A Secretive Deal with My Billionaire Boss (by Gregory Ellington) novel Chapter 446

Alexander

I caught her wrist, holding it against my chest so she could feel my heartbeat. The rapid thud beneath her palm betrayed everything I wasn't saying.

"I'm paying for clothes for my son and his mother," I said quietly, my thumb stroking the inside of her wrist. "That's all this is."

Her pulse jumped beneath my touch. "His mother."

"Yes. His mother. The woman who carried him for nine months. Who went through labor alone. Who raised him into the incredible kid sleeping in my guest room right now."

Madison's breath hitched. "You make it sound so noble."

"It is noble. You're noble. So stop fighting me on this. Let me take care of you both."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know you can. But you shouldn't have to. Not anymore."

She bit her lip, her eyes searching mine. Looking for what, I wasn't sure. Lies? Hidden agendas? Some proof that this was all temporary?

"You're looking at me like you want to murder me," I observed, my voice dropping lower. "But also like you want to fuck me. Can't decide which one wins?"

Her eyes went wide. "I do not."

"You do. Your body's telling me everything your mouth won't say." I rolled my hips slightly, letting her feel how hard she'd made me. "Feel that? That's what you do to me. What you've always done to me."

"Alexander." My name came out breathy, almost a moan.

"Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you don't want this."

Her fingers curled tighter into my shirt, but she didn't answer. Couldn't answer, probably. Because we both knew the truth.

I leaned closer, my mouth near her ear. "Maybe wife."

She jerked back, her eyes enormous. "What?"

"Maybe wife," I repeated slowly, watching her face flush. "Not just mother. Maybe wife too."

"I'm not your wife." The words tumbled out fast. "We're not even married yet."

Yet.

The word hung between us, heavy with possibility.

"We can change that," I said, my hand sliding to her hip. "But you asked for time. So I'm waiting."

"You're waiting."

"For now. But I'm not a patient man. You know that."

Her breathing went shallow. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I want you. Want this." I gestured between us. "Want to wake up every morning with you in my bed. Want Ethan to have both his parents under one roof. Want to stop pretending this is just about co-parenting when we both know it's more. Tell me you don't want the same thing. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't think about us."

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Her hands pressed against my chest, but she didn't push away. Just held on like I was the only stable thing in her world.

"I think about us," she admitted finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "All the time. Too much."

"That's not too much. That's exactly right."

I cupped her face, my thumb brushing across her cheekbone. She leaned into the touch, her eyes fluttering closed for a heartbeat.

When they opened again, something had shifted. The walls she'd built crumbled just enough for me to see through to what lay beneath. Want. Need. The same hunger that clawed through my chest every time she looked at me.

"Madison."

"Don't."

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