Page 20 of Madden

He slips his arm around my waist, holding me against him, and grips my chin. The possessive move is intoxicating, and any doubt lingering in my mind seems to evaporate.

He groans against my lips, sliding his hand along my cheek, and deepens the kiss.

I fumble, not sure what to do with my hands, so I blindly reach out to grip the front of his shirt and hold him close to me.

When he swipes his tongue along my bottom lip, I release a low moan and open my mouth.

We already know he’s good with his hands. God, now I have to wrestle with the thought of him being a good kisser. I don’t think I’d be able to handle finding out what other things he’s skilled at.

He pulls back, pressing his forehead against mine, and whispers, “Are you still gonna act like we don’t feel this between us?”

“Even if I do, it won’t change anything.”

He shakes his head. “Who said it has to?”

I feel my resistance wearing thin.

“Come back to my place with me,” he whispers. “You can head to your hotel in the morning.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to answer before he pushes my hair back from my face and lightly brushes his lips against mine.

No matter what either of us says, if I were to go with him, it would change things between us. How could it not?

I’m here for one reason and one reason only. I can’t let it interfere with my job. Not when I have too much on the line to lose.

It’s not only about making a good impression on my boss and proving I deserve this job. It’s about showing I can make a name for myself apart from my family, and if I mess this up, I’ll be proving them all right.

I haven’t been with another man since I was with Mitchell. Even still, I know, without a doubt, there’s no way he compares to what it would be like to share a night with Madden.

“Madden?” shouts a voice from across the parking lot.

I release his shirt and shove him away.

We both turn to where it’s coming from, and I realize it’s the girl I saw him with yesterday before the interview.

Seeing her again feels like a bucket of ice-cold water dumped over my head. It’s a sobering and painful reminder of how giving in to him would add me to a lengthy list of conquests he has on his roster.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she says, flicking her eyes over to me. Her lip curls, and she clenches her jaw. “Are you ready to head to your place?”

I swallow hard. Head to his place?

Did he make plans with her tonight, too? So what, he was going to try to convince me to come home with him, knowing damn well he already had her lined up?

Or maybe if things fell through with us, at least he had her as a backup.

“Hanna, now is not a good time. Can you give us a minute?”

She nods. “I’ll meet you out back by your car.”

Her voice cracks, and I notice for the first time she’s fighting off tears. I wonder how long she watched us before she said anything.

Madden shakes his head, shrugging her off, and turns his attention back to me. She looks back and forth between us, quickly brushing her finger under her eye before she disappears.

I reach for my keys in my pocket, hit the unlock button, and quickly open the door.

“Wait,” Madden insists, reaching for my hand. “Please don’t go.”

“This was a mistake.”

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