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“It’s Madisen now. And I assure you I’m no longer a pipsqueak. I’m also not the kind of woman who will allow herself to be picked on any longer. Or ignored.” The softness of her greeting shifted, her tone now holding a distinct edge.
Wow. She’d zeroed in on my testosterone-filled behavior from years before. “I hardly think anyone can or would ignore you, Madisen.” My tone was deeper than normal, every muscle tense.
She allowed a smile that could light up a thousand darkened skies. Too bad it was plastic. “Mike, can we go yet? There’s a stench in the air I’d like to avoid.” She moved around her brother, assuming the answer was yes.
Wow. The girl had turned into a ballbuster.
“Be right there,” Mike told her, his eyes opening wide as we both watched her stroll away. “Whew. I told you she was a pistol. What in God’s name did you do to deserve that?”
I continued watching as she walked off, my cock still throbbing. “Hell if I know. I tried to think if I’d even talked to her since the funeral.” I took a deep breath, furious that I was concentrating on how good her ass looked as she swayed back and forth. Madisen was fire and brimstone, but the beast of a man inside of me hungered to tame her. I remained tense, my cock still locked and loaded.
Mike moved all the way in front of me, his glare hard and cold as he swept his anger-filled eyes to my crotch. While I stood taller by several inches and had a solid forty plus pounds on him, he didn’t hesitate to confront me. “The same thing I said years ago applies. Don’t you dare ever touch her or I’ll break your face. Got it?”
I threw up both hands in jest, but it was obvious he wasn’t kidding. “Not a chance. I’m not into jailbait anyway.” Christ, Madisen was an absolute knockout.
Smirking, he gave me another hard stare, flaring his nostrils before glancing at anything else but into my eyes. “She’s twenty-five, not a kid any longer and that’s the problem. But she’s off limits. Period.” He stormed away, heading for his vehicle.
Exhaling, I willed my tense body and hard cock to calm the fuck down. No, she definitely wasn’t a kid any longer. She was a beautiful, voluptuous, and extremely forbidden woman.
Thank God she lived in Vegas.
CHAPTER7
Madisen
Nothing ever changed.
Men were all alike.
They liked to talk at you, not to you, then complained that you weren’t listening to them. That was if they bothered to notice you at all. If they did, it only meant one thing.
They wanted hot sex with zero commitment. I’d shoved my brother into that category as well, watching as he’d gone through women like chugging down bottles of beer, which was exactly what he was doing now. Granted, most girls had no desire to be hooked up with a man forced to look after his kid sister, but he never seemed to help the situation with his philandering ways.
Now I had a bird’s-eye view of several of the team players, the stench of testosterone and sweat inside the dark paneled bar a reminder of why I’d remained single. Most thought they were hot and happening, boasting about whatever base they’d run or how many strikes the other team had given up. A few of them even had the nerve to slide lurid looks in my direction, two while wearing wedding bands.
I had no idea why I’d almost begged to tag along other than I’d been afraid of sitting alone at Mike’s apartment. Ever since sliding into town, I’d had the creepy crawlies, constantly looking over my shoulder. At least inside this dirty little watering hole, I knew I could count on one man coming to my rescue should the big, bad wolf come through the door.
Or so I hoped.
What I hadn’t anticipated was seeing the most gorgeous man on the entire planet. The sight of him in a dirty tee shirt and thin sweatpants had taken my breath away, his arms bulging against the thin material, the sweat defining his chiseled abdomen. He’d changed significantly since I’d last seen him, putting on at least fifty pounds of rock-hard muscle. He’d even grown by a couple of inches if not more, now towering over me with a powerful presence.
The colorful sleeves had been created by a master tattoo artist, the designs pulling out the kind of desire usually reserved for the few movie stars I followed on Instagram. I wanted to lick them in exploration, which was absolutely ridiculous. I’d never thought that way about a man.
He had the perfect amount of stubble covering a jaw carved from stone, but it was his eyes that had drawn me in, green like the Aegean Sea on a cloudless sunny day. Holy cow, I was out of my mind for thinking this way. He was forever off my list of candidates for several reasons, including he was one of my brother’s best friends. Lusting after him wasn’t on the agenda.
Staying alive was.
That wasn’t the only reason I remained determined to hate him. He’d broken my heart into a million little pieces, something a girl could never forget. I’d tried. One night with a glorious stranger had almost done it, but fate didn’t want me happy. A mystery man at a costume party and the first and only incredible fuck of my entire life.
I’d been stupid enough to leave him my number, which of course the Lone Ranger hadn’t called. That had been another harsh reminder that men were all users. Oh, well. I’d adopted the ‘c’est la vie’ attitude, which up until now had worked beautifully. Daniel ‘Viper’ Briggs wasn’t going to ruin it.
Even with a bad taste in my mouth, I couldn’t stop my eyes from locking on Viper every few seconds.
Damn it. Were my hormones just raging? That was possible since my vibrator and I had become best buddies. Oh, shit. I’d forgotten in my haste to leave Vegas to toss it in the bag. That would be a purchase I’d venture out to handle. I certainly wasn’t going to risk Mike finding it in a box on the front porch. At this point, I had a feeling he still thought I was a virgin.
Viper. What in God’s name did that mean anyway? Maybe the way I should think about it was who the hell did he think he was?
I hated to say it, but the name suited him. Now, I was going to go to the one place I’d promised myself I wouldn’t after seeing his buff and beautiful body for the first time in years. Reminiscing wasn’t in my best interest, especially when my back had a target the size of a rottweiler. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a sip of what had to be the cheapest wine in the entire city of LA, trying to block out images of Viper dousing his body with water. Nope. They were so vibrant I shifted in my seat, my panties already damp.
