Maddy went to bed early, tired from her physical exertions, and he slipped into her room an hour later. He undressed and got into the spare bed quietly. He wasn't prepared for her arrival quite so soon. She slipped into his bed and his arms, and placed a warm kiss on his surprised mouth.
“I've wanted to do that all day. But it wouldn't be right to kiss my new boss, would it?”
“Give it a try, you never know. He might like it when he's bored with cleaning the tack,” he suggested with a laugh.
“Aden...?”
“Yes...?”
“That kiss wasn't an invitation things to go further.”
“That's cool with me. I like being your teddy bear. You can cuddle me all you like.”
“That sounds very appealing, but before that let's have a proper goodnight kiss, like the one we had this morning.”
“Maddy, I don't believe you're this innocent. Can't you tell I have a lot of deep feelings for you already? Another dose of heavy tongue twisting like that is going to tip me over the edge. Honestly, I won't be able to stop, and you've got enough going on at the moment, haven't you?”
“Oh, I see. Well in that case it's not such a good idea then, is it? I'll settle for a hug.”
“That I can do without getting overcome.”
But instead of turning her back, like the night before, she snuggled down forwards, into his chest, her arm around his waist.
“I'm getting some deep feelings for you too. Is that allowed?” She murmured.
“As deep as you like,” he replied, a surge of joy flooding through him.
“I'm not into sharing though.” She looked up and he caught the brightness of her eyes in the dark.
“Nor am I, it would seem.” he said softly in reply, his eyes holding hers.
“'Night then, it's been such a lovely day, far better than yesterday anyhow.”
“Yeah, that it has. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better. Pleasant dreams sweetheart.”
She kissed his neck lightly and stroked his chest with her fingertips and finally, with a deep sigh, fell silent and still and fast asleep, hugging him tightly.
He had never felt so close to anyone as he had at that moment. His heart grew with such feelings it was fit to burst. He felt like he was on a runaway train travelling somewhere wonderful, somewhere he'd never been before, and he so wanted to get there and see it. But at the same time it scared him more than he liked to admit.
He roused in the depth of the night. He could have sworn he saw a brief flash of light in his half opened eyes and heard the bedroom door close. But all was still and dark. He came to the conclusion he had been dreaming it.
She was still there, curled across him, her leg looped around his. He sighed with pleasure and stroked her hair before he drifted off to sleep again.
Shane woke them. They came apart self consciously as he shook Aden hard.
“Come on, get up. Mia's gone. Her room's empty and she's taken the old truck. And Maddy, I'm sorry but she's fucked up your car.”
“No... The stupid jealous bitch.” Aden's mind processed it all quickly. “I think she came in here last night. When we were asleep.”
“Well you two looked like a right pair of love birds all cuddled up there on that single bed.” Shane pointed out the facts, not that he needed to. “You know, I think she put two and two together and rightly made four. But in any case, it's probably for the best. You've always made it clear that any one of us can leave whenever we want.”
“No, I owe her an explanation of some kind. I have to find her,” Aden insisted, pulling on his clothes in a rush.
“She could be anywhere. Leave her to cool off. She'll be back soon. She won't risk the full moon without shelter,” Shane suggested sensibly.
“You're right. Maybe I'll give her some time to think and calm down.”
This event concerned him more than he was letting on. He never slept in the females' rooms. It was his rule and they all knew it. They always came to him, into his lair, where he was king. By seeing them together like that, Mia had realised his intentions were different towards Maddy. Although she had misconstrued his reason for being so close to her at that moment, his underlying meaning was clear.
He had chosen Maddy and Mia knew that she and the others would no longer be welcome in his bed.
They stood by Maddy's car, silently surveying the damage. What a damn mess it was. The roof had been buckled and dented beyond recognition, as if a heavy weight had jumped up and down on it repeatedly, which of course it had. The tires had been slashed to shreds, and even the shreds had been shredded. The wipers and side mirrors had been bent and wrenched off, and the hood had large clawed slash marks criss-crossing it everywhere.