Free Blush by Lauren Jameson Page B

turned to jelly.
    She wrenched the door open, half in shock, and there stood Alex Fraser, ripped jeans hanging low on his hips, a black T-shirt hugging his muscles. The short sleeves revealed a tattoo that she hadn’t seen before, a ring of something black and tribal around his right biceps.
    She wanted to lick it.
    She wanted to lick
him
.
    “What do you want?” Maddy was too drunk to manage much more than the question and a frown in his direction. His eyes swept her over from head to toe and widened. The heated look came back into them, and he clenched his hands tightly at his sides.
    “Why are you opening the door for a stranger at night? Don’t you know better?” He looked angry and frustrated. Well, Maddy felt the same way and didn’t appreciate the lecture.
    “You’re not a stranger.” She eyed him as well, and though he looked taken aback, she rather thought that he liked it. “You don’t send strangers seventy-year-old bottles of wine.”
    He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn’t reply. Feeling like she’d won a minor battle, Maddy stepped back, giving him room to enter.
    He stayed in the doorway, his fists still clenched tightly.
    “Are you coming in?” At this point she no longer cared if he did or didn’t.
    A strangled noise issued from his throat.
    “What’s your problem?” Maddy would never have spoken to him like that if she were sober. She wasn’t.
    “It’s better if I don’t.” His eyes raked her over from top to bottom, and she realized that she was all but naked, clad only in her short robe, the cotton of which had become nearly transparent from years of wear. She was still damp in places from her bath, and the thin material clung to her skin.
    This was interesting. Despite the fact that he kept trying to push her away, it seemed that he still wanted her. How else could she explain him showing up at her door at night? If she’d been sober, she would never have believed it. In her inebriated state, though, she not only believed it, but wanted to do something about it.
    “Suit yourself.” Maddy shrugged nonchalantly, then let her fingers stray to the ties of her robe.
    “Maddy. Don’t.” His voice was tight, tense.
    Her fingers froze on the ties of her robe. “Why?” If she was going to put herself out there, then he had damn well better have the decency to respond the way that she wanted him to. “I want you; you want me. Why is this wrong?”
    His eyes bored into hers, and she thought that she’d never seen such a bright blue. “You’ve been drinking. And if you knew what I wanted from you, you’d never want to see me again.”
    “Try me.”
    •   •   •
    H eat washed over Alex’s entire body. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d come to her apartment, other than the fact that she’d provoked him with her text message. It had warned him that she was irritated, but he’d never in a million years have anticipated that she’d channel her anger into desire.
    Holding himself rigid, he stepped into the foyer as Maddy sauntered toward him and closed the door. It brought her nearly flush with his body, a scant whisper of space between them.
    “Madeline.” His voice came out harsh, a last-ditch attempt to scare her away. If it had been any other woman, he was sure he would’ve had the strength to push her away for the good of both of them.
    But it wasn’t another woman; it was Maddy. Inexplicably, each time he saw her, she chipped away at his resistance a little more. And now a tipsy, scantily clad Maddy was pressing herself against him, arching up to stand on her toes. Alex steeled himself to resist her clumsy seduction attempts.
    But the truth was, he wanted her. More than he’d ever desired any woman. This woman touched something deep inside him. He craved her submission.
    She wasn’t helping him save her.
    “Alex, I want you.” She repeated the words and brushed her lips over his chin. If he dipped his head just a bit, he could taste her lips, devour