The Education of Madeline Read online

  He started walking on his toes to try to minimize the amount of sound he made. Looked like a houseguest—he wasn’t sure if it was Eppie or Isaiah, but his money was on the boy—was enjoying watching and listening to Madeline’s education. Well, that was about to stop. No one needed to know anything that went on in or out of his pants. Shit, now he had to be really quiet.

  They reached Maddie’s bedroom, and she turned her dark eyes on him. The pupils were wide, and he felt as if he’d fallen straight into them. He was drowning in her and had nothing to stop himself from falling. His mental hooks grabbed on to nothing.

  He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers, but one taste was not enough. He scooped her into his arms and entered the room, pushing the door shut behind him with his foot.

  “Lock it.” He growled in a whisper.

  She reached behind, and he heard the snick of the key turning in the lock. Her eyes flew back to his.

  “You carried me.”

  “This is only the first ride of the night, darlin’. Hang on.”

  He captured her mouth again as he walked over to the bed, trying not to notice the girlish quality to the room. Maddie was not a girl, even if she had pink furniture and white, lacy canopy shit on her bed, or dolls on the window seat.

  She was a woman.

  When he reached the bed, he let her slide down his body until she stood, her softness rubbing nicely against his hardness.

  “Oh, my,” she breathed as her feet touched the floor. “You’re so hard. Like a tree.”

  He chuckled. “That I am, and bound to get harder.”

  Teague twined her hair around his fist like a satin rope and pulled her close to him until they were chest to chest, groin to groin. He tugged on the hair, and she leaned her head back. He stared down into her eyes.

  “This is lesson three, Maddie. There isn’t any going back after this. By morning, you’ll know what it feels like to be with a man. Are you sure you’re ready?”

  She licked her lips, and his cock bellowed like it felt that tongue already.

  “I’ve been ready for fifteen years, Teague. All I needed was to find you.”

  He tried to ignore the way her honest response plucked at his heartstrings. Maddie was not his wife, nor would she ever be. He liked her. Truth was, he liked her a lot, and even more, he respected her. He was in a tight spot here, between a rock and a hard place. Being in Maddie’s bed was complicating matters, but he was that piece of straw in the twister. Helpless to stop. So instead of fighting the wind, he flew with it.

  Teague kissed her hard and then released her hair.

  He took off his boots and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “Take off your clothes for me, Maddie. Start with the petticoats and drawers.”

  Madeline pulled up the bottom of her dress long enough to grab the petticoats and drawers and push them down. She stepped out of them, and they disappeared somewhere behind her.

  “Now the dress.”

  He could see her hands shaking, but she began unbuttoning the hundred tiny pearl buttons that trailed down the front of her dress. As each one popped free, he felt an answering spark inside his chest.

  He could see the white chemise beneath her dress and told himself she needed colored undergarments. A woman as sexy as Maddie shouldn’t wear white under her clothes. She was too passionate.

  The last button popped free, and the dress gaped open nearly to her pussy. He could see the faint shadow of it as the dress opened wider when she pulled it off her shoulders.

  “Slowly.”

  She nodded as the dress slid down her arms to her waist. As she pulled her hands free, she shimmied it down those long legs to the floor. It pooled around her feet until she stepped out of it and pushed it aside with one foot.

  “Now the chemise…slowly, darlin’.”

  She swallowed hard, and beneath the nervousness, he saw excitement in her eyes. An arousal that lit from within. Madeline liked him to tell her what to do.

  “Should I pull it up or push it down?”

  Teague ran his gaze up and down her body. Her nipples stood erect, begging for his attention. Her skin nearly glowed with arousal as a pink flush crept over it. His dick grew another inch inside his already tight pants.

  “Push it down.”

  Madeline slipped the straps off the chemise and pushed it down her chest until her breasts sprang free. The raspberry-colored nipples were darker in the centers, like fruit waiting for him to pluck. Her skin slowly came into view in the candlelight, causing Teague to start rubbing himself through his pants. He couldn’t help it. He was so horny, and it had been so damn long since he’d been with a woman.

  “I like that.”

  He looked in her eyes. “Like what?”

  She licked her lips, and his dick twitched.

  “What you’re doing with your hand. It makes me…achy.”

  “Me, too.”

  For a virgin, she surely did not hold back what she was thinking. She pushed the chemise all the way off and then took off her stockings and garters.

  “Are you going to get undressed?”

  Teague shook his head. “You’re going to do it.”

  Her eyes widened, and he saw a small smile playing around her lips. She walked toward the bed, and it was all Teague could do not to throw her on the bed and pump into her.

  She pushed his knees open until she stood between them.

  “Vixen.”

  Her long fingers unbuttoned his shirt slowly.

  “I want to kiss you. Touch you.”

  “I’m all yours, Maddie.”

  She nodded again, as if receiving instructions. As his chest appeared in the opening of the shirt, she leaned forward and planted a kiss. Then did it again and again. When it was completely unbuttoned, her finger trailed down the path of hair that led from his belly to his dick. Then it went back up to his belly button and gently caressed it.

  Madeline slipped his shirt off and tossed it behind her. His breathing was as labored as hers, and they hadn’t even really started yet. Her hands ran up and down his shoulders and arms and then down his chest. When her fingernails lightly scored his nipples, he hissed.

  “I’ve wanted to do this from the moment I saw you,” she whispered huskily as she bent forward to lick one nipple and then the other.

  That, as they say, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Teague stood abruptly, tossed her on the bed, and then yanked off his boots and trousers in record time.

  Madeline lay on the bed, looking at him with a mixture of fear and excitement in her eyes. When her gaze dropped down to his cock, she swallowed and licked her lips. Teague groaned.

  “You’re gonna make this be over before it starts.”

  “I don’t mean to.”

  “Hang on, because it’s going to get a little bumpy.”

  He lay down on top of her, and his entire body sighed with relief. Skin to skin, they fit perfectly. Her softness melded with his hardness. Her thighs opened, and he slid between them to nestle in the softest of havens.

  “Oh, Lord, Teague. I…I…that’s incredible. It’s like heaven.”

  Secretly Teague agreed with her. It was like heaven. He lifted his head up and smiled.

  “Not quite, but we’re getting close.”

  He kissed her hard while his hands roamed up and down her body, pinching, teasing, and caressing. He thrummed and ached to take her, but he wanted her first time to be perfect. She had, after all, paid for it with good money.

  He rocked back and forth against her mons until her slickness told him she was nearly ready.

  He kissed her across her jaw to her ear, and then, after a few nibbles, he moved to her neck. She smelled and tasted of lavender and woman. He licked the crook of her shoulder and then moved to his ultimate goal, her pouting nipples.

  He captured one pert point in his mouth while his hand rolled and played with the other. Continually rocking against her, he built up the tempo until he could tell
she was close to reaching her peak.

  “The first time will hurt,” he murmured against her breast.

  “I don’t care. Oh, please, Teague, I need…I need. Please.”

  “Open for me.”

  Her legs slowly spread, and he was flush against her. She was so hot and so wet, he nearly came at the first touch of skin. With rigid self-control, he pushed into her an inch and felt the squeeze of an untried pussy. He was sweating and hanging on by a thread to his sanity.

  In. In.

  He ignored his inner demons and pushed in a smidge more.

  “Oh, yessssss,” she said. “That’s what I want.”

  Again he slid forward in a bit more and nearly lost it right then and there. Oh, Jesus, she was so tight.

  So good.

  “Are you ready, Maddie? There’s no going back after this.”

  She spread her legs wider and grabbed his ass with both hands, pulling him forward so quickly into her wet heat he was helpless to stop her. But, goddamn, once inside he wondered what had taken him so long. She was not only tight, hot, and wet, she was clenching around him over and over.

  “You okay?”

  “Mmmm, yes. Can you penetrate me again and again?”

  He would have laughed if he hadn’t been a hair’s breadth away from coming his brains out.

  “You need to stop reading textbooks, Maddie.”

  He pulled all the way out and then pushed in. His rhythm picked up, and so did hers. Together they rode the twister, bucking and fucking like two pieces of straw twined together.

  “Teague, it’s happening again.”

  He drove into her harder, deeper. So close, oh, so damn close.

  She screeched his name as her body convulsed around him so hard. He slammed his lips down on hers to muffle the sound. He came with enough force he saw stars. He pumped into her deep, deeper, deepest. She clawed at his back as her tremors continued.

  Teague was breathing like a bellows against her shoulder. Her heart was fluttering in her chest, and he felt tingles from one end of his body to the other.

  “Holy shit.”

  He kissed her and rolled off, sliding easily against her sweaty body.

  “Sweet heavens.”

  “I like mine better.”

  Madeline raised a shaking hand, pulled a hair from her cheek, and then leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. Her lithe tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip playfully. Her dark eyes were sparkling with mischief.

  “How long until we can do this again?”

  He gauged his body’s readiness and grinned.

  “Half an hour?”

  “It’s a date.”

  He glanced at Maddie and saw the most beautiful sight a man could see. A woman he loved, well sated and glowing from their lovemaking.

  His stomach cramped with the realization of his thoughts.

  A woman he loved?

  Not happening. He did not love Maddie. He liked Maddie. It was absolutely, positively not love.

  Teague woke her in a few hours. His big hands cupped her breasts and lightly pinched her nipples until she arched against him. His hardness pressed up against her backside, and she rubbed against it, an answering wetness began to gather between her legs.

  “Are you ready for another lesson?”

  She smiled into her pillow. Who knew sex was going to be so amazing and incredible? She imagined it to be messy and awkward. No, sirree. It was far beyond that. It was…bliss.

  “Yes, professor.”

  His hand slid down her leg and lifted it at the knee. He slid into her easily, and she sighed at the feeling. She was full, complete. He was big but not too big. She was actually quite amazed it fit. Teague had a very large member, as was expected. He was not a small man anywhere.

  “God, you feel good, Maddie.”

  “So do you.”

  They moved together slowly. Teague never increased his pace. Just in and out over and over. He pulled her hands up to her breasts.

  “Touch yourself.”

  His hand slid between her legs and started caressing her nubbin of pleasure. With a bit of embarrassment, she circled her nipples with her fingers. After a few minutes of his hand, his cock, and her own hand, the embarrassment disappeared. She pinched and rolled her nipples with abandon.

  “Yes, that’s it, darlin’. Feel me fucking you? You are so damn tight. I could do this all day.”

  His naughty words just served to excite her even more. She thrust against him, silently willing him to go faster, harder.

  More, please.

  “Don’t get too pushy, Maddie,” he growled in her ear and then bit her lobe.

  Just when she thought she’d go insane from his pace, he pinched her clit and thrust deeply. Her body fell over the precipice of pleasure, and she squeezed her own nipples as the waves rolled through her. Over and over. She heard him whisper her name as he thrust in deeply again, reaching his own orgasm.

  Madeline released her nipples as she tried to come down out of the clouds. Her body was throbbing and humming with satisfaction. She knew it was a feeling she’d never find with anyone but Teague.

  Chapter Nine

  The next morning Madeline found herself alone in her bed. The covers were mussed beyond belief, and the room had a distinct musky odor. She stretched lazily, and many muscles were yelling loudly at the movement. That’s when she realized she was naked.

  Madeline was no longer a virgin.

  She smiled into the empty room and forced herself to rise. The sun was brightly shining in through the window. It was late, probably midmorning. She slipped her nightgown over her head and opened the window. The sounds of the world drifted in on the soft breeze. Madeline breathed deeply of the fresh air.

  She felt wonderful. More than that, she felt as if she were ten years younger. A woman in love.

  Where is Teague?

  He had probably slipped off before dawn to save her some embarrassment with Eppie or Isaiah. He needn’t have. She didn’t care if they knew Teague had been in her bed. Madeline had to restrain herself from running down the street and shouting it to the world.

  She stared down at the street and saw Sheriff Webster riding toward her house on his big bay horse. She grimaced. There was no time to take a bath, but she’d better wash the scent of Teague off her skin. Something she didn’t want to do but had to.

  After a quick wash with tepid water, Madeline fixed her hair and then slipped on a demure brown dress with a high collar and lace at the cuffs. The dress felt wrong somehow. She wanted to be wearing something colorful to match her spirit.

  Smiling, she went downstairs to see Eppie standing with her back against the front door.

  “Madeline! Where have you been? That fool sheriff won’t go away.”

  “Eppie! You need to stop calling him names.”

  Eppie frowned. “Even if it’s true?”

  Madeline shook her head and bit back a grin. “What does he want?”

  “He wouldn’t tell me. I’s just a po servant.”

  “Stop it!” Madeline admonished. “You’ll make it worse by acting stupid.”

  Eppie shrugged and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll go put water on for tea. Oh, and by the way, you might want to pull the collar up a bit higher. You got a good case of whisker burn from your man.”

  Madeline felt her cheeks heat, and she yanked on the collar until it touched the bottom of her jaw. Whisker burn? What was that?

  She opened the door to find Sheriff Webster leaning against the column by the front steps.

  “Good morning, Jackson.”

  “Hello, Madeline.”

  She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. “What brings you by?”

  He hitched up his trousers and bracketed his hands on his hips.

  “Well, I heard that man you took in was getting to be a problem.”

  Madeline felt her annoyance blossom. “Who told you that?”

  “It makes no never mind. Fact is, I was worrie
d about it from the moment you convinced us to hand him over to you.” He waved his hand in the air in dismissal. “I want to know if he’s been trouble.”

  She squared her shoulders and prepared for battle. Madeline had learned from the best how to be stubborn, intractable, and immovable. Now was the time to put those skills to the test.

  “I don’t know who told you he was trouble, but it isn’t true.”

  “Then he didn’t tear your dress open in the kitchen?”

  Madeline felt her mouth open and snapped it shut immediately. How could he know about that?

  “I was burned by hot coffee, Jackson. Eppie was there helping me, as was Mr. O’Neal. It was all perfectly innocent.”

  He nodded and pulled at his chin.

  “I also hear he kicked you out of your own carriage house.”

  “No one kicks me out of anywhere. You know that. Who is telling you these exaggerated lies?” Her heart was pounding, and her palms felt clammy. What kind of person would deliberately do this?

  Jackson took off his hat and scratched his thinning blond hair. “You know that’s confidential information. I’ve had someone keeping an eye on you and that horse thief.”

  “He is not a horse thief!”

  “So you say, but I reserve my judgment.”

  “You don’t have to judge him at all. The evidence will prove it.”

  He stepped toward her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her eye to eye. Not many men in Plum Creek could do that.

  “I am worried about you. He is not a man to be trusted. Let’s face it, Madeline, you don’t have much experience with men. Somebody with a silver tongue could take advantage of you.”

  She tried to step away from him, but he held her firm.

  “Let go of me, Jackson. Now.”

  He released her arms, but a dangerous glint of something flew from his eyes. She felt it hit, and her uneasiness increased tenfold. Jackson was up to something. Something that didn’t bode well for her or Teague.

  “I appreciate your concern, but there is no need for it. I’ve told you before, Mr. O’Neal is a perfect gentleman. I won’t keep you from your duties.”