When she’d decided to head into town and pick up a few holiday items to surprise Richard, it had seemed like a good idea. However, getting lost outside the town near his house added an almost comically ridiculous element to the day.
Would it kill this town to have a taxi service? Not that it would have helped much because I can’t remember his exact address.
Yes, please drop me off at the large stone mansion on the hill. Oh, all the mansions in this area are stone and seem to be on hills? Well then, how about the one owned by a hot French chef? There can’t be many like him around.
Name? Richard.
Last name? Oh, I forgot to ask. Sure, I almost slept with him without that knowledge, but it would be helpful to know it now.
Or even the name of his restaurant.
No wonder Gino thinks I can’t survive on my own. I feel like a five-year-old who should have worn a tag to help people return her home if she got lost.
Home.
Maybe that’s where I belong. Maybe my father is right. Maybe if I grow up I’ll understand why my family made the decisions it did.
I should call Gino and tell him to pick me up. Hard to ever truly be lost in the world of technology and GPS tracking. The moment I turn on my cell phone he’ll find me. He’s probably still in the local area looking for me. He’d never leave me. That used to make me feel safe. Now I feel cornered.
Choosing a direction, Maddy set off walking down a side road, regretting again that she wasn’t wearing practical walking shoes. Her suede high heels were comfortable for a short stroll, but this was becoming a several-mile hike. She was dressed in black corduroy pants, an ivory loose-fitting sweater, and her jacket, and yet the wind blew right through the layers and chilled her skin. Along with the fading sunshine, the temperature was quickly dropping.
Nothing looked familiar, and her frustration was growing. At any other time in her life, she would have called her mother for advice, but she’d made that option impossible. She saw now that she should have spoken to her mother before leaving, but she’d been angry, and the anger had made her impulsive. Her mother must have known about Uncle Vic’s lie. She’d probably known for years and done nothing. Maddy had always thought that she and her mother told each other everything. She’d been wrong.
Is that why I felt ready to toss my virginity to the wind? Do I want to hurt my family like they hurt me?
She remembered the feeling of Richard’s lips on her body and blushed as her skin tingled in memory. No, it was more than that.
Although she was uncertain about how to deal with her family, she knew exactly why she was waiting for Richard to come home. I’ve never felt anything like what I felt last night, I want to feel that again. I have to know if his kisses really are as good as I thought they were. Was my heart beating wildly the whole time we spoke because he’d woken me with a start or because our attraction was that strong?
What would have happened if I hadn’t blurted out my lack of experience? Does it matter? Will I ever find out?
The street ended in a driveway. Maddy cursed and waved a hand angrily at the waning late-day sun. She dropped the bags at her feet, hugged her thin coat to her, and shivered. As the sun slipped below the tree line she took out her phone and turned it on. She didn’t need to call Gino. She’d known him long enough to be certain that he’d stayed nearby and would be there soon.
As she walked, she grumbled toward the sky, “You win. This was ridiculous from the beginning. It’s time to go home.”
Chapter Four
She’s gone!
He’d known the moment he’d opened the door and been greeted by his lonely feline. He searched every room of his home—even calling out her name a few times.
Gone.
He stood in the middle of the empty guest room and closed his eyes. It was for the best. He knew nothing about her outside of the innocence she claimed to have. Everything else had been a lie. For all he knew, her virginity could be a lie as well. Normally he wouldn’t have agreed to house her in the first place. Alyson had caught him in a moment when agreeing had been easier than questioning. He should be relieved.
He looked around the room one last time and something caught his attention. A bag from his sister’s store was on a chair. He searched it and realized it was clothing.
If Madison had left for good, wouldn’t she have taken that with her?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Was it possible she had gone outside for a walk? No sign of her anywhere.
He absently lifted his jacket off the rack near the back door and headed outside. Putting aside the questions raging within him, he called for her and continued his search. The sun was just setting over the tops of the trees. The evening air was cooling quickly.
He got into his car and started it, but he didn’t put it in gear at first. What am I thinking? That she’s walking the streets like a lost child? Looking for her is likely a waste of my time. She’s probably flying back to the States or in town flashing those big brown eyes at someone—offering another man what I’d declined last night. Yet he threw his car in reverse anyway and sped down the driveway.
He caught a glimpse of a woman walking down a side road with shopping bags in each hand. He turned his car around with a squeal of the tires. In half a heartbeat, he’d pulled up next to her, jumped out of the car, and stood beside her. She shivered, and he swore. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Are you completely lacking in sense? It gets cold, even here in the South,” he snapped, retaining his grip on the front of his jacket, effectively holding her in place before him.
The welcoming smile she’d flashed when she first saw him disappeared. “I was about to thank you for coming to find me, but I’ll hold out for an apology first,” she said, folding her arms before her, her chin set at a stubborn angle.
How prim and proper she sounded as she chastised him. He wanted to shake her as much as he wanted to kiss her. Well, not quite as much. “And what exactly am I supposed to apologize for?” He knew his tone was harsh, but he was angry.
She bristled defensively. “I didn’t mean to get lost, and I don’t deserve your snide comments. If you can’t be nice, take your damn coat back and leave me here. I don’t need you.”
He frowned down at her, not hiding his displeasure, and waited for her to back down. Most people did. She looked him straight in the eye and stuck her chin out even farther. That beautiful, stubborn chin. Before Madison, he would have said he preferred a more agreeable woman. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had corrected him, never mind lectured him on his behavior. He found her direct challenge more exciting than any striptease or act of seduction. He wanted to kiss that stubbornness right out of her—slowly, all night, if that’s what it took. As his blood rushed downward, he found himself softening his stance and admitting, “I thought you were gone for good.”
Madison looked down, then back up at him, this time through her long lashes. “And that wasn’t a cause for celebration?”
His hands tightened on the front of the coat he’d wrapped around her, and he pulled her ever so slightly closer. “Surprisingly, no.” He studied her delicate features and surprised himself by saying, “You could have been hurt.”
“I’m fine,” she said huskily, staring up at him as she had the night before. Tempting him.
He gave in to the temptation and kissed her parted lips. She met his kiss eagerly. He’d been half hoping that he’d built their attraction up in his mind. She wasn’t his type. He didn’t like complications, and she was definitely complicated.
And distracting. Here he was, kissing her on the side of the road instead of working in his restaurant, as he should have been. The sparks that flew between them burned away his reservations. He wanted her with a desperation that made everything else irrelevant. He pulled her closer, enjoying the feel of her against him, and wishing they were somewhere more private so he could strip away the layers that separated them.
She opened her m
outh for him, and he lost what was left of his coherence as his tongue met hers in an intimate and passionate dance. What she lacked in experience, she made up for in sweet enthusiasm.
A car drove by and honked, reminding Richard of their very public location. He pulled back, tracing her still-parted lips with his thumb, loving that she looked as dazed by their kiss as he felt. “Let’s go back to my house,” he said huskily. He’d told himself he would give her time. The last hour hadn’t changed the fact that she was an innocent, and a troubled one at that. Doing anything but sending her packing was a mistake, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted her, and by the way her eyes darkened with desire, he knew the feeling was mutual.
She nodded wordlessly.
He opened the passenger door, helped her in, and—unable to stop himself—stole one final kiss when she looked up after buckling herself in. He reluctantly broke off their connection and rushed around to the driver’s seat. He almost backed into the stone wall across the street in his haste to turn his vehicle around.
He was going to take Maddy to his bed, and, although it was something he never did, he was going to skip work to stay with her in the morning. Some experiences were not meant to be rushed.
He took her hand in his during the short drive back to his house, kissing the back of it, then turning it over to taste the inside of her wrist. It was both a torture and a delight to have access to so little of her. He met her eyes for a potent moment and, in as close to an apology as he could come, said, “I can drive you to a hotel if you’d like, but I want to be with you, Madison. You’re all I’ve thought about today, to the point where I didn’t care about anything else but coming back to you and tasting your sweet kiss again. I want to take you to my bed and spend the whole night savoring you. Tell me now if this is not what you also want.” He laid her hand high on his thigh.
Her hand moved, cupping him in an exploratory fashion, and she gave him a shy smile. “Didn’t you say you don’t sleep with virgins?”
A slow smile spread across his face.
“I changed my mind.”
Me, too. I do not want to be rescued from this. Madison took out her phone and texted Gino, momentarily breaking off her connection with Richard. “Need one more day. Please don’t come now.”
Gino didn’t respond, which was either a good sign or a very bad one. There was a slim chance—like, win-the-lottery slim—that he hadn’t noticed she’d turned her phone on. If that was the case, turning it off was a good idea.
Of course, if she turned her phone off, she wouldn’t know if he was on his way. And since there wasn’t a locked door that could keep a man like Gino out, his barging in had the potential to bring her night with Richard to an abrupt halt.
I’m not experienced enough to know for sure, but I’m going to guess that a bodyguard breaking down his front door is not one of Richard’s erotic fantasies.
“Who are you texting?” Richard asked.
“My—um—cousin?” At least, that’s what my father calls him. Oh, this is going to kill the mood, I just know it. “He may be on his way to pick me up. I turned my phone on when I got lost. Gino may use the signal to find me.”
Richard pulled the car into the driveway and turned in his seat to face her. “Why would he come simply because your phone is on?”
“He’s always used my phone signal to track me. I never minded before. It saved me from having to always tell him where I was going,” Maddy said, then realized how odd that might sound without further explanation. “He’s also my bodyguard.”
“Who are you?”
I’m going to die a virgin. “Madison Andrade.”
“Andrade? As in Andrade Global?”
It wasn’t a surprise that he knew the company—Stephan’s company was always in the news. “That’s my cousin’s company. Alessandro Andrade is my father. He built Andrade Technologies.”
He looked her over again and whistled in a less-than-complimentary way. “You’re the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in America?”
Worse than measles, I carry the dreaded wealth germ.
“You’re not scared and running from a bad situation. You’re Daddy’s little pissed off princess trying to teach him a lesson.”
She replied defensively, “That’s not true.”
“Really? This isn’t about getting back at your family by breaking their rules?”
“No.” Shit, what if he’s right? What if that’s all this is? “It isn’t like that,” she denied hotly, but even as she said it she wasn’t sure. “I—” She stopped there.
“Yes?”
Nothing. Nothing that makes sense. She closed her eyes for a painful moment and said, “Why can’t you be nice?”
“What’s the matter, Princess, not used to people being honest with you?”
“Don’t call me that.”
Leaning back against the driver’s door, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “Who do you live with?”
Between gritted teeth, Maddy admitted, “My parents.”
“Do you have a job?”
“No.”
“BMW or Mercedes for graduation?”
“A 1980 Boeing 747 jet. I like vintage.”
“Go home, Princess. I’m not interested.”
“Then stop kissing me,” she said angrily. “I’m getting pretty tired of you judging me. You don’t know me. And you don’t have to. Gino is probably on his way. You can go back to eating your way around France for all I care.”
He sat back and sighed. “Did that analogy sound as ridiculous when I used it last night?”
Maddy crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Worse.”
“I’m sorry.” Those dark eyes seared through her.
I did not see that coming. “It’s okay, you were being honest.”
He turned toward her. “No, I wasn’t. I was trying to keep you out of my bed.”
She lowered her arms, undid her seatbelt, turned to face him, and whispered, “Why?”
“Because of this.” He threaded his hand through her hair and pulled her into a savage kiss. There was no teasing, no tempting, just a bold claiming of her mouth. His tongue plunged and withdrew, leaving her feeling shaken and yearning to be filled again. She opened her mouth wider for him in an invitation he accepted greedily.
When he broke the kiss off and rested his forehead on hers, their heavy breathing blended. Eyes still closed, Maddy said shakily, “I’m no expert, but what’s wrong with it? It feels pretty damn good to me.”
Taking her face in both hands, he kissed her open lips hungrily, then said, “Too good. Being with you, taking you to my bed and tasting every inch of you, is all I can think about.”
Maddy opened her eyes and met his. “And that’s a problem because you’ll eventually want to eat at other restaurants?”
He shook his head and frowned with impatience. “Forget that stupid analogy.”
“I can’t promise that. I’m only human.” She shot him a cheeky smile.
“You drive me crazy, do you know that?” he growled and nipped softly at her neck. “I’ve been telling myself all day that if you weren’t at my house when I returned it would be for the best. Now that I know who you are, I’m even more convinced that you don’t belong here.”
“Because my family has money?”
“Because I had to fight for everything I have. I have no respect for those who take the easy road.”
Maddy pulled away from him and sat back. “What happened to make you so defensive? First you’re upset because you think I’m after money, now you’re upset because I have it. I don’t have a problem with money. You do.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “You’re right.”
Maddy sat up straight in surprise. “Really? Which part? I mean, of course I am.”
In the silence that followed, the air was charged with the sizzle of their attraction, but also with a connection that defied explanation. It didn’t matter if it made sense or not. It simply was.
; “Money ruins more lives than it saves. I’m not interested in having more than I need to pay the bills. Until you, I didn’t realize how strongly I felt on the subject.”
In his eyes, she saw how an old pain still tormented him. “Why?”
He looked out the car window as if he were looking back in time. “My mother put money before the welfare of her children. Alyson and I were accessories she packed and moved into the mansion of each new husband she had. One fake family after the next. I learned not to care, not to get attached. I wanted a family, but what I got instead was a new car every year. I’m afraid her lifestyle left me with a disgust for the wealthy.”
Maddy thought of her family and knew, despite their present issues, that that wasn’t the life they’d given her. “She may have been trying to provide for her children the only way she knew how.”
His face twisted with disdain. “No, we were not her priority. Her third husband tried to force himself on Alyson when she was seventeen. She ran away to escape him. My mother took her husband’s side. I believe she wanted to wait out the time limit built into the prenuptial.”
With a gasp, Maddy covered her mouth and asked, “What did you do?”
Looking past her as he remembered, he said, “I nearly killed him when I found out. Then I followed Alyson. She’d come here, to Sablet, looking for our real father.”
“Did you find him?”
“No, but we found his old house. They say he died here, practically penniless after my mother left him. In a house that was mortgaged to the hilt. The locals say during their marriage he took out loans in an attempt to appease her, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more.”
“That’s so sad. And then you bought the house?”
“In the beginning, Alyson wanted to live here. Eventually, she made friends in town and moved out.”
“But you stayed.”
“Sablet was as good a place as any to open a restaurant.”