Chapter 1
I should have worn a bra.
That’s all I could think in the hazy five seconds after I opened my apartment door, expecting to see my brother’s best friend exactly how he’d appeared five years ago when I had last seen him. At eighteen Maddox Malone had been lanky and baby-faced, with soulful eyes like an owl, a serious and somewhat nerdy counterpart to my brother, Steven’s boisterous swagger.
Then was then.
This was now.
Standing in front of me was not a boy fresh off of a Dungeons and Dragons game.
It was a man. A tall, muscular, brooding, tattooed everywhere hotter-than-hell bad boy who looked like he’d just stepped off his motorcycle. After taking his girlfriend against a wall and making her scream in pleasure.
His gaze swept over me.
My cheeks went hot with confusion at my very female reaction to him.
No, no, and no. He was practically family, what the heck was I thinking? I had to put this back on normal footing.
“Maddy!” I exclaimed, opening my arms to give him a hug.
I totally should have worn a bra.
Because he gave me a smile and put his arms around me (did I mention they were ridiculously muscular and tattooed?) and pulled me against his chest, which might have been mistaken for a cement wall it was so hard. I was absolutely stunned at the transformation. Someone back home should have warned me Maddox had morphed into a man that would make any woman drool. A text, a DM, a Snapchat, anything, people.
Hey, Savannah, Maddox got hot, wear a bra. A thick sweater. Baggy, not-sexy clothes.
I had the not-sexy down pat. I was coming off another night of total sleep deprivation, my hair in a messy bun, showering a distant memory. Was it yesterday? The day before? I wasn’t sure. No bra because my nipples were killing me.
So why did I suddenly wish I looked thoroughly pulled together and adorable and desirable?
It had to be the lack of sleep. They say it does freakish things to your brain, causing hallucinations and everything. I don’t know who they are but I was willing to buy it because I was absolutely exhausted and yet, was unnervingly attracted to Maddox.
“Hey, Savannah. It’s good to see you. It’s funny to hear you call me Maddy. I’m not a skinny kid anymore. I haven’t heard that nickname in years.”
Right. He definitely was not a kid.
My boobs were huge from nursing my six-month-old baby, Sully, and were pillowed against that massive wall of muscle Maddox called a chest. I felt trapped in his hold and I was flustered and awkward. I hadn’t expected to feel either of those around a boy I’d known my entire life. But he wasn’t a boy. Right. Not. A. Boy. My mind was blown but my body seemed to have figured it out more quickly.
I hadn’t had sex since Sully was born (actually, seven months before he was born, so do the math) and my inner thighs chose now, of all freaking times, with my little brother’s best friend, to decide it remembered how much fun the naked tango was.
Unnerved, I stepped back out of Maddox’s embrace.
Only to see there were two little wet spots on the front of his T-shirt.
Holy hell. I had leaked breast milk on him.
I was a big advocate for nursing if you want to as a mother, that it’s natural and bonding. I had really enjoyed it for the most part.
However.
Seeing the dampness on Maddox’s black shirt had me wiping fabric, like I could make it dry with the magic of my fingertips, and babbling. “Oh! I’m so sorry. That hug… you squeezed me too tight and got me wet.”
Maddox was eyeing me with amusement. His eyebrows shot up at my words. “I always wanted to do that,” he drawled.
“Wait. What?” I stopped fussing with his shirt. “Do what?”
“Get you wet.”
My mouth fell open. Who was this man and what had he done with quiet Maddy? “Was that a sex joke?” I asked, which was stupid. Of course, it was a sex joke, which I didn’t need to point out.
I’ve always been known for blurting out my thoughts, but honestly, it had gotten way worse since Sully was born. Sleep deprivation had removed whatever filter I had to begin with.
He didn’t seem to mind. “It was one hundred percent a sex joke.”
“Maddy!” I smacked his arm, shocked. “I should punish you for that.”
Now the corner of his mouth turned up in a dirty, mischievous smile. “Go for it.”