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Weariness flooded me.
“Fine, I’m not in the mood to fight. The boys can get you bedding,” I replied and walked away. The night had started off wonderfully and then, like everything else, turned to crap.
Levi
He could not sleep, not knowing Madisen was sleeping somewhere close by. Levi wanted to know if she slept naked or wore silky nighties against her creamy skin. Her skin was soft and lightly scented. The smell alone drove him wild. Grumbling, Levi adjusted his dick. Fuck, he couldn’t even go and jerk off to relieve the pressure and the images of Madisen sprawled over her bed. Shit, he moved his cock again. The cotton of his boxers was irritating him.
Levi had been shocked when Tiny had outed Madisen. He’d not seen what his brother had. In fact, Levi was worried there had been a romantic tie between Madisen and the McKenzies. Instead, he was relieved there hadn’t been and that she was most definitely single and free to claim.
Around Madisen, his monster subsided, almost turning into a purring kitten. That was something he’d not experienced before, and he loved the way she calmed it. There was no concern that the beast would hurt Madisen. It literally became a baby near her. Levi was relaxing into his feelings for Madisen. He just hoped she was beginning to feel something for him.
Even if his feelings were deeper than hers now, he could be patient. Madisen would need to be courted; shown she was loved. Levi knew following his base feelings would put her back up and make her reticent. Madisen was strong within her own self, and she clearly didn’t need anyone to look after her. No, Levi must treat her as an equal. He’d seen the stubbornness in her eyes tonight. She’d been fully prepared to fight him for what she saw as her right to make decisions.
Levi also noticed that the four women were stronger together. There was a bond between them that he recognised as one Hellfire had. It was unbreakable, and, should Levi interfere, he would be the loser. No, he’d have to help Madisen nourish that bond and it would help bring the girls into the Hellfire family. Madisen’s links to the McKenzies would need to be confessed too, but he knew his prez would keep those quiet.
His girl was anything but simple.
A smile crossed his lips. Yeah, Madisen was the type of complicated Levi had always tended to avoid, but in Madisen, it was one heck of an attractive package. Madisen was his kryptonite. And he was looking forward to conquering any qualms she had. Because whether she realised it or not, she was his.
Madisen
It was three days after the attack by Clamp and Brooker, and I was going out of my mind. It didn’t matter where I was; I had a shadow. If it wasn’t Daithi, Dane, and Riley, I had Derek’s new guards. And if I escaped them, then bugger me, Hellfire was up my ass. Now, that had been one heck of an interesting meeting. Chance and several of his officers, alongside Levi, had arrived at the club and asked the guard to call my brothers. Of course, Derek and the other two came charging in.
The two sides squared off against each other, all of them waving their dicks around and trying to see whose was biggest. Meanwhile, I, the poor helpless woman, sat surrounded by egos, unable to help herself.
Yeah right.
I blasted all of them and sent them to The Parlour to sort themselves out. When they returned an hour and a half later, it appeared they’d come to an agreement, one which I wasn’t happy with. And was fully against my wishes.
But neither Chance, Levi, nor my brothers were going to budge on their overprotective stance. What none of them knew was I had an escape passage in my office. And after locking myself in, I planned to grab a breath of air without being surrounded by thugs. Dane looked bemused as I growled at him and slammed my office door shut. I locked it and then unlocked it several moments later when Dane threatened to break it down.
Angrily sticking my head out of the door, I yelled at him. I had to work and to leave me alone. He and Riley both swapped amused glances and then took their macho stance outside. I completed my usual routine, making a coffee, moving things around so they’d think I was normal, and then headed for my hidden exit.
As soon as I slipped through, I felt the tension escape my shoulders. I was alone at last. From memory, I walked slowly through the dark tunnel using my phone to light the way and finally came out into the hallway where the backdoor was.
There were no windows or offices down there. It was just merely a fire exit. I reached up, turned the alarm off, and opened the door. I kept the key in my hand as the door slid slowly shut, and I leaned back against the wall. Taking several deep breaths, I felt the panic that had been building subside. There were no guards, no overbearing bikers, and no other protective brothers. For a few moments, I was able to relax and take five minutes for myself.
This had been a whirlwind year, and while I’d thought I was coping, this, on top of everything, was starting to drag me down. I’d never been one to allow emotions to rule me. Especially around my father. He hated any display of emotion, and so my cousins and I learned to hide our feelings. Since our freedom, we’d become more open and freer, but even still, it was deeply ingrained that feelings were weakness.
Oscar Roderick had been an asshole of legendary proportions. I leant my head against the wall and drew in several deep breaths. He was dead and couldn’t get to us from the grave. The girls and I had his dirty money and were doing good things with it now. Wiping out his black-hearted deeds. My mind tried to flash back to those nasty, darker memories, and I shoved them away. I would not dwell on him. Oscar was dead to me and needed to stay that way.
Yeah, sometimes I still thought of him as a father. That was something I was trying to train myself to stop. The line often wavered between Dad and calling him Oscar, but I was beginning to refer to him as Oscar more. Although I couldn’t say my real father was any better. Derek’s statement about my mother being raped was horrific, and my heart bled for her. My poor mom hadn’t had a good life, being married to Oscar and fathering an asshole like Jeremy and then being raped. When death came for her, I bet she’d welcomed it.
Long ago, I’d stopped shedding tears for her, but the heartbreak didn’t end. I could remember the suffering and the upset, how Oscar spoke to us with clear distaste. Yet miraculously, he’d taken in Brandy, who was no blood tie to him. Of course, now we knew he had planned to use Brandy to shove into an unwelcome marriage so he could tighten control of some of his so-called allies. Those same allies who’d come and gloated over his grave.
The same guys who stood open-mouthed as I carefully and easily dismantled his empire. They’d all thought I’d continue his work. Their surprise when I hadn’t done so had sent shockwaves through Oscar’s community. Oh, but they’d snatched up the slice I’d offered them quick enough. Men like Millar—greedy, soulless bastards. And even the McKenzies had taken their own part. What they had done with it, I didn’t want to know. Especially if it was still illegal.
But out of all the families and criminals Oscar had known, the McKenzies had the most moral code. There were some things they wouldn’t touch or tolerate. So maybe my brothers weren’t all bad after all. They seemed worried about me, which, other than my cousins and Riley, nobody had given a shit about me. The care and fondness, even love, my brothers were showing me, was alien. Jere certainly hadn’t cared, and now I had Derek, who looked at me like I’d hung the moon. His baby sister. The youngest sister of the McKenzies, to be loved and cherished.
Then there was Levi. On the surface, he was the type of man I’d have dated to piss Oscar off. If I’d had the balls. But underneath was a fascinating guy, kind, caring and considerate. On our dates, he’d treated it like a real date, unlike the dates Oscar had forced me on. Instead of being made to sit there like a pretty doll without an opinion, Levi delved deep into my thoughts and ideas and listened. He made suggestions and did not take offence if I disagreed with them. Men of Oscar’s ilk. Well, they would have flipped the fuck out if I’d talked or argued with them like I did with Levi.
It didn’t hurt I found Levi drop-dead gorgeous. The man was a hunk. Sex on legs, a real Adonis, pure alpha male, wrapped up in a silky, sexy package. I wanted him, and I could admit that. Sparks flew between us, and although we’d barely even kissed, I knew when he took me to bed, I’d see fireworks and stars. The heated looks Levi would send me over dinner or how he would discreetly adjust himself told me everything I needed. Even now, thinking of those looks made heat pool between my thighs, and I wanted to touch myself to relieve the pressure. But not here, not now when I could be seen.
I jumped as the door opened, and the man who got me into such a state flew outside with Dane on his heels. Their panicked expressions turned to relief and then anger.
“Where the hell have you been?” Dane demanded.
“Out here, getting a breather,” I replied.
