by Scott Wylder
At the bottom, she yelled, “Coming!” Turning right, she ran through the kitchen and then stopped in the living room to catch her breath and check her face in the reflection in the glass of a picture on the wall.
The living room door opened and she jumped at the sudden blast of intense evening sunlight.
“Hello?” Trigger stood in the doorway, cutting a fine and sexy silhouette with the dying sun as his backdrop. The red-amber glow leaving its mark only on his outer edges left the center in complete darkness—mysterious and maybe dangerous.
Shuddering, she said, “Well, come on in. Don’t lurk in doorways, it’s rude.”
Stepping inside, he pushed the door shut behind him and squinted at Maddy. “I heard you yell to come in, but I didn’t want to go exploring to find you.”
“Actually, I said I was coming.” She pointed to the opposite end of the house and smiled. “But it’s okay. Come on in. I’m a mess; I got caught up working and lost track of time.” She motioned for him to follow her to the kitchen.
“Nice place you have here. Lived here long?” Trigger looked around but it wasn’t the kind of looking that made Maddy want to scream at him for being nosy as she felt with so many other people.
“Thanks. I’ve lived here the better part of eight years. Not stayed here much since the club opened, though. Most of us crash up at Jayda’s because it’s so close to work.” She laughed and opened the fridge, noticing as she did so that clay was still caked under most of the nails of her right hand.
“I noticed you all hired some help a couple weeks ago. How’s that working out for you?” He propped on the back of a kitchen chair, one hand behind his back.
“Hey, it’s getting me some days off, so it’s working great.” She turned with a beer, offered it to Trigger, and saw how he was holding his hand behind his back.
He took the unopened beer and put it on the table. “Thanks. Um, I brought you something.”
Madison, still nervously looking toward his hidden hand, said, “Brought me something? What?” She was a bit frightened and a bit excited. What if he pulled a knife or a length of rope from behind him? What if this was turning into one of those extreme uh-oh moments?
“I call it Harley Rose.” He presented her with a flower. A single large chrome and leather flower fashioned to resemble a rose, to be exact.
Obviously handmade, it was unique and a bit on the dark side. She instantly loved it.
“Did you make that?” The fridge door forgotten, she moved to the table and let the door drift toward home on its own slow path. She reached for the rose, wanting to inspect it closer.
“Mmhm. Used the leather from the seat of one of my old Harleys and the spokes from her wheels. I have one I made from part of the handlebar and a piston, too—I call it Thunder Rose.” He laughed.
Madison laughed with him. Again, there was that easy laughter as if they’d known each other much longer than the few months that they had seen each other in passing mostly.
He reached out and plucked the heavy rose from her hand and placed it on the table on its base. “It’s a free-standing ornament.”
Chuckling, she said, “Well, I wasn’t going to stick it in a vase with water. Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you. And nice.”
“You say that like it’s a shock that I’m both. I think you just hurt my feelings a little bit.” He put his hand over his heart.
“At least it wasn’t sexist.” She had to toss that in; couldn’t resist a little jab at him over his remark at the grocery store.
“I’m just going to ignore that you even said that.” He rolled his eyes dramatically and, grinning, picked up his beer. Opening his beer, he asked, “Don’t you want one?” He tilted it at her.
“No, nothing stronger than coffee for me yet, but you enjoy. You ready to go up and see the studio?” She smiled over her shoulder at him, unable to resist a little flirting.
“I was born ready.” He fell in step behind her.
Chapter 4
Upon entering the attic, Trigger immediately whistled as he looked around at all the figurines crafted from all sorts of different materials. He went straight to the life-size papier-mâché Vampire Seduces the Virgin statue at the farthest corner of the attic.
Maddy fidgeted with her hair while Trigger had his back turned and cursed herself for a fool for losing her washcloth somewhere—probably in the kitchen—before she had finished with her face. She could now feel the dry clay on her skin and rubbed at it with her fingers.
“This is fucking awesome, Madison. I had no idea that you were into this kind of stuff.” He didn’t turn to her but moved from the papier-mâché section to the section of smaller wooden carvings.
“Thanks, but I’m not sure what you mean by this kind of stuff.”
“The creepy, old, dark subjects. You know, occult subjects.” He glanced her way and lowered his voice. “Not many people even know what half the stuff means—apparently you’re not one of them. You seem to know quite a bit about it.”
“Oh, you say that like it shocks you that I might have many and varied interests.” The jibe was intended in fun and she was delighted when Trigger took it as such.
“I wouldn’t say it’s shocking.” He eyed her, grinning devilishly as he twirled a replica of a magic wand in his hand. “More like disturbing.” He chuckled.
Madison was beginning to change her opinion about Trigger Daniels, former sexist asshole. She rather enjoyed his company. He was easy to be around, easy to joke with, and extremely easy to look at.
Letting him wander through the attic studio at his leisure, Maddy poured more coffee and stood by the open window, watching him. He didn’t seem out of place amongst her works of fantasy and darkness. Nor did he seem out of his element as he casually chatted about this piece or that to her.
As the sun dropped behind the ridge of the mountain and the red-amber cast to the world turned to gunmetal gray, the shadows in the attic grew long. An hour had passed and it had only seemed like minutes to Madison.
“Now, look what I’ve caused. You’ve lost all your light. I should be on my way so you can finish.” He sauntered towards her by the window, looking out over the mountainous scenery.
“It’s fine. I have two more days off. Besides, I have lights up here.” She reached for the switch on the other side of the window and Trigger caught her hand gently in his.
“I’m not afraid of the dark. Don’t turn them on because of me.” He didn’t offer to let her hand fall from his and she didn’t try to take it back.
“Oh. Well, it’s my house; of course the dark doesn’t bother me.” She set her coffee on the wide wooden windowsill. Unable to think what to say to him, she brought up the subject of her sculptures. “I told you my work wouldn’t be what you were thinking.” She stepped a half-step closer to keep from pulling her hand back.
Trigger had maneuvered his hand so that their palms touched and his thumb traced hot little circles near her wrist, causing her ability to think straight to disappear. All she could think about was his thumb caressing her wrist, his breath in the darkness, his silhouette beginning to blend in with the darkness of the attic, and how badly she wished he would just lean down and kiss her there in the darkness.
“No. It wasn’t what I thought I’d find here. I was certain that you would be crafting sunflowers and unicorns—all white and fluffy—girly things, dainty things; now you’ve gone and shattered all my illusions about you.” He took a half-step closer. “Was that too sexist of me?”
Trembling from his nearness, unsure if it was trepidation or only her lust making her quiver, Madison gave a breathy reply. “Nope. Not at all. If all your fluffy white illusions of me have been shattered, I’ve accomplished my goal.”
“Really? That was your ultimate goal when you invited me up here?” He moved closer still.
His thigh was touching hers. The heat from him was lovely and Madison had the sudden urge to press into him, open his shirt and press her body to
his.
“I wouldn’t say that was my ultimate goal. What did you have in mind when you asked to come here?”
Trigger stepped closer and put a hand on either side of her, pinning her with the open window to her back. The chill air rushed against her over heated back as the night air cooled. His heat blazed her front. By the time he leaned down, she had grabbed his flannel in both hands and pulled against him, turning her face up.
He kissed her hard and long, as if she were sustenance and he had been starved.
Chapter 5
As the kiss came to an end, Madison remembered how dirty she had gotten and shrank away from Trigger, suddenly self-consciously. “Um…” She couldn’t speak.
Trigger backed away two steps. “Um…what? Are you okay?”
“Yes. I just…um…” She turned and closed the window. “Maybe we should go downstairs for a while. Yeah?” She stepped by him and waited at the top of the stairs, flipping on the dim light so he could see.
Not stopping until they reached the kitchen again, Madison went to the fridge again. “You want another beer, or something?” His kiss still burned on her lips and she wanted so much more.
“No. I’m good, thanks. Are you okay? You act kinda like you saw a ghost or something. Is my kissing so bad?” He placed his hands on the back of a chair and leaned.
“No! God, no! You’re a great kisser. It’s me. I told you already that I let time get away from me earlier and now I’m paying the price, I guess.” She smiled apologetically at him across the dim kitchen.
“How’s that? Did you suddenly remember a late appointment, or were you supposed to meet your boyfriend? What is it?” He laughed humorlessly.
“Nothing like that.” She rubbed her face with her palms and groaned. “I didn’t get a shower before you got here and I’m positive I smell slightly worse than a goat.”
Trigger stared at her for a moment in disbelief and then burst out laughing. “You’re serious? That’s why you’re acting like I might be a serial killer all of a sudden. Are you sure my breath doesn’t smell bad?” He blew in his hand and sniffed, still eyeing her in disbelief.
“I’m serious, Trigger. I’ve sweated all day up there. It’s bad.” She held out her hands palms-down to him. “Look. Don’t you see the clay under my nails? And, look at my face. My face even had smudges on it.”
Laughing, he leaned over and plucked the damp washcloth from the table that she’d had earlier. “You still have clay smudges on your face, Madison.” He swiped at them with the cloth.
Madison dropped her gaze, embarrassed but not wanting him to stop touching her. She liked his closeness. “Told you I was filthy.” She rolled her eyes, wishing she had kept up with the time better before he arrived so she could have at least showered.
Trigger rubbed from her temple down to her jaw and then continued, letting the cloth drop. His bare finger left a fiery little trail from the shelf of her jaw line to her collarbone.
A little moan escaped her. She leaned toward the caress instead of away from it. Trigger ran his finger under the collar of her shirt, under the bra strap on her shoulder, and pulled them both to expose her shoulder.
Letting her hands find their way back to his chest, Madison closed her eyes. Trigger leaned down and placed a feathery light kiss where her neck and shoulder met.
“Maybe I don’t mind filthy as much as you think I would.”
His voice in her ear, deep, throaty, excited made her insides quiver. His tongue flicked out over the tender flesh and she moaned again, nearly swooning onto him.
“Nope. Oh, you gotta stop now.” Madison pushed away from him. “I’m sorry, but I have to stop or I won’t be able to stop.” Gooseflesh crawled over her body, tightening her skin pleasantly.
“What if I don’t want to stop?” Trigger leaned toward her again.
Madison placed her hands in the center of his chest and pushed gently. “I don’t want to either, but I can’t do this. I need a shower.”
Trigger grinned down at her, letting his hands drop to her waist. “Need some help getting cleaned up? A hot, steamy shower sounds pretty good right now.”
Taking a deep breath, Madison forced her body to move away from Trigger’s touch. “Please, Trigger. It’s not that I don’t want to, but this is all really…” She looked up at him. Was she really going to say fast? What was she now, a prude? Needing X amount of dates before the boy could get to home base? She’d never been that way before.
“Fast? Is that what you were going to say?” Trigger backed away, still grinning at her.
His arousal was obvious. Seeing his excitement, didn’t help Madison’s decision any at all. It really made her want him even more at that very moment. If she hadn’t been so worried about being dirty and smelly, she would have let him take her right there on the kitchen table. Hell, she would have let him take her right there on the fucking floor, who was she kidding? She hadn’t been so aroused in years.
Shaking her head, Maddy said, “No. It’s just odd timing is all. I swear it.” She hoped he understood and didn’t take offense.
Trigger rubbed his lips with his finger, nodding. As he backed up, he said, “I got you. I totally understand. I did come on a bit heavy, but I couldn’t help myself.” He kept backing until he was clear of the table and then he spun on his heel and headed for the living room.
“Wait! Where are you going?” Madison chased him.
“Um, I’m going to the bar and then home. Why? Did you want to join me?” He turned to her with his hand on the doorknob, the twinkle in his eyes now very dim.
“No. I’m still filthy. I can’t go out like this.” Chuckling Maddy backed away. “I just didn’t want you to be upset with me.”
Turning to fully face her, Trigger took her hand and placed it directly on his erection. Even through his jeans, Maddy could feel the throbbing hardness and she gasped. Her first instinct was to squeeze him, but she refrained, holding her palm against him there.
“Does it feel like I’m upset with you?” The heat in Trigger’s gaze was immense.
Again, Maddy shook her head in negation, words failing her completely as she pressed her hand against him. As she removed her hand, she did give him a slight squeeze and stepped close, tilting her face up to his. “Good. I don’t want you to think I’m a tease. I don’t want you to think that I don’t want you, because I do.” She gave him a final squeeze and was pleased when he moaned.
As Maddy stepped back, she lubed. It had been more years than she cared to count since that had happened last. She was probably no more than a rambunctious, hormone-riddled teenager the last time. Always thinking she had better control over herself than most other people had over themselves, she was a little shocked when it happened.
Trigger pulled the door open wide and the cool night air swooped through the full-length screen door, chilling Madison’s skin. Apparently she had perspired more since leaving the kitchen. Crossing her arms, she watched, taking in all of him as he turned to leave again.
“If I thought you were only a tease, I wouldn’t come back now would I?” He flashed that wicked grin again.
“I don’t know. Would you?” She bit her lip.
It was Trigger’s turn to shake his head. “Not on your life. I’ll come back by tomorrow. How’s five again?” He stepped out onto the porch.
Leaning on the door frame, Maddy considered it. “I think that would be great.” She smiled, appreciating that he was genuine in his desire for her. Had he not been genuine, he would have simply left and never returned, marking her off his little list.
“Do me a favor?” He stopped at the top step and looked back, chuckling.
“What?”
“Keep up with the time better tomorrow. Should I call you around four so you have time to shower before I get here?” He laughed.
Feigning shock, Madison let the screen door slam shut putting a very thin barrier between them. “Absolutely not. Maybe tomorrow I won’t mind being a little dirty.” She blew
him a kiss off the tips of her fingers and stepped inside, shutting the door.
Chapter 6
The Harley started up, revved, and pulled out of Madison’s driveway. She put her back against the door and huffed out a great, long sigh, rubbing her face vigorously with both hands. Was it possible that she was on the brink of hooking up with Trigger Daniels? She didn’t want to be Little Wilma Wedding-bells, but she thought she might be able to stay with someone like Trigger for a long time.
A very long time.
Of course, she understood that they would both be prone to putting their best foot forward during the beginning of the mating dance. Later is what counted. Would he still be putting his best foot forward later, when he’d already danced the horizontal mambo with her a few times or would he grow bored, tired, and decide he needed another dance partner?
That’s why she’d never conceded to a serious relationship before. She’d had boyfriends and she’d had lovers, but never had she thought she would be with any one of them for very long. They had all seemed just what they were—passing interests. Just after college, she’d also woken up beside her fair share of Alcohol Adams. This was the nickname she gave her one night, alcohol-induced flings: Alcohol Adams.
Going upstairs for a shower, Madison was careful to make certain she locked the door this time. She couldn’t cope with a surprise visit from anyone right now; her nerves would probably cause her to have a heart attack if she got out of the shower and someone was in her house unannounced.
Not bothering to grab any clothes, Maddy went straight into the bathroom, set her phone to her playlist, and turned the volume to its highest setting. She did, however shut and lock the bathroom door, also.
The steaming hot shower was sublime. She stood in the cascade of liquid heat until her muscles stopped quivering.
After the long and hot shower, Madison dried and dressed in her night pants and a baggy shirt that she’d never wear out in the daylight—she’d had it since her senior year of college and the writing was faded beyond recognition and the cloth was see-through thin from all the washings.
