Dare to Desire (Dare to Love 2)

“Yeah. I get that. And so am I.” Which meant she could be hurt. So easily if he did a sudden one-eighty on her again.

“Am I forgiven?” he asked, his lips so close his breath feathered over her mouth.

“Yeah,” she murmured, powerless against this Alex.

“Thank you.” He leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers.

She sighed and soaked up the seductive slide of his lips, the touch of their noses, the moment all the more intimate for the sweetness inherent in the kiss.

When he leaned back, her heart was pounding hard in her chest. “We’re good?” he asked.

She treated him to a warm smile. “We’re good,” she assured him.

“Can we agree that what happens in the office doesn’t come home with us?”

She closed her eyes, remembering that they had more to discuss and potentially disagree over.

“Agreed,” she said on a sigh. Although she wished they could have stayed in the moment. But given that they were at work, he was right to bring them back to the issue at hand.

“Good. Because there’s no way in hell that I can be the poster boy for weakness.”

She closed her eyes and prayed for the words and strength to convince him otherwise.

SEVEN

Alex declared the PR plan off-limits for discussion, and Madison, Ian, and Riley had no choice but to respect his mandate, though Madison still hoped to change his mind. In her heart, she believed he could do a world of good to help people, not just in their campaign to train football players after their playing days but also high-school- and college-age players who should follow his lead and avoid risking further injury.

Their business trip to New York seemed to arrive overnight, and Madison was looking forward to seeing Manhattan. Olivia and Dylan, both in charge of team travel, also had meetings in New York City with the head of the hotel chain where the players stayed, and they all flew together on the corporate jet. Madison wasn’t used to such high style, and though she prided herself on not being overly impressed by the wealthy lifestyle, even she was blown away by this luxury.

In the back of the small plane, Dylan and Olivia had their heads together, conferring over something—although at times they appeared to be arguing rather than working. Madison turned away, wanting to respect their privacy and mind her own business.

Alex seemed preoccupied, looking out the window, so Madison closed her eyes, hoping to take a nap. Alex had kept her up late in the night, his hands everywhere on and in her body, as if he couldn’t get enough. Heaven knew she couldn’t. No matter what was going on in their personal lives, sexually they were completely compatible. She’d never had a man who read her so well or knew her so intimately.

Ever since that night they’d spent apart, he’d gone out of his way to be the attentive lover he’d been prior to his lapse. Madison didn’t expect perfection from herself, let alone the man in her life, and she was all too happy to forgive him and move on. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t very aware of the ex-girlfriend he’d wanted to make his wife looming in the background, ready to return and wreak havoc with whatever it was she wanted.

Clearly, when Alex didn’t want to deal with something, his method was to ignore it completely. Madison didn’t find that an effective way to handle life, but it wasn’t her place to judge. She just didn’t like being in limbo, waiting for some proverbial shoe to fall.

The sensation of a hand on her thigh had her stirring, and she came to herself, realizing she must have fallen asleep. Her head rested on Alex’s shoulder.

She forced her heavy eyelids to open and sat up, blinking to clear her vision.

“Hey, sleepyhead.”

She laughed. “Someone kept me awake last night.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining.”

“And you won’t.” She grinned. Then, remembering his preoccupation before she’d fallen asleep, her mood sobered. “Is everything okay? You seemed distracted earlier.”

He nodded. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Care to share? I’m a pretty good listener.”

He leaned back in his seat and groaned. “Where to start? My agent left a message. He wants to know when I’m going to start thinking about things that can make me real money, like endorsements. What he really means is things that will make him money too.” He scowled.

“What kind of deals does he think are open to you?”

“After my injury, he told me he could get me underwear ads.” He held up a hand.