Dangerous Grounds (18 page)

Eric wouldn’t be too pleased knowing that she was sleeping with his best friend. The reputation that had made Gabe a perfect candidate for a rebound would be the reason Eric would flip out if he knew about it. Besides, what right did she have to lay claim to Gabe, anyway? If she were honest with herself, she had none.

“Gabe is a family friend,” Madison heard herself say. “There’s no romance between us.”

Just sex. Maybe more, but neither of them was ready to acknowledge it.

“A friend,” Christy repeated with a nod. “Wonderful. Well, then, I think I’ll go back and see if I can make any more progress with that fascinating man. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck.” The two words had her stomach clenching.

She watched Christy disappear out of the restroom and wished she could hate her. Unfortunately, besides the somewhat annoying perkiness, the woman seemed overall a likeable person. If the circumstances had been different, Madison would have declared it an instant friendship.

Instead, she sat here hoping Gabe didn’t bail on her to get involved with the cute schoolteacher. She pushed a hand wearily through her hair.

When she came back to the table, Christy had moved full-throttle into flirting. Gabe smiled at whatever she said, and glanced up as Madison approached the table.

She averted her gaze, not wanting him to see any emotions that she might not yet have under control.

“We’re looking over the dessert menu, Madison.” Eric passed her one. “What do you want?”

Madison looked down at the menu. It all looked unappealing to her right now.

“I think I overdid it on bread,” she replied. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

“Oh, good.” Lannie grinned and patted her hand. “I hate being the lone one to forego the sugar. I can’t wait until I’m married and I can eat all unhealthy again.”

The waiter reappeared to take their order. After Eric had ordered a simple bowl of ice cream, the waiter turned to Christy.

“We’re going to share the tiramisu.” She gestured toward Gabe.

Madison’s stomach knotted further and a bitter taste filled her mouth.

The waiter nodded. “Would you like an extra plate with that?”

“No, that’s all right.” She looked at Gabe and her smile widened.

“Maybe an extra fork,” Gabe inserted.

Well, at least he’d asked for an extra fork. Why had she imagined that Gabe would actually discourage Christy’s flirting? She knew his track record. Gabe went through women like she went through shoes. Madison glanced at the watch on her wrist. How much longer did she have to put up with this?

Though she tried not to watch while the two ate off the same plate, her gaze drifted over of its own accord.

The lousy piece of crap. Her hands clenched under the table as she vowed that there was no way she would stay another day on the island with him. He could come back to Seattle and bring Christy back to his house for some real education. She didn’t give a damn so long as she didn’t have to watch it.

“I’ve got it, Gabe,” Eric said. “I’m paying for everyone’s dinner.”

Madison looked up to see that the dessert plates had been cleared and Gabe and her brother were arguing over the bill.

“Better let him get it, Gabe.” She gave a brief smile. “After all, like teachers, cops don’t make that much money.”

Her cheeks burned with shame. Oh, Lord, why had she said that? Why? How utterly bitchy of her. Everyone’s blunt stares seemed to agree with her inner consensus.

“And I suppose the espresso business does so much better,” Gabe replied, his tone soft and cold.

He wanted to fight? Well bring it on. “Well, gee.” She sighed. “I’m sure it would, if you’d let me open my shop for business.”

“Madison?” Eric gave her a reproachful glance. “Why are you coming down so hard on Gabe? He’s doing me a favor by watching over you. Any advice or decisions he’s making are for your own safety.”

Of course, she seethed. How could she have forgotten she was a favor for Eric? This was so unlike her, though. It was rare that she let her emotions get this out of hand, and never was she so foolish as to let anyone see when it happened. She took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down.

“You’re right, Eric,” she forced herself to say in an agreeable tone. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m getting a bit of a migraine, and it makes me short-tempered.”

“Then we should head out,” Gabe insisted, standing. “We have a long drive ahead of us.”

Madison wanted to tell him she would just stay here, but all her luggage was up on Whidbey. She rose from her seat and grabbed her purse. “Thank you for dinner, Eric.”

“Don’t forget the rehearsal dinner is in two weeks,” Lannie mentioned quickly. “I hope you feel better, Madison.”

Eric leaned forward to shake hands with Gabe.

“Thanks for everything, Gabe.” He’d spoken the words low, but Madison could still hear him. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it—she must be having a bad day.”

Gabe said something in response, but this time she couldn’t hear.

Christy looked flustered as she watched them get ready to leave. She touched Gabe’s jacket and leaned forward to whisper something into his ear. She wasn’t quite as inconspicuous when she slipped him a scrap of paper.

Ugh! Having seen enough, Madison turned on her heel and walked away from the restaurant to the elevator. She jammed the button for the parking garage, hoping that she’d left quickly enough that she wouldn’t have to share the elevator with Gabe.

But luck wasn’t on her side. He walked up and stood next to her.

“Did you have a nice dinner, Maddie?”

Her jaw clenched. “Lovely. And you?”

“It was very nice.”

The doors to the elevator slid open and they both stepped inside, waiting quietly for a moment.

The doors slid shut and the pleasantries disappeared.

“Are you going to explain your temper tantrum back at the table?” Gabe turned to look at her with cold eyes.

“I have a headache.” Madison looked away, completely in control of her emotions again.

“Right, the headache excuse,” he replied with a slight edge. “You seem like the type to use it.”

Her teeth snapped together, the control slipping, but she forced her lips into a smile. “What can I say? It can be very useful.”

“Ah…maybe that’s why Bradley dumped you.”

“Oh, you did not just say that.” Madison’s head whipped around to face him, but he had already stridden through the doors that had just opened.

She reached the car a moment after him and climbed into the passenger seat, belting herself in with more force than necessary. The control she’d regained disappeared once again.

“Don’t presume that you know me or anything about me.” Her blood boiled, and it was a miracle her voice didn’t shake since her hands were so badly.

“I wouldn’t have to presume if you’d just calm down and talk to me about it.” He turned to glare at her. “I want to know why you freaked out at dinner.”

“I didn’t freak out,” she snapped. “I was just fine, considering I had to watch you mentally undress Christy all night.”

Damn! That thought wasn’t supposed to have left her head. Madison closed her eyes and didn’t bother looking at Gabe. It was just what he’d wanted her to say and they both knew it.

“You’re the one who made the rules tonight, Maddie.” All of a sudden he sounded weary. “You told me to act like you didn’t exist. What was I supposed to do? Eric knows me inside and out. He knows that I wouldn’t brush off such blatant flirting.”

“You didn’t have to flirt back.”

“Didn’t I?” He glanced at her. “Didn’t I, Maddie? Be honest with yourself for once. If I hadn’t flirted back, Eric would have known something was up. Would you have been prepared to deal with his suspicions?”

Be honest with yourself.
Her stomach twisted. “No. I wouldn’t have wanted to deal with that.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to draw attention to what we’ve got going on between us. That’s personal.”

He nodded. “Understandable.”

She looked away and said in a quiet voice, “But I didn’t like seeing you getting pawed by some other woman, either.”

He stayed silent for a moment. His hand covered hers and she jumped, startled at the contact. Her gaze crept over to look at him.

He watched her with a gentle expression. “Did it kill you to admit that?”

“Just about,” she whispered. But it was also a relief to have admitted it. It was so tiring trying to pretend he didn’t affect her, that she didn’t mind if he flirted with other women.

Her shoulders crumpled and she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Gabe. I’m behaving like a spoiled kid.”

His hand squeezed hers. “Well, I’m sorry I hurt you. And I want you to know I’m not interested in Christy in the slightest.”

Madison glanced down at their hands, relief flooding through her. “Really? Not even a little? It would be understandable if you were. I mean, she’s pretty and sweet. She even speaks Spanish.”

“Quit trying to sell me on her attributes or I’m going to think you’re her pimp, Maddie,” he teased. “I’m not going to deny that she’s pretty. But there’s just one woman on my mind right now.”

“Angelina Jolie?” She grinned, mostly because her stomach turned all fluttery and warm.

“Well, you are both brunettes.” They stopped at a traffic light and he leaned over to brush his lips over hers. “But I think you’re still in the lead.”

Chapter Seventeen

Madison opened her mouth under his, reveling in the invasion of his tongue. The sound of a horn had them pulling apart with reluctance.

Gabe hit the gas and sped through the light just as the skies opened up in a torrent of rain. By the time they reached the ferry, the wind had started and it grew obvious they were in for a storm.

“It’s amazing how fast the weather changed,” Gabe said once they were parked on the lower level of the ferry. “Do you want to go upstairs?”

She nodded. “I’ve been in the car for too long. I wouldn’t mind getting some air.”

They left the car and went upstairs, wandering around the passenger deck before deciding to brave going outside.

Madison winced as the cold rain slapped against her cheeks, but the refreshing air made it worth it.

“You can go inside if you want,” she yelled above the wind. “I don’t mind staying out here by myself.”

“I promised I’d protect you,” he called back with a grin and drew her body against him. “Just because it happens to be from the weather makes no difference.”

She snuggled into him, feeling safe and warm with her back pressed against his solid chest. He wrapped the edges of his trench coat around them. It didn’t completely encompass her, but it protected her from the brunt of the storm.

They stayed outside the entire ride, with the rain and wind pounding at their faces and a warm heat radiating between their bodies.

When they went back to the car, Madison missed the loss of warmth from Gabe’s body, even with the heater on full blast. But the eventual combination of a warm car and the rain outside lulled her into a light sleep.

Gabe glanced over at Madison’s sleeping form and a surge of tenderness swelled through him, followed by a growing possessiveness.

He turned his focus back to the road. Tomorrow they should talk. It was time. Despite neither of them having wanted things to get complicated, somewhere along the line they had.

Gabe squinted at the dark road ahead of him. Since it was late and the road was deserted, he flipped on his high-beams. A few seconds later a deer, not even a hundred feet ahead of him, was illuminated in his lights.

He hit the brakes and waited for the deer to move off the road. Madison stirred, but didn’t open her eyes.

“Are we there already?” she mumbled.

“Not yet. You can go back to sleep.”

“’kay.”

A few minutes later she started snoring again as he maneuvered down the wet road.

By the time he pulled up in front of the cabin, the wind had reached its highest peak of the night so far.

Gabe climbed out and ran around to Madison’s door, pulling it open and helping her out as she struggled to wake up.

The trees bent in the wind and the blowing rain hit almost painfully against their skin as they ran inside.

Gabe shut the door behind her and turned to hit the light switch. Nothing happened.

“Did we lose power?” she asked, still groggy.

“Looks like it.” He nodded. “I’ve got a flashlight in my car—I’ll be right back.”

Madison watched as he disappeared out into the storm, and she glanced into the dark house. She shivered again, but not only because of the cold. Being alone in a cabin without power was kind of creepy. Hell, she’d seen enough horror movies to be scared. She relaxed when he returned a moment later with a flashlight that was three times as big as any she’d ever used.

“That must take a lot of batteries,” she said as he flicked it on and shut the front door behind him.

“I rarely use it, so it’s all right.” He took her hand and led her through the dark room.

Good thing he led, because she couldn’t see much. “Should we just call it a night and go to bed?”

“I have a better idea,” he suggested. “I was thinking we could pull the blankets off the bed and sleep in the living room. I’ll get a fire going in the fireplace.”

Warmth flooded through her at his suggestion. How absolutely romantic. “You’re right, that is a better idea.”

“I thought you’d like it. Sit down for a moment and I’ll grab the blankets.”

Madison reached down, feeling the couch and sinking onto it. He left her alone again, but she didn’t mind as much because she’d already started to visualize the heat of their upcoming fire.

When he returned, he handed her the comforter, a furry blanket, and two pillows.

“All right, I’ll leave you these to make our bed on the floor and I’ll go get some wood from the shed.”

He handed her the flashlight, but she shook her head.

“You’re going to need it more than I am, Gabe. It’s pitch black out there.”

“It’s pitch black in here,” he pointed out. “And I’ve been here many times, so I know where I’m going. And there’s still a little bit of moonlight.”