Читать книгу The Mighty Quinns: Dermot-Dex - Kate Hoffmann - Страница 24

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.”

Kieran looked around. “They don’t have any cars here,” he said.

“Actually we do deal with cars, as well,” the salesman said. “There’s a lot out back. I could show you a few if you like.”

“No, no, no,” Kieran said. “We’re taking the train.”

“We’re taking the train,” Maddie said, nodding in agreement.

They paid for the guitar and walked back out into the midafternoon heat. Kieran took the guitar from her hand. “I’m going to be your roadie,” he said.

“If you were my roadie, I would have broken one of the cardinal rules of touring.”

“And what is that?”

“Don’t sleep with the roadies,” she said, laughing. “You never would have gotten past my mother. She approves all hiring on tours. She would have known that you’d be too tempting to resist, so you never would have gotten the job.” She paused. “It’s funny, but we probably would have never met if we hadn’t run into each other at that bus station. I might have decided to fly. Or your bus could have arrived late. And yet all the fates conspired to—”

“What?”

“I’m going to write a song about that,” she said. “I have to go back to the hotel now.”

“You don’t want to get some lunch?”

Maddie shook her head. “No. You get something to eat. I really want to get this idea down before it slips out of my mind.”

“I’ll walk you back,” Kieran said. He took her hand as they hurried down the sidewalk, startled by the sudden change in her. He’d just assumed Maddie was always playful and a little flighty. But now, she seemed so completely focused that he had a hard time adjusting to the change.

Kieran wondered if he’d ever really know her completely. Maybe that was a good thing. There was always something new to discover, something interesting to learn about this beautiful woman. And he wanted to know it all.

“A TOAST,” KIERAN SAID, holding up his champagne flute. “To your new song. Whenever I hear it, I’m going to think of Topeka. And the two nights I spent with you.”

Maddie giggled, the effects of a half bottle of champagne bubbling up inside her. She sent Kieran a sexy gaze. “I left my heart,” she sang, “in Topeka, Nebraska.”

“Kansas!” Kieran said. “We’re in Kansas.”

“Whatever,” Maddie said. “Nebraska, Kansas. I’m just happy I’m here.”

They’d enjoyed an early dinner at the hotel restaurant. Maddie felt a bit guilty after she’d spent the afternoon, alone in their room, working on a new song. But when inspiration struck she knew enough to take advantage of it. It rarely came with such strength and focus as it had that afternoon. Though she wanted to leave her professional world behind her, at least for a time, she would have to make a living sooner or later. And she never knew where the next hit song would come from.

“Maybe sometime you’ll sing it for me?” Kieran asked, watching her over the rim of his champagne flute.

“Maybe,” Maddie said. She wasn’t sure why she wasn’t ready to sing for him yet. Maybe she just wanted to leave her professional life behind a little while longer. Or maybe, she was afraid if she did sing, he’d take her mother’s side in all matters and urge her to get back onstage.

Now that the song was written and committed to memory, she’d decided to turn her full attention back to Kieran. She put on her party dress, fixed her hair and invited him to join her in the hotel restaurant.

“That dress suits you,” he said.

“Thank you.” Maddie slipped out of her shoe and ran her foot along his thigh beneath the table.

His eyes went wide. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to seduce you. I’ve gotten you drunk and now I’m moving on to step two—overt physical contact. But I’m obviously not doing a very good job if you can’t figure that out.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t need to try. Just looking at you across the table is enough to get me going.”

“It’s the pink dress, isn’t it?” she said, brushing the tiny strap off her shoulder.

“No. I’d want you even if you were wearing that hoodie and your beat-up jeans. It wouldn’t make a difference.”

“You know, I’m not wearing anything under this dress.”

Kieran groaned. “Don’t tell me that. I was really looking forward to ordering dessert. They have banana crème pie.”

Maddie took another sip of her champagne, then reached for the bottle to refill her glass. But the bottle was empty. “Do you want to order another?”

Kieran shook his head.

“Are we going to do this?” she asked.

He nodded.

She set her champagne flute down, then stood up and tossed her napkin on the table. “I’ll race you. First one to the room gets to undress the other.” With a laugh, she took off through the restaurant. Maddie looked back over her shoulder to see him dealing with their waiter and the check.

She made it to the elevator first, but as she was waiting, he caught up to her. To her surprise, he headed for the stairwell. They were on the seventh floor and she knew she’d never beat him up the stairs.

Maddie punched at the button and a moment later, the elevator doors opened. She hurried inside and pressed the button for her floor, but as the doors were closing, an elderly couple hurried toward her.

“Hold the elevator,” the man called.

She glanced over to the panel, cursing softly, then stepped forward and caught the door. The couple smiled gratefully as they got inside and pressed the button for the third floor. The doors closed and the elevator moved upward.

When she finally reached the seventh floor, Maddie stepped out of the elevator and walked to the room. Kieran was waiting at the door with the key card, his shoulder braced against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t even out of breath.

“You win,” she said.

“Oh, don’t look so disappointed,” he teased. He unlocked the door and held it open. “We’re both about to get naked and do what we’ve been waiting to do since the moment we met.”

She arched her brow, giving him an inquisitive look as she passed. “Since we met? You were thinking about this in the bus station?”

“Well, not this. But I was attracted and thoughts of a sexual nature did cross my mind. I remember thinking that your lips would probably taste like cherries. I’m a guy. What can I say?”

He followed her into the room, then grabbed the Do Not Disturb sign from the door and hung it outside. Maddie waited for him, the champagne making her mind buzz and her body boneless. He sat down on the end of the bed and slipped his hands around her waist, pulling her toward him.

For a long moment, he didn’t move. He just stared up into her eyes. Had he changed his mind? Was he going to find some excuse not to ravish her? Maddie knew the attraction between them was mutual. So why was it taking him so long to make a move?

But then he slowly turned her around and reached for the zipper of her dress. After it was down, he brushed the skinny straps off her shoulders. The dress slipped off her body and puddled at her feet in a pile of rustling tulle.

Maddie felt his hands on her body, smoothing over her shoulders, then moving down to her hips. She closed her eyes as he pressed a kiss into the small of her back.

She’d always been careful about her sexual relationships in the past, never completely trusting the man she was with. But now, for the first time, Maddie felt as if she could truly enjoy herself. Kieran had no ulterior motives. They were just two normal people who had met in a bus station.

She slowly turned. Though he was still completely dressed and she wasn’t, she didn’t feel a trace of inhibition. Maddie watched as his gaze skimmed her body. When he looked up at her again, she smiled. “Excuse me for a moment,” she murmured.

Maddie walked to the closet and found the condoms that she’d purchased in the pocket of her hoodie. Clutching the bag in her fingers, she returned to the bed and held it out to him.

“What’s this?”

“Necessities,” she said. She turned the bag over and the three boxes of condoms fell onto the bed. “I wasn’t sure what kind you liked, so I bought a variety.”

He chuckled softly. “Thank you. For thinking of me.”

“I wasn’t sure that you’d—you know …”

“I always keep a box in my shaving kit, but these are very interesting … options.”

Maddie reached out and took his hands, pulling him to his feet. Her fingers dropped to the buttons on his shirt and she worked them open, then smoothed the soft cotton fabric from his shoulders.

His body was so perfect, so beautiful. Broad shoulders, a finely muscled chest, sinewy arms … it was all as it should be—undeniably masculine. His jeans came next and by the time she slipped them over his hips, he was already hard, his erection pressing against the front of his boxers.

Maddie took his hand and brought it to her breast. She smiled as he touched her, his thumb teasing at the growing peak of her nipple. And when she leaned forward and their lips met, she knew what he’d known all along. This was meant to happen.

It was crazy, so thrilling and a bit frightening, these feelings whirling around inside her. She’d never felt such raw desire before. The attraction between them was powerful and the need for intimacy so strong that it ached inside her.

“I think you should pick a condom,” she said.

“It can wait,” Kieran replied. “We have plenty of time.”

She slowly shook her head. “I don’t want to wait. I’m not a big fan of foreplay.”

“Sweetheart, then you haven’t been with the right man.” He grabbed her hips and pulled her beneath him, then slowly kissed his way from her lips to her neck to her breasts.

Maddie slipped her fingers through his hair as she arched against him. She didn’t care if this was both the first and the last time they made love. But she knew it was going to be the best she’d ever had.

When he reached her belly, Kieran slid off the bed and pulled her to the edge. Gently, he parted her legs and placed a kiss on her inner thigh. She moaned softly and he kissed her other thigh, gradually working his way up to the damp spot between her legs.

When he ran his tongue along her slit, Maddie felt a current race through her, setting every nerve in her body on fire. Her fingers twisted in his hair, at first pushing him away, then drawing him closer.

It was obvious Kieran knew exactly how to pleasure a woman. He’d no doubt managed to satisfy a long string of beautiful women with this particular talent. But she didn’t feel an ounce of jealousy or envy. He was hers now and she wasn’t about to give him up.

Maddie felt the climax building inside her, teasing at her senses until every thought was focused on the feel of his mouth on her body. She arched against him and delicious shivers coursed through her body. So close.

She held him back one last time, trying to regain her composure. But by now, the orgasm was just a heartbeat away. When his tongue touched her again, her body tensed, then shattered into a series of deep and powerful spasms.

He continued to tease her, drawing out her release until it seemed that she couldn’t move. Every ounce of her self-control had dissolved until she was weak and spent. When he rejoined her on the bed, stretching out beside her, Maddie was smiling.

“I think I might have been wrong about foreplay.”