Page 46 of Savage Secrets (Vigilante Kings)

“He didn’t get any backlash at work,” I said, sticking with a version that was brief but still somewhat accurate. “But he was frustrated that I’d gone behind his back. Things were a bit tense for a while, but I knew I’d done the right thing. And I made some lifelong friends who’ve still got my back if I need them.”

We wouldn’t get into how tense things still were at home.

If Maddie related my story to her own life, she didn’t give any indication. “I’m sorry you had to go against him anyway,” she said. “My mom was always supportive… I don’t know what I’d have done if something I felt I needed to do conflicted with what she’d have wanted.”

I shrugged. “All’s well that ends well.” I wished I could have left it there, but I had to give this line of inquiry every possible shot. “Are you taking up new crusades at the university?”

Maddie shook her head. “Not really. I mean, I’m sure if something really awful came up, I wouldn’t be able to ignore it, but I’m not letting myself get distracted by the little things. Keeping up with my studies takes too much of my time and energy.”

I cocked my head. “You don’t seem like the type of woman who would let things go so easily.”

Her eyes flickered around the room for a moment, and I longed to know exactly what she was thinking at that moment. “Don’t get me wrong—I’m not going to stand by if something horrible goes down in front of me, but that hasn’t happened so far. And I know that getting my degree means I’ll be able to fix other kinds of injustices in the future, so I don’t feel bad prioritizing it.”

“Fair enough. There are various advocacy groups on campus, from what I’ve heard. I suppose you could join up with one of them if you wanted to get a little crusading out of your system.”

“Good point.” Maddie waved her fork at me. “Since I only transferred here a few months ago and I’ve been busy catching up and getting settled in, I haven’t really looked into that stuff yet.”

I didn’t pick up on any deception in her answers. She was being perfectly straightforward with me. A sense of certainty filled my chest.

Whatever her friends—or acquaintances, or whatever they were to her—were up to, whether they were specifically interested in businesses under my family’s domain or not, she wasn’t involved in their investigations. She showed no sign of suspecting there were any deep-seated problems in the city that she’d consider tackling. That night when I’d seen her at the dance club must have been just a fun outing for her, not any kind of work.

Which meant that technically there wasn’t any good reason for me to continue spending time with her. Not from a business perspective, anyway.

From a personal perspective… If she wasn’t entangled in anything that clashed with my other interests, then there was no reason I shouldn’t see her again for my own happiness, was there? I was allowed a little time off from worrying about the business now and then.

And this woman made me think that devoting the time to her would be more than worthwhile.

Maddie scooped the last of her rice into her mouth, and the server came by with the bill. I grabbed it before Maddie could and took out my wallet.

“We should split it,” she protested.

I gave her an amused look. “Of course you’d say that. I’m not going to tell you that men should always pay for women, because I know you think that’s bull. And it is. Some of the most capable people I’ve ever met are women. But my personal stance is that the person who does the inviting does the paying. Can you give me that?”

Maddie narrowed her eyes at me, but a smile touched her lips at the same time. It turned slyer before she spoke. “Then I’ll just have to invite you someplace and pay for you next.”

She was openly talking about us getting together again before the date was even over. I’d call that a win. The flicker of joy it sent through me was more potent than it probably should be, but what the hell.

It’d been quite a while since I’d gotten to hang out with someone who could make me smile like she did.

“I look forward to hearing your plans,” I said, grinning back at her with honest enthusiasm.

After the server brought back my card, we walked out to where Maddie had parked her car. She stopped on the sidewalk by the driver’s seat and turned toward me. A faint flush had colored her cheeks that only made her look more delicious.

Fuck caution. I was a man who went after what he wanted. I touched her cheek, and when she shifted toward me as if drawn by a magnet, I captured her mouth in a kiss.

She kissed me back, her lips melding with mine eagerly enough to send a wave of sparks over my skin. Her floral scent filled my lungs, and suddenly all I wanted to do was to lift her up on the hood of the car, strip the pants right off her, and show her just how good I could make her feel. But I wasn’t throwing caution to the wind to the point of getting arrested for public indecency.

Besides, Maddie didn’t seem like a one-night-stand kind of woman. I didn’t want her to think I was only interested in getting her into bed. And she’d already talked about how important her studies were to her—as well as mentioning a project she was working on due later this week.

I eased back, stroking my fingers along her jaw. “I’ll let you get back to saving the world,” I said in a low voice. “But I definitely want to see you again.”

As Maddie beamed at me in response, all I could think of was how much I’d meant that statement. I just hoped I didn’t regret how attached I’d already become to the woman in front of me.

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