Dare to Desire Read Free Page B

had come, had rocked both families deeply. Alex and Ian had remained on opposing sides for ten years.
    Until Riley.
    Ian cleared his throat. “Why not you? Or should I say, who other than you? You will have the unique ability to convince the players this is important. You definitely have media presence when this goes public. And let’s face it, you have nothing else lined up at the moment.”
    “And there’s the asshole I know.”
    Ian grinned. He fucking grinned, as if he already had Alex exactly where he wanted him.
    “Come meet the woman in charge before you make any decisions.”
    Alex nodded. Why not? He was impressed with the program and interested.
    As he followed Ian to the conference room, passing the hall of champions, life-sized photos of past and present Thunder All-Stars, Alex still wondered why Ian had chosen him. But he couldn’t deny the importance or brilliance of the program. There were so many ways guys’ lives did a one-eighty after retirement, forced or otherwise, that training and preparation would only help.
    “Riley’s really behind the idea,” Ian said as they approached the closed wooden door.
    “Way to try and sway me, man.”
    Ian shrugged. “I do what I have to in order to get my way.” He paused and looked Alex in the eye. “So about the woman who will be working alongside you—”
    “I haven’t agreed.”
    “About her,” Ian went on as if Alex hadn’t spoken. “I’m trusting you to be professional.”
    Alex narrowed his gaze, his internal radar on high alert.
    “And to not be a jerk.”
    “Hey!”
    Without replying, Ian opened the door. They stepped into the room, and Alex laid eyes on the one woman he hadn’t been expecting to see. The same woman who’d haunted his dreams and sidetracked him from many of his nightmares.
    Madison faced him head on. Her shoulders drawn back, golden-blonde hair pulled away from her face, she didn’t back down from his stare. She wore a pair of black slacks that hugged her curves and a white silky-looking top that clung to her generous breasts. And those unusually blue eyes frosted over at the sight of him.
    “Alex, I believe you know Madison Evans.”
    Blindsided—and his half brother knew it—Alex strode up to her. He inhaled her familiar fruity scent, which only served as a reminder of the hot times he’d spent breathing her in as his cock moved inside her body. Her effect on him was potent, and even the most common expressions failed him.
    “Alex,” she said, her cool tone bringing his head out of the desire-filled fog he’d found himself in.
    “Hey, Angel,” he said, using the endearment he’d started calling her during their brief time together. Another sign he’d had it bad, whether he’d wanted to admit it or not.
    Her head whipped up, her eyes narrowing and settling on Ian. “This won’t work.” She turned to go.
    Alex still had excellent reflexes, and he grabbed her arm before she could stride past him.
    She glared.
    He didn’t look away, determined to win this battle of wills. This potential job, which had interested him on an intellectual and emotional level initially, suddenly felt even more important, and she was the reason.
    “We need to talk,” he insisted.
    “I have nothing to say.”
    “Ian’s proposition said otherwise.”
    Madison looked over his shoulder in search of Ian and frowned. “Well, the traitor is gone. No big surprise there.”
    Smart man, Alex thought. “If I let you go, will you stay long enough to discuss this position Ian and Riley want me to take?”
    She let out a frustrated puff of air.
    He took that as a yes and released her.
    “Us working together is not a good idea, and somewhere in that thick head of yours, you know that.”
    “Because we slept together? More than a couple of times?”
    She set her jaw. “That was a mistake.”
    Ouch. That hurt, he thought, and filed away the why to deal with later. “I want to know more about this training program and what my role in it