“I told you, I’m not drunk.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and ushered her into the bedroom. When they came to the edge of his low platform bed, he pushed her down onto the burgundy comforter. “Sit.”
She grudgingly sat down and, with his hands clasped behind him, Hayden began to pace back and forth in front of her. After a few turns before the bed, he stopped and stared at her.
“What do you need to hear from me to convince you that I’m not just in this for the sex?”
“Tell me how you feel about me.”
“How I feel?” He sucked in a pensive breath. “That’s not so easy for me.”
“Why?”
He came up to the bed and had a seat next to her. “Look, Madison, I care about you, make no mistake, but asking me to put all that into words is…well, impossible for me. I’m not a writer; I’m an architect, and if you ask me to draw up a plan of where I see us heading, that would be a hell of a lot easier for me to—”
“Then tell me of your plan, Hayden. Describe what you see for us. Put into words the pictures you see in your head.”
“Words, huh? It would be a hell of a lot easier for me to show you how I feel.”
Disgusted, she stood from the bed. “Show me? I knew it. I am a sex toy to you.”
He held her hand, keeping her from walking away. “I don’t have to have sex with you to show you what you mean to me.”
She stopped and peered down at him. “You don’t?”
“No. You make it sound like having sex is something only meant to please me.” He stood up and traced his fingertips over the outline of her finely carved cheekbone. “Pleasing you is the goal for me.”
His touch made that familiar tingle come to life. Damn him! “Well, you sure seem to enjoy it a hell of a lot.”
He shifted her long brown hair away from her shoulders. “Then perhaps you should give me the opportunity to prove to you that my pleasure does not matter…only yours.”
“What are you going to do, give me another lesson?”
He grinned, amused by her comment. “No more lessons.” Moving behind her, he rolled his hands along her shoulders. Then his fingers gently nudged down the zipper on the back of her light blue, tea-length dress.
“Hayden, this isn’t going to—”
“Shh.” He eased the delicate fabric down her body. “Hand yourself over to me; don’t resist.”
“But I—”
He covered her mouth with his fingers. “Let me show you how I feel, Madison. Just for tonight, let go of your doubt.”
She figured debating his intentions would be a waste of time, and in her heart Madison knew where this was headed. Without further objection, she let him remove the rest of her clothes.
Setting her on the bed, he flipped her over on her stomach. “Now relax,” he whispered as his fingertips stroked her back.
He began pressing his palms into the muscles along her spine, massaging away her tension. After gently kneading the sore muscles in the back of her neck, he moved down to her bottom, lingering over the curve of her butt as his fingers prodded deep into the tissue.
Madison concluded if a massage was his way of showing her how he felt, then she wouldn’t argue. For the most part, his hands were magical, but when they dug a little too hard into her stiff muscles, Madison would wince and stiffen.
“Stop working against me. Let go, baby,” he urged as he honed in on a big knot in her neck.
He determinedly reduced the tightness in her shoulders and lower back. Feeling utterly relaxed, the warm rush brought on by the wine and massage began to make her nod off.
He patted her behind. “Turn over for me.”
Groggily, she lay on her back and Hayden straddled her hips. His hands worked on her right shoulder and then her left. He lightly raked his fingernail down her chest, and Madison found the sensation strangely arousing. When his hands cupped her breasts, he gently stroked them and scraped his thumbs over her nipples. Madison’s breath quickened and her skin flushed. He purposefully concentrated his attention on her breasts for several minutes, sparking to life her desire. He scooted down her legs while his hands moved lower, caressing her abdomen and settling over her hips. Hayden kneaded the flesh along the sides of her hips, manipulating the thick muscles, and when his hands edged underneath to her butt, he squeezed her cheeks.
He eased off her legs and pulled her knees apart, causing Madison’s eyes to fly open. She raised her head to look up at him.
“What are you doing?”
He never uttered a word while his fingers rubbed slowly up and down, fondling her folds and making Madison rock her head back against the bed. His fingers were methodical and relentless, and when his thumb started drawing circles over her sensitive nub, she reached out and balled the comforter up in her hands.
It did not take long for her orgasm to come barreling upward. Gasping, she arched her back when the fire exploded in her. A long moan escaped her lips as the trembling began, and by the time she slammed back on the bed, she felt spent.
Instead of stopping, Hayden slid his fingers inside of her, massaging her slowly and rhythmically.
“Hayden, please,” she begged, running her hand over her face.
He ignored her protests and kept moving his fingers in and out. A damp sweat broke out on her brow and her muscles twitched when the second climax rose up her spine. She clawed at the comforter, gathering it about her body. As the white surge of electricity bounded upward, she rolled her head back and bit down on her lip, suppressing her cry.
Again she fell against the bed, but Hayden never stopped. His fingers probed deeper. The sensation was overpowering as his fingers stimulated the deepest parts of her. The third orgasm was even more intense and came faster than the other two. This time she did not hold back and cried out with wild abandon as her body shook.
Hayden’s lips began their assault on her inner thigh; his teeth nipping at her skin. When his mouth settled over her very sensitive flesh, she gasped as the rush of heat overwhelmed her.
“Oh my God.”
He kept sucking on her, tantalizing her with his tongue until she was drenched in sweat. Madison crashed into the bed—shrieking so loud, she was sure that someone would hear—but just as she was catching her breath, his mouth attacked her all over again.
“I can’t.” Madison grabbed at his hair. “No more.”
Her begging only seemed to spur him onward. Realizing what he had in mind, Madison was helpless to stop him. She was his willing captive, wanting him to stop, but also desperately wanting him to continue. Closing her eyes, she reached her arms up to the bedpost above her head and held on. When the next orgasm took hold, she was shattered. Weak and unable to move, she wanted to shout with thanks when his mouth moved away from her throbbing folds and up her stomach.
Hayden bit down hard on her right nipple, and as his lips worked their way up her neck, he mumbled, “I’m just getting warmed up, baby. I’ve got hundreds of ways to show you how I feel. I’m going to make you understand how much you mean to me.”
When he slinked back down her chest and over her hips, Madison willed the strength to object, but as his mouth clamped down again on her tender nub, she surrendered to him. The last thing she remembered was the scream coming from her as his tongue began to mercilessly tease her back to that limitless cavern of bliss.
***
When Madison awoke, every muscle in her body ached. She was sprawled on her stomach, her thick brown hair half in her face, blocking her vision. In the background, she heard the sound of running water and wasn’t sure if she was still dreaming. When a hand ran up her spine and settled behind her neck, her eyes flew open.
“Time to get up, baby.”
She groaned. “No, God no. I can’t move.”
He brushed her hair away from her face. “I’ve got a hot shower waiting for you.”
She sat up, wincing slightly as she felt an ache between her legs. “What did you do to me last night?�
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“Showed you what you mean to me. Wasn’t that the point?”
She pulled her legs up beneath her, sitting up. “Yeah but…ten times?”
He scooped her up in his arms, lifting her from the bed. “I think there might have been one or two extra in there.” He carried her into the bathroom. “I’ll do it all over again tonight when we get home from the wedding.”
“The wedding. That’s today, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.” He placed her next to the shower. The steam from the hot water inside was collecting on the clear door, blocking the view into the wide stall. “You have exactly one hour before you have to join the bride.” He opened the shower door. “Get in and I’ll start the coffee.”
Before she turned to the shower, she gazed over his wrinkled jeans and bare chest. “I guess you showed me last night, didn’t you?”
“I’m glad you’re convinced.”
She stared into his small gray eyes and tried to fathom the depth of emotion she saw there. “You are coming to the wedding, right? I think you need to prove to Mrs. Leder and Charlie that you’re serious about me.”
“I’ll be there. And I’ll even dance with Mrs. Leder at the reception to show what a forgiving guy I am.”
“I think Mrs. Leder will enjoy that.”
Slipping under the shower, Madison let the pulsating water work away her stiffness. Wiping the water from her face, she glimpsed the closed shower door. Hayden may have tried to convince her of his feelings, but she believed he was the one who actually needed convincing. It was almost as if he were going through the motions with her; acting like the attentive lover, but somewhere the emotional commitment fell far short of the physical one. Why was there such a disparity with him? As the hot water massaged away her aches, she pondered why he was the way he was. Perhaps that was his appeal for her. The mystery of what Hayden Parr was thinking was becoming her most perplexing dilemma.
Chapter 18
“Christ, I’m sweating like a pig,” Charlie complained as she tugged at the bosom of her wedding gown. “I didn’t think it would be this hot.”
Waiting in a small room by the entrance to the Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Madison was fanning Charlie with her bouquet of blue hydrangea and chocolate sunflowers intermixed with white baby’s breath.
“That stinks, Mads.” Charlie pointed to the bouquet. “I’m gonna be sick.”
“Maybe we should get her some water,” Lizzie offered, pulling at her tea-length, drape-cut silk dress. With alternating flowing layers of tie-dyed teal and chocolate fabric hanging loosely about the front and back of the dress, she reminded Madison of a colorblind hippie who had created the monstrosity during a drug-induced designing rampage.
Madison cringed as she recalled her own image in the mirror when she had prepared for the event at Caroline Peevy’s posh Highland Park home. She could not wait to hear the barrage of acerbic comments she was sure Hayden was going to inflict at the reception.
Pushing a daydreaming Madison aside, Carolyn Peevy came up to Charlie. “She’ll be fine,” she asserted, and patted Charlie’s neck with a damp paper towel. “Linney, get the candy from my handbag,” Caroline called to her daughter, another of the fashion challenged bridesmaids in the room.
Nelson’s sister, the renowned high school gymnast, dashed to a dark pink handbag that perfectly matched the mother of the groom’s chic, pink crepe Chanel dress. For a split second Madison could have sworn that Caroline Peevy purposefully dressed the three bridesmaids in the unattractive frocks to make herself look good.
Caroline took a piece of hard candy from her daughter. “You need to eat this. You haven’t touched a thing all day, and with all of this excitement, your blood sugar is low.” She unwrapped the candy and placed it in the palm of Charlie’s shaking hand.
All eyes watched with mounting anxiety as the bride sucked on the candy, and even Madison sagged with relief when Charlie’s color returned.
“I’m feeling better.”
“You’re sure?” Madison pressed.
“I’m fine.” Charlie laughed, sounding like her old self. “It’s not like I can cancel, Mads.”
“Okay, crisis averted.” Caroline Peevy began fluffing out the skirt of Charlie’s wedding gown. “Girls, take your places at the back of the aisle.” She motioned to Madison. “Get them lined up, while I get her ready.”
Heading out of the room, Madison approached the alcove that opened to the nave. Built of white stone arches on either side, the church floor was filled with dark wooden pews crammed with guests and adorned in pale blue and chocolate bows. A red carpet had been placed down the center aisle to guide the wedding party to the altar. Gazing ahead, Madison’s eyes rose to the grand oak-covered chancel at the far end of the church, where the altar stood covered with white linen and decorated with a simple gold cross. Above it, rising up to the vaulted walnut ceiling, were the seventy-seven silver pipes of the massive organ encased in matching oak woodwork. The horizontal Trompette en chamade dominated the center of the façade. In the air, the sweet strains of organ music entertained the guests as they waited for the wedding to begin.
Madison strained to look down the row of pews, searching for Hayden’s thick, brown wavy hair and rugged features, but as she snuck from one side of the alcove to the other, trying to get a better view of the packed church, she could not find him.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her arm. “Come on, girl,” Caroline Peevy chided. “Take your place. It’s time.” She dragged Madison back to the alcove that opened to the center aisle. “Now remember, go slow and don’t rush. You’re first, and set the tone for the rest of the bridal party.”
Figuring resistance was futile at this point, Madison just nodded.
While stepping over to take the arm of a dashing gray-haired man in a black suit waiting for her at the start of the aisle, Caroline instructed, “Go slow and remember to smile.”
The handsome gentleman next to Caroline winked at Madison. “You’ll do just fine, Madison, not to worry.”
“Thanks, Dr. Peevy.”
She waited as the famed Dallas cardiac surgeon escorted his wife to their pew at the front of the church. Once the Peevys were seated, Madison clutched her smelly bouquet, sucked in a deep breath, and headed down the aisle.
Smiling sweetly, just as Caroline had insisted at the rehearsal, Madison slowly marched along. Her eyes volleyed back and forth between the pews, and as one face after another turned out not to be Hayden’s, a sinking feeling came over her. Determined not to let it show, Madison kept up her smile until she reached the end of the aisle. Frantically searching those front pews as she turned to the left of the altar, Madison wondered if she had missed him. Perhaps he had been further to the side and out of her line of sight.
Passing Nelson, she winked. Decked out in his rented tuxedo, he looked pale, but happy. The slender man—with the unruly, frizzy black hair and soft brown eyes—had always held a soft spot in Madison’s heart because of his easygoing nature and deep love for Charlie.
Waiting for Lizzie to join her at the altar, Madison took in the unencumbered view of all the guests and her happiness wilted as her hope disappeared into the cold stone floor. He was not there.
The organ music instantly changed and Felix Mendelssohn's “Wedding March” reverberated throughout the church. All the guests stood as the bride slowly came down the aisle to her groom.
But Madison’s eyes were not on the bride, they were on the guests, searching for Hayden. He didn’t come. The thought repeated over and over again in her head until it was interrupted by the words of another.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today….”
***
“Did you try his cell phone?” Lizzie asked.
Madison raised her cell phone in her hand. “I tried it. Goes right to voice mail.” She put the phone on the black onyx and gold bar next to her and retrieved her flute of champagne. “Now how in the hell am I to get home?”
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��Barry and I will bring you home,” Lizzie told her. “Maybe he was in an accident. Have you tried the hospitals?” Lizzie’s innocent brown eyes made Madison want to hug her for not doubting Hayden.
She searched the white and gold-painted ballroom of Arlington Hall, noting that some of the wedding guests were seated at white linen-covered tables eating their food, while others were still standing in the long line that snaked around the grand hall, waiting for the buffet. At the front, between two large white Corinthian columns, was a stage where a band was setting up to play.
“I don’t think he’s in the hospital, Lizzie.” Madison gulped back more of the bubbly gold liquid in her glass.
“I’m sure he didn’t stand you up without a damned good reason, Madison,” Lizzie loudly proposed to be heard over the din of the crowd.
“Oh, I’m sure he has a reason.” Madison cast her eyes to her drink. “I just don’t want to hazard a guess at what it is.”
Charlie came up to them. “You two disappeared right after the pictures; what’s up?”
Her veil was gone and on her left hand, the shiny three-carat diamond was now partnered with a diamond-clad wedding band.
“Where’s your groom?” Madison questioned, glancing behind her.
“I left him talking to his friend, Jimmie, from law school. They were going on about some case Nelson has.” Charlie’s blue eyes worriedly scanned Madison’s face. “Is he still a no show?”
Madison held up her champagne flute and nodded.
Charlie gave Lizzie a worried frown. “Maybe he got in an accident?”
“I already said that,” Lizzie affirmed.
“Look, Mads, perhaps something came up and—”
Madison held up her hand. “Forget it, Charlie. You were right about him. He was using me and had no intention of ever getting serious. Tonight proves it.”
Charlie took the champagne from her hand. “You don’t know that, Madison, and you certainly don’t believe it. If you ask me, you’re crazy about this guy, and it’s killing you that he treats you this way. Hell, it’s killing me.” She banged the glass down on the bar next to her.
That Night with You Page 24