by Cathryn Fox
He inched back. “And you’re wrong, when we’ve eaten together many times growing up. And just last night we shared a pizza.”
Trying not to sound as breathless as she felt, she said, “It’s not the same.”
He pushed her hair back and his nostrils flared as he put his nose near her neck and breathed her in. “I like it when you smell like me.”
“It’s your deodorant,” she explained. “I didn’t have any yesterday so I used yours.”
He angled his head, like he was processing that, then said, “It’s more than that. I’m all over you.”
Oh, God how I want him all over me again!
Maybe she should go for it. Maybe she should have sex with him again. But then another thought hit. Last night was wild, crazy, and uninhibited because they’d both thought it was a dream. If she said yes to this, would Brad slow things down? She always took him for a guy who’d want to take his time to strip his woman bare and leave the lights on so he could look at inch of her body.
Before she could speak he said, “You’re right, though.”
“I’m right?”
“About the pizza and the meals we shared when we were young. Let me take you on a date tonight. A proper date at a nice restaurant, with a proper ending.”
Oh God…
“A proper ending?”
He gave her a sheepish look as he placed his big hand over her stomach and splayed his fingers. “Yeah, you at least have to give me a chance to do this right.”
Her pulse leapt thinking about the way he’d touched her, the way he’d buried his face in her pussy and licked her until she came. “You mean you did it wrong?”
He laughed. “Well sort of. I thought I was dreaming, so last night was kind of all about me. All about what I wanted.” Intense blue eye full of heat and promise locked on hers. “I want to make sure you get what you want to.”
“Oh, believe me, I did,” she blurted out without thinking.
He grinned. “That’s good to hear. But still, I want to take my time with you. I want to see every inch of you, kiss every inch of you.”
As she thought about him taking his time with her, seeing and kissing every inch of her, her body tightened with unease. “Brad, I don’t know—”
“I do.” He grinned. “What’s the harm in two friends having a little fun?”
Her mind raced. She knew Brad was a one-night kind of guy and wasn’t into relationships, not anymore, so what was he really asking of her. One more time. Two? Ten?
She wasn’t sure, but it did beg the question, what did she want out of this? Well, she knew what she wanted but it wasn’t like Brad wanted a long-term relationship with her. Honestly, he hadn’t even noticed her before seeing her dressed in her tight work clothes that made her look sexy, confident…brazen. Like the kind of woman he gravitated toward. Clearly, that was the girl he wanted, considering he’d never shown interest before that. Despite the fact that she wanted long term, there was no way she could present Made-Up Madison forever. Eventually the real Madison would show through—the Madison who went without makeup and wore a bite plate, glasses and baggy, unflattering clothes—the Madison who would undoubtedly send Brad running for the hills because underneath the façade she was so not his type.
“What exactly are you asking me? To have sex with you again tonight?”
As if privy to her innermost thoughts, he said, “Yes, and every night for the rest of the month.”
“One month?”
“I ship out in one month, so until then, why don’t we just have some fun together?”
As she took a moment to chew on that, it occurred to her that she could do Made-Up Madison for thirty days. She could pretend to be something she wasn’t for one month, and then when the fun ended and he shipped out, behind closed doors she could let her hair down and go back to being herself. After all, this was a once in a lifetime offer and she’d be a fool to turn it down, right?
“So what do you say, Madison. Do you want to spend the next thirty days having sex with me?”
Chapter Five
“What the hell is going on between you and Brad?” Sophie asked in a hushed voice, her blonde brows furrowing as she hip-checked the cash register door to slam it shut.
After restocking the muffin tray, Madison quietly slid the glass panel closed, her stomach in turmoil as her best friend relentlessly grilled her. Buying herself a bit of time, Madison waited for the customer at the counter to step away and find a seat before she turned to her friend.
She ran her hands over her apron, lowered her voice and whispered, “I told you. He’s going to stay in Jonah’s room for the next month while Jonah is away. That way he can work on the repairs around here without having to travel back and forth so much.” Rambling on, she waved her hands toward the ceiling, to where there were water stains. “There was a lot of damage done because of the flood. We’re actually lucky to be open after yesterday’s fiasco. If it wasn’t for Brad getting the pipes and coil fixed, there is no way I could be up and running.”
Brad…
God, just saying his name out loud, not to mention the fact that he’d be sleeping in the room next to hers for thirty glorious days, had heat moving through her body and her cheeks flushing from want.
Sophie hastily peeled off her latex gloves and set them next to the cash register. When she turned back to face Madison, she shot her a challenging look, the narrowing of her big brown eyes a clear indication that she knew Madison was hedging the truth and she wasn’t one bit pleased about it.
“Yeah, I know what you told me, but did you forget how well I know you and how easy you are to read?” She crooked her index finger and held her ground. “So spill.”
Madison glanced around, and from the curious looks on a few customers’ faces, she had no doubt they overhead Sophie’s comment. Working to keep the telltale grin from her face, and knowing this was neither the time nor place to be talking about her sex life she began, “Sophie—”
Sophie cut her off and widened her stance. “Go sell that crap to someone else. Jesus, Madison. Something is going on between you two. I can feel it.” She waved her hand toward the patrons chatting quietly amongst themselves in the small bakery. “Hell, everyone in this place can feel it.”
As Madison watched the lunch crowd drink coffee and eat pastries, she decided to keep Sophie dangling a little longer. She blinked innocently. “Feel what?”
Sophie waved her hand between Madison and the staircase that Brad had taken moments ago, a duffle bag and tool box in hand as he prepared to settle himself in for the next month. “The tension between you two.”
Knowing she could never keep anything from her friend, especially one who was training to be a psychologist, Madison moved toward the kitchen area at the back of the bakery, out of sight of the patrons. She took the cakes out of the fridge and filled a decorating pen with icing as Sophie continued to glare at her.
“Look,” Madison said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sophie exhaled a frustrated breath. “Every time he walks by, your body sparks and you look like you’re going to go off like one of the Fourth of July fireworks.”
“Speaking of the Fourth, I really need to get working on those cupcakes for the band.”
“Madison, tell me!”
“Okay, fine.” Madison was ready to explode from the excitement bubbling up inside her. “If you really must know.”
“Of course I must know,” she blurted out.
Madison laughed and put her finger to her lips. “Shh.” She glanced over Sophie’s shoulder to make sure none of the customers were listening, then lowered her voice and said, “We had sex.”
Sophie’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She blinked twice then a third time. “Holy shit, Madison. I knew it. I knew something was going on. When…how?”
“As for when, it was last night. As for how, well, you should remember the how from Mr. Pincher’s health class.”
Sophie lau
ghed. “Believe me I know how, but what I want to know is how it happened between you two. I’m mean, come on.” She paused and shrugged her shoulders. “I knew you always liked him, but he always treated you like his kid brother’s friend.”
“Well, to be honest, it was kind of an accident.”
“An accident?” Sophie scoffed. “What, did he fall on top of you and his penis accidently slid in or something?”
Madison grinned and then felt herself warm all over when she remembered their collision in the bathroom. Her mind momentarily drifted, reliving the feel of his strong, calloused hands on her back, holding her tight as she squirmed on top of him. She swallowed, her skin tightening all over, the hairs on her arms standing on end, charging with enough volatile electricity to run her bake ovens for days on end.
“There you go again,” Sophie said. “You’re giving off sparks. Keep it up and you’re going to set this place on fire.”
“I just… I can’t…”
“What you can’t do is stop grinning.”
“I know I should, but I really can’t make myself stop.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “It was, oh God, it was amazing.”
“Oh, believe me I can tell,” Sophie said. “But what I want to know is how this accident happened?”
Madison quickly relayed the details, telling her friend about their sleeping arrangements, the cold medications, the beer Brad had chased the pills with, and how he’d become disoriented and accidently crawled into his bed.
Sophie threw her hands up in the air. “Now why can’t I ever have an accident like that? Mine usually involve fiberglass casts and broken bones.” Her eyes sparkled. “Speaking of bones…”
“Sophie,” Madison admonished with a laugh, not about to give away too many details.
“Fine.” She exhaled slowly and continued to probe. “At least tell me what happened after you both woke up and realized it wasn’t a dream?”
“We were mortified at first, naturally, but after we talked about it, we decided that for the next month, we’d continue to have sex.” Madison shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
“From the color in your cheeks, I’m guessing it was a big deal.”
Madison couldn’t help but laugh, because Sophie was right, it was a big deal, in more ways than one.
Sophie curled up one lip and planted her hands on her hips. “But why only one month? Why not until…whatever. Why the time limit? Does his dick turn into a pumpkin after thirty days or something? ”
“Because,” Madison began, “he’s joining a convoy next month, and well…” She let her words fall off, not wanting to talk about the real reason she couldn’t go past one month. But when Sophie frowned, Madison knew she could never keep anything from her friend, and it had nothing to do with the psychology degree Sophie was working on either. It was because back in the day, Sophie had always used a tender hand to dry the tears when the bullies struck. And Jonah, well, Jonah never used a gentle hand when he stood up for her.
“Madison, come on,” Sophie said. “You’re beautiful. Any guy would want you.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but we’re going on a date tonight,” she said, hoping to change the subject.
“A date huh? Where is he taking you?”
“Beats me. It could be Chuck E. Cheese’s for all I know.”
“I somehow doubt it. He strikes me as a guy who knows how to take care of his woman.”
Unable to wipe the silly grin off her face, Madison smiled, remembering all the delicious way he’d taken care of her last night.
Sophie pursed her lips and glanced at Madison’s work clothes. “What are you going to wear?”
Madison quickly sobered and bit the inside of her cheek. When she wasn’t in comfy clothes, she was in business suits, which hardly seemed suitable for a date with Brad, especially if they did end up at Chuck E. Cheese. “I was thinking maybe you’d help me with that. Brad dates certain types of women and for the next month I’ll need…”
Sophie’s eyes lit. “I know exactly what you need. There’s a nice boutique that opened just around the corner. Let’s hit it after the lunch crowd dies down and find some clothes to showcase that gorgeous body of yours.”
A wave of unease moved through her, Brad’s words coming back to haunt her.
I want to take my time with you. I want to see you.
As if sensing her sudden distress, Sophie said. “He wouldn’t have slept with you if he didn’t like you, Madison.”
“I told you it was an accident.”
“Maybe so, but why do you think he wants to do it again…and again?”
Because she was wild, wanton, uninhibited in bed…like the women he was used to. And surely to God, for one month, she could continue to be that woman. As long as she managed to keep him from turning on the lights when they were between the sheets. Otherwise he might just see the real Madison.
The bell over the door jangled, and Madison was thankful for the distraction. She didn’t need another lecture on self-confidence from her friend. Lord knows she’d had enough of them over the years, and they did little to help her with her body image issues.
Madison gestured toward the front of the bakery. “You better get out there; you have a customer.”
“Fine, I’m going, but let me ask. Why do you think he’s sleeping with you?”
“I don’t know. Because he likes sex?”
Sophie pointed a finger at her. “Well, of course he likes sex, he’s a man. But he wants it with you, and you know why? It’s because he likes you.”
What he liked was the carefree woman she was in her sleep, one without issues or hang-ups, but she didn’t want to get into that with Sophie.
“And you never know, maybe sleeping together could lead to something more.”
“This is just sex, Sophie. Just for one month.” Madison knew better than to hope for more. Brad had never gotten over his ex’s betrayal. It had left him bitter and resentful, unwilling to put himself out there again. Since the breakup, he went from woman to woman, bed to bed, and Madison, well, she could never be the kind of girl he was really attracted to and gravitated toward, at least not for more than thirty days.
Sophie shrugged. “I know this couple who started sleeping…”
Sophie’s voice fell off at the sound of Brad’s heavy boots hitting the bottom step. Their conversation died an abrupt death when they both turned to see him coming their way. As if sensing he was interrupting them, his glance tennis balled between the two of them.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, Sophie was just about to head back to the counter and I’m getting ready to decorate these cakes.”
Brad nodded, then focused on Madison, his eyes serious. “Do you have a second?”
“Yeah, why, what’s up?”
As soon as the question left her mouth, Sophie snickered, and asked, “Yeah, what’s up, Brad?” Jesus, Madison was going to kill her friend when she got her alone.
He gestured overhead. “There’s something I want to show you.”
“I just bet there is,” Sophie whispered before disappearing down the hall.
Holy Christ!
Brad took one look at Madison and damn near swallowed his tongue. He hadn’t seen her since earlier that afternoon, when he’d taken her upstairs to point out all the pipes in need of repair, and what he was seeing now rocked his world and completely threw him off kilter.
Standing outside Jonah’s room, Brad leaned against the doorjamb and drove his hands into his pockets as she exited her bedroom. With a strange, almost apprehensive look on her face, she took a tentative step toward him, her palms flitting nervously over the black dress that accentuated her curves and had his cock rising to the occasion. Since she usually walked around in baggy clothes that hid her beautiful body, yet still inspired his imagination, it surprised him to see her in something so sexy, so revealing. Something that aroused his hunger and brought out another emotion in him, one he never wanted to
feel again.
Jealousy.
He drove his hands deeper into his pockets in an attempt to shift his cock and wrestle it into submission, but when he caught her sweet cherry scent his efforts proved futile. What the hell was it about her in that dress that had him wanting to keep her here in the apartment, in his bed, so no other man could look at her? Early that morning, while lying in bed, they’d set the ground rules for this fling. Thirty days of sex, and nothing else. He’d be wise to remember that and keep all his other emotions in check because he wasn’t looking for anything more. With the way Madison had readily agreed to the terms, it was clear that she wasn’t either.
But goddammit, she was smoking hot.
Brad swallowed the saliva pooling on his tongue as he stared at her, but there was nothing he could do to stifle the moan crawling out of his throat or keep himself from murmuring, “Jesus…”
“What?” she asked, inching backward, obviously mistaking his shock for something else. “Am I overdressed? Should I get changed?” She made a move to turn, mumbling something about Chuck E. Cheese and the dress being Sophie’s idea.
“No, wait.” He hurried out when he caught the distress in her voice. He took two measured steps toward her and grabbed her wrist to prevent her from fleeing. “It’s just…I’m not used to seeing…” He let his words drift away and exhaled slowly before saying, “You look beautiful.”
She gave him an odd look, dark lashes blinking quickly over big brown eyes, then she relaxed a bit and nodded. “So do you.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked, looking at his shirt, tie and black dress pants. “No one has ever called me beautiful before.” Still holding her hand, he rubbed his thumb over the inside of her wrist, gave her a wink and added, “Rugged, handsome and adorable for sure, and I’ve even heard sex god tossed around a time or two, but never beautiful.”