“You like him?”
She nudged him with a soft laugh. “I like you more,” she said huskily, looking down at her lap. “William, why didn’t you seal your box?”
“Because I trust you with my secrets.” He gently nudged her back. “Are ye ready to trust me with yours, Madeline?”
She took a shuddering breath. “In a minute,” she whispered. She reached up behind her on the bed and took down her purse. “I’ve decided to stop carrying my gun,” she said, fumbling with the zipper on the side.
“But I thought you felt safer carrying it.”
She looked over at him and smiled. “I don’t need it anymore; I have you.”
William dropped his gaze, not wanting her to see how deeply she affected him.
She reached inside the compartment but then softly gasped, her hand emerging covered in short golden hair. She shook it off her fingers, and then drove her hand into the opening again, moving it around as if searching for something.
But all she pulled out was another fistful of hair. “What is this stuff?”
William picked some of it up and softly chuckled. “It’s tiger fur.”
She snapped her gaze to his. “Your friend turned my gun into fur?”
William nudged her shoulder again. “I believe he’s your friend now, too, whether you want him for one or not.” He chuckled. “Unless all those MacKeage women ye sent him after decide he’s pond scum.”
She made a harrumphing sound and shook the fur off her hand. And then she brushed it off herself, even spitting some out of her mouth as it floated through the air like milkweed. She finally set her purse on the floor, picked up his small wooden box, and went silent again.
William took a painful breath. “Go ahead, Madeline; open it.”
He saw her hands were trembling as she slowly worked the lid free, and then she went perfectly still as she stared down into the open box.
“Do ye have any idea what that is, lass?” he asked, his heart pounding so hard it hurt to breathe.
“It’s . . . I believe it’s a dragon’s claw,” she whispered. She reached in and picked up the three-inch-long, razor-sharp claw. “It’s . . . this is what you used to be.”
“Nay, Madeline, it’s who I am.”
Her snort sounded like gunshot, and William actually leaned away from her thunderous glare, and then flinched when she suddenly thrust the claw in front of his face. “This is what you think you are?” she asked through gritted teeth, shaking it at him. “Some ugly, badass, heartless monster that sends everyone scurrying under their beds in fear?”
His mouth so dry he couldn’t even swallow, William merely nodded.
She threw the claw across the room. It ricocheted off the wall, and before it had even clattered to the floor, she rolled onto her knees and slapped her hands on his cheeks; getting right in his face, her glare so fierce that he flinched again.
“What you are, William Killkenny, is an idiot. You also happen to be the badass, big-hearted sap I am in love with. And if I ever catch you calling yourself a monster again, I will shave off every damn last hair on your body.” She suddenly smiled. “Except on your arms—that hair makes me hotter than Lucifer’s bride on her wedding night.”
It took him several heartbeats to realize that somewhere in that little tirade, she’d mentioned something about loving him, and judging by her sudden look of horror, she also just realized what she’d said.
Where she’d been red with anger, she suddenly paled. William hauled her into his arms when she tried to bolt, and buried his face in her hair. “I won’t let you take it back,” he growled. “You are my woman now.” She was trembling so violently she started making him tremble, too. “Say it again,” he demanded thickly. He clasped her face in his hands, locking her gaze to his. “Again, Madeline. Say it.”
“I love you.”
Christ, he thought his chest was going to explode. He used his thumbs to brush the tears on her cheeks, but when he tried to speak and couldn’t, he pulled her forward and claimed her mouth.
He kissed her like a man deeply in love, hoping she wouldn’t realize the difference even as he wondered how long he could deceive her. And Madeline kissed him back like a woman deeply in love; her trembling hands running through his hair, her body melting into his, her sweet lips tasting like heaven.
But when she moved to straddle his lap, William broke away and tucked her face against his neck, muffling her cry of protest. “We will stop now, before we scandalize your daughter and mother.”
“You can’t just leave me hanging,” she cried. “I want to feel you inside me.”
He chuckled—though it held no humor—and held her looking at him again. “Get used to it, lass, as you will probably be hanging for months.”
She went utterly still. “M-months?” she whispered. “You’re leaving?”
“No, Madeline, I’m not going anywhere. But if ye wish to walk down the aisle at your grand church wedding, wearing your mama’s gown and not be heavy with child, then you’ll not feel me inside you again until our wedding night.”
She tried to rear away, her face paling in horror. “You peeked! You looked in my hope chest!” she cried, struggling to get away.
William held her facing him, this time his chuckle was sincere. “Ye left me here all alone this morning with nothing to do but wander through your house. And when I came to your bedroom, your secrets called out to me.”
“But that’s not fair! I didn’t peek in your box.”
He sighed. “Madeline, a man stands no chance against a woman if he plays fair. It’s our nature to use whatever we can beg, borrow, or steal to capture your hearts.” He smiled. “Did Mac not tell you that it’s something we all want but cannot buy?”
“It was still a rotten thing to do,” she muttered, the color returning to her cheeks.
“Have I not repeatedly warned you that I’m a selfish bastard?” He pulled her forward and kissed the tip of her nose, then held her facing him again. “So knowing that I will never play fair, do you still wish to love me?” he asked softly.
She dropped her gaze to his chest, her eyelids hooding her expression from him as she took a shuddering breath. She reached under his hands and pulled a chain from her blouse, making him let go of her so she could take it off. She slid the chain down over his head and then patted the medal against his chest with a sigh.
“I tried as hard as I could not to fall in love with you, but it happened anyway. And no matter how hard you try to discourage me when you get scared, I’m never going to stop loving you.” One corner of her mouth turned up. “Did I hear you say I’d be hanging until our wedding night? Was that a marriage proposal, Mr. Killkenny?”
“No, it wasn’t,” he snapped. He gestured toward her hope chest. “I believe a modern proposal involves candlelight and flowers, music and dancing, and an engagement ring. And then months to plan a wedding with flowers and music and two rings, and enough people to fill a cathedral.” He cupped her face again. “And after your grand day, you would move into a house with enough bedrooms for four children, surrounded by a white picket fence. And I believe there was also a puppy on your list, a couple of cats, and a pony for each of the children.”
“I-I was thirteen when I started that list,” she whispered, two big fat tears running down her cheeks. “When I still believed dreams really could come true.”
Instead of using his thumbs to brush them away, he sipped each tear off her cheek. “Ah, but they can, Madeline, when fate gives us a second chance.”
She reached down and lifted the medal hanging around his neck and studied it for several silent heartbeats before she lifted her gaze to his. “I bought this because I wanted you to know exactly how I see you. It had a knight in shining armor riding to my rescue. I don’t need candles and flowers and an engagement ring, or a big wedding, or a picket fence and ponies. Those are the dreams of a naïve young girl, and have nothing to do with love, really. But that little girl grew up, and the woman she
became wants . . . just you,” she ended on a whisper.
“Nevertheless, you are getting those things,” he told her just as softly. “Only the ponies will be warhorses, and the house will be a keep with eight bedrooms. And instead of a knight in shining armor, you’ll be getting a devious, possessive strong arm who will demand more than you think you can give.”
“Oh William, for a ninth-century warrior, you are such a romantic sap,” she said, melting into him.
He stiffened. “How do you know what time I’m from?”
“Mac told me,” she murmured against his chest, her own chest expanding on a sigh. “But I already guessed you weren’t from this century.”
“Ye did? How?”
She sat up to frown at him. “You’re over thirty years old, and you can’t even drive.” She snorted. “And you own a sword. And you’ve asked me to explain everything from Wonderbras to airbags to going parking. Then I remembered a dragon had walked into the library carrying Mabel, but you walked out carrying her. And with Eve warning me that you were even more old-fashioned than Kenzie—who acts like he just stepped out of the Middle Ages—it didn’t take long to figure out what was going on. Mac just filled in some of the missing pieces.” She snorted again. “For someone who’s supposed to be a powerful wizard, he sure is insecure. He spent the whole ride from Ellsworth telling me everything you’ve done, trying to dissuade me from loving you.”
William reared away. “He told you everything?”
“Not everything. I stopped him when he started listing off all the women you’d been with, and where you’d been with them, and what you’d been doing with—”
He covered her mouth with his hand. “Exactly how did you stop him?”
She smiled behind his hand, and he quickly pulled it away when her tongue darted out to lick him. “I swerved off the pavement toward a bunch of mailboxes.” She frowned. “Only I didn’t notice the sheriff’s car following me. When he stopped me for driving erratically, and then asked to see my driver’s license and registration . . . well, imagine my surprise when I found out the truck was registered to me.” Her smile returned, and her chin lifted. “I’ve decided I’m keeping it.”
“Oh, ye have, have you?”
“Yup,” she said, her chin lifting higher as her smile disappeared. “Even if you suddenly end our affair, I’m not giving it back just so you can give it to some perky-boobed, gold-digging hussy who only wants to take advantage of you.”
William arched a brow. “So we’ve gone from having a wedding night back to being only lovers?”
“You told me that wasn’t a marriage proposal.”
He pulled her down to his chest so she wouldn’t see his smile. “I did say that, didn’t I? What else did Mac tell you about me?”
He felt her toying with the medal she’d given him. “He tried to explain why you’ll never be able to love me.”
William’s blood suddenly went cold. “And?” he whispered.
She nearly clipped his chin when she popped her head up. “And I shut him up again. After checking my rearview mirror, I slammed on the brakes and made him spill ale all over himself.” She scowled. “He must have stolen the three cases I bought you; they weren’t in the truck when I went out to get them this evening.”
She suddenly scrambled off his lap—making him grunt when she nearly unmanned him—and gestured toward the door. “You might as well go to bed, William. I’m feeling crampy again, which just reminded me that we can’t make love even if we wanted to. The doctor said I shouldn’t have intercourse for a couple of days.”
William leaped to his feet. “Ye went to see a doctor today? Are ye sick, Madeline? Did we . . . did I hurt you the other night at the cabin?”
“No! I had an IUD put in so we don’t have to mess with condoms anymore.”
“What’s an IUD?” he asked, grasping her shoulders. “And what do ye mean, ye had it . . . put in?”
She looked momentarily startled and then laughed. “It’s a tiny little plastic device that the doctor placed inside my ute—my womb, so your little boys can’t get to my little girls and make a baby.”
William stepped away in horror and looked down at her stomach. “Ye let them put something inside you? Isn’t it going to hurt when we . . . whenever you and I . . .”
“In another day I won’t even know it’s there.” She stepped into his arms and grinned up at him. “And neither will you.” She patted his chest. “So the only thing that’s going to be hanging is your stockings, Mr. Killkenny, when they get stuck on a nearby tree.”
Not even daring to kiss her again for fear he would scandalize himself, he turned away and walked to the door.
“William.”
He stopped but didn’t turn around.
“I love you.”
He nodded without looking back, and quietly opened the door and walked down the stairs. He went outside and climbed the knoll, then sat down and stared at Maddy’s bedroom window, watching her silhouette as she undressed for bed. When her room finally went dark, he lifted the medal she’d given him up to the moonlight and read the inscription engraved on one side.
Mine; until the end of time.
He turned it over, but instead of a knight on a warhorse, he saw a large heart bulging out from the flat medal, the ancient symbol of a strong arm carved into it.
And that was when William decided he had made it to hell after all, which turned out to be the unwavering love of a beautiful, lusty, courageous woman he was incapable of loving in return.
Chapter Twenty-five
Maddy stole a loaf of olive bread from the display table, grabbed a container of goat cheese and two oatmeal cookies, and sat on the stool across the counter from Eve. “Men,” she scoffed. “And they call us women complicated. They even have their own secret language. I’ve seen them have entire conversations where they just nod and grunt at each other. And really, what’s up with their idea that the less we women know, the better off we are?”
Eve opened the cheese and drove her knife into it rather forcefully. “They think they’re being protective. I practically talked myself hoarse trying to persuade Kenzie that you weren’t going to run through town screaming, ‘Hide the children, the monsters are coming!’” She smiled sheepishly. “Are you sure you forgive me for not telling you about the magic?”
“For the tenth time, there is nothing to forgive. I would have done the same thing if William had asked me to keep a secret—even from my very best friend.”
Eve broke off a chunk of bread and slathered it with cheese. “I wish I could have met Maximilian Oceanus. Did he really show up dressed like a wizard?”
“Right out of a fairy tale, only he didn’t have a pointy hat.”
“Is he cute?” Eve asked just before she took a bite of bread.
“I can’t really say; I never saw his sleeves rolled up.”
Eve started choking and actually spat the bread back into her hand. “You are so bad.” She arched a brow. “Did you honestly call him pond scum to his face?”
Maddy nodded. “I took it back, though. Mac really is a nice guy. Did I tell you he gave Hiram a beautiful cake before he died?”
“I’m sorry about Hiram, Maddy. I know he was special to you.”
“Thank you. But since meeting William and Mac and realizing there’s all this . . . stuff going on behind the scenes, I don’t feel so sad. Hiram actually seemed to be looking forward to dying, once he saw everyone waiting for him.” She leaned forward on the counter. “The old sap left me two hundred dollars in a sentimental card and said I should buy myself something pretty.” She laughed. “But not one of those skimpy bras like he picked up off the floor that William had dropped. He actually wrote that in the card!”
“So what pretty thing are you going to buy yourself?” Eve asked. She bobbed her eyebrows. “Some really short shorts?”
“I used the money to buy William a medal.” Maddy felt her cheeks heat up. “I had the jeweler engrave Mine; until the end of
time on the back of it. And on the front it used to have a knight in shining armor, but Mac changed it to a heart with some sort of symbol carved into it.” She hesitated. “And last night, I told William I loved him.”
“And?” Eve whispered. “Did he say he loved you back?”
“No. But only because he doesn’t know he loves me.”
“Excuse me?”
Maddy set down her piece of bread. “William believes he’s still an ugly monster who’s incapable of loving anyone. I think it has something to do with what happened to his family back in the ninth century. Apparently William’s home was raided and everyone was killed, and he went a little . . . crazy. At least that’s what Mac told me. That’s why William drove that old witch off his land—because he thought she could have done something to stop the massacre or at least warned him. And after she turned him into a dragon, he spent the next four years lashing out at everyone. But then he found some symbol Kenzie had left on a rock and spent the next two years fighting his way through time to get here.”
Her jaw slack, Eve continued to stare at Maddy in disbelief.
Maddy nodded. “So, because he believes he lost his soul seeking revenge for his family, and because he spent six years acting and feeling like a monster, William assumes that he doesn’t have a heart left to give me.”
“But you believe he does love you?” Eve asked. “You’re not worried that he might only be in lust with you?”
“Oh, it’s love, all right,” Maddy said, rolling her eyes. “The man’s got it so bad he doesn’t know if he’s coming or going most of the time. One minute he’s chasing me down with the desperation of a starving lion, and the next minute he’s doing any devious thing he can think of to push me away.” She leaned forward again. “Do you know he stole the diary I kept all through my teens? He snooped through my hope chest, found out my most intimate desires, and now he’s planning to use them against me.”
“Use them against you how?”
“By giving me every last one of them.”
Eve was back to staring at her in disbelief—or maybe confusion.
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