Dare to Desire (3 page)

“You’ve really thought about this,” Alex said, impressed despite himself and his lingering resentment of Ian.

Ian inclined his head. “It’s in motion. I have a social worker on board, and I want you running things along with her.”

Alex reared back in surprise. “Why me?”

He and Ian weren’t close. Ian came from their father’s legitimate family. Alex and his siblings were the man’s illegitimate secrets. But secrets didn’t stay buried, and the explosion, when it had come, had rocked both families deeply. Alex and Ian had remained on opposing sides for ten years.

Until Riley.

Ian cleared his throat. “Why not you? Or should I say, who other than you? You will have the unique ability to convince the players this is important. You definitely have media presence when this goes public. And let’s face it, you have nothing else lined up at the moment.”

“And there’s the asshole I know.”

Ian grinned. He fucking grinned, as if he already had Alex exactly where he wanted him.

“Come meet the woman in charge before you make any decisions.”

Alex nodded. Why not? He was impressed with the program and interested.

As he followed Ian to the conference room, passing the hall of champions, life-sized photos of past and present Thunder All-Stars, Alex still wondered why Ian had chosen him. But he couldn’t deny the importance or brilliance of the program. There were so many ways guys’ lives did a one-eighty after retirement, forced or otherwise, that training and preparation would only help.

“Riley’s really behind the idea,” Ian said as they approached the closed wooden door.

“Way to try and sway me, man.”

Ian shrugged. “I do what I have to in order to get my way.” He paused and looked Alex in the eye. “So about the woman who will be working alongside you—”

“I haven’t agreed.”

“About her,” Ian went on as if Alex hadn’t spoken. “I’m trusting you to be professional.”

Alex narrowed his gaze, his internal radar on high alert.

“And to not be a jerk.”

“Hey!”

Without replying, Ian opened the door. They stepped into the room, and Alex laid eyes on the one woman he hadn’t been expecting to see. The same woman who’d haunted his dreams and sidetracked him from many of his nightmares.

Madison faced him head on. Her shoulders drawn back, golden-blonde hair pulled away from her face, she didn’t back down from his stare. She wore a pair of black slacks that hugged her curves and a white silky-looking top that clung to her generous breasts. And those unusually blue eyes frosted over at the sight of him.

“Alex, I believe you know Madison Evans.”

Blindsided—and his half brother knew it—Alex strode up to her. He inhaled her familiar fruity scent, which only served as a reminder of the hot times he’d spent breathing her in as his cock moved inside her body. Her effect on him was potent, and even the most common expressions failed him.

“Alex,” she said, her cool tone bringing his head out of the desire-filled fog he’d found himself in.

“Hey, Angel,” he said, using the endearment he’d started calling her during their brief time together. Another sign he’d had it bad, whether he’d wanted to admit it or not.

Her head whipped up, her eyes narrowing and settling on Ian. “This won’t work.” She turned to go.

Alex still had excellent reflexes, and he grabbed her arm before she could stride past him.

She glared.

He didn’t look away, determined to win this battle of wills. This potential job, which had interested him on an intellectual and emotional level initially, suddenly felt even more important, and
she
was the reason.

“We need to talk,” he insisted.

“I have nothing to say.”

“Ian’s proposition said otherwise.”

Madison looked over his shoulder in search of Ian and frowned. “Well, the traitor is gone. No big surprise there.”

Smart man, Alex thought. “If I let you go, will you stay long enough to discuss this position Ian and Riley want me to take?”

She let out a frustrated puff of air.

He took that as a yes and released her.

“Us working together is not a good idea, and somewhere in that thick head of yours, you know that.”

“Because we slept together? More than a couple of times?”

She set her jaw. “That was a mistake.”

Ouch. That hurt, he thought, and filed away the why to deal with later. “I want to know more about this training program and what my role in it would be.”

“Why? You can’t possibly be interested.”

“It sounds more like you don’t want me to be interested.”

She rolled her shoulders back even farther, stiffening her posture. “You’re right. I don’t. This is a serious project that could help a lot of people and have far-reaching positive repercussions for years to come. I need a partner willing to go all in. And let’s face it, I’ve seen your staying power. It’s nonexistent.”

He winced, knowing she was really referring to him and relationships. And she was right. At least, that’s how he had been. Six months with nothing to do but live in his own head, had brought changes she knew nothing about.

Eyebrows raised, stern expression on her face, she glared at him as if he were something she’d scraped off her shoe.

In the span of five minutes, she’d insulted him more than anyone had in probably his entire life. So why was he turned on? He shifted his stance in a futile effort to adjust his cock and gain some sort of ease or comfort. Not happening around her, and he knew it.

“I’ll give you that one insult because I deserved it.”

She wrinkled her nose in confusion.

Good. He liked her off balance. Much better than spitting mad. “Any more and I’ll have to take action.”

She opened her mouth then closed it again, because as they were both intimately aware, he’d have no trouble following through on his threat.

“Care to tell me what you have planned for this program?” he asked, deliberately all business. He strode over to the chair at the head of the table and settled in.

She obviously realized he was serious because she headed for the stack of folders on the table and sifted through them.

Coming up with the one she wanted, she opened it and glanced down only briefly before speaking. “Football players—anyone in training for prolonged periods of time—live a very regimented life. From what and when they eat to their exercise routine to when to practice and attend team meetings, everything is laid out for them. One injury and everything changes.” She eyed him warily from beneath her lashes.

He was surprised she’d still worry about his feelings after how he’d treated her. “Go on. I can take it.”

She nodded. “Suddenly they can eat what they want, when they want, and they gain unhealthy amounts of weight that isn’t balanced out by the exercise they used to do. Lack of education and preparation result in poor financial choices. Most athletes run through any good money they might have made in a short amount of time. Marriages crumble from the strain. Not to mention, they get bored, and depression sets in. I have statistics, but for now, you can just take my word for it.”

He didn’t have to. He’d begun experiencing some of it himself.

“What’s your solution?” he asked, impressed with the knowledge she already had regarding the problem they faced.

“Education.” She tapped the folder on the table. “All football colleges and universities need to have programs geared to post-career options. It’s not enough to offer a finance or business major. They need to target post-professional life. From our perspective, that means we start from the ground up. We contact schools and propose just such an approach. We hire ex-players willing to speak to the kids about the importance of thinking beyond football. And at a team level, we begin to provide all sorts of counseling and training. Nutrition, business classes, psychological counseling. Another goal is to eliminate the stigma of retirement, and to do that, we need to prepare our players for the future.” She finished her speech, her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes wide, her passion for the subject evident.

Fuck, she was gorgeous.

He’d seen a similar look on her face before, right before he’d slid his fingers inside her and teased her to climax. He closed his eyes, dragging in a controlled breath.

Wrong time, wrong place. Wrong everything.

He might want to return to where they’d been before he’d opened his big mouth and thrown her out of his hospital room, but she wanted nothing to do with him. She didn’t trust him, and he didn’t blame her. He needed to win her over before he could let himself even think about sinking back into her body. She needed to see he’d changed, grown up.

And maybe he needed to prove the same thing to himself.

“I’m in,” he told her.

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll take the job.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Didn’t Ian tell you it’s up to me who to hire?”

Alex shook his head, silently cursing his manipulative brother. “No, I think the plan was to throw us in here like gladiators and see who survived.”

To his surprise, she let out an amused laugh.

The desire to kiss the dimples on either side of her mouth was strong. Beneath the table, he curled his fingers into fists, curbing his desire. His frustration wasn’t as easily controlled.

“I really don’t think we can work together,” she said, sobering.

“Then I’ll just have to convince you otherwise.”

TWO

T
wo weeks had passed since Alex had come on board. He’d shown up at the stadium daily, ready to dig in and work. To Madison’s surprise and disappointment, they shared an office—due to lack of available space, according to Ian. Madison called bullshit, but only to Riley. She wasn’t about to start trouble with her boss.

Alex had stepped out a couple of minutes ago. Alone for the first time, she grabbed complete concentration time and stared at the list of speakers she’d begun lining up for workshops. She wanted to run programs dedicated to everything from health and nutrition to finances and taxes. There was one well-known lecturer in particular she wanted to secure, but she had the feeling nailing him down would entail a trip to Manhattan to convince him. He was on the pricier side, but luckily Ian had given them a generous budget to work with, indicating how important this issue had become to him. She wondered if his newfound relationship with Alex was the root of his support or if he just sensed the need in the sport. A combination of both, she assumed.

She pulled up the calendar on her computer, knowing the seminars had to take place during the off-season so as not to overwhelm the players, and she would need to confer with Ian on scheduling.

She was so intent on her work she didn’t hear anyone come up behind her, but she knew, the second she breathed in the sexy, musk-laden cologne, who had joined her. Her body responded as if she knew him intimately, which, of course, she did. She didn’t appreciate the reminder, her nipples now erect beneath her sheer silk blouse and a pulsing awareness awakened between her thighs.

“Good meeting?” she managed to ask, knowing Alex had come from a sit-down with the head coach and his team to fill him in on their progress so far and what would be expected of the players.

“Yes with some coaches, no with others. They don’t want to think about having to pull players for mild concussions, which is part of what we’re advocating. It’s not just about getting the players educated, it’s about getting those in charge to treat injuries with more caution. Not easy when, in their minds, it’s all about the win.” A hint of frustration edged his tone.

“It’ll take time for them to come around,” she said.

“Well, it didn’t help that some of them behaved like I was their enemy instead of being on the same team.”

She winced, knowing how wide the football division was in the state of Florida. She could only imagine the locker room. “That must have been difficult.”

“I can handle it. I’m a big boy.”

He might not mean anything by his words. In fact, there was no innuendo in his tone. But Madison’s mind immediately went to exactly how big the man actually was, and the memory had her squirming in her seat once more. The friction of her slacks against her sensitized body parts was driving her insane.

He settled on the edge of her desk, too close for her peace of mind.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Saying hello.” His breath ruffled her hair, and she shivered. “And catching up.”

This friendly Alex was new. Up until now, he’d perfected being completely professional, but since they shared an office, the underlying sexual tension was ever present. She couldn’t inhale without smelling Alex’s familiar scent, reminding her of hot, passionate nights in his bed.

She couldn’t look up without catching a glimpse of his dark head bent over notes or his computer, bringing up memories of how she’d tangle her fingers in the long strands of his hair as her orgasm washed over her. The low timbre of his voice echoed through her, causing every nerve ending in her body to tingle with awareness. And they worked really well together, as it turned out, reminding her that their camaraderie had extended outside the bedroom as well.