Forever Hers | 18+

C h a p t e r 28

"And what makes you think I need your permission?" Xavier taunts as I watch his gaze roam shamelessly across her body, no doubt just as hard as Caleb and I were for the little devil before us. 

The cock of Madelyn's eyebrow in response had me adjusting myself as the final words of advice Jerry had given us popped into my head. He'd told us that the best way to help her is to reinspire passion within her heart, and that treating her like a delicacy would only make her push us away. 

When he said passion, I'm sure he meant to get her into a new hobby like painting or something, but with the way she was dressed now... my cock was having very different ideas of inspiration.

"We need to talk." Madelyn said just a little more firmly as her foot met the very last step of the stairs, once again back in English and turning her gaze away from Xavier. I watched as she moved to stand right in front of the balcony doors while facing all of us, the act almost humorous not just because of the poor attempt to gain dominance over us, but because her most recent words were a clear dismissal of Xavier's previous ones. 

Her gaze had moved away from him, and yet the action wasn't averting. It was more like she simply didn't care to offer a response because she knew we did in fact need her permission to act against Marcus, the steadiness of her current stance promising there would be hell to pay if we tried to act against it.

Fuck she was so beautiful.

"We need to talk about Rob Oliver." Followed her previous statement, and my smile slowly fell away as I realized her spike in energy was likely because she had her adrenaline flowing within her. We had no intentions of fighting anymore, but that didn't mean we weren't going to rile her up until she loved us again. 

Hate is passion, and Madelyn was going to slip right into its embrace—our embrace—by the time we were through. 

"I don't care what your issue is with him. You can't kill him." She insisted as her one hand fell to her hip, and I just couldn't hide how lethally adorable she looked doing that. 

The shift in fabric then pulled my attention to the outline of something under the velvety black material, something that looked a lot like the outline of a dagger. 

Fuck me.

"And what makes you think he's not already dead?" Caleb questions with clearly the same intentions of poking at her that I have. He just seemed to have a better grip over himself. Mind you, he probably also had time to jerk off to the thought of her this morning while I was all tense and taking phone calls. 

I've been too damn busy worrying about Madelyn's injuries and missing shipment containers to have time to fantasize about the pretty girl in front of me.

"No, he isn't." Madelyn insists as she simply glares at him, and I had a feeling she must've been on the phone with someone else before coming down here—someone who had the power to pressure her into making choices she had nothing to gain from. "And he needs to stay that way." She continues, but I can tell by the look in her eye she was desperate to convince us of this. 

It revealed something to me that made me angry, because considering she ditched her burner on the road the other night, she must've used the phone we gave her yesterday to call Marcus herself. 

Part of it made me frustrated because I wanted to respect her, but the other part just made me sad over the fact she was so lost that she was still talking to the man who did this to her. I know Marcus was all she has left, but one day Madelyn would have to come to terms with the abuse he put her through. 

All I can hope for is that she'll trust us enough by that point to have someone to lean against when the weight becomes too heavy to bear.

"And why is that, sweetheart?" Xavier continues his taunt as he spreads his legs out slightly, extending his arm to brush his fingers against a lock of her pretty hair. None of us were surprised as she instantly swatted his hand away, but none of us missed the hint of the smile that formed across her face.