A MATTER OF TRUST

by Kimberley Reeves

  The woman was delusional, of that Maddy was sure. “No, Angela, what you had with Chase was sex and nothing more. You need to get over it, get over him, because like it or not he’s marrying me.”

  Angela’s voice was acidic. “We’ll just see about that. What do you have to offer a man like that anyway? A strong wind would blow you away, you’re hardly capable of playing hostess at the social events he throws, and I’m sure once the novelty of saving the impoverished little housemaid wears off he’ll retract his offer of marriage and come running back to me.”

  Lydia took a step forward, her fists clenched as if she intended to take a swing at the woman, but Maddy maneuvered in front of her. “You want to know what I have to offer Chase? My heart, Angela, and that’s something you can never give him because you don’t have one.” Her eyes swept over Angela’s five foot ten frame. “You’re a beautiful woman, but apparently Chase prefers small and feminine to the Amazon look because I’m the one wearing his ring. And not that it’s any of your business, but the last time I met with my Financial Planner, I believe my net worth was listed somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen and a half million.” Lydia’s laughter buoyed her confidence, but not as much as Angela’s blank stare.

  “You’re lying,” Angela said thinly.

  “I’m not, but it doesn’t really matter. Give it up, Angela, he’s not yours and he never was.”

  “You’re wrong and I’ll prove it. I’ll get him back and you’ll be eating those words.”

  Maddy just smiled. “It was nice seeing you again, Angela. I’ll be sure to send you an invitation to the wedding.” With an outraged

  grunt, Angela spun around and stomped out of the bathroom. There was a mischievous glint in Maddy’s eyes when glanced back at

  Lydia. “I think that went well, don’t you?” They were still giggling as they headed for the door.

  ****

  Chase jumped to his feet the minute Angela disappeared behind the bathroom door. What he intended to do he wasn’t sure, all he knew was that he couldn’t stand by while she hurt Maddy again. It was his mother’s light touch on his arm that kept him from storming across the restaurant to rescue his woman from the vicious dragon lady.

  “That’s Angela, the one who’s been who’d been bothering you?”

  “Yes, and she’s already upset Maddy twice, I won’t allow it to continue.”

  “Chase, sit down,” Grace said softly.

  “Mom, I have to go to her. You don’t know what Angela’s like, she’s cruel and vindictive and…”

  “And she’ll just keep going after Maddy as long as you keep running interference. Sit,” she ordered. “That’s better. Now listen to me. This Angela woman knows Maddy is your weak spot and she’s going to continue to interfere in your lives unless you let Maddy stand up for herself.”

  Chase raked his fingers through his hair, misery lining his face. “You don’t understand, Mom. Maddy is…she’s so delicate and she just doesn’t have it in her to fight back. Angela will eat her alive.”

  Grace smiled indulgently. “You’re wrong, darling. Maddy loves you with all her heart and that love will give her the strength she needs to make a stand. Once Angela realizes Maddy’s not going step aside she’ll have no choice but to admit defeat and leave you two in peace.”

  He didn’t believe for one minute that Maddy was any match for Angela but he did derive a small amount of comfort in knowing Lydia was in there with her. His sister had grown up in a house full of alpha males and had learned at an early age how to defend herself. She wouldn’t be intimidated by Angela and she’d make sure nothing happened to Maddy. He hoped.

  “She’ll be fine,” his mother assured him, but the dubious looks from his brothers did little to assuage his growing concern.

  It seemed like an eternity passed before Angela emerged from the bathroom though in reality it couldn’t have been more than five minutes. It was hard to discern whether she felt victorious at getting her jabs in or not because her face was as glacial as it always was. Why he’d ever taken her to bed was a mystery even to Chase because she’d never instilled anything more than a mild sexual interest. It hadn’t been that good either, and certainly wouldn’t have rated a second performance if she hadn’t begged him to stay. One night with Angela had been an error in judgment, two nights had been a monumental mistake that had not only led to a great deal of irritation for him but was now causing trouble for Maddy.

  Disregarding his mother’s plea to leave it alone, Chase rose to his feet and met Angela halfway across the floor. “Just what do you hope to gain by badgering Maddy?”

  Her eyes flashed indignantly. “I wasn’t badgering her, I was merely trying to impress upon her why she wasn’t suited for a man like you.”

  Chase’s voice was menacingly low. “If you did anything to upset her, I’ll make good on that threat to go to your father. I’ll get a restraining order if that’s what it takes to make you realize just how serious I am about keeping you away from Maddy.”

  “Oh don’t worry,” she said flippantly, “Cinderella seems pretty damn determined to hang onto those glass slippers.”

  “This is your last warning,” he growled, “stay away from her.”

  “Or what?” She leaned closer, her lips twisted into a sly smile. “You have nothing on me, Chase, not any more. I’ve been very busy over the past few weeks, restoring finances and confessing my sins so Daddy would see just how contrite his little girl is. He fell for it; hook, line, and sinker, although he wasn’t at all pleased to learn I’d taken the money to impress a man who’d used me then tossed me aside to have an affair with his maid.”

  Chase was so angry at that moment he wanted to shake her. “You conniving little witch…”

  “Careful, my love, you wouldn’t want to make a scene in your brother’s restaurant, would you?”

  Chase shook his head. What was the use of trying to reason with someone who’d was so obviously mentally unbalanced? “Just stay away from me,” he warned, “and stay away from Maddy.”

  Angela snaked one arm around his neck. “I’ll tell you what. Spend one night with me and I promise you’ll never hear from me again. Just one night, Chase, and you don’t have to worry about me interfering with your life or that of your precious Maddy, what do you say?”

  Chase didn’t have time to respond before Maddy’s furious voice caused them both to jerk with a start.

  “Back off, Barbie,” she hissed, glaring heatedly at Angela. “I may be small but I guarantee I’ll find the strength to rip you to shreds if you don’t get your hands off my fiancé.”

  Chase could do nothing but stare in amazement as his little wildcat advanced on them, her eyes flashing dangerously. He honestly believed Maddy was capable of tearing Angela apart and apparently Angela did too because her face turned a pasty white as she hastily backed away from him. It was Derek who put an end to it, appearing at Angela’s side then gripping her elbow and escorting her out of his restaurant. To his amusement, she didn’t put up a fuss and actually seemed relieved that she was being extracted from the situation before Maddy could follow through with her threat.

  Maddy tucked herself up under Chase’s arm and smiled up at him as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “Sorry we took so long. Has the dessert arrived yet?”

  For the second time that evening, the restaurant patrons broke out in a round of applause, and for the second time that evening Maddy barely noticed. She was too busy basking in the look of sheer admiration Chase was giving her and the rush of adrenalin that was still pulsing through her from making Angela back down. In the bathroom, it had felt more like a draw but just now the victory definitely belonged to Maddy.

  Chase eyes raked over her face, settling hungrily on her mouth. “Do have any idea how turned on I am right now?”

  “Hang on to that thought, cowboy,” she said in a sexy drawl, “we have a long night ahead of us and I can promise it won’t be no eight second ride.”

  ****r />
  “You certainly won my family over,” Chase said later as they drove home.

  “I shouldn’t have caused a scene in Travis' restaurant. I’m surprised he even talked to me after that.”

  “Sweetheart, you don’t know how many times he’s prayed for an excuse to show that woman to the door.”

  Maddy glanced at him sharply. “So she’s done this before… when you were there with other women, I mean?”

  He reached across the seat and squeezed her hand. “I’ve never brought another woman to Malone’s, you’re the first. Somehow Angela found out I eat there a couple of times a week and started showing up. At first she tried to pass it off as coincidence but after a while she gave up the pretense. Sometimes she came with another man, no doubt hoping to make me jealous, but most times she came alone.”

  “Did she ask to sit with you or did she just go ahead and join you knowing you’d be too much of a gentleman to tell her to go away?”

  Chase snorted. “I was hardly a gentleman. The first few times it happened, I was as polite as I could be and told her I preferred to dine alone, but she doesn’t take rejection easily and sat down anyway. Travis knew the trouble I was having with her and sent one of his waitresses over to tell me my table was ready and I simply got up and left her sitting there. After that, the hostess ignored Angela’s insistence that I was expecting her and seated her at a different table. She caught the hint, but it was pretty creepy having her stare at me the entire time I was trying to eat. Even when my family was there, she’d come in and watch me.”

  “So why didn’t you do anything about it?”

  “What could I do? She wasn’t causing any trouble and I honestly thought she’d get over her obsession with me once she realized I wasn’t interested.”

  “Maybe now that she knows we’re engaged she’ll stop hounding you.”

  “Maybe,” he said, but there was very little conviction in his voice or his mind.

  Chase pulled up to the house and waited for the garage door to open then eased the Lexus inside and killed the engine. He turned to her, his breath catching in this throat when she smiled back at him. How had he managed to acquire the love of this incredible woman? He felt unworthy and yet he’d fight for the right to keep it because without Maddy’s love there would be nothing but an empty, bleak existence to look forward to. Chase lifted his hand and gently stroked the side of her face.

  “I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of this.”

  “Don’t be, it’s not your fault.” Maddy turned her head, pressing her lips to his palm before offering him a bright smile. “Hey, I wanted a little adventure when I set out on my own and I found it. To tell the truth, it felt good to let loose for once. I’ve always been the shy, quiet one who never spoke back to her parents and did everything she was told. I was afraid to say what I was thinking because I was too concerned about what other people thought of me, but keeping everything bottled up starts to eat at you, you know? Anyway, when I saw Angela draped all over you and heard what she said, it was like a dam breaking inside of me and I guess I kind of lost it.”

  “Kind of?”

  Maddy’s heart melted at his teasing grin. “Okay, so I nearly went ballistic. The point is I’m not sorry it happened because I learned something about myself. I learned I’m not afraid to fight for what I want anymore.”

  “And what is it you want, Maddy?”

  “You, Chase. I want you.”

  ****

  A low moan vibrated deep in his chest as he flipped the latch on her seat belt and pulled her into his arms. Nothing had ever felt so good or so right as Chase drew her closer, her body conforming so perfectly to his while the heady taste of her filled his mouth. Maddy’s soft, feminine scent surrounded him, aroused him as no other woman ever had before or ever would again. The need to bury himself inside her warmth was suddenly so overpowering it would have taken super human strength to resist it, and that was something Chase definitely didn’t have when it came to Maddy.

  A month ago, he would have cut out his own tongue before he admitted any woman could bring him to his knees like this, but now it simply didn’t matter. She was his, she belonged to him, as surely as he belonged to her and if that was considered a weakness then it was a cross he was happy to bear.

  “Let’s go inside,” he whispered, not altogether surprised to find his voice was nearly gone.

  Maddy watched him fumble with his seat belt, a soft smile curving her lips. She felt decidedly wicked this evening, seeing how his hands shook and knowing how much he wanted her. She reached over and unlatched his belt then moved her hand between his thighs and curled her fingers around him intimately. She loved touching him, loved the way his big body trembled with desire and the way his eyes glazed over as if the pleasure was almost too much to endure. Maddy knew how he felt. Chase had taken her to that place and she wanted to go there again. Just the thought of cradling him between her legs while he drove into her made her moist.

  Chase let out a groan of sheer agony as the bulge in his pants grew rock hard under Maddy’s gentle massaging, his discomfort bordering on pain as it strained against the zipper. She was breathing almost has heavily as he was, the rise and fall of her chest as erotic as the stroking of her hand. He wanted to reach up and touch the beaded tips of her breasts, to feel them harden beneath his palm and hear the soft mewling sound roll in the back of her throat as it always did when he fondled her. But he couldn’t. He didn’t dare touch her, not when he was so close to losing control.

  “Maddy,” he gritted, “baby, we need to go inside.”

  “No,” she rasped. “I want you. Here. Now.”

  He swallowed hard, his throat constricting. “In the…car?”

  She squeezed the rigid length of him. “On the hood.”

  He groaned again, his eyelids closing for a moment before snapping back open when she drew away from him and opened the door. He made a grab for her, but she scurried out of the car with a seductive laugh and closed the door behind her. Air hissed from his lungs when Maddy positioned herself in front of the car then shimmied out of her panties, giving him a brief glimpse of the black lace garter that held up her hose before she dropped the hemline of her dress and crooked her finger at him. Chase nearly fell out of the car in his haste to get to her, his heart hammering against his rib cage so hard he could almost hear them cracking under the pressure.

  Maddy laughed and twisted away from him when he made a lunge for her. “Come and get me,” she taunted, hiking her dress up as she backed towards the car.

  Chase growled, reaching her just as the back of her legs hit the front fender. He gripped her around the waist and hoisted her onto the hood, ignoring her half-hearted protest when he pushed her onto her back and spread her legs. God, but she was a sight with her moist folds open to him like the petals of a dew kissed flower. He leaned down and flicked his tongue over her swollen nub then suckled it gently, delighting in the way her body instantly went rigid then convulsed uncontrollably for several minutes before going completely limp.

  “Chase,” she croaked, “Chase, I need…I need…”

  “I know, sweetheart,” he said softly, already reaching for the buckle on his belt.

  Maddy held her breath as he guided himself to her opening. She should have felt indecent lying there spread eagled before him, but she couldn’t think of anything at the moment except how much she needed to have him inside of her. His first thrust was hard and deep, the force of it jarring her body back several inches. Chase gripped her hips and pulled her back into place then slammed himself into her again, ruthlessly impaling her with quick stabbing motions, each powerful thrust driving him deeper and deeper until her world shattered into a million pieces and sent her mind and body soaring into the heavens.

  Maddy arched her back, the waves of pleasure so powerful it wracked her body with spasms so violent she wondered how Chase managed to keep her from tumbling off of the hood. When it was over she reached for him, sighing contentedly
when he drew her up against the solidness of his chest. Maybe it was the sudden change of positions that made him climax, or maybe it was simply that he’d reached the point of no return. Whatever it was, he came in a heated rush, an animalistic growl tearing from his throat as his seed shot up inside of her. His head fell forward and he slumped against her for quite some time before he regained enough strength to move.

  “I love you,” he whispered hoarsely, feathering kisses across her face. “With all my heart and soul, I love you.”

  Maddy kept her eyes closed, her skin tingling everywhere his lips touched her. “Take me to bed,” she whispered back. “I want to fall asleep while I can still feel you inside of me.”

  Chase captured her mouth for one last kiss then eased himself out of her and pulled up his pants. Maddy’s arms curled around his neck when he leaned down to lift her up and he couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her again before carrying her inside. She was half asleep before he even finished undressing her and she’d totally succumbed to the land of dreams by the time he slipped between the sheets and drew her into his arms.