t hide.
“Sorry my ass.”
The room breaks out in laughter. When the laughter and smiles stall we’re ready to discuss our problems. I look at Alex. “Please give us the latest intel on the attempted hit at the mall.” He told me before dinner what he had and now we have some major decisions to make.
His eyes travel the room before he speaks. “It’s the Frontera Cartel. We received confirmation a few hours ago.”
Madison turns to me. “I thought you worked with them.”
Alex laughs and answers in my stead. “Moon pushes their buttons and keeps them in line. At least he did until Fernandez crawled into bed with them.”
Madison turns her question to Alex. “Fernandez is behind the hit?”
“He’s front and center. I haven’t discovered what he’s offering, but I can make a guess.”
“Our territory?” Madison asks. I don’t miss the use of “our” and neither does Alex.
He raises his brows and glances to me. “Our territory,” I repeat.
He nods. Madison claiming the territory changes the dynamics of our organization and Alex is on board. Madison will be part of decisions from here on. I knew Alex wouldn’t have a problem. He respects her and would die for her. A man who has a problem taking orders from a woman is a pussy and Alex is anything but.
Austin speaks for the first time since the meeting began. He stayed out of our small talk because it isn’t his way. “Fernandez’s long game is taking Melina back after killing me. He’s insane. Melina is wrapped up in his crazy mind and he thinks she belongs to him.”
“We need bait,” Madison responds.
“It won’t be Melina,” Austin insists.
Madison turns her gaze to Austin. “It won’t,” she answers. “Fernandez and I have unfinished business.”
“No,” Alex and I say at the same time. I place my hand on her arm.
She’s having none of it and pulls away to prove it. She crosses her arms and casts a stubborn glare at Alex. “It’s the only way to get this over with quickly. We can’t run this organization while we’re at war with a cartel and Fernandez. The men will die for us, but they have lives and those lives include wives and children. Eventually someone will let their guard down. We know Fernandez is still in Arizona.” Her stubborn gaze travels the room. “We need this brought to a swift resolution and using me as bait will do that.” Madison’s eyes meet mine. “It’s the only way, Moon.”
She planned this. Using herself as bait didn’t just pop into her head during the meeting. I control my anger and keep my voice level and my eyes on hers. “We’ll find him and it will be without bait. We won’t risk anyone.” And I won’t risk even a slight chance that she lands back in Fernandez’s grasp.
Anger flashes across her face and her arms remain folded. “People could die. He’ll pick us off one by one and no matter how much you think we will be safe, a time will come that we’re not prepared. You can’t keep everyone on lockdown indefinitely. If we set this up and control the situation, no one will die. With Fernandez out of the picture, we stop the cartel and make them pay.”
Fernandez turned my stubborn wife into a woman on a mission with death in her eyes. I will always miss the Madison she was before he defiled her. It will take time to grow accustomed to the bloodthirsty woman sitting beside me. Fernandez is one thing, taking on the cartel is entirely another. If we strike them, it needs to be hard and fast and make a statement. They are dangerous men with no conscience.
“You’re more dangerous,” she says, reading my mind.
I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. This is not a battle Madison will win and I can live with her anger during the day if she’s in my arms at night. Fernandez will not have another shot at her.