- -
- 100%
- +
She dribbled champagne on the front of her frock and brushed it off with her fingers.
“Why are you wearing that dress?” Kieran asked.
Maddie shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. I just wanted to celebrate. I feel like I’ve been let out of prison.” She paused. “You know, sometimes I wish I could go back and live the last ten years all over again.”
“What would you do differently?” Kieran asked.
“I’d stand up to my mother,” she said. “And I’d keep my song-writing talents to myself until I turned eighteen. It’s true what they say about child stars. We are all screwed up.”
“You’re not screwed up,” Kieran said, pushing to his feet and crossing the room to stand beside the bed. He held out his hand and when she placed her fingers in his palm, he pulled her up to her feet. She stood on the bed in front of him and Kieran slipped his hands around her slender waist.
“You look very pretty.”
“I think I actually believe you,” she said.
“And why wouldn’t you?”
“Because people tell me exactly what I want to hear all the time. After a while, I don’t really know what to believe or who to trust.”
He nuzzled her belly. “You can trust me, Maddie. I’ll always be honest with you.”
“I know I can,” she murmured. Her fingers furrowed through his hair and she tipped his face up until he met her gaze again. “So, you really think I look pretty?”
He nodded.
“Then why haven’t you kissed me again?”
“Do you think I kiss every pretty girl I see?” he asked. “Why haven’t you kissed me?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. But now that we’re all alone with this big bed, I thought kissing you might start something we might not be able to stop.”
“And we barely know each other,” he said. He lifted her off the bed, drawing her into his embrace. “I can stop. Just say the word.”
He bent close and found her lips, soft and slightly parted. This time, he took it slowly, savoring every sensation and sweet taste of her. Before, the kisses they shared were like excited outbursts, but this time, he meant to seduce her. After this kiss, she’d know exactly what to expect if she didn’t tell him to stop.
Her hands smoothed over his chest, then slipped up to circle his neck. She felt so perfect in his arms, her slender body finally revealed from beneath the baggy hoodie and faded jeans.
Though Kieran had enjoyed his share of no-strings lovers, he didn’t consider Maddie one. There was something special about her. With her, it wouldn’t be just an exquisite physical release. They’d somehow forged an emotional connection, starting that morning in the Denver bus station. He’d become her protector and he didn’t want to do anything to hurt her.
Maddie pulled him down on the bed and he stretched out on top of her, bracing his weight with his hands on either side of her, their mouths still joined. This was all so new to him, Kieran thought. Usually a night in bed came with certain expectations. But he didn’t know what would happen here.
“I don’t want you to stop,” she whispered.
His breath caught in his throat. The invitation couldn’t have been any clearer. But it wasn’t quite right. They still felt a little bit like strangers, and though the desire was obvious and intense, neither one of them seemed ready to cast aside all their inhibitions. How would they feel in the morning? Would they regret what they’d done?
He drew back, his lips hovering over hers. God, it took every ounce of his willpower to stop himself, but he was determined that he wouldn’t give in to his impulses. “We should probably get some sleep,” he murmured. “We’ve got to get up and be at the station in about eight hours.”
“Or we could stay up the rest of the night and sleep on the train,” she said. “I’m finally free. I want to celebrate.”
“You don’t have to do it all on your first day,” he said. “Come on. Why don’t you put on something comfortable, then we’ll crawl under the covers and turn off the lights.”
“Can we keep kissing?” Maddie asked.
“I don’t think I could stop.”
She turned around, then glanced over her shoulder. “Unzip me?”
Kieran groaned inwardly. If she planned to sleep in the nude, he’d be lost. There was no way he could resist a naked body next to him. With fumbling fingers, he did as she asked, then grabbed a T-shirt from his bag. “Here, you can wear this.”
She hadn’t bothered to put on underwear beneath the pink party dress and as it dropped to the floor, he caught a tempting sight of her naked backside. She stepped out of the dress as she pulled the shirt over her head, then turned to face him.
Kieran pulled the covers back and she crawled into the bed. “I’m just going to pull out the studio couch and sleep there,” he said.
“No,” Maddie countered, sliding across to the other side. “It’s a king-size bed. There’s plenty of room for both of us. Don’t worry. I’ll behave.”
“I’m not worried about you,” Kieran said.
“And I’m not worried about you,” she said.
Kieran reluctantly sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off his shoes, then swung his feet up onto the mattress.
“You’re going to wear your clothes to bed?” she asked.
“I think that might be best.” He reached over to turn off the lights. When the room was dark, he felt Maddie’s body shift next to him. A moment later, she was curled up against him, her hand resting on his chest.
He wondered if she could feel his heart pounding, could sense his nerves fired in anticipation. Though he wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t take more than a simple caress to get his blood pumping in that direction.
Kieran slipped his arm beneath her head and pulled her closer. She began to hum softly, a tune he didn’t recognize. But it was sweet and relaxing and he closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He felt her relax against him and after a time, her humming stopped and her breathing grew soft and even.
She was such a complicated creature, he thought to himself. To an outside observer, she had the perfect life—an amazing career, people all over the country who loved her, a talent that very few possessed, and an inner strength that he found quite attractive. And yet, she longed for something simpler.
They did share one thing. Neither one of them were living their dreams. The more time he spent with her, the more Kieran realized that he’d never really thought much about what he wanted. He’d accepted his responsibilities with the family business and was happy to go along as he had been—doing his job, enjoying his free time sailing.
But what were his dreams? He’d always thought about spending a year sailing down the West Coast and up the East Coast, traveling through the Panama Canal. He wanted to learn how to surf. And he wanted to feel the kind of excitement he felt when he was with Maddie every day of his life.
Was she his dream? Kieran drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out. He’d never thought much about committing himself to just one woman. Marriage and family seemed such a long way off. But he was twenty-seven years old. It was time he decided what he really wanted out of life.
He glanced over at the clock beside the bed. They had to get up in four hours if they were going to catch their train. Kieran reached out to set the alarm, then decided that there was no need. He wouldn’t get any sleep tonight, not with Maddie curled up next to him.
Kieran pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist. He’d expected this trip to be an exercise in boredom, but it had become the exact opposite. With every minute he spent with her, he felt himself changing.
He liked not knowing what tomorrow held, not having a carefully constructed plan. For all he knew, tomorrow might be the most amazing day of his entire life—or a total disaster. But that didn’t matter. If he was with Maddie, then it would always be a good day.
3
MADDIE OPENED HER eyes to see the early-morning sun pouring through the hotel window. This time, she knew exactly where she was. She didn’t have to think about it or reach out for her itinerary. She was in bed, with Kieran Quinn, in Topeka, Kansas.
But one question came quickly to mind. What time was it? Weren’t they supposed to get up to get on a train at five in the morning? She pushed up on her elbow and wiped the sleep from her eyes, then peered at the bedside clock. It was 9:00 a.m. The train had left about three hours ago.
Maddie groaned and flopped back down into the pillows. Knowing Kieran’s penchant for schedules, he was not going to be pleased. And if the tickets weren’t refundable, he’d have something to say about that, as well. But then, if she made the prospect of an extra day in a hotel room more interesting, he might not complain.
He’d be happy if she had breakfast waiting for him when he woke up. Maddie slipped out of bed and fetched the menu from the nearby desk. She tiptoed into the bathroom and closed the door, then stared at herself in the mirror.
Her hair, still damp when she’d fallen asleep, was a riot of curls, falling in tendrils around her face. She grabbed the toothbrush she’d bought last night and brushed her teeth, then picked up the phone next to the toilet.
She ordered strawberry waffles, eggs Benedict, a Denver omelet, a basket of pastries, orange juice and a big pot of coffee. At the last minute, she added a side of grits and biscuits with gravy.
Drawing a deep breath, she smiled to herself. Spending an extra day in Topeka wasn’t in the plan, but she felt safe here. It would be nice to have some time to just relax with Kieran.
Maddie wandered back out into the bedroom. She picked up her cell phone from the desk and looked at it. She knew there would be multiple messages from her mother waiting in her voice mail and in her text box. A tiny twinge of guilt worried at her and she fought the temptation to call her mother and let her know that she was all right.
But if her calls and texts could be traced, she didn’t want to risk it. Her mother was relentless and would do and say anything to drag her back. Maddie just needed a few more days. Then she’d be able to deal with her mother in a more calm and rational manner.
Maddie set the phone down and crawled back into bed, curling against Kieran’s body. Her fingers toyed with the front of his shirt, stretched tight across his chest. He looked so sexy while he slept, his hair rumpled, his lips parted slightly and his arm thrown over his head.
Turning, she pressed a kiss to his neck. When he stirred, Maddie moved to his ear. He opened his eyes and looked at her, then frowning, he glanced over at the clock.
“We missed our train,” he said, his voice low and raspy.
“We did,” Maddie said, kissing his chin.
“I didn’t set the alarm. I didn’t think I would fall sleep.”
She brushed her lips across his. “You were definitely sleeping. You were even snoring.”
“I don’t snore,” he said.
Maddie kissed him again. “Just a little bit.”
“Well, you talk in your sleep,” he countered. “You carry on entire conversations with yourself. Last night it was something about a green dress and ear muffs and a blue purse.”
Maddie giggled. “I told you I was a little crazy. I’ve also been known to sleepwalk when I’m under stress. Once I was in San Diego on tour and I walked out into the hall of my hotel and locked myself out of my suite. My mother was still inside, so she let me back in. Which was a lucky thing, because I was stark naked.” She paused. “You don’t mind that we missed our train, do you?”
He looked at her for a long moment, then smiled. “No. I guess an extra day in this hotel isn’t going to kill us.”
Maddie crawled on top of him, stretching her body out over the length of his. He groaned softly as the friction of their hips teased at his morning erection. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” she teased. “You’ve never spent a day in bed with me.”
“And just what do you have planned?” he asked, his hands smoothing over her waist to rest on her naked backside.
Maddie reached for the buttons of his shirt and slowly undid them, one by one. “I think maybe we should get you out of this shirt.” With every inch of chest she exposed, Maddie kissed his warm skin. A soft dusting of hair ran from his collarbone to a spot beneath the waistband of his jeans.
He had the most incredible body, Maddie mused as she skimmed her palms over his chest. He was slender, yet muscular, the body of a man who enjoyed physical activity but probably never set foot in a gym. He was a real man, not one of those strange celebrity hybrids who merely looked like the ideal.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “What are we going to do?”
“Mess around?”
“Don’t you want to?” she asked.
He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her close to meet his gaze. “Maddie, there’s nothing I want to do more then spend the day making love to you. Let’s get that clear right off the bat. But I don’t want you to think that I’m expecting it or that it’s not going to mean anything.”
“You’re getting all serious on me,” she said. “I thought we were having fun.”
“I don’t want to be just one of those candy bars you buy. After you get a taste, you toss me aside and move on.”
Maddie frowned. “What exactly do you expect from me?”
“I want you to consider the fact that once we do this, it might change everything. We might just discover that there’s something more to this than we imagined.”
“I might want to eat the entire candy bar?”
He chuckled. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Maddie shook her head. “There you go again. You constantly overthink things. You need to learn to stop worrying and just react.”
She ran her hand down his belly, dipping beneath the waistband of his jeans before retreating. “How does that feel?”
“Tempting,” he said.
She bent over and kissed his nipple, her tongue lingering for a long moment. “How about that?”
“That’s very nice,” he said.
“Now, you try it.” She watched as he drew his hand along her hip before gently cupping her breast in his palm. Maddie closed her eyes as delicious sensations coursed through her body. He brought her nipple to a hard peak, rubbing gently with his thumb through the soft fabric of the T-shirt.
“What were you thinking?” she asked.
He grabbed her waist and rolled her over, then slowly tugged the T-shirt up to reveal her belly. He pressed his mouth to her warm skin, moving higher until he found her breast. Slowly, he teased her with his tongue. Maddie felt every nerve in her body come alive. Desire surged through her veins like a river of fire.
“I was thinking you might just be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever touched.”
A soft rap sounded at the door and Maddie sighed. “I ordered breakfast. Could you eat? Because I’m really hungry.” She crawled off the bed and headed to the door, pulling his T-shirt down over her backside.
Kieran sat up in bed and watched as the waiter rolled the cart into the room and handed Maddie the check. She quickly signed it and gave it back to him, then shut the door after he stepped into the hall.
The cart was loaded down with food and she pushed it over to the bed, then poured him a cup of coffee. “I love this,” she said.
“Breakfast?”
“No, breakfast with you. It’s such a nice way to start the day.”
Maddie set the plates of food in the center of the bed, then removed the covers, revealing her choices for breakfast. She dragged her finger through the hollandaise sauce from the eggs Benedict and put it in her mouth. “Umm, that’s going to be good.”
“What am I going to eat?” he teased.
Maddie plucked a fresh strawberry off the plate of waffles and held it out for him. “Stop complaining.”
He dug into the Denver omelet, setting the plate on his lap and balancing the coffee cup on a nearby pillow. “So, what’s the plan for today? I’d really like to get out and take a walk if the weather is decent. I feel like I’ve spent the last week sitting on my ass.”
“I kind of thought we could spend the day in bed,” she said.
“Breakfast, walk, then back to bed,” he said.
“All right. But before we go out again, you have to help me do my hair.”
“I know nothing about hair.” He reached out and slipped his fingers through the curls around her face. “Are you sure you want to cut this?”
Maddie nodded her head. “Sorry. But I’m ready for a change.”
“Me, too,” he said.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should get a tattoo. Or I could get my ear pierced.”
“I could pierce your ear. I just need a needle and some alcohol.” She pulled one of the diamond studs out of her ear. “You could wear this. And after we pierce your ear, we can do our nails and talk about boys.” Maddie clapped. “We are going to have fun.”
With a low growl, he pulled her down next to him and grabbed her forkful of eggs Benedict. He popped it in his mouth. “That does taste good,” he murmured.
“Maybe I should order a pitcher of hollandaise sauce and pour it all over my naked body.”
“Now, that would be fun,” Kieran said. “And a completely new culinary experience for me.”
THE WEATHER IN Topeka was stifling, hot and humid. Dark clouds rumbled in the distance and it looked like the afternoon would be punctuated with storms. They walked out of the hotel into a blast of warm air and Kieran was almost tempted to turn them both around and return to the air-conditioned comfort of their room.
But it felt so good to get out and move around. He slipped his arm around Maddie’s waist and pulled her close. They managed to do her hair, coloring it a slightly darker tone and cutting it off at the shoulder. If it was possible, she looked more beautiful than she had before. The wavy strands tumbled around her face in a way that made it look like she’d just crawled out of bed. She wore her sunglasses and between the hair and the glasses and the discount-store dress, she definitely looked different from the rumpled runaway he’d met in the bus station the other morning, not to mention the glamorous star on the covers of her CDs.
There wasn’t a lot to see around the hotel, but they started down the wide boulevard, toward a cluster of stores and restaurants, holding hands and strolling without any purpose.
“I should have bought a swimming suit last night,” she said. “The hotel has a pool.” She looked up at the sky. “I was supposed to go into the recording studio next week to start my new album.” A sigh slipped from her lips. “It looks like it’s going to rain.”
Kieran glanced over at her, wondering at the series of disconnected comments. She had something on her mind, but obviously wasn’t ready to talk to him about it, so she was dancing around the subject.
“What’s wrong? You look worried.”
Her shoulders rose in a shrug. “I almost called my mother this morning before you woke up. I was feeling guilty. She’s probably worried and we’ve never gone this long without speaking to each other. But I’m afraid to call her—I don’t want her to figure out where I am. I just need a little more time.”
“A little more time? You sound like you’re thinking about going back.”
She ran her fingers through her hair, pressing the heels of her hands into her temples. “Oh, I don’t know,” she cried. “There are so many people that count on me. If I don’t work, then they don’t work. The thing is, if I make this new album, then I have to go out on tour to promote it. You can’t make an album without touring. So if I’m going to quit, this is the time.”
He studied her shrewdly, smoothing a windblown strand of hair from her eyes. “Do you really hate singing that much? You’re obviously really good at it, Maddie. You couldn’t have sold all those albums if you’re not good.”
“I do love to sing. But not to such huge audiences. And with the band and all the lights and craziness. There are so many ways things can go wrong and there’s so much pressure to be perfect. Do you know how much people pay for tickets? So, of course they expect a perfect show.” She grabbed his hand and wove her fingers through his. “And if I’m not perfect, the press won’t leave it alone. So many people are depending on me for—”
Kieran stopped her rant with a kiss, his lips soft on hers. “I understand.”
Maddie smiled. “I believe you’re the first person who does.”
They found a coffee shop close by and Maddie ordered a frozen mocha before they continued their walk to a small strip mall. She stopped in front of a pawnshop window and peered inside, still sipping on her coffee.
“See anything interesting?”
“Let’s go in,” Maddie said. “I want to look at that guitar.”
Kieran opened the door for her and they stepped inside the cool interior. The place was filled, floor to ceiling, with items for sale. Maddie pulled the guitar from the window display and carefully examined it while Kieran wandered over to the electronics.
As she talked to the elderly salesman, Kieran watched her, admiring her slender body and beautiful features. If she thought that cutting her hair would make her less noticeable, she was completely wrong. She was still stunning. In truth, every time he looked at her, he found something new that he liked.
He turned back to the electronics and peered into a glass case at a portable GPS. He had one just like it at home but he could use another to put on his boat as a back up. And this was a decent price. Unfortunately, he didn’t have more than seventy dollars to his name.
Kieran chuckled to himself. He had barely seventy dollars and it didn’t bother him in the least. He wasn’t worried about money or time or even getting to Bitney, Kentucky. That would happen when it happened.
“Can I show you anything?” the salesman asked, appearing behind the counter.
“Yeah, I’d like to look at that GPS.”
The salesman took it out of the case and Kieran examined it.
“What is that?”
He turned to find Maddie standing next to him. He handed it to her. “It’s a global positioning system.”
A frown furrowed her brow. “I have no idea what that is.”
“It tells you exactly where you are in the world. Latitude and longitude. Right down to a few feet either way.”
“Does it tell you where you’re going to be tomorrow or the next day?” she asked.
Kieran chuckled. “No. It doesn’t predict the future.”
“Then what good is it? I know where I am now. I’m in Topeka, Kansas.”
“It’s a good thing to have in case you get lost and you need to find your way back home.”
Maddie slipped her arms around his. “Maybe we do need it.”
“Or maybe it’s good to get lost once in a while,” Kieran countered. “What kind of adventure is this if you always know where you’re going?”
Kieran handed the GPS back to the salesman. “Thanks, but I’m going to pass on it,” he said with an apologetic shrug. “Are you going to buy anything?” he asked Maddie.
“I’m going to take the Martin guitar,” Maddie said, nodding. “It has a case, right?”
“A hard-shell case. It’s in decent condition.”
“Good. I’ll give you five hundred for both.”
The salesman thought about the offer for a long moment, then nodded. “Deal.” Maddie turned to Kieran and wiggled her fingers. “Cash, please.”
“I thought you were giving up music,” Kieran said.
“And I thought it would be nice to have on the train. I can teach you how to play.”
Kieran held up his hands. “Oh, no. I have absolutely no musical talent. Beyond singing in the car with the radio, I’m pretty much a hopeless case.”
“A lot of people start out that way,” she said. “I happen to be a very good teacher.”
“If you teach me how to play the guitar, what am I supposed to teach you?”
She thought about it, then smiled. “You can teach me how to drive,” she said.
“We don’t have a car.”
“We’ll figure that out. We could always rent one. A convertible. I’ve always wanted one of those old Cadillac’s with the tail fins. You know, a classic sixties car.”