Dare to Desire (Dare to Love 2)

He grinned, stunning her. “Is it working?”

“What do you think?” Madison let out a heavy sigh.

She was a pro at protecting herself from hurt and abandonment, and as a result, she chose the men she let into her life carefully. They couldn’t get to her on any level except sexually. No chance of being hurt when things ended. From the second she’d laid eyes on Alex standing by Riley’s hospital bed, she’d pegged his type. Cocky and full of himself. She’d bruised his ego when she hadn’t let on that she’d recognized the infamous womanizing quarterback. Why should she? The battered female in the bed had been her only concern despite his sexy good looks.

But months later, when they’d begun their fling—she refused to call it a relationship now—Madison had warned herself that all she was to him was a game. And yet she’d allowed her hormones, his charm, and their mutual chemistry to override common sense.

She’d let her heart betray her. And she’d paid for that in spades, she thought, remembering the days of hurt and pain after he’d callously tossed her out of his hospital room, never to be heard from again.

“Who better to co-chair this program than someone whose career has been sidelined by unexpected injury?” Ian’s deep voice broke into her thoughts.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe someone who takes life seriously?” she spat.

But his injury had been serious, she knew. She could still hear the crack of his helmet against the ground in the instant replay.

Ian cleared his throat. “He’s lost without football. He needs direction. And he’s in a unique position to bring perspective to the players you’ll be trying to reach. He’d be the perfect person to talk to the league when we’re ready to try to convince them to make this type of program mandatory for all teams.”

Madison studied Ian closely. His jaw was set tight, his eyes narrowed. Being close to Riley gave her insight into the man. And she knew that before meeting Riley, Ian had wanted nothing to do with his half sibling. He’d resented his father’s other family, especially Alex.

“Who are you trying to convince this is the right move? Me? Or yourself?” Madison asked.

Ian stiffened, and she knew she was right. “This is Riley’s idea, isn’t it? She’s worried about Alex, and she asked you to offer him this opportunity.” Disappointment settled heavily in her heart.

“Every time you speak, you convince me you’re the right woman to spearhead this effort. You’re intuitive. And you’re correct.”

“Nice. So Riley threw me under the bus for him.”

“You know Riley better than that,” Ian said, his tone sharp as he defended his wife. “She gives her loyalty and love to few people, and you’re one of them.”

Madison blinked. “So why isn’t she here telling me herself?” She couldn’t help being hurt and blindsided.

“She’s home sick or she would be.”

Madison swallowed hard. “Do I get a say in this, or is it a done deal?” she asked Ian.

He met her gaze. “You’re in charge. You decide who to hire. Ultimately, it’s between you and Alex to decide.”

But it was clear to her that both Ian and Riley wanted her to give Alex a chance. “I need to think about this.”

Ian glanced at his watch. Then he cleared his throat. “You’ve got fifteen minutes. Alex will be in the conference room at eleven.”

“Keep him busy till 11:15,” she muttered.

Madison headed back to her office, frustration, anxiety, and more than a hint of jitters in her stomach over the prospect of seeing Alex again. But this meeting was the least of her problems, and she paced the carpeted floor, pondering the real issue at hand. Could she work side by side with Alex, day after day, remembering what it felt like to have him deep inside her body?

She shivered at the reminder, her nerve endings alive and tingling at the prospect of seeing him again.

Despite how badly he’d hurt her, she still wanted him. And wasn’t that the worst part? She, who’d trained herself at an early age not to want or need anyone or anything, still responded to the mere thought of Alex Dare.

* * *

Alex liked the Thunder Dome. The new stadium was a hell of a lot nicer than the Breakers’ home in Tampa, not that he’d be caught dead admitting such a thing out loud. Still, he couldn’t help the disappointment clouding him, being in a stadium and knowing he was unable to play. It was one thing to make the decision with his rational mind, protecting himself from bodily injury that would affect his entire life. Quite another to emotionally accept that he’d lost the thing he loved most in the world. The game had defined him from the time he’d picked up a football as a kid and had carried him through losing what he’d thought was his first love. And he had stupidly thought he’d leave the game on his own terms.

Apparently not.

Alex followed the directions left for him at the guardhouse and ended up at Ian’s office. It was the first time he’d come to his half brother’s place of business, and his skin itched with the feeling that something big was about to take place, even if he didn’t know what it was.

He walked in to find the office as imposing as the man himself. Alex and Ian couldn’t be more different in personality—Ian stiff and uptight, Alex easygoing and relaxed.