by Sandra Owens
Alex loved the two-bedroom, two-bath condo, and he’d never thought to own such a place. He and his brothers had taken advantage of the housing market bust a few years earlier. If asked, he’d have to admit that surrounding himself with color stemmed from his childhood, when everything was a grungy gray or dirty brown.
“Oh my God, your coffee table is awesome,” Madison said, letting go of his hand.
He stood back, watching as she circled the table, sliding her fingers across the wood. When he’d seen the piece in a local artist’s gallery, he’d known he had to have it. It was a large piece of a door that had been salvaged from a shipwreck. One end was squared off, but the other was jagged where the top of the door had broken off.
The wood had been stained mustard yellow, and carved around the edges were different animals about two inches in size, each painted a different color. It made him feel happy whenever he looked at it.
She moved to the middle of the room and made a slow circle, and he followed her gaze, trying to see everything from her eyes. Cathedral ceilings rose to an impressive height in the large great room. Opposite the sliding glass doors to the balcony was a dining area, for which he’d yet to find the perfect table and chairs. Stainless steel appliances gleamed in the kitchen, and the granite countertops the store had called Stormy Night were the same colors as in the painting.
“Wow,” she said after completing her circle. “This isn’t at all what I expected your place to look like.”
“No?” He got that a lot the first time someone saw his home. More than with any of the others, though, he was pleased that he’d surprised her.
“This is amazing.” She moved toward him until there was only an inch separating their bodies. “I’d pegged you for all black and chrome. Dark and dangerous like you.”
“You think I’m dangerous?”
“To me, yeah.”
He let his gaze roam over her body, down to the swell of her breasts peeking over the green top, across her flat stomach to the white jeans covering her long legs, and when he reached her perfect little toes, he made his way back up. She wasn’t model beautiful, but she took his breath away.
“Maybe you should run from me, little girl.” And for reasons she couldn’t begin to guess at.
A sly smile formed on her face. “Will you chase me if I do?”
“To the ends of the earth.” Her eyes widened at that, and he couldn’t help but smirk. “You think I won’t?”
“I think you excite me and scare me at the same time. You aren’t like any man I’ve been with before, and I’m not sure what to do with you.” She lifted her hand and scraped her palm across his cheek. “Tell me, Alex, what do you want from me?”
There were so many answers to the question she kept asking. He wanted to claim her body, marking it so no other man would ever touch her. He wanted to lose himself in her goodness, hoping some of it would rub off on him. He wanted to tell her who he really was so that they weren’t starting off whatever it was between them based on a bed of lies.
He put his hand over hers, leaning into her touch, and gave her the only answer he could. “I want to know Madison Parker. There’s a saying in the biker world. It isn’t the destination, but the journey. Take a journey with me, Mad.” She pulled her hand away, and he felt the loss of her warmth.
“You have a way of never answering my questions, yet still making me want to agree to anything you ask of me.” She stepped back. “Am I stupid for wanting to be with you?”
Disappointment laced her voice, and he had to grit his teeth to keep from telling her everything. “You have questions you want answered? Fine. Let’s get that over with.” He took her hand and pulled her out onto the balcony. He knew he was being an ass, but there had only been two women in his life that mattered, and one had left without a backward glance. The other one now stood against the railing with her back to him as she looked out over the ocean. She wasn’t happy with him, and he couldn’t blame her.
He rubbed his fingers over his eyelids. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d gone years without thinking of his mother, but since meeting Madison, he’d thought of her to the point where he had searched the Internet, looking for her trail. The only thing that had kept him from using his FBI resources to look for her was Nate finding out, and he would. For whatever reason, his big brother refused to even consider searching for their mother.
If he could just figure out how Madison and his mother connected in his mind, maybe he could stop being a jerk. Your mother left because she had enough of you three snot-nosed boys. Look at the three of you. What woman would want you?
Hearing his father’s voice in his head, Alex wondered if he was losing his mind. Was that his fear? That his father was right, and he could never be a man a woman could love? To hell with that.
“Mad,” he said, coming to stand next to her. “Ask me your questions.”
Troubled green eyes snared his. “I think my cousin is a drug dealer. Do you know if that’s true, and if it is, are you involved?”
Hell. Of course she would ask the one question he couldn’t give an honest answer to. “What makes you think something like that?”
She eyed him before turning her gaze back to the ocean. “That’s an evasion tactic, you know. Answering a question with a question.”
It was. He put his hands on the railing, staring down at them. Because of his martial arts training, they were hands that could kill. As a boy, he had carried buckets of slop almost as heavy as his skinny body, the handle of the pail leaving indentations for hours after he’d finished his chores. His right pinky was slightly bent from the time his enraged father had broken it, leaving it to set on its own.
They were hands that longed to roam over the soft skin of the woman standing next to him, who was waiting for an answer, and if he didn’t tell her something as close to the truth as possible, that would never happen.
He shifted to face her, leaning his hip against the rail. “I don’t do drugs. Ever. Nor do I deal. I can’t speak for your cousin.”
“So why are you friends with him? That night after the birthday party, where did you go with Ramon and Trina?”
She sounded like she had something sour in her mouth when she said Trina’s name. If he’d known there was a party and that Madison was there, he would have waited downstairs for Ramon. It would have saved him from having to lie to her, but as he stared into the green eyes that had captured his attention from the moment he’d seen her, he couldn’t do it.
“We went to his friend’s place. I only went along because he asked me to, and I didn’t know Trina was tagging along until it was time to go.” He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face toward his so she could see the truth in his eyes. “I have zero interest in Trina, and that’s the honest truth.”
“She’s a man-eater.” A slight smile appeared. “I know that’s catty, but it’s information you should know.”
“I already had that figured out.” He put his arm around her shoulder, leading her to the deck chairs. On a table between them was a bottle of wine and two glasses. He filled them, handing one to her.
“This is really nice. I have to tell you that I envy your view.”
The view was great, but he only wanted to look at her. “Where’d you go to high school?” He truly wanted to know everything about her, but he also wanted to get her talking about anything other than her cousin.
“Miami High. You?”
“Forest High in Ocala. That’s where I grew up.”
As they talked, asking questions of each other, he relaxed and enjoyed having her with him. She was a bookworm, and when it came up again that he liked the J. D. Robb romance books, she made him promise to read a romance of her choosing.
“What have I gotten myself into? You’re not going to make me read Fifty Shades, are you?” he asked, teasing her.
She laughed, surprising him when she crawled onto his lap. “Maybe instead of making you read it, I’ll do a show-and-tell.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Three days had passed since Madison had last seen Alex, but he’d texted often and called her each night from his bar. She supposed that was one negative about seeing a bar owner. Their hours weren’t conducive to dating like normal people.
Although she’d known him for almost two months now, kissed him in her bedroom, and had an intense make-out session with him on his balcony, she still wasn’t sure what they were to each other. She didn’t feel she had the right to call him her boyfriend, but she’d sure like to.
She had thought it strange that he was the one who’d put the brakes on going any further than kissing and having their hands all over each other. Wasn’t it usually the guy who pushed to have sex? She had been perfectly willing, but he’d said they needed to get to know each other better first. The man was a puzzle.
The feeling that he was hiding things from her was also nagging her. Sure, he’d answered her questions, but they’d been vanilla answers, no depth to them. She was pretty sure there was more to him than he was willing to share. Even though she believed him when he said he didn’t do drugs or deal them, he’d never exactly explained why he was hanging out with Ramon.
For that reason, she was determined not to fall for him. She dreamed of falling in love and getting married, but Alex wasn’t husband material. So she viewed him as a man to have fun with, someone she could step out of her comfort zone and go a little wild with. When they grew bored with each other, they could walk away without any drama between them. She’d never dated a man as dangerous or edgy as Alex seemed to be, and it was exciting. All she had to do to keep from getting burned was to erect a firewall between them.
She glanced at the clock to see it was near midnight, the time Alex usually called, claiming the last thing he wanted her to hear before she closed her eyes was his voice. The man seriously melted her bones when he said things like that.
Right on time, her phone buzzed. “Hey,” she said. She could hear music playing and loud voices in the background.
“Hold on a sec.” She heard a door close, and the background noise faded. “There, that’s better.”
“Are you in the office?” That was where he usually went to call her.
“Yeah. Are you in bed?”
She squeezed her thighs together, amazed at how he could make her feel when he lowered his voice, all soft and intimate. “I am. Busy there tonight?” That reminded her of what she was supposed to ask him. Lauren had asked her a dozen times when they could go to Aces & Eights.
“Very. Missing you, though. You have any plans for Sunday?”
She was missing him, too, and the three days since she’d seen him seemed like forever. “I was going to see if my mom wanted to have lunch and go shopping.”
“That’s too bad. We’re closed on Sundays, and I was going to ask if you wanted to spend the day with me.”
“Then ask.” He chuckled, and even through the phone line, the sound sent tingles of pleasure dancing through her.
“All right. Madison, would you like to spend the day with me?”
“Can I make a trade with you?”
“Uh-oh. Why do I have the feeling I won’t like whatever you’re going to say next?”
The man was too perceptive. “Because you probably won’t. My roommate’s driving me crazy. She wants to go to Aces and Eights, said if you don’t take us there, we’ll just show up one night.”
“Okay.”
Huh? Just like that? “Really?”
“Really. But it will be at a time of my choosing. There’re certain nights that belong to biker gangs, and I’ll give up spending time with you every Sunday of the year to keep you away from them. So yeah, as long as I can control when you come, I’ll make it happen.”
“Thank you. Lauren’s the one pushing for this, but I won’t deny that I’m curious to see your bar.” She was just as curious to meet his brothers, but she left that unsaid.
“So the trade’s been made. I’ll pick you up at eleven on Sunday. If the weather’s nice, you want us to take the bike?”
“Definitely.”
“Right answer. Sweet dreams, my sweet Mad.”
“Hot dreams, my dangerous man.”
“When they’re about you, they’re always hot. Counting the minutes.”
Madison stared at the phone in her hands, wishing she could crawl through the screen and land on the other side, right on top of Alex. The man had her seriously bothered, and she reached for the vibrator she’d recently named Alex.
For her Sunday date with Alex—and since it was a beautiful Florida day, meaning he would pick her up on his bike—she put on the black jeans and bright yellow T-shirt she’d bought the day before at the local Harley-Davidson store. Across the front of the shirt it read, “Wrap your legs around this.” Underneath was a picture of a Harley. She’d been tempted to take a marker and X out the word this, writing in Alex instead, but that was too obvious.
She’d also bought a pair of black biker boots, since she hoped to be taking more rides with him. The helmet he’d given her to wear had been a little too big, so she’d bought her own. A small black leather purse with a chrome buckle that clipped onto her belt loops had been a must-have, perfect for holding her wallet, hairbrush, and lipstick. Her last purchase had been what the salesgirl called a do-rag—black with red roses—to wear on her head, which would hopefully help keep her hair from tangling. So what if her credit card had taken a hit. She rarely splurged, and her card wasn’t even close to being maxed out.
With her hair hanging in one long braid down her back, and her boots, T-shirt, clip-on purse, and do-rag on, she went to Lauren’s room. “Whatcha think?” She turned in a circle.
Sitting on her bed with a cup of coffee, Lauren eyed her up and down. “Damn, girl. You are one hot biker chick.”
Madison grinned. “Cool. My old man will be here any minute, so catch ya later. May the wind always be in your face and the bugs out of your teeth.”
“God help me, tell me you didn’t just say all that.”
They looked at each other, then burst out laughing. The doorbell rang, and Madison blew her roommate a kiss before clunking down the stairs in her biker boots. She grabbed her new helmet from the foyer table.
When she opened the door, Alex pushed his sunglasses down his nose and stared at her over the rims. “Someone’s been shopping. Nice. Very nice.” He grinned. “Particularly like the shirt.”
“I bet you do.” She walked past him, and he caught the back of her jeans, pulling her to a stop.
“We’re not going anywhere before you give me a kiss.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “No. You’re going to have to earn your kiss.” To her, he’d always had a dangerous edge, yet oddly, she was able to say things to him she would never dream of saying to another man. It was liberating.
His eyes darkened as they captured hers. “You like playing with fire, don’t you?”
“I’m beginning to think I do.” She walked to the back of his bike. “You just gonna stand there all day, staring at me?”
Today, instead of black leathers, he wore jeans and a plain black T-shirt. On his right wrist were three thin black leather bands. Was there a man on earth any hotter than Alex Gentry? She doubted it. Her mouth didn’t know whether to go bone dry or to drool like a baby.
The man smirked. “You just gonna stand there and eat me up with your eyes?” He sauntered over and put his mouth close to her ear. “Anytime you want to eat me up, say the word and I’m all yours.”
Heart. Beat. Gone. Wild. Calling on her newfound liberation, she grabbed his ass . . . jeez, the man even had muscles there. “Word.”
“Madison, I warned you once about playing with fire.” Before she could respond, he blatantly adjusted his jeans while holding her gaze, then s
lammed his helmet onto his head. “Get on,” he said, swinging a leg over the seat.
Just scoop her up from where she’d melted into a puddle on a hot sidewalk in South Miami Beach. His last two words had sounded angry, but she got that the sexual tension vibrating between them was making them both testy, which only spiked her newly discovered inner devil.
“The bike?” Did he just growl? She swallowed a grin as she buckled her helmet under her chin. After she climbed on behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and slid the fingers of both hands under the waistband of his jeans. “Show me what this baby can do.”
He squeezed the hands she had halfway down his pants. “Hold tight.”
That was her intention. After a glance up and down the street, he pulled out, and as they headed down the road, she leaned against his back. Although she was curious about what he had planned for today, she hadn’t asked, preferring to be surprised.
Alex hadn’t forgotten Madison’s request to teach her to defend herself, and his first stop of the day was at his friend’s gym. After parking and locking the bike, he took her hand. “Ready to learn how to fend off a man?”
“Really?” She did a little dance step. “This is awesome. I thought you’d forgotten.”
“I don’t forget a word you say, Mad. Remember that.” His friend Rock was in the ring with one of his students, and Alex gave him a two-finger salute as he led Madison to the private room he’d reserved for the next hour. He didn’t miss the blatant admiring looks the other men—most of whom he knew—gave her. It pleased him that she was oblivious to their stares. Instead, she was all wide-eyed as she watched Rock and Blake boxing.
“I’ve never been in a men’s gym before,” she whispered.
“Glad to hear it.” After they entered the private room, the floor covered with mats, he closed the door. “You’ll need to take off your boots.” He removed his, discretely dropping the gun he had strapped to his ankle into his boot before moving to the middle of a mat. “Come at me.” When she hesitated, he said, “Pretend I’m Ramon.”