Caged(122)

"Shit. Fuck. Let me go."

"A. Pol. O. Gize. Fuckface. Now."

"Ah, sorry, lady."

"And?" Deacon prompted.

"And your boyfriend is a fucking psycho." He glared up at Deacon.

Deacon bent down and whispered in the guy's ear before he let him go.

"What did you say to him?"

"Gave him some advice."

"I don't wanna know, do I?"

"Probably not. I used bad words. I think he wet himself."

Molly laughed and whispered, "My hero."

"Deacon! Come on."

"Gotta go, babe." He kissed her quickly. "Later."

Presley looped her arm through Molly's and directed her down a long hallway. "While you were sucking face, I found out where the ballroom is."

"Thank you."

"Soooo . . ."

Molly groaned. "No conversation ever starts well with your drawn-out soooo."

"I overheard what Deacon said to you at the elevator. I won't repeat it, but damn, girlfriend, why are you not up in your room banging that man like a broken screen door?"

"Work. Same as him. Trust me. If the man could've gotten us both off in the five minutes we had in the room, he would've tried."

"As Chaz says"-she mimicked his singsongy tone-"hate you."

"I know we're here because of work, but none of the single Black Arts guys trips your wires?"

"The hottie known as Riggins? Yes. But he looks at me like I'm a freakin' science experiment, which means he doesn't date chicks with ink."

"Or maybe it's the colored hair. Or the piercings. Or the scars," Molly offered.

"Whatever. I'd love to have my hands on Big Rig's perfect ass while he's pumping into me, but that ain't happening. So moving on . . . Ivan is hot, like hard-core hot, but he and Katie have that fucked-up thing going on, and then there's some family business stuff with his dad I'm not cool with. At all."

Molly frowned. "You mean the fetish club?"

"No. And if you don't know, it's not my place to tell you."

Weird answer. "How about Fisher?"

"He's built and sweet, but he'd fall in love with me, want to get serious right away, propose, and expect me to start popping out babies. He's that kind of guy, and I'm so not ready for that."

"Beck?"

"Now, him I like. Bet he uses that Zen attitude to fuck like an animal. But he's distracted this trip. Blaze is a baby. It's not my job to break them in."

"I'm guessing it's the same story with Zach and Jon-Dean." Molly looked around. Why hadn't they reached the room yet?

"But I'd do Maddox. He's got that nasty/sweet temperament. And those fucking eyes of his. I'll bet he's got some hard-core stamina. I'd be curious to see what size motor he's running in those coach's shorts."



       
         
       
        

"Maddox is, like, fifteen years older than you."

"Nope. He's nineteen years older. And that, my friend, just means he'll have perfected killer moves in bed." Presley stopped. "Shit. Are we lost?"

A loud whistle rent the air.

Katie waved at them from the very end of the hallway. "Down here!" When they reached her, she said, "You're just in time."

"For what?"

"For the super-secret Operation Jealous Hag."

"I'm in," Presley said without hesitation.

"Good. Because you're the other one he wants."

"Who?"

"Maddox."

"Katie, have you been drinking?" Molly demanded.

"No! This is my big chance to get Black and Blue Promotions noticed in the industry. I will be stone-cold sober until I'm back in Colorado."

"Okay. So what's Operation Jealous Hag?"

"It's best if Maddox explains."

That's when Molly noticed Maddox sitting at a table by himself, lost in thought.

Katie whirled around and walked backward. "This operation cannot go beyond the five of us, okay?"

"Five? I count four."

"Fee's included in this for obvious reasons."

Obvious to who? Molly wanted to ask, but didn't.

"Amery is with Ronin and some House of Kenji people, so we've gotta make this fast before she gets back."

Katie sat next to Maddox, and Molly and Presley took the chairs opposite him.

"What's going on?"

"Basic story? Nasty divorce with my ex, Rox. I've been lying low in Colorado, building the Black Arts program. Now that we're launching it, Rox will be here to see how I'm doing-not just professionally."

"His ex-wife is Gil's sister," Katie interjected.

Maddox raked his hand through his hair. "So I've got a plan. Each night I'm here, I show up with a different gorgeous woman on my arm. My ex sees I've moved on, and I can watch her choke on her jealousy." His gaze flicked to Katie. "Katie is my date for the party tonight." His focus moved to Presley. "Are you willing to be my date tomorrow night after the fight?"