Wanting It All: A Naked Men Novel (11 page)

Chloe widened her pretty hazel eyes. “That’s a bold statement.”

It really was. Didn’t make it any less true. Madison forced herself to slow down, and work through his attributes logically and not just lustfully. “He’s both interesting and interested in so darn many things. He’s got the brains, the dry sense of humor, the thoughtfulness, the muscles…holy geez, the muscles. Knox is—so far—everything I want in a man. It seems more efficient to focus all my effort on him and see how things pan out.”

Chloe tapped her pursed lips with the tip of her finger. “You talk about efficiency, and you make a strategy and a list…love can’t automatically be slotted in like checking to be sure he’s got a nonreceding hairline.”

“I know. That’s why it’s so convenient that it is—was—going so well. The thing is, Knox seemed to be just as into me as I am to him. He invited me on a trip, anywhere in the world.” The mere invitation still thrilled Madison to her core.

“Wow. Where are you going?”

“Nowhere. Nowhere until I’ve got a ring on my finger.”

“You play hardball,” Annabeth said approvingly.

“I didn’t plan to fall head over heels for the first man who swept me off my feet—literally, by the way. Even with the vast array of men here, I thought it would take months and much more serious winnowing. Then I met Knox.”

“And now you’ve pretty much scared him off.”

“He answers my texts and calls. He just doesn’t initiate anything.” Then the thought hit her like a lightning bolt. So hard that Madison gasped and reached for the counter. “He doesn’t have to.”

With a look of concern crinkling her brows, Summer said, “I kinda think you’re wrong. You do need him to participate.”

“He participates. Knox is just too freaked out to start anything. So I can take charge. Poke him and prod him out of his shock.”

Annabeth pulled plates from the cabinet and carried them over to the dining nook. “Pretty sure that will require a Taser.”

Geez. They weren’t even pretending to be optimistic about her chances. On the other hand, Madison could appreciate that they were just trying to protect her. “We even talked about it. I told him flat out that nothing had to change. That we’d just keep dating and having fun, and if by some chance we did fall in love, then we’d get married. I’ll stick with that.”

Chloe raised her hand. “With what, exactly?”

“I may be focused, but I’m not wearing blinders.” Just because Knox was an ideal candidate didn’t automatically move him through to the final round. He still had to prove that he could keep her happy forever. At the very least. “I need to evaluate and be sure Knox is marriage material. While I do that, by engaging in all the regular dating rituals and glorious, glorious sex, I’ll get under his skin until he falls so deeply he won’t want to move on.”

The strategy was beautiful in its simplicity. It should’ve occurred to her sooner. His over-the-top astonishment had distracted her. The bottom line was that they both felt the attraction, the chemistry, the magic click. Madison would swear to it on a stack of Gutenberg Bibles.

Summer did a slow eye sweep of the other two women before giving a small shrug. “It can’t hurt to try.”

Annabeth nodded. “I’m beginning to think that if anyone among D.C. bachelorettes can bag the white whale that is Knox Davies, it could very well be you.”

“Aww. Even faint encouragement is good enough.” See? She’d brought them around. Sort of. And in less than half an hour. It was a strong indication that she’d get through to Knox, too. Eventually.

“I believe in you, Madison. I’m not sure I believe in your plan, but I sure do believe in you.” Chloe gave her a one-armed squeeze. “And I believe that Knox should thank his lucky stars that you’ve got him in your crosshairs.”

Knox leaned back in the soft leather club chair. Stretched out his legs. Looked around the Nats Park suite at his best friends; the table covered with soft pretzels, peanuts, and four kinds of popcorn; and the gleaming fridge he knew contained more than enough beer to get them through not only this game, but probably the next night’s, too. He cracked his knuckles as he laced his fingers behind his head with a satisfied sigh.

“Nothing,
nothing
erases a bad week like a baseball game.”

“Hold up,” Riley said. He made a time-out sign with his hands. “We gotta talk this through. What about a soccer game? We are the ACSs. American soccer survivors, remember? If it’s in our nickname, it ought to be our sport of choice.”

“You won’t find a bigger fan of the D.C. United than this guy right here.” Griffin thumped his chest, right over the big red logo W on his jersey. “But RFK Stadium doesn’t have kick-ass suites. They barely have seats. I vote with Knox. Living the suite life’s the way to turn a week around.”

Riley rolled his eyes. But he also cracked open an icy bottle of Dogfish Head IPA. A pricey microbrew that would never be on the menu at RFK. Which sort of shot the legs out from under his position. “Josh? Back me up here?”

Josh squeezed a hand around the brim of his new red baseball cap, trying to shape it. “I’ve got a surefire way to settle this. Knox, are we having those meatball sliders I liked so much last time?”

This wasn’t even a fair fight. “Of course. And this mac-n-cheese madness table. Four kinds. One has a BBQ potato chip crust.”

“Sold. Baseball beats soccer for the amenities. Go big or go home, that’s my motto.”

Griff snickered. “Especially when it comes to beer and boob size.”

“I like a bold ale. And we all like boobs. If you like something, isn’t more always better?”

With a loud clearing of her throat, Chloe said, “You guys do realize I’m in the room, right?”

They all turned to look at her, curled up in the corner reading on her iPad. She usually came with Griffin to the games now. Chloe didn’t seem to give a shit about baseball, but she and Griff were attached at the zipper. So she’d give him space to shoot shit with the ACSs until dinner arrived, then cozy up by the first pitch.

“Yeah, but you’re one of us now. We don’t have to be politically correct in front of you anymore.” Josh swiveled his head to look askance at all the others. “Do we?”

She scrunched her nose. Held it for a minute while tucking a long strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. Then burst out laughing. “No, Josh. I just wanted to see you squirm.”

Griffin leaned down to give her an approving and noisy smack on the lips. “Definitely one of us.”

It was true. They all loved the sweet and quirky letter writer. Not as much as Griff did, obviously, but like the sister they never realized just how much they needed. And if Logan ever got his ass back on the same damn continent, he’d feel the same way.

She got up to ruffle Josh’s hair. “I kind of love that you’ve stopped being so careful around me. It’s fascinating to hear you guys talk with no filter. Women all over the District would pay big money for this peek into your undiluted selves.”

“Might I remind you that, thanks to SER, people all over the world pay…well, some money for exactly that. Or haven’t you seen the latest ad for the
Naked Men
podcast?” Riley spread his hands as though framing the ad on the subway. “Raw. Real. Exposed.
Naked Men.
”

Crossing her arms over her red tank top, Chloe shuddered. “That’s horrible.”

“Right? Sounds more like they’re describing a bad case of a crotch with jock itch.”

“Ewww. Maybe you could be a
little
careful with what you say. I didn’t need that image in my brain. This is why we need more girls on these excursions.”

“You know your friends are always invited, Chloe.” Knox gestured to the expanse of the suite. “We’ve got room.”

“Why should I have to do the work? Why can’t you guys bring in a few fun girls to keep me company?”

That hit a little close to home. Waaay close to home. As if Chloe had knowledge that Knox had used almost those exact words when inviting Madison…Shit. He sprang to his feet. “What do you know?”

“Probably not as much as you.” She winked—fucking winked—and sashayed past him to the bowl of caramel corn. “But then, I’m not a card-carrying genius.”

“Stop the sass. I require a real answer.” Because that sure as hell wasn’t a coincidental echo of his words. What had Madison told her? Wasn’t throwing Knox into a tailspin enough damage?

“Figure it out, Knox.”

“What’s going on?” Griffin asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Are you fighting?”

“Not at all.” Chloe gave an angelic smile that probably fooled no one in the room. “Quite the opposite. Because I feel for the guy, I’m bending over backward to give him a heads-up. But, since he
is
a guy, Knox isn’t too fast with taking the ball and…dribbling it? Is that how the saying goes?”

“You’re adorable when you try to talk sports. And I appreciate the effort you make.” Griff put a hand under Chloe’s knees and picked her up in his arms. After a quick spin that made her squeal, he got down to the serious business of kissing. Lots of kissing. PDA big enough to be on the Jumbotron. As if they didn’t have a care in the world. As if Knox weren’t standing right there, waiting for a damn answer.

“Less kissing.” When that did nothing to cool their jets, Knox nipped the hat from Griff’s head. The good-luck cap he’d bought at the very first game in this ballpark and regarded as both solemn and untouchable. “More telling me what the hell’s going on.”

“Well, batting practice is over.” Madison hovered in the doorway for a split second before strolling right in and over to Knox. “But they haven’t sung the National Anthem yet, so I’d venture to say not a whole heck of a lot.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. “Hi there.”

“Hi.” God, she looked great. Just a blue tee over denim shorts, and sneakers on her feet. But the tee strained across those gorgeous breasts. The shorts molded to her magnificent ass. And there was some spectacular length of leg exposed between their hem and her shoes. Yeah, all the questions whirling through his brain went on pause while he just drank her in. Shit. He had it bad. Since when did a woman ever derail his brain? Knox was the king of multitasking. But right now the only thing holding his attention was Madison. And she wasn’t even looking at him anymore. Instead, she’d moved to the center of the suite.

“I’m Madison Abbott. Knox has told me very little about all of you. Although he did mention that he shoots straighter and makes more kicks on goal than Josh. Who’s that?”

Josh raised his arm. “I’ll answer to the name, but not the insult.” He stood to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you, Madison. And don’t believe even half of what this asshat says. He’s got an overinflated sense of…well, everything.”

“Riley Ness. I hear you’re new in town. Welcome.”

Oh, that was so damn like Riley. Acting so polite that women mistook it for charm. A lazy move by a man who didn’t have any better ones.

And yet Madison responded, awarding him with a big smile full of her overflowing warmth and friendliness. “I suppose that makes you Lieutenant Montgomery. Both by default and because Chloe’s got her hand tucked into the pocket of your shorts.”

“Both true.” Griffin pulled Madison into a one-armed hug. “Chloe tells me you’re a handful of fun.”

“Only a handful? Geez, Chloe, why’d you sell me so short?”

“I didn’t want Griffin tempted by a beautiful blonde who makes the best chicken enchiladas on the planet.”

Knox ground his back teeth together. Everyone was being all polite and chitchatty and so fucking normal that his head might very well implode like a black hole. These same men had spent a whole night siding with him. Saying that Madison would suck the independence from the very marrow of his bones. Where was all that conviction now? Said conviction that had kept him from asking her out again. A decision he’d wrestled with every single night. Alone in his fucking bed.

“Did I miss anything?” Madison asked, eyes wide.

“Nooo.” Griffin drew out the word so long it turned into a complete sentence, full of innuendo and nuance. Then he angled himself to stare at Knox. “I’d say the good part’s just about to begin.”

Knox almost reached for her hand. Then he remembered the alluring, silken texture of her skin and resisted. Because a man could take only so much. Staring at Madison had already weakened his resolve. Touching her would dissolve it faster than touching a soap bubble. “How’d you get in?”

“Well, you put my name on the list. So I walked over from the subway, got a little lost finding the suite, because you didn’t tell me which floor it was on, and now I’m here.”

Smart-ass. Which he liked. Damn it, he liked everything about Madison except her death-march-to-the-altar approach to life. “No. I mean,
why
are you here?”

“For a good time?”

Riley snorted. “That’s what all of Knox’s dates say at the start. Pretty sure he prints it on his business card. Or maybe it’s just written under his phone number on a couple dozen bathroom stalls.”

Enough. Enough of other people clogging up the conversation worse than the gridlock on 95 at rush hour. Enough of them staring at him and Madison like they were a pair of zoo animals.

“Come out here.” He nudged at the small of her back to guide her to the seats on the other side of the Plexiglas. Out here all the noise of the field was amplified, but it was better than having his friends breathing down their necks. “Madison, I thought we, uh, sort of broke up?”

“I never said that. You never said that. For a scientific guy, you sure canoed out of Factland all the way over into Lake Assumption.”

Good point. Knox would lay out the facts. With correct terminology. “Okay, you’re right. Not a breakup. But a break. To figure things out. So I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” He figured they’d both take some time, regroup. In his experience, women didn’t get over a fight quickly. If at all. In fact, the handful of relationships he’d had that lasted more than a week—okay, still less than a month, but they counted—each time a simple argument had ended things. He’d never come back from a fight with a woman before. Didn’t know it was possible.

“There’s nothing to figure out. Especially not by someone as bright as you.”

He felt about as bright as a firefly. Yeah, they’d talked since their last date. It’d been weird, though. Because the whole time Knox worried Madison was mentally measuring him for a tux and cummerbund. Nothing had changed. He’d keep trying to get her pants off. She’d keep trying to put a wedding veil on.

“But we had a big fight.”

All that got out of her was a blink. And then another. “So what?”

This woman frustrated him, infuriated him. Challenged him. It was the most fun he’d ever had with the opposite sex…with clothes on anyway. “You fight…and it’s over. Done. Splitsville.”

“You fight, you clear the air, and you get on with it. Geez, I can’t believe you actually talk about relationships on that podcast of yours.” Madison went up on tiptoe to give him a patronizing pat on the head. “What’s your longest relationship?”

“In hours?”

“That short, huh? Doesn’t surprise me.”

“It’s by choice, you know,” he snapped. “I get what I want out of my time with a woman, be it three hours or three days, and then I get bored. Get the urge to try something else.”

“Are you bored now?”

Hell the fuck no. Madison’s hunger for trying everything, wanting everything the world had for her to discover, resonated with him. Her earthy sexiness rang his bell. And her ability to punch through his defenses amused and intrigued him.

But her marriage-mania freaked him the fuck out. So Knox crossed his arms and stared across the field. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“That’s a no, then,” she said with a jab of her elbow into his biceps. “Don’t try to play coy, Knox. That only works when women do it.”

“What do you want from me?” he burst out. Knox tore off his cap in frustration and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to be the good guy here. Be totally up front. Mature. You want a proposal. I don’t. Period.”

“Knox, honey, take a breath.” Madison framed her face with her palms. “There’s a happy medium between a three-night hookup and marriage. It’s called dating. People smooch, they occasionally fight, which usually leads to seriously hot makeup sex, and then they do it all over again.
That’s
what I want.”

Odd how easy and normal she made it sound. Appealing, even. Except for the fact that Knox knew her endgame. Impossible not to lean into her touch, though. “Then they either get married or break up.”

“Yeah, and everyone’s going to die eventually, too. Maybe you get beaned with a fly ball tonight and keel over. Maybe you hang in there for another fifty years. It doesn’t mean the days until then can’t be jam-packed with goodness.”

Huh. Dating as a way to fill the space
between
hookups. It didn’t commit him to anything. It just stretched out the enjoyment. Like watching the extended director’s cut of a movie. Which he loved doing. All those extra minutes were a fun addition to a story.

It was a new approach for Knox. One that he was well aware many people bought into. Maybe it was worth at least trying. The escape hatch of his nakedly honest vow to not stick around would always be there. Nothing said he had to use it after a week or it’d lock down forever.

Wait. Just…wait. His willingness to try something new was borne out of his scientific curiosity. Nevertheless, a separate yet connected fact remained unchanged. “You still want to get married, though.”

“Yes.” As Knox opened his mouth to launch into all the ways that didn’t work for him, Madison shushed him with a finger to his lips. “Not tomorrow. Not next month. Not right after the next time we have sex. And, as long as we’re being all aboveboard and cards on the table, maybe not to you at all.”

He snapped his teeth. Madison pulled back with a laughing squeal. “Is that insult supposed to make me feel better?” he growled.