by Nikki Winter
His father had told him a long time ago that he was incredibly smart, but could do some incredibly stupid shit when he wasn’t thinking things through. The old man hadn’t been wrong. As an only child of two parents who’d been married over thirty years, Maikao was spoiled, to say the least. He was used to getting his way and when it came to women…well, he’d never had any trouble.
With his father’s height, broad shoulders, and strong Samoan features combined with his mother’s smile and eyes, Maikao had known at an early age that he was a fairly attractive kid. That worried Kalei—his mother. Meanwhile, his father Malo had simply handed him a box of condoms at the age of sixteen, patted him on the shoulder and said, “Use them wisely.”
Maikao had gone on to do just that and becoming a firefighter seemed to help his social status in the dating pool all the more. It wasn’t as though that very thing had been an intentional move. Being a firefighter was ingrained in his DNA. His father had done it. Hell, it was even the way his parents met. Malo had rescued Kalei when her apartment building caught fire due to faulty wiring in the basement.
All the Iona men, dating all the way back to the early 19oos, had become at least a lieutenant in their respective departments by the age of forty. He loved his job, loved what he did but he’d begun to hate the fact that people—women in particular—kept associating it with his looks. That had gotten old a long time ago. He was to blame, having set the tone with the way the opposite sex looked at him. Maikao had gone through more women than he could count, always being careful to make sure they knew he had no intentions of settling down, and he was not yet ready to make that type of commitment.
But the night he’d met Addison, that all changed. It wasn’t so much that her ass was hanging halfway out of her dress...okay, that was a part of it, but after Maikao got to talk to her, get to know her, he realized she was different. She hadn’t even batted a lash when he told her what he did for a living. That in itself intrigued him.
He’d made a vow to himself to never cross the boundary lines with her because he loved having her as a friend more than he thought he would love having her as a bedmate. But when she asked him about dating Eli, Maikao’s way of thinking flipped. He couldn’t hand Addison over to another man...ever.
Once he came to that particular conclusion, he then decided that he needed to figure out exactly how he was going to let her know how he felt without losing her forever. He knew Addison thought he was a man-whore but the truth of it was, he hadn’t touched another woman since the first night he saw her.
At first he’d made the excuse that none of them really understood him the way she had, that they didn’t have the same sense of humor, or latent dorkiness that he found so adorable about her. Then he thought he couldn’t sleep with anyone else because his work hours were taking a toll on him. But the night he finally realized that no other woman did it for him—aside from Addison—was the night he’d inhaled too much smoke putting out a house fire.
She’d been the one to pick him up from the hospital, the one to get him to shower and the one to make sure he slept properly. She’d also been the one to make his dick harder than it had ever been when he glimpsed her coming out of the bathroom late at night, nothing on but the same ribbed tank top he’d mentioned to her last week and a pair of boy-cut panties. Being that he and Addison had very few secrets, Maikao had chalked it up to the fact that she was just comfortable enough to get good and half-naked around him. It didn’t stop his cock from throbbing every time he thought about her in that getup, though.
Having her in his arms, her mouth on his, tongue stroking against his own while he got to touch and taste every part of her his hands and mouth had access to had been like the last slice of chocolate cake. It’s the one you hid away and saved for late at night to savor every last piece, emptiness hitting the pit of your belly once it was all gone, but hope taking over because you’re well aware that there’s more where that came from.
“Um, do I need to give you a moment?” Carmen said snapping Maikao out of his line of thoughts. “Because that glazed look, well, I just don’t think I should be seeing that.”
He snorted and sat back in his seat, eyes still on the two-carat princess-cut diamond that had been burning a hole in his pocket for the last year or so.
“You sure you want to spring out the ring on her already?” Carmen questioned.
“She needs to know I’m serious.” He looked over at the woman who had become a little sister to him. “You think I’m good for Addie, right? That I’m the one for her?”
Leaning towards him, she gripped his much larger hand and squeezed it. “If I didn’t, you wouldn’t even exist to me. She’s stubborn as shit and extremely strong-willed—which is why she needs you. I couldn’t think of one man better to handle our little Addie than you.”
He quirked a brow. “Not even Eli?”
Carmen had spent time occupying Eli the night of the ball and apparently had her own opinions about Maikao’s friend. She rolled her eyes now and flashed him a smile. “Not even Eli.” Carmen kissed him on the forehead. “Stop being so afraid to go after her.”
He was just about to reply when he caught the flash of a familiar pilfered ball cap out of the corner of his eye. Lifting his head, Maikao’s eyes landed right on Addison who looked like she was seconds away from attempting to castrate him with a spoon. As soon as he remembered that Carmen had grabbed his hand, he knew why.
Maikao swore as he watched her expression shut down before she turned around and walked out with her mother.
Carmen looked up from her menu. “What?”
“I just saw Addie.”
It was her turn to swear. “I forgot that this is one of her favorite places.” She popped him on the back of the head. “Don’t just sit there, run after her!”
He didn’t have to be told twice, Maikao hopped up and was out the front doors within seconds, just in time to reach the parking lot and see Addison speed by in her two-door car, hand out of the window with her middle finger raised as high as it could possibly go.
Chapter Five
“You!” Addison’s head snapped up from the chart in her hand, gaze clashing with Carmen’s as the other woman stomped towards her, eyes narrowed. Her best friend stopped a few feet away from her and pointed towards the doors. “Outside. Now.”
Brows lowering, Addison stayed right where she was. “Kiss my—”
“Addison. Selena. McClain.”
She winced, then looked over Carmen’s shoulder. Carmen’s mother stood, glaring back at her. Addison’s lip curled. “You snitched?”
“I knew it was the only way you’d talk to me.”
Chin lifting, she shook her head. “I’m still not—”
“Addison...” Angelina Sanchez warned softly from behind her daughter.
Jaw now clenched, she sucked it up and followed them outside, able to spare a few minutes because she was just about to go on break. As soon as they stepped out of the doors, Carmen pinched her.
“Ow! You psycho! What was that?”
“That was me refraining from punching you in the head! Me and Mak? You’re seriously telling me you actually believe that bullshit?”
Addison’s eyes narrowed. “The yelling seems excessive.”
“No, it’s necessary because you have apparently lost what little sanity you have if you think I’m dating Mak! That’s just...just...” Carmen’s face twisted in disgust as if she couldn’t find the right words. She looked towards her mother.
Angelina, obviously amused by the course of conversation said, “Don’t look to me, baby girl. I don’t have any negative words to describe Mak. I’m just here as a pawn in your manipulative plot to force Addie to talk to you.”
“Oh you are so much help...” Carmen rolled her eyes.
“I’m hearing tone.” Angelina sung.
Biting her lip, Addison’s friend looked back to her, irritation written all over her face. “You,” She pointed at Addison, “Know better than to a
ctually believe I would—”
“I get it, okay?” Addison exploded. “I was stupid to even have a lingering doubt, but with the way things looked…” She rubbed her temples. “It was asinine and I’m sorry. It’s been bugging me for days on end. I just figured maybe Mak was trying to get back at me, show me how it feels because I kept bothering him about Eli.”
“What you may want to examine,” Angelina said softly, putting an arm around Addison’s shoulders. “Is why you had that reaction in the first place, sweetheart. I think you’re a little too eager to wipe away whatever is there between you and Maikao. I’ve watched him watch you and if the man wasn’t good at putting out fires, one would think he started them...namely, in the pants.”
“Mom,” Carmen whined, rubbing her eyes. “Could you not?”
Angelina blinked innocently, looking more like her daughter than she should have in that moment. “I’m simply stating a fact.”
“You’re being a creepy cougar. Cut it out.” Nudging her mother to the side, Carmen kissed Addison on the cheek. “I forgive your momentary bout of bad judgment.” Then she pinched her again, ignoring her yelp. “But if you ever pull that again, we’re having a bare knuckle brawl so I can knock some sense back into you.”
Snorting, Addison poked her friend in the forehead. “I don’t think your brain can take any more damage.”
Carmen’s dark eyes narrowed. “It’s like you want me to hurt you.”
Addison winked. “Maybe if there’s leather involved.”
“Yes, let’s have this particular conversation with my mother standing inches away.”
Angelina waved a hand, eyes on the screen of her phone. “Don’t worry. I have those same plans later with Nate, the cute football coach at NMSU.” She looked up, waggling her brows. “Wanna see the text he just sent me?”
Carmen looked up to the sky, eyes closed—even as Addison laughed and laughed—intoning in all seriousness, “God, it is I, your humble servant—”
“Stop playing before he smites you for lying.” Angelina interrupted.
“—I believe I am ready to cross the gates now.” Carmen continued.
Addison wiped tears from her eyes. “You two have to be the most entertaining people I will ever know in this life.”
“Oh, don’t get too giddy, baby girl.” Angelina murmured, eyes now back on her phone. “Selena’s doing a double date with me. From what I know about your mother,” She looked at Addison, brows practically in her hairline. “She does enjoy her—”
“Stop right there!” Addison threw up her hands. “Not another word. We will not, now or ever, discuss my mother’s adult activities!”
Angelina tucked in her lips, obviously fighting not to laugh. “All righty, then...”
“Uh, Addie?”
Looking over her shoulder, Addison saw Eli coming towards her, smile in place. “Eli?” She glanced back to Carmen whose face had suddenly gone blank and Angelina who had the beginnings of something inappropriate forming on her lips. “Not. One. Word,” she warned the one woman she considered a second mother. Angelina pouted, but said nothing.
Addison looked back to Eli, who’d gotten closer. “What are you doing here?”
He grinned softly. “I wanted to ask you something.”
Rage had a stronghold on him. There was no more being calm. No more brushing it off. No more laughing about it and letting it go. Maikao parked his truck and was out within seconds. Walking through the lobby of Addison’s apartment building, he hit the button for the elevator and waited impatiently for it to come down.
“Eli has officially made his move...” Carmen’s words rang in his head as the muscles in his jaw worked. Maikao gripped the back of his neck, closing his eyes. She’d called him as soon as she could, reaching him right after his shift at the firehouse. Today had been a long one, his mind solely on Addison, the look on her face days ago as she’d left him and Carmen behind.
He’d known what she thought and figured showing up at her place unannounced would earn him no more than a slit in his throat. That hadn’t stopped him from calling during his break and after second shift right before bed, leaving message after message along with texts. Not one of them had been answered.
So when Carmen told him that Eli had shown up at the hospital Addison worked at, asking her to dinner and she’d accepted...something inside him snapped. The last bit of control he’d carefully kept leashed these past few months had managed to unchain itself and there was no going back.
Addison was pushing him. She had to know that after what happened at the charity ball he was in no mood to play games anymore and yet, she was still attempting to. Oh, Maikao had a game for her. It involved putting her over his knee and reddening her ass until he was good and ready to stop.
The elevator dinged, finally indicating that it had arrived. As the doors parted, Makaio caught a glimpse of someone standing in the corner of the small confined space. He looked up and his heart skipped. Addison stood there, furiously typing something in on her phone, bottom lip caught beneath her teeth, long legs crossed over one another.
His eyes roved the strapless summer dress she’d chosen to wear. The tiered skirt flaring out about her hips, the light floral pattern perfectly correlating with the wedge sandals on her feet, hair pulled back in a bun, rope earrings dangling from her delicate ears. The only makeup on her beautiful face consisted of a little eyeliner and some gloss.
He shouldn’t have felt so goddamned jealous that she’d put all this work in for Eli, being that it probably didn’t take her more than a half an hour. But knowing that the special scent of magnolias and rosewater would’ve been teasing his best friend’s senses, her creamy brown skin catching just the right lighting to make her appear like she was glowing, her plump lips parting in smiles just too intimate for Maikao’s peace of mind—oh, well, that just didn’t sit right with him. That didn’t sit right with him at all.
So he took great pleasure in stepping into the elevator, snatching her phone from her hands and pinning her in on either side with his arms as she gasped in surprise. “Going somewhere, Addie?”
Her eyes widened. “What’re you doing here, Mak?” She attempted to reach around him. “Give me back my phone.”
He held himself out of reach, and then hit the button for the elevator to go all the way up to the twenty-fifth floor. “I don’t think so. Seems to me you don’t know what to do with a phone. When you learn, you can have it back.”
“Mak, I’m not playing this game with you.”
Eyes narrowing, he leaned in and hissed. “This game? Oh, no, Addie, you won’t play this game. Maybe because you’re having too much fun playing your own.” His hand slammed down on the metal wall near her, causing her to jump. “Almost two fucking weeks of me pulling my goddamn hair out, pacing, jumping through hoops trying to get you to talk to me and you’re going out with Eli? Are you out of your mind?”
She growled. “Carmen.”
“Yes, Carmen. But do you know what I’m more so worried about right now? The fact that you assumed I’d sit back and let this continue.”
A snarl twisted her lips. “You are not my father. You don’t have a say in what I do and don’t do.”
“Being that I have anything but fatherly feelings for you, I can agree. However, Addie, I very well do have much say in you dating other people.”
“Oh, I get it.” Her voice dropped dangerously low. “So because your he-man act almost had you fucking me up against a wall not too long ago, you think you have some claim on me.”
“Exactly,” Maikao confirmed.
Eyes narrowing, Addison spoke through clenched teeth. “Survivor’s intuition should be telling you that it would be a good idea for you to hit the first floor button and get as far away from me as possible.”
He grinned. A big, cheesy, shit-eating grin. “I’m a firefighter, sweetheart. In case you forgot, I have little to no survivor’s intuition, being that I risk my life every day.” Stooping down so that they were
now eye to eye, he whispered, “I could very well hit the first floor button and leave but then I’d be depriving myself of something.”
Her gaze held the question that he knew she wouldn’t allow to leave her mouth so he reached over and hit the stop button before pressing her firmly into the elevator wall. “I’ve got you cornered, Addie and I’ll be damned if I let this chance slip by again.”
Trouble. She was in so much trouble right now. She should’ve known that when Eli asked her out, it wouldn’t end well, but that extremely rebellious part of her psyche just refused to give in. She’d been texting Carmen when he showed up, her friend trying to convince her that her date with Eli was a bad idea. Addison licked her lips and shot a glance towards the elevator control panel. “Start up the elevator, Mak.”
“Why?” he taunted, his hazel eyes glittering down at her. “Am I making you nervous?”
Yes. Yes, he was. But she would never admit that. “No,” she lied smoothly. “I just think you should be aware of the attention you might draw.”
Smirking, Maikao replied, “How soon we forget. This building is not only older but I know for a fact that there have been several times during the week that everyone here has had to use the stairs because it’s gone out. Try again, sweetheart.”
Goddammit, he was right. She glared. “I just don’t understand what you want from me.”
“It’s quite simple, Addie.” His gaze was on her lips. “You. I just want you.”
Eyes closing, Addison leaned her head back onto the wall. “You don’t want me, Mak. You just don’t want anyone else to want me.”
“I don’t want anyone else to want you because I want you.” Those hazel irises darkened. “You think I’d be nipping at your heels like some lost puppy if I didn’t?”
