Ruthless Temptation (13 page)

She
took several deep breaths while that dark blue gaze held hers firm. The
expression in his eyes was impossible to read. Two weeks. That’s all she got
out of it. And it had been the sexiest, most exciting two weeks of her life.
Even if he dumped her tonight, she’d never forget these past two weeks. Never.

“
God, this is hard to say.”

“
Take a deep breath and say the words on the exhale.”

She
nodded. “Okay. Here goes.” Madison closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Chapter
Fourteen

Viggo
was certain he’d misunderstood her. He almost asked her to repeat it but her
eyes were still closed, and from the way her face was scrunched up she was
expecting an onslaught. He didn’t have the heart to tell her it wasn’t the
first time he’d heard that from a woman, and that was hardly the point. Madison
wasn’t just any woman. She never had been, not from day one.

“
Thank you.”

Her
eyes popped open, and she frowned. “What?”

Great response, Ingram
.
Really top notch
. “I mean, that’s wonderful you feel that way.
Thank you for telling me.” He was dying inside. He’d never told a woman he
loved her, but the urge to do so now was crazy strong.

Those
words changed everything. They always had. He wasn’t ready for this. Not from
Madison. Being with her was so different. So
right
. He didn’t want things to start dying the way they always did
once the “L” word had been spoken out loud.

She
looked thoroughly dumbfounded, and he thought he knew why. She’d been expecting
him to freak out. He couldn’t blame her. In the past, that’s exactly what he
would have done, at least on the inside. On the outside, he’d have slowly
withdrawn.

“
You’re not upset?”

“
I promised you I wouldn’t be.”

“
But I mean for real … inside. Are you?”

“
No.” If he touched her right now, he’d spill his guts.
He knew it as sure as he knew how much he cared for her. His hands were
actually shaking. But it was too soon. He needed time to process this new
sensation of not wanting to run away at the sound of those words.

“
I thought you would be.”

He
grinned. “You were mistaken.” Viggo was torn between telling her he was in love
with her, and simply pushing her back down so he could fuck her. She wanted
that. He knew she did. This little distraction hadn’t dimmed her lust. He could
see it in her eyes. He could smell it on her.

But
shouldn’t he say something else? Something to reassure her? Was it right to let
this moment pass without making sure she wouldn’t regret telling him? He knew
how difficult it had been for her to say it. The last thing he wanted to do was
make her feel worse for getting the words out.

He
pulled her close and stroked her hair. She was wound so tightly he felt her
body twitch under his touch. “Madison…” Words failed him. Okay, so he’d touched
her and still the words hadn’t spilled out. So far, so good. But oh, how he
wanted to say them. This was insane. How the hell could he do this? Everything
had just changed. Everything.

The
biggest surprise was how much that realization made him happy, not terrified.
That was new. He wanted to explore it. Wanted to absorb it for a while and see
how it felt over time.

She
kissed his neck, and his dick stirred. “Do you still want to make love?”

Oh God
… “More than anything, but if you
need to talk first I understand.”

Holy shit
.
I did not just say that
… That was totally unlike him. What had this
extraordinary woman done to him?

“
No. I’ve said what I wanted to.” She licked his chest,
working her way down toward his cock, but he wanted to be inside her pussy. He
knew if she so much as touched his dick with her lips, he’d come in her mouth.

Viggo
grasped her hair so he could lift her face to his, and then he gazed into her
eyes. The look in them nearly took his breath away and stopped him in his
tracks. Full of complete trust, her beautiful eyes portrayed desire and love.
The emotion was so intense, for a split second the old responses threatened.

He
pushed them away. He had no reason to fear Madison’s love. He wanted her in his
life forever. One day, he’d have the courage to tell her that. But for now, all
he wanted to do was make love to her again. She grounded him and made him feel
whole. No one had ever done that. Instead of fearing it, Viggo was ready to
embrace it and see what exciting things came of it.

“
Madison, I think you should move in here for real.
Let’s go and get the rest of your things this weekend. Can you get out of your
lease?”

She
blinked a few times, and he had to bite back a laugh at the look of
astonishment on her face. “Um, sure. Of course. But is that what you want?”

“
I wouldn’t have asked you if it wasn’t.”

“
All right then. Yes. I’d love to.”

Before
he ended up asking her to marry him with the next sentence, Viggo kissed her
again, letting his hormones take over. Her lust was powerful too, but he didn’t
mind. That was what he needed.

He
eased her onto her back and barely remembered to put on a condom before
slipping his cock into her hot, wet pussy. Making love to this woman was like
coming home after a long, tiring journey. She was so comfortable and soothing.

He
kissed her again, loving the way she moaned into his open mouth as her orgasm
drew near. When she came, it was difficult to hold on, but he did long enough
to let her contractions subside before pulling out so he could turn her onto
her stomach.

She
started to get on her hands and knees, but he pushed against her lower back so
she stayed prone. He slid his dick back into her pussy and shivered at the way
she moaned. She’d told him often enough that at this angle, every thrust
massaged that sweet spot inside her. It felt pretty damn good from his end,
too, so he let go and rode the waves as her climax crested once more.

When
he came, it was so fucking intense he almost became dizzy. Long, luscious
moments slipped by before he finished completely, then withdrew because the
condom felt odd. It had almost come off, but he wasn’t going to worry her so he
tossed it onto the floor, turned her sideways, and pulled her into his arms.

“
That was incredible,” she whispered.

He
kissed her damp hair. “For me, too, love.”

Viggo
was usually sleepy after fucking, but he was wide awake now, thinking of
everything that had changed for him since hearing her words.
“I’ve fallen in love with you.”
He still
wasn’t afraid. In fact, he felt more peaceful and full of hope than he had in a
very long time.

“
Are you named after anyone?”

Her
question surprised him only because he thought she was asleep. “Not that I know
of. How about you? Are you named after Madison Avenue in New York City?”

She
laughed softly, and the sound was like soft rain exactly the way he remembered
it.

“
No, I don’t think so. My maternal grandmother’s name
was Madison. She died two days before I was born, so my mother named me after
her as a tribute.”

“
That’s a sweet thing to do.”

“
She was a sweet woman, from what I’ve been told.”

The
sadness in her voice tugged at his heart. He pulled her closer. There was
nothing he could say to ease her grief, and he knew that, but he hoped she
could tell her cared by his touch. She snuggled closer to him and sighed
softly. The urge to blurt it out was strong again.

Would
it do any real harm? Probably not, but he needed time to process this. It was
new. He liked it, but he never did anything impulsively, and since he’d met
her, everything surrounding her had been impulsive. Viggo wanted to slow down
and
think
before doing or saying
anything else.

Maybe the best thing to do in this
instance is
not
analyze it?

Perhaps,
but old habits died hard for a reason. They kept one shielded from harm.

****

That
Saturday, Dominic and Angela helped Madison and Viggo move the rest of
Madison’s possessions into Viggo’s apartment. She loved Angela on sight, and
was thrilled when the two had dinner with them that evening. They ordered
takeout and sat up half the night talking.

Madison
hadn’t realized that Dominic and Viggo had grown up together in Chicago, and
she couldn’t get enough of listening to their stories. When the conversation
turned toward the hackers and others they were holding in the warehouse, Madison
wasn’t sure she should be in on it, but no one else seemed to mind.

She
learned that they still hadn’t located Sam Preston, and that Ace, Emmett, Kane,
Damien, Addison, Barclay, Grayson, Oliver, and Atticus were already in Central.
Blaine was on his way.

“
When are you and Dominic going?” she asked Viggo.

Viggo
and Dominic exchanged a glance. “I’m glad you asked. Angela is coming with us,
and since she’s the only wife or fiancée tagging along on this trip, I’m hoping
you’ll come, too. She’ll need something to do while the twelve of us have a
little chat with the hackers and their friends.”

“
Oh, you mean because women can’t interrogate
suspects?”

The
men laughed, and Angela high-fived her. “Thank you. I said the exact same thing
to Dominic.”

“
It isn’t that,” said Viggo. “This is personal for us.
We’ve spent almost eight years working toward this one moment.”

“
You still need Dave,” said Angela, quietly.

“
We’ll get him.” Dominic’s dark gaze and the confidence
in his voice impressed Madison. Were they all like this? She tried to imagine
being in a room with all twelve, and wondered how she’d handle it the
testosterone rush.

“
Harper and Liane are staying behind to run Ace’s and
Emmett’s companies in their absence,” said Viggo.

“
So are Rissa, Valerie, Blair, and Emma,” said Dominic.

“
How long do you all expect to be in Central?” asked
Madison.

“
Until we stop The Madeline Project,” said Viggo.
“There’s no point in returning home if we can’t do that.”

A
nasty shiver ran down her back at the finality of those words, but at the same
time she realized something. He’d asked her to come with him. That meant he had
no intention of leaving her behind.

“
And as for the other women,” said Angela, “Sela can’t
leave her dance studio right now. Julianne is coming later after she finishes
up a project, so she can be there for the exclusive story once the program is
stopped. Nadine is unsure whether she wants to see Addison in that role. She
said she’d travel to Central if he asked her to a later date, but for now she’s
staying
NorthWest
.”

“
They have backups ready to take over their operations
if the wives and fiancées decide to travel to Central after all,” said Dominic.
“Blaine, Viggo and
myself
have already put people in
charge of our companies while we’re away”

“
It sounds like the twelve of you have everything
figured out.”

“
Not everything,” said Viggo. “My personal preference
is to let the hackers and their associates sit there and rot until we find
Dave. The others want information now.”

“
I’m with Viggo on this,” said Dominic, “except for one
point. I want first crack at Rob Marin. If that little weasel knows more than
we’ve found out already, I’m the one who wants to get that out of him.”

“
Why is that?” asked Madison.

He
and Angela exchanged a quick glance that Madison couldn’t interpret, and left
her wondering what secrets these three held.

“
Let’s just say I have firsthand experience dealing
with people like Rob, and leave it at that.”

The
conversation moved onto other things, and once Dominic and Angela left, Madison
asked Viggo about Dominic’s cryptic comment.

“
It’s not my secret to tell.” He studied her carefully
for a few seconds. Madison was used to the scrutiny by now, but she braced
herself because it usually meant a probing question was coming up. “Will you
come to Central with us?”

“
What about my work?”

“
Bring your laptop. We’ll have time to do work-related
things while there.”

“
Do you really have no idea how long we’ll be there?”

“
We’ll be there until the job is done, Madison. We
weren’t exaggerating about that.”

If
she stayed behind, she might never see him again. The fact that he wanted her
with him was almost better than hearing him say the three little words back to
her because this was likely the deepest commitment he’d ever made to any woman.
If she truly loved him, she’d be crazy to stay behind. Not only that, but she
wanted to be part of this, and this was her big chance.

“
Yes. I want to come with you.”

The
relief that filled his face nearly stopped her heart. She’d fallen so hard and
fast for this man, and that wasn’t a surprise. But to know he had fallen for
her, too, whether or not he verbalized that fact, sent a rush of happiness
through her she’d never felt before. No matter the outcome of this mission in
Central, she’d be with Viggo. And that’s exactly where Madison wanted to be.