#Claimed by Crayson (To Marry a Madden #2) Read online

  It was a shame that some folks had a pre-conceived notion that women shouldn’t curse like sailors. News flash: some women have a potty mouth. And although I appreciated my mom for literally washing my mouth out with soap when I was younger to try and instill those lady-like tendencies, the shit didn’t work. Hell, if anything, it made me worse. I could curse a sailor under the table.

  “Don’t let that dick ruin your New Year’s celebration.”

  I let her words sink in even though I was too caught up in my feelings to ignore Luther completely. His beady eyes kept glancing my way, so I knew he’d seen me. He was just ignoring me.

  “And you look too good to let this fly red dress go to waste, so do me a favor and find someone sexy to kiss at midnight to get your mind off your ex.”

  “Thanks, girl.” After glaring in his direction for a few more seconds, I finally turned my back toward him and took a sip of my drink. That didn’t mean I didn’t have thoughts of breaking into his mama’s place and chopping his balls off while he was sleeping, but at least I was able to appear to direct my attention elsewhere.

  Avery raised her glass. “Let’s make a toast.”

  I wasn’t in the mood for a toast, but I knew my perky, glass-is-always-half-full friend wouldn’t stop until I agreed. So, I slowly raised my glass.

  “What are we toasting to?”

  “To you, bitch,” she said. “I have a feeling that this is going to be your year. I can feel it in my bones.”

  Apart from the impromptu trip to Colorado last week, I’d been so busy that I rarely went out anymore. Being a female bar owner in New York was one thing. Rebranding your bar in an industry that was constantly changing was another entity entirely. At thirty-one, I was the proud owner of Sweet Baby Jay’s, a bar known for pairing unique drinks with tasty treats guaranteed to tease your pallet. But I didn’t just fill your stomach with the unhealthy shit. I was all about organic ingredients, and although I’d only been in business for a few years, business was going extremely well.

  However, it was time for me to incorporate one of my other loves into my business even more than I already did, and let’s just say that my other love was a bit … unconventional. So I hoped she was right. This was going to be my year.

  “Where’s Serenity and Ty?” I asked, glancing around the party.

  “They’re around here somewhere. As soon as Malakai got here, he ran into a couple clients, so the two of them tagged along to do the whole schmoozing thing.”

  Reaching into my black clutch, I pulled out my iPhone. “Okay, there’s thirty minutes until midnight, meaning I have to find a distraction before that.”

  Avery’s eyes widened. “If we only have thirty minutes then I need to find Malakai ASAP. He lives ten minutes away, so we have to get moving.”

  I squinted my eyes in confusion. “Aren’t you missing the point of sharing a kiss at the stroke of midnight if you leave now?”

  “There’s something else my fiancé and I would rather be doing at midnight if you know what I mean.” Avery wiggled her eyebrows.

  I laughed at her less than subtle facial expression. She’d been engaged to Malakai for such a short while, yet she couldn’t contain her happiness. Even though she still lived in the same apartment complex as I did, she spent most of her time at his place. Already, instead of saying me or I, she was saying we, and although I pretended to gag at her cheesy-ness, I was so happy for her. “Bringing in the New Year by having sex? Okay, boo, I feel you.”

  Avery sighed. “There are a lot of things I’m anxious to feel and do tonight, and since I don’t want to be arrested for indecent exposure, I guess I need to get moving.”

  We glanced around the room until we spotted Malakai and the others. Unfortunately, the other people with him weren’t just Ty and Serenity, but rather an obnoxious Madden who I was less than thrilled to see. Girl, you know that’s not true. As if the man in question knew I was thinking about him—or rather, trying not to think about him—his eyes met mine and a sexy smirk crossed his face.

  “What the hell is he doing here?” I whispered to Avery as we got closer to our friends. He was still wearing that sexy smirk, and judging by the playful look in his fuck-me eyes, his thoughts were anything but PG.

  Avery rolled her eyes. “Are you seriously asking me why Malakai invited his brother to this New Year’s Eve party?”

  “Yes, bitch. That’s exactly what I’m asking. You already know I can’t stand Crayson Madden.” I didn’t need to elaborate. Anyone who knew Crayson knew that he was a lot of things … Reckless things. Bad decision making things. Unfortunately, fine as hell was at the top of the list, although I’d never admit it out loud.

  “Is this about last week?” Avery asked. I’d been mad as hell in Colorado when Crayson told me he’d purchased the building right next door to my bar. I was serious about my business, and the old Blackberry Restaurant building meant more to me than Crayson even knew. Granted, I knew someone would eventually buy it, but I’d even been saving up money to purchase it myself.

  After I’d kicked him out of my room that night, I’d gone to find Avery so she could talk me off the cliff. She’d tried her best to make me see the bright side. Malakai had even jumped into the conversation to try and ease my worry. “Crayson may piss you off sometimes, but he’s serious about his business. Maybe you both will find some common ground when he opens that location,” he’d said.

  This past year, I’d taken up meditation, but there wasn’t enough calm in the world to keep me from strangling him that night. Common ground? Common fucking ground? That was supposed to be comforting and make me forget the fact that I was going to have to see the one person who annoyed me to no end daily? At least until he finished renovations. After that, my only hope was that he didn’t stay at his Brooklyn location more than he had to.

  “You know last week was fucked up,” I huffed. “So, yeah. It’s partially about his dumb ass purchase, and the other part is because like I said before, I can’t stand his ass.”

  “Yeah, he was wrong for that move. He could have told you he was buying the building.” She cocked her head in his direction. “But you’d be able to stand him a lot more if you let him knock out those cobwebs hanging from your vagina.”

  I gasped exaggeratedly as I placed my hand over my chest. “I’m gonna pretend like I didn’t hear you say that. Lord knows I’m not letting that bonafide fuckboy anywhere near my vajajay.” I lowered my voice since talking about him often made my voice carry. Whether that be from sexual frustration or denial of my attraction was my secret to keep.

  Although I tried my best not to turn his way, I did. Why does he have to look so good? He was sporting a dark grey suit and white collared shirt that was undone at the top. As usual, he was wearing an expensive white gold watch—Cartier if I had to guess—that shined every time the light hit it. I knew it had to be white gold and not silver because Crayson never went cheap. Even when he rocked a plain white tee, it was usually Nike or Polo.

  His hair was freshly cut, and I swore I’d never seen a man lined as precise as Crayson’s fade was lined before I’d met him. He was rocking a beard when we’d first met, but last month he’d decided to go with the clean-shaven look. I’d always been a sucker for beards, until he walked in my bar donning a strong jawline that made his lips appear even more suckable than they had before.

  And the asshole had the nerve to have a dimple! Not two dimples, just one sexy little one that made an appearance every time he smirked, and Crayson smirked a whole damn lot. Quit daydreaming about him, Jordyn! Snap out of it!

  I shook my head before I told Avery, “Besides, he’s not even my type.”

  Avery stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at me. Her stop was so abrupt, I almost lost my footing in my red booties since she caught me off guard.

  “What?” I asked. “You know how I feel about him.”

  “I know that he pisses you off and is annoying as hell, but I also know that the way you two bicker is like a twisted form of foreplay and you’re attracted Crayson.”

  I shook my head. “Am not.”

  “Are too.”

  “Am not.”

  Avery crossed her arms over her chest. “So you’re telling me that when Crayson smiles at you like you’re the only woman in the room, or winks at you when he stops by the bar, that does nothing for you?”

  I shrugged. “Nope.”

  Avery stepped closer to me. “What about those times when he compliments your outfit or is the first to notice a new haircut?”

  Out of habit, I ran my hands over my chic haircut. I could rock a short cut as good as the next bitch, but it was always nice to get a compliment here and there.

  “Maybe.” I ignored her eye roll and continued walking to the group. I knew Avery was still watching me, and although I didn’t really need to save face in front of my close friend, I was still in a bitchy mood after spotting my ex.

  Just ignore him, I reminded myself. I knew he was gonna say something flirtatious to me because Crayson always had something flirty—or dirty—to say. Always.

  Four

  Jordyn

  When we reached our group of friends, I could tell that everyone was waiting for Crayson and I to exchange words. Ever since Avery and Malakai had gotten together, the focus had switched to Crayson and I since it was no secret that he’d been trying to sleep with me since the day we met.

  Although I’d grown to enjoy hanging out with our new crew, everybody was usually in everyone else’s business. Crayson and I weren’t business, but the way they acted sometimes, you would think we were. I assumed that it was the norm for groups of friends, but I’d always been more of a one-friend-at-a-time kind of girl. Yet, since meeting Avery and subsequently meeting everyone else, I
was getting used to the group dynamic and camaraderie. Which meant, I should have been used to hanging around Crayson by now since his fine ass was always around.

  I said a general, “Hey,” to the group, making sure I avoided eye contact with Crayson. Didn’t need that dude getting any unwanted ideas.

  “Yass, bitch,” Ty said, grabbing my hand and twirling me around. “You are slaying that red dress and heels.”

  “Thank you. Thank you.” I did a cute little curtsey before telling him he looked good in his navy-blue suit and loafers. I didn’t have to glance Crayson’s way to know if he was looking. I looked damned good, so I knew he was.

  Avery glanced at her watch before whispering into Malakai’s ear. Two seconds later, they were saying their good-byes and rushing out of the party.

  “Well damn,” Serenity said. “They’re running out of here like the place is on fire.”

  I looked at my friend and her fiancé, happy for her but feeling bad that my lady parts hadn’t gotten any attention in longer than I cared to say. “If I had dick on demand like she did, I’d be rushing to get out of here, too.” No sooner had the statement left my mouth did I realize my mistake.

  “You could have dick on demand if you quit acting like you don’t want it,” Crayson remarked before he took a sip of his cognac. How did I know he was sipping cognac? Because every week he came into my bar, and every week he ordered the same thing … Cognac on the rocks, little ice—only three cubes, four max, but who’s counting—with a side of lime.

  I waved him off as I turned back to the direction Avery and Malakai had just gone. “I’m not doing this with you tonight.”

  After a few seconds of him not saying anything, I turned back to face him. His smirk was still in place as he watched me over the top of his glass and took another sip of his drink.

  Why is he always doing that? Why was he always trapping me with those deep amber eyes? My breath caught in my throat as I watched him battle between pulling me to him and kissing me senseless or strategizing on how to catch me in his fuckboy trap.

  Not gonna happen, loverboy. I’ve played this game before and I have no interest in playing it again. Was Crayson sexy? Yeah. Was I long overdue for some male attention? Maybe. Maybe? The answer is yes, bitch. Be honest with yourself! However, what it came down to was simple. Was I willing to bend the promise I’d made to myself to never have sex with a man who changed women more than he changed his underwear? Hell no. I’d been there. Done that.

  While Ty and Serenity continued the conversation they were having with Crayson before I showed up, I couldn’t help but glance around the room again for my ex. My eyes landed on his lyin’ ass and pregnant wife in the same spot they were before I’d joined my friends.

  Case in point, I thought, observing the way Luther kept his hand on his wife’s protruding belly while he smiled at the waitress in a way that was less than appropriate. Luther is a player. I’d known it the day we met. And what does my dumb ass do? I decide to date him and even start making plans for our future and shit. News flash: you can’t plan a future with a man when you are just one out of ten women he’s talking to.

  “What’s putting that frown on your face, beautiful?”

  I jumped at the sound of Crayson’s voice and the way his breath was tickling my earlobe. It felt good. Too good. Yet, when I glanced over my shoulder, instead of telling him how I really felt, I said, “You’re usually the cause of my frowns. So how do you know you didn’t put this one here?”

  He laughed in that deep drop-your-panties-for-me-right-now sort of way, but I kept the expression of indifference plastered on my face.

  “That may be true, but I didn’t put this one there.” He adjusted himself so he was standing beside me and followed the direction of my eyes. “Do you know that couple?”

  I sighed. “That man is my dumb ass ex. And that pregnant woman next to him is his wife, but also one of the women he was cheating on me with.”

  Crayson’s eyebrows raised. “One of? You mean that bastard was cheating on you with multiple women?” His eyes swept my body up and down in appreciation, and I had to remind Diamond to calm the fuck down. Diamond was the name I’d given my pussy because why the hell were men only allowed to name their anatomy? Nah. That shit didn’t sit well with me. Besides, Diamonds were a girl’s best friends and every woman needed a ride or die bitch by her side.

  Diamond was a rarity because good pussy was hard to find (and if you don’t believe me, you betta ask somebody). She was a feisty bitch and a lot of men couldn’t handle her. Hell, back in my early twenties, I’d had enough bad sex that I’d almost sewed only real men need apply on the crotch area of my favorite pair of jeans in bright pink sequins.

  “He didn’t deserve you.” Crayson’s voice broke through my thoughts, causing me to glance up at him despite my warning to myself not to. As usual, the gleam in his eyes caused my breath to catch. I glanced behind us in curiosity to look for our friends. At least, curiosity and not nervousness was what I was telling myself. The day I mentioned that Crayson Madden made me nervous would be the day that hell froze over.

  “Where did Ty and Serenity go?”

  “They both wanted to find someone to kiss before midnight. They mentioned it aloud, but your attention was elsewhere.”

  Midnight … I pulled out my iPhone again and glanced at the time. There were only two minutes until midnight. “I guess we should part ways and take our cue from them,” I said, chancing a glance back at Crayson. As soon as my eyes met his, I’d wished I hadn’t looked.

  “We have a dilemma,” he said, his eyes bouncing between my face and my lips. “Because the only person I want to kiss tonight is you.”

  I swallowed. “Why is that a dilemma?” What the hell, Jordyn! Why did you ask that?

  His lips curled to the side in a smirk, and damned if that one dimple didn’t do crazy things to Diamond. “The dilemma for you is the fact that you’ve told me multiple times that I’m the last person on this Earth you’d ever want to kiss.”

  My usual snarky remark got caught in my throat because he wasn’t lying. That’s what I said, but that wasn’t the whole truth.

  “For me, my dilemma is that I’d never kiss a woman who didn’t want to be kissed by me.” He stepped closer. “So if what you’ve been saying for months is true, I’ll do as you wish and let you find someone else to kiss tonight.” He brought his head to my right ear. “Or, you can get back at your ex who hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you all night, and show him that although he did you wrong, you’re thriving and aren’t fazed by him being there.”

  I kept my head in place when I replied, “And how would I do that? How would I show him I’m thriving and unbothered?” Even before Crayson responded, I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

  “Let me kiss you,” he whispered. “For tonight. In this moment. Forget how much you hate me and ignore the fact that you’re well aware I want to fuck you into next Sunday. Just for tonight, give me the honor of kissing those pretty plush lips and making your ex jealous.” My breath hitched, but he wasn’t done yet. “And by lips, I was referring to the ones on your beautiful face, but if you’re feeling bold tonight, I could kiss your other pair, too.”

  I mentally slapped my hand against my forehead. Damn. He was so crass, and unfortunately, I loved that shit. His naughty words turned me on even though I wished they didn’t.

  I took a few seconds to contemplate what he was suggesting. You shouldn’t do it. Tell his ass no like you always do. However, instead of telling him to get lost, I found myself admitting that, “I hate New Year’s Eve because I’m not fond of kissing at midnight or any other night. It’s sloppy, unpredictable, and a lot of men can’t do it right.”

  It was true. I’d never liked kissing. Yet, telling Crayson was the wrong thing to do. I didn’t even know why I told him that in the first place, but him being this close was messing with my reasoning skills. He’d take it as a challenge. Duh!

  I turned my head in an attempt to tell him I wasn’t interested like I should have said the moment he began whispering in my ear. However, instead of me declining his tempting offer, I was rendered speechless when he tilted his head to mine and captured my lips, while his arms snaked around my waist, pulling me closer to him.