Search Me (12 page)

Wanting to wipe the smirk off Maddox’s face, I stalked over to the bed and hopped on. My exertions caused both of us to sway back and forth like we were riding ocean waves. When I had steadied a little, I turned to him and smiled sweetly. “Don’t underestimate me, Maddox. I’m not the same girl you left three years ago.”

The corners of his lips quirked up. “Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

His gaze left mine to scan down my body. “You know, I think you’re right. Your tits have seriously grown since I left.”

I huffed with exasperation. “I shouldn’t even dignify that statement with a response.” Rising up on my elbows, I motioned to his crotch. “Of course, I’ve always got another knee ready and waiting.”

Maddox grinned. “I think you have an unhealthy obsession with my balls, babe.”

“I’m well acquainted with your balls, and I can’t say I was too impressed.”

The next thing I knew Maddox had rolled over to straddle me. I hissed in both aggravation and the fact that only a thin pair of boxers and my panties underneath the flimsy robe separated us. Memories of our lovemaking assaulted me, and I fought to mentally escape them by thrashing against Maddox’s chest. His hands quickly swept to pin my wrists above my head. His exertions sent us rolling on the water-filled mattress. My chest rose and fell with pants of angry and sexual frustration.
Stop it right now with the feelings, Lane. Just because you’re alone in the middle of nowhere with a guy who possesses a righteous bod, and who you used to love, does not mean you need to get all hot and bothered.
I screamed at my traitorous body.
Yeah, Maddox might’ve saved your life today, but he is still the epic douchewad who broke your heart.

Maddox stared down at me with a cocky gleam in his eyes. “Not impressed with my balls, huh? I call bullshit because if I remember correctly, you came twice that night—once when I was inside you, which is pretty impressive for a first timer.”

Pursing my lips, I fought myself from countering with,
It’s a little creepy that you have an almost photographic memory of our sexcapade.
Instead, I replied breathlessly, “And what does that have to do with your balls?”

He rolled his eyes. “Duh, they’re attached to my dick—the epic love wand that gave you that orgasm.”

I busted out laughing. “Oh come on. Do you normally wow chicks by calling your…” I swallowed hard before I could even say the word, “
penis
a ‘love wand’?”

Maddox grinned. “No, not really. Usually they don’t need any verbal persuasion or summation of my sex skills to want me.”

I snorted. “Ugh, if you consider banging bimbos a challenge, than have it.” I pushed against him. “Let me up.”

“Nope.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Excuse me?”

He shook his head slowly back and forth. “Not until you fully acknowledge that I’m a sex god.”

“Oh please, we were together one measly time.”

Waggling his eyebrows, he countered, “I bet ya I’m still the best you’ve ever had.”

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Sex with Eli was sweet and tender, but it was nothing like what I had had, although briefly, with Maddox. How can you ever top sex underneath the stars with the love of your life?

But instead of giving him the satisfaction, I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you really want me to take another stroll down memory lane? I don’t think our versions of what happened that night will exactly match.”

His expression became almost quizzical as he stared unblinking and unmoving at me. “You think I stole your virginity, don’t you? That I took something I never should have.”

“I didn’t say that.”

He grunted. “You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.” Shaking his head, he replied, “Regardless of what you think happened, you wanted it just as much as I did.”

I huffed out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, I wanted it because I
loved
you, and loving you meant I was willing to do anything for you—including losing my virginity to someone who would never appreciate it.”

The color slowly drained from Maddox’s face as his expression turned wounded. He stared so intently at me that I finally had to look away. “Jesus Lane, I’m sorry. I’m a fucking asshole, okay? I was just teasing you before. I guess I got a little carried away. I didn’t mean to hurt you—not now and not then.”

I snapped my gaze back to him. “You never knew when to stop when we were kids, and you still don’t. I’m sorry if the truth hurts, but yes, you hurt me.” Under my breath, I murmured, “Worse than you could ever imagine.”

“I’m just a callous douchebag who can’t handle emotions.” His hands released mine, and he rolled off of me. “I’m too like my mother, and I hurt the ones I love.”

Maddox’s pain was palpable. Even though it pained me, I scooted a little closer to him. “Listen, it’s been a long day, and we’re both worn out physically and emotionally. So we can’t really be held accountable for what we’re saying. Let’s just forget all this happened, okay?”

“You mean, call a truce?”

I nodded.

“Sure.” He rose up to a sitting position. A genuine smile curved on his lips. “Even if we’re calling a ceasefire, I’d like my apology to be noted. You know, for the record.”

“Apology accepted and noted,” I replied with a grin.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” He held out his hand to help me up from the bed. “I better get cleaned up.”

“Okay. As soon as I find something to wear, I’ll go see if there’s anything in the kitchen I can cook for us.”

“Sounds awesome,” Maddox replied as he headed into the bathroom. When he closed the door, I took my lantern into the closet. Just as I had suspected, Trophy Wife’s wardrobe left much to be desired that wasn’t spandex, bedazzled, or midriff. I finally slipped on some black yoga pants and a T-shirt that no lie read,
I Got Shucked at Nooky’s in Panama City
, which I gathered was an oyster bar. I also grabbed up a pair jeans that would probably be tight on me along with the one non-halter shirt in case I needed something for tomorrow.

Then I made my way to the kitchen, which thankfully seemed to be the most normal room in the cabin. The fridge was wiped clean, but the pantry was pretty stocked. After checking the expiration date on a jar of spaghetti sauce, I grabbed some noodles and got busy. I was used to cooking at home from time to time, but it was a new experience cooking by lantern light in a stranger’s kitchen. I guess in the end it was a little like camping out.

Maddox appeared behind me just as the sauce started bubbling on the stove. He sniffed the air appreciatively. “That smells awesome. Man, I’m starving.”

I glanced over at him. His hair was still wet from the shower, and he had only thrown on a white “wife beater” undershirt with a pair of boxers that had hot red peppers all over them. “Nice shorts,” I mused as I drained the water off the noodles. The truth was although the design was pretty funny, he looked practically edible in them, and I certainly didn’t need to be having those thoughts about him.

He chuckled. “Yeah, these were about the only pair of clean underwear I could find that weren’t tighty whitey’s or a Speedo.” He shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about what that dude is doing wearing a Speedo.”

I giggled. “Of all the cabins we have to break into, we pick one owned by trashy perverts.”

“No joke,” he murmured, pouring a glass of water.

After spooning a heaping helping of spaghetti, I handed Maddox a plate. By the time I’d fixed my plate and poured something to drink, he had gobbled most of his down. “Um, hungry much?”

“I told you I was starved not to mention after all that running, I need to refuel with some carbs.”

“Go on and sit down. I’ll fix you another plate.”

I measured out a decent portion for myself before pouring the rest for Maddox. In the dim light of the lantern, he hunched over the coffee table. He had unfolded the map and was staring at it as if he hoped it would suddenly all make sense. I guess whatever doubts he’d had about the map’s validity had been erased with Jensen’s arrival on the scene. I passed him his plate, and for a few minutes, the only sounds in the room were scraping silverware and chewing. I took a swig of water. “So what happens in the morning?”

He shrugged. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

I twirled some noodles on my fork. “Call me crazy, but I never thought I’d have to make the decision of going to the police or going treasure hunting.”

“Tell me about it,” he murmured, his fingers running over the faded letters. “If we just had someone who could read this shit...”

“Yeah, that one shouldn’t be too hard. Last time I checked, Cherokee wasn’t on the list of possible foreign languages I could choose to take in school.”

Maddox snorted through a mouthful of pasta. “We did as little as possible on the Native Americans when I was in school. I think my teacher, Mr. “Bug-eyed” Boyer was secretly a racist.”

We fell into silence for a few minutes. Neither one of us could stop staring at the map. “What do you think Maudie would want us to do?” I questioned softly.

Maddox’s jaw tightened as he tried to keep his emotions in check. “Hell, she put herself in harm’s way just to keep the stupid thing, not to mention how much she wanted us to get it!” He jabbed his fork into his bowl, spearing some more noodles. “She’d want us to find the gold. Use it for college or something like that.”

I smiled at the thought. But before I could argue with him about how dangerous it would be, a thought flashed in my mind, and I almost dropped my plate. “New Echota.”

Maddox stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “What?”

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before. It’s the former Cherokee capitol, and now it’s a state park…I think we went there in Eighth grade on a field trip. It’s not too far from here. It’s over in…uh, Gordon County where those outlet malls are.”

“How in the hell do you know that?”

I grinned. “Let’s just say my 8
th
grade Georgia History teacher had a serious jonesing for Native American tribes.”

Maddox looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Did you actually just say
jonesing
?”

I cocked my head at him. “Why, yes, I did. So why don’t you laugh your ass off at me and get it over with?”

That was all it took to set him off. His laughter rolled through him, and it made me remember what it was like when we were kids. “Oh, Lane, you never change.”

“Thanks…I think.”

Straightening up, Maddox said, “So Gordon County can’t be too far from here, right?”

“I think it’s about an hour or two.”

Maddox appeared lost in thought. “Damn,” he muttered, shaking his head. “It might as well be on the other side of the country considering we don’t have a car.”

“Good point. I mean, we’ve got access to vehicles, but they’re directly in the line of fire.” For some reason, that was oddly comforting. There was a pretty vocal part of me begging to forget about the map. It pleaded with me to get to the nearest police department and put out an all-points bulletin for Jensen and his men. It wanted to be able to call my parents and tell them to come home because Maudie could be dead. More than anything, I wanted to forget anymore excitement by going back to the world I knew was safe—one that didn’t involve hidden treasure and men with guns.

Maddox’s next question brought me out of my internal struggle. “How much money do you have in the bank?”

“Huh?”

“We’re going to need some cash for a car. I wanted to know how much you had.”

“Nothing substantial enough for car—even a clunker.”

“Great,” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in frustration.

That’s when I stopped to allow the other annoying voice in my head to take precedence. It was the one that in spite of everything crazy and sad that had happened today
still
wanted to see this through. And there was also that nagging drive for once in my life to have an adventure. I mean, between my dance schedule and school, I never really had tried to let loose—not to mention I was the ultimate rule follower. Lying to my parents, hunting for buried Cherokee gold, and potentially being chased my armed men definitely was an adventure.

“Wait a minute…” I picked up my purse and started rifling through it. When I pulled out the stack of cash, Maddox’s eyes widened. I handed it over to him.

“Where did you get that?” he asked.

“Maudie’s safe.”

He flipped through the bills. “There’s at least five thousand dollars here.”

“Enough for a car,” I said, my voice a mixture of hope and fear.

“Exactly.”

I gulped. “So we’re really doing this, huh?”

He gave a short shrug. “I guess. Why not?”

I plopped back against the couch cushions in exasperation. “You guess? Please tell me at least your Army training is making you a little conflicted about all this.” At his blank expression, I shook my head. “Maddox, this is way too serious a decision for just guessing. We’re talking about throwing caution to the wind, saying screw you to Jensen and his armed thugs, ignoring all reason that tells us to go to the police, and potentially putting our lives in danger.”