Dear Diary, I love to hear his voice!
In the interest of heart-preservation, Maddie had made sure Zach knew theirs was nothing more than a simple affair. Hot and heavy though it might be, it could end at any minute—of that she was sure. She disregarded her tightening chest and the thought that one day soon, the time would come when she would no longer smell Zach’s scent on her pillows, enjoy the press of his body against hers.
No longer delight in his kisses.
Maddie hadn’t fooled herself into thinking this was anything lasting. She had her eyes open and her brain switched on. When Zach was ready to end it, she would wave him off and cherish the memories from their time together.
But it wasn’t over yet, and she had several bags of sexy new underwear to try out on him.
Rain pelted down on her car as she pulled onto the wet driveway in front of her house, pressed the button on the remote control to open her garage, and drove her SLK out of the summer storm, which had begun late afternoon. She cut the engine just as thunder rolled—deep and growly—letting her know the storm wasn’t going anywhere soon.
Her mobile jingled, startling her, and she hunted in her bag for the sparkly pink-covered object. Several items flew out of her tote in the process. Clasping the mobile, she pulled it out. A glance at caller ID put a smile on her face.
“Hi, Zach.” One-handed, she scooped up the things she’d pulled out while searching for the phone, and placed them back into her oversized coral tote.
“Hi, gorgeous, I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
Her stomach dipped. She paused with her slim line diary and a lipstick in her hand on its way to her tote. Were she and Zach moving too fast?
“Um ... I’ve been thinking about you, too.” Her phone beeped a low battery warning.
“Really? What were you thinking?” She heard the smile in his voice. Pictured the wicked twinkle in his blue eyes, and found herself relaxing despite the heavy rainstorm threatening her peace of mind.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Tease.” His light chuckle warmed all her chilly places. “I called to warn you that I got stuck in a meeting in Colchester and won’t make it back home until late ... very late. Can I still come over?”
Almost two hours away. It was going to be ages before she saw him. “Let me think.”
“Maddison.”
She laughed, loving the joviality between them. “Of course. What time do you guess you’d be here?”
“I’m not sure. Just a sec, Mad.” His voice came again, but the distance told Maddie he’d taken the phone from his ear, that he was speaking to someone else. “No ... no ...” Because of his phone’s ability to cut out background noise, Maddie couldn’t hear much beyond Zach’s low sexy rumble. “Hey, Mad?” His voice came again clear into her ear.
“I’m still here.”
“Sorry about that. I’ll be there as soon as I get this thing wrapped.” He dropped his voice to just above a whisper, what she decided was his bedroom voice. “I’ll call you back in a few minutes to finish that conversation.”
“I thought you were in a meeting?”
It’d been a week since the change in their relationship. One week and each day she waited for it to be over.
He chuckled that bone-melting chuckle of his. “I’ll call you back.”
Another rumble of thunder cracked loud, and a lightning flash electrified the atmosphere.
She shuddered. Zach phoning again would keep her occupied and stop her from fixating on the high winds and cold rain, the thunder and lightning.
“Sure. See you later.” She ended the call, dropped her phone back amongst the paraphernalia in her tote.
Squashing an eerie sense of unease, she grabbed the pink Victoria’s Secret shopping bags from the front passenger seat and stepped out of her car.
A sound, something like a rustle caught her attention. She glanced over her shoulder, checking her driveway through the open garage door.
Summer storms always spooked her.
The only intruder on her property was the huge raindrops pouring onto her driveway. Strangely, her security lights hadn’t come on yet. Since they were set to activate when daylight changed to dusk, as well as with any movement outside her house, they should have been on long before now. Maddie exhaled mild exasperation. Her entire lighting system had decided to play up just lately. Making a mental note to get the circuit breaker looked at this week, she closed the car door.
The storm had created early dusk, formed cold shadows and gloom guaranteed to spook most people. Like Maddie, who, from age five had been convinced there was a lightning bolt somewhere out there waiting to get her.
She shrugged off the disquiet. She wouldn’t think about the storm. She’d think of Zach. But not the future. Only how much she’d savour every moment she had with him while their relationship lasted.
He’d come over tonight, and she would meet him at the door, wearing nothing but her new flirty flyaway front babydoll and pretty matching thong. Maddie smiled, turned to press the button to close the garage.
Something moved, startled her, and this time Maddie was in no doubt that another person was in the garage.
A bulky figure descended on her.
The scream lodged in her throat, came out on a strangled gasp.
~*~
VOICEMAIL AGAIN.
Zach cut the call without leaving a message. He’d left two already. This was the fourth time he’d rung Maddie. She wasn’t answering her mobile or her landline, and he was starting to worry.
She didn’t like storms, had a thing about lightning, so perhaps the storm was the reason she wasn’t picking up. But she’d answered him half an hour ago, so that couldn’t be it.
A concrete fist of concern balled in his gut.
He’d try again, and if she still didn’t answer, he’d end the meeting and head home. A grey haze settled on him. What if something had happened to her since they last spoke?
~*~
“STOP SCREAMING, it’s me.”
Maddie’s entire body vibrated with a mixture of terror and relief. She squinted into the gloom.
“Larry?”
“Yeah.” He stepped closer. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“What are you doing here? I was getting ready to beat you with my bag.”
He eyed her weapon of choice like a man who knew the hazard of a woman’s handbag.
“I’m glad you changed your mind. I came because you said you were having problems with your dimmer switches. ”
She had two dimmers, which had started to malfunction a few days ago. She’d mentioned this to Larry. Since he was an electrician by trade, she’d asked his opinion. Maddie hadn’t expected him to show up unannounced to fix them.
“And you came to fix them now?”
“I wasn’t doing much else.” He shrugged his meaty shoulders. “So...”
What about what she was doing?
“But it’s dark. You can’t see a thing at this hour, and you’d need to cut the circuit breaker.”
“No problem. I’ll have plenty of light from my generator.”
Whether it was the fright he gave her by sneaking up on her, or the storm, Maddie wasn’t sure, but this was a bit creepy.
“Larry, I appreciate you coming out here to fix my dimmers, but now isn’t convenient for me.”
He glanced at the paper carrier bags dangling from her fingers. Most people knew what the V.S. Logo stood for.
“Nice.” From Larry’s lascivious grin, and his eyebrow-waggle, he must’ve guessed what the shopping bags contained. He stepped a little closer. Soaked through, his black T-shirt plastered to his chunky body beneath his opened summer coat, and his jeans looked uncomfortable and heavy with rainwater.
Maddie’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. She stepped back. Thunder rumbled, snapped like an almighty whip that unleashed a series of lightning shots across the sky, giving Larry a sinister edge in the intermittent light.
“Perhaps you can look at the faulty switches another time. I really need to get on.” She tilted her head in the direction of the door leading from her garage into her house. “Good night, Larry.”
“Sure you don’t want me to stay and give a male opinion on your lingerie?” He took another step toward her.
She pushed the bags behind her, stepped back. Her heart had returned to her chest, but it drummed hard enough to wear out.
“I already have that part covered.”
“So you have a boyfriend.”
Why was that so shocking to the men she worked with?
“I wouldn’t call him a boy, but yes, there’s a man in my life.”
“Lucky man. Who is he?”
“Just a guy.” She didn’t feel comfortable mentioning Zach to Larry. “I’ll tell him you think he’s lucky.”
“You do that. And let him know I’ll be keeping an eye on things in case he hurts you, and I have to have a word with him.”
Had the storm opened a portal in her garage, and she stepped out of her car into Crazy Ville? She knew Larry was a little intense in his approach sometimes, but he was unnerving her. Now she thought of it, she hadn’t heard his van.
But more importantly.
“How did you get into Delaware Gardens?”
He tossed a casual glance behind him. “You gave me the code, remember?”
She didn’t recollect that.
“The time I dropped off the plants for you,” Larry continued.
That was months ago, and she was sure she’d cancelled his access code soon after. Unfortunately, she wasn’t completely sure. Either way, she’d have to rectify the oversight ASAP.
“Where’s your van?”
“Around the corner.”
“Okay, then.” She edged away. “Have a good night.”
“I don’t think you need me to tell you to have the same.” His laugh bounced off the garage walls in a hollow replica of mirth. Then he turned, and just as Maddie breathed out the apprehensive breath she’d been holding, he swivelled, shoved his hand into his hip pocket. “I almost forgot.”
He pulled out his fist.
Maddie gasped. Even in the dull light, she recognised her silky lace, red and black thong. The underwear that had been sitting in her drawer this morning. Only now, they were wet and crushed in Larry’s massive hand.
“I think these are yours.”
~*~
ZACH PULLED onto Maddie’s driveway. Her car was absent, but that wasn’t unusual. She would have put it away and entered the house through the garage, so he wouldn’t have expected to see her car. He did expect to notice lights behind her curtains, though.
There were none.
The concrete fist that had landed in his gut when Maddie hadn’t answered her phones punched his insides. Her house echoed eerie silence.
No music.
No tele.
Not even her security lights came on when he drove onto her property.
Trying to keep a lid on his unease, he got out of his car. Rain showered him on his way to Maddie’s front door.
He knocked.
No answer.
He tried the door, relieved Maddie hadn’t left it unlocked, yet concerned she wasn’t at home. His next option was to check the back door. Maddie often forgot to lock it and nagging her about the fact got him nowhere.
Zach didn’t know which he was most—disappointed or relieved that Maddie had left her patio door unlocked. He slid open the door and stepped inside. Cold silence greeted him. He closed it behind him, and the sound echoed.
He flicked the closest light switch.
Nothing.
He moved through the house as his night vision adjusted to the gloom, his steps sounding disturbingly heavy on the wood floor.
“Maddie?”
No answer. His sense of trepidation grew. He continued through the house, checking rooms as he passed and finding them empty. He opened the hall door leading to her garage, peeked inside.
Maddie’s car was there.
Eased by the sight, he shut the door and headed upstairs. Her car was at home, she had to be also.
“Maddie?”
Still no answer.
He headed to her room.
“Mad, are you in here?”
He pushed open Maddie’s bedroom door. Lightning flashed and he got the breath knocked out of him. Curled up in the middle of her bed, a throw pulled over half of her body, Maddie lay fast asleep. Her hair clipped up in a loose knot on top her head told him she’d taken a bath—which might’ve been the reason she hadn’t answered his calls—the scent of extinguished candles and fresh floral bath products coming from her en suite confirmed it.
She’d fallen asleep waiting for him. The knowledge warmed him. Although he was relieved to find Maddie safe, his chest hurt. Like he’d taken a punch to the heart.
Vulnerable in her sleep, she made him want to wrap her in his arms and protect her. Zach kicked off his shoes, headed toward Maddie’s bed. His damp dress shirt clung to him, reminding him he was drenched in rainwater. He stripped off on his way. He tossed his shirt aside, unsnapped his trousers, and stepped out of them, then pulled off his socks. He kept his boxer briefs. He didn’t want Maddie to think all he wanted from her was sex.
What did he want?
Zach wasn’t sure. But he knew Maddie deserved more. Even if he weren’t the man to give it to her, he would at least treat her with care. Each lightning flash lit her form enough to allow him to see the top part of her body. Above the throw, she wore a lilac chiffon garment. As he closed in, she turned onto her back. The throw slipped and he saw the ‘garment’ was actually lingerie. One of those sexy babydoll get-ups that possessed the ability to drain all the blood from a man’s brain and settle it south of his belt.
He slipped onto the bed, leaned over Maddie.
She didn’t stir.
“Maddie?” He brushed his lips on hers. He should let her sleep, and he would have if he were a stronger man. A man able to resist this woman.
She stirred, moaned softly. Her drowsy green eyes fluttered open, and a smile tipped her mouth.
“Zach.” She placed a soft palm on his jaw, offered him a sleepy smile. “You came home.”
His gut clenched.
Home.
His heart pinched.
What was the matter with him?
To stop himself from agreeing, he kissed her. This time, until she was wide-awake and clinging to him.
“What happened to the lights, sweetheart?”
Maddie stretched. Her body brushed his, sending oh, yeah! messages to the blood-filled part of his body.
“A couple of my dimmer switches are malfunctioning, and the whole lighting system seems to have gone on the fritz. I think I might have a problem with the circuit breaker.” She glided her hands up his chest, lighting a fire under his skin on her way to loop them around his neck. She pressed a kiss to his jaw. “I’ll have someone look at it.”
He traced his hand down the tiny transparent nightie. “Is this for me?”
“Do you like it?”
“Oh, yeah!” When his hand encountered the minuscule scrap of panty, his breath snagged and Zach ... well ... he lost the ability to think.