Page 24 of Midnight Masquerade

Madeline narrows her eyes on the phone before snatching it from my hand. "I'm not tied up in his basement, you jerk. I'm tied up in his bed," she says. "And maybe I like it. Also, I'm killing you next time I see you." Her eyes grow wide. "Oh. Erm, hi, Sheriff Midnight. Please ignore what I just said. It wasn't a threat. And if he goes missing, I definitely didn't do it. Oh." She beams. "Sure. I could use a hiding spot for his body."

I pinch the bridge of my nose, laughing. Jesus fucking Christ. If she doesn't marry me, the rest of my life is going to be miserable. I already know it will. In one damn day, she's turned it entirely upside down.

I thought I was happy living out here on my own. Aside from Jack, no one bugged me. I had peace and quiet. Everyone in town left me the fuck alone. I had exactly what I thought I wanted. But I was wrong.

This is what I want. The chaos. The drama. Her laughter and smart mouth. My phone ringing at one in the morning. Her and the Sheriff plotting to murder her cousin. This is living. And I fucking love it.

"I'm fine, Tyler. But we aren't friends anymore," she huffs. "Fine. I love you, too. See you at work on Monday."

Ah, fuck. She has to work. Which means I have to let her leave my bed. Maybe I'm more like Bitter Smithers than I'd like to admit. Because damn you to hell, Tyler Dooley.

Chapter Seven

Madeline

"Drive faster, Drake," I complain, tapping my foot impatiently against the floorboard of his truck early Monday morning. "I'm going to be late for work."

"That eager to be rid of me, huh?"

My gaze flies to his, horror coursing through me. "What? No!"

Is that really what he thinks? Oh, man. I'm a jerk. I didn't want to leave his bed at all. After spending the last three days with him, the thought of not having him by my side is seriously making my stomach hurt.

I'm not ready for our weekend to end…but I desperately need to talk to someone about him. And I can't talk to him about him. That would be weird.

Tyler is a clueless idiot, but when a clueless idiot is all you have, you make due. And he owes me, both for the unicorn costume and for the interruption on Halloween.

I mean, the sheriff now knows I had sex. I've never even met him, and he knows Drake had his dick in me on the first date.Awkward.

"I need to get to work so I can kill Tyler," I explain to Drake and then hesitate. "Besides, the sooner I get there, the sooner I get to leave."

"I like this plan if it involves you coming to my place when you get off, unicorn."

"You want me to come over after work?" I smile at him.

"I didn't want you to leave at all," he growls, scowling at the road ahead.

"You're thinking about that dungeon in the basement right now, aren't you?"

"No." His gaze flickers in my direction, his brows furrowed. He looks like a cranky little boy who was told no. It's kind of sexy, especially with his hair all messy and his tattoos on display. The intricate vines of ivy run up his arms from his wrists all the way to his neck. It's way too damn sexy. "I'm thinking about revising my plans to turn the goddamn bedroom into a dungeon."

"I saw that movie once, Drake. The housekeeper was scandalized. Oh, turn here!"

He narrowly avoids missing the turn onto my road. Once the truck is steady again, he shoots me a look that makes me laugh.

"You're the one who distracted me." I shrug.

He sighs heavily, but I see the tiny smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He's not nearly as annoyed as he's trying to pretend."Which house is yours, baby? Tell me before you get us both killed."

"It's the last one on the left. And you're the one driving, not me."

"Thank God," he mutters.

I reach across the console and poke him in the ribcage.

"Tell me about this movie," he rumbles. "For research purposes."

"You think it was porn, don't you?"