Cop's Passion (31 page)

“You keep
believing that, Jeannie,” Mike growled. “And you look at yourself
in the mirror when saying it. Most men want a lady who can enjoy
life, who can eat without picking like a mouse at their food, who
isn’t afraid to be a full woman and embraces her curves.” Turning
his head, he kissed Maddy on her cheek. “I love Maddy just the way
she is. Her curves make me hot, and her humour makes me laugh.”
Rubbing his cheek against hers, he added quietly, “I don’t care
what anyone thinks, as long as she is happy.” He speared Matt with
a look. “I don’t expect her to conform to a type, and that’s why
we’re so happy.”

“She got a
prize in you, didn’t she?” Matt returned nastily. “Or maybe not,
seeing as you don’t aspire to anything.”

“Oh, I sure did
get a prize,” Maddy replied with a snap at the implication of
Mike’s profession. “I got the best prize around. I love Mike, I
love him as a man, a cop, and just as plain old Mike. And I’ve
never been happier. So put that in your sour pipe and smoke it,
brother. Mike’s given me more love and shown more acceptance that
any of my own family ever have.”

“Oh, Mads,
that’s not true,” Belinda began, her hands fluttering
helplessly.

“Yeah, it is.”
Maddy shrugged, her hand resting on Mike’s arm. “I love him and he
loves me. That’s all that matters.”

Matt started to
say something, but Mike growled behind her, an inarticulate word
that had Matt turning on his heel and stalking away. Belinda
followed, her hands still fluttering helplessly as she tried to
keep up with his strides.

Jeannie cast
them both a sneering glance but when Maddy just waved cheerfully to
her, she swore and stalked off as well, her skirt moulding nicely
to her figure.

Just as Mike’s
hands moulded to Maddy’s breasts. “Wow,” he said. “You’re hot when
you’re feisty.”

“You’re not so
bad yourself when you’re being all protective and blatantly
blunt.”

“Blatantly
blunt. My, that’s a big word for you.”

“Gee, you must
be rubbing off on me.”

“At last
something is going right.” Mike gave her a last nuzzle before
turning and picking up the box. “Let’s go. I want to get home and
run around naked.”

Shaking her
head laughingly, Maddy went ahead of him down the staircase,
through the foyer and out into the sunshine.

Her family was
gathered around their cars, obviously preparing to depart. They
looked over at Maddy and Mike.

Mrs Lovett
smiled and waved her hand. “See you later, Madeline.”

Mr Lovett
nodded at Mike. “You ever want to aim higher in your career, come
and see me.”

“Dad,” Maddy
said mildly, “that’s just plain bloody rude.”

“Now, dear,”
Mrs Lovett said as her father went red with annoyance. “He’s just
trying to help.”

Linking her
fingers together, Mrs Bernard tried to pretend that nothing had
happened. “So nice of you to pop in, Mike, and introduce us to
Madeline. I do hope we’ll see more of you, dear.”

Jeannie
muttered something below her breath.

Mike looked at
Maddy and winked.

For once, not
caring about anyone else’s opinion, Maddy linked a hand through
Mike’s arm and smiled up at him. “Let’s go home.”

Mike dropped
the box on top of the car bonnet and turned to Maddy. He looked
down at her long and hard, his gaze searching, and Maddy’s smile
faded. “What’s wrong?”

He looked
across at her family and Maddy followed his gaze. Her brother wore
his usual disapproving expression, Belinda fluttered nervously, Mrs
Lovett had a strained smile and Mr Lovett was annoyed. Mrs Bernard
was a little anxious, as evident by her hands wringing.

Turning back to
Maddy, Mike smiled slowly. Dipping his hand into his pocket, he
dropped down on one knee.

“Mike?” Unsure
what to make of the strange behaviour, Maddy reached out to
him.

Mike grabbed
her hand, turning it over so that her fingers rested in his big
palm. “Maddy.” His vice was that familiar deep rumble she loved so
much. His gaze was earnest, every bit of humour having faded away.
He looked so serious that she started to really worry.

“Do you feel
all right?”

“Never better.
And never surer that this is the right moment.”

“Right moment
for what?” What on earth was he doing? What was he talking
about?

And then all
Maddy’s thoughts blew in every direction as he pulled a box from
his pocket and held it up. Mike released her hand to open it, and
she could only gasp at the ring that glittered in the sunshine.
“Oh….Mike…” She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Is that…is
it…?”

“Yeah, Maddy,
it is.” Taking her hand again, he looked steadily up at her. “Marry
me, Maddy. Make me the happiest man on this earth and be mine
forever.”

There was a
stunned silence behind them, but Maddy only had eyes for Mike.
Tears blurred her vision and she could only nod.

The smile that
curved his lips touched her heart with the tenderness that shone
from it and was echoed in his eyes. Mike took the ring and slid it
neatly onto her ring finger, a perfect fit. Bringing her hand to
his lips, he kissed the back of it before pushing upright to cradle
her in his arms.

“I love you,
Maddy,” he said, looking down at her. “For now and always, through
sickness and in health, and in every moment you drive me nuts or
give me a boner in inappropriate places. Especially the boner,
though I think the nuts part will be pretty common, too.”

Maddy thought
it was the most romantic proposal she’d ever heard. “Oh Mike, I do
love you, you Neanderthal.”

“Oh,
Madeleine,” Mrs Lovett stammered. “Are you sure…”

Mrs Bernard
started wide-eyed. “Isn’t this a little soon? We’ve just met
Maddy.”

“I met Maddy
awhile ago, Mum.” Mike didn’t take his gaze from Maddy. “What you
all think doesn’t concern me. As long as Maddy’s happy, that’s the
only thing that matters.”

“I-uh.” Mr
Lovett cleared his throat. “Maybe you should wait awhile.”

Maddy didn’t
even bother to look at her family. Standing up on tip-toe, she gave
Mike a deep kiss, sinking into his embrace and losing herself in
his scent and strength.

When she
finally came up for air, she smiled up into his face. “I love you,
Mike.’

“I love you,
Maddy.”

“Let’s go home
so I can do bad things to you.”

“Hot damn.”
Grabbing the box, he practically threw it into the back seat before
folding himself into the passenger seat. “Maybe we can stop and
neck for a few minutes on the way.”

“Not with that
boner,” she replied, getting into the car and ignoring the
collective gasp that came from her stunned family.

Putting the car
into gear, Maddy gave her family a wave and pulled out of the
driveway.

Mike looked at
her, his wicked grin almost splitting his face. “Gotcha, Maddy. I’m
never going to let you go now.”

“You won’t have
to.” She glanced coyly at him. “I know you can’t resist my cooking,
so that makes you a keeper.’

His hand landed
on her thigh. “I can’t resist you, your curves, your mouth-watering
body, your sense of humour, your annoying habit of being so damned
independent.” His eyes turned darkly hedonistic. “I think we should
go faster.”

“And break the
speed limit? Tsk tsk, you should be ashamed of yourself, Mr
Lawman.” Heart brimming with happiness, Maddy couldn’t stop
smiling.

They pulled up
in the driveway of her home and by the time they stumbled into her
house, Mike was already pulling the clothes from her. They kissed
and undressed while practically falling into her bedroom, and by
the time they finally fell onto her bed, both were breathing hard
and laughing as he fumbled to pull on a condom.

Maddy’s breath
caught as he entered her in smooth thrust. He buried himself up to
the hilt inside her and she could only wonder at the sensation of
fullness. He felt so right.

Mike stilled,
coming up on his elbows to gaze down at her with banked fire in his
pale blue eyes. Tenderness vied with carnal lust, and she
recognised the other emotion deep within his eyes.

“You really do
love me.” Reaching up, she smoothed her hand down his cheek.

“Never doubt
it. Ever.” Turning his head, he kissed the palm of her hand and
thrust gently, making her gasp before he stilled again. “I love
everything about you, Maddy. You are my life.”

So full of
emotion she could barely contain her happiness, she said softly,
“You make me laugh, Mike Carson. You make me mad. And you make me
feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“That’s because
you are.” He dropped a kiss onto her forehead. “You are beautiful.”
The kiss was dropped next on her nose. “Every luscious bit of you.
And you’re all mine.” His kiss captured her mouth and then she was
born away on a tide of pure hedonistic lovemaking, so tender yet
hot that it wrung her very heart while making her heart pound a
mile a minute.

When she
finally came down from the shattering heights he’d pushed her over,
Maddy wrapped her arms around Mike and tugged him down to her,
burying her face in his neck.

Rolling to his
side, he ran his hand tenderly up and down her back and waited.

Finally, when
she got her breath back, she whispered, “Why did you propose right
then, with everyone watching?”

A big,
calloused palm smoothed her hair off her face. “Because I wanted no
doubt in anyone’s mind that it was you, Maddy Lovett, who I was
asking for the honour of marrying me.”

“That’s so
sweet.” She squeezed him in pure happiness.

“I know. You
owe me kinky sex.”

They both
laughed and snuggled closer.

Cradled in his
arms, she started to drift off to sleep.

“Maddy?” Mike’s
words were a deep rumble in her ear, so familiar and welcoming.

“Oh God, not
the talk thing?” She grinned as he laughed, her position against
him making her shake with the action.

He smacked her
bottom lightly then cupped one generous curve and squeezed. “No,
you terrible, unfeeling chit. I had an idea.”

“Do share. So
far I like your ideas.”

“Okay.” He
paused. “I think we should knock a hole in the wall and put a
doorway between your place and mine. Make it ours.”

“I like
it.”

“Then Chaz and
Yamaha can have the run of the house.”

“I like
it.”

“And I can
chase you naked through the house.”

She grinned
against his chest. “I really like it.”

“And we should
elope.”

She went still,
and now she could feel a little bit of tension in the big body
cradling her so gently. Coming up on one elbow, she looked down at
him. Mike met her gaze seriously.

“Really?” she
finally asked.

“Yes.”

“No family? No
arrangements? No bridal gown or groom suit?”

He looked a
little pained. “You always wanted a white wedding, didn’t you?”

She smiled
widely. “No, you big lunkhead. I don’t want to be put on parade, I
never did. I dreaded the thought of all my critical family trying
to take over and not liking anything I did or chose, fighting over
details and it turning out to be so damned unpleasant. I like your
idea.” Reaching out, she pushed a strand of thick, black hair back
off his brow, her ring glinting in the sunlight. “I really do.”

His eyes
crinkled at the corners. “You do?”

“Oh yeah. We
can get married anywhere.” Her eyes twinkled. “And Chaz can be your
best man.”

“Tim might have
something to say about that.”

“Family
first.”

Mike pulled her
down and kissed her. “No, us first.” He looked deeply into her
eyes. “Maddy and Mike first. Forever.”

“Forever,” she
echoed.

He smiled.

“Along with
Chaz and Yamaha, of course,” she added.

Laughter
glinted in his eyes. “As long as I have you, you passionate little
thing, and those weirdo cats, I’m a very happy and contented
man.”

“Little? Me?”
She smiled at him.

“You’re my
passion, Maddy.” He kissed her tenderly, the laughter fading to be
replaced with love. “My little, fiery passion. Always and
forever.”

####

Big Girls
Lovin’ trilogy

If you missed
“Doctor’s Delight”, book 1 of the Big Girls Lovin’ trilogy, it is
available now at
Smashwords.com
!

Biography

Angela
Verdenius lives in Australia where she is ruled by her cats, adores
reading, and thinks a perfect day is writing and drinking Diet
Coke, followed by reading or a good horror movie.

To date, she
has written 19 novels, 2 novellas, and several short stories. Her
books have won many reviewers’ awards, as well as having been on
the Fictionwise best-seller list and winning the Golden Rose
Award.

Visit her
website at
http://www.angelaverdenius.com
,
and her blog at
http://angelaverdenius.blogspot.com/