Wanting It All: A Naked Men Novel

by Christi Barth

  “For a good time?”

  Riley snorted. “That’s what all of Knox’s dates say at the start. Pretty sure he prints it on his business card. Or maybe it’s just written under his phone number on a couple dozen bathroom stalls.”

  Enough. Enough of other people clogging up the conversation worse than the gridlock on 95 at rush hour. Enough of them staring at him and Madison like they were a pair of zoo animals.

  “Come out here.” He nudged at the small of her back to guide her to the seats on the other side of the Plexiglas. Out here all the noise of the field was amplified, but it was better than having his friends breathing down their necks. “Madison, I thought we, uh, sort of broke up?”

  “I never said that. You never said that. For a scientific guy, you sure canoed out of Factland all the way over into Lake Assumption.”

  Good point. Knox would lay out the facts. With correct terminology. “Okay, you’re right. Not a breakup. But a break. To figure things out. So I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” He figured they’d both take some time, regroup. In his experience, women didn’t get over a fight quickly. If at all. In fact, the handful of relationships he’d had that lasted more than a week—okay, still less than a month, but they counted—each time a simple argument had ended things. He’d never come back from a fight with a woman before. Didn’t know it was possible.

  “There’s nothing to figure out. Especially not by someone as bright as you.”

  He felt about as bright as a firefly. Yeah, they’d talked since their last date. It’d been weird, though. Because the whole time Knox worried Madison was mentally measuring him for a tux and cummerbund. Nothing had changed. He’d keep trying to get her pants off. She’d keep trying to put a wedding veil on.

  “But we had a big fight.”

  All that got out of her was a blink. And then another. “So what?”

  This woman frustrated him, infuriated him. Challenged him. It was the most fun he’d ever had with the opposite sex…with clothes on anyway. “You fight…and it’s over. Done. Splitsville.”

  “You fight, you clear the air, and you get on with it. Geez, I can’t believe you actually talk about relationships on that podcast of yours.” Madison went up on tiptoe to give him a patronizing pat on the head. “What’s your longest relationship?”

  “In hours?”

  “That short, huh? Doesn’t surprise me.”

  “It’s by choice, you know,” he snapped. “I get what I want out of my time with a woman, be it three hours or three days, and then I get bored. Get the urge to try something else.”

  “Are you bored now?”

  Hell the fuck no. Madison’s hunger for trying everything, wanting everything the world had for her to discover, resonated with him. Her earthy sexiness rang his bell. And her ability to punch through his defenses amused and intrigued him.

  But her marriage-mania freaked him the fuck out. So Knox crossed his arms and stared across the field. “I haven’t decided yet.”

  “That’s a no, then,” she said with a jab of her elbow into his biceps. “Don’t try to play coy, Knox. That only works when women do it.”

  “What do you want from me?” he burst out. Knox tore off his cap in frustration and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to be the good guy here. Be totally up front. Mature. You want a proposal. I don’t. Period.”

  “Knox, honey, take a breath.” Madison framed her face with her palms. “There’s a happy medium between a three-night hookup and marriage. It’s called dating. People smooch, they occasionally fight, which usually leads to seriously hot makeup sex, and then they do it all over again. That’s what I want.”

  Odd how easy and normal she made it sound. Appealing, even. Except for the fact that Knox knew her endgame. Impossible not to lean into her touch, though. “Then they either get married or break up.”

  “Yeah, and everyone’s going to die eventually, too. Maybe you get beaned with a fly ball tonight and keel over. Maybe you hang in there for another fifty years. It doesn’t mean the days until then can’t be jam-packed with goodness.”

  Huh. Dating as a way to fill the space between hookups. It didn’t commit him to anything. It just stretched out the enjoyment. Like watching the extended director’s cut of a movie. Which he loved doing. All those extra minutes were a fun addition to a story.

  It was a new approach for Knox. One that he was well aware many people bought into. Maybe it was worth at least trying. The escape hatch of his nakedly honest vow to not stick around would always be there. Nothing said he had to use it after a week or it’d lock down forever.

  Wait. Just…wait. His willingness to try something new was borne out of his scientific curiosity. Nevertheless, a separate yet connected fact remained unchanged. “You still want to get married, though.”

  “Yes.” As Knox opened his mouth to launch into all the ways that didn’t work for him, Madison shushed him with a finger to his lips. “Not tomorrow. Not next month. Not right after the next time we have sex. And, as long as we’re being all aboveboard and cards on the table, maybe not to you at all.”

  He snapped his teeth. Madison pulled back with a laughing squeal. “Is that insult supposed to make me feel better?” he growled.

  “It’s just another factoid for you to consider.”

  Oddly enough, the insult did make him feel better. Even while still stinging. Knox felt he at least deserved to be a contender. Stumped him, too. Because according to several newspaper articles, Knox Davies was the dating hat trick—smart, sexy, and wealthy. If that wasn’t enough to impress Madison, what the hell would?

  To make sure there was absolutely no room for drama down the road, Knox had to lay it out one more time. “How about I remind you of a factoid?”

  “Bring it.”

  Just like on the boat, sparring with her turned him on. Weird how that worked. “I’ve been clear, haven’t I? That I don’t want to yoke myself to a single woman? Ever?”

  Madison laughed. “Oh, yes.” She laughed so hard that she put an arm across her stomach for support. She laughed so hard that she dropped into the leather stadium seat. “Clear doesn’t begin to describe how you’ve hammered that into my noggin.”

  So…he still found her super hot. Interesting. Fun. And despite her death march toward marriage, Madison basically gave him the green light to be with her, knowing he had no intention of committing. Talk about having your cake, getting double ice cream on top, and then eating it, too.

  “Okay, then.” If they were going to give this dating thing a try, he’d get a jump start on cashing in on one of the perks. Knox leaned down for a kiss.

  “Not so fast.” Madison put her sneakers on his knees to keep him away. “I’ve got a deal breaker to throw at you.”

  How bad could it be after the last curveball she’d thrown him? “Marriage was the ultimate deal breaker. Anything else’ll be small potatoes.”

  But the teasing glint had vanished from her golden brown eyes. She dropped her feet to the concrete and wrapped her hands around her knees. “Can you handle scaling back to one woman at a time?” Madison asked. Her question had none of her usual straightforward bravado.

  “Yeah.” Looking at the open and vulnerable pout to her mouth, Knox realized she needed more. Deserved more from him. “Madison Abbott, you are one hell of a challenge. I couldn’t juggle another woman on top of you if I wanted to. Which I don’t.”

  In a blink, her confidence surged back. Madison gave a sassy head toss that sent her hair tumbling down her chest. Not that he needed the extra incentive to look there. “Then we’re good.”

  Knox started to lean in for a kiss again. This time the sound of clapping froze him midbend.

  Just behind them, Chloe had her head poked around the doorway. Actually, most of her body stuck through sideways. Griffin kept her upright with a hand in the waistband of her shorts. “I knew you guys would make up.”

  “We weren’t fighting.” Knox didn’t know what to call what they’d
gone through. He was just glad it was over. And that it was time to move on to the kissing. Maybe even the hot makeup sex she’d promised him, once the Nats cleaned up on the field.

  Standing, Madison said, “We were measuring each other’s stubbornness.”

  Yeah. That sounded about right.

  Chloe came out the rest of the way, dragging Griff with her. “Well, whatever turns you on.”

  “Can we all come out now?” Josh hovered in the doorway. “It’s almost time for them to announce the starting lineup. You know the Nats can’t win if I don’t clap for every player.”

  Ry shoved him out. “How the hell do you think they win the nights you don’t show up?”

  “It’s a mystery, isn’t it?”

  You didn’t rise through the ranks of the NTSB without being a stickler for facts and provable science. Boringly insistent on them, in fact. Ry had never seen a rabbit’s foot keychain without lecturing the owner on how they’d been taken in by a con. With his usual lack of patience and outright disdain for anything approaching skullduggery, hocus pocus, or even mild finger-crossing, Riley flipped him a middle finger. “You don’t go through this superstitious shit when we go to D.C. United games.”

  “Please.” Josh beat his fists against his chest and proclaimed loudly, “We’re the mighty, miraculous ACSs. When it comes to soccer, our mere presence is enough to bring on a win.”

  Shit. He’d used his outdoor voice. Normally okay in a crowded stadium. Not, however, when you were trying to fly under the radar regarding a certain newsworthy episode in their past. Especially when almost all of you were gathered together in a perfect photo op.

  Not caring at all if Riley mocked him, Knox crossed his fingers. Hoped that nobody in the seats around them had heard Josh. Or if they had heard, that they didn’t remember the ACSs.

  Riley scowled. “Hardwick, you’re an idiot. Why not borrow a megaphone and tell the whole stadium we’re here?”

  Pale beneath his tan, Josh realized what he’d done. “God, it just slipped out. I got up at four-thirty this morning to snag some fresh corn and tomatoes for my grilled gazpacho melt special. My brain’s on fumes. Sorry.”

  Griffin gave a nod to Josh’s apology. Then looked at Knox. Who looked at Riley.

  Madison tugged at his arm. “What’s going on?”

  “Maybe nothing.” But below, heads were turning. Hands were waving. And then the chanting started. Started out low. Just a couple dozen people saying, “ACS, ACS, ACS.” More people joined in. Who knew if it was just lemming mentality or people who remembered? Either way, it was on both sides of their box now.

  Then the Jumbotron picture changed from the visiting team dugout to a close-up of all of them. Josh, cap in hand, looking chagrined. Griff in front of Chloe, blocking her. Ry with a beer halfway to his mouth. And there Knox stood, not looking at himself but at the confused blonde on his arm.

  “Madison, I need to tell you a story.”

  Chapter 11

  People were waving. Chanting. Not at the players, who weren’t even on the field yet, but at her new friends. Madison didn’t understand it. Because nobody looked happy. Knox—he who stripped down in the middle of a national park—certainly wasn’t shy. She’d seen all of their faces on a bus stop on the way here, promoting the Naked Men podcast. Not just faces, come to think of it. They’d all worn button-down shirts spread wide by their hands to show off four of the best chests she’d ever seen. So clearly his friends weren’t shy either.

  The chanting picked up. Madison had no idea what ACS meant. The letters sure stunned all of them into a giant lack of action, though. Oh, for God’s sake. Clearly the crowd wouldn’t stop until they got something. She grabbed Knox by the collar. Nope, that wouldn’t be big enough. Madison put one foot on the seat to give her a hopping-off point to latch her legs around Knox’s waist. He caught her with an audible oomph. Quickly followed by a mumbled “What the hell?”

  And then she basically sucked his tonsils out, she kissed him so deeply. Finesse wasn’t the name of the game. The whole point was to put on a show. She kept her eyes open to catch the other guys fading back into the suite. That was part one.

  Madison changed her angle of attack so that she could see the Jumbotron. Yup, they were still on it. So she threw herself more into it. Circled her hips against his. Tossed her head back to push her boobs right up in Knox’s face. Not to mention his hands clamped on her ass, holding her in place.

  That did it. With their display being far from family-friendly, the giant image shifted to another part of the stadium. The chanting died down. Then Knox took control of the kiss. The over-the-top passion she’d been trying to project turned real as all get out. It turned into a Sorry we fought kiss. A Why haven’t I tasted you in so long kiss. It was still fast and hard and wild, as though making up for the time they’d missed. It was fabulous.

  When she opened her eyes again, they were back inside the suite. Madison hadn’t even noticed Knox walking. She’d been consumed by the long licks of his tongue inside her mouth. The kneading of his hands through her shorts. The rock-hard erection, impossible to miss, pressed right between her legs.

  He set her on her feet. Immediately untucked his Nats jersey to cover up the evidence of their passion. Madison wiped around her mouth, ’cause he’d more than kissed off all her lipstick. Rubbed off the smudge of it at the corner of his lips, too. And when the room was still as silent as a night on the Wrangell Volcanic Field, where nothing moved or lived, she jumped in with both feet again.

  “Somebody want to tell me what the holy hell just happened?”

  Knox grimaced. “The thing is, I’m famous.”

  “Well, sure. Nobody makes as much money as you do in secret. Not unless they’re a mad genius inventor pulling a Dr. Frankenstein in the basement.”

  At his level of wealth, there were probably magazine spreads of his house, not just articles about his brilliance. Plus, he’d already alluded to the local news calling him D.C.’s most eligible bachelor. Not that she’d disagree…

  “You nailed it.” Josh handed beers to Knox and Madison before sitting on the leather couch. “When he’s on a brainstorm bender, his hair gets all wild and crazy.”

  Knox glared at his friend. “Not helping. And I don’t just mean me, Madison. We’re all famous.”

  “No kidding. I’ve never dated a guy with a face on a bus stop before.” Which had tickled her enough to snap a photo and text it to her mom, along with the message Guess which one I’m dating. “The closest I’ve ever come was a one-night stand with Lew Caulfield. He put his face on the door of his truck to advertise his big game–hunting company. I told him he’d get better results strapping moose antlers to his hood. Regardless, it’s obvious your podcast has gotten you attention.”

  “We were famous before the podcast.”

  Madison walked over to the food. Ran a cup through the popcorn like a trowel. “If you’re going to make me play twenty questions, I’m loading up a plate.”

  “I’ll do that for you,” offered Chloe.

  Strange. They were all acting very, very strange.

  Riley ducked his head. “Sorry. We don’t talk about this much. Not anymore.”

  “Well, somebody needs to start. Now.”

  Knox took her hand and led her to the couch. As if answering an unheard signal, Griffin and Riley cleared to the opposite end of the room and started filling plates. Josh just scooted over a few inches to give her room. Knox sat on the edge of the coffee table, letting his forearms hang off of his knees.

  “I’m going to make this short and sweet. I don’t want to bring all the guys down and ruin the game.”

  “Okay.” Now Madison was equal parts annoyed and worried.

  He exchanged an unreadable look with Josh. Took a deep breath. “When we were in high school, our soccer team got invited to a big international tournament. We made it all the way to the finals. On our free day, the team split up to sightsee. Griff, Ry, Josh, Logan, and I commandeered a
bus and a driver and went up into the Alps for some skiing. We couldn’t find Logan the next morning. Our driver made us leave without him so the rest of us wouldn’t get in trouble. Except trouble found us.”

  Trying to lighten the oddly tense pall hanging over the room, Madison joked, “That sounds like it should have foreboding music after it.”

  “Our bus went off the cliff, rolled, and slid hundreds of feet. We barely made it out before it burst into flames. The driver died. We were all hurt. Bad. Marooned, in the middle of nowhere. In a March snowstorm. No food, no water. Phones burned up with the bus. The only coat we got out was used for bandages.”

  “Oh my God. Oh, Knox.” Her heart lodged in her throat. The enormity of what he described was almost too much to bear. Even though she knew they were all fine now? Madison’s heart broke for what they must have suffered, both physically and emotionally. “I didn’t mean to make light of it. I’m so sorry.”

  “S’okay.” He pointed at the television with a harsh laugh. “Not really a story you expect to hear while giant heads of Jefferson and Washington run the bases.”

  That sounded funny, but Madison couldn’t tear her gaze away from the starkly haunted expression on Knox’s face. “You must’ve been so frightened.”

  “Yeah.” He flipped the back of his hand against Josh’s feet, propped up on the table. “Josh was scared he’d die of starvation.”

  Josh tossed a handful of popcorn at him “Not true. I was scared I’d never eat a hot dog from Ben’s Chili Bowl again. Get your facts straight, Davies.”

  Instead of joking back, Knox gritted his teeth, causing the vein along his temple to pulse noticeably. “There isn’t a single fucking moment of those three days that isn’t burned crystal clear in my brain, Hardwick.”

  Interesting. Knox, who more or less had a third major in glibness, was as serious as she’d ever seen him. Madison wanted to know more. She leaned forward. Reached out to take his hand. “What were you scared of, Knox?”

  He gave a shrug, as if to shake her off. But his fingers stayed curled around her palm. “Doesn’t matter.”