A MATTER OF TRUST (9 page)

When they returned, he’d followed her to the kitchen where she'd made a light lunch and then they’d spent the next few hours in his study doing paperwork and responding to e-mails. She was an excellent assistant; as proficient at typing while he dictated as she was at comprehending the intricacies of his business and helping him work out contract details. Afterwards, they’d grilled steaks for dinner and when she’d finished cleaning up the dishes, Chase had stretched out in his chair on the deck with Maddy curled up by his side and they’d talked for hours.

It was a routine they repeated over the next few days and except for the disappointment of sending her off to bed alone, he was elated with the way their relationship was progressing. It was during their fourth day together that their tranquil existence took a bad turn and it was due solely to his own stupidity. He’d been ignoring messages on his cell phone for days from the women he’d been juggling before Maddy came along, including several from Angela. It never occurred to him that any of those women would call his home phone when they couldn’t reach him on his cell, and since he kept the ringer off because he rarely used the land line, he didn’t even think to check for messages. More importantly, he didn’t think to erase any of them.

He’d been out on the deck making a few business calls while Maddy was pulling the file they’d need to work on that afternoon when she’d apparently noticed the light on his phone indicating there were messages. She’d meticulously written down each one, complete with time and date but hadn’t given them to him until after they were done working for the day. He’d noticed she seemed a bit reserved while he’d been dictating to her but when he asked if she was feeling all right she told him she was just tired so he’d let it drop. It was only after they’d finished and she’d declined his invitation for a walk on the beach that he suspected there was something she wasn’t telling him.

Maddy smiled apologetically. “I haven’t painted in days so if you don’t mind, I’ll pass on the walk tonight.”

“You’ve earned it for helping me get through those blasted e-mails,” Chase told her.

He rose from his chair, intent on giving her a long, leisurely kiss before letting her go when she all but bolted from the room, leaving him there with the uneasy feeling he’d said or done something to upset her. Deciding she needed her space, Chase wandered down to the beach and settled down on the soft sand and watched the waves roll in for a while before taking a long walk.

It was strange, the downright dismal feeling that enveloped him when he returned to the house a few hours later to find that Maddy hadn’t come back downstairs. He’d never felt the need for constant companionship before and he’d certainly never experienced the sensation of loneliness, but that’s how he felt now. Feeling foolish for even contemplating going upstairs and disturbing her, Chase opted for doing a little more paperwork. That’s when he discovered the notebook and the messages Maddy had taken.

He should have warned her, especially after the incident with Angela showing up at his house, but his mind had been consumed with Maddy over the past few days and he hadn’t even thought about any other women. Now it seemed damage control was in order. Acid churned in the pit of his stomach as he read over the messages; Evelyn called to confirm their date this coming Friday, and Valerie said she couldn’t wait to see him on Saturday. Tiffany called twice to say how much she’d enjoyed their night together two weeks ago, and Suzanne was furious because she found out he’d cancelled their date to go out with Tiffany. But it was Angela’s messages that made his jaws clench and gave rise to the cold fear that Maddy was probably plotting her escape while her virtue still remained intact.

****

Angela had gone into great detail about the two nights he'd spent with her, elaborating on the many ways he’d driven her wild and how she still dreamed about the passionate kisses they’d shared. But she really trumped herself with the vicious statement that she’d welcome him back as soon as he was through amusing himself with the housekeeper. He could almost see the hurt look on Maddy’s face as she listened to the messages and he could have throttled Angela for what she’d done.

It was a deliberate act of cruelty and he was going to make damn sure Angela wouldn’t get the opportunity for a command performance. He’d get the number changed first thing in the morning and then he’d leave a message of his own for conniving witch; one that would no doubt send her into a fine rage but he didn’t care as long as she understood he wouldn’t tolerate her hurting Maddy again.

Chase deliberated on going directly upstairs to apologize and try to set things straight but decided the first thing he had to do was cancel his dates for Friday and Saturday and let them know he was involved with someone else. Evelyn was the easiest since he’d only gone out with her once and hadn’t slept with her. She’d wished him well and asked him to call her if it didn’t work out. Valerie was a different story. She pouted at first then tried to coax him into keeping their date anyway, promising to change his mind about the other woman if he’d spend the night with her again. When he’d politely but firmly rejected her request, she went into a tirade that told him in no uncertain terms just what a lowlife she thought he was.

He didn’t bother calling Suzanne since she was mad at him anyway, and he lucked out with Tiffany when she didn’t answer her phone and he was able to leave a message. Then he dialed Angela and was actually glad she answered so he could get it over with. He reminded her that he knew some dirty little secrets that wouldn’t bode well for her if her father was to find out and that he wasn’t above pressing harassment charges if she continued to call or drop by uninvited. He’d been fairly patient to this point, but warned her he wouldn’t put up with it any longer. She’d been slightly more colorful than Valerie in expressing her opinion of him before slamming the phone down in his ear.

With the phone calls out of the way, Chase drew in a steadying breath and went upstairs to confront Maddy. He tapped lightly on her door and waited for a few minutes then rapped a little harder and waited again but got no response. Inching the door open, he poked his head inside and spotted her out on the balcony with the easel in front of her. She had her back to him and though the sliding glass doors were open, she was obviously so absorbed in her work she hadn’t heard him knock. Chase silently made his way across the room, stopping about eight feet behind her to watch her work. She was good, damn good, he concluded as he studied the painting she was working on.

He watched in fascination as her delicate hands moved over the canvas with the grace of a butterfly in flight, leaving behind splashes of color and gradually bringing the painting to life. He’d teased Maddy about her clumsiness, had even found himself chuckling over the way she seemed to invite disaster, but there was nothing clumsy about her now. She was eloquence in motion, poised and beautiful and confident in what she was doing. Then she turned her head slightly, just enough for him to see her profile and the lone tear that glided down her cheek just before she wiped it away with the back of her hand. Something in his chest squeezed and Chase knew he was in love with her.

Maddy dipped her brush in the paint and started to lift it to the canvas then froze. She hadn’t heard Chase enter her bedroom and he’d made no noise that she could discern, but she knew he was there all the same. How long had been there, and why hadn’t he said anything? He was probably trying to figure out how to convince her all those other women didn’t mean anything, or maybe after reading the messages he’d decided more was better and was working up the courage to tell her he wanted her to leave so he could keep his dates. Her hand shook as she lowered the paint brush and set both it and the palette on the table beside her. Then she stood up and turned around to face him.

Chase went to her, his get wrenching at the soulful look she gave him. “Maddy, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t owe me an apology, or an explanation for that matter. I’m not stupid enough to think you didn’t have at least one woman on the line, I just…” she looked down at the ground, swallowing the enormous boulder that had lodged in her throat. “I just didn’t think you’d continue to date them while I was here.”

“I’m not. Look honey, I swear to you I forgot all about the dates I’d made for this weekend and as soon as I found the notebook with the messages I called and canceled them.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did.” Chase cupped her chin in his hand and gently tilted her head back. “It’s you I want to be with. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before and I can’t bear the thought of losing you. I’m sorry you had to hear those messages, and I’m especially sorry that Angela was so malicious but I promise those women mean nothing to me and they never did.”

Maddy’s eyes pooled with tears. “I can’t compete with them, Chase. I am what I am, and I’ll never be able to fit into the high society scene.”

“Who says you have to?”

“You deserve someone you can be proud of. I know the circles you run in and I’d only embarrass you…”

“Never,” he said vehemently. “Nothing would make me prouder than to walk into a room with you on my arm. Maddy, I adore you. I don’t want any other woman, only you.”

The dark cloud that had been hovering over her all afternoon began to lift. “You really mean that?”

“I’ve never meant anything more.”

“Prove it,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

He knew what she was asking of him, and for a moment Chase couldn’t even breathe as the image of Maddy lying beneath him filled him with a burning desire. His mouth crushed down hers, his kiss hard and hungry as he devoured her lips and gave into the carnal need that had been building inside of him for days. The waiting and wanting was over; tonight he would claim what was his, and this time he wouldn’t stop until he possessed both her body and her heart.

Chapter 6

She hadn’t been prepared for the passion that was unleashed upon her and it stole her breath, her strength, her will. She didn’t remember removing their clothes or even how they’d gotten to the bed, they were suddenly just there, flesh to flesh, consuming each other with wild abandoned. His one good hand was doing the job of two; touching her, caressing her, probing her inner most heat and making her buck against him as if she’d done this with him a million times before. She was on fire, and each stroke of his long fingers stoked it higher, made it grow hotter until at last the heavy coiling in her abdomen snapped and she shuddered violently, gasping for air and crying out his name.

Chase held her until the climax subsided, whispering soft words of assurance as his lips traced the line of her jaw and found her lips once more. She was beautiful, glorious in her surrender to him, and he trembled to think how she was going to respond once he was inside of her. He levered himself over her, gently kneeing her thighs apart, and waited in breathless anticipation for her acquiescence. Maddy’s hands slipped from around his neck to cup his face, her trusting eyes locked to his as he slowly inched his way into her heated moistness. A low, guttural growl rolled in the back of his throat when her muscles contracted around him, sheathing him in a pleasure that was so exquisite it bordered on pain.

Maddy’s lips parted, her eyes widening at the sharp pain of his entry and then the rapturous sensation as he filled her completely. Her muscles stretched around his rigid flesh as he moved deeper, and then deeper still, his possession of her satiating one aching need only to give rise to another. Chase held himself still for several moments, allowing her body to adjust to him before pulling his hips back and thrusting forward again.

A feral moan tore from her lips as he repeated the motion, filling her again and again, the thrusts gradually coming faster and harder until she thought she would explode. Her hands shifted to his broad shoulders in an attempt to anchor herself while her emotions spiraled out of control along with the rest of her body.

Maddy closed her eyes as his mouth closed over hers and her legs moved instinctively to curl around the back of his thighs, drawing him in even deeper and evoking a whole new onslaught of sexual pleasure. She climaxed once, the liquid heat erupting like molten lava from a volcano then receding for a fraction of a minute before a second climax ripped through her. Chase rode her through it, his body straining against hers, the heat so intense they were bathed in moisture.

Maddy clung to his shoulders, her breath coming out in ragged gasps as he buried his face in her neck and finally sought his own release. She felt him grow harder, thicker, and she arched into him, her cries drowned out by his own harsh groan as his seed shot up inside of her and filled her womb with its incredible heat. Chase collapsed over her, his lungs billowing and his heart thumping so heavily she could feel it pounding out an erratic tempo against her chest.

Maddy didn’t know what she’d expected, but never in her wildest imagination had she dreamed anything could make her feel so wonderfully alive or so completely whole. And that was the only way she could describe having their bodies joined so intimately, as if she’d found a part of herself she hadn’t even known was missing. But there was also an awakening, an awareness of her own femininity in the way that she’d responded to Chase’s every touch, and she grudgingly allowed some empathy for those other women if this was how he’d made them feel too. Maddy squeezed her eyes shut, praying she wouldn’t be just another name on a list of many.