Mad Love: Madison (13 page)

“Seems so. Sarah got him last night.”

He set the puppy down on the floor before reaching
into the inside of his jacket pocket and pulling out a bright red rectangular
box. “I’m sorry I missed your birthday the other day.”

She bit her lip as she popped the lid open and
looked inside. A gold charm bracelet with six charms lay on a red velvet
cushion.

A small gasp of pleasure parted her lips.

Settling in beside her, he said, “I remembered
you saying how much you liked one of your client’s charm bracelets so I
thought…”

Eyes wide, she looked up at him in surprise. “That
happened months ago.”

“I have a good memory.” He tugged at his collar
as he looked from her to the bracelet.

He’s nervous
, she thought in awe as her smile widened.
“I love it.”

His eyes lit up as he moved in closer. “You do?”
He reached for the bracelet and held it up. “I had them add a few charms.
You’re a lawyer so I had no choice but to add the scales of justice.”

“Oh, naturally,” she said in amusement.

“Also, I figured that’s how I came to know you so,”
he trailed off as he cleared his throat, “that’s what that represents.”

Quickly realizing that the six charms had special
meaning and weren’t just added at random, she looked from them to Ethan as a
wave of warmth enveloped her. “And the others? What do they represent?”

He pointed to a flower charm made with five small
clear blue Topaz gemstones. “This one here, I bought for your birthday since it
has your birthstone.” He laid it across her wrist and pointed to the small red
gift box charm. “That one’s because this is the first Christmas gift I’ve ever
given you.” Holding the bracelet tight against her wrist, he carefully clasped
the ends together before pointing to the pink sapphire heart shaped charm. “This
one was probably the easiest to pick out. I figured it sort of represents your
last name.”

She pointed to a Claddagh charm with its green
gemstone. “And then this charm?”

“I remembered you telling me that your
grandmother was Irish.”

“I see.” She tapped the sixth charm, a small
plain anchor. “And what’s this one represent?”

“Me,” he said simply.

She bit her lip as she glanced back at his
handsome face, realizing she had never wanted anyone as much as she wanted this
man. He was perfect. Smart. Strong. Generous. Funny. Dependable. Gorgeous
beyond belief. And most importantly, he was also sweet and tender.

There was no doubt about it. Ethan was the man of
her dreams. The man she had prayed for, wished for, pleaded for. And it looked
like her prayers were going to finally be answered.

“So, what do you think?” Before she could answer,
he added, “I was going to get you that clock that you wanted but Keith beat me
to it.”

She ran her fingers over the bracelet. “I love
it, Ethan. Thank you so much.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave
him a light kiss on the cheek.

She felt his hand tighten on her back for a
moment before sliding down to her waist. He turned his head, bringing his lips
within centimeters of hers.

Her heartbeat sped up as his gaze drifted to her
lips. He pressed his mouth gently to hers at first, then deepening the kiss
when Madison’s fingers ran through his thick dark hair to hold him closer.

They couldn’t get enough of each other. Months of
flirting, of long lingering looks, of pent up frustration were suddenly set
loose. They forgot about everything as their hands roamed over each other’s
bodies.

At some point, some hint of awareness struck. Her
inner voice, faint as though it was, reached her consciousness, reminding her
that her grandfather and sister were still in the house somewhere. She turned
her head, gulping in much needed air. “Ethan…”

He turned his attention to her neck before
eventually pulling her mouth back towards his.

A low deep growl from Rory, which erupted in a
series of loud barks, caused them reluctantly to break apart.

Breathing heavily, Ethan sat up and lightly
clapped his hands. “Here, Rory. C’mere boy.”

Madison ran a shaking hand through her hair and
readjusted her sweater. “What’s he barking at?” she asked, pulling her feet
from out behind Ethan’s back. She felt her face blush as she tried to recall
when she had ended up flat on her back with Ethan lying on top of her.
Trembling slightly, she stood up and walked to the glass doors.

She laid her hand against the cold window, trying
to cool down. She had never lost control like this. Not to this degree at
least. To be so lost in the moment that she forgot where she was completely
unbelievable to her. She glanced back at Ethan who appeared just as affected as
she.

He sat on the edge of the couch, still breathing
deeply as he tried in vain to get Rory to come to him. Giving up, he ran a hand
through his dark brown hair pushing back off his forehead and away from his
bright blue eyes. She was so tempted to rush back to the couch and throw
herself into his arms that she took a half step towards him but another series
of loud barks from Rory held her back.

Watching as Rory, growling low in his throat,
anxiously paced in front of the French doors, Ethan stood up and tucked his
shirt back into his pants.

Madison’s blush deepened.
Control yourself
,
she thought, closing her eyes. “Um,” she started, still breathless from his
kiss. She cleared her throat lightly. “I have something for you.”

He looked at her in surprise. “What?”

Not trusting herself to be too close to him, she
pointed to the package lying on the end table.

His face lit up as he snatched the box and ripped
through its wrapping. “What did you get me?”

She twisted her fingers together. “I wasn’t quite
sure what you would like, but I know you like being on the water so…” She bit
her lip, second guessing her gift choice.
Why did I let Sarah talk me out of
the cufflinks? Cufflinks were a great gift. They would have been a perfect complement
to his gift to me. I could have gotten the ones with little anchors on them
,
she thought cringing as he opened the box.

A broad grin stretched his face as he held up a gift
certificate to a riverboat cruise.

“They have dinner and dancing,” she said quickly,
lifting her hand back to her hair. “I just thought…” The soft jangling of the
bracelet caught her attention.
I should have gone with the cufflinks
.
“If you don’t like it, I could get you something else.”

“No, this is perfect,” he said enthusiastically.
“We had just talked about going sailing,” he said pushing his hair off his
forehead. “Thank you. How soon do you want to go with me?”

“As soon as it warms up a bit.” She turned back
to the window and froze as her gaze zeroed in on a figure standing in the tree
line.

Rory stood on his hind legs and pressed his front
paws against the door, letting out another loud bark.

“Ethan?”

Warm hands gripped her waist. They slipped over
her stomach and brought her back against his strong chest as he kissed the side
of her neck. “You’re so beautiful. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to
have you in my arms.”

Madison felt a rush of desire fill her again. She
forced herself to push it back down. “There’s someone in the woods.”

“Hmm,” he murmured as his lips travelled up her
neck towards her ear.

“Ethan!”

He lifted his head, surprised at the urgency in
her voice. “What?”

“There’s someone in the woods,” she repeated as
she looked over her shoulder at him. “Our property is surrounded by a fence.
That includes the woods. No one should be out there.”

His eyes cleared and focused on the tree line.
“Where?”

“Right…” She paused as she searched the tree
line. “He was right there.”

“Did you get a good look at him?”

“Not really. He disappeared behind a tree before
I got a good look at his face. He was wearing jeans and I think a brown coat.”

Ethan walked over to the sitting room double
doors.

Madison picked up Rory and followed Ethan out
into the hallway and to the coat closet. When he reached for his coat, she
grabbed his wrist. “Wait, don’t go out there.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t know who he is.”

“That’s why I have to go out there,” he said slipping
his arms into his coat. “So, I can find out.”

“He probably has a weapon.”

He bent over and pulled a gun out of a holster
attached to his ankle. “He won’t be the only one.”

“You brought a gun to Christmas dinner?” she
asked in surprise.

Raising an eyebrow, he glanced over to the library
and gestured to the large gun cabinet next to her grandfather’s desk.

“Well, that’s different. Those are already here.”
She felt a knot form in her stomach. “And you don’t usually carry a gun.”

“I do now.”

“Why? What’s changed?”

“I’ll explain later.” He opened the doors and
stepped into the hallway. “Follow me to the front door and lock it. I’ll be
back in a few minutes.”

5:15
P.M.

Madison
stood in front of the window in the sitting room, anxiously waiting for Ethan
to return. She crossed her arms and took a deep calming breath. It was probably
just a neighbor. A friend of Grandpa’s who wanted to pop in and say hello.

That was it
, she nodded to herself.
Just a neighbor
…
She frowned.
Who just so happens to like climbing over fences and lurking in
the woods for no apparent reason on Christmas Day
.

She rubbed her hands down her arms as a chill
snaked up her back. She wished Ethan would hurry back. He was obviously worried
if he felt it was necessary to bring a gun to dinner and he certainly ran out
in a hurry once she told him someone was trespassing. Anyone else might have
shrugged it off or perhaps if they were truly worried, called the police.
He
knows something
, she thought as she absentmindedly chewed at her thumbnail,
and whatever it was must have been bad enough to make him bring a gun with
him today
.

She spun around as the door opened and Ethan
strode in.

“Did you find him?”

“No,” he said removing his coat and gloves, “but
someone was out there. I found fresh footprints in the snow.” He gestured to
the window before he laid his coat over the back of the couch. “I followed them
back into the woods and over the fence. I got up the hill just in time to see
the car pull away.”

“Did you get a license plate?”

He shook his head.

“Well, at least he’s gone.”

He sat down on the couch’s armrest. Reaching
forward, he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer until she was between his
legs. “For now.”

“Do you think it was Paul?”

“I don’t know what to think at this point.”

“I doubt it was Quincy. Quincy was a big man.
There’s no way he could have hidden behind that tree.”

“Perhaps he lost weight. It’s been a couple of
months since you’ve seen him, hasn’t it?”

The corner of her lips quirked up. “I want to
know what diet he’s been on to lose that much weight in just a few months.”

“I see,” Ethan said. “So, tell me about Quincy.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Were you two close?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I got to know him when I came
to work for the firm.”

“Did you two argue or fight about anything before
he left?”

“No, we got along great.”

“Could he be angry with you about something?”

“I don’t see how. The last time I saw him, he was
laughing and joking with me like normal.”

He bit his lip as his gaze travelled to the
floor. “Would you say he was a bit of a flake?”

She shook her head.

“Unreliable?” he asked looking back up.

“No, not at all. I could count on him for
anything.”

“Did he like to drink or gamble?”

“Not that I know of.”

“What about his family?”

“He was alone. Most everyone he loved had died.”

“Would you say he was a sentimental man?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said with a chuckle at
the rapid-fire series of questions. “He talked about his father a lot.”

“Did he have any recent head injuries that you
knew of?”

She laughed. “No.”

“How professional was he?”

“Very.” She laid her hands on his arms. “Look, I
trusted Quincy. He was a nice guy. He was always on time. Pleasant. Personable.
I never had any trouble with him.”