Chapter Sixteen
Madden
She was lounging on her couch, watching some documentary on Kurt Cobain when her back door opened and then shut. She got to her feet, stretching her arms above her head. “You better have brought me some more food. I’m fucking starving.”
She rounded the corner as Linc unloaded a bunch of bags on the dining room table. “The guy at the Chinese food place thinks I’m insane.”
She grabbed a couple plates and set them on the table. She’d disinfected it when Corey had left.
Linc handed her a container of sesame chicken, smirking. “And I thought you said we’d never do dinner together.”
She popped a piece in her mouth, chewing before addressing his comment. “Number one, this is takeout. Number two, it’s also lunch.”
They ate in silence for a while, exchanging heated glances across the recently cleaned, but formerly defiled dining room table. Eventually Linc leaned back in his chair, clearing his throat. “What are you going to do about Baze?”
“Fuck him, I guess.” She was totally kidding, but the dark look that crossed Linc’s face made it clear that he didn’t find her funny. Madden snorted. “I’m joking, lighten up.”
“If you fuck him, I’ll kill him.”
Madden felt chills go down her spine. “What?” Linc blinked back at her, his gaze icy and distant, like he was no longer there. Like someone else had taken over his body. “Linc?” She snapped her fingers in front of his face like she’d had to yesterday. “Hey.”
He gave a small shake of his head and went back to eating. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“Uh, I’m fine. Little horny, but I’m about to take care of that.” He sent her a flirty smile and a wink. “Why?”
“You just threatened to kill Baze.” Right? Had she imagined that too?
“What? No, I didn’t.” Linc was chewing around a mouth full of orange chicken like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Yes, you did. You said, ‘If you fuck him I’ll kill him.’” Was she the crazy one?
Linc snorted then took another large bite of rice. “Nah. Doesn’t sound like me. Plus, Baze is a boss with a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas. He’d kick my ass.”
Okay. So maybe she was the nut-job here. But she could have sworn…
“What are you going to do about Baze? You never answered me. Corey is going to expect you to at least flirt with him.”
Was she being filmed? Was this some kind of hidden camera show? She had answered him. And then he’d gone all dark and scary. Right? “Uh, I don’t know. Flirt a little, I guess.”
Linc looked up, all humor gone once again, but at least his eyes weren’t glassy. “Why don’t you just tell Corey that you changed your mind? That you don’t want him after all?”
It was her turn to snort with laughter. “Because she’ll never buy it.” Madden took a deep breath. “Corey has known me pretty much my whole life.”
Linc kept staring at her. He still seemed to be himself, though. Albeit a pissed-off version. “But you don’t date? You don’t do relationships?”
“True love doesn’t exist. People aren’t meant to be monogamous, and trying only leaves you with your heart crushed in the end.” She got up to put her plate in the sink. “You’re one to talk. From the way I hear it, you’ve slept with every girl in Colorado.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Takes one to know one.”
Linc’s reputation was definitely one of the reasons she’d decided to jump into their little arrangement. He didn’t seem like the type of guy who would want more from her than she was willing to give. “Something like that.” She grabbed his empty plate and placed it in the sink next to hers. “Thanks for unpacking all those boxes. You didn’t have to do that.”
He stood, his hands on his hips as he surveyed the box-free living room. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“You left pretty quick last night.” She wanted to ask what happened. What bug had jumped up his ass to make him tear out of her house like it was on fire? But at the same time she wanted to leave it alone. Things were odd between them. Intense and consuming. Rationally, she knew she should back off, push him away a little. But the reality and truth was, she wanted him too badly. And she wasn’t ready to let this deep desire inside her go. Not yet.
Ignoring her statement, he crossed the room, picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her straight into her bedroom before setting her back on her feet. He reached behind him and grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head like it was the most natural thing in the world to be undressing in her house.
“Hey, why did Corey say that you normally don’t like Sunday dinners? What’s that about?”
Madden took her shirt off and tossed it on her dresser, following suit. “You answer my question and I’ll answer yours.”
Linc unbuttoned his jeans. “I left because I wanted to stay.”
Madden doubted anyone other than her would understand his answer. But she got it, all too well. “I don’t do Sunday dinners because that was a rule in my house and I find the whole thing unappealing.” They always put on a show, pretending they were so in love. It’d made her sick. She had felt nauseous during every Sunday dinner from the time she was fourteen. “Not my thing.” She pulled her leggings down and off. “Everything with them was fake, including their love for each other.” She had no idea why she added that last bit. He hadn’t asked and she wasn’t one to give away personal information like that.
Linc tossed his boxer briefs at her head. “Is that why you don’t believe in happily ever after?”
She nodded as she unclasped her bra. “Yeah. Why don’t you?”
He beckoned her to him with his finger and then kneeled down and removed her lacey panties. “I never said I didn’t.”
When he stood, Madden shoved him down on her bed. “Condom.” She waited until he grabbed one and rolled it on before she climbed on the bed, straddling his hips.
He grabbed his cock and held it out. “What are you waiting for, baby?”
She narrowed her eyes and then sank down on him, hard.