If You Leave: The Beautifully Broken Series: Book 2 Read Free

I’m here.”
    She eyes me and I can see now that her eyes are blue.
    “Somehow,” she says thoughtfully, “I doubt I’m any safer.”
    I smile. “Somehow, I think you’re right.”
    The funny thing is, she doesn’t look worried. In fact, she steps closer and leans against the filthy brick wall beside me. Even under the yellowed dingy streetlight, she looks flawless.
    “You’re going to get dirty,” I point out. She looks up at me innocently, her blue eyes wide.
    “I like getting dirty sometimes.”
    And then she grins a wicked grin.
    I feel like I’ve been sucker-punched as all the air whooshes out of my body. A suggestive grin like that on this runway model is too much for my logical thought processes to overcome. My good sense has apparently been hijacked by my hormones.
    Tossing the smoke down on the sidewalk, I grind the heel of my boot into it. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, but I don’t much care at this point. I’m horny and she’s gorgeous. That’s a perfect arrangement if I ever saw one. The air between us practically crackles with sexual attraction.
    I look down at her and as I do, I let myself lean into her. She’s soft and she smells even softer.
    “I’m Gabriel.”
    “I’m Madison,” she answers. She hasn’t looked away from me even once. She’s definitely into me, although God knows why. I’m as different from her as I can be.
    “Why are you here, Madison?” I ask. “You seem a little out of place.”
    She suddenly looks self-conscious. “A friend talked me into coming. She thought I needed a night in the big city. But I really wish I was home instead. I’m tired and these heels hurt.”
    I smile. Her shoes do look painful as hell. I’ve never understood why women wear shit like that.
    “So you don’t live here?”
    She shakes her head and as she does, her scent seems to envelop us, blocking out the pungent city smells. Her nearness is intoxicating and I brace myself against it so I don’t get sucked in any further.
    “No. I’m from a little lake town, just an hour or so from here. But it seems like a world away. I’m not much of a big-city girl. Not anymore, anyway.”
    I actually wouldn’t have guessed that. She’s got that perfectly put-together look that big-city girls have, that perfectly confident attitude.
    She nudges me, her slender shoulder bumping mine. “Why are you here? You don’t look like you fit here either. Not here at this club, anyway.”
    I cock an eyebrow. “Oh?”
    The Underground is a trendy Chicago hot spot. And she’s right. I don’t fit in here. I fit in a Humvee in the hills of Afghanistan. Except I don’t. Not anymore.
    Madison notices my expression and flushes.
    “No offense. But you’re not wearing skinny jeans and hipster glasses. You seem more like… the football-playing type. Or the outdoors type, maybe.”
    I smile down at her. “No offense taken. And I
am
more of the outdoors type.”
    The gun-toting soldier type, to be exact, but I don’t say that.
    Madison looks relieved. “I thought so. So what are you doing in the middle of the city?”
    “What makes you think I don’t live here? Can’t I enjoy the outdoors but still live in the city? Or am I too uncool for that?” I raise my eyebrow again.
    She flushes yet again. “I’m sorry. I guess I just assumed. Where do you live?”
    I grin. “Here. Just call me a fish out of water.”
    She shakes her head and swats at me, but I easily catch her wrist and pull her to me instead. It’s a ballsy move, but I’m feeling cocky. She doesn’t resist, which both pleases and surprises me.
    She presses against me, looking into my eyes. She looks expectant and nervous, confident yet hesitant. Her tits are smashed against me, making it hard to form coherent thoughts, hard to examine our differences or even her motives. Her softness is the perfect contrast to my hardness. That’s all I can think about.
    “To answer your question, I’m here at the club because my little