With Me Now Read online

  “He’s still a creeper. He stared at my legs the entire time, despite the fact he’d figured out we’re sleeping together.” Madison applied a thick layer of eyeliner on her upper and lower lash line, followed by an equally thick coating of mascara. “But, considering the alternative and giving the tantrum he threw when he saw us together in the car for the first time, I’d say we’re in for a completely relaxed and comfortable evening.”

  “Girlfriend, I’m even staring at your legs.” Liam snorted. “I had no idea you were all tatted up like this. You sassy little rebel!”

  “I don’t wear shorts often.”

  “You should, look at you. Mikey. Mikey, tell her she has acceptable legs for a scrawny bitch.”

  “She knows how I feel about her legs.” Mike walked behind her, sliding his hand across her lower back, and reached for his cologne at the edge of the sink. “Liam, correct me if I’m wrong, but after Miller’s team found the remains in Chancellorsville, didn’t the park service release the statement? I don’t remember any press conferences.”

  “You don’t remember them because there weren’t any. The park released a statement and Archeology magazine had an article.” Liam shrugged. “I think CNN had a two minute interview with Miller and that was it. Madison, are those the boots you’re wearing? That’s the hippest thing I’ve ever seen you wear.”

  “I clean up well.” She pulled the sides of her hair back into a clip, letting the rest hang loose down her back, and then shoved a tube of lip gloss in her pocket.

  Mike elbowed her playfully. “With some help.”

  “Shut up.” She elbowed him back.

  He caught her wrists in one hand and pulled her to him. He smiled, revealing his dimples she adored so much, and pressed his lips to her forehead.

  “Ew, gross, seriously?” Liam huffed. “Save the face sucking for later. I’m hungry and that bastard is paying. Let’s go.”

  Mike stuck a room key in his wallet while Madison sprayed perfume down her shirt and retrieved her purse from the table.

  Opening the room door, Liam stepped outside. “I cannot imagine anything more uncomfortable than going to dinner with those two.”

  Madison zipped up her boots and followed him outside. “Hey, I’m twenty-one now. Maybe he’ll buy champagne and I’ll be too tipsy to notice how horrifying the evening is going.”

  “I’m keeping you on the wagon.” Mike slid his hand around hers and pulled her to him. “I’d hate to see you ruin all those important life skills you’ve learned in your rehab classes.”

  “I’m filing it away with what I learned about algebra in high school. Look, yet another day has passed and yet another day I haven’t used algebra. There’s not a big demand for quadratic equations in real life situations.”

  Brad’s truck was parked in one of the spaces at the front of the hotel. Madison could see him leering at her over the steering wheel, his eyes locked on her hand intertwined with Mike’s. Great. First he was a creeper, now he was morphing into a jealous creeper.

  If he noticed, Mike didn’t seem to care. He opened the back door of the quad-cab and boosted her up.

  Liam circled around the cab and crawled in the rear passenger’s side. “Skinny bitches sit in the middle.”

  Madison slid to the center and waited while Mike crawled in beside her. He put his hand on her knee and pulled it against his. “So, where are we headed?”

  “I figured we head out toward Hanover. There’s a nice Italian restaurant there we could go to for dinner, and a few clubs we could hit later if you want. Oh, wait, Madison. You’re underage.”

  “My birthday was yesterday.”

  “Happy belated birthday!” He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “You should have said something.”

  “It’s not really a big deal.”

  Brad pulled the truck out onto the main street. “Does everyone here like Italian? That place I was talking about, La Tavola, has calamari that’s out of this world.”

  “I’m a vegetarian.” Cianna was dressed in a low cut, silver tank top and tight, black pants. She looked ready to hit the club, dinner or no dinner.

  “I already made reservations.”

  Madison inwardly groaned. If only they’d left before Brad had gotten there. If only she hadn’t opened the door and instead dragged Mike back for a longer shower. She could be naked back in the hotel room instead of being trapped in the truck with creeper Brad and insipid Cianna.

  It was going to be a long night.

  * * * *

  As if dinner wasn’t bad enough, sitting at the bar at a half dead dance club was worse. Madison tapped her index finger against the glass of Jack and ginger. The hour and forty-five minutes they’d spent at La Tavola’s was a lesson in patience. Brad kept hinting for information on Mike and Madison’s sex life, Mike would try to change the subject to the dig, and Liam would order more wine. It felt like the worst inquisition known to man and, worse yet, Cianna spent the whole of the time visibly growing more and more upset that Brad was ignoring her.

  Madison threw back her drink. It was time to go back to the hotel and fuck Mike again. This was mind-numbing nonsense.

  “You need to slow down.” Mike took the glass away from her. “You’ve had three more drinks than you should have had.”

  “It’s my birthday.” She pouted, though she was fully aware it would have no real effect on him.

  “Cianna’s dancing.” He slid his arm around her and kissed her neck. “Want to dance?”

  “I want to go back to the hotel room.”

  “I personally didn’t want to leave the hotel room.” He sighed, pulling her to him. “Because, you know, there’s nothing more fun than sitting over spaghetti and meatballs discussing your sex life.”

  “That’s why I started drinking wine.” Madison’s liver had enough experience that she didn’t immediately feel the effects of the Jack and ginger. “But, I can tell you, it didn’t help. That was still excruciating.”

  “I’ll call a taxi.” He trailed his fingers down her jawbone and tilted her chin downward, touching his lips to hers. “We’ll just get out of here and do our own thing.”

  “We should be celebrating.” Madison pulled him back to her, kissing him again. “I mean, Brad only said it forty-seven thousand times. We made the discovery of the century.”

  “I can think of other ways you and I could celebrate.”

  “Then call the cab.”

  Mike wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, planting his lips against her throat. “We can’t abandon Liam like that. No man left behind, they were very specific about that when I was in the Army.”

  “We’d have more fun alone.”

  “Just wait until I get you back to the room and I’ll prove it.” Mike slid his hands down her hips, guiding her against him. “Unless you want to find a secluded bathroom.”

  She closed her eyes. The effects of the alcohol were starting to cloud her judgment. “Stop teasing me.”

  “I’m not teasing you, I’m serious.” His breath was hot in her ear. “You look fucking amazing tonight. I’m ready to take you into the bathroom and just pull that little skirt up.”

  “Is that so?” She tilted his head back to hers, kissing him gently at first, but quickly deepening it. “Brad’s probably watching us, you know that right?”

  “Fuck him.”

  “I’d rather you fuck me.”

  “Oh, I will.” He slid his fingers up her thighs, pushing the edge of her skirt upward. “But you have to wait.”

  “I’m not a patient person.”

  “As much as I want to, I can’t just flip you onto the bar and have my way with you.”

  “Buzz kill.” She squirmed away from him and pulled him to his feet. “I love this song. Dance with me, come on.”

  “How about no?” Mike seemed to be letting her drag him to the dance floor. “I’d rather just watch you.”

  “Nope. You passed on your chance to take advantage of me i
n the bathroom. Now you can dance. And you can enjoy it.”

  Mike chuckled and pulled her against him, sliding his hands down her hips as she danced. He swayed with the music, occasionally singing along, but he seemed far more preoccupied with kissing her neck and touching her than actually dancing.

  Liam danced over. “Don’t be jealous of my dance skills. And no dancing queen jokes because, seriously, I’ll knock you right over.”

  “So, this is how archeologists celebrate the find of the century.” Madison lifted her arms up and reached behind her, pulling Mike’s head to hers. “Reasonably mediocre Italian food and a lame dance club.”

  “We’re living the dream, baby!” Mike’s breath was hot in her ear. “Bad food and entertainment is how we roll.”

  “You’re damn right we’re living the dream!” Liam swayed with the music, lifting his arms in the air. “Honestly, you bitches think it gets better than this?”

  Mike spun Madison around and kissed her, cradling the back of her head with his hand and locking her in place. When he pulled away, he touched his forehead to her. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t.”

  She could see Brad over Mike’s shoulder, seated alone at the bar. He was glaring at them, anger knitting his brow in deep furrows, and holding a shot glass to his lips. His eyes were fixed on her, his gaze steady. He threw the drink back.

  She ignored him. Touching her lips to Mike’s, she smiled. “Agreed.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ten minutes before seven on Wednesday morning, Mike’s cell phone rang. He cursed and, without lifting his head from his pillow, fumbled on the nightstand for his it. “What?”

  Madison rolled onto her back, pawing her hair out of her eyes. What a night.

  “Are you kidding me? Well, no, I wouldn’t expect it to be official at this point either.” Mike pushed himself up into a sitting position. He rubbed the side of his face. “What do you think? Yeah, she’s right here. If they’re not done¸ why are they calling us in already?”

  Madison reached for her glasses on the nightstand and shoved them on her face. In theory, whatever Brad wanted was important. If nothing else, it was enough to get Mike fired up. It was kind of hot.

  “We’ll be there. Dude, I said we’d be there.” Mike rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Yeah, I’m sure it’s awesome.”

  He hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. “So, apparently the park superintendent called Brad at six o’clock this morning to let him know the osteo-archeologist found something.”

  “Something as in, the remains are modern and the dig is shut down permanently.” Madison paused. “Or something as in, they identified the remains?”

  “I have no idea. Brad doesn’t even know.” Mike stretched his arms over his head and yawned, craning his neck from side to side to crack it. “He said they worked all evening Monday when we were out celebrating and all day yesterday. Nothing official, but they wanted to talk to us.”

  Madison laid back down against the pillow and pulled the blankets to her chin. “Part of me is excited, but the other part of me remembers we didn’t go to sleep until two in the morning. I’d rather stay in bed.”

  “Well, the bad news is they want us at park headquarters by nine.” He picked up his phone again and slid his finger across the face. “The good news is that the park went ahead and released the statement to the press this morning. He said it’s online.”

  “Twenty bucks says we’re not even mentioned by name.”

  Mike tapped his finger against the side of the phone. “Here it is: For immediate release, archeological team headed by Bradley Emerson discovered human remains at the Spangler Farm site on Monday. The remains are currently being investigated by a forensic team brought in from Washington. The national park service will hold a press conference Friday at noon. No further information is available at this time.”

  “And, I’m not surprised.”

  “At least we didn’t have to stand there while Brad read some kind of prepared statement.” Mike leaned over and kissed the top of her shoulder. “I’ll run over and bring breakfast back for us. You start getting ready.”

  “Make sure there’s lots of coffee invited back to the room with you.”

  “I can do that.” He crawled out of bed and crossed to the dresser, pulling out clean boxer briefs and a dark green shirt. As he dressed, he glanced back to her. “So…after we’re done at park headquarters, what did you want to do?”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “I thought maybe I could take you around the battlefield and then out to a nicer dinner than Brad took us to Monday.” He slid the room key into his back pocket and then walked back to the bed, leaning over to kiss her. “Because, as much as I’d rather be in here making love to you darlin’, you have physically worn me out.”

  “Get a protein bar on your way back.”

  “I guess you’ll just have to love me for my mind for the time being and not my body.”

  She giggled and swatted at him. “Get out of here.”

  “You’re only saying that because you know I’ll bring you back donuts.” He chuckled and headed to the door. “I’ll be back.”

  She blew him a kiss and then slid back under the covers as he closed the door, stretching her arms out over her head. God, she loved him. Everything about him was intoxicating, from the way he held her, made her laugh, fucked her, teased her—even just sitting around talking about nonsense with him was amazing. She was becoming one of those girls who just gushed and gushed about their boyfriends. It was an odd feeling, considering how toward the end of her relationship with Anthony, she didn’t even admit she knew who he was.

  The mattress lurched slightly, as if he had just sat down at the foot of the bed. She smiled and rose up onto her elbows. “Did you change your mind?”

  No one was there.

  Her mouth ran dry. She pulled the blanket closer to her breasts and sat up, glancing around the room. She’d felt the bed move, as if Mike had sat down again. The hairs on her arms pricked up; she knew she wasn’t alone in the room. Impossible.

  “You…you’re supposed to be at peace.” She whispered, staring at the foot of the bed where she felt his presence. “I found your remains. You can…rest now.” Was there something specific she had to say? Something to prompt him to cross over…or whatever lost spirits had to do.

  Madison…

  “I know you’re here. I don’t understand why.” She closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind on him, letting her body relax from the top of her head down to her toes. “I thought you wanted me to find your remains.”

  …save her…

  She held her hand out, palm facing the wall. After a moment, she felt a pressure on her hand, like the warmth of a palm pressed against hers. “Who are you trying to save?”

  He sounded far away, as if the strength to touch her exhausted him. His touch waivered and for a moment, he disappeared completely. When he came back, his touch was stronger than before. …Keep you safe…

  “Tell me what I need to do. I want to help you.”

  Body…the body…now bones…

  “I found your bones.” She shivered. Why did this have to be so damn difficult? “We found them, we’ll bury them properly now. You deserve that.”

  I failed.

  “You didn’t. You didn’t fail. Were you part of the 11th Corps? The Union won the war, Ben, your sacrifice saved them.” She fumbled for something to say. What was she missing?

  I was part of the 11th. But, I failed…I won’t…again.

  “You led me to the bones, I know you did. You knocked the sifter over and showed me where to dig.” She could feel him fading. The pressure of his hand was diminishing. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Did you want me to find you?”

  Save you. Madison…you know I can’t stay long…

  “If you need to go, it’s okay. You deserve rest.”

  I can’t rest…until…

  His voice faded and, in an instant, every trace of his p
resence was gone. She couldn’t feel him physically or mentally.

  Madison sighed and buried her face in her hands. Couldn’t rest until what? What else did she have to do? Granted, it was the forensic anthropologist and osteo-archeologist who were actually removing the bones from the site. But, that aside, if they found him and buried him as he should be buried—the park service would do that, right?—wouldn’t that qualify as saving him? What else would he need?

  She leaned over the edge of the bed and found Mike’s under shirt where he’d dropped it last night. Pulling it on, she slid off the bed and walked to the bathroom. It felt appropriate to cover up, just in case he came back, but she had a feeling it didn’t matter. If he’d been in the room earlier…well, it was suffice to say he’d seen it all anyway.

  Her reflection looked paler than normal. She turned the water on to warm it and then dipped her hands in, scrubbing her face. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell Mike about seeing Ben, but there really didn’t seem like much of a point to it. He couldn’t do anything but tell her it was going to be okay. They’d found the remains, so, in time it was probably going to sort itself out.

  She dried her face off and then put in her contacts lenses. Yes, it would sort itself out. There was no reason to tell him.

  As she applied her eyeliner and mascara, she could see the reflection of the door behind her. It swung open and Mike walked in, carrying two Styrofoam cups of coffee and two plates of food. She wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to unlock and open the door. “Here, let me help you.”

  He glanced at her and grinned. “If that’s what you’re wearing today, I approve.”

  She flushed. “Well, you know. Cold as always.”

  “You look pale.”

  “I always look pale.” She took a drink of coffee and smiled. “Did you get any donuts for you?”

  “Hilarious. This plate is yours. Keep your grimy little hands off mine.” He popped a piece of bacon in his mouth and winked. “I thought we’d come back here after we slum around the battlefield for a while. Shower, get ready to go out, that kind of thing. I was thinking…you know, maybe you could wear that little skirt again.”