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Evie had every intention of going home as she drove down the highway, but the road to hell was paved with good intentions as her grandma used to say. Rosamund Pennyworth always had wise words or some backwoods anecdote for every situation in life, most of which were now so etched in Evie's mind they sprang up on their own at the most inopportune times.
Bat out of Hell. Running like the devil is on your heels. What you run from runs to you. Always keep a penny between your knees when kissing a man.
Evie's insides swarmed with frissons and tingles of heat. It would be effortless to drop that penny and your panties for Maddox. His mouth. His tongue. Both so hot and insistent when they tangled with hers that all of her girl parts stood up and paid homage as they heeled to his mad skills.
Heat washed through her tummy and headed south through her womanhood as she drove toward home. Months of dancing around a fire foreplay had just culminated and combusted back there, leaving their hands off relationship in a wreck. Pandora's Box had been cracked open, and all her anxieties and hidden horniness were now loose.
She knew this day would come. She could only dance around and avoid a man like Maddox for so long. He was way too resolute, and unwavering to all her moth-to-flame prancing around. Everything about him was opposite to her normal choice in men, easy to manage and contain because their lives were more a mess than hers. They made distraction effortless.
She closed and opened her eyes with a groan and then a scream as a streak of fur whizzed by her fender, and the biggest set of paralyzed eyes loomed large into her windshield. She hit the brakes and gripped the steering wheel as a jarring crunch walloped her front end.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" She braced as her truck careened off the road and skidded through the gravel into a ditch. A kaleidoscope of colors squeezed and exploded behind her eyelids until her truck rocked to a halt. Her body vibrated between the seatbelt and the seat as a rush of bile stormed into her throat. She peeled her eyes open and stared blankly at the dark tree forms ahead of her. Swallowing down the bile that threatened to erupt, she inhaled rapid breaths while trying to focus.
Don't just sit there. Get out of the truck, a voice advised from within.
Pain shot through her hands and up to her forearms and her shoulders as she unfurled her fingers from around her cell phone and steering wheel. She didn't dare turn her head, terrified at the prospect of more pain. She moaned and squeezed her eyes closed before she eased the door open and swung her legs over the seat. Still clutching the cell phone like a lifeline, she attempted to stand up.
"Ohhhh, Gawwwd!" A tsunami of tears washed through her lids as she doubled over at the sight of the large, twitching form on the other side of the highway. Unable to focus, she turned over her cell phone and jabbed randomly at the cracked screen with shaking fingers.
"Evie?"
Tears of relief flooded her cheeks, and she grabbed the door at the sound of Maddox's deep, masculine voice.
"Jason—thank God," her voice shook through a flood of fresh tears. "I need a rifle... on the highway... to put it down I killed it." The words came out jumbled and tangled, not making much sense.
"What? I told you I'd take care of that asshole."
"No, for the deer," she choked, "It's dead! I killed it."
"What? Where are you?"
"On the highway," she clapped a hand over her mouth as the deer violently twitched. "It's still moving." She turned and threw up on the road.
"Evie, where are you exactly?"
"Route 8. Near Dunkies. Can you please hurry." She inhaled and panted.
"Stay right there." The line cut out.
She curled herself back into the truck and rested her head on the steering wheel, rocking back and forth for comfort. She glanced at the deer again then squeezed her eyes closed, forcing her mind to put her anywhere else but here. She continued to rock until she became weightless. Her heart exploded when a rifle blast echoed and repeated, jarring every muscle in her body. Her eyes flew open, and she shrieked when the driver side door swung wide.
She stared at Maddox when he leaned down to her. "Jesus Christ, are you okay? You weren't answering your phone."
"Is it ... dead?" She looked at the rifle in his hands.
"Yes." He shouldered the weapon before he reached inside the cabin and gently pulled her out.
Fresh tears flooded her cheeks as she melted into his strong arms. "I've lived here all my life and never had this happen."
He enclosed her against his chest, his arms sturdy around her. "I got you."
Evie closed her eyes and exhaled. Safe. Now she was safe. She sagged against Maddox's strong shoulder.
"Top, open the back."
She jumped to see two men from Maddox's team, Atkins and Santos, hoisting the deer toward Maddox's truck.
"Don't look." Maddox moved sideways and tucked her into his body. "The boys'll take care of it." He moved her to the front end of her truck.
"What'll they do with it?" She strained to look around his big shoulder.
He opened the passenger side door and eased her into the seat and buckled her in. "Just sit tight."
"But—"
He kissed her forehead and closed the door. She swallowed a lump of heat in her throat as she watched him walked around the front of the truck.
"She want the antlers?" Santos waved from across the street.
"No." Maddox looked at her through the windshield.
She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs.
"Let's get you home." Maddox slid into the driver's seat.
She inhaled and looked at him, his face shimmering before more tears spilled out from her eyes. "Tha—thank you."
He leaned over and put a reassuring hand on her cheek and neck. "I told you I have your six." He gave her a half smile and a wink before starting the engine.
*****
The drive to Evie's house consisted of a blur of dark trees, shadows of barns, and dimly lit fields until they came upon the dirt road that led to her gravel laneway.
"I'm just up here," she pointed with her chin toward the turnoff.
"I know." Maddox rounded the corner.
Her house had once been her great grandfather's family shack, the foundation built a hundred and fifty years ago, the original building rumored to be part of some old slave quarters, partially torn down and forgotten, the abandoned leavings reassembled before being passed along through generations of Pennyworths until it reached her. Like her surname, everything about her home was pieced together from British, African, and early Americana storytelling about migration, homesteading, and slavery in the area. The house was a haphazard mix-and-match ranch style bungalow that was basically an eyesore, but she loved it. It was hers. She was raised here on history and heritage. She couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
"Kinda lonely out here," Maddox commented as the paved lane turned to gravel.
Evie made a noncommittal sound.
Her neighbors, the Washington's, had also lived out here forever, about a quarter mile away. Colanthea and Colin, the family twins, had been her closest childhood friends. When she was eight, everyone expected her and Colin to one day marry, join all the land together, and push out a passel of kids to keep their little piece of history alive for future generations.
Evie stared at the Washington's broken mailbox as she and Maddox passed the opening of the overgrown lane. Camelot had fallen around here years ago. More tears welled up in her eyes. She was definitely traumatized judging by the way her nervous system was still going haywire. She blinked away the water drops as the blessed sight of her house came into view. She pushed open her door almost before the truck stopped but fell to her knees when the putrid smell of death blasted her nostrils.
"Ugh, what is that?" She shoved her face into the crook of her elbow.
"Deer innards." Maddox took her arm and helped her to stand. "I'll wash down your truck later."
Evie looked toward her vehicle's front end but collided with Maddox's hard chest. "You don't want to see that." He held her against his shoulder.
"Oh, that's awful." She thrust her fingers beneath her nose and tried not to inhale.
Maddox steered her to the walkway and used the key she handed him to unlock the door. She took comfort in the way he kept her close, his lean powerful arm around her the whole time.
"You're a lefty?" she absently observed from within her elbow, marveling at how deftly he manipulated the mechanism with one hand while his other one was still around her.
"Ambidextrous." He released her and stepped into her house, staring at her living room for a long, silent moment.
"For the army?" She walked into the house and closed the door against the stench.
"Navy. I'm in the Navy. And my old man always said people had two hands for a reason, so better to learn to use them both." He looked around her living room again, his eyes steady on her oversized windows before he peered down the kitchen hallway.
She followed his gaze. "Is everything okay?"
He flicked his gaze down to her. "Yes. Habit. We're trained to locate any potential hazards in every environment."
"Occupational hazard more like. You're freakin' me out with the over vigilance." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Trust me, the only thing hazardous in here is my cooking."
He lifted the side of his mouth.
"So, you remembered where I live?"
"Kinda hard to forget." He looked at her a moment longer then turned to her fireplace. "I can get that started if you like."
"Sure," she groaned at the memory from the night never to be spoken of again. She slumped back against the door and kicked off her shoes. She never should have let Tori talk her into going to that bachelorette party. Duty to her sister sorority or not, the night's festivities had become county historical lore. She glanced at Maddox, bent over the fireplace, quietly fidgeting with the logs, and kindling she rarely used. "And don't hold that night against me; it wasn't my best moment."
Heat prickled her cheeks as memories from that night came rushing back. They were on their way out when a song came on that she liked, and instead of leaving, she'd pushed him back into the chair, straddled his lap and rolled her hips against him like a stripper.
Renewed fire raced through her tummy and into her panties as Maddox turned around. He lit one of the long matches from the new box beside the log pile and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know 'bout that. You were pretty cute with your hair all tied up with your thong."
Another heat pulse blasted energy through her body. "Seriously! You're gonna say that out loud?"
He quirked a dark eyebrow as he slid the fireplace gate across the front of the hearth." Your country music rendition of 'Love Me Like You Do' was pretty loud."
"Ugh." Evie closed her eyes, flashing back to the images of herself draped around his hips while she sang horrible karaoke at the top of her lungs.
Maddox gave her the lopsided smile she was quickly becoming fond of. "Like I said, you were pretty cute, and I don't mind loud."
"I was completely out of control." She stumbled over to her L-shaped couch and dropped down into the handmade cushions. "I bet you weren't thinking I was cute when my head was hanging out of your truck window, and I was hurling my cookies all over your paint job."
He gave her an indulgent smirk. "No, not so much."
She stared up at the swooped and swirled patterns on her ceiling, her body still vibrating with lingering adrenaline. "I don't know why, but that's the last thing I remember."
"That's because you passed out right after."
She gritted her teeth. "And the mortification just keeps coming."
Maddox lowered himself onto the couch next to her." You got anything to drink around here? A shot of something strong will calm all that epinephrine still fueling your system."
"Hmmm." She reached under the couch and pulled out a hidden bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. "Worth a try," she grimaced.
Maddox watched her shake the half-empty bottle. "I won't ask why you have it under there, or why it's half empty."
"Please don't." She uncapped the lid and reached down for the glass. There was no way she'd confess the bottle being a left over from the last time Angus was over here. Even after they broke up, she still had his favourite liquor on hand just in case. Being a people pleaser was definitely her problem in life. She just couldn't stand to have someone mad at her or displeased with something she did. So, as a result, she fell all over herself to make sure she did everything right and according to the other person's expectations. It kept things in balance she always told herself, and in balance meant that she stayed in people's good graces
Maddox took the bottle from her hand and took a swig. "Your turn."
She accepted the bottle back and took a gulp of her own. The brown liquid burned a trail down to her stomach, firing a gust of relaxing heat through her limbs. She brought up her knees to her chest and curled her arms around them before taking another drink. She held it out to Maddox, but he shook his head.
"Finish it. It'll do you good."
"Thank you for bringing me home, again, while I'm not at my best. You've been very clever in taking my mind off what happened tonight by rehashing that disastrous girl's night out."
"You caught on to that, did you?"
"Yes, even though the shameful embarrassment of that night is one I constantly endeavor to forget."
"You in my lap? Thong in your hair? Crooning into my ear while riding my hips?" He stroked the five o'clock shadow on his chin." I'll never forget it, prim little schoolteacher by day, a wild panty less vixen by night."
She dropped her forehead to her knees and groaned. "Please spare me the vivid descriptive."
"Every man in that bar knew you had nothing on under that short dress."
"Don't remind me," she grumbled. "But thank God, you brought me home." She opened her eyes and stared at him.
"There was no way in hell I would have let any one of them near you." His gray eyes, completely clear and focused, held hers, his signature indulgent smirk now gone.
She flicked her gaze away as her girl parts sizzled. This was the threshold she always came to but did not cross with him, at least not when sober. When he turned serious and looked at her with that intense single-mindedness, she knew it was time to stop flirting or make a move. So far, she'd never made a sober move.
"I know. I had gone over the top and knew you were the only one I could trust to get me home, unscathed." All the nerves she'd just calmed prickled through her limbs. She swallowed down the last of the whiskey like it was water on a hot day.
"I wouldn't have let even one of them try."
"You've really been my trusted dragon slayer." She inhaled and bit her lip before she leaned forward and wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him to her mouth for another searing kiss of the night.
******