It being a weekday, most people were at work, and other than another couple at the far end of the pool, they were alone. Alone with thoughts he shouldn’t be entertaining for a woman who was still playing it cool with him.
“I didn’t realize Ian kept his apartment after he and Riley moved to their new house,” Madison said. “It was nice of them to let us hang out here. And on a work day, no less.”
“Perks, Angel,” he reminded her.
“Something tells me you only asked Riley for permission,” Madison said.
He grinned. “I’m connected, not stupid.”
She burst out laughing, the first freely given laugh since he’d seen her again in Ian’s conference room, and he soaked in the joyful sound. Damn, he had it bad.
He’d driven her home to drop off her car and let her change clothes before stopping by his place to do the same. He’d called Riley for permission while Madison was getting her stuff together. They’d then headed here. Thanks to the confined car, he now knew she smelled of peaches and cream, and his c**k had been at attention ever since.
He hoped seducing her was the answer to this all-consuming need, because he didn’t know what else would satisfy him. Nor did he know how long it would take to achieve his goal. At the thought of sliding into her wet heat again, he stiffened even more. He raised his knee up to deflect attention.
She lay down on the lounge chair and clipped her hair up, revealing her slender neck. His tongue begged to run down the smooth skin.
Slow down, ass**le, he cautioned himself. Where Madison was concerned, he had a lot to prove. So he’d wait her out and would be here on her terms.
For as long as it took.
FOUR
After an hour under the blazing hot sun, watching Alex in swim trunks, his tanned six-pack glistening with sweat, those tattoos looking delicious enough to lick, Madison was ready to cave in to every carnal desire running through her mind. And she’d had plenty.
Needing space, she rose and headed inside the cabana behind them. She dug through her bag for a bottle of sunscreen and sat down on the recliner inside to apply it. She’d finished her face and arms when a shadow loomed in the entryway.
“Need some help?” Alex stepped into the cabana, taking up the rest of the small space and what remained of the oxygen.
“I’ve got it.”
He settled in beside her. “But where would the fun be in that?”
He took the bottle from her and poured a liberal amount of cream into his big hand. She wanted to suggest they go back outside, but they were almost equally secluded there, and she needed a break from the intense heat of the sun.
“Lie back,” he instructed.
She tensed, sensing this was a turning point. If he put his hands on her, she was done for. But it was her decision to make, and she had to choose whether to trust him enough to let him back in.
She thought about Riley’s words. You won’t know unless you open yourself up to possibly being hurt again. Seeing Alex at the lawyer’s office, so compassionate and interested, made her want to try again. She had to ignore those urges. But her desire to sleep with him? To have mind-blowing sex and quell the need he inspired? Well, that she was ready for. Granted, she was no expert on sex without emotion, but she had no choice. She remembered the pain of heartbreak and abandonment all too well. So this time, she’d keep her head and her heart protected, and she’d be the one to walk away first.
So she lay against the back of the chair, stretching out completely. He gripped her foot with his big hands and began massaging the coconut-scented cream into her skin. Oh yeah, she was so done for. She tipped her head back and moaned, his sensual massage feeling so unbelievably good.
This was no sunscreen application, and they both knew it. His thumb pressed deeply into her arch, abused from wearing high heels all week. She sighed in delight as he worked first one foot, then the other. His talented hands slid up her calves and pressed into muscles she’d pulled on the treadmill at the stadium. He released the pressure that was always a part of her, and she reveled in the relaxing feel. Somehow she managed to maintain a dispassionate distance as he worked her lower leg, massaging from her toes to her calves and up above her knee. But too soon, his hands lost their greasy feel, and his roughened fingers now slid over her skin, beginning a slow climb up her thigh.
The change in sensation caused a pulsing in her lower body, and she moaned, the sound echoing around the enclosed cabana.
“You have no idea what that sound does to me,” he said in a gruff voice.
This was what she wanted. Arousal. Mutual pleasure. And she gave in to his now tender yet seductive ministrations. “Keep working, cabana boy,” she murmured without opening her eyes.
“Cute,” he muttered, inching higher, his hands splaying over her upper thigh, mere inches from the edge of her skimpy bikini bottoms.
She held her breath in anticipation of his touch on her sex, of his fingers sliding over her moist heat. But he stopped, his fingers curling into her flesh with just a little bite. He liked it that way. Just a little rough, showing her how good a hint of pain mixed with pleasure could be, and her ni**les hardened at the memory. Desire further dampened her bottoms, need pulsing in a steady beat between her thighs.
“Angel.” The one word sounded like a command, and her heavy lids snapped open, automatically responding.
“Let’s be clear,” he said in that sex-personified voice that turned her insides to mush. “This is about you. I’m not asking for anything in return. Not even for you to trust me again.”
She hadn’t expected conversation or discussion, nor did she want any. Hot and fast sex, no time for thinking. That was normally his style anyway, so she didn’t anticipate a problem being able to convince him.
“No talk, just work,” she reminded him, keeping her tone playful.
“Not until you really hear me. This”—his thumb took one swipe over her sex, unerringly finding that hardened nub of desire beneath the bathing suit—“is about you. The rest we’ll take one day at a time.”
He pressed down harder on her clit, the pad of his thumb connecting with the exact spot that craved his touch.
She arched her lower back, her hips rising of their own accord.
“Understand?” he asked.
“I can’t think when you’re touching me.”
His low chuckle enflamed her even more. “All I ask is that you take us one day at a time, starting now.”
“There is no us. You don’t really want that anyway.” She reminded him of who he really was.