Read Mad Love (Hearts Are Wild): Hearts Are Wild Online
Authors: Rhian Cahill
Mad Love (Hearts Are Wild): Hearts Are Wild
Mad Love
History teacher Madison Keibler is aloof,
uptight, prim and proper—and Toby Moreland’s unlikely obsession. He
doesn’t understand why the newest staff member at their private
high school intrigues him, he only knows he has a burning need to
loosen her severe bun, strip her of those dowdy schoolmarm clothes
and dirty her up a bit. As the shy, naïve Mad becomes his own
personal bad girl, she quickly goes from the woman he can’t stop
touching, to the woman he can’t live without.
A sheltered only child raised by cold,
scholarly parents, Madison’s been a student most of her life. Now
Toby’s giving her the education she never knew she was missing. And
not just sex, though his expertise in that area could fill volumes.
He’s given her dozens of new experiences, from the joys of a simple
walk on the beach at sunset, to the excitement of live sports, to
what it’s like to be part of a big, boisterous, loving family. For
the first time in her life, she’s living in the moment and loving
every second.
But the ultimate experience for both may be
sacrifice, after a single careless second threatens to destroy
their new, crazy, unexpected
mad love
.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters
and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are
fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Mad Love
Hearts Are Wild Book 3
Copyright © 2016 Rhian Cahill
eBook ISBN: 978-1-925375-00-8
Edited by Kelli Collins
Cover by Valerie Tibbs of Tibbs Design
Published 2016 at Smashwords
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic
form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage
piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s
rights.
For more information visit:
www.rhiancahill.com
For Mari and Erin. Because no matter what,
you’ve got my back.
And for Kristin. Where would we be without
our lunch and dinner dates?
Mr.C, what can I say. I’m here because you
believe.
Contents
One
Toby Moreland leaned against the wall outside
the principal’s office and smiled.
How many times over the years had he found
himself here?
If he asked his mother, she’d answer with a
resounding ‘too many’. Of course, these days she didn’t get a phone
call and he wasn’t in trouble.
A tight female voice drifted into the hall.
“You cannot believe Mr. Moreland is a suitable option?”
Toby’s muscles tensed. Okay, maybe he
was
in trouble.
“Ms. Keibler. Madison—”
“Don’t attempt to gain my agreement by using
the familiarity of first names,
Mr. Richardson
.”
“Look, I understand where you’re coming
from.” The principal’s voice held a hint of frustration, a touch of
irritation—even a little defeat.
“I don’t think you do. This is a serious
educational endeavor and the students need to know they can rely on
those in charge to deliver the necessary time and knowledge.”
“Mr. Moreland is qualified—”
“His skills on the sports field
do
not
translate to the classroom.”
Toby pushed off the wall. Time to make an
entrance. Plastering on a smile, he rapped his knuckles on the
doorframe and plunged into what would no doubt be a charged
encounter.
“Hey, Ted.” He nodded at his friend and boss
as he took a seat in front of Ted’s desk. Settled, Toby
acknowledged the irritated woman standing behind the chair to his
right. “Ms. Keibler.”
She responded with a brisk nod, but with a
stubborn lift of her chin, refused to make eye contact or utter a
word.
To hide his grin, Toby faced their boss and
asked, “What’s this special project you need help with?”
Beside him, Madison huffed. “I can’t agree to
this, Mr. Richardson.”
Ted frowned at her. “You’ve got no choice.
Toby is the only one who might be available and holds the necessary
license to drive the bus, but if you feel you can’t handle it, we
could postpone or cancel.”
From the corner of his eye, Toby saw
Madison’s spine jerk ramrod straight as though someone had shoved a
hot poker up her ass. He ducked his head and smiled at Ted’s
tactic. She was bound to agree now, because Madison Keibler didn’t
strike him as the type to resist a challenge. And their boss had
not only challenged her ability to do whatever this project was,
he’d challenged her professionalism and held the threat of
cancellation over her too.
Triple whammy.
Madison wouldn’t allow her ‘serious
educational endeavor’ to be cancelled. He’d never seen a more
dedicated teacher. At times he thought she was
too
devoted
to her job.
Over the six years he’d worked at the
prestigious private high school, Huntington College, Toby had seen
Ted use this method to gain a teacher’s cooperation many times.
Nine times out of ten it worked. That tenth time usually involved
Toby, and he never let himself be manipulated by anyone. Although,
he more often than not agreed to Ted’s requests.
Best to know all the details before he jumped
in to help; he still had no clue what it was they were discussing.
“So what’s up?” he asked.
“The scholarship class is scheduled for an
overnight excursion and needs two teachers to supervise. It’s Ms.
Keibler’s class, and she had Grant lined up, but he’s come down
with a stomach flu and can no longer go.” Ted glanced at her
quickly before returning his gaze to Toby’s. “I realize it’s short
notice but they need a second teacher to accompany them on the
trip.”
“How short?” Toby asked.
“Tomorrow,” Ted answered. “But it’s only the
one night.”
“Sure. Count me in.” He had the time.
Besides, he had every intention of being Madison’s partner for this
excursion even if he had to rearrange a few things. He’d wanted
closer contact with the woman since she’d joined the faculty at the
beginning of the year and this was the perfect opportunity to get
it. “What do I need to do?”
“Madison has organized everything.” Ted
pushed a folder across his desk. Tapped the top. “Details are in
here.”
Toby picked up the thick binder and flicked
through it, quickly skimming the pages to determine the input
needed from him. He was stunned at the depth of her organization.
She’d laid out the activities and objectives for every hour of the
excursion. Including the bus ride there and back. Dedicated didn’t
begin to describe Madison’s work ethic.
The urge to needle her—to get under her skin
and break through that icy façade—inched up his spine and proved
too hard to resist. “You know, Ted, if Ms. Keibler isn’t up to it,
I can handle this on my own.”
“I’m perfectly capable of doing my job,” she
snapped.
Repressing a smirk, he glanced up to find
Madison glaring at him and Ted shaking his head.
“No can do. School policy requires two
teachers on off-campus excursions, and besides, it’s overnight and
a mixed group. Ten boys. Ten girls. We need male and female
supervision,” Ted explained.
Toby nodded at Ted then looked Madison over.
She stood, fingers curled around the back of the chair next to him,
her slender digits pressing into the padding under her tight grip.
Her body was rigid, and deep lines marred her brow and bracketed
her mouth. Her displeasure with the situation was obvious. Even a
blind man would feel the tension radiating off her.
He wasn’t going to let her annoyance make him
back off though. His fascination with getting a reaction from this
woman grew with every second he spent with her. “Great. We’ll have
dinner tonight and go over the details,” he said with the smile he
knew won over most people—particularly those with two X
chromosomes.
She looked down her nose at him and ice
dripped from her voice. “That won’t be necessary. You don’t need to
do anything more than show up.”
He wanted to laugh at her attempt to exclude
him while including him but he held himself in check. She wouldn’t
appreciate the humor in their current positions.
He’d approached Madison at the start of the
year—he and every other single male on the school’s payroll—and
while she’d been polite, she left no doubt she wanted nothing to do
with her male colleagues outside of school. None of the females
either, according to Melanie in the English department. Madison
kept to herself, only interacting with the rest of the staff when
necessary.
Huntington’s faculty was a tightknit group
that often socialized after school hours. As a whole, they’d worked
together for a few years. Well, except for Madison Keibler. She was
a new addition. Last year, when Gordon Rodgers tripped midway
through the final term and broke his hip, he’d required a hip
replacement and decided to take early retirement.
Enter prim, proper, schoolmarm-ish Madison
Keibler.
She reminded Toby of someone out of the
eighteen hundreds. Back when teachers were required to be
spinsters. At least that’s what she made him think of, with her
long, dark skirts and starched white blouses buttoned up to her
chin. The hair pulled ruthlessly into a bun low on the back of her
head didn’t help the look either. She couldn’t be any older than
late twenties but she behaved as though she were in her
fifties.
Straitlaced and standoffish. Cool. Like
butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. Actually, that shit would
probably freeze solid.
It made Toby want to ruffle her. Peel away
those don’t-touch outer layers and see what was hidden beneath. He
had a feeling she’d surprise him.
He liked surprises.
Liked them very much.
***
Madison refused to look at the man beside
her. She was sure he’d overheard her objections to him accompanying
her and waited on tenterhooks for him to call her on it.
Ted was right. All that was required were
male and female teachers to supervise, so Tobias Moreland could do
the job. She just didn’t want him to partner her on this trip.
Something about him set her nerves twitching.
She had no idea what it was. He just annoyed her. His whole Mr.
Cheery persona rubbed her the wrong way. No one could be that
carefree and get their job done—do it well—and Madison believed
education was a serious business that required dedicated
individuals to perform the job properly.
Her parents had taught her the importance of
learning at an early age, and while she might have been a little
envious of her peers and the time they spent away from books and
libraries, she believed the sacrifices were worth it.
Not that she was as strict as her parents
when it came to studying, but she did believe learning didn’t
finish at three in the afternoon when the school bell rang,
signaling the end of formal lessons for the day. Good marks
required commitment to study in and out of the classroom.