Page 52 of Broken Player

Maddox sighed, resigned. "Last round." He moved his hand down until it rested on the curve right above my ass. If he inched it just a tiny bit lower, he'd be able to grab me, and I shimmied a little because I couldn't help myself, I wanted him to grab me and pull me against him. He chuckled darkly against my ear and lowered his hand, squeezing me once before moving it back up. "Dare."

"Strip off the rest of your clothes and go skinny dipping," Quinn dared.

"Not very original," Maddox said with a smirk before letting me go and wading toward the shore. Instead of staying in the water like I had, he waited until he was on the shoreline before stripping off his black boxer briefs. He turned back around before striking a pose and gave Quinn and me both an eyeful before he waded back into the water.

I didn't even try to hide the fact my eyes roamed every part of his body, and he did not disappoint. If anything, his muscular torso that led down to a delicious vee at his hips that pointed directly at his very big and semi-hard cock was better than I'd fantasized about. Real-life Maddox was temptation incarnate. I suddenly found myself fighting off a deep, intense craving to get up close and personal with every last part of the crazy hot man making his way toward me.

My cheeks heated up. I wasn't sure what to do with myself now that we were both naked. The look in his eye told me he had some ideas. As if on cue, Quinn cleared his throat. "Well, I think I'll head back and start dinner. You're staying the night, right, Mad?"

Maddox's smirk grew into a grin as he nodded. My head whipped around to Quinn, and I tried to catch his eye, but he was doing a great job of avoiding me. Instead, he swam toward the shore and climbed out completely naked. I'd seen Quinn naked so many times it didn't phase me at this point, but he was the only man I'd ever seen that way until today.

I was totally out of my depth, and now Quinn was leaving. I moved water with my arms while I balanced on the sandy lake bottom on my tiptoes with my eyes locked on Maddox. I was waiting to see what he was going to do.

A few seconds later, I got my answer when he stopped right in front of me and ran his fingertips down my arm before sliding his palm against my lower back and pulling me closer. "Looks like we're about to be all alone out here," he whispered against the shell of my ear, and I shivered under his touch.

"Looks like it," I managed to say, though I was surprised I even got that out. We were both breathing heavily, our chests pressing closer together with every breath. Just as I heard Quinn riding off on Daisy, Maddox lowered his mouth to my neck, sucking my skin gently. My head fell back as I closed my eyes, and he took advantage of it, nipping and kissing along my neck until he got up to my jaw.

He leaned back, his dark eyes looking back and forth between mine, the silent question in them. I closed my eyes slowly, letting him know I wanted this, and his warm lips covered mine. This kiss wasn't frantic, but it was consuming all the same. He was sweet, kissing me lazily, taking his time as if he had nowhere he'd rather be. His hand pressed harder into my lower back as his other hand slid up to my hair, where he gathered it into his fingers, tangling them in the wild mess of my curls.

I had no idea how much time had passed. All I knew was that my toes were curled into the lake's sandy bottom, and my body ached for him to be closer. No matter how close we pressedtogether, it wasn't close enough. His hard-on pressed into me, sliding against the slick skin of my hips and belly, and I moaned, letting my hand wander down his chest and lower until I'd explored every defined ridge of his abs.

I didn't let my hand drop below his abs, though. If I did, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself from taking this further, and there were no clothes between us to get in the way.

Maddox pulled back slightly, whispering against my lips, "Truth or dare?"

My lips curled into a smile against his as I kissed him again. "Truth."

He leaned even further back so that he could properly look into my eyes. He studied me for a long time before he sighed and asked me what he obviously had been wanting to know. "What's going on with you and this Yates guy?"

My whole body stiffened, and he tried to pull me closer, but I resisted. It wasn't that I didn't want to be in his arms. The opposite, actually. That was theonlyplace I ever wanted to be. But not like this. Not when I was technically engaged to someone else, even if that person was a stranger. Not when I was lying to the man standing in front of me, doing his best to make up for all of his past mistakes.

God, I was a horrible person.

The worst part was I couldn't come clean and tell him the truth even if I wanted to. Maddox wasn't the kind of guy to take the deal Yates had cornered me into without doing something about it. He already hated my fake fiance. What would he do to him when he found out he'd taken advantage of the fact I was desperate and needed help?

And yeah, I was starting to see this whole deal for what it really was - Yates taking advantage of me. But I wasn't without blame, and I made my bed. Now it was time to lie in it. Besides, I still needed Yates's help to save this place, even if I had a feelingI didn't have even close to the whole picture as to why he wanted to marry me in the first place.

Did it really matter, though? I'd agreed, and now I was stuck.

"What do you mean? We're getting married." I thought I'd try to act like everything was fine.

Maddox let me go and growled in frustration as his eyes stayed locked on mine. I watched as he worked the muscles in his jaw, clenching them tightly while his eyes searched mine. "You know that's not what I meant. You're not stupid, so don't act like you are," he snapped. "I mean this. Right here." He waved his arm at me. "You're kissing me, and we're both naked. I can tell you want more from me, and you sure as fuck know I want more from you."

"We're naked because of truth or dare," I weakly pointed out.

He narrowed his eyes. "That's bullshit, and you know it. You could have said no. You could have left with Quinn. You could have slapped me across the face when I tried to kiss you. But you didn't. To any of it."

He moved closer to me again, his intense gaze bored into me. "Want to know what I think? I think you don't love him. You don't even like him. So, why are you doing this, Freckles? What does he have on you?" His fingers ran up and down my spine. I shivered as he left goosebumps in the wake of his touch.

Maddox leaned closer, close enough that I could kiss him if I just tilted my head up a tiny bit. "Look at how your body responds to my touch," he murmured, gently running his fingertips across my heated skin. "I know you don't want him. You've only ever wanted me, and we both know it. So, tell me why you're really marrying him and let me help you."

His voice was hypnotic to me, and I was putty in his hands again. I didn't think a time would come where I wouldn't be weak for this man. I'd spent my entire life wanting him, and hewas serving himself up to me on a silver platter, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Maddox was the worst kind of torture.

"I can't," I whispered, and he shifted back to look at me again.

"Can't or won't?"

---