The Education of Madeline

by Beth Williamson

  It was a dismissal. He knew it, and it stuck in his craw. He nodded and put his hat back on his head.

  “Be careful, Madeline,” he said as he walked down the steps and headed toward his horse.

  She knew he wasn’t just talking about Teague. His words spoiled her perfect mood as a gray cloud covers the sun. She shivered and hugged her arms to her chest.

  She watched the sheriff’s horse until he turned the corner into town. The sound of the creek behind her house should have been soothing. Instead it sounded like a melody of warning.

  Teague took a break from working on the roof of the carriage house and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his discarded shirt. From up there he could see all the way to town. He saw the sheriff ride up to the house and then ride back into town half an hour later.

  God only knew what he’d been talking to Maddie about for half an hour. Teague was most assuredly not that curious and definitely not jealous. Madeline was not his woman. She was his…well, hell, he didn’t know what she was. What he did know was that he didn’t trust that sheriff for a second. The only thing he served was his own interests.

  Teague went back to hammering and saw a horse and buggy pull up to the house. It was as busy as a train station at Maddie’s house. A natty little man in a bowler hat and a pretty suit hopped out and went in the house.

  Teague tried to focus on the roof, but his eyes kept straying to the house. He wondered who the man was and what he was doing with Maddie.

  He smacked his thumb twice with the hammer and then dropped some of the boards off the edge of the roof. Cursing in Gaelic and English, he climbed down the ladder to retrieve the boards. By the side of the house, Isaiah was standing in the shadows, peering through the window.

  Wasn’t that interesting.

  Teague walked up behind him silently. He was good at being silent, one of the many skills he’d learned in the war. Most of them he was not proud of. He stood only a few feet from Isaiah and tried to figure out what he was doing.

  He heard Eppie humming through the open window. So, the young man liked to peep. That was definitely not polite.

  Teague grabbed him by the throat so quickly he didn’t make a sound and then dragged him back to the carriage house and slammed him against the wall. The force echoed through his arm, and he was pleased to see fear in the other man’s dark eyes.

  “What did you think you were doing?”

  “I…I was…only…” Isaiah croaked out.

  “You were spying on Eppie. She is a good girl, and I won’t let you turn her into something cheap you can find at any saloon. You understand me?”

  Isaiah nodded and pulled at Teague’s arm. It didn’t move so much as an inch.

  “I didn’t mean no harm.”

  “Doesn’t matter if you meant harm or not. You did harm just by looking at her when she didn’t know it. That’s the last time you’re going to do it, too, isn’t it?” Teague bared his teeth in a feral smile.

  “Yes. I swear. I won’t never spy on her again.”

  “Good. I’m glad you agree with me. Now, aren’t you supposed to be taking care of weeding the garden today?”

  He let Isaiah’s throat loose and stepped back. Isaiah rubbed his throat with one hand and looked at Teague like he was an avenging angel.

  “I finished. I was fixing to ask Eppie what else she needed done, and I…” He trailed off and looked at the ground.

  “You can start weeding the flowers in the front, then. Get busy, Isaiah, before I stop being nice to you.”

  Isaiah ran for the front of the house like a swatted fly. Teague was glad he was scared of him. No man should ever take advantage of a woman. Ever. He punched the side of the building and winced as a blister popped on his hand from the force.

  There were too many secrets in the house already. Isaiah just added another unexpected layer that forced Teague to rethink what he was doing.

  After Mr. Finley left, Madeline felt exhausted. The attorney had had so much information for her to review and approve it had simply drained her. Not to mention the fact she had been up half the night learning. Lesson number three had been worth the wait.

  She stretched out on the settee in her mother’s sitting room and looked out the window. The gurgling water in the creek was soothing now, pulling her closer and closer to sleep. Her eyes drifted closed.

  Teague was going down to Plum Creek to wash. Sweat, dirt, and sawdust coated his skin from his work on the roof. It wasn’t summer, but the sun was hot enough, especially when you were working your ass off in it.

  He grabbed a towel and soap from the pile Madeline had left. The sound of bees humming, birds chirping, and squirrels chattering were soothing, in a way. It brought back the normal quality of life. God knew his life hadn’t been normal for years. He breathed deeply of the Colorado air. It was a bit thinner here in Plum Creek, not as bad as Denver, though. The air was so thin in the Mile High City, he was dizzy for days when he got to town.

  He followed a well-worn path through the woods and almost salivated at the sound of the water. He needed to get clean and cool in the worst way.

  Teague reached the bank and shucked off his clothes in a blink. Laying the towel and his clothes on a nearby rock, he walked into the water. The cold water shriveled him up and cooled him off right quick. This was likely melted snow from the mountains. But, damn, it felt good. Surprisingly the creek was about twenty feet wide, and his feet just touched the bottom. Big creek. When swollen with rain, he had no doubt it was deadly. The current gently tugged at him, but his feet found firm purchase on the sandy bottom.

  He ducked his head under and wet his hair. Coming up he was startled to find Eppie standing on the bank, her hands fisted on her hips and a scowl on her face.

  “What did I do?”

  She pursed her lips. “You touched Miss Madeline, that’s what.”

  “That’s not your business, Eppie.” He started lathering himself up and tried to ignore her.

  “It is so my business. My life wasn’t worth spit until she found me. I love her like she was my sister. I won’t let no drifter horse thief break her heart.”

  Teague just kept on lathering and gritted his teeth. Life always got so fucking complicated.

  “I don’t plan on breaking her heart. What’s between us is not your business. Leave it alone.”

  She stamped her foot, which caused her to slide into the water. She started screeching like a banshee. With a sigh, Teague dropped his soap and swam toward her. He grabbed her and towed her back to the edge. She climbed up, chest heaving and yelling, “Lord have mercy!” over and over.

  She stood and wrung the water from her dress.

  “That water is devil cold, Mr. Teague. I don’t know how you’re in there buck naked in it.”

  “Go home, Eppie.”

  She took his towel and started drying herself with it. Teague tried vainly to get some of the soap from his head to scrub the rest of his body, but it was no use. And his soap was probably halfway to Utah by now. Well, there was always sand. Not his favorite way to wash, but effective.

  “Not until you promise to leave her alone.”

  He started walking toward her. “If you don’t head on home now, I’m gonna give you an eyeful of man.”

  She squeaked and dropped the towel, running through the trees toward the house. Teague dove back into the water to finish washing himself, cursing the fact that his now wet towel was lying in the mud.

  Madeline woke and gazed around her, disoriented. It was her mother’s sitting room. She must have fallen asleep. In the distance she could hear Eppie shouting something out by the creek.

  Madeline stood and walked to the window in time to see her stomping out of the woods soaking wet.

  What in the world? Eppie didn’t know how to swim! What was she doing down by the creek, and why was she wet?

  Within minutes, Teague came strolling out of the woods with his hair wet and his chest bare. In fact, he was wearing only his trouse
rs, and they were half buttoned.

  Madeline’s stomach sank to her knees as she pondered the possibility of why Eppie and Teague were both wet and in the creek together. She couldn’t come up with a plausible reason, and her heart squeezed tighter and tighter as a pain ripped through it.

  Teague was supposed to be hers. For a month, anyway. How could he be with Eppie when they had just had the most incredible, pleasurable experience of her life less than twelve hours before?

  Her tea threatened to come back to haunt her as her stomach rolled. A tear snuck out from her eye. She snapped it away angrily and headed for the kitchen.

  Eppie was not there. Madeline stomped to her room instead and pounded on the door.

  “Eppie!”

  The door opened, and Eppie stared out at her in surprise.

  “Madeline?”

  “Why…what…how could you, Eppie?”

  A sob burst from Madeline’s throat, and she clamped her hand over her mouth to stop it, but it was too late. Her heart was already on her sleeve.

  “Oh, Madeline,” said Eppie as she pulled her into her room and shut the door. She stood in her chemise, which was wet, and hugged Madeline. She shook like a newborn foal as she felt the first pains of love tear through her.

  “I fell in the creek because I was yelling at your man. He saved my life.”

  Madeline barely heard her through the roaring in her ears.

  “What?”

  “I didn’t do nothing with that big ol’ Irishman. He’s too big and too white for me. I wanted him to leave you alone. Oh, Madeline, I was afraid this would happen. He’s already breaking your heart!”

  “You tried to scare him off?”

  “Yes, I surely did! He wasn’t budging though. Stubborn cuss.”

  Madeline stepped back from Eppie and started to laugh through her tears. He hadn’t been with Eppie at all. She was trying to warn him away from a relationship that Madeline had paid for. Eppie, of course, had no idea. The idea that she’d tried to warn him away sent Madeline howling with laughter.

  “It ain’t that funny!”

  Madeline laughed and hugged her friend again. “Oh, Eppie, what would I do without you?”

  Eppie started to laugh, too, and both of them nearly hurt themselves. Madeline got a stitch in her side and had to sit down on the bed.

  “You want to keep him?” Eppie asked as she changed into dry clothes.

  Madeline wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

  “I would love to keep him, but he’s mine for only a month, Eppie. And I’m going to savor every minute of it. It’s all I’ll have for the rest of my life.”

  Eppie looked at her doubtfully.

  “Please just let me have this time with him. I promise my heart won’t be broken. Bruised, yes, but I won’t let it be broken.”

  Eppie nodded. “I think you’re bug-eyed crazy, but it’s your life, so it’s your choice.”

  “Thank you.”

  Madeline hugged her one last time and then left the room. After a quick wash of her face, she was going to find Teague. It had been far too long since last night. She needed to feel him, taste him, touch him.

  Love him.

  Chapter Ten

  Teague was damp and irritated. By the time he got back to the carriage house and his room, his feet and the bottom of his clean pants were as muddy as the towel. He walked up the stairs, leaving dirty footprints, and threw his dirty clothes and the towel in a pile on the floor.

  Glancing down at himself, he yanked off his pants, wiped his muddy feet on them and threw them in the corner, too. That left him with one set of clean clothes for the week. And it was only Tuesday.

  Naked, he padded over to the hooks on the wall that held the clothes Maddie had bought for him.

  “If I ever doubted the existence of a God, I could never do it again after seeing you like this.”

  Maddie’s voice should have startled him, but it didn’t. It was as if he knew she would be there. Unashamed, he turned to face her. She stood at the top of the stairs. For some reason, her dress had wet splotches on it. It was a hideous shade of brown to begin with and made her look like a dull bird.

  “You need to wear brighter colors.” She nodded and walked toward him. “Thanks, by the way. I didn’t know me being naked would bring thoughts of the Almighty to your head.”

  She smiled, and Teague felt his temperature spike. Maddie was beautiful. She couldn’t help but see the evidence of his arousal. It literally pointed right at her.

  Two feet from him, she stopped, hesitation clearly on her face.

  “I want to touch you, but I don’t know how. Teach me, Teague.”

  He closed the distance between them. Her body heat mingled with his. He breathed deep and smelled her unique scent again. All woman, all Maddie.

  “Lesson number four,” he said.

  Madeline’s knees were knocking together, and her heart was pounding. Her hands literally itched to touch all that flesh. All that flesh.

  Sweet heaven, but he was a beautiful man. Covered in taut, tanned skin from his rugged face, down his broad shoulders and chest. His arms were strong and covered in the same dark whirls of hair that kept that massive chest warm.

  His stomach looked like a washboard, and it had an arrow of that dark hair that pointed straight to his cock. Lord, but the man was huge. Much larger than the pictures in the book and much, much harder. The pictures in the book showed it limp and hanging to one side. Aroused, Teague was a sight to send even the birds twittering.

  His legs were long and muscled. Even his feet were perfect.

  Teague was beautiful. And he was hers. Like a little girl on Christmas morning, she couldn’t wait to touch him.

  He took her hands and brought them to his chest.

  “You did pretty well last night. Just start where you were and do whatever comes naturally. There isn’t anything that’s wrong between two people who—who are enjoying each other. The only rule is if you don’t like something, say so.”

  Madeline nodded and swallowed back her cowardice.

  “Touch me, Maddie.”

  Taking a deep breath, she ran her hands around his chest. His small nipples pebbled almost instantly. She ran her fingertips around the flat circles. They weren’t as soft as her own, but they were much softer than the rest of him.

  She moved her hands in wide circles around his chest, the crisp hair sliding beneath her skin. She remembered how it felt against her skin and shivered. His skin was slightly tacky from his bath in the creek, and he smelled of fresh air and man.

  Her hands followed the curve of his shoulders and probed the muscles in his arms. He stood as still as a statue, but she could hear his breathing and feel his pulse racing. Her eyes strayed to the ever-growing member between them.

  “You can touch it.”

  Madeline licked her lips, and she saw it jump. Her eyes flew to his. The pupils were wide with arousal, and his nostrils flared as he breathed. She did that. She was responsible for making this man aroused. The power of that realization gave her courage she would not normally find.

  One hand cupped his balls while the other closed around his shaft. A shaky breath burst from his throat. His skin was soft here like his nipples, but he was as hard as a block of wood. His balls were large and covered with lighter brown hair than his chest. They were firm and warm in her hands.

  He swayed slightly on his feet when her hand tightened on him.

  “Can you get on the bed?”

  He nodded and then stumbled over to the bed and lay down. She looked at six and a half feet of man waiting for her, and a pulse of arousal beat so strong it made her completely wet between her legs, made her nipples pinch up harder than Teague’s cock, and took her breath away.

  He was better than any Christmas present. He was hers.

  “Get undressed,” he commanded.

  Without acknowledging the order as such, Madeline undressed to her chemise and stockings. She pulled off the chemise and saw Teague
’s eyes widen.

  “Where did you get red garters?”

  She smiled. “A woman has to have her secrets.” She leaned down to take them off, but Teague stopped her.

  “Leave them on.”

  The idea of having sex with Teague in her stockings and garters was more than exciting. She actually felt a trickle of her own arousal slide down her thigh.

  Madeline walked over to the bed and looked at him with a question in her eyes.

  “Straddle my legs and kneel on the bed. You can touch me as long as I can take it.”

  She did as he bade. The cool air caressed her heated core. Her hands moved up his thighs to his cock again. She examined him from top to bottom, touching, caressing, and measuring. As she explored, his balls grew tighter and tighter.

  “You’re going to have to stop now, Maddie, or this will be over before we start.”

  She didn’t quite understand that but immediately removed her hands.

  “Now move up and take me inside you. You’re going to learn to ride me.”

  Madeline hadn’t realized women could be on top, but the thought was as tantalizing as it was exciting. She moved herself up until she was just over him. His eyes were nearly black, and a sheen of perspiration dotted his brow.

  “Take my cock and put it inside you.”

  She spread her legs a bit wider and took him in her hand. When the head of his cock met with her skin, it jumped in her hand.

  “Oh, my God, you’re so wet. Put it in, Maddie. Ride me, girl.”

  He slid in slowly, inch by inch. She wasn’t sure how to do this, so she did it slowly.

  “Your nipples are begging me to touch them.” His hands reached up and began rolling the nipples between his fingers. She clenched deep down inside, and he groaned.

  “Yes. Yessss….”

  She finally had him entirely inside her, and the feeling was indescribable. She was not only full, she was as aroused as she had ever been in her life.

  “Now move.”

  Madeline looked at him helplessly. She was finding it hard to focus, with the pulses of pleasure radiating throughout her body.