Be My Love Song (5 page)

“Goal!” West whispered in her ear. “I think our performance
was successful.” But instead of letting her go, he pulled her tighter to him.
He could feel the mounds of her breasts pushing against his chest, the
rock-hard points of her nipples making him want to mold them with his hands.

They heard Morgana’s door open and close and the TV came on
in the living room, loudly. “Yes, I guess she bought it.” Madeline traced Rod’s
cheek, running a finger over his mouth. “Thank you for helping me. I know you
probably have better things to do than mess with me, but I really need you to
stay with me tonight.”

At his raised eyebrow, she stood on tiptoe. “No, wait, wait.
I know you don’t want to have sex with me and that’s not what I’m asking. I
appreciate the kisses more than words can say.”

“Madeline—”

Maddie covered his mouth so she could continue speaking
until she finished. “When we talked on the phone and I asked you to be my
escort for this evening, you said I could pay eight hundred for the entire
night. That’s what I’m prepared to do.” She moved her fingers, kissed him
quick, and ran across the room. “I’ve got your check right here.”

“Escort?” West tried to make sense out of what he was
hearing. If he was understanding...damn! “Madeline, you’ve been calling me
Weston all night. You do know who I am, don’t you?”

Maddie was lying crosswise over her bed, ass in the air,
digging through her purse. “Of course I know who you are. I referred to you as
Weston Rogers because when I bragged to Morgana about having a boyfriend, she
asked me what his name was.” She grinned over her shoulder at him. “The gall,
right? Anyway, when she enquired about a name, I’d just been talking to this
architect about working on the Windswept and I panicked. His name, Weston
Rogers, was the only name I could think of.”

West just stood and listened. Slowly, slowly…he was getting
the picture.

Madeline was chattering. “So after I made the announcement
that I was dating Weston Rogers, she asked me to produce him.” She laughed.
“Threw me for a loop, I tell you. But then I realized I could hire an escort,
so I called your company and I’m very grateful that you recognized Weston
Rogers’ name and went with it.” She sat up on the bed and pushed her hair out
of her eyes. “Whew! You were very resourceful.” Maddie stood and walked toward
him. “Here’s your check and if you could hang out with me till in the morning,
I’d be grateful. We can put pillows between us on the bed.”

West started to laugh. He didn’t take the check. He just put
his hand to his forehead and laughed harder.

“What’s so funny? The floor’s hard and I don’t think one of
us should sleep on the couch. It would be my luck Morgana would get up for a
drink of water or something.” When West kept laughing, Madeline put her hands
on her hips, and she started laughing too. “We’ll be like those Amish. Don’t
they put pillows between their young couples and call it snicker-doodling or
something?”

West’s laughter escalated from mild to uproarious. “The term
you’re thinking of is canoodling, but the Amish practice is called bundling.”

“Well, I was close.” Maddie protested.

“Not even, not about the bed snuggling and not about the
other.” He wiped tears from his face. “I’m not an escort.”

“What do you mean you’re not an escort? You’re Rod Long. I
found you on a website!” She was beginning to panic.

A knock sounded on the door. “Will you two hold it down in
there? I’m sure seeing Magpie naked is hilarious, but I can’t hear the
television!”

“Go away, Morgana!” Maddie yelled, stepping forward toward the
door, her fists clenched. Turning back, she glared at Rod or whoever he was.
“Let me get this straight,” she asked again. “You’re not Rod from BOYSQUAD?”

“No, I’m not.” She was so cute, standing there staring at
him like he was an alien from Mars.

She turned her head, squinting her eyes, surveying him
closely. “So, who are you? Or do I want to know?”

West spread his hands, as if showing her he was hiding
nothing. “I told you who I was when I walked through the door. I’m Weston
Rogers. I brought the blueprints for the renovation.”

Madeline dropped her head. She walked calmly across the
room, opened her closet and stepped inside, shutting the door.

Chapter
Five

Amused, West walked to the closet and tapped on the wood.

“Give me a minute.” Her small voice sounded muffled from the
other side of the door.

Madeline was mortified. She kept reliving every dumb thing
she’d said and done since inviting Weston Rogers into her home. No wonder he’d
seemed so perfect. He was no paid escort. He was the real damn deal.

“Come out, Madeline. It’s way past time for us to talk.”

She supposed he was right. With a resigned sigh, she turned
the knob and faced him. “I can’t believe this. Why didn’t you stop me from
insulting you and making a fool out of myself?” Madeline was still whispering.
She certainly didn’t want Morgana hearing this part.

Weston kept his voice low too. “I wasn’t insulted, just
confused.”

Maddie studied his face. He didn’t look amused now, just
concerned. She spun on her heels and walked to the dresser and stuffed the
crumpled check inside. “I certainly don’t expect you to stay.” Pulling a bank
envelope from the depths with five one-hundred dollar bills in it, she asked,
“And I owe you for wasting your time. What do you think would be fair?”

Weston pretended to consider. “Hmmm, let me see.” He bit his
lip, watching her waiting patiently. “What you’ve given me so far has more than
compensated for my time, Madeline.”

“I don’t think the beef tenderloin is enough pay for having
to listen to Morgana and I feud.” She primly sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I wasn’t referring to the meal.” She looked at him
inquisitively. “The kisses and your company were more than enough to make this
evening worthwhile.”

“You’re too kind.” Maddie rubbed her forehead. “So, the tube
you brought with you wasn’t just a clever prop. Why don’t I go retrieve it and
let’s go over the details while you’re here? Then you can head home.”

“Oh, no.” West shook his head. “After all we’ve been
through, we’re not about to alert your sister now. You can look at the plans in
the morning.” He walked toward the bed, unbuttoning his shirt. “Get
comfortable, we’re going to have a slumber party.”

Maddie’s eyes widened seeing Weston begin to disrobe. “Look,
this is unnecessary.”

Shirt off. Oh, my goodness. Pants unzipped. Oh, Lord.
Madeline’s mouth began to water. His chest was much nicer than Rod’s, sculpted
with a light dusting of hair. She found herself hit with a strong urge to run
her fingers through the sexy fur and bite him on his amazing pectoral. By the
time he was down to his boxer briefs, Maddie’s mouth was dry and she feared
she’d developed a serious case of heart palpitations.

“You aren’t going to sleep in your clothes, are you,
Maddie?”

“Why are you doing this?”

West chuckled. “You’re not going to rescind your invitation
for me to spend the night, are you?”

“I thought you said no sex?”

“We don’t know one another well enough to have sex…yet.” He
pulled the covers back. “But what we can do is talk and spoon.”

Maddie had no defense for hot and charming. “I’m in.” She
wheeled around, flung open a drawer and snatched out a T-shirt. “Hold on. Do
you need to use the bathroom?”

“Such a good hostess. You go first.”

His flirtatious behavior was totally disconcerting. Maddie
wasn’t really sure what to do with him. But while she freshened up, brushed her
teeth, applied lipstick and shaved her legs, the realization suddenly hit
Madeline that he felt sorry for her. Her heart sank. She put the perfumed
lotion bottle down.

“Did you drown?” West enquired at the door.

“No.” She threw the door open and found him right in front
of her. Keeping her eyes above his belly-button took immense moral fortitude.
One glance earlier had revealed to her that Weston Rogers was very well endowed
indeed. “Be my guest.” She stepped aside while he entered her powder room.
“Sorry about all the girly stuff.”

“No problem.” She heard him say as she also heard a stream
of something that wasn’t coming out of the faucet.

“Oh, my.” She put her hands to her cheeks. “I am an old
maid, my family was correct. I’m blushing hearing a guy pee.”

Maddie stood there, not really knowing what to do. She
really needed for him to stay, but she had to get her own traitorous emotions
under control. Oh well, might as well make the best of it. If West could see
the funny side of this situation, she could too. Should she get in the bed and
strike a seductive pose? Should she sit in the chair next to the window? Should
she…get out of the bathroom door would be a better idea.

“Excuse me,” Weston said right behind her, causing her to
jump. “I like the T-shirt.” He tugged on the tail of it as he rounded by her.
“Come on, let’s lie down. I’m tired.”

Maddie pulled on the bottom of the shirt, trying to make it
longer. It said Free Hugs, but she guessed he knew that by now, seeing as how
she’d Frenched him at the front door. “Weston, I don’t know what to say. I’m
more embarrassed than you could possibly know.” Making himself at home, he
pulled down the covers. All of a sudden inspiration struck her. She knew how
she could get those blueprints! “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” She turned and
left the room before he could protest.

Heading down the hall, Maddie wasn’t surprised to find
Morgana on the couch filing her nails. “Honeymoon over?”

At the moment, there was nothing Morgana could say that
would deter Maddie. She was on a quest. “We need libations.” Hopping so she
could reach the top of the refrigerator, she selected a bottle of wine. Then
she located a corkscrew, two glasses, paper towels, and a bag of cheese and
grapes she’d filched earlier from the kitchen.

“I’m not surprised West needs a drink. You’ve heard that all
women look good at closing time? There’s a reason.”

“Oh, can it, Morgana, you’re just jealous.” She ran to the
hall and found the storage tube. “Weston makes Sergio look like an onion.” With
that parting shot, Maddie scurried out of the way of the Cosmopolitan magazine
that came hurtling through the air.

West looked up as Maddie skidded in with her refreshments.
“Made it. I brought the blueprints and nourishment.”

Her bright smile almost caused his heart to stop. Patting
the bed with one hand, he held out the other to take the wine bottle, then the
corkscrew. “Have you and Morgana always had this volatile of a relationship?”

Maddie was on her knees, making a nest for herself beside
him, propping pillows against the headboard and pulling the covers up to cover
them to the waist. “Here’s the glasses.” She held them up while he poured the
bubbly. “This will be fun.” She grinned, spreading out the grapes and cheese on
a paper towel. “Well, we got along when we were younger. Once she hit puberty,
we went our separate ways. She’s my half-sister and I never really fit in with
her and her mom. I was like my dad and she’s a mirror image of her mother. He,
like me, loved Galveston and Windswept.” She brought the glass to her lips and
took a sip. “I lost him my first year in college.”

“I’m so sorry.” West covered her hand with his.

“Thank you, West.” Taking a grape, she bit it in half. He
leaned forward as if he wanted part of it and she playfully fed him the rest.
“Dad left me fifty-one percent of Windswept. I turned it into a Bed and
Breakfast and committed to give them their part of the profits. For a long
time, they left me alone. But they’ve had a financial setback and now they’re
pressuring me to sell. If they have their way, Windswept will soon be torn down
and replaced by a Beaumont Resort.”

“What?” This concerned Weston. “Tearing down Windswept would
be a travesty. Working on the plans, I realized how well-constructed she was
and when I drove up yesterday, I fell in love.”

Maddie rubbed her thumb on the glass. His support made her
feel good, his declaration of love made her a mite jealous. “I grew up here, I
would never want to live anywhere else. She’s withstood war, storms, and pirate
attacks.” Rubbing the sheet absentmindedly, she confided, “I don’t want to give
up my independence. Hugh Beaumont is supposed to come and proposition me.”

“Proposition you? He asked you out?” A touch of jealousy
nipped at West.

“No.” She giggled, taking another sip. “Although I wouldn’t
be surprised if Juliana tries to engineer something between one of us and him.
She’s pretty desperate to make this deal. I’m sure it won’t be me, though. I’ve
been a source of disappointment to her. I don’t go to the hair salon or get
regular manicures. I buy most of my clothes at the tourist shop on the seawall
and I wasn’t asked to dance at my own debutante ball.” As West frowned, she
hastily explained. “I missed the introductions. While everyone else was
parading around, I was scaling the drainpipe outside trying to get a kitten out
of a tree.” When he bit back a grin, she elaborated. “He was cute. I slipped.
It was muddy. By the time I got cleaned up and was presentable again, everyone
was all paired up.”

West edged toward her until their shoulders were touching.
The contact seared Maddie’s skin. The intimacy she was sharing with this man
would fuel many nighttime fantasies.

“You could never let anyone down. Look at what you’ve
accomplished.”

“Enough about me.” She clinked their glasses together. “Do
you enjoy being an architect?”

Weston turned toward her a little bit. Their faces were
close enough she could feel his breath on her skin. “I do. Galveston, as you
know, presents special challenges, everything from costal erosion to storm
surge concerns. I’m even on the board looking into the possibility of building
barriers such as levees, gates, and dikes to protect Galveston and Houston from
hurricane storm surge.”

“I’m impressed. Windswept survived the 1900 hurricane. She
was used as a shelter for the homeless and for some of the survivors from the
orphanage.”

“She deserves to be preserved.” West covered her hand with
his.

“Yes, she does,” Maddie agreed. “Tell me about your family.”

West could see Madeline was truly interested, so he began to
talk. “My family grew up in Winnie. My dad is a rice farmer and Mom is a
housewife. I have two brothers. Dallas, who is a lawyer here on the island, and
Aiden, who owns a construction firm.”

“Do you all get along better than Morgana and I do?”

He picked up her hand and started absentmindedly tracing her
fingers. “Yea, we just have some rules we follow.” At her raised eyebrow, he
answered, “We never date the same women and we do our best to keep our mother
happy.” This made Maddie laugh. Before he knew it, Weston was talking to her on
a variety of subjects. They discussed his childhood and teenage years. “I swam
in the irrigation canals and worked on a shrimp boat during the summers. I put
myself through college at the University of Houston working construction with
Aiden.”

“I worked the desk at the Galvez Hotel while I attended
Rice. What I learned there helped me decide to turn the Windswept into a Bed
and Breakfast.”

“What was she before?”

“My home.” At the moment, she felt so close to him, Maddie
wanted to lay her head on his shoulder, but she refrained. “Windswept has a
long history. I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Not wanting to talk only about
herself, she asked him more questions. Soon he was discussing his love of
diving, how he’d explored some of the sunken ships off the coast. “The Selma
always intrigued me. She was a reinforced concrete tanker. And another time I
was with a group diving at a wreck and we discovered a solidified tar volcano.”

“A what?” Maddie was fascinated.

“They call them tar lilies, where a seam of asphalt erupts
underwater and hardens.” Before he knew it, West was sharing about his love of
blues, especially Texas artists like Edgar Winter and ZZ Top. He laughed and
told her he liked to read Nic Pizzolatto who wrote the book Galveston and was
the mastermind behind the show True Detective. He talked and she listened, she
really listened.

“You’re a Renaissance man,” she told him, setting her empty
glass on the bedside table. “Why don’t we look at these now?” Not waiting for
his permission, she uncapped the tube and withdrew the blueprints. “Wow, you’ve
done a lot of work on this.”

Weston wasn’t really in the mood for work, but he took one
side and began to explain what he’d done. “We don’t want to change the way the
Windswept looks or remove any of its historic ambiance. What we want to do is
make her structurally sound and strong enough to withstand high winds. Steel
reinforcements and a framework we can anchor into the ground is what you need.”

Madeline looked at every feature he pointed out. She didn’t
understand everything, but his suggestions seemed on target. “Ike caused quite
a bit of damage. We were lucky to escape as well as we did.”

“Study these tomorrow, look at the cost estimate, and we’ll
discuss it further.” He rolled them up. The hour was getting late and he was in
bed with a pretty woman. There were some things more important than work. “Come
on, let’s relax.”

When his hand slipped under her hair and he brought their
heads together, time almost stood still for Maddie. “Please, I don’t know what
to do. This is different than before.” She blinked up at him, hope and desire
making her blue eyes shine like jewels.

“How?”

“No one’s watching. You don’t have to do this.”

As if it belonged there, he let his hand glide down her
back, easing her down on the bed until they lay face to face. “I want to do
this.” He stared at her mouth, and when her small pink tongue licked her lower
lip, he bent to capture it.

A purr of pure delight whispered through her lips and he
breathed it in as his lips moved gently over hers. When her tongue shyly
ventured to tease his, West’s manhood sat up and took notice. Deeper, harder.

Excitement gripped Madeline, she was enthralled. Weston’s
lips were so full, so gentle—God, so good. Surrendering to a wild hunger, she
ate at his mouth, nibbling and licking, asking for whatever he would give her.
When he groaned, she strained to be closer, gripping his hair, boldly slipping
one leg over his. “More,” she whispered, rubbing her breasts against his chest
in abandon.