Dare to Desire Page 8

  “Then Sienna got sick?” Madison asked, knowing those touchy details from Riley.

  “Childhood leukemia.” He visibly shuddered. “My baby sister, deathly ill. We thought we’d lose her. I mean, my mother actually prepared us, using those words. And one look at Sienna in the hospital, on the rare times we were allowed in to visit her … it was obvious why they were so scared.” His voiced came out gruff and affected.

  Unable to stop herself, she rose and walked over to him, intending to give him a comforting hug. He pulled her down onto his lap, obviously wanting the intimate connection. After the day she’d had, she needed the same thing.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Dad had no choice but to go to his wife—Ian’s mother—and ask her to have his other children’s bone marrow tested.”

  “Wow. That’s like a soap opera.”

  “Yet disturbingly real. I think that’s when it hit home for everyone. Dad had another wife and family, who, as it turned out, knew nothing about my mother or his other kids. It taught us all that my father is definitely a selfish son of a bitch.”

  She lay her head against his chest, listening to his rapidly beating heart.

  “I lied. When I said the stuff about my father and us not having his name didn’t bother me? It did. I just hated to think about why we were different. What it could mean.”

  “I never liked thinking about my parents at all,” she murmured.

  “Anything you want to talk about now?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “So tonight’s about me baring my soul?”

  She grinned, knowing he couldn’t see. “It’s about time, don’t you think?”

  His low chuckle reverberated through her, but she had no doubt she’d have to return the favor one day soon.

  “Well, on the one hand, I was grateful I had a father who was present. On the other … kids can be brutal.”

  “They made fun of you?” she asked, horrified on his behalf. Although she wasn’t surprised. She’d experienced her own fair share of being made fun of for her hand-me-down clothes and fake families.

  “They only called us bastards once. I was big enough to hold my own, and so was Jason. Nobody bothered us after we made our point the first time. It was easy to defend my position. As a kid, I trusted in what I’d been told, that my parents didn’t believe in the institution of marriage.” He idly stroked her hair, and she sighed in contentment.

  “And now?” she asked, ever perceptive.

  “As I got older, I recognized the damage my father had caused. It was harder for Ian than for me.”

  “From what Riley told me, Ian idolized your father. His disillusion was the hardest.”

  Alex nodded. “All the time Dad was with us, Ian and his four siblings thought he was traveling on business. It made sense since he had hotels all over the country, and they were used to him being an absentee parent. Then he showed up asking for bone marrow for a kid they knew nothing about, only to find out there was another woman and two other children.”

  Was it any wonder he’d ended up bitter and angry about relationships? Madison mused. “Yet despite it all, Ian’s mother allowed her kids to be tested. That’s pretty amazing.”

  “I agree. And as icing on an already sucky cake, Dad decided, since everything was out in the open, it was time to officially ask for a divorce. He married my mother as soon as it was final.” Alex groaned. “It’s like the shit you see on reality TV. And it’s no wonder Ian resented us. He became the glue that held his mother and siblings together, and we got the father we always had anyway, along with his name.”

  “None of that is your fault,” she assured him.

  “Maybe not, but I was too thick-headed to get it. I thought I’d gained this hotshot sibling who was going to University of Florida to play football. I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Be like him.”

  “And he wanted nothing to do with you.”

  “And things went to hell between us from there,” Alex said, admitting all this for the first time, out loud and to himself.

  “I bet it hurt,” Madison said, tilting her head up at him. She looked into his deep dark eyes, the handsome face showing all the confusion and pain he kept hidden.

  That he was revealing it to her now eased the ever-present constriction in her chest.

  “Yeah. And as you know, I don’t react well when hurt, physically or emotionally.” He slid his thumb over her bottom lip.

  She licked at his salty finger, doing her best not to moan at the intimate contact.

  He cleared his throat. “Anyway, that’s when my official rivalry with Ian began.”

  “And it took Riley to end it,” she concluded, and he nodded.

  “Can I ask you something?” She glanced away from him as she spoke.

  He cocked his head to one side and grinned. “Might as well. I seem to be in an answering mood.”

  She refused to meet his gaze. “Do you … or did you have feelings for Riley beyond friendship? Is that why you gave her such a hard time when she met Ian? Because you wanted her for yourself?”

  She asked the one question that had always haunted her, even when she knew that, to Riley, there had never been more than sisterly feelings for Alex.

  He lifted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes and face both him and her question, which was all too revealing.

  “No, I am not interested in Riley that way. But in the interest of full disclosure, I can’t say that I didn’t try to hook up with her once.”

  Madison’s stomach plummeted at the admission, but she’d asked. She had to accept the answer.

  “What can I say? I’m a guy, and we do have our idiot moments.” He chuckled, obviously trying to lighten the moment.

  Madison didn’t laugh with him.

  He grasped her face in his hands. “There is nothing between me and Riley but a lifelong friendship. She’s like my sister. I saved her from a bad situation when we were kids, and it bonded us even more, but that’s it. There’s only one woman I’m interested in now,” he said, his tone gruff.

  He removed his thumb and closed his lips over hers, sliding back and forth, coaxing her to open. He didn’t have to try hard. Her defenses were low, her need high. This was Alex, and she’d wanted him for so long. Even when he’d been gone from her life and she should have hated him, she’d still desired him. And now she was going to have him, she thought, parting her lips and letting him in.

  Alex realized that in answering Madison’s questions, he had received answers too, and he decided it was time. She was ready to resume a relationship. Not where they’d left off but somewhere fresh and new. This desire consuming not just his body but his emotions was definitely new to him. Acknowledging it and not running, newer still.

  “Up,” he said, deciding to take over.

  She stood.

  He rose and grasped her hand, pulling her toward the couch, where she lay down, enabling him to stretch out beside her. He looked into her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear, the moment as intimate as any in his life.

  She leaned into him, and he glided his tongue along the seam of her lips. Dipped his fingers into her hair, tilting her head in the exact position he needed for complete control. He slid his hand down her side, grasped the bottom of her shirt, and pulled it up and over her head. He clamped her wrists in one hand, holding her in place, then pinned her lower body against the couch with his hips. His cock found a home in the cradle of her thighs, his erection hard and aching but exactly where he wanted to be.

  “I need to fuck you, Angel,” he said, his low, gravelly voice revealing the depths of his hunger and desire for her. “I need to be so deep I don’t know where you end and I begin.”

  Her eyes glazed at his words. “So do it.”

  His body shuddered at her sweet acquiescence. He kissed her lips, grazed her neck with his mouth, his teeth. Worked his way lower, nibbling on her soft skin, her collarbone, until she was soft and pliable beneath him. He
continued, stretching the cup of her bra beneath her breast. Gripping her arm tighter, he pulled the already taut nipple into his mouth, suckling hard.

  With a groan, she tried to free her hands, but he held fast. Her whimper told him how much she needed him. Her hips bucked against his. Sliding deep inside her now would be too easy. It would give her the release she sought, but it wouldn’t prove to her that she needed him.

  He spent more time on her breasts, divesting her of her lace bra so he could mold and cup the soft mounds of flesh in his hands while tormenting her nipples with his tongue and teeth. Hands freed, she gripped his head, pulling at his hair, begging him to stop, to keep going, her need so intense, just as he’d planned.

  She had sensitive breasts, and he loved making a feast out of them, knowing she was out of her mind with the same desire throbbing hard and heavy in his veins.

  “Alex, please.” Her hips gyrated beneath his, taking his cock along for the ride.

  “Tell me what you want,” he said through clenched teeth, because holding back was costing him too.

  Glazed blue eyes stared back at him. Eyes he’d seen in his dreams, that had gotten him through his nightmares. He didn’t realize how much he’d relied on the memory of her until now.

  Soon she would be so much more than a memory, he thought, ready to possess her in every way possible.

  SIX

  Madison’s body pulsed with yearning, and desire flooded every part of her being. Her nipples were sensitive from his sensual torment, which seemed to never end. Every lick, nip, and touch sent a shot of awareness to her core. She pulled on his silky hair, begging without words for him to fill her, and when that didn’t work, she pleaded out loud. But he held back, ignoring her throbbing sex in favor of arousing her to the point of pain.

  He raised himself up.

  Madison had never been more aware of the strength Alex possessed than now with his hard, gorgeous body stretched over hers. Tattoos, which he’d freely admitted to getting for juvenile kicks, covered his forearms and broad shoulders, and muscles bunched in his biceps. Yet he held himself in check. Why?

  And wasn’t that the loaded question.

  He shifted his hips, his hard erection sliding against her clit through her shorts. She needed relief, but he was withholding hers, as well as his own.

  “Tell me, Angel. What do you want?” His gruff voice added to the awareness ricocheting between them.

  “You,” she said, nearly breathless. “I want you.”

  He suddenly rolled off of her and stood, shoving his sweatpants down and off. She managed to get rid of her shorts and panties just as quickly. Next thing she knew, he’d lifted her up and started walking toward the bedroom.

  She shrieked and wrapped her arms around him, aware of his hard male body as she cuddled close. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking you to bed.”

  “I like the sound of that.” She kissed his jaw and nibbled on his earlobe, nipping lightly right before he laid her down on the big mattress.

  “Lots of room to maneuver,” he said with a grin.

  He returned, his thick erection sliding directly over her damp pussy, and she moaned at the intimate contact.

  “Feel good?” he asked, holding his thick cock with one hand and rubbing over and over her clit.

  “So, so good.” Beautiful waves washed through her, and she arched, needing more pressure. Needing him.

  He glided harder against her, knowing the rhythm and level of contact she needed. He hadn’t forgotten. Knew exactly what would make her come. His erection was thick and hard and bringing her higher. The peak tempted her, building swells teased her, and suddenly what had been out of reach crashed over her as Alex took her over the edge.

  “Yes, Alex, yes,” she moaned loudly.

  She was quivering with aftershocks when he thrust into her. “That’s right, Angel, it’s me.”

  She was slick from her orgasm, ready for him, and she accepted him easily. He filled the empty ache, but what scared her more was the wash of sensation that accompanied his glide inside of her. He drew out and pushed back in farther this time, stopping when he was buried all the way. She clenched her inner walls around him, holding him in tightly.

  “You feel so good. Hot and slick.” He shifted his hips, and she sighed in pure delight. “I want you to come again, and this time, scream my name.”

  She arched up, pulling him impossibly deeper. “Hurry, please.”

  His dark gaze locked on hers. “My pleasure,” he muttered and began to plunge into her with all the need and desire pounding through her veins.

  “Yes, yes,” she moaned in time with his thrusts. In and out, he urged her toward nirvana. Every shift and undulation of their hips brought her higher.

  Their bodies, slick and overheated, came together hard. He kissed her, his tongue mimicking the act of their bodies as he devoured her everywhere. With each determined plunge in, his pelvis ground against her sex, taking her ever up, higher and closer to climax.

  “Oh, Alex.” She extended his name on a low shuddering moan.

  “Yes, Angel. You’re almost there.”

  “I am.” Her entire being trembled with the relentless friction of their bodies. She grabbed his shoulders, digging her nails in deep and arching her lower half upward.

  He picked up his rhythm, and the second he moved again, the tremors started in earnest. “Alex, yes, yes, yes!” she cried out as her world exploded, and he came inside her, long hot spurts she felt everywhere.

  He collapsed on top of her, his breathing ragged, his big body warm and heavy. The reality of what she’d done quickly washed over her, but she couldn’t regret something so wonderful. So instead, she let herself enjoy the great sex, the phenomenal orgasms, and the man who’d given them to her.

  She let out a satisfied sigh.

  Alex propped himself up on one arm and stared into her eyes, unnerving her with the intensity. But after what they’d shared, she felt the same way.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Never better,” she said. “That was amazing.”

  His sexy grin said he agreed.

  “So when can we do it again?” Just looking at him and she wanted to climb back into his arms.

  “First things first.” He cleared his throat. “We didn’t use protection. I should have grabbed a condom but—”

  She blew out a long breath. “I’m still on the pill.” But they’d been careless, and she knew it.

  He let out a relieved breath. “Okay. And I haven’t been with anyone since you.”

  Which, if she believed him, meant he was serious about her. She shook off the thought, unwilling to go there. This was fun, and she intended to enjoy it. As many times as she could.

  “You’re quiet.”

  “Just thinking.”

  “I’m serious. I told you I’ve changed. That hit to the head was an eye opener.” He cupped her jaw in his hand. “Not to mention, I couldn’t get you out of my head.”

  She swallowed hard, his words obviously getting to her. “Really?”

  He leaned in close and brushed his lips over hers. “Yeah. Now do you still want to do it again?”

  She laughed and crawled on top of him, straddling him with her naked body. No small talk, just enjoyment.

  That she could handle.

  He gripped her ass and grinned. “Condoms in the drawer. Grab one and ride me,” he said, his eyes dark with desire.

  She found protection and took her time sheathing him, covering his silken erection with the condom before she straddled him, lowering herself inch by long, thick inch. Then she did as he instructed and began to move.

  Alex had to force his eyes open, to watch the expressions on Madison’s face and not concentrate solely on her slick walls enclosing him in heat. Better than he remembered. He now knew why he hadn’t been able to bring himself to call any other woman. Nobody had ever felt like this. And now that he wasn’t fighting the feelings, sensation and something mor
e overwhelmed him.

  It took everything in him to remain in place, not flip her over and take her hard and fast this time. But she was milking his cock and, from the sublime look on her face, enjoying every minute. She looked gorgeous astride him, head tilted, lips parted, her hair falling down her back.

  He gripped her thighs, and she moaned, raising her head, meeting his gaze, her pupils dilated.

  “Flip us?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Gladly.”

  He pulled out of her and stood, sliding her to the edge of the bed. “Umm, not sure this is what I had in mind,” she said in a husky voice.

  “I want to be deeper in that hot pussy, Angel.” He raised her legs over his shoulders, and her eyes opened wide.

  Before she could react, he thrust back inside her only to pull out again.

  She groaned, and he laughed, tunneling back in slowly, making her squirm and arch her hips in an attempt to pull him all the way. “I’m going to make you pay for this, you know.”

  “I certainly hope so.”

  She narrowed her gaze, and he took her completely, thrusting deep and hard, so his balls slapped against her ass and his eyes rolled back in his head. Then it was too late to tease her any more because his body demanded release.

  Short strokes followed longer ones. Madison panted and moaned, clasping her tight sheath around his cock with every thrust and grind of his hips. He slipped his hand between them, pressing hard on her clit, and as her tremors began, he let himself go, losing himself inside her.

  Long after Madison left, he lay awake, running the night over in his head. One thing was clear. This woman owned him, and she had no damned clue.

  * * *

  Another week of work almost over, Madison thought. Another week of nonstop attention from Alex. He picked up coffee, brought her lunch, walked her to her car, and basically acted like the most attentive man ever. Her new relationship with him helped her put the situation with her foster brother out of her mind until her next meeting with the lawyer and the upcoming hearing.

  In the meantime, work also kept her busy.

  She glanced over at Alex. Feet propped up on his desk, he hung up the phone as his gaze landed on hers. And darkened. “What’s up, Angel?”