A Beauteous Flower

Chapter 27 - The Cabin in the Back Yard

The bedroom was awash in warm spring light when Madison woke up. Daniel had pushed aside the curtains on the bed and opened the French Doors to greet the early spring morning. Out on the balcony, he stood clad in gym shorts and the orange sunrise. The sight of him surrounded by the morning corona stirred Madison from the bed and she tip-toed nakedly across the floor and hugged him from behind like a belt. He was no longer just her man. He was her fiance and soon to be her husband. That might have been the sexiest thought Madison ever had in her life, so she squeezed him tightly. Daniel caressed her clasped hands then gently turned in her embrace.

"Good morning, Madison."

Madison beamed up at her fiance Daniel.

"Good morning, fiance!"

They had never gone in for pet names. Madison had tried out "Dan" "Danny" "Honey", "Sugar" and a few others, but none of those suited Daniel. Daniel had never called her anything except "Madison", but her name sounded so savory in his chesty baritone that Madison didn't complain. The way he said her name sounded so seductive with a firm accent on "Mad", a sensuous hiss of "s" in the middle and a crisp buzz of "n" to finish it. Sometimes Madison pretended not to hear just so Daniel would repeat himself and she could savor the sound of her name on his lips again. And late at night or early in the morning, when he spoke her name with a sleepy growl in his voice, it made her knees weak. Madison kissed his chest lightly and clutched herself closer to him.

How it was that Daniel was always so warm? No matter what the temperature, Daniel's body always gave off a comfortable aura of warmth. Madison was always cold, so Daniel's warmth was a boon to her. Before she had moved in, she always missed the sensation of his warmth around her when she slept in her own bed. Now all she ever had to do was reach out and Daniel would be there to warm her for the rest of her life. Madison sighed at that joyous revelation and Daniel kissed the top of her head.

"It's passed time I got to work. Gandalf will wonder where I've gotten to."

Madison looked up at Daniel and smiled.

"Awww. Stay with me," she cooed at him seductively. "Just a little while longer."

Daniel smirked back and kissed her nose.

"If I don't go now, I'll never get started," he observed and he was right, of course. Madison wasn't in the mood to share Daniel with anyone or anything this morning. It didn't seem to be in the cards though because Daniel scooped her naked body up, carried her back to the bed and tucked her in. Then he pulled on a pair of sneakers and a tee shirt and stood up to leave. He looked so delectable that morning that Madison wanted to gobble him up like a rich slice of cake.

"You sleep a bit more," he told her with a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you for lunch."

Madison almost pitched a fit to get him to stay with her, but she got distracted by the sight of his ass while he walked to the door. When he opened the door, Gandalf charged in and entwined himself in Daniel's legs. Daniel greeted Gandalf happily and scooped his cat over his shoulder as he left the bedroom. Draped over Daniel's shoulder, Gandalf eyed Madison with that steady stare that unsettled Madison. She could almost feel distrustful wariness in Gandalf's blue stare like an unspoken reproach that was dangerously close to what Rosalina had said out loud the day before and no one seemed to completely disagree with beyond polite platitudes. Was there no one in Daniel's life that was happy about their engagement?

That hint of worry knitted Madison's brow, but it passed quickly when she looked down at her left hand. She grinned a Cheshire Cat grin at the sparkle of her diamond in the morning light. Daniel was all hers, no matter what anyone else said.