She whirled around and started walking, but Walker was right behind her. “Maddie, wait,” he called. “I want to talk to you.”
Knowing that anger was her only weapon against him, she reminded herself of what he’d said to her three years before. “Too bad, I don’t want to talk to you,” she threw over her shoulder, still walking away from him. “You had your chance three years ago.”
“Come on, Maddie, that’s not fair,” he said, still following her. “I just want a second of your time.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the same thing I said to you when we were freshmen. Do you remember what you told me back then?” she asked, unable to resist turning around to face him, even angrier when he shook his head. “Well, when you do, come find me and then maybe we’ll talk.”
She stomped off then without even a backward glance, unsure if she felt better or not, but one thing was clear in hermind: as much as she hated him, she was still in love with Walker. Her heart ached as she walked away, her body rebelled at the distance slowly forming between them, she could feel his eyes on her back, felt every step that separated them until she was out of the gym.
Holding back tears, she headed straight for her car, desperate to get away from the man who’d almost ruined her life, while at the same time giving her the greatest gift of her life. All she wanted to do was go home where she felt safe and protected, where the outside world couldn’t touch her, where everything she loved was waiting for her.
CHAPTER 2
***WALKER***
Frozen right where he stood, Walker could do nothing but watch Maddie walk out of the gym, her hips swaying in that way that still drove him crazy, and it took all of his control not to follow her. His body humming with desire, the creature inside him awake and demanding, he fought to drag in a breath, so overwhelmed by the sensations that he felt a little dizzy.
He'd trained himself not to think about her, forced himself to forget her all those years ago; their affair had been a youthful fantasy, a dangerous passion that would have burnt out over time. He’d told himself that there would be others, and there had been, but none of them had ever affected him the way Maddie had. The fact that she still could scared him as much as it had back then, maybe more.
Reminding himself that his freedom was at stake, he managed to suck in a deep breath and turn away from the door, hoping practice would help drive away the pulsing need deep inside him. The last thing he was prepared for was to find Thomas standing behind him grinning like an idiot, wearing a team tee-shirt and basketball shoes, a ball tucked under one arm.
“Well, that was certainly entertaining. I figured there would be some drama around here, but that was even better than I expected,” Thomas said, then looked over at the empty gym doors. “She sure didn’t sound very happy with you. Exes can be exhausting, but man when they look like that, it makes it hard to remember why we ditched them in the first place.”
The look in Thomas’s eyes stirred the already awake dragon inside him, and jealousy and anger flared to life instantly, leaving him speechless for a second. “What the hell are you doing here?” he finally managed to ask through gritted teeth. “This is a closed practice, you can’t just…”
“I joined the team,” Thomas interrupted. “Didn’t anyone tell you?”
“You’re going to play basketball,” he said, unable to hold back the laughter. “I can’t wait to see this. The coaches must have lost their minds or they’re really desperate, but don’t worry, you’ll probably be sitting on the bench all season anyway.”
Thomas bounced the ball a couple of times before launching it at the basket, then let out a satisfied grunt as it went through the hoop with a swoosh. “Are you sure about that?” he asked, a look of superiority on his face. “And that’s just the beginning. You’d better watch your back, Price, before the season is over, this team and your girl will be mine.”
“She’s not my girl, she hasn’t been for a long time, so leave her out of this,” he growled, taking a couple of steps toward Thomas. “Come at me if you’re determined to embarrass yourself, but Maddie is off limits. She doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. You wouldn’t be gaining anything, it would be just a waste of your time.”
“That’s funny, I don’t remember agreeing to follow your rules,” Thomas said, an amused look on his face. “You can’t boss me around, Walker. I’ll date whoever I want and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
“Oh, there’s plenty I can do,” he threatened. “Don’t push me too hard,or you’ll find out.”
“That’s a big threat for someone who doesn’t care,” Thomas said, backing off a couple of steps. “This is going to be more fun than I thought it would be. You’re going down, Price, and you’re going down hard.”
“Give it your best shot,” he shot back. “But don’t forget about Diego and Sebastian, they tried to tangle with us and well…”
Thomas was up in his face instantly. “What the hell happened to them?” he demanded, grabbing Walker by the front of his shirt. “You know, I know you do.”
“Maybe I do and maybe I don’t,” he said, grinning at Thomas. “It’s not my place to tell you, but maybe you should ask old man Marbury, unless he’s already lied to you and told you that he doesn’t know.”
Thomas let go of his shirt and shoved him away. “You and all your friends are going to be sorry you messed with us,” he growled. “I’m going to ruin your life, starting with stealing Maddie away from you while you watch.”
“She’s not mine to steal,” he said, hoping Thomas would give up. “We had a brief relationship back at the beginning of freshman year, but it didn’t last. I haven’t seen her in over three years. Leave her out of this. You won’t gain anything by getting her involved. She’s a regular person. She doesn’t understand our politics.”
“Nice try, loser, I saw the way you looked at her,” Thomas said. “You’re done, Walker, I’m going to take everything you love away from you and laugh while I’m doing it.”
Before he could say anything, the coach blew the whistle signaling the start of practice. “I think I’ll start by asking Maddie out for coffee, then I’ll move on to dinner,” Thomas said, jogging backward away from him. “I figure I’ll have her in bed by thethird date, I bet she’s a hot one in the sack. I might even keep her around for a while before kicking her to the curb.”
The only thing that saved him from beating the crap out of Thomas right then and there was Marty running up to him. “Hey, you look like you’re about to explode,” his friend said. “What’s going on? Who pissed you off?”
He looked across the gym where Thomas was joining the rest of the players, and forced himself to calm down. “Just an asshole trying to start shit,” he said. “Coach better keep him the hell away from me or there’s going to be trouble.”
***Maddie***
