Page 87 of Hot & Heavy

Seconds later, her shoulders slumped with dismay. It was so far away. Daunting to think she would have to raise an army and then transport them there. Mayhap she should raise the funds here, travel to Saxon lands and raise an army there to travel with her to Norstead. No matter what the obstacles, it was a mission she refused to consider impossible.

Just then, they heard the front door open. They both sat up, alert. Who could it be? Surely it was not one of the terrorists this soon. Geek reached for the weapon, called a piss-toll, which he carried with him at all times.

The mystery was soon solved.

From down the hall, possibly from the kitchen, they heard Ian shout at the top of his lungs, " Mad-die!"

Her magic fingers did what?…

Ian was in a foul mood.

He'd hope to calm his temper on the ride home. No such luck! Anger bubbled in him just below the surface. He needed to hit something or he would explode.

Truth be told, Ian was as hurt as he was angry.

How could she?

He'd stormed into the house, seen no one in the living room. In the kitchen he saw evidence of Maddie's reading lessons. His eyebrows lifted at the book Geek was using. It was titled See Jane Run, but it was not like any primer he'd ever seen in school. On the cover was Jane, who looked a bit like Barbie. She wore spandex shorts and top and she was running, all right, with Ken hot on her tail.

He shook his head and hollered once again, " Mad-die!"

"You do not have to yell. I am right here," she said. "Why are you here?"

She strolled into the kitchen big as you please. Geek had the good sense to disappear back into the office.

Ian tried hard not to notice her body in a tanktop and shorts; she was barefooted. He tried not to recall every bit of that body he'd explored last night. " Why are you here?" she had asked. The nerve! This is my house. "Didn't you miss me?" he asked icily.

"No," she answered with her usual bluntness. "You said you would not be back till eventide."

He scowled at her. "What? Did you have plans for another foray outside? Naked foray, that is?"

She frowned for a second. "Oh, that is what this is all about." She waved a hand dismissively. "I just went for a swim. It was such a beautiful day. The sun warm. And I…" Her words trailed off as she noticed his scowl.

"I ordered you to stay inside," he said, pausing at each word. While he spoke he backed her up against the cabinets, fists on either side of her on the counter.

"I do not take orders from you or anyone else," she said in the same slow manner, emphasizing each word. Ducking under his arm, she returned his glower, then remarked, "The vein in your forehead is throbbing."

Aaarrgh! "You are under my protection. I have every right to tell you what to do. I order. You follow orders. That's just the way it is."

"That is your opinion."

"I'll shackle you to the bed." Immediately he wished he hadn't used that word, especially when her wrist and ankle and back scars were visible to him.

She looked wounded for a moment.

"Maddie," he said more softly now, crowding her toward the laundry room. When he got her inside, he slammed the door shut with the back of his foot. "I thought after last night… well… you know?"

She cocked her head to the side, and her face turned pink. At first he thought it was from embarrassment, but, nope, it was anger. "You thought that because I spread my thighs for you that I would suddenly turn biddable outside the bedchamber?"

"No, but—"

She was the one crowding him now. With a finger jabbing at his chest, she said, "Understand me well.

Seal or not seal. Warrior or not warrior. Husband or not husband. I am my own person. I have suffered too much to give my freedom over to any man. What have men done but leave me, set me aside, betray me, beat me, attempt to break my pride? I do not trust men, least of all you."

That hurt. That really hurt. Anger seeped out of Ian and was replaced with regret that she lumped him in with all those tyrants. And it really hurt when he saw her wipe at a tear and proclaim, "I never cry. Do not dare to think I am crying."

She lifted her chin, refusing to look at him, instead staring with great interest at a box of detergent. Once again, he had the sudden feeling that he had seen her before. He'd had a similar feeling back in Iraq. The skin on the back of his neck prickled. He had met her before, he just knew he had. His instincts never failed him on something like this. "Have we ever met before, Maddie? In the past. Like a few years ago?"