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“Why not?”
Madison laughs. “Can you not see? I don’t need to constantly be chasing after someone’s dog. They all insist their dogs are great and they won’t cause any trouble. But they’re wrong. It makes me wonder if they lie intentionally or if they really don’t know how bad their dog is.”
Madison bites her bottom lip again and studies me. “Why are you standing here talking to me?”
I let my eyes drift down to where her breasts fill out her shirt, pressing against it. I remember the sight of her ass waving at me when I drove into my driveway. My mouth feels dry as I think about why I’m here, talking to Madison some more. I want something from her, but it doesn’t seem fair to just take, take, take.
I need to give her something in return. And I know what women want. They want to be desired, romanced. That’s something I can do. But I should be honest with her.
“Well?” Madison asks when I don’t answer right away.
“Look, I’m going to be completely honest.”
“Please.”
“I can’t stop thinking about the other night when we…had sex.”
I see Madison’s spine straighten just a little when I say those words.
“You wanted me to be honest. I’m being honest. I want you again. I want to…take it slowly and enjoy every second of it.”
Madison’s mouth opens just a little, but she doesn’t takeher eyes off me. Instead, she combs her eyes over my body like she’s imagining doing just that.
“But I don’t think it’s fair to just have sex with you.”
Madison’s mouth snaps shut, and she seems to regain her composure. “So, you just like to tease me instead?”
“No, I want to invite you over for dinner. I’ll make you something nice, then we can…see where things go.”
I shrug casually like I have no idea where things “might go.”
I’m half-expecting her to laugh in my face then march inside her house and slam the door. But at the same time, I’m being honest. I’m not inviting her to dinner and pretending the reason isn’t that I want to have sex with her…the way a lot of guys would. I know there are enough reasons we shouldn’t be together that I have to be completely honest about my intentions with Madison.
“Okay, when.”
Her answer is soft, and Samson just then scrambles across the deck to bark at a squirrel. But I hear her clearly enough. And my body responds. Still, I need to calm down and stop acting as horny as a teenage boy.
“How about tomorrow night? I have to work at the hospital, but I’m off by five. Is seven okay?”
“Yes. I’ll come over at seven.”
“And I’ll help you with the dogs before then, so they’ll have had a chance to pee before we go over to my place.”
Madison nods. “That sounds great.”
I continue to stand there for another moment. A part of me wants to say, “Screw it. Let’s go inside right now and take those clothes of yours off.” But I don’t. I need to behave like a gentleman who knows how to exercise self-control.
Instead, I wave, say bye to Samson, and then head back toward my house, looking forward to tomorrow.
12
MADISON
I’m notsure what to make of Ethan’s offer. Yesterday, he was cold and standoffish. It was impossible to read him. I felt guilty for crossing into his yard to deal with the crazy dogs in my territory.
But then, after he helped me with Bella, he offered to help me with these unruly dogs. It’s a lot to wrap my head around, and I can’t help but feel like there’s some sort of catch.
The thing I can’t seem to get a handle on is that he’stoldme the catch. He wants to sleep with me again. My body tingles at the thought. I liked the way he ran his fingers over my skin and made me feel like all my senses were on fire at the same time.