The Sex Solution (20 page)

“Trust me. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Where have I heard that before?” She reached for another cardboard box and upended the second drawer.

“You know,” he told her, “marketing is more jazzed about this product than anything V.A.M.P.’s ever done. They say it’s not only a great cosmetic, but it has medicinal qualities. They plan on promoting it as a nonpharmaceutical alternative to aiding a low libido.”

“They can do whatever they want. It’s theirs now.”

“Please don’t go,” Duane finally said after watching her empty drawer number three. “I like working with you. You nag more than my mom, but I need that to keep me in line.” It was the most sensible argument he’d made all day since she’d announced her intentions to leave.

“I’m sure whoever Desiree finds to replace me will nag you accordingly, and if they don’t, just have them give me a call and I’ll set them straight.”

“Where are you going?”

“Home right now.” She finished with the last of the boxes, handed Duane a few while she took some and started for the hallway.

“You know what I mean.”

“When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.” She hugged him, climbed into her car and drove out of the parking garage onto a busy thoroughfare.

The traffic was horrible as usual and she found herself starting and stopping and thinking about Duane’s question.

She knew where she
wanted
to go. Where she belonged. But that wasn’t a possibility with Austin Jericho only a few miles away. It had been hard enough to leave in the first place. A decision she’d thought and rethought over the past week since returning to Dallas.

Take a chance.

That’s what her heart kept telling her, but her common sense knew better. She’d done the right thing, even if it didn’t feel so right.

It took her forty-five minutes to make the ten-mile drive to her apartment near the Galleria. After pulling into her parking space, she killed the engine, climbed from behind the wheel and headed for the elevators. She had plenty of time to haul her boxes out of the car tomorrow while she debated what to do next.

After the day she’d had, the only thing on her mind was the extralarge bag of Oreos she’d left sitting on her kitchen counter that morning. A little soothing chocolate and maybe she could actually think.

Of course, she’d scarfed for the past three days and still hadn’t been able to come up with the next step for her life. The Oreos didn’t seem to be working.

But Maddie had few options right now and so she intended to give them another try.

The moment she opened her front door, she tossed her purse and keys onto a nearby table and headed for the kitchen. She’d just popped a cookie into her mouth when she heard the steady stream of the shower coming from the bathroom down the hall.

Fear rushed through her until she noticed the worn straw Resistol sitting on her kitchen table.

It couldn’t be.

That’s what she told herself, but as she walked toward the bathroom, her denial turned to heart-pounding excitement. She passed the familiar brown boots, a faded pair of jeans, a black T-shirt imprinted with the slogan Cowboy Up.

Clouds of steam billowed from the open bathroom doorway, nearly obliterating the pair of white cotton briefs resting in the threshold.

She knew it was him even before she stepped into the misty bathroom and saw the naked man standing in her shower.

She blinked once, twice. But he didn’t disappear. He was still there on the other side of the glass shower door. Still naked. Still
Austin.

He rubbed a bar of soap between his hands before running the lather over his chest, his six-pack abs and down over the sprinkle of hair that led to his crotch.

She was riveted by the sight of him for a long, breathless moment before her gaze snapped back up to find him staring straight at her. Desire burned bright, but there was something else, as well.

It couldn’t be.

Denial raged through her, along with a burst of hope that maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way that she did.

There was only one way to find out.

She slid the glass door to the side. Steam rushed out at her.

“I—” She licked her lips. “How did you get in here?”

“I picked up a few tricks in my bad-boy days.”

“What are you doing here?”

A twinkling blue gaze caught and held hers. “Taking a shower.”

“I see that. I mean, why?”

“I needed a shower after the drive I just had. Christ, do you know it took me two hours just to get from one end of this town to the next?”

“The traffic’s pretty bad.”

“It’s terrible. It’s good that I’m a patient man.”

“You? Patient?”

“I must be. I’ve been waiting on you for over twelve years.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I was wrong the other day. I shouldn’t have pulled you into the shower without saying a few things first.”

“Such as?”

“You turn me on, but you do more than that. You make me happy, Maddie. You make me smile. You make me laugh. You make me better.” At her puzzled look, he added, “You were right. I was scared of losing Miss Marshalyn’s land. I even went as far as to take Debbie the kindergarten teacher to the party.” He shook his head. “But I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t let Miss Marshalyn think there was even a chance of me having a relationship with Debbie. I told her the truth.”

“You gave up the land.” The realization of what he’d done sent a burst of joy through her.

“You’re the only one I want to have a future with,” he went on. “I love you, Maddie. That’s why I’m here. Why I’m staying here.”

“What about your ranch? Your home?”

He shrugged. “Home is where the heart is, sugar, and my heart’s here with you. If you want it.”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she shrugged out of her jacket, pulled her silk shell over her head and peeled of her skirt. A few seconds later, she threw herself into his arms, kissing him hungrily, drinking in the taste and the scent and the feel of Austin Jericho.

“I really missed you.”

He smiled against her mouth. “Does that mean that you want it? My heart, that is.”

“Yes,” she breathed in between kisses. “I want it more than you can imagine, but not like this.” She shook her head and pulled away. “You can’t stay here.”

He frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“
We
can’t stay here.” She smiled. “I quit my job today. I love making things, but doing it here in Dallas—” she shook her head “—this wasn’t my dream. Sharon was the one who wanted out of Cadillac. When she passed away, I needed to escape so bad and my guilt was so great that I convinced myself that her dreams were my own. They weren’t. I don’t belong here. I don’t want to belong here.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

She nodded. “I want to bake muffins in my dad’s shop. Not that I won’t continue with product development for V.A.M.P. I really like perfecting all of those seductive products, especially with such a good test subject.” She cupped his face. “I want to do contract work for V.A.M.P. on the side and reopen Sweet & Simple.”

“That’s what you really want?”

“Actually, you’re what I
really
want. Now and forever. And I want to go home. To
our
home.” And then she did the one thing she’d wanted to do for the past twelve years—since she’d written that silly note—but never had the courage to.

She stared into his eyes and told him the truth. “I love you, Austin Jericho. I always have and I always will.” And then she reached out to show him just how much.