Page 31 of Jack of Hearts
CHAPTER TEN
“So you met him at your mom’s birthday party?” Lauren asked, sitting on Madison’s bed.
“Yeah.” That was the story Alex had given, and she was sticking to it. She held up a sundress. No, too dressy. She hung it back up. After eyeing several more outfits, she decided on a pair of white skinny jeans, a green tank top, and a pair of white flat-heeled sandals. It was a little on the sexy side, but casual.
“Work with me here, Madison. I need deets. Alex is the man you’ve been crushing on, right?”
She sighed. Lauren wasn’t going to give up. “Don’t you have a date with Nelson tonight?”
“Later. I have plenty of time to hear all about Mr.Sexy.”
Hemingway jumped onto the bed and made a beeline for the white jeans. “Oh no you don’t.” Madison grabbed her clothes before he had a chance to shed black hair on everything.
Lauren pulled Hemingway onto her lap. “Come on. Spill. What kind of bar does he own? Have you met his brothers?”
“A biker bar, and no, I haven’t met them.” She riffled through her jewelry box, looking for the earrings her father had given her the Christmas before he’d been killed. The white-gold dangling bars with emeralds on the ends would be perfect. “Here you are,” she murmured, picking them up.
“No kidding? A biker bar? We gotta go.”
Madison glanced at her friend in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? We’re not going to a biker bar. And don’t tell my mom what kind of bar Alex and his brothers own. She’ll freak out.”
“Get your boyfriend to take us there one night and I won’t say a word.” She scooted onto her knees, dislodging Hemingway. “It’ll be fun.”
“That’s blackmail.”
Lauren shrugged. “Whatever works. I want to go.” She steepled her hands as if in prayer. “Please, please, please ask.”
“All right already, but no promises. He’ll probably say no, and that will be the end of it.” Truthfully, she would like to see Alex’s bar, too.
“Awesome!”
To Lauren it was a done deal, and Madison could only laugh at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Go away so I can get dressed. Alex will be here in thirty minutes.”
At the door, Lauren glanced back and waggled her eyebrows. “Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Well, that leaves my night wide open.”
“Go for it, girlfriend,” Lauren said. “You’re due.”
Madison finished dressing, gave Hemingway a treat, and exactly on time, heard the doorbell chime. After putting her eye to the peephole to make sure it was Alex, she opened the door. Tonight he wore all black. The T-shirt hugged his chest, accentuating his broad shoulders, and the jeans rode low on his lean hips. She could stand there all night, drinking him in.
His gaze roamed over her. “Do you know what I want to do right now, Madison?”
That low, sexy voice of his washed over her, and all she could do was shake her head.
“Just this.” He slipped his hand under her hair, cradling the back of her neck. His kiss was soft, a mere brushing of his lips over hers. Too soon, he pulled back, and he chuckled when she tried to follow him. “I plan to do a lot of that tonight, but if I start now, we’ll get to the dirty monkey sex part of our evening right here in your foyer.”
Madison giggled when he waggled his brows. He took her hand, laced his fingers around hers, and led her away. Her last boyfriend hadn’t liked to hold hands, but she’d always loved the feel of a masculine hand wrapped around hers.
When they turned the corner and she saw his motorcycle, she did a little dance. “Awesome!”
He grinned down at her. “I take it you approve?”
“My dad had a BMW motorcycle for a few years, and he would take me for rides. I loved it.”
“You might want to pull your hair back so it doesn’t get all tangled up.” He pulled an elastic band from his jacket pocket, handing it to her.
It warmed her that he’d thought of such a minor thing as her hair getting tangled. After she smoothed her ponytail in place, she took the helmet from him.
