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She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
I rocked back on my heels. Well, now I understood why Maddox never talked about his late wife. There’d been more going on than I’d originally understood. His pain made more sense now. It was a whole can of worms that I wasn’t ready to open.
“That man needs to pay more attention to his women.” The old lady shook her head disapprovingly. She turned to me. “Don’t let him treat you like you’re second to his damn job. Got it? You make that man heel to your every wish.”
The use ofheelreminded me of how I’d put a collar on Maddox and walked him like a dog. My cheeks heated to match the surface of the sun. I even took a step back.
To my relief, the woman opened her car door and got into it. Before heading out, though, she rolled down the window and stuck her head out.
“If he’s not enough for you, then try to hide your side man a little better than his last wife did. No one will blame you for having a money husband and an emotional boyfriend.” She drove off.
“We’re not even a couple!” I shouted after her.
She didn’t hear me, though. I argued with no one but the open air, and that wasn’t going to do anyone a whole lot of good.
Groaning, I ran both hands over my face. A warmth graced my back. There was a little tug at my arcana that told me exactly who was standing behind me, so when he spoke, I wasn’t as startled.
“Are you over your tantrum?” Maddox asked behind me.
Spinning on him, I uttered one word. “Sit!”
My arcana rushed out of me and poured into the single word. Maddox’s eyes went wide as his entire body crashed into a sitting position. Hands on the asphalt, knees bent at his sides, Maddox glared up at me.
So, my arcana still worked. That was good to know.
“If anyone inside saw that…” Maddox let the threat linger, unspoken.
I grinned and put both hands on my hips. “What are you going to do? Huh, little puppy man? You think you’re so threatening.”
He lunged up from his sitting position and shoved me back against the SUV. My breath rushed out of me, but not from the impact. He carefully wound a hand around my lower back, the other hand above my head to block me in so I couldn’t escape.
My heart hammered in my throat. I opened my mouth, not to argue but to invite. I gripped the front of his shirt and dragged him closer.
“I’m so threatened,” I whispered.
Maddox snarled. His dark eyes roved along my face, down my throat, and over my breasts. His beast wanted contact. It craved a connection. A part of me craved it, too, even if he was a stubborn workaholic that was as sharp as a rusty knife.
“Follow through on your threats,” I challenged.
His head lowered, lips covering over mine. “No. We have work to do.”
Frustration crackled in my chest until I thought I would explode from the pressure. I shoved Maddox away and stormed over to the passenger side of the SUV where I yanked on the door handle. He told me to calm down and wait for him to unlock it. Though I had the urge to pull again and again, I crossed my arms over my chest and sulked, instead.
I couldn’t believe him. He wasn’t allowed to toy with me like that. I would put a leash on him and tie him to a post in the center of town for someone else with a savior complex to come along and save him if he ever tried that shit on me again.
“You belong in the pound,” I said as I threw myself into the passenger seat.
Maddox laughed.
I slid a glare in his direction. “Take me home. I’m not staying at your place tonight. I’d rather deal with my own ghosts than with yours. Your ghosts are creepy.”
He started to argue for me to stay, but quickly shut up. The man must have realized that he’d made a mistake. That meant he was a little sharper than I’d first assumed. The man could solve complex murder cases, but he couldn’t see that he was an asshole. My assumption that he was a little slow to pick up on cues was well deserved.
Maddox said nothing the whole drive back to Syracuse. Right before reaching the city proper, he pulled off into a gas station. I realized we’d gone back and forth twice today. It wasn’t the shortest drive, and I’d made him do it twice.
A bit of guilt twisted my stomach, but Maddox paused before getting out of the SUV.
“What’s your favorite candy bar?”
