He eyed her warily, but he kept his hold on her firm. “You were right saying I needed closure. I realized all that anger I held on to was more about my bruised ego than hurt feelings. It embarrassed me to have given everything so freely and have her throw it all back in my face.”
She wasn’t surprised he’d come to a revelation. She’d wanted that for him so he could let go of the past for good.
“And Rachel,” he went on. “It turns out she’s always regretted that she didn’t have the guts when we were together to tell me how she really felt about my career and my future plans.”
Madison managed a laugh. “Yeah, well, you’re a pretty tough guy to go up against when you want to be.”
“I do try.” He grinned, a panty-moistening grin that had her shifting around in his lap. “I didn’t make it easy for her apparently,” he said, sobering. “She’d met my family by then, knew I was serious…” He shrugged it all off. “Anyway, I guess realizing it was more a question of my bruised ego than me nursing a broken heart helped me finally put it behind me.”
Unable not to, she looped her arms around his neck. “I’m glad. Is that what Rachel wanted too? To make peace with the past?”
He drew a deep breath, making all Madison’s nerves go haywire. “No. There’s more,” he said, confirming her fear.
Madison stiffened. “She wants you back?” She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“No! Not t
hat way!”
She let out a long, relieved breath. Of course, if she didn’t want him back, there was something wrong with the woman, Madison thought, unsure if she should believe Rachel didn’t have a hidden personal agenda.
Reminding herself Rachel had given him up willingly once before, she forced herself to focus. “Then what does she want from you?”
“She works at an entertainment company that is partnering with Sports and Entertainment Network. They want me to test with Allison Edwards for a sports show. National TV,” he said, clearly still surprised by the offer.
But according to the gleam in his eye, he wasn’t adverse to the idea. In fact, Madison guessed there was something inherently appealing about the exposure of a national television show to a competitive, driven man like Alex.
“What did you tell her?”
“She said I should take some time and think about it. I didn’t have to say much of anything.”
“Are you going to consider taking the job?” Madison asked.
The long silence that followed was answer enough.
He tilted her chin up, his gaze soft on hers. The intensity in his dark eyes made it clear he didn’t find this any easier than she did. Which didn’t seem to help her frayed emotions, and brought her close to the edge of tears.
He slid one hand to the back of her head, pulling her in close and kissing her. Not in the command-and-take-charge way that he usually did. He took his time, gliding his lips over hers and tracing them lightly with his tongue, back and forth, teasingly, before sliding inside. Whatever point he’d been trying to make was lost in the emotion of what should have been a simple kiss.
It wasn’t.
The banked fire always present exploded between them, and suddenly his mouth on hers wasn’t enough. With a moan, she shifted in his lap, reveling in the pressure of his swollen cock against her pulsing, needy sex.
“Shit, Angel. You feel so fucking good. So hot,” he said, raising his hips in time to her movements.
The hard bulge of his erection came into direct contact with her clit, and waves of pleasure swept through her body, but more frightening were the feelings of pure need and love that accompanied the physical rush. No, she thought, as if wishing the love away would change the emotion.
“I bet if I slipped my hand into those panties, you’d be wet for me, wouldn’t you?”
She moaned at the image he created. Yes, she’d be wet. She was soaked now.
As if to test his theory, he slid a hand beneath her skirt, his fingers easing beneath her panties and parting her slick folds.
“Yes,” he groaned as her hips arched, pressing her sex into his touch.
The glide and press of his roughened fingertip had her trembling inside and out.
“I need to be inside you.”