Page 45 of Defending Madison

I take his hand in mine. “You protected me even though you had a dislocated shoulder and were bruised all over.”

“If he’d had a moment more, he could have gotten his hands on you. I could have lost you.”

“Oh, Dixon. You’re never going to lose me.” I lean forward and set my head against his. “I’m safe.”

“You need to know. I’ll defend you with my life. No one is ever going to hurt you again so long as I have breath in my body.”

“You did defend me. He didn’t get the chance to hurt me. I trust you.”

He wraps his uninjured arm around me. “I love you.”

I lean up to kiss his cheek. “And I love you.”

“You do?”

“Of course I do. We couldn’t get married if I didn’t love you, too.”

He groans as he takes my mouth with his, kissing me hard and then shifting gentler. He breaks the kiss. “We could honeymoon when the Championship is over, after your photoshoot.”

His cock-eyed smile and sea-green eyes implore me to agree, and it’s the only thing I can think of. “Yes.” His smile dips as his eyes look away for a brief moment. That glimmer of sadness catches my breath. “What?”

“Brian probably won’t stand up for me.”

A cough turns our heads to the door. Brian stands with his arms crossed. “I wouldn’t say that.” He trudges into the room and stops at the end of the bed. “You saved my sister from that lunatic she was banging at school.”

“How.. How do you know about me and Bobby?”

Brian smirks. “I convinced him not to follow you to Stanford.” He adjusts his feet. “I can’t help but think his instability increased when I ended you two.”

I squeeze Dixon’s hand. “We were done long before that. How do you know about Brian stalking me? You just got to town.”

He sidles up to the side of the bed and kisses my forehead. “Banner told me. Apparently, Bobby’s wife, who looks just like you, is named Madison.” He cringes. “She left him and his dysfunctional mind blamed you.” His eyes flick to Dixon. “I’m sorry I’ve been an asshole about you and my sister, even my mom knows Benny’s happy. Your call proved to my mother that you’re the perfect man for her, and I can see that she couldn’t be in better hands. I know you’ll take care of her.”

I stiffen as Dixon pats my hand. “Madison doesn’t need a keeper, Brian. She’s capable of living her own life just fine.”

My brother’s mouth falls open. He sputters. “That’s not what I meant.”

I laugh. “That’s exactly what you mean. You don’t respect that I’m a grownup. You pop into my life so infrequently that you’ve missed the fact that I’m a grown ass woman, and I live my life the way I want to.”

He moves his arm to pull me to his side. “Well, that’s going to change.”

“Sure, it is. The SEALS are your life.”

“Not anymore, Benny.” Sadness creeps across his face. There’s a story there that I know he will never share with me. He swallows. “Banner offered me a position with CPSP, and I’m going to take it.”

Dixon readjusts himself on the bed as his jaw stiffens. “Don’t you want to find your own thing?”

Brian frowns. “Man, I have really been a dick if you don’t want to work with me again.”

The door to his room opens and the area quickly fills with CPSP employees and friends. Banner approaches the bed and extends his hand to Dixon. “That was above and beyond, man.”

Dixon’s laugh dims. “Brian tells me he’s going to be working at CPSP.”

Banner’s head flicks to Brian and then back to Dixon. “Yes. We’re establishing a formal bodyguard unit.”

Dixon nods. “You brought him in to run it?”

Banner’s head shakes. “No. He’ll be working under you. You’re the lead on that, well assuming you can get used to Ella’s way of doing things.”

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