Page 16 of The Criminal’s Cure

Maybe calling Maddie to the warehouse in the middle of her date wasn’t my best idea. In fact, as we drive home and the two whiskeys I had start to wear off, I realize it might have been my worst.

It was dumb and immature, and Maddie’s more than pissed.

She’s livid, actually. The look on her face is so harrowing it could spook the most hardened of criminals.

And the worst part is, she looks so goddamn beautiful.

Whoever she was out with was important enough for her to impress, and even though my raging jealousy started this, it bites at me again.

Fuck, this girl has my number. The way she can so effortlessly get under my skin is downright impressive, and she’s a hell of a lot ballsier than I gave her credit for.

I almost lost my shit when I saw her rubbing on Sammy that way.

It took an exorbitant amount of strength not to tear her off of him and rip Sammy to shreds right then.

But as usual, I’m the one to blame, and for a split second, I kick myself for not faking the injury myself.

Maddie hasn’t said a single word since I got in the truck, and neither have I, mostly because I’ve been trying to find the words to tell her that I’m sorry.

Apologizing isn’t something I do often—a trait I got from my father.

He used to say that a man’s got to stand behind his actions, even when he’s wrong.

Even with four divorces under his belt, he still maintains that.

I’m not nearly as stuck in my ways, but it’s still hard for me to admit when I’m wrong and I just can’t seem to stop fucking up with Madison Taylor.

Kind of like a car crash. I can see it happening, but I can’t do a damn thing to stop it.

Maybe I’m trying to push her away subconsciously because I know how this ends.

Maybe I want her to hate me.

If tonight’s any indication, I’m doing a damn good job of it. I pull into the garage, and we’re about to walk inside when she finally speaks.

“You were right earlier.” She doesn’t even face me, and she’s so quiet I barely even hear her.

“Huh?” Maddie’s words completely catch me off guard.

“You said that you were paying me to be available for all medical emergencies that come up with your men, and you’re right. But we both know that wasn’t what tonight was about.”

“What do you think it was about, then?” I clench my jaw.

“You’re jealous.” Her painted red lips press into a firm, defiant line as she crosses her arms over her chest. “You called me to the warehouse for a bogus injury to assert your dominance because you thought I was on a date.”

Well, she hit the nail on the fucking head there. I grip the doorknob so hard that it almost pulls off as I let us inside.

“Maybe Sammy’s injury could have waited until tomorrow,” I concede, tossing my keys onto the counter.

“Maybe?” Maddie hisses, whipping her head around to face me.

“I’m sorry, okay?” My words lack any level of sincerity, because I’m really not.

The thought of Maddie out with another guy looking as insatiable as she does enrages me, and truth be told, I’m glad I did it.

That’s not what she wants to hear, though, and I was married long enough to know that a man can end most fights by just telling the woman what she wants to hear.

It’s shitty relationship advice, but right now, all I want to do is get away from her before she sees how hard my dick is. Angry Maddie is hot and there is no way around that. Add the low cut dress and high heels she’s wearing and I’m basically a lost cause.

“I shouldn’t have interfered.”

“Yeah, you’re damn right you shouldn’t have. You don’t own me. You don’t get to say who I spend my time with, or what I do.” She’s got her hands perched on her hips, and she stares me down.

I shake my head, eyes trained on the floor. She’s right, and there isn’t even anything I can say to defend myself.

“I know that you’re used to people bending over backwards to do whatever you ask, but if there’s any chance of us working together cohesively these next few months, you need to understand that that’s not how it’s going to be with me.”

I snort. God, that smart little mouth. There’s something so sexy about the cheekiness in her voice.

That sass and attitude only turn me on, but the sharp scowl on her face makes it clear that’s not her intention.

Maddie is nearly the first woman I’ve met who doesn’t throw herself at me, or as she said, bends over backwards to do what I ask .

I’m drawn to a challenge, but deep down, there’s nothing more attractive than a woman who can hold her own and call me on my shit.

“No?” I arch my eyebrow, closing the distance between us with two strides as she backs her way against the kitchen counter. We’re so close now that I can almost taste the tequila on her breath. “It won’t be like that with you?”

The moonlight pours in from the windows, illuminating her provocative silhouette.

This fucking dress…manipulation is a game I’m usually pretty good at, which is why I know Maddie knew exactly what she was doing by putting it on tonight.

It’s so tight that it almost looks painted on, black satin pushing her tits up and hugging every temptatious curve she’s got.

Thank God Ty’s staying at Joe’s tonight.

“N-no…” Maddie stutters, stiffening as she tries to hold her ground. “It won’t.”

“Really?” I wrap one arm around her waist, setting on her lower back as I pull her in.

With my other hand, I grip the nape of her neck, strands of that golden honey hair tangling in my fingers.

“I bet if I let this hand slip lower…” My hand falls from her lower back to her ass.

“If I kissed you right now…” Tracing her jawline with the other hand, my thumb sweeps across her lower lip and then drops to the hem of her dress.

“Or if my fingers find their way right up under your dress, inching higher and higher until I reach the band of your panties and then slide my fingers inside…”

Maddie gulps, a red hot blush covering her cheeks as her petite frame presses into my body.

I smirk, tracing up her bare thigh high enough to elicit a sweet little moan out of those impossibly full lips, but not so high to make my head explode. A furious heat builds inside of me, so intense that it’s blinding. “I bet I’d have you bending forwards, backwards, and every way in between.”

She lets out a flustered breath, hovering between frustration and infatuation.

When she finally finds the composure to speak, I’m the one reeling.

“That’s a bet I’ll take.”

Roman needs no encouragement.

The second those words are off of my lips, he crashes into me in a kiss that leaves nothing to the imagination.

It’s slow and dramatic and raw and a release of all the pent up tension and passion that’s been building between us for weeks.

Initially sweet and gentle at first, building until it hits an overwhelming intensity.

Dominant isn’t even a strong enough word.

Roman’s kiss is straight up possessive. It reaches every part of my body—gripping my heart, stealing my breath, weakening my knees as his fingers tug at my hair.

Any faded objections still floating in my mind are silenced by the kiss.

I’ve never been kissed like this, and I already know I never will be again.

His tongue coaxes my lips apart and then slips inside. I cling to him desperately as he ravishes every part of me, my fingers digging into his firm, muscled shoulders.

When he pulls back, his teeth scrape against my bottom lip with a sharpness that makes my body throb and riddles me with longing.

Every nerve inside of me is on high alert, anticipating whatever is going to happen next.

Roman has me feeling things I never even knew existed and the last thing I want is for him to stop.

Luckily, he doesn’t. A strong arm slips underneath me and lifts me onto the counter.

He positions himself between my legs, cupping my chin with a look in his eyes that makes my core quiver.

He gives me another frenzied kiss, a broad hand resting on my bare thigh.

When he backs away, nose brushing against mine, I’m breathless and absolutely desperate to feel it again.

“Please, Roman.”

Please? I’m begging now? One kiss and all self-respect I’ve got flies out the window?

He seems to like the sound of it, a taunting, playful smile on his lips. Roman drags his lips along my collarbone and then presses one soft kiss just underneath my ear. “Backwards, forwards, and every way in between.”

“What?”

An uncertainty settles in his eyes and he pulls back, leaving a cool, hollow space where his body just was. “I told you I could get you to bend anyway I wanted, and I did.”

There’s a sinking feeling in my stomach as his words sink in. Was this just another game to him? Was he playing with me this whole time? The high I felt just seconds ago comes crashing down, knocking the wind right out of me.

“Roman, what is—”

“You should get some sleep, Maddie. See you in the morning.”

I’m too stunned to speak as he disappears up the stairs. What an absolute asshole. Just when I think he might have a single redeeming quality in him, he goes and proves me wrong.