THE TROUBLEMAKER BRIDE

by Leanne Banks

  Joshua's eyes flew open. It was Maddie. He couldn't distinguish much more than the shape of her because of the darkness of the room. "Where are you?"

  "Coming closer," she said, walking toward him. She pressed a glass into his hand and he breathed in her scent. "Drink up. How's Patrick?"

  He automatically swallowed the wine. It was cool and pleasantly dry. "Patrick will be okay. The good news is the motorcycle was totaled," he said. "So the temptation will be removed."

  "Maybe," she said. "Have you had dinner?"

  He concentrated. "I think. Yeah, I had a couple of burgers." Watching her eyes glint in the darkness, he took a few more gulps and the wine was gone. "What are you doing here?"

  "Checking on you." She took the glass. "Let me get you more wine."

  "I'll turn on the light," he said.

  "No," she said immediately. "Take a seat on the sofa and relax."

  Why? he thought about asking, but his weariness won and he slumped onto the sofa. He watched Maddie return and accepted the refilled wineglass as she sat beside him.

  "On a scale of one to ten, how terrified were you when you got the call yesterday?" she ventured.

  Still tense, Joshua rolled his shoulders. "Twenty."

  "And when Joshua Blackwell handles a crisis, he does it alone."

  He met her gaze. "It's the only way I know."

  "No hugs, no comfort, no sharing," she continued, sliding closer to him.

  He inhaled deeply, still waiting for the tight feeling in his chest to loosen. "I can't remember having any of that."

  She put her hand on his arm and rubbed her mouth on his cheek. "Then maybe it's time for you to make some new memories."

  She took his wineglass and reached across him to set it on the end table. She felt warm and smelled of a sweet, alluring perfume. "Maybe it's time for you to learn a new way," she said, and kissed him.

  His chest finally expanded, but other parts of his body tightened. Her mouth was sweet and ardent, her hands both soothing and seductive. He breathed deeply, wanting to inhale her, absorb her. Then, he sensed, all would be right. It wasn't that he couldn't survive without her, he told himself. It was that he didn't want to be without her.

  He felt her fingers unfasten the buttons of his shirt. "What are you doing to me, Maddie?"

  Her lips lifted in a she-cat smile. "It's a surprise." His gut twisted, and his pulse pounded in all his pleasure points. Before he could say anything else, she slid her hand over his chest and gave him a French kiss that sent his body temperature soaring.

  He thought about asking his question again, but what she was doing felt so damn good, he decided to hang on for the ride. She was moving more than his body. Joshua had never felt so cherished and turned on at the same time. He hadn't known it was possible.

  She lowered her mouth to his chest and her hand to his belt. As she skimmed her lips down his chest to his belly, he swelled beneath the very suggestion of her touch. In achingly slow movements, she unfastened his belt and lowered his zipper.

  When her hand slipped beneath his briefs to his hardness, he groaned. "Oh, Maddie," he muttered.

  She swirled her tongue around his belly button, then dipped it inside, and he groaned again. Her mouth was so warm and sweet he didn't want her to stop.

  Draped across his thighs, she stroked him intimately with her fingers, cupping him. He was hard, throbbing, ready to climb the walls from her teasing touch.

  She lowered her mouth still farther and paused. Joshua held his breath. Would she? A second passed and she took him into her mouth.

  "Ah, Maddie." Joshua clenched his eyes shut at the incredible pleasure. He felt the flick of her tongue over his swollen masculinity and began to swear under his breath.

  He gradually opened his eyes, and the sight of her with her lips caressing him intimately nearly sent him over the edge. Her hair whispered over his thighs and abdomen, and her hands stroked his skin. It was too erotic for words, but Maddie was doing more than making love to him, she was laying claim to his heart and mind.

  His resistance and doubt slid from his grip. She was tenderly taking him past the point of return. Perspiration beaded on the back of his neck. He wove his fingers through her hair as she pushed him further and further.

  He could barely breathe, and his entire body trembled from intense arousal. His heart was too full, the pleasure too much. Calling her name, he burst over the edge, falling, falling, until she caught him.

  Taking deep breaths, he drew her tightly against him. Every other breath, he swore, or said her name. She kissed his neck and cheek.

  Finally he collected himself enough to see straight, although he wouldn't have put money on being able to walk. He stared at her in the darkness. "You are incredible. Hell, what—" He shook his head and released a long breath. "What was that for?"

  She curled against him. "There are lots of different ways to handle a crisis. You're used to doing it one way, all alone. I wanted to show you another way." Lifting her head, she brushed her hand against his hair. "There are lots of ways to be together in a crisis when you're with someone you love."

  His heart swelled again in his chest and he kissed her. He wondered when he'd been more loved. He wondered when someone had given to him so unselfishly.

  "I love you," she whispered. "You need to know that." Her eyes darkened with emotion and she took a breath. "You need to know something else, too. I'm not a fifty-fifty kind of woman," she said, her voice stronger as she sat away from him. "Not the halfway kind, either. When it comes to love, I don't do fractions. I give all of me." Her gaze boldly met his. "And I want all of you."

  He watched in amazement as she stood. "Deal with it, Joshua. I love you."

  Still reeling from her lovemaking and her words, he watched her walk out the door. Out the door? Who did this woman think she was? He pulled himself together and rose none-too-steadily to his feet. His damn knees were still weak, but he ran to the porch and caught her as she rounded the side of his house to where she must have hidden her car.

  "Where in hell do you think you're going?" he demanded.

  She gave him a double take. "Home. I thought you might need a little rest."

  "After you rendered me nearly unable to walk?"

  She blinked. "Are you complaining?"

  "About you leaving, I am."

  She paused. "Oh," she said, searching his gaze. "Well, reality bites. I don't have an overnight babysitter tonight, so I need to go home."

  He took a deep breath and pulled her against him. "Maddie, you can't make love to me like that and just walk out."

  "I thought women had more of a problem with that than men."

  He shrugged. "I don't know about that. All I know is I want you to stay." He swallowed. "I want you to stay forever."

  Amazement shining in her eyes, she looked up at him. "Forever?"

  He twined his fingers through hers. "I want to put a ring on your finger and make promises that I will keep. I love you, Maddie, and I want to love you for the rest of my life."

  Then Maddie started crying and got his shirt wet, but Joshua didn't mind because he knew it was right. He would never spend a night without dreams or Maddie again.

  * * *

  Two months later they were married on her hill. It rained a little, but the sun came out and Maddie felt like that was pretty much what had happened throughout her life. It often rained, but the sun eventually came out. With Joshua, she finally felt as if she'd found a place where she fit. A place designed for her.

  Her heart was too full to contain it all, and he gently teased her as she struggled with her tears. But it was an incredible day. Her two best friends in the world were beside her. Her brother and Patrick, who was healing quickly, stood by Joshua. The surprise that tipped it over the edge for her, though, was her father escorting her to the outdoor altar and her mother's appearance.

  Without her knowledge, Joshua had visited her parents and helped them to see her in a different light. Now Davey would
know his grandparents.

  She made the vows and felt each one in her heart. When Joshua repeated his, she could see in his honest gray eyes that he would always love her. The wonder of it still took her breath.

  He held her tight and kissed her. Then, after pictures, they led the caravan to a lovely small inn for the reception.

  "Did you mind the rain?" she asked him.

  Joshua shook his head and grinned at her. "No, I've gotten so I kinda like the rain."

  "It wrecked my hair," she grumbled. "And I ripped the bottom of my dress when I got out of the car."

  He kissed her on the nose. "You look beautiful."

  "You look spotless," she accused.

  "Time to cut the cake," Ben said, with Patrick by his side. "Save the mushy stuff for later and feed us now."

  "It's always your stomach. You're so primitive," Maddie said.

  He shrugged. "It makes me easy to bribe."

  "He's got a point," Joshua said, walking with her to the table that displayed the three-tier devil's food cake with chocolate icing.

  Maddie sliced two pieces and smiled for the camera. Then, in keeping with tradition, Joshua served her a bite from his hand. She licked his fingers and grinned at his surprise.

  She took her turn and lifted the piece to his mouth. "Maddie," the photographer called. "Look this way."

  She swiveled her head, and her hand swerved. She heard a collective gasp and jerked back around. She'd rubbed the devil's food cake against Joshua's crisp, perfectly white tuxedo shirt.

  "Oops." She winced at him. "Is this when I say you looked a little too perfect, anyway?"

  He glanced down at his shirt and chuckled. "I thought you would at least wait until we got to our suite before you started eating things off me."

  Maddie threw him a look of mock censure. "You have a dirty mind."

  His gaze grew sensual and he drew her closer. "I learned from the best." The applause from the wedding guests faded from her consciousness as Joshua kissed her.

  * * *

  Later that night, after the toasts had been made and the rice had been thrown, Maddie sprayed herself with perfume and pulled on the negligee her friend Emily had given her. She glanced down at the golden band and diamond ring on her third finger. When he'd given her the diamond, Joshua had told her it was a star he'd pulled from the sky. She'd cried.

  Now she was married. To Joshua.

  Her heart squeezed tight, and she took a deep breath. She wanted tonight to be special. Jenna Jean was taking care of Davey, so Maddie could focus her undivided attention on her husband. She would tell him again how wonderful he was, and how much she loved him. Then she would show him.

  She glanced in the mirror and saw a happy, happy woman. She hoped she could help make him just as happy. Opening the door, she walked out of the bathroom into the lushly decorated suite. The only light came from the bathroom. Joshua had turned out the rest of them. She curled her toes into the plush carpet and turned to find him on the bed.

  She dropped her jaw at the sight of him. He was wearing nothing but a guitar. "Well, hello," she said, walking toward him. "What is this all about?"

  He looked amused, but resigned. "You once told me you always were a sucker for a guy and a guitar."

  She smiled. "So you bought a guitar?"

  "I felt like I had to. And I learned a song."

  Amazed, she put her hand to her chest and felt her eyes swell with tears. "For me? You learned a song for me."

  Joshua held up his hand. "Don't get too excited. It's just one song. One very simple song."

  "Play it! Play it!"

  "Okay," he said, and placed his fingers on the strings. With intense concentration he started to play, and despite the fact that it wasn't an electric guitar, Maddie could clearly make out the well-known three-chord melody of "Louie, Louie."

  She laughed and cried and threw her arms around him. Maddie Palmer Blackwell had gotten caught again. This time for good.

  * * * * *