His Taste of Temptation: In the Line of Duty, Book 3

by Cathryn Fox

  Brad tossed his gear back into his toolbox, then stood, his body crowding hers in the confided space.

  When he coughed again, she said, “Brad you don’t have to do this. You’re not feeling well.”

  “Neither are you, which is why I need to get this done right away. You won’t get a plumber in here for hours, and I don’t want you without water for that long.”

  Her heart tightened at his thoughtfulness but before she could respond, she heard Sophie’s voice at the foot of the stairs. “Hey, Madison, what’s going on?”

  “Come on up and see for yourself,” Madison called out. She stepped into the hall to meet her friend, and when Sophie took one look at her hair, she crinkled her nose.

  “Did you get in a fight with the egg beater?”

  Great, just what she needed, her friend drawing attention to her frazzled hair. As if a red, stuffed-up nose and watery eyes weren’t bad enough. Madison pulled an elastic band off her wrist and tied back her long, wet curls. “Broken pipe.”

  “Again?” Sophie groaned when she reached the landing.

  “Yeah, because it was never fixed right in the first place,” Brad’s deep voice rumbled from within the bathroom.

  Sophie stepped past Madison, and her eyes lit up when she spotted Brad. “Hey, Brad,” she said in the same flirtatious tone she always used around the Crosby brothers. Her gaze rolled over him and Madison worked to smother a spark of jealousy she knew better than to feel. “I didn’t realize you were back.”

  “Been back for a while now.”

  Surprised to hear that, Madison’s head came back with a start. She hadn’t seen Brad around for weeks and just assumed he was hanging out in Tallulah, Louisiana, after his friend’s wedding. No doubt he’d found himself a nice, hot bridesmaid to occupy himself with.

  Come to think of it, Brad had been coming around her place less and less and it made her wonder if the brothers had had a fight, although Jonah hadn’t mentioned anything about it.

  “So, how was the wedding?” Sophie asked.

  His grin was wry, highly sardonic. “Let’s just say it’s good to be home.” The look on his face combined with his dark tone let them both know how he felt about love and marriage. Unlike his brother, who loved to play the field and had no desire to change his lifestyle, Brad hadn’t always hated the idea of settling down. In fact, he’d been engaged once himself. But it had turned out badly when he’d come back from his tour early to find his girl in bed with another guy—or at least that’s what Madison had heard. He’d changed after that, dating casually, avoiding commitment, and rarely staying in one place for very long.

  “Why don’t you grab your stuff—” Brad gestured past Madison’s shoulder, nodding toward her bedroom, “—and you can shower at my place while I drop Jonah off and make a quick trip to the hardware store.”

  The thought of climbing into his shower, using the same soap he’d lathered his body with earlier that morning had her nipples aching and her sex moistening. Hoping to hide her body’s reaction, she coughed into her sleeve and said, “That’s okay, I can just grab a shower at Sophie’s.”

  “Only if you’re really, really quiet.” Sophie frowned and smoothed her blonde hair behind her ears. “Karley was up with the baby all night and the two are sleeping it off.”

  Madison drove her hands into her apron pockets. She’d forgotten that their friend Karley and her newborn Brooklyn were staying with Sophie until her husband returned from overseas.

  “Besides,” Brad said, “you don’t want to spread your cold germs around.”

  It was true. She didn’t want to risk giving her germs to an infant.

  “Yeah,” Sophie agreed, her expression deadpan as she nudged Madison with her elbow. “You should probably go to Brad’s. That way you can make as much noise as you want. Heck, you could even scream and no one would hear you.”

  Fully aware of her friend’s innuendo, Madison sniffed and glared at her. Oh, she was so going to kill her when she got her alone. “But then I’ll be spreading my germs around his place, won’t I?”

  As if on cue Brad sneezed. “I’ve got a cold too, so it won’t matter.” Madison exhaled slowly, grateful that he hadn’t picked up on Sophie’s sexual innuendo. Giving her no time to protest, Brad slipped past them. “I’ll meet you at the truck.”

  When he disappeared down the steps, Jonah came out from his room looking rugged and handsome dressed in his army fatigues. “Hey, Sophie,” he greeted before turning to Madison. “Dibs on the first shower,” he said, in typical Jonah fashion, then rushed down the steps after his brother.

  A wide grin split Sophie’s face as she watched him go, her gaze latched on his backside until he disappeared outside. “So,” she said, “you live with one of the hottest guys I know and are about to shower at his gorgeous brother’s place.” Sophie tapped a painted nail on her pursed lips and Madison could almost hear the wheels turning when a sound of delight rumbled in her friend’s throat. “Forget S’mores Cracker, girlfriend. I think it’s high time you made yourself a Graham Sandwich, don’t you?”

  Jesus Christ, Madison was going to be the death of him.

  He’d been hoping to avoid her when he showed up to collect his brother, and the last thing he expected was to find her in a goddamn wet T-shirt, looking so fucking hot he almost shot off a load then and there.

  Brad drummed his fingers on his steering wheel and shifted in his seat, uncomfortable as his cock pressed insistently against his unforgiving jeans. Christ, seeing her in that T-shirt, blinking up at him with those dark bedroom eyes of hers as the lush swell of her body beckoned his touch—his cock—had damn near done him in.

  Fuck.

  He’d be lying if he said he didn’t want her in his bed. Every time he looked at her all he could think about was caging her beneath him and fucking her long and hard, driving balls deep until she screamed out his name. Oh yeah, he’d make her scream, and when he did—contrary to what Sophie thought—everyone would hear it.

  Maybe then he’d be able to stop thinking about her when he was alone at night. Hell, who was he kidding? He thought about her even when he wasn’t alone.

  He’d always liked his kid brother’s best friend, but six months ago, after returning home from a long overseas tour, he suddenly began to see the sweet girl next door in different ways.

  Sinful ways…

  But he wasn’t going to act on his urges, not when she had something going on with Jonah. Shit…

  Truthfully, Brad wasn’t sure what kind of relationship the two had, considering he’d seen them both date other people over the years. But from the comfort level between them, to the way they took care of each other, even going so far as to sharing a place when Jonah had finished his last tour, he knew there had to be deeper feelings involved, and he wasn’t about to take her to his bed, no matter how much he wanted her naked and beneath him. Or naked and on top.

  Or just plain naked.

  Jonah tossed his rucksack into the truck bed and slid into the cab, pulling Brad’s thoughts back from fantasyland. “Hey, bro, what’s up?”

  Brad put his key into the ignition and turned the engine over. “Nothing.” He clenched his jaw hard as he watched Madison and Sophie exit from the downstairs bakery. A frown marred Madison’s pretty face as she spoke to her friend, the Sweetie’s Bakery Closed sign on the door behind her rattling against the glass pane as she locked up. Brad gripped the steering wheel harder. He hated seeing her living and working in such a shitty place, and he knew today’s loss of income was going to have a serious effect on her bank account.

  “You have that look on your face again.”

  Brad angled his head toward his brother. “What look is that?”

  Jonah grinned. “The one you get just before you kick the shit out of me.”

  Brad glared at his brother and scoffed. “Evidently, I should have beaten you more often.” Okay, so he might have roughed up his punk-ass brother a time or two over the years, but it was only
because Jonah had needed it. The boy was a damn fool sometimes, getting into messes that Brad had to clean up behind him.

  “Yeah, well, that’s a matter of opinion,” Jonah said.

  He held his brother’s gaze. “You got something to say?”

  Jonah held his hands up and laughed. “Nope.”

  Madison tapped on the window and Jonah jumped onto the sidewalk to let her climb into the middle. Without conscious thought Brad’s eyes roamed the sexy curves she always kept hidden behind those baggy clothes and icing-stained apron. Damned if he didn’t want to peel those loose-fitting work clothes from her body so he could touch and kiss her lush contours until she writhed beneath him and cried out his name.

  As Madison slid in beside him, her duffle bag clutched to her chest, want pumped through his veins, the sudden, urgent need to help himself to a taste of her sweetness pulling at him hard. Fuck. He looked away, staring at some random woman walking her dog while he did his damnedest to ignore his raging hard-on.

  “Here, give me that.” Jonah took the bag from her and tossed it into the truck bed with his.

  Once he jumped back into the cab, Brad put the vehicle into gear, turned his attention to the road ahead and slipped into traffic. Jonah punched up the volume on the radio and hooked his left arm over the back of the seat, pulling Madison toward him.

  Brad tried to focus on his driving, he really did, but with Madison’s leg rubbing up against his it took effort to stay on the road.

  He drove through the downtown core, and when they passed a vacant building, a For Sale sign on the window, Jonah turned to Madison. “Maybe when I get back we can look for a new place to live.”

  She looked at the building, and there was a hint of gloom in her voice when she said, “I can’t afford to rent an apartment and a business front, and it won’t be easy to find a place where I can live upstairs and turn the main level into Sweetie’s.”

  Jonah curved his arm around her and pulled her in closer. As she rested her head on his shoulder, he brushed a light kiss over her hair. “Don’t worry. I’ll be making some good coin out on the road. It’ll go a long way in finding something nicer than we have now.”

  Feeling like a third wheel, an eavesdropper listening in on a private, intimate conversation, Brad cast a glance their way. His gut clenched when he saw Madison smile up at Jonah. Hell, the two of them even talked like an old married couple. There was no missing how much his brother cared for her, which only solidified Brad’s vow to keep his distance where Madison was concerned.

  Of course, she wasn’t the first girl Brad had walked away from because of his brother. Jonah was fun, wild and had a reputation with the ladies. As teens, a few of Brad’s girlfriends had gravitated toward his charismatic younger brother. Even though Brad wanted to beat the shit out of Jonah for taking his girl instead of doing the honorable thing and backing off, Brad always walked away. Blood was blood and no way would he allow a girl to come between him and his brother. How much could any of those girls have cared anyway, if they had no trouble leaving one brother for the other? Besides, he’d promised his dad that he’d take care of Jonah, and as a man of his word, he chose his family battles carefully. As long as Jonah treated the women properly, there’d be no trouble between brothers.

  His thoughts careened back to a couple years ago, to the night he found his fiancée Jocelyn in bed with another man—doing the one thing he wouldn’t dream of asking her to do for him, considering she’d blatantly told him oral sex was disgusting and there wasn’t a girl in the world who enjoyed giving it. Although she enjoyed the hell out of it when he’d gone down on her, which he did frequently. Fuck, he wasn’t sure what hurt more, seeing her mouth wrapped around some douchebag’s cock, or realizing how stupid she thought he was when she starting spilling lies, telling him it wasn’t what he thought. Sure, whatever. Wouldn’t be the first time a woman had fallen and landed with a hard-on in her mouth and a pair of balls in her hand. Oh yeah, shit like that happened all the time.

  He could have stayed and fought for her, but any girl who would sleep with another man and lie about it while her fiancé was overseas fighting for their country wasn’t worth the battle. And after seeing the same thing happen to a few of his comrades, he’d come to learn that long-distance relationships never worked. Since Brad’s work continued to take him out of state, he decided never to get himself in that kind of situation again. No, now he was into casual sex, no commitments.

  “Besides,” Jonah said, “Brad can help us turn any space into a bakery. Right, bro?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Brad looked at Madison, and when she turned her bright-eyed smile his way, his heart nearly stopped.

  She ran paint-chipped nails along the deep hollow of her throat, and as he watched the movement his mouth watered, his tongue wanting to follow the path of her hands. Heat throbbed through him, and his cock thickened once again, aching to pound into her, hard hot strokes that would leave them both sated and breathless and would finally, finally, get her out of his head.

  “And if something else goes wrong with the place while I’m away, Brad’s your man,” Jonah said.

  As Brad pictured himself stepping in for his brother, his mind ran wild with one delicious idea after the other, and he forced himself to cough, hoping it would rattle some sense back into his lust-drunk brain.

  “Isn’t that right, Brad?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “I can help you out with anything you need.”

  Something flitted across her face when she asked, “Anything?”

  “Yeah, anything,” he assured her, but when she drew her bottom lip between her teeth, and her eyes glazed over like she had other things on her mind, he wondered if they were still talking about her run-down rental…or something else entirely.

  Chapter Two

  Madison stepped into Brad’s apartment, dropped her bag onto his scratched and pitted hardwood floor, and spread her arms wide, enjoying the coolness of the place.

  “Air conditioning,” she said as her eyes slipped shut. “It’s heavenly.”

  Brad’s boots scraped the floor and her lids flicked open in time to see him pick her bag up and place it on the end table next to his tattered sofa.

  Jonah darted off to the shower as she exhaled slowly, her nose clearing when she breathed back in. “I think I’ll stay right here for the rest of the summer.”

  Brad grinned. “It’s fine by me, but you should know that it’s only a one bedroom.”

  “I don’t care. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  He drove his hands into his pockets, pulling his jeans lower on his hips, and his tone was sexy, teasing when he said, “Now what kind of guy would I be to let you sleep on the floor when I have a perfectly good bed you could use?”

  Madison swallowed hard, heat curling a lazy path to her sex as she thought back to when she was a hormonal teen with a vivid imagination. She spent many nights in Brad’s bed back then—without him in it. Their parents had been good friends back in the day and when her mom accompanied her dad on one of his many business trips, Brad’s mom always opened her house to Madison. She’d spent many weekends there, and because Brad was usually hanging at his best friend Garrett Andersen’s house, his mother used to put Madison up in his room. God, how many nights had she fantasized about him coming home unaware she was there, crawling in next to her, kissing her, touching her, making love to her all night long?

  A loud noise from the street below jolted her out of her daydream. As her skin flushed hotly, she looked for a distraction. Needing a moment to compose herself, she padded across the small room to look out. Realizing Brad’s place wasn’t in the best of neighborhoods, she asked, “How long have you lived here?”

  Brad stepped up behind her. The heat of his body engulfed her as he leaned in to look over her shoulder to see what had her attention. “Not long.” His warm breath tickled the fine hairs along her neck as his raspy voice sent a barrage of erotic sensations through her body. “Just since I got back a coup
le months ago.”

  She bit back a breathy moan, her body tantalized by his closeness. She touched a crack in his window, carefully tracing the jagged pattern with her fingertip. “And you accuse me of living in a run-down place,” she managed to get out as his primal essence overwhelmed her.

  He gestured toward the air conditioner propped up in the open kitchen window. “Hey, at least I have air conditioning.”

  As she continued to trace the crack running the length of glass, he reached around and took hold of her hand. “Careful, I don’t want you to cut yourself.”

  The work-roughened pads of his fingers scraped over her skin, reducing her once more to that hormone-driven teen of years ago. It would be so easy to lean back, just for a minute, to see if he felt as good in real life as he did in her dreams. Instead, she stared at the crack in the glass and asked, “Do you plan to stay here long?”

  His hand lingered on her wrist. “I’m not home much, so it doesn’t matter where I crash. This place is as good as any when I’m not on the road.” When she heard the melancholy in his voice, she turned to face him. His jaw flexed, and when she caught the intense way he was looking at her, desire singed her blood. He dipped his head, his gaze settling on her mouth, and for the briefest of moments she thought he was going to kiss her.

  He inched closer, close enough for their breaths to mingle, and she wet her lips, the sweet taste of cherries dancing on her tongue. God, what would it be like to kiss him, to taste the sweetness of his mouth?

  Struggling to form a coherent sentence, and looking for a distraction because she was sure she had to be misreading him—every instinct she had told her she was—she asked, “When do you go back on the road again?”

  “At the end of the month.”

  “After Jonah returns?” she asked.

  At the mention of his brother, his nostrils flared and he jerked back like a grenade had just gone off. “Yeah,” he said, his tone harder. “When Jonah returns.” There was a moment of tense silence as he hovered close, then he spun around and walked away from her. “I…uh…I have to get some supplies from storage.”