Double Dog Dare

by E J Cochrane

  “An hour? You’re killing me. Who takes an hour to eat dessert? I can be done in five minutes.”

  “Hey, if you promise not to bail on me because of my family, I promise to make it up to you.”

  “You drive a hard bargain.” She winked and moved in for one more kiss when a sudden light splashed across the porch, illuminating them like a searchlight in a prison yard.

  “Are you two lovebirds ever coming inside or are you going to spend the night necking on my front porch?”

  She dropped her head, praying that Granny had seen little and heard less (but doubtful she could ever be that fortunate). Her face inflamed with the extreme mortification that might now be a permanent condition, she made the introductions. “Nadia, this is Granny Doyle.”

  “So I gathered,” Nadia whispered and then smiled her irresistible smile and shook Granny’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Doyle.”

  “Call me Granny. Everyone does.” She stepped aside to let them enter. “Come on in and take off your coats. Matilda, hang those up for me and then join us in the dining room.”

  “But,” she sputtered for a moment trying to find a reason to keep Nadia with her. Granny worked fast, and she didn’t want to learn what damage she could do in the two minutes it would take to obey her grandmother’s request.

  “Don’t have a fit, child.” Granny dismissed her distress. “Nadia doesn’t look fragile. She’ll survive a few minutes alone with your old grandmother. Now get hustling with those coats before I find something else to keep you busy.”

  Wasting no time, she thrust the coats into Granny’s closet, not even caring when her jacket slipped off the hanger. Granny’s impeccable floors posed no threat, and this was no time to start worrying about wrinkles. Instead, she needed to focus on damage control, but the second she took in the scene in her grandmother’s dining room, she realized she was already too late for that. There at the table Maddie’s parents smiled politely as they flanked her date, like hyenas ready for the kill.

  She couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen this coming. In all her alarm over what the night would hold, not once had she considered an ambush by her parents, though it really shouldn’t have been a surprise. In fact, it should have been the first item on Maddie’s catalog of worry. Had she not been so naïve, she could have planned accordingly. She would have warned Nadia that her father looked like the love child of a biker and a lumberjack but was essentially harmless, especially if she could find some way to work tools, construction, or housing into a conversation with him. The perfect counterpoint to her blue-collar husband, Mrs. Smithwick seldom wore anything that could be considered casual (or comfortable in Maddie’s opinion), but her buttoned-up appearance belied her affable, cordial demeanor, and she hated when others misread her appearance as an indication of conservatism or dreariness.

  She could have given Nadia all the tools she would need to survive a full-on family assault, but she’d been so focused on the Granny-Nadia dynamic that she’d neglected the Maureen-Colm angle. Nestled between Mr. and Mrs. Smithwick, Nadia looked more amused than aggrieved by this plot twist, but that did little to alleviate Maddie’s dread. Assuming Nadia didn’t run away after the rest of this nightmare unfolded, Maddie vowed to spend the remainder of the week apologizing to her for allowing Granny to waylay them both. Meanwhile, she had her family to deal with.

  “What? June and Harriet couldn’t make it?” she asked, hoping her traitorous family picked up on her extreme displeasure at being ambushed.

  “They send their love,” Granny said before ushering her granddaughter to the table.

  Taking her seat across from Nadia, she mouthed an apology. Nadia winked and offered a reassuring grin before turning her attention back to Mrs. Smithwick just in time for the probing to begin.

  “We heard you’re a doctor.” Unlike some mothers, Maureen Smithwick wasn’t usually enthralled by the idea of her daughter dating a doctor, so Maddie found her opening statement mildly puzzling.

  “A veterinarian,” Nadia clarified.

  “That’s the best kind,” Granny chimed in.

  Starting with the guest of honor, Granny served up hearty slices of her spiced bourbon apple pie (Maddie’s favorite and the one small consolation of the entire encounter). A scoop of ice cream complemented each still-warm-from-the-oven slice, and Maddie watched the look of pure bliss spread across Nadia’s face as she enjoyed her first taste of mouthwatering, flaky-crusted euphoria.

  “Now,” Granny commanded Nadia’s attention, “tell us, what do your folks do?”

  And they were off. Before Nadia had a chance to take a second bite of her dessert, she had answered the verbal equivalent of a ten-page questionnaire. Taking turns, Maddie’s parents and grandmother touched on all the vital aspects of Nadia’s life: her roots, parents, upbringing, education, why she moved to Chicago, what made her start her own practice and so on.

  While Mr. Smithwick quizzed Nadia about the soundness of her home, Mrs. Smithwick ascertained the stability of her career. How big was her practice? Was she looking to expand? What were the opportunities for growth? Not to be outdone, Granny fired off questions that Maddie hadn’t even had the nerve to ask.

  “What are your thoughts on marriage?”

  Maddie choked on her drink and suppressed the urge to crawl under the nearest boulder, but Nadia seemed unfazed.

  “It would be nice to be married someday,” she said. “When the time is right.”

  Granny’s perfunctory nod of approval didn’t slow her bombardment in the least. “And what about children? How many do you want?”

  “Granny,” Maddie hissed. “That’s kind of personal.”

  “And how do you expect me to get to know Nadia if I can’t ask personal questions? I’m not a mind reader, child.”

  “I like children,” Nadia offered diplomatically. “But for now, I think the four-legged kind is about what I can handle.”

  Maddie braced herself for whatever might come next, but she eventually realized she needn’t have worried. Throughout the grilling, Nadia retained her laid-back, unperturbed attitude (a stark contrast to Maddie’s anxiety). She seemed so patient and serene, like it was normal for her to be probed over pie. Maddie marveled as Nadia joked with Maddie’s family and outmaneuvered Granny Doyle’s push for great-grandchildren. Not that she should have expected anything less. Nadia had, after all, charmed her way back into Maddie’s life without much of a fight. Still, she watched in wonder as Nadia deftly handled each question lobbed her way.

  Her eyes danced when she laughed at Granny’s blunt commentary, and Maddie just about lost her composure when Nadia’s tongue darted out to grab an errant crumb from her full lips. Maddie checked her watch, hopeful it wasn’t too soon to make their excuses and leave. She had a hellish family outing to make up to her verbally dexterous girlfriend, and she was prepared to start that moment.

  “Are we keeping you, Matilda?” Granny’s raised eyebrow told her she’d be in for a scolding later, when they didn’t have company.

  “No, Granny,” she answered meekly and tried not to squirm in her seat.

  “Glad to hear it.” Granny started to serve up seconds when Nadia stopped her.

  “Actually, Mrs. Doyle, I’ve got to be in surgery early tomorrow, so as much as I’d like to stay, I think we should call it a night.” She frowned apologetically before thanking Granny and offering to help clean up.

  It was almost like she had a script for enchanting Granny (a most effective one based on Granny’s decidedly un-Granny behavior). Instead of taking the usual three years to say goodbye, Granny rushed them out the door. She offered zero commentary to a flabbergasted Maddie and hardly gave her the opportunity to say goodnight to her parents before shooing them out into the cold night air.

  “You weren’t exaggerating,” Nadia said once they were on the sidewalk and safely out of Granny Doyle’s earshot.

  Still speechless, Maddie grabbed Nadia and kissed her hard, something she’d wanted t
o do for the past twenty minutes. “It’s a shame you have to get up early.”

  “That was a lie.” Nadia barely breathed the words before her lips were on Maddie’s again. The whole world disappeared as she roughly pulled Maddie closer, her mouth opening to explore Maddie. “Come home with me,” she said when she finally broke the kiss.

  “God, do I want to,” Maddie said, her words a hungry whisper. “But the boys.”

  “And I have Mabel.” She dropped her head in frustration.

  “Too bad the dogs aren’t better at self-care. Or all in the same place.”

  “They could be.” She grinned a little wickedly. “Mabel and I can be at your door in twenty minutes.”

  Maddie kissed her again. “Try to make it fifteen.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Maddie couldn’t decide if she wanted time to move slower or faster as she rushed to take care of her dogs before Nadia and Mabel arrived. Physically, she was about ready to burst and wasn’t sure she could wait even five minutes to get her hands on Nadia, but emotionally she was as close to ready as Dottie to the poverty line. She had no reason to believe that more time alone with her thoughts would result in anything resembling assurance, but like waiting to have her teeth drilled, a delay seemed like her ally.

  While she and Nadia hadn’t neglected the physical side of their fleeting relationship (allowing her to blow past her initial shyness in the bedroom), almost three months apart had fortified her standard first-time jitters. What if their chemistry had disappeared in the interim? What if Nadia regretted pursuing her? What if she lost interest after seeing her naked? Even though she remembered Nadia had seemed far from disappointed after her accidental bath time preview, Maddie felt zero confidence that her skinny, freckled, flat-chested self could hold the interest of a woman like Nadia for long.

  Before her thoughts spun too much farther out of control, the doorbell rang, inciting the dogs into a barking, tail-wagging frenzy. As they pranced about the living room, eager to greet (not protect her from) whoever might be on the other side of the door, she considered offering a prayer for her sex life but worried such supplication from a lapsed Catholic would be doubly inappropriate. Her hand trembled as she turned the knob. The door opened in what felt like slow motion, and there stood Nadia.

  She somehow looked better than she had twenty minutes earlier. The strong breeze had tousled her hair, leaving her looking windblown and wild. Her heightened color and that damn lopsided grin made her almost irresistible. At her side Mabel danced impatiently in place, and Maddie moved to let them in.

  “Hi,” she said shyly. She leaned against the door and watched Nadia struggle to keep Mabel heeling in the face of two freely roaming and eager to play dogs. Maddie understood the importance of enforcing the rules consistently in puppy training (if Nadia demanded good behavior only some of the time, Mabel might decide to misbehave all of the time). Still, she wished Nadia would just unclip Mabel’s leash and let the dogs entertain themselves so they could do the same.

  An eternity later, Nadia finally released Mabel to frolic with Bart and Goliath. After taking a moment to ensure everyone still got along, Nadia took Maddie in her arms. “That was the longest twenty minutes ever,” she said, and then her lips were on Maddie’s.

  The kiss was all hunger, all need, and as their tongues volleyed, their hands roamed. Nadia had pinned her to the door, but now she spun her around and started inching toward the back of the house.

  Nadia’s coat hit the floor, and Maddie didn’t know which of them had removed it. She kissed the hollow at the base of her throat, drinking in her incredible aroma. Next, Maddie’s shirt landed on the coffee table as they stumbled through the living room, never once breaking contact. Nadia’s top and bra came off somewhere in the hallway, but Maddie hardly had time to appreciate her bare skin before Nadia growled and lifted her. Her legs automatically wrapped around Nadia’s waist, and they both groaned when Nadia caressed her backside.

  They collided with a wall as they kissed their way to Maddie’s bedroom. Since Nadia’s hands were otherwise occupied, she removed her own bra and dropped it somewhere along their path. It was the only truly sexy undergarment she owned, and for half a second she worried about it ending up as a chew toy for a curious puppy. But then Nadia’s tongue was on her nipple, and her focus shifted completely to the woman whose strong arms held her.

  When Nadia laid her on the bed, she reached for her, but Nadia stood just out of reach. Her gaze swept over her, a glance she felt as potently as Nadia’s fingers moving across her chest and down her stomach.

  “So beautiful,” she whispered, her voice a reverent hush, her expression barely discernable in the dim glow of moonlight peeking through the window.

  Maddie felt a rare surge of boldness, and grabbing Nadia by the button fly of her jeans, she pulled her in for a searing kiss. “Show me.”

  Nadia moved above her, kissing her neck and mouth. Her hands massaged Maddie’s small, responsive breasts, eliciting a moan from Maddie. Before she realized what was happening, her jeans and panties had been discarded, and she lay naked beneath a hungry Nadia. Her eyes flashed, and another moan escaped as Nadia returned her attention to Maddie’s breasts.

  As Nadia’s mouth stirred Maddie higher, her hand slipped lower, skimming Maddie’s tight stomach and trailing along her thigh, first from her hip to her knee and then back up the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. Maddie squirmed under her, trying to maneuver her need to Nadia’s hand, but Nadia continued teasing her for several minutes. When she finally gave Maddie what she wanted, Maddie cried out at the first touch of Nadia’s fingers to her aching center.

  Nadia’s eyes locked on hers, her gaze unwavering as she watched the pleasure on Maddie’s face. They moved together, Maddie inching closer to the edge, the only sounds their breathing and Maddie’s occasional mewling moans as the waves of pleasure she felt intensified. Finally, she cried out and pressed herself firmly against Nadia. Hands in her hair, she pulled her in for a deep, thorough kiss.

  Not knowing where she found the strength after the orgasm that had ripped through her, Maddie flipped Nadia onto her back, intent on finally having her way with her.

  “These have to come off.” She tugged at Nadia’s pants. “Now.”

  “I like this aggressive side of you,” Nadia said and shifted to make her task easier. Maddie enjoyed both the wicked smile Nadia flashed and the obvious evidence of Nadia’s desire as she stripped her naked.

  Her eyes roamed Nadia’s voluptuous body, drinking in every glorious, gorgeous curve from head to toe. She tamped down the desire to dive right in to the spot that most demanded attention. Instead she lingered on Nadia’s full breasts, savoring what she longed to touch earlier.

  Nadia’s soft “Mmmm” sent a chill down Maddie’s spine and threatened to capsize her already weak willpower, but she tarried on Nadia’s breasts a moment longer before giving in and traveling down her lush body. Settling between Nadia’s legs, she tasted her, tentatively at first and then with the full force of her desire. Nadia moaned and writhed beneath her, her hands grasping at the sheets and then Maddie’s hair. Too soon, she groaned and wrenched herself away from Maddie.

  “Come here. I need to touch you.” Nadia pulled Maddie to her and kissed her roughly.

  Their bodies intertwined, Maddie marveled that neither of them was satisfied. She pressed her thigh between Nadia’s legs and thrilled at her sharp intake of breath. Then suddenly everything stopped.

  Mabel’s sharp bark pierced the air, triggering her canine companions. Nadia froze, and Maddie lifted her head. Time stretched as she strained to hear anything over the cacophony of three startled dogs competing to fill the air with noise. Maddie had no clue what had set Mabel off or what to do about this unknown threat until she heard a familiar voice, and the source of the current turmoil in her home became painfully clear.

  “Petunia?” Dottie called. “I’ve come to strategize. Where are you?”

  “Please let
this be an extremely vivid waking nightmare,” Maddie whined and fell back on the pillow. Nadia, meanwhile, raised herself up on her elbows, realization dawning.

  “Didn’t you lock the door?” she asked, as if a locked door would ever slow Dottie down.

  “She has a key,” Maddie whispered.

  “Maybe next time you should hang a sock on the doorknob.” Nadia looked at Maddie, panic in her eyes. “If we stay quiet, will she go away?”

  “You aren’t in bed already, are you, sugar?” Dottie’s voice sounded dangerously close. “Only infants and the elderly retire before eleven.”

  “Not a chance.”

  She offered Nadia her thousandth apologetic look of the evening and, in the few seconds remaining before Dottie burst through the door, moved to minimize their impending exposure. She managed to untangle the sheet and pull it up to their knees before the bedroom door flew open, and all three formerly banished canines plus Dottie’s dog Anastasia charged in to begin their thorough exploration of what they’d been barred from. Goliath and Mabel sniffed and circled the bed, their frenzied tails whipping everything in their path, while Bart claimed his spot on the bed, nestling himself between Maddie and Nadia and effectively preventing them from pulling the sheet from beneath his immobile form.

  “Well, well, well.” Dottie smirked and leaned against the doorframe. “Nadia, I didn’t realize I’d get to see quite so much of you now that you’re back in Maddie’s life.”

  Grabbing a T-shirt from her dresser and hastily pulling it over her head, Maddie pushed Dottie out the door and into the hall. “Is there something you need?”

  “A cold shower.” Dottie fanned herself.

  “So, what? You just popped in to sabotage my sex life?”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, pumpkin.” Maddie crossed her arms and glared at Dottie, waiting for whatever explanation her friend had to offer for her latest unexpected visit. “We have an espionage date.”

  “Tomorrow. Why are you here now?”