Dare to Desire Read online

  Madison raised her eyebrows. “Do not try and win me over with platitudes and compliments.”

  “Are you saying you can’t work with him?” Ian asked.

  Madison laughed. “You must really be used to people you can bullshit. Now you’re trying to challenge me into accepting him.”

  He grinned, stunning her. “Is it working?”

  “What do you think?” Madison let out a heavy sigh.

  She was a pro at protecting herself from hurt and abandonment, and as a result, she chose the men she let into her life carefully. They couldn’t get to her on any level except sexually. No chance of being hurt when things ended. From the second she’d laid eyes on Alex standing by Riley’s hospital bed, she’d pegged his type. Cocky and full of himself. She’d bruised his ego when she hadn’t let on that she’d recognized the infamous womanizing quarterback. Why should she? The battered female in the bed had been her only concern despite his sexy good looks.

  But months later, when they’d begun their fling—she refused to call it a relationship now—Madison had warned herself that all she was to him was a game. And yet she’d allowed her hormones, his charm, and their mutual chemistry to override common sense.

  She’d let her heart betray her. And she’d paid for that in spades, she thought, remembering the days of hurt and pain after he’d callously tossed her out of his hospital room, never to be heard from again.

  “Who better to co-chair this program than someone whose career has been sidelined by unexpected injury?” Ian’s deep voice broke into her thoughts.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe someone who takes life seriously?” she spat.

  But his injury had been serious, she knew. She could still hear the crack of his helmet against the ground in the instant replay.

  Ian cleared his throat. “He’s lost without football. He needs direction. And he’s in a unique position to bring perspective to the players you’ll be trying to reach. He’d be the perfect person to talk to the league when we’re ready to try to convince them to make this type of program mandatory for all teams.”

  Madison studied Ian closely. His jaw was set tight, his eyes narrowed. Being close to Riley gave her insight into the man. And she knew that before meeting Riley, Ian had wanted nothing to do with his half sibling. He’d resented his father’s other family, especially Alex.

  “Who are you trying to convince this is the right move? Me? Or yourself?” Madison asked.

  Ian stiffened, and she knew she was right. “This is Riley’s idea, isn’t it? She’s worried about Alex, and she asked you to offer him this opportunity.” Disappointment settled heavily in her heart.

  “Every time you speak, you convince me you’re the right woman to spearhead this effort. You’re intuitive. And you’re correct.”

  “Nice. So Riley threw me under the bus for him.”

  “You know Riley better than that,” Ian said, his tone sharp as he defended his wife. “She gives her loyalty and love to few people, and you’re one of them.”

  Madison blinked. “So why isn’t she here telling me herself?” She couldn’t help being hurt and blindsided.

  “She’s home sick or she would be.”

  Madison swallowed hard. “Do I get a say in this, or is it a done deal?” she asked Ian.

  He met her gaze. “You’re in charge. You decide who to hire. Ultimately, it’s between you and Alex to decide.”

  But it was clear to her that both Ian and Riley wanted her to give Alex a chance. “I need to think about this.”

  Ian glanced at his watch. Then he cleared his throat. “You’ve got fifteen minutes. Alex will be in the conference room at eleven.”

  “Keep him busy till 11:15,” she muttered.

  Madison headed back to her office, frustration, anxiety, and more than a hint of jitters in her stomach over the prospect of seeing Alex again. But this meeting was the least of her problems, and she paced the carpeted floor, pondering the real issue at hand. Could she work side by side with Alex, day after day, remembering what it felt like to have him deep inside her body?

  She shivered at the reminder, her nerve endings alive and tingling at the prospect of seeing him again.

  Despite how badly he’d hurt her, she still wanted him. And wasn’t that the worst part? She, who’d trained herself at an early age not to want or need anyone or anything, still responded to the mere thought of Alex Dare.

  * * *

  Alex liked the Thunder Dome. The new stadium was a hell of a lot nicer than the Breakers’ home in Tampa, not that he’d be caught dead admitting such a thing out loud. Still, he couldn’t help the disappointment clouding him, being in a stadium and knowing he was unable to play. It was one thing to make the decision with his rational mind, protecting himself from bodily injury that would affect his entire life. Quite another to emotionally accept that he’d lost the thing he loved most in the world. The game had defined him from the time he’d picked up a football as a kid and had carried him through losing what he’d thought was his first love. And he had stupidly thought he’d leave the game on his own terms.

  Apparently not.

  Alex followed the directions left for him at the guardhouse and ended up at Ian’s office. It was the first time he’d come to his half brother’s place of business, and his skin itched with the feeling that something big was about to take place, even if he didn’t know what it was.

  He walked in to find the office as imposing as the man himself. Alex and Ian couldn’t be more different in personality—Ian stiff and uptight, Alex easygoing and relaxed.

  “Thanks for coming,” Ian said, extending his hand.

  Alex shook it hard. Man to man, he thought wryly and settled into a chair, making himself comfortable. Sitting across from Ian, Alex acknowledged how far their relationship had progressed. They were in the same room and having a conversation. It was huge.

  “Before we go into the conference room, I wanted to fill you in on the proposition I have for you.”

  “I’m listening.”

  Ian inclined his head. “You must realize that your injury brought to light the deficit in the league as far as preparing our players for life after the game.”

  Alex stiffened, as he always did when talk of his career-ending concussion arose.

  Ian ignored his reaction and went on. “The fact is, you could have continued to play, taken the risk, and down the road, you’d have been dealing with severe head trauma and mental deficits. You were smart enough to step back. Not a lot of guys are.”

  Alex raised an eyebrow. “You’re complimenting me?”

  Ian rolled his eyes. “But now that you’re retired at the age of twenty-six, what do you plan to do with your life?” He held up a hand before Alex could answer. “Hang on. That question is part of why I asked you here. It’s also a question the league should want all players to consider before they’re injured and forced out of the game.”

  “Where are you going with this?” Alex asked, warning himself not to get defensive.

  Ian cleared his throat. “I plan to institute a training program that teaches the players to think about the future, do smart things with their money, and take informational classes that will prepare them for later on.”

  Interested, Alex merely studied the other man and waited.

  “Did you know seventy-eight percent of retired athletes are broke within two to five years?” Ian asked. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. “Statistics show fifty percent of ex-pro football player marriages end in divorce because couples aren’t ready for the pressures of life after the game. So I want spouses involved in preparation and education.”

  “You’ve really thought about this,” Alex said, impressed despite himself and his lingering resentment of Ian.

  Ian inclined his head. “It’s in motion. I have a social worker on board, and I want you running things along with her.”

  Alex reared back in surprise. “Why me?”

  He and Ian weren’t close. Ian came from t
heir father’s legitimate family. Alex and his siblings were the man’s illegitimate secrets. But secrets didn’t stay buried, and the explosion, when it had come, had rocked both families deeply. Alex and Ian had remained on opposing sides for ten years.

  Until Riley.

  Ian cleared his throat. “Why not you? Or should I say, who other than you? You will have the unique ability to convince the players this is important. You definitely have media presence when this goes public. And let’s face it, you have nothing else lined up at the moment.”

  “And there’s the asshole I know.”

  Ian grinned. He fucking grinned, as if he already had Alex exactly where he wanted him.

  “Come meet the woman in charge before you make any decisions.”

  Alex nodded. Why not? He was impressed with the program and interested.

  As he followed Ian to the conference room, passing the hall of champions, life-sized photos of past and present Thunder All-Stars, Alex still wondered why Ian had chosen him. But he couldn’t deny the importance or brilliance of the program. There were so many ways guys’ lives did a one-eighty after retirement, forced or otherwise, that training and preparation would only help.

  “Riley’s really behind the idea,” Ian said as they approached the closed wooden door.

  “Way to try and sway me, man.”

  Ian shrugged. “I do what I have to in order to get my way.” He paused and looked Alex in the eye. “So about the woman who will be working alongside you—”

  “I haven’t agreed.”

  “About her,” Ian went on as if Alex hadn’t spoken. “I’m trusting you to be professional.”

  Alex narrowed his gaze, his internal radar on high alert.

  “And to not be a jerk.”

  “Hey!”

  Without replying, Ian opened the door. They stepped into the room, and Alex laid eyes on the one woman he hadn’t been expecting to see. The same woman who’d haunted his dreams and sidetracked him from many of his nightmares.

  Madison faced him head on. Her shoulders drawn back, golden-blonde hair pulled away from her face, she didn’t back down from his stare. She wore a pair of black slacks that hugged her curves and a white silky-looking top that clung to her generous breasts. And those unusually blue eyes frosted over at the sight of him.

  “Alex, I believe you know Madison Evans.”

  Blindsided—and his half brother knew it—Alex strode up to her. He inhaled her familiar fruity scent, which only served as a reminder of the hot times he’d spent breathing her in as his cock moved inside her body. Her effect on him was potent, and even the most common expressions failed him.

  “Alex,” she said, her cool tone bringing his head out of the desire-filled fog he’d found himself in.

  “Hey, Angel,” he said, using the endearment he’d started calling her during their brief time together. Another sign he’d had it bad, whether he’d wanted to admit it or not.

  Her head whipped up, her eyes narrowing and settling on Ian. “This won’t work.” She turned to go.

  Alex still had excellent reflexes, and he grabbed her arm before she could stride past him.

  She glared.

  He didn’t look away, determined to win this battle of wills. This potential job, which had interested him on an intellectual and emotional level initially, suddenly felt even more important, and she was the reason.

  “We need to talk,” he insisted.

  “I have nothing to say.”

  “Ian’s proposition said otherwise.”

  Madison looked over his shoulder in search of Ian and frowned. “Well, the traitor is gone. No big surprise there.”

  Smart man, Alex thought. “If I let you go, will you stay long enough to discuss this position Ian and Riley want me to take?”

  She let out a frustrated puff of air.

  He took that as a yes and released her.

  “Us working together is not a good idea, and somewhere in that thick head of yours, you know that.”

  “Because we slept together? More than a couple of times?”

  She set her jaw. “That was a mistake.”

  Ouch. That hurt, he thought, and filed away the why to deal with later. “I want to know more about this training program and what my role in it would be.”

  “Why? You can’t possibly be interested.”

  “It sounds more like you don’t want me to be interested.”

  She rolled her shoulders back even farther, stiffening her posture. “You’re right. I don’t. This is a serious project that could help a lot of people and have far-reaching positive repercussions for years to come. I need a partner willing to go all in. And let’s face it, I’ve seen your staying power. It’s nonexistent.”

  He winced, knowing she was really referring to him and relationships. And she was right. At least, that’s how he had been. Six months with nothing to do but live in his own head, had brought changes she knew nothing about.

  Eyebrows raised, stern expression on her face, she glared at him as if he were something she’d scraped off her shoe.

  In the span of five minutes, she’d insulted him more than anyone had in probably his entire life. So why was he turned on? He shifted his stance in a futile effort to adjust his cock and gain some sort of ease or comfort. Not happening around her, and he knew it.

  “I’ll give you that one insult because I deserved it.”

  She wrinkled her nose in confusion.

  Good. He liked her off balance. Much better than spitting mad. “Any more and I’ll have to take action.”

  She opened her mouth then closed it again, because as they were both intimately aware, he’d have no trouble following through on his threat.

  “Care to tell me what you have planned for this program?” he asked, deliberately all business. He strode over to the chair at the head of the table and settled in.

  She obviously realized he was serious because she headed for the stack of folders on the table and sifted through them.

  Coming up with the one she wanted, she opened it and glanced down only briefly before speaking. “Football players—anyone in training for prolonged periods of time—live a very regimented life. From what and when they eat to their exercise routine to when to practice and attend team meetings, everything is laid out for them. One injury and everything changes.” She eyed him warily from beneath her lashes.

  He was surprised she’d still worry about his feelings after how he’d treated her. “Go on. I can take it.”

  She nodded. “Suddenly they can eat what they want, when they want, and they gain unhealthy amounts of weight that isn’t balanced out by the exercise they used to do. Lack of education and preparation result in poor financial choices. Most athletes run through any good money they might have made in a short amount of time. Marriages crumble from the strain. Not to mention, they get bored, and depression sets in. I have statistics, but for now, you can just take my word for it.”

  He didn’t have to. He’d begun experiencing some of it himself.

  “What’s your solution?” he asked, impressed with the knowledge she already had regarding the problem they faced.

  “Education.” She tapped the folder on the table. “All football colleges and universities need to have programs geared to post-career options. It’s not enough to offer a finance or business major. They need to target post-professional life. From our perspective, that means we start from the ground up. We contact schools and propose just such an approach. We hire ex-players willing to speak to the kids about the importance of thinking beyond football. And at a team level, we begin to provide all sorts of counseling and training. Nutrition, business classes, psychological counseling. Another goal is to eliminate the stigma of retirement, and to do that, we need to prepare our players for the future.” She finished her speech, her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes wide, her passion for the subject evident.

  Fuck, she was gorgeous.

  He’d seen a similar look on her face before, right before h
e’d slid his fingers inside her and teased her to climax. He closed his eyes, dragging in a controlled breath.

  Wrong time, wrong place. Wrong everything.

  He might want to return to where they’d been before he’d opened his big mouth and thrown her out of his hospital room, but she wanted nothing to do with him. She didn’t trust him, and he didn’t blame her. He needed to win her over before he could let himself even think about sinking back into her body. She needed to see he’d changed, grown up.

  And maybe he needed to prove the same thing to himself.

  “I’m in,” he told her.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’ll take the job.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Didn’t Ian tell you it’s up to me who to hire?”

  Alex shook his head, silently cursing his manipulative brother. “No, I think the plan was to throw us in here like gladiators and see who survived.”

  To his surprise, she let out an amused laugh.

  The desire to kiss the dimples on either side of her mouth was strong. Beneath the table, he curled his fingers into fists, curbing his desire. His frustration wasn’t as easily controlled.

  “I really don’t think we can work together,” she said, sobering.

  “Then I’ll just have to convince you otherwise.”

  TWO

  Two weeks had passed since Alex had come on board. He’d shown up at the stadium daily, ready to dig in and work. To Madison’s surprise and disappointment, they shared an office—due to lack of available space, according to Ian. Madison called bullshit, but only to Riley. She wasn’t about to start trouble with her boss.

  Alex had stepped out a couple of minutes ago. Alone for the first time, she grabbed complete concentration time and stared at the list of speakers she’d begun lining up for workshops. She wanted to run programs dedicated to everything from health and nutrition to finances and taxes. There was one well-known lecturer in particular she wanted to secure, but she had the feeling nailing him down would entail a trip to Manhattan to convince him. He was on the pricier side, but luckily Ian had given them a generous budget to work with, indicating how important this issue had become to him. She wondered if his newfound relationship with Alex was the root of his support or if he just sensed the need in the sport. A combination of both, she assumed.