Maddox: Alpha Military Man Single Mom Steamy Romance (Blue-Collar Bad Boys Next Door Book 4)

by Mazzy King

  But I’m so confused, so emotionally torn up, I don’t know what’s real and what’s not.

  All I know is that my daughter is gone, and the beautiful, sweet little life I enjoyed for forty-three days has just ended.

  6

  Maddox

  What was supposed to be a beautiful weekend turned out to be a hideous one.

  I planned to tell Roxie how I feel about her, after we put Lexi to bed, and returned to the bedroom I’ve started thinking of as ours. I planned to tell her how much I want to spend my life with her. I planned to tell her I love her in a way that has healed what was broken inside me, that she showed me something that beautiful was possible, even for me.

  But now, our sweet existence has shattered, and so has she. I hurt for her.

  I wanted to tear Sam limb from limb. I know at least a half dozen ways to make him beg for mercy, but I couldn’t do that in front of Lexi. Because as much as he’s a piece of shit in a slick suit, and as much as he treats Lexi like a pet, he’s still her father.

  Something tells me his threats of lawyers and case workers are bullshit, but I don’t know him well enough to make that call with certainty. It’s just a gut feeling. With a child on the line, though, it’s not worth it to call his bluff.

  Still, I want Roxie to go about her life as normally as possible. If he does throw lawyers and case workers at her, she’ll have a stellar work attendance record and, of course, a flawless record as a tenant.

  After a quiet, tense weekend, she gets ready to go in to work a little early for the meeting with her boss she was so excited about on Friday.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you?” I ask, cupping her face tenderly.

  She reaches up to touch my wrists. “I’m sure. You have an early meeting too.”

  Her eyes have been a little bloodshot and watery all weekend long. She’s cried so much, and I’ve done my best to hold her each time, comfort her, reassure her everything is going to be all right.

  “You’re going to do great,” I say lightly, kissing her.

  Her mouth trembles under mine. “I don’t want to go. I can’t focus on anything but Lexi.”

  “I know, baby.” I tilt my forehead to hers. “He wants that. He wants to know he has power and control over you, that he can throw threats at you, and you’ll crumble. But he can’t. You’re stronger than him, and you’re stronger than this. And everything’s going to be fine. I promise.”

  She swallows and nods.

  I kiss her forehead. “Now, go get that promotion you deserve.”

  Roxie manages a shaky smile. “With my luck, she’s going to let me go.”

  “No way. Believe in yourself the way I believe in you. You’re amazing.”

  “Thank you,” she whispers, then takes a deep breath. “Okay. I’m going.”

  I watch her walk out of the bedroom, her head high. She’s steel wrapped in silk. I’m humbled by her strength, and so proud of it.

  After the front door closes and the sound of her car fades away, I get dressed. Not in my Roy’s uniform—no, I texted Roy early to tell him I’d be a little late this morning.

  Roxie was right—I do have a meeting this morning.

  With Sam.

  Sam Henderson, financial advisor at GBT Financial downtown Port City, has an office on the top floor of a seventy-two-floor building. I ride the elevator up to his floor, glancing around as the elevator doors slide apart.

  Some would probably call it a sophisticated design, all sleek black furniture and mirrored walls, but I call it cold. Sort of like that bastard.

  An attractive woman sits behind the desk and offers me a practiced smile as I approach. “Hello. Do you have an appointment?”

  “I don’t,” I reply. “But I think he’ll see me.”

  She lifts an eyebrow, taking in my plain black V-neck T-shirt and jeans. “Mr. Henderson only takes appointments.”

  “Why don’t you call him out here?” I say calmly. Then I point to the only office door to the side of and behind her desk. “In fact, no need. I’ll show myself in.”

  “Sir!”

  Ignoring her, I barge into the office. Sam is leaning back in a very comfy-looking desk chair, on the phone, and his eyes widen as he sees me.

  I make a “don’t worry about it” frown and wave him on. Finish your call. I stand in front of his desk, arms crossed.

  “Anders, I have to go,” he says abruptly, narrowing his eyes at me. “Something just came up.” He hangs up the phone by pressing his finger on the hook and holding it there. “You have five seconds to leave this office, or I’m calling security.”

  I hold up a hand. “I just came here to talk.”

  “About what?”

  “You know about what. Mind if I sit?”

  “Yes,” he snaps.

  I help myself to a chair anyway. “Listen, Sam, let’s have a man-to-man talk. Shall we?”

  “I have nothing to say to you.”

  “Then listen while I say things to you.” I lean forward, bracing my elbows on my knees. “I haven’t known Roxie for years like you. Lexi isn’t my biological daughter. But they’ve become as much of a family to me as if I’d known them their whole lives.”

  Sam sniffs, scrolling through his phone.

  “The least you can do,” I say softly, “is look at me when I’m talking to you about your daughter and the woman you had her with. Since, of course, she means so much to you.”

  His gaze darts to mine, as if to assess my level of seriousness. I don’t even blink.

  “Fine.” Sam puts his phone down, spreads his hands, and looks at me pointedly. “You have my undivided attention. For the next five minutes. And then you leave.”

  “Fine.”

  “So, what do you want?” he demands. “Money? Roxie send you here?”

  I draw my head back. Is he for real? “I can assure you in no uncertain terms I don’t want a fucking red cent of yours. I’m here because I want you to stop whatever proceedings you threatened Roxie with where her custody is concerned.”

  “Why would I do that, when my child is clearly living in squalor?” he asks calmly. “Why should I continue paying child support to a woman who’s clearly not putting it to use?”

  Ah—so we’ve come to it. This is about money. For him.

  I lean forward. “Roxie’s shared your child support arrangement with me. I know how much you’re paying her each month, and she uses that money solely to keep Lexi in daycare. Everything else—clothes, food, bills, utilities, simple pleasures in life—Roxie takes care of on her own. And no, she might not be living in a palatial high-rise like this or what I’m sure your home looks like. But I’ll be damned if you call a clean, well-maintained, modest home in a hardworking, blue-collar neighborhood squalor.”

  I jump up from my chair and start pacing. Sam watches me with a fearful alertness you might watch an uncaged lion with.

  “Look, Maddox,” Sam says. “My relationship and my arrangement with Roxie are none of your business—”

  I turn on him. “That’s where you’re dead wrong,” I say quietly. “Because when the woman I love spends days crying her eyes out, terrified she’s never going to see her daughter again because her ex is a fucking narcissistic bully, that is my problem. What I know is that you almost destroyed her once. What I know is that you never will again, as long as I’m breathing.”

  Sam blinks. “You’re in love with her? I thought you were just fucking her.”

  Give me strength not to punch him right out this window, I beg whatever higher power might be listening to me.

  “Did you ever even know her?” I ask quietly. “Truly. Because I can’t understand how you can treat her the way you do.”

  “Roxie was just some waitress I met at happy hour one night,” Sam says with a shrug. “It was never supposed to go farther than a few dates. We were young. I wasn’t ready for a kid, but she refused to get rid of it.”

  My stomach churns. Get rid of it. As if Lexi was some
piece of garbage.

  “She wanted us to try to make it work for the baby,” he goes on. “And I did try for a few years. But it wasn’t working. We just didn’t work.”

  “You mean, you didn’t work,” I say. “You never appreciated her, not really. You never got to see the side of her I see. You never got to unlock her true heart, because she had to spend so much time guarding hers with you.” I shake my head in disgust. “Actually, you know what? Thanks.”

  Sam bunches his forehead. “For what?”

  “Thank you for fucking up so monumentally with her,” I say. “Because if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten to meet her. I wouldn’t have gotten to fall for her, or for Lexi. Thank you for being an asshole. Now I get to show her all the ways she should be appreciated.”

  I glance at my watch, then lean toward him, balancing my weight on my knuckles on the desk. “My five minutes are up. Roxie is an excellent mother, and you know it. She knows that little girl’s every breath, every thought, every need. She would lay down her life for Lexi.” I curl my lip. “You’re so afraid of Roxie taking you to court for real child support—and rightfully so—that you never took the time to appreciate how much she loves Lexi. You’ve been trying to beat her to the punch for years just so you wouldn’t have to separate with any of your precious money—since apparently that means more to you than your own child.”

  Sam draws a long breath through his nose.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” I say quietly. “Let Lexi go home to her mother. Stop all this lawyer and case worker bullshit. And keep all your fucking money.”

  He lifts a brow.

  “I will pay for Lexi’s daycare from now on,” I continue. “I will take care of them, because I actually love them. Because I want what’s best for them.”

  Sam looks away, out the window.

  “But if you don’t, get ready for us to fight fire with fire,” I go on. “You’re not the only person who knows important people. You’d do very well not to forget that.”

  The same way I felt Sam was bluffing before, I’m certainly bluffing now. I don’t know any high-powered lawyers, except for ones in the military. I don’t know any case workers.

  All I know is how much I love Roxie and how hard I’ll fight for her, and I channel that through my unwavering stare.

  “So,” I continue quietly. “What’s it going to be?”

  7

  Roxie

  “So, as we talked about this morning, I’m going to have you stay in the admin role until we get your replacement hired, but you’ll be paid at your new salary effective today,” Sunny tells me at the end of the day with a smile. “And while you train your replacement, I’ll have you start training as a consultant, so things are going to be a little hectic for a few weeks.”

  “I can handle it,” I say, returning her smile. “Thank you, Sunny. I still can’t wrap my head around all of this.”

  She puts her hand on my shoulder. “I knew from the second I met you that you were meant for more. You’ve done a fantastic job of helping me run a tight ship here, and your replacement is going to have big shoes to fill. That’s why I’d like you to help me hire them. You really know what it takes to do this job—I need someone just like you.”

  “My pleasure,” I reply. “I—I wish I could adequately describe what this means to me, and for me, and my little girl.”

  Sunny offered me a permanent position this morning—design consultant, with senior design consultant inside of six months. It means benefits, vacation, sick leave.

  And a raise. A huge raise. A salary I never in my life thought I’d ever attain.

  It means my life will change for the better. It means I can provide even more for my daughter—if I get her back.

  The lump in my throat returns, but I swallow it down.

  I’ve been in a strange place today. It’s odd to get the best news of your life when you’re dealing with a terrible problem and your heart feels like it weighs five hundred pounds.

  But Maddox was right—I am strong. And I will never stop fighting for Lexi, no matter what Sam throws my way.

  It’s hard not to hate him, but I can’t bring myself to, not really. I can’t make room for hate in my heart. And he did give me Lexi. I can’t regret the time I spent with him. But I will never forget all the pain he caused me.

  In a way, I have to thank him for that, too. Because if he hadn’t treated me so horribly, I wouldn’t know what it’s like to be treated so wonderfully.

  I wish I was going home to my little girl tonight, but the man I love is just as good.

  I called him at lunch to tell him the news, and he was thrilled for me, and said we needed to celebrate. I don’t really feel like celebrating, but he sounded so happy for me that I can’t rain on his parade.

  On the way home, I call him to see if he wants me to pick anything up for dinner.

  “No way,” he says firmly, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “Just drive safe and hurry home. I’ve got it all taken care of.”

  I’m intrigued. He’s a pretty romantic guy, but not in a predictable way. His romantic gestures are always full of thought and meaning and sentimentality.

  When I pull into the driveway, he’s waiting on the front porch for me, holding two glasses of champagne with fat red strawberries in them.

  I smile, walking toward him. “Well, this celebration is off to a good start.”

  “Congratulations, Ms. Design Consultant,” he murmurs, handing me a glass and then pulling me close. He kisses me slowly, with a hint of depth that makes my toes curl.

  “Thank you,” I murmur back. “How about you take me inside and give me some more of those kisses?”

  “I plan to kiss you quite thoroughly later on,” he says huskily. “Everywhere. But first, dinner.”

  He takes me by the hand and walks backward into the house.

  I smile. “And what’s on the menu?”

  He halts just inside the door and kisses me again. “The Lexi Special.”

  My breath catches at the mention of my daughter. “The—what?”

  “Mommy!”

  From the kitchen, my little girl races toward me. I’m hardly aware of Maddox quickly taking my glass of champagne from my fingers as I gasp and kneel to gather her in my arms.

  “I missed you, Mommy,” Lexi says, her arms tight around my neck.

  I can’t hold the tears at bay. “I missed you more, baby. I missed you so much.”

  “Come and see what we made for your special dinner!” she exclaims, grabbing my hand.

  I turn huge eyes to Maddox. “How—”

  “Later,” he says, his hand on my lower back. “I promise. Later.”

  The Lexi Special turns out to be macaroni and cheese and sliced hot dogs. Maddox winks at me. “She chose the menu for this extra-special occasion. But I promise to take you out for a real fancy dinner.”

  I smile, brushing tears from my face. “This is better than anything I could imagine.”I spend the meal eating with one hand so I can hold Lexi’s hand with the other. I ask careful questions about her time with her father, and other than her saying she never really saw him but spent most of her time with his housekeeper Linda, nothing terribly concerns me. She seems like her normal, happy, exuberant self.

  But I wonder how long I get to keep her.

  After a night of snuggling and ice cream and movies, Lexi’s finally ready for bed, and demands that both Maddox and I read her a story together. Once she’s out cold, Maddox grabs the rest of the champagne from the kitchen and brings it into the bedroom.

  We each take a swig and waste no time having our own “celebration.”

  Our clothes are off in the blink of an eye, and true to his promise, he plants kisses all over my body before spreading my thighs wide and sliding his tongue all over me. I reach down to brace a hand on his head as he grips my thighs tight, his mouth and tongue relentless as he eats and licks and sucks me. Before long, I’m coming hard on his tongue, managing to h
old in my cry of pleasure so that only a soft whimper comes out.

  “Now, fuck me, now,” I beg him in a whisper as he leans over me, bracing himself on his forearms.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he whispers back, reaching down to slide his thick, heavy cock deep inside my greedy, wet pussy.

  I cry out into his shoulder, biting down. He grunts at the sensation, but it seems to spur him on until he fucks me with hard, strong thrusts that rock the bed. He lowers his mouth to mine to swallow my cries, never slowing his blistering pace until we explode at the same time. I feel him throbbing inside me as we lie motionless together, trying to catch our breath.

  “Next time, I’ll take my time,” he says in my ear, and I giggle. “I was a little out of my mind for you.”

  “I’m always out of my mind for you,” I murmur back.

  Once we clean up a little and situate ourselves in bed, passing the bottle back and forth, I ask, “So how did you make it happen? I know you did.”

  He shrugs. “I dropped in on your ex. We had a little talk.”

  The blood drains from my face. “Oh, god.”

  “It was civil,” he promises. “Well, as civil as talking to that asshole can be. He’s not going to pursue the lawyers and the case workers. I told him to keep his money too.”

  “You—you did? Did you tell him I was going to get a raise?”

  “No. I told him I was going to pay for Lexi’s daycare.” Maddox reaches out to twine our fingers together. “I don’t want to overstep, Roxie. But I want to provide for you, for Lexi. I’m not some fancy, bigtime financial guru like him—”

  “Thank God,” I say emphatically.

  He smiles. “But I do work hard, and I am smart with money. And I have two incomes—Roy’s and the Army. We’ll never want for anything. I promise. If you’re okay with me pitching in.”

  I bite my lip. “Only if you want to. Not because you feel like you should.”

  “Of course I want to,” he says softly, then tips my chin up to look directly into my eyes. “I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while now. I love you, Roxie. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone. And I love Lexi. Like she’s my daughter. I would do anything for you both. Anything at all.”