He had accepted early on in life that marriage wasn’t for everyone, and he didn’t lose sleep over the fact that he wasn’t settling down to the kind of marriage his parents had. More than anything, the two words that scared him to death were settling down. There was still too much fun out there to be had, too many women out there to sleep with. Marriage demanded faithfulness and he was convinced there was not a single woman capable of holding his interest forever.
He had tried to explain his position to his family time and time again. But that hadn’t stopped them, even Clayton, from worrying about the number of women coming and going in and out of his life—namely, his bedroom. His great-grandmother thought he had issues. But as far as he was concerned, he just had a healthy Madaris sexual appetite.
He would never forget the day Clayton had given him a huge case of condoms and told him that at the rate he was going, he would definitely need them. Clayton had been right. Blade had gone through that case and was working on several more.
Some women he met definitely had marriage on their minds. He quickly let them know, up front, he wasn’t going there. He never intended to marry. It was okay for some, like his brother Slade and cousin Luke, but not for him. He enjoyed life too much. He enjoyed having fun in the bedroom. And as they say, variety is the spice of life—at least when it came to his sex life. What was a sexual taboo for some was a welcome change for him.
He had no intentions of ever getting stuck with a wife who would eventually turn their bedroom into nothing more than a place to sleep. He worked hard and enjoyed playing harder. The thought of being stuck in a marriage that was limited to predictable sex—“PS,” as he referred to it—was enough to make him break out in hives.
And he didn’t want to have to answer to any woman. He wanted to come and go as he pleased. He was always getting calls from different women, but he answered them when he got good and ready, and not before. He didn’t mind dropping one if he had to, because she could quickly be replaced. He would never trade in his long list of numbers in his little black book for a long, drawn-out, till-death-do-us-part marriage. What was the point?
It didn’t bother him that he had acquired quite a reputation, one that rivaled that of Clayton, who had been his idol growing up. As best he could remember, he’d never seen Clayton with the same woman twice. But now, even Clayton was happily married and a proud father.
Blade shook his head. Imagine that. He’d be the first to admit that Clayton had hit gold with his wife, Syneda. In fact that’s how he always thought of her—as Clayton’s golden woman—with her green eyes and mass of golden-bronze hair. She was fun to be with, witty and beautiful, and it seemed as if she was handling her man. It was easy to see why Clayton only had eyes for his wife. He adored her. But Blade knew for a womanizer like Clayton to find a woman like Syneda was indeed a rarity.
Blade was a man who loved women, but he loved his bachelor lifestyle even more, which was why practicing safe sex was critical in his book. He was selective with the women he slept with. In certain situations, he even asked his bed partner to produce medical verification attesting to her sexual health, and he did likewise. Nothing personal, just covering all the bases.
His thoughts shifted to Samari Di Meglio. There was something about her that stimulated him sexually just thinking about her. Sure, she could claim all she wanted that she wasn’t interested in him, but he knew for a fact that she was. He recognized the look whenever their eyes met, and he felt the heat when he’d touched the palm of her hand. He had also picked up on the sexual vibes that were just as obvious as if she’d opened her mouth and said it aloud, letting him know she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Maybe she was the kind of woman who liked to be pursued by men, and with her beauty he could easily imagine that happening. He could see a man wanting her so bad that he’d do just about anything to have her, knowing that one night in bed with her would be well worth it.
Whether she knew it or not, she had done the unthinkable to a Madaris—at least this particular Madaris. She had issued a challenge that struck a nerve with him, and he intended to make her eat her words. And he would take great pleasure in doing so.
He headed toward the bathroom to take a shower.
Sam’s town house was in a secure gated community called Windsor Park, situated on a beautiful lake with mountains in the background. It was considered one of the safest areas in the city.
A few months after she’d come to Oklahoma, Sam’s parents had insisted that she move to Windsor Park. At the time, a man her father had prosecuted more than twenty years ago had escaped from prison and was determined to get back at him.
Since threats had been made against the entire Di Meglio family, her parents decided not to take any chances, especially after there had been several attempts to run her brother off the road. The man was eventually caught. But before he could be apprehended, he was killed in a shoot-out with the police.
Sam’s home was much too large for one person. In her opinion, it was definitely more space than she needed. There were two bedrooms on the ground floor, a bathroom, a living room, dining room and spacious kitchen. On the upper floor were two more bedrooms—one that she used as an office—an entertainment room and a huge bathroom that included a sauna and a Jacuzzi. There was a screened-in balcony with a hot tub off the master bedroom.
At first, she had intended to move out of the town house into a smaller place once the threat had passed. But by then she had fallen in love with her home. She loved the close proximity to the office and enjoyed all the amenities the exclusive gated community provided, especially the scenic walking trail and recreational park. On the weekends she would spend hours relaxing or sitting on a blanket by the lake and reading.
Sam pulled into her private garage and within minutes was entering her house. The moment the door closed behind her, she kicked off her shoes. It was only then, in the comfort of her home, that she allowed her mind to drift back to Blade Madaris.
She wondered if he would take her words at face value. Any man with an ounce of pride would. For a woman to come right out and say that she wasn’t interested in him was bold, not to mention ego-crushing.
She had been looking in his eyes when she’d said it, but his reaction was unreadable. But then, she hadn’t hung around long enough after that to really find out. She had driven off like the devil himself was on her tail.
She put her purse and briefcase on the table as she made her way into the kitchen, thinking she’d have a cup of tea before getting ready for bed.
She, Mac and Peyton had decided to take on Clarissa Penton’s sexual-harassment case, but the three of them had agreed that it sounded a lot like Clarissa was trying to get even with her boss for refusing to return her advances.
After turning on the stove to heat the water for her tea, Sam glanced out the window at the lake. She had intended to pull her notes together and go over what they knew about the case so far. As Mac had reminded her, they would be meeting to discuss the case in the morning. But any plans to review those notes had been made before tonight’s dinner. And being in the presence of Blade Madaris for an extended period of time had been unnerving. Although she had tried downplaying the chemistry and mutual attraction between them, it had been there, and blatantly so. But that didn’t mean she would act on it, even though her body was daring her to do so.
It wasn’t because she thought he was too much to handle. To her way of thinking, no man was once he met the right woman. She’d heard a lot of stories about Blade and figured someone needed to knock him off his high horse. But it wouldn’t be her. Not this time. She had enough to deal with. There was her share of