by Gina Wilkins
Even though she knew there was no furniture inside, that the bedrooms upstairs were all empty and quiet, she could so easily picture walking into this beautiful house and being welcomed home by a loving family. Was that what Case envisioned whenever he looked at the house he’d been working on so hard for the past few weeks? Did the image make him ache with the same hollow emptiness Maddie felt, the same deep, wordless longing?
Case killed the engine. “I could use a drink,” he said.
“Me, too,” she murmured, managing a weak smile.
He chuckled softly and caressed her cheek. “You don’t drink,” he reminded her.
“I’m thinking about starting.”
He leaned over and brushed her lips with his. “I think I can offer something more relaxing and pleasurable than alcohol.”
She lifted a hand to the side of his neck, feeling his pulse pounding rapidly beneath her fingertips. “I’m sure you can.”
“Let’s go in,” he said, sounding suddenly impatient.
She reached for her door handle.
* * *
THEY STOOD in the center of the big, empty den, facing each other without speaking, the only light spilling in from the foyer beyond. Maddie’s hands rested on Case’s chest and his hands reached for her hips as they embraced with their eyes, saying so much without words.
Case brushed his lips across her forehead. Maddie closed her eyes, breathing in the spicy male scent of him. Already, her heart was pounding with excitement, her skin tingling in anticipation of his touch.
She’d once longed for adventure. Case Brannigan was proving to be all the adventure she’d ever imagined.
His hands shifted slowly behind her, cupping her bottom and drawing her closer against him. Slowly they came together, the heat from their bodies penetrating their T-shirts and jeans. Her eyes still closed, Maddie tilted her head upward. Case’s mouth covered hers in immediate response to the silent invitation.
He was hard against her, his arousal unmistakable. Yet he seemed to be in no hurry. He took his time kissing her, using the tip of his tongue to trace every centimeter of her mouth—the slight dip at the top, the full curve of her lower lip, the shallow dimples in the corners. Only then did he delve between her lips to taste her more deeply.
Maddie’s murmur of desire was lost inside his mouth. She slid her arms around his neck, holding him more tightly to her. He was so strong, so solid. So real. Unlike the fantasy lover who’d danced just outside of her reach for those six lonely months after Cancú.
Case said something incoherent and pulled away. She held on until she realized that he was only giving himself room to remove her T-shirt. She cooperated, but even that brief time out of his arms made her ache. How could she ever bear to let him go again? How could she continue to resist him when she wanted and needed him so badly?
There was nothing waiting for her outside this house that could compare with the way Case made her feel, she realized in sudden clarity.
Exotic locations? Case took her there whenever he touched her.
Mountain climbing? Nothing could ever take her higher than Case’s lovemaking.
New and exhilarating experiences? She’d found them already with Case—and knew there was so much more to come.
Travel held no appeal if it took her away from Case. There could be no real adventure without him. Any happiness she might find would pale in comparison to the joy she found in his caresses. In the way he smiled at her and murmured her name.
Their clothes fell softly, silently, to the carpet. They moved together again, and this time the heat they generated was almost unbearable. Maddie cried out in pleasure and in need. Case patiently, inexorably, fed the flames, his hands stroking, squeezing, slipping between them to take her higher.
Her knees weakened. He held her up when she would have folded to the floor. He kissed her, roughly, possessively.
Needing to know he burned with her, Maddie returned the kisses with passionate abandon. She moved against him, caressing him with her body, her breasts brushing his chest, her smooth legs sliding slowly against his harder, rougher ones. This time, it was she who reached between them. Her hand was filled with pulsing, burning steel.
Case groaned. And then they were on the floor. She hadn’t been able to support him when his knees had given way.
She laughed in delight that she’d been able to weaken him. He kissed the laughter from her lips, changing it to deep, ragged moans of pleasure. Moans he echoed when she arched to receive him.
Maddie was certain that the explosion that came then was more spectacular, more amazing, more incredibly dazzling than any fireworks display could ever have been. Her eyes filled with tears at the sheer beauty of it.
She glanced up at him, and was stunned to see that Case’s beautiful gray eyes were moist, too. Could it possibly have been as perfect for him as it had been for her?
Could he know that at some point during the past few hours a decision had been made that would change both of their lives forever?
“Maddie.” His voice was rough, his hands unsteady when he cupped her damp, flushed face between them. “Oh, God, Maddie, I need you. I want this house to be a home. Our home. When are you going to admit that you want that as badly as I do?”
“Now,” she whispered, surrendering to the inevitable, praying she wouldn’t regret her capitulation.
He went very still, his eyes searching her face, as though he was afraid he’d misunderstood. “Are you saying—”
“I’m saying that I’m keeping the promise I made to you on that beach in Cancú,” she said, clutching her courage in both hands. “I’ll marry you, Case. Whenever you want.”
She hadn’t expected the slight frown that creased his forehead. “You’re marrying me only because you made me a promise? Only because you feel obligated to keep your word?”
It pleased her that he wanted more from her than that—even though he still hadn’t said the words she so badly needed to hear from him. “No, Case,” she said evenly. “I’m not marrying you because I feel obligated. I’m not marrying you for your money, or this house, or because my grandfather told me I had to,” she added with a slight smile.
He moistened his lips. “Then why are you marrying me?”
“Because I love you,” she said bravely. “And because I can’t bear the thought of living without you ever again.”
“Maddie.” This time, she knew she wasn’t mistaken about the tears in his eyes. He pressed his forehead to hers. “You won’t regret it. I swear I won’t ever give you cause to regret this. I pledge my life to you, Maddie Carmichael. Everything I have, everything I am—it’s yours.”
What about your love, Case? Do I have that, too?
But that was the one question she found herself incapable of asking. Perhaps because the answer was more important to her than life itself.
He kissed her with a tenderness that brought a lump to her throat. She returned the kiss with a joy tinged with a bittersweet sadness that she hoped she concealed from him.
12
ON THE FIRST Saturday morning in August, Case Brannigan began to whistle as he worked on the knot of his bow tie. Lying on the huge four-poster bed behind him—one of the few pieces of furniture he and Maddie had already purchased for the house—was the jacket to his black tux. A marriage license and plain gold band were tucked into the pockets of that jacket. He smiled at the thought of the diamond engagement ring that would accompany that band. He’d bought it the day after Maddie had finally agreed again to marry him, and she’d been wearing it since.
He hadn’t seen Maddie in twenty-four hours, not since the rehearsal for the wedding. In fact, she’d been so busy during the month he’d given her to prepare that he’d hardly seen her at all the past few weeks. He could hardly wait for this to be over so that Maddie would finally be his. At last.
He glanced at his watch and winced. Damn, he was going to have to hurry or he’d be late for his own wedding. He’d gotten up early that mo
rning to paint one of the upstairs bedrooms—the one they’d decided would make a nice nursery—and the time had slipped away from him.
Maddie would probably strangle him if he didn’t show up promptly for this wedding. And he couldn’t say he’d blame her.
Patting his pockets to make sure he had everything, Case hurried out of the house, locking the front door behind him. He and Maddie would be coming back here to pick up his bags before they headed for the airport to begin their honeymoon. He smiled at the thought of her surprise when she learned their destination. To her amused exasperation, he’d kept his plans a secret, promising her she would like the surprise he’d arranged for her.
His Grand Cherokee waited for him in front of the house, gleaming from a fresh wash-and-wax. Everything was going like clockwork, he thought with satisfaction. He was leaving ten minutes later than he’d planned, but he still had plenty of time to...
A loud, cracking noise from behind him caught his attention. He whirled, but saw no one. He reached for the door of his vehicle, then looked around again, sensing that something was wrong.
Everything looked normal. Nothing out of place. Except for one thing.
Frowning, he dropped his hand from the driver’s door handle. His gaze was focused on the old-fashioned storm shelter that had been built into a grassy slope at the back of his yard. Other than to glance down into it and note that it had not been well-maintained, Case hadn’t bothered with the shelter, having vague plans to dig it up and replace it with a swimming pool. The double doors of the concrete bunker had been closed and padlocked last time he’d checked. Now they stood wide open.
A whisper of warning sounded in Case’s mind. Torn between hurrying to his wedding and securing his home, he hesitated for a moment, then sighed and started toward the shelter. He’d never be able to leave without knowing who’d been on his property. And why.
Maddie would forgive him for being a few minutes late if she knew he was guarding their home, he decided.
Though he approached carefully, he saw no one around the storm shelter. He paused at the open doors, his head cocked as he tried to identify the faint noise coming from inside it. It sounded like—static?
“Who’s in there?” he demanded, wishing for a moment that he still carried a weapon.
There was no response to his challenge—only more of the faint, hissing static he’d heard before.
“Damn it,” he muttered, knowing he couldn’t leave without finding out what the hell was going on.
He took a step into the shelter.
Later, he would say his awareness of rapidly passing time and his anticipation of his wedding night had distracted him, making him temporarily forget all his years of training and experience. He hadn’t been expecting an ambush, he would say defensively. Why should he have been?
The attack came just as he set his left foot on the first step down into the cellar. Though his leg had grown stronger during the past months, the force of the shove from behind him buckled it beneath him. Arms flailing for balance, he pitched forward.
He heard the mocking laughter just as his head hit something solid, hit so hard it snapped his neck back and sent an explosion of pain crashing through him. The laughter and the pain merged, blended, swirled inside his skull. And then faded to black.
* * *
MADDIE STARED at the full-length mirror in the church dressing room and wondered if the reflection could possibly be her own. She hardly recognized herself in the delicate clouds of white lace and netting.
Her dress had been purchased off the rack—there hadn’t been any other choice since Case had been so impatient to be married that he’d given her only a month to prepare. Still, the gown was beautiful. A fitted bodice with a deep, sweetheart neckline. A full, sweeping skirt and train. Long, sheer-lace sleeves, puffed at the shoulders. Zillions of tiny pearls worked into the lace. On her swept-up, freshly gold-streaked hair was a pearl and lace headpiece to which was attached a long, wispy veil. It was the kind of romantic, traditional wedding ensemble Maddie had always vaguely fantasized about wearing someday.
Case wanted this wedding to be picture-perfect, he’d told her. Bridesmaid, flower girl, wedding cake and champagne, all the trimmings they would have missed at that hasty ceremony in Cancú. He’d even chosen a best man. Many people, including Maddie, had found it quite amusing that the man he’d asked to stand up for him was Jackson Babbit.
“What time is it?” she asked, watching her rose-glossed lips move in the mirror.
Standing behind Maddie in a tea-length gown of midnight blue organdy, Jill checked her watch. “It’s ten fifty-six,” she said, then reached up to straighten the spray of flowers clipped to one side of her dark hair. “Four more minutes.”
Four minutes. Maddie swallowed and pressed a hand to her stomach. Her Aunt Anita was directing the wedding, and would be sending Mike in any minute to summon Jill and Maddie to the church foyer.
Noticing Maddie’s gesture, Jill laughed. “Nervous?”
“A little,” Maddie admitted with a smile. “I keep thinking of all those people out there waiting to watch me walk down the aisle. It would have been easier if Case and I had just found another justice of the peace somewhere.”
“Your dad would have been heartbroken. He says he’s been looking forward to that walk down the aisle for years.”
“I know,” Maddie said with a misty smile. “He swears he’ll feel Mother walking with us.”
“Maybe he will.”
A soft tap on the dressing-room door made both women look around.
“You suppose they’ve gotten started a few minutes early?” Jill asked.
Maddie gulped. “Wish me luck.”
Jill smiled and brushed a careful kiss across Maddie’s cold cheek. “You don’t need luck. You have Case.”
Maddie smiled and relaxed. “You’re right. I do.”
Jill opened the door while Maddie made one last check of her appearance. “Jackson?” she heard Jill say in surprise. “I thought you were Mike. You’re supposed to be in the pastor’s office with Case.”
Turning, Maddie heard Jackson say something in a low murmur. Jill gasped.
“What is it?” Maddie asked.
Jill bit her lower lip. Jackson looked uncomfortable. “Case isn’t here yet,” he said. “It’s time to start and no one’s seen him. Your dad’s outside watching for him.”
Maddie shook her head in exasperation. “If he’s gotten caught up in painting or wallpapering or something, today of all days, I’ll strangle him.”
“He wouldn’t paint on his wedding day,” Jill protested.
Maddie chuckled. “Yes, he would,” she said. “He’s obsessed with finishing that house. And he insists on doing everything himself—he says it’s just not as meaningful to hire someone to do the work.”
Tugging at his tightly knotted bow tie, Jackson asked, “What do you want us to do until he gets here? Everyone expects the wedding to start in a couple of minutes. Your aunt is getting frantic.”
“Tell her to have the organist play a few more numbers,” Maddie instructed. “The guests will just have to be patient. I’m sure Case will be here any minute.”
* * *
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER, there was still no sign of the groom.
Maddie hung up the phone in the dressing room and turned slowly to face the people watching her so closely. Her father. Jill. Jackson. The pastor. Aunt Anita and Lisa.
The dressing room was getting crowded, she thought inconsequentially. Aunt Nettie would have been there, too, if Mike hadn’t convinced her to stay in the sanctuary with Grampa.
“Still no answer at Case’s house?” Jill asked unnecessarily.
Maddie shook her head, the veil tickling her cheeks with the movement. “No answer.”
“He must be on his way,” Jackson said bracingly.
Jill gave him a chiding look. “She’s been calling for the past half hour. It doesn’t take that long to get from Case’s house to the chu
rch.”
“Maybe his car’s broken down,” Anita suggested for the third or fourth time.
“Maybe,” Maddie agreed, as she had each time. But she didn’t believe it. A simple mechanical breakdown wouldn’t have kept Case away. There was a phone in his Jeep. He’d have called for a ride if he needed one.
“Maddie?” Lisa spoke in a quiet, careful voice, as though she wasn’t sure she really wanted to bring up the subject. “You don’t think he—er—”
Maddie looked around that roomful of people who were all aware that Case had left her at the altar once before, and she saw her cousin’s unspoken question mirrored in their lovingly anxious eyes.
They were beginning to wonder if Case had stood her up again, she realized. Funny. The possibility hadn’t even occurred to her. Had he?
“No,” she said aloud, her voice clear, positive. “Something has happened or he would be here.”
Case hadn’t stood her up. She believed that without a moment’s qualm. She trusted him completely.
Which could only mean...
“Oh, God,” she whispered, going cold with dread. “Something’s happened to him. Something’s really wrong.”
Jackson seemed to come to a sudden decision. “I’m going out to his house,” he said.
“I’m coming with you,” Maddie announced, moving toward the door.
“No. You stay here. I’ll call you from there,” Jackson suggested.
Maddie shook her head. A sudden sense of urgency was growing inside her. Case was in trouble, she thought. She didn’t know what was wrong—but she knew something was. And she was suddenly desperate to get to him. “No. I’m going.”
She turned to her father and his sister. “Daddy, Aunt Anita, I know it’s getting crazy out there, but I have to ask you to handle it however you think best, okay?”
“You’re sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Mike fretted.
“I need you here,” she answered gently, rising to kiss his cheek.