I followed his gaze. “Agreed. Is it just me or was something really off in that conversation?”
Mads turned his attention to me. “No, it’s not just you. Although he’s clearly telling the truth about the Parkinson’s, and we really don’t know whether we did just catch her on a good day. Still, something doesn’t feel right.”
“Agreed.” I stared at the townhouse one more time. “I’ll give her a call and see if she still wants to meet up. Hopefully she does; otherwise we could simply talk more on the phone. I have some questions I want to ask her about our friend Austin.”
Mads nodded. “Sounds like a plan. But right now, I’m going to whisk you away for an excellent meal and a glass or two of stunning wine. After that, I’m driving you back to our cottage and licking you from top to bottom until you come like a train.”
Well, shit.Heat pooled in my belly and I was suddenly a lot less hungry. “Orwe could go straight to the licking part and bypass all the unnecessary preamble.”
Mads slapped my thigh. “You wish. But there’s a proper order to these things, and sustenance comes before fuckingifa memorable fucking is to be... sustainable.” He laughed at hisown joke, and I snorted, keeping my eye on the townhouse as he swung out of the car park and headed down the drive.
“You and your damn rules,” I grumbled. “I don’t know aboutyourfucking, but I can assure you thatmyfucking is more than sustainable with or without food.”
“The operative word in my statement wasmemorable.” Mads turned and looked me up and down, licking his lips in a way that sent goosebumps popping over my skin. “And trust me. I fully intend this particular fucking to be... memorable.” He planted his foot and there really wasn’t anything more to add to that.
Three hours later, Mads had pulled two orgasms from my eager body, and I was still riding the high. The first orgasm was down to nothing more than the skilful use of his tongue, as promised. The second, thirty minutes later, came after he’d laid me across the cottage’s king-size bed with its stunning view of the vineyard and schooled me in the art of edging until I was begging him to finish me off. For a polite man with a lot of rules, Mads knew how to ditch the restraint when it was called for. A truth I thanked the universe for every single day.
With the bed linen a tangled mess on the floor and no pillows in sight, we lay at an angle across the bed, sated and sweaty in each other’s arms. Mads traced his finger over the owl on my chest, humming softly, while I pressed kisses to his forehead and anywhere else I could reach.
“I do love a man with a plan.” I tipped his chin up for a final kiss.
He huffed in amusement. “Told you. Rules are good. Rules can be fun.” He propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at me. “And rule number one above all others is—Madigan always has the best ideas.”
I lifted up and licked his nipple, just because I could. He jolted like he’d been hit with an electric current and his soft cock twitched against my thigh. “Quickly followed by rule numbertwo—Nick breaking Madigan’s rules, is even more fun.” I winked and fell back onto the bed.
Mads smirked. “Which only plays into my reasoning that rules are important.”
I groaned. “You really are impossible.” Before he could answer, I changed the subject. “How about we skip dinner and watch movies instead. That goat curry hasn’t gone anywhere yet.”
Mads patted his belly. “It was the apple and cinnamon tart that really did me in. Which reminds me, what happened to the salad I ordered instead of those artery-choking dauphinoise potatoes?”
“Which happened to be delicious.” I waggled my brows. “Remember, I went to the bathroom?”
His mouth dropped open. “You didn’t?”
“Oh, I did. The waiter thought it was an excellent adjustment.”
A comment which prompted an eye roll of epic proportions. “That’s because barely legal waiter boy was eyeing you like his favourite ice cream from the minute we arrived. I was waiting for him to call you Daddy. It was coming, believe me.”
I screwed up my nose and shot him a horrified look. “Really?”
He smirked as he handed my phone to me. “Really. Now, why don’t you give Chloe a call and see what she wants to do. Meanwhile, I’ll make some flight enquiries and check with the owner of the cottage. We’re supposed to fly back tomorrow but we might need to change that.”
I frowned. “I really don’t want to put Chloe in a bad spot if Austin finds out.”
“Then we’ll be careful,” Mads agreed. “We’ll park down the road and won’t stay too long. It’s Monday tomorrow, so Austin should be teaching.”
When I hesitated, Mads took both my hands in his. “Are you saying you can head back to Auckland not knowing what’s actually going on?”
He had me there. “No. Chloe’s my mother, regardless of what she did. But just because I don’t like Austin doesn’t mean he isn’t trying to do his best by her. I just need to know.”
Mads leaned forward and kissed me. “Agreed.”
While Mads went to the lounge to retrieve his own phone, I tried to ring Chloe. The call went straight to voicemail. I waited a minute or so and tried again. Same thing. And again. And again. I frowned at Mads who was watching me from the sofa, buck naked.
“No answer?”
I shook my head. “I’ll try later.”
