Madison's Life Lessons (12 page)

Micah elevated his eyebrows, surprised the windows didn’t crack from her shriek.

“You forget your place, woman,” Elias remarked stoically from the bar.

Celeste jerked around to face him and her shoulders went brittle stiff. Micah could imagine her surprise at seeing his brother. He rarely ventured away from home.

“Calling in reinforcements, Micah?” Her question a sneer at his strength, and the tone filled with disrespect.

He didn’t need reinforcements and they both knew it. Neither would he allow her to bait him, so he simply stared at her.

His brother swirled the amber liquor in his glass. “Proceed with caution, Celeste.” She should consider herself lucky because Elias never offered up threats. Typically, his victim received the warning as he delivered justice.

“I forewarned you.” More than she deserved. Micah plopped his feet on his desk.

She whipped back around. “You’re angry with us for some perceived injury we’ve caused Madison and—”

“Perceived?” His temper sparked hotter than the flames of Hell yet surprisingly didn’t ignite a very tangible fire in the room. He knew his anger showed as she took a step backward. And collided into Elias who’d moved in silently behind her. He steadied her with a hand on her shoulder. She blanched at his touch.

“There was no perceived injury, but a very real one.” His voice darkened. “Madison had been distraught. Crying. So hard she sobbed.”
Goddamn it! H
e’d thought something endangered Madison’s life when she called him from the pay phone bawling. He would’ve killed Celeste if he hadn’t possessed the tenacity to reign in his rage. Just thinking about Madison’s behavior had him struggling to hold it together all over again. “If I touch you right now, I’ll be tempted to kill you. At the very least, maim you.” He met his brother’s cool gaze over her shoulder. “Elias, hurt her for me.”

She got out, “Wait!” before Elias clamped his hand over her mouth.

Micah held up his hand. “Let’s hear what she has to say first.”

“You sure, Brother? Her screams might appease your anger.”

“Allow her to speak.”

“Oh, very well.” A reluctant frown flittered across Elias’s brow before he lowered his hand to Celeste’s throat.

“Your actions have harmed her as well. That’s her father you’ve scandalized in the community.”
Desperate to blame others for her guilt?
He pitied her. She went on. “How do you think the kids at school will treat her?”

Micah bet his heritage Madison cared little about this incident. “Her schoolmates are of no consequence. They fail to appreciate her magnificence as it is.”

“They’ll make fun of her! Tease her about her Christian father being a pedophile…an adulterer.”

“You would have us believe you care about Madison after the way you’ve conducted yourself?” Elias ran his mouth along her neck. Trembling, Celeste’s eyes closed. “The way you’ve
allowed
her to be ridiculed by your mockery of a husband?” His fingers noticeably tightened on her throat and relaxed.

Entertained by his brother’s terror tactics, and amused by her very evident fear, he taunted with, “Present me one reason why I shouldn’t give you to Elias?”

His brother’s eyes glowed at the idea. Bottom lip quivering, her eyelids snapped open.

“I will do anything you want, Micah, just do not—”

Elias bit her earlobe and she elicited a tiny squeal. Being his brother’s live entertainment would be a miserable existence.

“You’ve abused my future wife and yet you expect mercy from me.” Sarcasm darkened his voice. “The paradox I find myself in.”

“
Not
,” his brother whispered into her ear. Celeste attempted to strain away, but he detained her with ease.

“You’ve got one chance to redeem yourself.”

“
Anything
.”

Elias sulked silkily, “But I wanted to coax screams from her.”

Having firsthand knowledge of his brother’s torture tactics, Celeste grimaced. “What do you wish from me, Micah?”

He held her gaze, allowing a slow smirk to touch his expression. “That’s for you to determine, Celeste.”

I will not hand feed you atonement, you must earn it.

An amused chuckle emerged from his brother. He released Celeste and walked around to face her, perching on the edge of Micah’s desk. Elias toasted her with his goblet. “I’ll enjoy watching you attempt to earn redemption, but I’ll relish plucking scream after scream from you.”

In other words, his brother didn’t believe she could pull it off.
I don’t care either way.

Paling, her gaze darted between them. “But—”

“Dismissed.”

Wild-eyed terror surfaced and he thought she’d argue—
bad move
—instead she nodded, surprising him. “You’ll handle Bruce’s charges, act like his attorney?”

He shrugged.
When I get around to it.

“Very well.” Anxiety crinkled the corners of her eyes and pinched her mouth. She refused to meet his brother’s eyes, amusing Micah. “I’ll let myself out.”

Micah said nothing. Elias taunted her with his raised glass. “To us, bitch.”

Micah sighed when his phone rang. Not in the mood to be disturbed, he lunged across his bed and snagged it off the hook. Caller I.D. showed the number listed to Bruce Wescott. Still anticipating Madison’s phone call, he hoped it was her. Far from in the mood to deal with Celeste or Bruce, he pressed the talk button as he put the handheld to his ear. “Hello.”

A creak of springs on the other end as if the caller sat up quickly.
Maybe surprised I answered?

“Hey.”

Madison
. Her voice lulled him into a harmonious mood, even if she did sound a trifle hesitant.

After he’d championed her, it was amusing to think she’d be nervous. But frustrating if she worried over his welcome.

“Evening, kitten. How’s your day been?”

“Are you busy?”

Never too busy for you
.

“No. Flipping channels on the television.” He didn’t even own a T.V.

“Mmkay.” He imagined her twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. Too bad his fingers weren’t sifting through the glorious tresses or skimming her soft flesh. “My day’s been okay. I’m sure yours was exciting.” Her voice dropped a tad lower, impish sounding.
Adorable.

“My day was—”
Memorable. Spectacular watching Celeste brought low. Gratifying seeing Bruce receive his comeuppance behind prison bars.
“—uneventful. I’m sorry about Bruce.” A shuffling sound made him think she shrugged, but she offered no response. “I’ll get it worked out satisfactorily.”

“Momma trusts you.”

“Do you?”

He imagined she smiled. He
hoped
she did.

“Not decided yet.” He pictured her quirking her lips with contemplation. “But on Daddy’s defense, yeah, no reason not to trust you.”

At least she was playing it straight with him. There’d be plenty of time to earn her total trust. “So, tell me about your photographic memory.”

“Boring, Mr. Dominus.”

“Madison….”

“I was teasing, Micah.” He could hear the grin in her voice, her southern drawl growing pronounced. “But not about the boring part. A serious yawner there. Shove a book under my nose and I don’t forget anything in it. Can recount it word-for-word.” Madison made a huffy noise. “Did I mention B-O-R-I-N-G?” He grinned; charmed by her show of petulance, even if he guessed she was putting on. “And you promised to explain the old soul comment. Remember? It’s the only reason I agreed to call you. If you’d prefer to disconnect now…?”

“You’re attempting to railroad me.” Micah chuckled. He’d never had anyone attempt to bulldoze him outside of the courtroom before. “Terribly cute.”

“I’m cuter when my questions are getting answered.”

Mercy
! He couldn’t compete with a flirtatious Madison.

Was she grinning when she said that? Or straight-faced? Did her eyes sparkle? He wished he knew. Madison Wescott posed a very real danger to his dominate nature, the need to relent without a fuss grew way too preponderate, and became a physical ache in his teeth. A woman that could bamboozle
him
should frighten him, but didn’t! Refreshing to know she could wrap him around her finger with little effort.

“Very well, I’ll concede victory to you, kitten.”

She laughed and he fell speechless, imagining all sorts of wicked things he could do to make her laugh more often. “You’re being too easy, Micah.”

Imp
! “Would you be content if I quarreled with you?”

“Hmmm….” He predicted she tapped her chin.

“I’m sure I’d win, being a rock-star defense attorney.”

She snorted, but he could hear the merriment in the charming noise. “Unfair advantage, that’s cheating.”

Damnation, her voice dropped a notch.
Sexy
. Sensual on a fifteen year old could become lethal in five years when she was a full-blown woman. “Very well,” he began. “Tell me word-for-word Webster’s Dictionary’s definition of bilingual.”

“Imagine me hanging up if I don’t get my way, counselor,” she countered.

Micah burst out laughing. “You’ll be dangerous when you get older.”

“Doubtful. FYI, compliments do not earn you brownie points, so start talking.”

“I’m not a voodooist or whatever you called it yesterday.” The religion to command them all was perched on the cusp of dominance. “There are souls so old they predate creation.”

The creaking of bedsprings indicated she shifted. The very idea she reclined where she slept spawned more fantasies than Hell had demons.

“And I have one of them?” She sounded as if she believed that as much as she believed Christ wasn’t the sole son of God.

“Yes.”

“You would know this how?” The inflection in her voice clear evidence of her skepticism.

“It’s complicated.”

“Sure it is.”

“Short story, I have a few—”
A lot actually.
“—relations involved in mysticism.”

“
Riiight
,” she drawled. Could she do anything that failed to charm him? At this point, he doubted it. “Nothing weird about that. Or Satanic.”

She’d be surprised by Satan’s true agenda, but he held his tongue. Confessing that would succeed in pushing her away. “I told you I wouldn’t be bored by our conversation.”

“It’s not over yet, just getting started.”

Madison was right about that. The first among many conversations, this one just marked the beginning of what would become a legendary relationship.

The next twenty four months progressed as Micah planned. Every free moment he could he spent with Madison. They were together a lot.

Madison flourished under his tutelage. She leaned on him for everything, sought his advice over mundane things in life and he took pleasure in being her champion. Anything to please her. Or to put a smile on her face and she pleased
him
by giving them often.

Micah fixed Bruce’s criminal charges, but took it slow so he could bask in Madison’s presence often. Celeste endured the humiliation the scandal caused, not graciously, but she pleased him nonetheless. He spent hours at their home going over her father’s case, and he was pleased by Madison’s very real photographic memory and her eagerness to learn. She ingested case law like it was iced tea.
Impressive
. He would be proud to call her his.