Simon Says Die (23 page)

 

Chapter Twenty-Three

R
ATHER THAN TAKE
Madison back to the bed-and-breakfast, Pierce decided to take her to his house. She was far too shaky and pale for him to want to answer any concerned questions from the innkeeper owner when he saw her.

He opened the front door of his house for Madison and stood back for her to go inside. She stood frozen, as if in a trance, and he had to gently push her to get her to move. His heart ached for the desolation on her face. She looked lost.

“Have a seat.” He nodded toward the couch, and carried the Chinese take-out food he'd grabbed back in town to the kitchen countertop. He set out two plates and some silverware, and put some ice in some glasses. He turned to ask her what she wanted to drink, and frowned when he saw she was still standing where he'd left her.

He stepped over to her and tugged her hand to get her to sit on the couch. She sat, staring out the front picture window. He was pretty sure she wasn't looking at the acres of trees that lined his property. She was looking somewhere he couldn't see right now.

“It's way past lunchtime. You haven't eaten since this morning. Are you hungry?”

She shrugged, continuing to look out the window.

He tapped his fist against his thigh and stood in indecision. He knew Madison's forceful personality tended to rub people the wrong way, and in the middle of an investigation her temper and lack of tact was frustrating, to say the least. But seeing her like this, so quiet, so meek, had him worried. She was so strong. He never would have thought anything could affect her this way.

“I'll get you some lo mein and fried rice. How about an egg roll? You like those, right?”

She didn't respond. She just stared out the window.

He looked around in desperation. He knew Madison wasn't much for watching TV, but she needed something to help pull her out of the funk she was in. He crossed to the bookshelf on the far wall and turned on the satellite radio sitting there. Madison was a free spirit who loved anything artistic, including music of all kinds. Pierce scanned until he found an upbeat popular tune and turned it up.

He glanced back at her, but she hadn't even reacted.

Shoulders slumping, he headed into the kitchen to make her a plate. When he came back out, one of her favorite songs was playing, but she wasn't even moving to the music.

After setting the bottles of water and plates down on an end table, he plopped down on the couch beside her. He reached over, lifted her up, and placed her on his lap.

She blinked as if only now noticing him. “What are you doing?”

“Feeding you. You need to eat.”

“Not hungry.”

He grabbed one of the plates and held a forkful of noodles beneath her nose. “It's your favorite, pork lo mein, extra soy sauce. Come on, try it.”

She sniffed and looked down at the fork.

“Take a bite,” he said. “Do it for me.”

He lightly held the fork of lo-mein against her lips.

Letting out a small sigh, she opened her mouth.

A few hard-won bites later, he said, “Come on, I went to a lot of trouble putting all that soy sauce on there. The least you can do is tell me how fantastic it is.”

The halfhearted smile on her face was far from convincing. “It's great.”

After he hand-fed her several more bites, she turned her head, refusing to eat anymore.

She took a drink of water when he offered it, then pushed the bottle away. Pierce set the bottle down on the table and sat holding her, wondering what else he could do to get the old Madison back. He needed to tease her. Or make her mad, anything to bring back that spark that was Madison.

An idea shot through him, an idea that would either work, or get him slapped. He was willing to risk it. He sank his fingers in her hair and pressed his mouth against hers. He'd only meant to shock her into awareness, but the moment his lips touched hers he couldn't pull back. Not yet. He deepened the kiss, tasting the rich soy sauce, tasting
her
, teasing her until she parted her lips on a soft sigh.

He swept his tongue inside, and pulled her closer. At her lack of response, he finally pulled back in frustration. She stared up at him, blinking like an owl.

Then she burst into tears.

“Ah hell.” He pulled her against his chest, feeling like a jerk. “Not exactly the reaction I was going for.” He rocked her against him, not sure what to do. He'd never, not once, seen her cry like this. Even the tears she'd shed back at the police station didn't compare to the flood of tears streaming down her face now, as she took in big gulping breaths between sobs.

The whole idea of her breaking down like this seemed foreign. She was a rock. If anything, she seemed too strong sometimes. He didn't have a clue how to comfort her.

A slow song flowed out of the speakers across the room. In desperation, he stood with her in his arms, kicked the coffee table out of the way, and set her on her feet. He put his arms around her, hugged her against his chest, and started swaying to the music.

Relief swept through him when she started swaying too. He took one of her hands in his and moved around the room in slow circles. Her sniffles gradually quieted until they finally stopped.

When another slow song came on, she tugged her hand free and reached up to lock her arms behind his head. Her eyes had lost their glassy look and were focused on him now, as she moved with him.

“I didn't know you could dance,” she whispered.

“I can't. I'm totally faking it and hoping you won't notice.”

Some of her spark was coming back into her eyes as she gave him a small smile. “Oh, I don't know. I sense some raw talent here. You're better than you think.” She sniffed again, and lowered her head against his chest.

Her fingers started playing with his hair, stroking his neck, sending heat racing down his spine. He cleared his throat and tried to concentrate on the music so that he wouldn't step on her feet.

She moved closer to him, the heat of her belly cuddled against his groin. He stumbled but quickly recovered, trying to think of something,
anything
, but the warm woman pressed against him. The dancing had calmed her, and woke her up from that scary trance she'd been in earlier. He didn't want to do anything that might make her go back to being the quiet, lost woman she'd been a few minutes ago.

Because that had scared the hell out of him.

One of her arms slowly slid from around his neck, her fingers brushing down his chest, across his abs. He sucked in a breath when she hooked her fingers in the waistband of his pants.

A trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face, even though the room was on the chilly side because he'd forgotten to turn up the heat when they came in. Madison couldn't possibly know the effect she was having on him, could she?

“Are you okay?” Her lips moved against his shirt, her hot breath washing through the opening between the buttons and rasping across his skin.

He tensed and held his breath before slowly letting it out. “Of course.” His voice came out rough and raspy. He cleared his throat. “Why?”

She slid her finger through his shirt opening and touched his skin. “Your heart's racing a lot faster than it should for a slow dance.”

“It's a bit warm in here. I'll check the thermostat.” He pulled back.

Her hand tightened around his waistband, and she tugged him back against her. “Here, I'll take off your shirt. That should cool you off.” An impish light gleamed in her eyes.

He grabbed her wandering hands as she started unbuttoning his shirt. “Mads, don't.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

He swallowed, hard. “Because you're not thinking clearly right now. You're under a lot of stress.”

Her mouth curved up in a delighted grin. “I know a great stress reliever.” She grabbed the edges of his shirt and yanked it open, sending the buttons flying.

Now
this
was the Madison that Pierce remembered.

Grabbing her hands, he stopped swaying to the music. “I'm very glad the real Madison is back, but I'm not going to do something you'll regret later.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “No matter how much I want to.”

He retreated several more steps, but she followed him, her hips gyrating as she stalked him across the room.

He grunted when he backed up against the wall.

Her fingers feathered mercilessly down his chest. “You don't have to worry about regrets. I won't have any. I want you. Now.” She started undoing his belt.

The way she wiggled against him had his traitorous body throbbing in response. He grabbed her hands.

She grinned and wiggled again.

“Stop it,” he croaked, sliding his hips to the side and stepping away from her. “Behave.”

Refusing to show him any mercy, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and yanked it off over her head.

His mouth went dry as his gaze dipped down to her generous breasts encased in a scrap of lace that didn't deserve to be called a bra. He didn't want to look, but he couldn't help it. “This was a bad idea coming here. I'll take you back to Alex's house.”

Her hands moved down to her jeans and she flipped the button open. “The only place I want to go right now is your bedroom. With you.” She yanked her zipper down, then shimmied out of her jeans.

For all that the mouth-watering thong covered, she might as well have not been wearing anything. Pierce groaned and closed his eyes. “I mean it, Mads. This isn't going to happen. You broke up with me for a reason. There's no point in going down that road again.”

“Open your eyes.”

“No.”

“Now who's the coward?”

He opened his eyes and nearly stumbled to his knees. She was standing in front of him in all her naked glory. The woman was perfection personified, and Pierce's willpower was rapidly fading. He swallowed against his thick tongue, and totally gave up trying to look her in the face. His hungry gaze caressed every inch of her golden skin.

“Why the hell don't you have any tan lines?” he growled.

Her hips rolled seductively as she took a step toward him. “I want you. And you can't exactly lie and say you don't feel the same way. The more than generous proof is right in front of me.”

He cursed and took a step back down the hall, away from the temptation of her body.

Like a sex goddess, without a hint of modesty or embarrassment heating her naked flesh, she pursued him.

When Pierce bumped up against his bedroom door, Madison stopped directly in front of him, her breasts pressing against his chest. She reached up and captured a drop of sweat running down the side of his face and sucked it off the tip of her finger.

“Um, salty.”

His body jerked and he groaned. “You're not playing fair.”

Her smile disappeared and for the first time since she'd started this little striptease, her face turned serious. She lifted her arms around his neck and pulled his head down.

“I'm not
playing
. I'm scared. I don't know what's going to happen when we leave here. I don't want to think anymore. I just want to feel. I want to know that someone cares about me. I want to forget, to pretend that none of the bad things ever happened. For just a few hours, I want to love and be loved. Is that really such a bad thing to ask?” She reached up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his in a kiss that was so sweet it made his heart skip a beat.

When she pulled back, her eyes were wide and searching. “Love me. Please?”

He knew it was wrong. He knew she'd regret this later, as would he. He didn't want to be her temporary reprieve from the pressures of the world. But looking into her sad eyes, hearing the pleading tone in a voice he'd never heard plead before, all his noble intentions died in a heap of ashes.

He opened the bedroom door behind him, then bent down and lifted her against his chest and carried her inside.

Now that he'd given up trying to resist her, he couldn't seem to slow down. He hadn't been with anyone else since she'd broken up with him. And he'd never been the celibate type.

She was under his skin, in his blood, and he didn't know how he'd survive again without her after tasting her again. He shoved that bleak thought away and focused on her, only her.

He quickly shed his clothes, leaving them on the floor beside the bed.

They twisted against each other, their arms and legs tangling together as they fought to get closer. The familiar scent of jasmine rose from Madison's heated skin. She shoved Pierce onto his back and covered him with her body, positioning him at her entrance then lowering herself on him in one quick stroke that had him arching off the bed.

Never one to worry about foreplay, Madison rode him with fervor, her hips arching up and down. Pierce grabbed her waist and ground himself against her, pushing deeper, faster.

Suddenly she cried out and tightened around him. He thrust upward two more times and joined her, shouting her name as he climaxed inside her.

She shuddered and fell across his chest, limp, sweaty, her breath coming out in choppy pants.

He grimaced at the tug on his stitches, but he didn't care. Being with Madison had always been this way, explosive, incredible, totally satisfying in a way no other woman had ever satisfied him. She loved to take charge in the bedroom like she tried to do outside the bedroom, and he didn't mind letting her.

The first time.

He'd give her a few minutes to recover. Then he'd love her the way he wanted to love her, slowly and thoroughly, tasting every delectable curve until she tightened around him and cried out his name.

And then he'd love her again.

W
HEN DAWN BEGAN
to make its way across the sky, its first rays fell through Pierce's bedroom window, dusting gold across Madison's flawless skin, marred only by the tiny dragon tattoo that he knew was on her left buttock. She lay splayed out across his chest like a blanket, snoring like a lumberjack.