Madd Love (Book Club #4)

1. Jen

ONE

Jen

“You’re telling me you think a good dicking could solve all the world’s problems?”

I chuckle, looking up at Evelyn, who purses her lips. She nods before she pops a chicken puff into her mouth, and I smack her hand as she tries to reach for another one.

“Stop it. Those are for the guests.” I turn my attention back to preparing the last batch of puffs.

“That and bread. I also think if you got laid, you’d be less bitchy; that’s all I’m saying.”

If she only knew.

Evelyn grabs a plate of caprese cups and heads out to place them with the other food staged for this party.

“I need someone to put this pan of chicken puffs into the oven, please.” I hold the pan out.

Pete, one of our prep staff, happens to walk by and grabs the pan from my hand, and places it in one of the three ovens in the new kitchen at Christina and Rim’s house. I check my watch to make sure I keep up with the time needed for the puffs to bake.

I look around the gleaming new high-tech kitchen with a touch of envy. Rim spared no expense when it came to building Christina her dream home.

I’d kill for this kitchen.

“Thank you, Pete.” I move on to the next task as we are finally winding down the initial set-up service for this catering party and just in the nick of time.

I couldn’t say no when Christina and Rim asked Evelyn and me to cater this party. Even with just making heavy hors d’oeuvres, we cut this one close. I could hear the guests arriving earlier, and we are carrying out food still. I like to have everything ready when guests arrive. That’s how it should be, but with last-minute notice, we’re doing okay.

My phone sounds with an incoming message. I pull it from the pocket of my chef’s jacket and can’t help but smile when Maddox Case’s name pops up.

Maddox: You look beautiful in your red chef jacket and a little hot. I think you’d feel better naked, though. Let me help you out of it.

Jen: Lucky, guess. How do you know what I’m wearing? ;)

I add a little smirking emoji. He messaged me last night and wanted to come to my house, but I told him no. I had to get up early today and get things going for this event. He’s a trip.

Maddox: Because I’m watching you, baby girl. I’m in Rim’s backyard. Step outside and let me help you out of that jacket. ;)

What?

I spin around but don’t see anything. It’s too dark out, and the large window mirrors the kitchen’s reflection back to me.

I scan the kitchen for Evelyn, but she seems to have vanished. Where the hell is she? I haven’t seen her since she took the caprese phyllo cups out to set them up. That doesn’t take this long. I take another glance around the kitchen because someone needs to be in charge if I sneak out for a second.

Only a second.

Maddox has this ability to catch me off guard and be ready to get down to business, no matter where or the circumstances and with minimal warning. Now, I’m definitely not complaining, but this comes with its own set of complications.

Once, he messaged me when I was at the grocery store with my mom and my sister. I met him in the stockroom of the grocery store, where he went to town on me behind a stack of cookies. I’ll never be able to look at those elven faces the same way. When I made my way back to my mom, of course, she asked where I had gone. I’m not proud of this, but I concocted a story about asking the butcher for an order of hanger steaks to prepare for my mom and dad’s anniversary dinner. When she asked where they were after I returned empty-handed, I told her the butcher said he was keeping the hanger steaks that day for his daughter’s graduation party.

My mother still gives the poor guy the stink eye whenever we’re at the store.

Sorry, Brandon.

Maddox: Waiting on you…

Shit! Everyone around me is busy, and right now is the perfect moment to slip out unnoticed.

But where the hell is Evelyn?

I just put the chicken puffs in; that gives me about twenty minutes.

I shove my phone into the pocket of my pants and head toward the back door in the kitchen. My staff is swirling around the space as I take a deep breath and open the door.

I don’t know why I always feel nervous when we hook up. This has been going on for a while. But the man still gives me butterflies. Those butterflies don’t understand this is strictly business…of the orgasm variety.

Ever since that first night we hooked up at that dive bar. God, he looked so good that night. Leather jacket and sunglasses even though he was inside, except he can pull that shit off and not be douchey. He can thank his rock star status for that. But Maddox Case is a guy’s guy, a man’s man, and a woman’s dirty fantasy.

Men want to be him, and women want to be with him.

I can close my eyes and see that night as clearly as if it’s happening now—his tattoos peeking out all over the place. I was a goner, and I knew it. I also knew when I saw him that we were going to happen. I told the girls it was just once, but then the man sent me flowers for days until I answered his call one night. He wanted a repeat, and well, who was I to turn down a good thing? I just happened to keep that rendezvous to myself and the next one and the next one, and well, you get the picture. I just never managed to tell my girls that we keep happening .

I scan my surroundings, but it’s still hard to see anything because it’s dark beyond this deck since it has uplighting. “Baby girl,” his pet name for me, curls my toes in my sensible chef’s shoes. His voice is an aphrodisiac, and it’s melodic and does things to my body, like make my nipples pebble, my panties wet, and my toes curl.

How the fuck did I ever think I could resist this man? He’s the pied piper of pussy. One whispered word from his perfect mouth with a perfectly timed “good girl” or “baby girl,” and I’d fall over a cliff to my death.

But he’ll never know what control he holds over me. I can’t let that happen. He’s already got the world’s most enormous ego. He knows what he looks like and just exactly how famous he is, and that man uses it all like weapons against me.

I always liked a bad boy, and I don’t know why. Bad boys are fun, but they break your heart. “Where the hell are you?”

A chuckle sounds in the darkness, and I’ve listened to enough murder podcasts to know this is a crime waiting to happen. “Come down the steps.”

“Come down the steps to your death, Jen,” I mutter under my breath as I head down the stairs.

Once I get to the bottom, there’s another deck off to the right side. A few lights shine from the curtained windows on this level, but otherwise, it’s dim.

A hand grabs me, and I can’t help but jump. As I’m about to scream, a hand covers my mouth, and my back is pulled into a hard, warm body. That now-familiar leather and rosewood scent that is distinctly Maddox wraps around me. God, he smells so freaking good.

“ Shh , I’ve got you. Let me make you feel good.”

Yes, please. I nod in agreement, and the man moves lightning quick.

Forgotten is the fact that I’m outside my best friend’s house, and forgotten are the chicken puffs and the many celebrity football players and their families mere feet away. I close my eyes as his hand moves from my mouth to my neck and squeezes slightly. He knows how I love a somewhat possessive grip on my throat.

It’s my weakness in romance novels. If the hero possessively squeezes the heroine’s throat, that damn book is getting a five-star review from me.

The image in my head of that tattooed hand wrapped around my throat makes me even hornier. His other hand slides down my stomach and lifts my jacket out of the way. I help out and hold it for him; it’s the least I can do.

“So helpful.” He chuckles quietly, and dammit, even his laugh is sexy.

He works his free hand down the front of my stretchy pants and slips his fingers underneath the band of my underwear. Elastic is my friend! My stomach contracts, and chills erupt over me as he presses on my clit.

“ Mmm ,” I moan, instantly wet as he rubs my clit in perfect fucking circles.

His deft fingers are working me into a frenzy and fast. I want to say that I feel bad for the fact that I’m about to fornicate in the dark on my best friend’s porch, but I don’t, and as Madd hits that perfect spot, my eyes close. I really, really don’t feel bad. I feel really fucking good!

Maddox is one of the greatest guitarists on Earth, and he plays my pussy like it is his favorite instrument.