Chapter 31

 

At Chase’s statement, all thought of painting over the vandalized walls fled from her mind. He was right. This would be their last night alone, at least for a while.

“I’m not saying let’s ignore the damage,” Chase said. “But for now, let’s put it aside. Let’s do something to make tonight special.” Delicately he rubbed his hands along her arms.

Maddie shivered beneath his touch. How had she lived so long without it? “Yes. What do you have in mind?” Her heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears. Their last night already. It didn’t seem right.

He snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it. There’s only one problem; I need to drive to town.” She groaned loudly and he laughed. “I promise I won’t be gone long.”

“What should I be doing while you’re gone?”

“Hmm, why don’t you take a hot bubble bath, dress in your fanciest dress, sweep up your hair, and wait on me?”

Anticipation heated her cheeks. “Okay.”

Maddie almost jumped up and down like a bunny as Chase raced out the door, only stopping once to blow her a kiss. A bunny? She groaned again. Had she actually thought that?

Upstairs, she flung her closet door open and glanced at her gown choices. Grandma’s attic had rejuvenated her wardrobe and she had two gowns from that source that she hadn’t worn yet. So which should it be, the pale peach or the emerald green? Which should she wear? The peach hit right above her ankles; the emerald stopped above the knees in multiple layers of tulle and glitter.

The full-length mirror hanging to her left reflected her bright jade eyes, making her decision for her. She laid the emerald gown on the bed. Next she shuffled through the closet’s bottom for the matching shoes, and giggled again at how little fashions had changed through the decades; her mother’s old shoes fit her just fine and looked like the latest fad. When everything was picked, she grabbed underthings and raced to the bathroom.

She tapped her toes as the hot water ran into the tub, making a cascade of foamy bubbles. Chase had the best ideas.

****

Out of sorts, Dougal had left the lair. The constant aggravation of Gregory and Serena’s pitchy whining had irritated his headache to a new level, and all he wanted was to feel the clean, cool wind in his face. Soaring through the night sky, finally finding release, he’d decided to check in on Maddie. By then she should have arrived at the farmhouse and found his handiwork.

Now, hanging outside the window and peering through, he watched with envious eyes. This was not what was supposed to happen. He had vandalized the walls to get her attention. If she had called the police, or took time to figure out the Irish word for key, eochair, then she would have run out of the house, away from her defender and the druid’s protective spells, and been exposed. He could’ve taken her. He would’ve swooped in and rescued her, flying far away from everything and keeping her all to himself. But instead she was planning a private tête-à-tête with Chase!

His blood ran hot as Chase ran from the house and climbed into the truck. The boy was whistling! Whistling! How could that be? Dougal had desecrated Maddie’s domicile, her sanctuary. Yet her defender acted as if nothing had occurred. It was outrageous.

And he’d been suitably outraged, until Maddie started running her bathwater. Then Dougal allowed himself to forget Chase as he peered through Maddie’s window. He had never seen a more beautiful, rarer gem than her. A long, slender leg arose from the bubbles, glistening with foam, and she ran a razor along her heart-shaped calf. She hummed to herself, as relaxed and as comfortable as he’d ever seen her, even counting the time before her parents’ passing.

She removed herself from the tub, wrapped a towel around her hair and another around her middle. After toweling, her hair fell to her waist in damp ringlets and she used the blow dryer, her head held sideways and her locks hanging free. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she entered her room and shrugged into the knee-length, old-fashioned, gorgeous green gown. He leaned forward, ready at any moment to burst into the house and whisk her away, if he could force himself past the druid’s protections. In time he would convince her they were right for each other. If she wasn’t the real one he sought, then perhaps she could be.

Dougal held himself poised with every muscle tense. But a motor revved and he shifted his focus. In the driveway out front, Chase’s truck shuddered to a halt. The engine died. The annoying boy had returned, hasty footsteps crunching across the front lawn, and Dougal ground his teeth, claws digging into the tree branch.

The front door slammed and Maddie quickly drew herself to attention. Dougal could sense her increased pulse, see her flashing, excited eyes. It burned in his soul. She tilted her head to the side, as if she’d heard the steps across the entry, and rushed to the head of the stairs, Dougal flying from branch to branch, looking in window after window, to follow her path. But before she reached the bottom step, Chase yelled, “Can you go back upstairs for just a few minutes?”

She pouted as she turned on her heel and stomped upstairs, into her room, and flung herself across the bed. She pulled out a sketchbook and Dougal wished he could fly closer and study the pictures. But he dared not. If she’d glanced outside at any time while coming downstairs… but she hadn’t. She’d been totally engrossed in that despicable boy.

No matter how much he desperately wanted to know what Chase was doing, he couldn’t take his eyes off Maddie long enough to check. She swung her legs back and forth like a little girl, flipping through the pages of her book and sucking on her lip. All Dougal could do was stare at that lip, those legs, that hair. She was so beautiful.

Chase finally called, and she jumped up and ran down the stairs. Soon she was in Draoi’s living room, twirling around in graceful circles, her gown’s skirts flaring and rippling. Chase had lit the entire room with candles. The shiny green silk of her gown clung to her upper body as she moved into Chase’s arms for an embrace.

Serena had goaded him into wooing Maddie in the beginning, but to what end? So he could be frustrated, no doubt. He would never have her, just like he never had Marissa, and Gregory would never have Mairin.

Dougal shuddered as the cold wind whipped around him, stinging his flesh even through his fur. He was in an agony of yearning and desire. Maddie’s scent wafted through his nostrils, causing him added misery.

His body ached from the tussle with Gregory, his head hurt from the confusing thoughts of Maddie, and nothing could ever cure his aching heart. Nothing seemed to be going as he’d hoped. Gregory, the Ancient One, was an excellent warrior, but Cahal would surely kill him as soon as he was released. One couldn’t imprison a gryphon leader and not expect retribution.

Dougal left those thoughts behind and concentrated on Maddie. What was Chase doing now?

****

Maddie gasped, the spectacle in front of her taking her completely by surprise. The electric lights were out and candles lit the entire room. “Unchained Melody” came through the stereo speakers, Bobby Hatfield’s smoky countertenor turning the opening into pure soul.

And there… a silhouette walking toward her, backlit by tiny flickering flames. He wore a suit, she saw when he came closer, and carried one white rose. She took it from him, smelling its sweet scent. He reached down and clasped her other hand in his, lifting and kissing it. “May I have this dance?”

She could only nod as he enfolded her in an embrace. They glided around the room, holding one another tightly, the dethorned white rose between their clasped hands. Light from the fireplace flickered along the walls. The song changed to “When a Man Loves a Woman” and they continued to dance. The electric shock that happened when they touched ran rampant along her nerve endings.

Chase stepped in closer and leaned down, kissing her gently. When the song finished, he took her by the hand and led her to the table, set with candles and a single slice of chocolate-covered cheesecake with two forks. He helped her into her chair and scooted it closer to the table before taking his own seat.

“Maddie?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

Her eyes flooded with tears. “Chase…”

“You don’t have to reciprocate. It’s okay if you think it’s too soon. I just refuse to go another day without telling you how I feel.”

She drew a ragged breath, feeling the surrender in every inch of her bones. “Chase, let me speak.”

He nodded.

“I love you, too.”

His face split in a huge grin. “I’m glad to hear it. I must say I was starting to get a little worried.”

She stood up, walked around to where he sat, and settled on his lap. She leaned forward until their foreheads touched.

He said, “I have something to give you.”

“Chase! You’ve already made this day more special then I could’ve imagined. What more could you possibly give me?”

He opened his hand. Nestled in his palm was a small black velvet box. Her mouth opened and she covered it with her palm. “Chase,” Maddie whispered, breathlessly.

He removed her from his lap and swung her into his chair. Down on one knee, he opened the box. The ring caught the light and reflected it around the room in a thousand tiny rainbows. “Please hear me out. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you promise to be mine?”

Before reality could interfere, she heard her own voice say, “Yes!”

Chase held her around the middle and slung her in a circle, her feet flying off the ground. The world spun around her. She shrieked with joy — how many times, in the preceding weeks, had she screamed with terror? — and held on for dear life. He set her down and grabbed her hands, supporting her when she wobbled. “Sorry. I’m not asking for full-blown marriage, because my parents would have a fit if I didn’t finish school.”

“Of course we have to finish school.”

“So I’m just asking for a promise. A promise that we’ll get through this and see what we have for each other on the other side. But I’m sure eventually we’ll be making marriage plans. In fact, it might even be this summer. We could attend the community college. I could get a job.” He must have noticed her frown. “What’s wrong?”

Fears and doubts nagged at her mind. She deserved happiness like everyone else, right? Maybe it was all moving too fast. A promise to continue their relationship was one thing, but agreeing to marriage while they were in the middle of a crisis was another. What if he just liked her because she was a damsel in distress? What if they had nothing in common? What about the issue with Doran and Alasdair? There were secrets between them. What if they couldn’t overcome those secrets? “Chase, there’s so much about me you don’t know.”

“Before you go down that road, I’ve got one more thing to show you.”

“Chase!” she said, exasperated.

His grin never wavered. “Just bear with me.”

He took her to the newly repaired front porch and sat her on the swing, disappearing back inside. Through the curtained window, she could see candles winking out. When he returned, she started to stand but he held his hand up, palm out, for her to wait, and draped a shawl over her shoulders before withdrawing around the side of the house. When he returned, she couldn’t have been more shocked. In his hands were a pair of leather reins, and trailing sweetly behind him was Gray Beauty.