Alpha Billionaire Series

GAVIN

Madison rolled off me and I turned to my side as she did so I could hold her. I felt the mess to which she referred both on me and on the bed, but I didn’t care. Blankets and sheets could be washed and right now the only thing tha mattered was talking with her. She lay panting, her hair in a mess covering her face, and I wrapped an arm over top of her and pulled her against my body. Her breasts pressed against my chest. I could feel her chest still pounding. “You are so amazing,” I whispered, softly kissing her damp forehead. Part of me wanted to lay in that moment foreve to never interrupt the sweetness that was our intimacy, but another more visceral part of me demanded I speak. I hadn't forgotten about her escapade with Drew. It lingered in the back of my mind even throughout our s****I encounter. I didn't understand how she could commit so fully to me in that moment when it was obvious, she still loved him.

“Il wish I could stay here forever” Her words echoed my thoughts. She snuggled into my chest and tucked her arms between us. I felt the tension there, where intimacy and passion should be. It was a cancer growing between the two of us, infecting each interaction with her, or thought I had of her.

“Yeah... As calm settled over us, I felt the time to speak was now. If I didn’t say what I needed to say when I felt the urge to do it, I knew I would continue to swallow it just to take care of her. And while it wasn’t in my nature to be selfish, it was about time I took care of myself too. “Listen, can we talk?”

My chest tightened as she pulled away. She stayed close enough that our legs were still tangled together, but I could see her face now at least. I didn’t want to jump right into an ultimatum, so I picked a topic I thought would be safe. After tucking a strand of her loose black hair around her ear, I dived in.

“How are your parents?” I saw the flash of relief cross her face, then she shrugged. It was almost as if she were preparing for my attack or something, or maybe she had things she wanted to say to me too but hadn't gotten the courage up to say them yet. Either way, she was there in my arms, and we had just made love. So that had to count for something, didn’t it? To access the complete chapters for free, visit) o b nib . c o m.I pulled the corner of the blanket over us as the air conditioner kicked on, the vent right above my bed. Madii shivered and licked her lips before replying.

“Mom and Dad are fine. They ask about you a lot. They ask about Drew a lot too. I think Dad is really frustrated with me and confused, but Mom is being supportive for the first time in my life. It feels odd.” She snuggled a tiny bit closer, pulling the blanket down behind her back. “How is your mom?”

I could tell the question wasn’t genuine, but I said nothing. I didn’t blame Madii for not liking my mother. After the few interactions she'd had with Mom, I knew she disliked her. Mom had been ridiculous—something I was still trying to remedy.

“And Lexi?”

This beating around the bush thing sucked. I wanted to just shake her and tell her we were getting married in the courthouse tomorrow by the justice of the peace. Unfortunately, the long game had served me well so far, and patience was a virtue—one I was not exceptionally good at, but a virtue all the same.

“She's okay. She is like an anchor for me while Crystal is away. She's got this new guy she hangs with and she’s spending all her free time with him.”

I often forgot how young Madison was. I was a decade older than her, and all of my friends or associates were married already—all but Nick. But Nick had been a player for so long, I didnt see his relationship lasting long anyway. Me, however, I was a lone wolf. I always have been. Settling down was always on my mind, but my career hac always come first—until Madison.

“You look upset.” She peered up at me with pouting lips, her hand splayed across my chest. I had been up for a promotion only a few months before Drew woke up. I'd told Madison about it and she was excited for me then. I told her I'd give it up to be with her. We hadn't discussed it again since then, but I knew it was about to spring up again. What she didn’t know was I needed to know if she was serious before I made my decision about it.

“I'm okay.” The air around us continued to chill like the tone of our conversation. Minutes ago, the room had been aflame with passion, and now we were exchanging small talk like old friends catching up. As if the entire world were beginning to implode on me, I had to say something. “Actually, I'm not okay.”

Her eyes widened and I felt her body grow rigid in my embrace. We stared at each other as the anxious tension grew. She had to know what I was thinking. Maybe she didn’t know that Adam had told me about her kissing Drew, but she wasn't stupid. The situation was fucked up. I deserved answers, especially given the fact that she had made a commitment to me.

She swallowed nervously but before she had a chance to open her mouth, I opened mine. “Madison, you know I love you more than anything. This whole night is supposed to be proof of that. But this past several weeks has been a t*****a watching you going into another man day after day, not even knowing what you're thinking. You haven't beer talking to me about what's happening, or how you feel. I'm defending you to my mom and my friends.”

“I need answers. I need to know that you are still committed to me. And if you are committed to me, then I need things. Like for starters, I need you to stop wearing his ring, start wearing mine. Stop seeing him daily. And let's set a date. Let's let our friends and family know we're okay.”

Madison rolled away from me, sitting on the edge of the bed. I saw the goosebumps pepper her skin in the light fron the candles and she shivered. Her arms at her sides, bracing herself, she hung her head. I thought I had been cautious, patient and thoughtful. I kept my tone calm and peaceful; I hadn't raised my voice. I wanted to be supportive, but I had needs too.

“Stop seeing him daily?” The anger laced through her tone cut me. She didn’t turn around to look at me, nor did she get up and walk away. I found the latter a comforting thing, until she swiped at her face, clearly crying. “He almost died.”

“Madii—"

“He was my best friend for a very long time before I met you, and he laid in that bed for almost two years in a coma, and he almost died. It was my fault, and I am trying to fix what went wrong. And you're asking me not to care about him?” The more she spoke, the more rage filled her voice. “I can’t believe you. I really thought you understood. And all this—" she gestured around the room at the flowers and candles “—was just to get me into your bed?”

“No!” I sat up, snapping the covers back. “No. Don't you do that.” Bolting to my feet, I grabbed my pants and hopped on one foot as I put them on, then flicked the light on.

Madison stormed around the end of the bed and started searching the pile of clothes frantically. “You know me better than that, Madison. I would never do that to you. I am in love with you. I did all this because I need you. I wanted to help you relax and have a good evening.”

She glared at me as she began dressing, cramming her feet into her pant legs without even bothering to put her panties on. Her messy hair only made her look more attractive to me with her devilish brown eyes. I grabbed her shirt and held it, knowing she would be forced to come to me to retrieve it.

“So, you wanted to butter me up then make me choose? Really nice. You're a real piece of work.” Angrily, she snatched her bra off the footrail of the bed and slipped into it, hooking it and adjusting her breasts. “Give me my shirt”

“No. We need to talk. You can't just walk out angry.”

“Give me my fucking shirt!” Madii held her hand out and glared at me, but I refused to cave in. I saw the angry tears. knew how she felt, but I wasn’t going to back down.

“Madison, you have hidden things from me since day one, and I never said a word. When Adam told me you kissed him I="

“He what!”

Her eyes grew wide in shock, and she stared at me, pulling her hand back.

“Adam said he walked in on you and Drew kissing.” Given the look on her face, I felt instantly ashamed. I had let someone else's interpretation of a situation be my only determining factor as I made assessments and judgments or Madison's character.

“Well, he doesn’t know what he saw. I have not done anything but hold Drew's hand and I've only done that because he needs support and care” Madii's chest heaved, but her voice softened. “I can’t believe you'd think that about me! The way her tone changed from anger to hurt as her shoulders dropped just about crushed me. I handed her the shirt and looked away, trying to sift through the barrage of emotions I was feeling. I was an asshole, that much was clear, but I still needed answers and commitment.

“What happened then? What did he see?” I tried to stay rational even when it was challenging me.

“It's true. Drew would have kissed me, and I had no way of getting out of it until Adam walked in and interrupted us. was really relieved about that” Her lip trembled as she spoke. She dressed silently, pulling the shirt on over her hea and finding her slip-on shoes and putting them on.

When she sat down on the edge of the bed, I could see the fight had gone out of her. I felt like it escaped me too. We were just two broken people trying to decide which way was up in a very difficult situation. The problem was, it was my heart that was being destroyed now, and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Drew needs me, Gavin. He's not ready for me to just dump him and I'm the positivity keeping him going right now. If I walk away right now, he will quit on his recovery. He's out of bed and using a wheelchair, but they have him starting to walk and stuff. I know once he gets home, I will feel better about this, but for now I just need space.”

“That's why you came tonight, isn’t it. You were going to ask me to back off?” My gut churned. How could this be happening? The more time she spent with him the more certain she became that she didn’t want me. Now she was pulling away even more, right after we just really connected again.

Madii nodded and let a few tears fall. “I'm not trying to hurt you. I just don’t know what to do.”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“Well, if it's that difficult to choose between me and him, then just choose him." I clenched my jaw and stared at the open door, refusing to see what her expression was. If I saw that my words hurt her, I would tell her I didnt mean what I had just said. I couldn't do that. I had to be strong. “Because if you really wanted me, there would be no choice.”

“Gavin, don't be ridiculous.”

“I will not be anyone's second choice.” I turned my head away, praying I could diffuse the anger boiling in my chest and not snap at her. The bed jostled and I heard her shuffle across the carpet. I sensed her lingering at the door for. moment, so I added, “If you don't make the choice soon, it's just over”

Madison left without another word. I heard the front door shut and had the urge to race out to the driveway and beg her to forgive me for being such an idiot, but I didn’t. No matter how hard this was to do, it would be harder still to sit around watching her fall back in love with that bastard and leave me anyway. If it was ending, I was ending it with my dignity intact.