Twice the Malone by Laylah Roberts
19
Maddox came awake with a sudden start as something hit his leg.
He sat up with a gasp, looking around, wondering where the hell he was. He stared up at his brother’s angry face.
Hotel room. Chicago. Scarlett.
“What the fuck? What’s going on?” His lower leg was throbbing. “Did you fucking kick me?”
“Yeah, asshole, I kicked you. What the fuck are you doing sleeping on the sofa?”
“Can’t believe you kicked me, what’s wrong with you? I fell asleep. That’s not a crime, is it?”
“You haven’t seen Scarlett in nine weeks! You’ve barely touched her, can hardly look at her. Do you know how it makes her feel? What’s she supposed to think about the fact that you’d rather sleep out here than in bed with her?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose. I was studying that file on what she found, and I fell asleep. Pretty sure she’ll understand that.”
“Pretty sure she won’t. In case you somehow didn’t notice, our girl doesn’t know how fantastic she is. She needs us to show her. Sleeping on the couch after nine weeks apart is not showing her how much you need her. Asshole.”
“Stop calling me an asshole.” He jumped to his feet. He was tired of having Beau ride his ass. What was wrong with him? He never got this uptight over anything.
“I’ll stop calling you one when you stop acting like one. And, of course, she noticed, idiot. Who the hell do you think put a blanket over you? Newsflash, it wasn’t me. I’d have poured a glass of water over you instead.”
“And you’re calling me the asshole.”
“She woke up, came out here, and found you’d rather sit up all night, studying some file on that asshole rather than climb into bed with her and worship her sexy as fuck body.”
“It was an accident. And I doubt she wants me climbing into bed and pawing her.”
“Pawing her? Are you listening to yourself? Maddox, whatever shit is going on in your head, you need to stop it. Before you lose her. And just so you know, you do something to alienate her, then I’m not throwing you a life raft. I’m gonna choose her. Every time. Because I love her.”
“You love her?”
“Yeah, man. I’m a hundred and fifty percent in. And you need to be too. Now, I’m going to go get some breakfast. Can I trust her with you until I get back?”
Maddox scowled. “What kind of question is that?”
“The kind I never thought I’d have to ask, but it seems I now do. Maddox, she forgave you. Now it’s time to forgive yourself.”
Maddox frowned. “What?”
“You’re not doing anything you’re supposed to.”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean, when Scarlett called herself stupid yesterday, you didn’t tell her off. And you just sat there while she chose the cheapest meal at lunch then refused to eat the bread. You can see how tired and stressed she is, and the last thing she needs to be dealing with is her landlord. Why aren’t you putting your giant foot down? You were going to let her carry those boxes from her apartment. Why’d you even let her go there when she clearly needed a nap?”
Maddox frowned. “You wanted me to stop her?”
“Of course I did!” Beau threw his hands into the air.
“Why didn’t you do it then?”
“Because I’m not the Dom in this relationship. Her, sub. You, Dom. Me, Beau. Now, do your part. Take charge.”
Maddox frowned thoughtfully. “I made a mistake.”
“Yeah, and she’s forgiven you. So, what’s going on?”
“I’m just thinking that maybe I need to change.”
“Um, no. That’s just dumb.”
Okay, that wasn’t what he’d been expecting Beau to say, he thought his brother would agree with him. He was always telling Maddox he was too bossy and controlling. “How is that dumb?”
“Well, one, because that’s not who you are. You shouldn’t deny your nature.”
“Maybe I should. Maybe who I am isn’t good enough for her.”
“Jesus, not you too.” He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “Why can’t the two of you be more like me?”
“More like you?”
“Yeah, you don’t see me second-guessing who I am. Going around wondering if I should change. Or thinking I’m not good enough.”
“Scarlett thinks she’s not good enough?” How could she think that?
“Maddox, have you taken a good look at her? Like a real look.”
“Of course.”
“And what do you think?”
“That she’s beautiful.”
“Well, of course she is. She needs you to talk to her, to not jump to nasty conclusions. But that doesn’t mean she needs you to change. She fell for you. All of you. Bossy and protective and a pain in the ass. For some reason, she likes that. She needs you. I need you. So, pull your head out of your ass, okay?”
Was Beau right?He wasn’t so sure. All he knew was that he didn’t want to fuck this up again. Because he was certain he wouldn’t get a second chance.
“Scar wants us both. You have got to let this go and move forward. Be the guy she wants. Not this watered-down version of you. Talk to her. You can be amazed what you learn when you talk to someone rather than assume things. You know what they say about assumptions. I swear I’ve already said this to you before.”
“Fine. You’re right.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Beau asked.
“I said, you’re right.”
“Can I get that in writing?”
“No,” he growled. “Jesus, you’re annoying.”
“You know, I’m damn good at this relationship advice stuff. I could be the next Dr. Phil. Maybe I should get a job working for Molly. Of course, I wouldn’t want to show her up.”
He dove out of the door just as Maddox threw a cushion at his head.
Maddox sat back, thinking about what Beau had said. Was it possible that she loved him? That she actually needed his more dominant side? That she didn’t want him to rein himself in? But how could she want that when he’d been such an ass?
She’s forgiven you. Time to forgive yourself.
Why did he sleep out here when he could have been cuddled up next to his girl?
Idiot.
He got to his feet just as he heard a thump from the bedroom. Racing into the room, he noticed she wasn’t in bed.
Then he heard the vomiting coming from the bathroom.
“Scarlett? Shit, Scarlett.” He found her in the bathroom, kneeling in front of the toilet as she violently heaved.
What’s going on? Did she eat something bad? Did she have a stomach bug? Fuck. Worry flooded him and he remembered that Beau had followed her to the clinic the other day. Was she ill? Why hadn’t they told him?
Maybe because you’ve had your head up your ass worrying about yourself and how everything impacted you.
“Here, little one. Let me help you.” Kneeling next to her, he dragged back her hair as she continued to heave. “It’s all right. Sh, you’re okay.”
She sobbed in between heaves. God, how much longer was she going to vomit? It wasn’t like she had anything left in her tummy, now she was just dry-heaving.
Finally, her stomach calmed, and he eased her back against the wall. Quickly, he stood and flushed the toilet before grabbing a washcloth and wetting it. He wrung it out and wiped her face gently for her.
Tears were running down her cheeks, and she looked so pale and worn out. He stared down at her, taking her in. The dark smudges under her eyes, the sunken cheeks, her pallor. Damn, he really had been selfish. He’d been so wrapped up in his own fears and worries he hadn’t even noticed how sick she looked.
“It’s going to be all right, little one,” he told her. “I’m going to look after you. You’re going to be all right, I won’t let you be anything else. Wait there, I’ll go get you some water.”
He moved into the living area to the mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. When he returned, she was standing at the sink, trying to put toothpaste on her toothbrush.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Brushing my teeth.”
“I told you to stay put. You’re too shaky to be moving around. You could have fainted and hit your head.”
“I’m fine.”
He lifted her onto the counter and took her toothbrush from her. “Next time, do as you’re told and wait, understand?”
“Or what?” she challenged.
Oh, he saw how it was. She thought he was going to stand down.
Well, what else was she supposed to think? After the way he’d behaved since he’d arrived.
“Or I’ll turn you over my knee and spank you.” The threat tasted bad in his mouth, though. He couldn’t spank her while she looked like death warmed over. What if whatever was wrong with her was something serious? Like cancer.
One thing at a time. He needed to get her cleaned up and into bed. Then he could find out what was going on.
He undid the bottle of water while she brushed her teeth, then held it up for her. “Easy, not too fast. That’s a good girl.”
She eyed him. “You sound different this morning.”
“That’s because I feel different this morning.” He leaned his hands on the counter on either side of her hips, crowding her. She split her legs apart. He knew it was wrong to be turned on right now. She was ill, she’d just vomited. She needed care, not sex.
But it didn’t stop his dick from misbehaving.
“I’ve had it on good authority that I’ve been behaving like an asshole. And that I . . . that I’ve been making more assumptions instead of just talking to you.”
She watched him carefully. “And what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Before we do that are you feeling all right? Is there any medication you need? Something you have to take? If you need to lie down we can talk about this later.”
“I’m fine. I feel a lot better now.”
She did look better. There was a hint of color back in her cheeks. After she brushed her teeth, he lifted her up against his chest. Shit, she felt light. God, what was wrong with her that she’d lost all this weight? Fuck, whatever it was he was going to make sure she got the best care. They needed to put some meat back on her bones.
“Maddox, I can walk.”
“Why walk when I can carry you?”
She huffed out a laugh.
“What is it?”
“Beau said the exact same thing.”
“Well, we are twins,” he reminded her as he settled her on the bed. He plumped up the pillows for her then pulled the bedding up over her. “Are you warm enough? Do you need anything? More water?”
“I’m fine. You don’t need to fuss.”
Far as he was concerned, that’s exactly what he had to do. Plus, he was stalling. As soon as he realized that he sat facing her.
“I was jealous.”
She stilled. “What? Jealous over what?”
“You and Beau.”
“Why would you be jealous of us?”
“When I got here, and I saw the two of you laughing and having a good time. I guess I felt jealous of the easy way the two of you were together. And it seemed like you were doing just fine without me.”
“Maddox, that’s not true. I haven’t stopped thinking about you. Not once these last nine weeks.”
“I’m sure I don’t want to know what some of those thoughts were.” He grinned at her.
“Probably not.” She grinned back. “But you have no reason to feel jealous. I didn’t . . . we didn’t . . . nothing felt complete without you.”
He drew her onto his lap and hugged her tightly.
“I can’t believe you would think I didn’t need you.” She leaned back to look up at him. “Um, is that why you’ve been acting so odd?”
He let out a deep breath. “I’ve never really cared about what people thought of me. I’ve never really cared about anyone else. Other than family that is, and they have to love me. I made a big mistake. I treated you like shit. And you forgave me. Just like that. But I don’t think I’ve forgiven myself.”
“You’ve been punishing yourself?”
“I wasn’t a very good Dom to you. Communication is important, and I completely fucked that up. So, I’ll understand if you don’t ever want me to be your Dom again. I will give that part of myself up if that’s what you need.”
“Listen to me, Maddox Malone. I need you to be you. That’s the person I fell for. The bossy, alpha male who wasn’t afraid of anything. I don’t want you to change or to give me just half of yourself. I want all of you.”
Maddox stareddown at her without saying a word. Just when she was starting to worry she’d said something wrong, he leaned in and kissed her. She melted into his kiss, clinging to him until she remembered that she’d just vomited, and even though she’d brushed her teeth after, she couldn’t help but be worried that she still had vomit breath.
She drew back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Vomit breath.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have vomit breath. I promise. Now kiss me.”
She studied him for a moment then a smile tilted up the corner. “Is that the dark lord talking?”
“That is definitely the dark lord talking. And you best be doing what he tells you to do.”
“Hmm, let me think about that.”
“Brat, you’ve been running wild while you’ve been here alone, haven’t you?”
“Who me? Never. I’m a good girl.”
“Yeah? Then how come you’re not kissing me right now?”
“Sorry, dark lord.” She leaned up and kissed him. It wasn’t long until he took over, though, pressing his tongue into her mouth to tease her. She’d forgotten how good kissing him was. She was now a kissing convert.
This time, he was the one who drew back.
“Nooo,” she groaned. “I’m not ready to stop.”
“As much as I want to keep kissing you, little one, we have a few things to talk about. Are you sure about this? About being with me and Beau?” He put a finger on her mouth. “Just hear me out first. This sort of relationship, it isn’t always easy. Especially on you, when you have both of us to deal with. I like control in and out of the bedroom. And Beau, well, he can be a handful.”
“He’d claim that he’s more than a handful.” She grinned.
He groaned, rolling his eyes. “Don’t encourage him. This relationship isn’t considered normal by most. I mean, in Haven it is, but that’s the exception. If you decide you want to stay here, well, we’d mostly have to keep our relationship a secret.”
“Beau said you hate the city.”
“I do.”
“And you just bought that land, right? What were you going to do with it?”
“It doesn’t matter what I was going to do with it.”
“Really? Because I was kind of hoping that you were going to build a house for us to live in.”
She heard him take in a deep breath. “You’d want to live there? In the country? For us?”
“Not just for the two of you. For me too. I never thought of leaving here, but there isn’t much to keep me here. Other than Margo. No job, no apartment, but more importantly, no Beau and Maddox.”
“You don’t know how happy that makes me, little one.” Then a shadow crossed his face. “But I think we should stay here.”
Huh? That didn’t make much sense.
“Why?”
“Because there are better hospitals here.”
“Um, there are hospitals where you live, right?” And what did it matter anyway? That seemed a strange thing to focus on.
“Yes, but the closest hospital is nearly an hour away and it’s not that big. For a good hospital, we have to travel to Houston. No, we’d best stay here.”
“Um, Maddox?”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you care so much about the health care system? Is there something wrong with you?”
“Wrong with me? No, there’s something wrong with you.”
She blinked at him.
“I know you were at the clinic the other day. And you’ve lost a lot of weight, plus you’re very pale and you were just vomiting.” He took her hands in his. “Whatever is wrong, I’m going to be here for you. Just . . . just tell me? Is it bad?”
“Oh Maddox, I’m so sorry.”
He tensed. “Are you dying?”
“No, no, I’m not dying. I’m not sick. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I was just . . . you were acting odd and I . . . I was worried you didn’t want me anymore after everything that happened, that you couldn’t trust me.”
“Little one, get all of that out of your head. I want you. I want to be with you. Just tell me, what is it.”
“Okay, well, see . . .”
“Scarlett,” he warned.
“I’m pregnant.”
