Sensual Confessions - Brenda Jackson [2]
Mackenzie Standfield Madaris couldn’t help but smile. “Well, yeah, I know. I’m also surprised that you came.”
Sam shrugged. “What can I say, it’s a free meal.”
Mac rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
Sam, Peyton and Mac had met in law school. The three women had become the best of friends and now they were partners in their own law firm, Madaris, Di Meglio and Mahoney. She of all people knew that the last thing Sam needed was a free meal, especially given her family—the filthy rich Di Meglios of New York.
Thanks to the proceeds from the trust fund that she had received on her twenty-third birthday, Sam had been the one to provide the financing to get their law firm off the ground, and for that Mac would be eternally grateful.
“Besides,” Mac said as they entered the restaurant, “if there’s any one woman who can handle Blade Madaris, it’s you.”
Sam appreciated Mac’s vote of confidence, especially when she glanced around the restaurant and her gaze landed on the man in question at the same time he laid eyes on her. He immediately gave her one of his predatory smiles.
She could actually feel the blood rushing through her veins and felt the hard thud of her heart beating in her chest. It wasn’t a good sign that a twenty-eight-year-old woman suddenly felt like a teenage girl swooning over one of those “I-heart-you” smiles from the cutest boy in school.
Luke and Blade saw them as they entered and stood up to greet the two women, stretching their muscular bodies to their full height. Sam’s gaze immediately went to Blade’s broad shoulders, and with his jacket off she could actually see the muscles rippling under his starched white dress shirt. He was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged his firm muscular thighs. She’d seen him only a few times and the one thing that stood out, besides the fact that he was truly a handsome man, was that he was a sharp dresser, whether it was business or casual attire. He was Mr. GQ in living color, and he had an air of machismo about him that women could sense and few could resist.
He stood tall—almost six foot four—with a body that had her insides quivering in appreciation. She hated being reminded of how long it had been since she’d been intimate with a man. She was used to flirting with men who had the word player stamped on their foreheads, and setting them up for heartbreak. She enjoyed showing them that two could play their games. Thanks to the hurt and humiliation she’d suffered at the hands of Guy Carrington a few years back, on what should have been her wedding day, she got great pleasure from pretending to be the needy, airhead, spoiled little rich girl. She enjoyed getting to them before they got to her, but not in the same way, of course. She figured it was their just deserts, and the least she could do to retaliate for their thoughtless behavior toward women.
Mac touched Sam’s arm, regaining her attention. “Wait a minute. You didn’t bring it up so I will.”
Sam lifted an eyebrow. “What?”
“The vase of flowers you got today.”
She shrugged. “What of it? I have a secret admirer who evidently hasn’t gotten the message that I’m not interested.”
“Or one of those players who didn’t appreciate your turning the tables on them, perhaps?”
Sam looked at Mac as she planted her hands on her hips. “Trust me, if that was the case I wouldn’t be getting flowers.”
“Still, I think you should consider investigating just to be on the safe side. You could have a stalker.”
Sam shook her head. Of course Mac would think that way. “I really don’t think it’s that serious. Besides, I have an idea who they might be from.”
She glanced back at Blade and her gaze went directly to his face. The eyes staring back at her were dark, piercing and determined. They were filled with a hunger like he wanted to eat her alive. She could just imagine what was going through his mind. He wouldn’t hesitate to seduce her if given the chance. She tilted her head, knowing he would never get the opportunity.
Okay, she would admit there was a sexy air about him, and there was no doubt in her mind that he proudly lived