Mad Passion Read online

  Tyree laughed, “I tried to warn you…”

  She cut him off, “I know and I don’t want to hear anything about it right now. I just need to crash at your place for a bit.”

  “You know you are welcome anytime. That is why I gave you a key.”

  Rolling her eye heavenward, she said, “I know, I know.” She sat up straighter in bed. “Why are you calling your own house anyway? You didn’t know I was here.”

  “I was checking my messages, but deciding to see if you might be there. I had a feeling that you didn’t want to speak to me yet, so you might come around when you knew I was out of town.”

  She hated how he knew her so well. “I didn’t want to talk about my situation yet. And I know you would want to interrogate me.” She yawned into the receiver, “I need some sleep Ty. Can we talk tomorrow?”

  Knowing he wasn’t going to get anything out of her at the moment, he acquiesce. “Alright, I’ll call you tomorrow. Get some rest.”

  Replacing the handset on its base, Madison burrowed into the covers and closed her eyes. She felt much better, having spoken to Tyree. Now, she could sleep peacefully. On that thought, she surrendered to sleep.

  Chapter Three

  Four weeks passed fast for Madison. She was kept busy around the house and talking to Tyree throughout that time. He wasn’t due home for another three weeks, but just talking to him every day was like having him near. They talked about any and everything possible, with the exclusion of Ron. She didn’t want to dampen the companionship they shared with ugliness just yet. They were finally back to the closeness that had almost evaporated thanks to Ron and his jealousy. No, she was not going to threaten that again.

  In the time she had been hiding out at Tyree’s, Ron had only been there twice. Each time he arrived at the gate trying to get inside. Madison had looked at the surveillance cameras when the alert of a visitor was heard. Tyree never closed his gates except at night or he was away. Thinking this should be a clue to Ron that no one was here, she had finally relaxed enough to venture outside into the garden at the rear of the house. It has become an evening ritual for her.

  She enjoyed the expansive house and grounds greatly. It provided her with space to roam and not feel caged in. Thinking back on the day Tyree had purchased it a year and a half ago, she smiled. He had brought her along to get her opinion, and she had to admit that she was impressed with the house from the start. It set back about half a mile from the road, the curving driveway adding privacy to the isolated stretch of land outside of Los Angeles. The house itself was not completely visible until you were almost in front of it.

  The tour prove to be very exciting and tiresome at the same time. Going through the four bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, game room, gym, TV room, formal dining room, and so much more, that by the time they were done with the inside, she had to stop the tour to catch her breath. Tyree joked that she was getting old if she couldn’t take walking around only six thousand square feet. She laughed and pinch him once she caught her breath. It was a fun time for two friends and she enjoyed every minute.

  As Madison made her way into the house, she heard the phone ringing. Rushing into the kitchen to answer it, she stumped her big toe on the bar stool. Releasing a string of curses as she hit the talk button, she was cut short when she heard the unmistakable laugh of Tyree. “And what is so funny, you butt?” she demanded.

  Trying to hide his amusement, Tyree answered, “It’s amazing to hear you cuss. It is a rare thing and I couldn’t help but laugh.”

  She frowned, “Don’t laugh at me, Ty. I stumped my toe.” Trying to sound pitiful and failing, she continued, “It’s hurting very badly.” Her attempt at sounding wounded only made Tyree laugh harder. “I’m about to hang up,” she grumbled.

  “Sorry, Mad. You are just too funny.”

  “What did you want?”

  Sensing her irritation, Tyree became serious. “I’m sorry I laughed. I just wanted to check on you and make sure you are okay.”

  “I’m fine. I was just in the garden. How has your day been so far?” Although it was only noon where he was, she knew that he was a busy man. The demands of the music business.

  “It’ been crazy. I had to get some new threads thanks to some stupid ass fool.”

  She could hear the anger in his voice, knew how he was particular about his appearance. “Ty, I hope you didn’t hurt somebody.”

  “He better be thankful Justin stepped in when he did. I’m just tired of incompetent people.”

  “It can’t be all that bad,” she laughed.

  Hearing her laugh eased some of Tyree’s anger. “It’s not. I’m just sick of everybody grabbing for some piece of my ass. I’ll be glad when this tour is over.”

  “I know. At least it’s not a long one.”

  “Thank God for that.” Tyree asked her about her day and what she had planned for the evening and she asked him about other things going on with him. The called ended with each of them laughing. Smiling to herself, she hung the phone up and fixed a light snack, then headed for the patio.

  It was around two in the afternoon three weeks later, that Tyree was letting himself into his home. He was anxious to see Mad. Carefully setting his keys on the foyer table and setting the alarm, he continued on to the TV room, knowing it was her favorite place to be.

  Stepping into the room, he noticed Madison sleeping on the couch in one of his pajama tops. Staring at her, he realized that she was a beautiful woman, not just a beautiful friend. With her hair spread across the arm of the couch and her hand tucked under her cheek, she looked like an angel. The blue of his shirt went well with her coloring. His eyes trailed down the path of her neck and stopped at the opening of the shirt. The top of one of her breast was peeking out from the open vee. For the first time he could remember, his went dry looking at her. Damn, she was so sexy. He halted his thoughts. What hell is wrong with me? he thought. It must be the fact that she was the first and last person he spoke to everyday for the past several weeks and him not releasing himself on some groupie that had him thinking this way.

  “When did you get home?”

  Tyree jerked his eyes from her breast to her face, feeling guilty for his thoughts. “Just got in,” he croaked.

  Sitting up and stretching, she gave him a bright smile. “Welcome home.”

  Eyes returning to her breast, Tyree saw the hard knot of her nipples poking at the shirt as she stretched, and his little fellow was waking up. His mouth began to water thinking about rolling one with his tongue and lightly biting down—.

  “Tyree, are you alright?” she asked with concern in her voice. By now, she was standing in front of him with worry clear in her beautiful green eyes.

  “Sorry,” he averted his eyes, “just thinking.” About ravishing your body. Shaking his head mentally, he looked into her eyes. “I’ve missed you, Mad.”

  “Then give me a hug,” she said as she opened her arms in invitation. “I’ve missed you too.”

  He gladly stepped into her waiting arms. When their bodies touched, Tyree was jolted with a surge of desire. Her breast were so soft pressed up against his chest, he thought he would die from wanting to feel them skin against skin.

  Abruptly breaking the hug, he stepped back. It proved a mistake, as he could now see what the blanket covering her earlier had hid. She wore no pants. His cock started to grow even harder. Hoping she didn’t notice his beginnings of a tent, Tyree grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the couch she just vacated.

  Madison did notice, and a lot more. She noticed how he was looking at her breast when she first opened her eyes. It felt good to be desired, but nothing would come of it. They were just friends and that was how it needed to stay. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that desire would not destroy what they had. Their friendship was too important to ever allow it into the equation.

  “You looked so peaceful in your sleep, I didn’t want to wake you.”

  Sitting beside Tyree, she placed hand fre
e hand in her lap. “Just taking a little nap. I didn’t expect you until much later.”

  “I took an earlier flight. I didn’t see any point in staying when my part was done.” He released her hand, “I got to admit that I wanted to see you.”

  Smilingly she said, “Same here. We are getting closer and I’m sorry for the distance that has been between us.” She placed her finger on his lips to silence him, “I should not have let Ron come between us as I did.” Before she could remove her finger, Tyree flicked his tongue out to lick it. Snatching her hand away, she blushed.

  “What?” he asked trying to look innocent.

  “You know what. Stop playing around,” she admonished.

  Ignoring her comment, and feeling suddenly lighthearted, Tyree suggested they go to the movies. “It should be a nice to hang out and relax after my crazy tour.”

  Madison wasn’t ready to go out, but looking at his handsome smile made her feel like a butt. He needed some down time and it was just the movies. What could happen in a public place? “Alright, if we must,” she joked.

  Really looking into her eyes, he saw hesitation. “What’s wrong? Is it Ron? Has he been bothering you?”

  She hadn’t told him the extent of her problems with Ron, but knew it wouldn’t be long before he wore her down. “I just don’t want to chance running into him. I haven’t spoken to him since I left.”

  Putting his arm around her shoulders, he offered what comfort he could. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you. I got your back.” He looked down into her face, “What really did happen, though?”

  Feeling agitated, she extract herself from his embrace, “I don’t want to talk about it and I need to get dressed.” She walked out of the room before he could comment.

  An hour later, Madison made her way downstairs ready to go. Tyree walked into the hallway and stopped as he caught sight of her appearance. “You look—nice,” he smirked.

  Looking down at the blue jeans and pink tank top she wore, she rolled her eyes at him. “Thanks a lot. I didn’t bring many things with me.”

  Grabbing his keys, he headed for the garage, “If you want, we can go by your house.” He left the sentence unfinished, waiting for her to catch up with him.

  “I’ll go when I’m ready.” She picked up her jacket as she neared the garage door. “Let’s go.”

  He opened the door and waited for her to proceed out. As he held the door to his Mustang open for her, he asked, “Where is your car? I didn’t it.”

  Waiting until he was seated behind the steering wheel, she answered him. “It’s parked at the Mall. I caught a cab here.”

  “If it’s still there, we can bring it back here.” He started the engine, “At least, that way you’ll have your own ride.”

  “Fine.” She said no more. Just stared out the window ignoring him.

  Tyree inwardly sighed. Mad was being difficult about what was really going on with her. Patience, patience, patience, he chanted in his head. It was going to take patience to get to the bottom of this. He just hoped he had enough.

  As the credits began to roll across the movie screen, Tyree grabbed Madison’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go get something to eat.” When she agreed, they headed out of the empty theatre. At this time of day, it was easy to slip in and out without too many people bum rushing them.

  Walking out into the cool July evening air was a delight for her. The gentle breeze was refreshing after being in the stuffy air of the theatre. She was feeling so much better. Strolling along beside Tyree was pleasant since he was not hammering her with questions. Finally relaxing and giving up to the pleasure of the moment, she grabbed his hand and squeezed.

  “Thanks for the movie. It helped to bring me out of my sour mood.”

  Smiling down at his best friend, he said, “It was my privilege. I rather see your smile than your frown.” Deciding to bait her, he added, “Unless, you’re losing a match to me.”

  She punched him in the arm with her free hand. About to give him a stinging set down, she was interrupted. “Ain’t this cozy.” Abruptly dropping Tyree’s hand and turning around, Madison came face to face with her husband.

  Tyree felt her tense as soon as she heard Ron’s voice and turn around with her. He knew she had left the fool, but couldn’t understand why she was so afraid of him…unless Ron had been violent to her in the past.

  He was about to ask her about it when Ron continued, “I knew you were here with this nigga.” He walked up to them in the middle of the parking lot. “When you coming home?” he asked her.

  When he reached for her arm, she stepped back. “I don’t know.”

  Not liking that answer, he took a step toward her when Tyree placed himself in front of her. “Back the hell up.”

  Ron turned his anger on Tyree, “Why you in my business? She is mine and I can have a word with her if I want to.” He returned his attention to Madison standing behind Tyree, “Let’s go home so we can talk.” When he saw her hesitation, his anger escalated. “Are you choosing to stay with him instead of coming home with your husband?”

  Although the question was evenly spoken, she knew better than to trust him. Nodding slightly, she moved closer to Tyree’s back.

  Tyree felt her at his back and knew she was scared of what Ron might do to her. Focusing on Ron, he said, “She gave you her answer. Step off before I put you on your ass.

  Trying to see behind Tyree, Ron threatened, “I’ll be seeing you, wife…” Looking at Tyree again, he continued, “both of you.” With that statement hanging in the air, he returned the way he came.

  Making sure Ron was no longer a threat, Tyree turned to have a look at her, “Are you alright?” Although she nodded her head, he could see her shaking. Wrapping his arms around her, he murmured soothingly in her ear. When the shaking finally subsided, he led her to his car and got her settled before slipping in behind the wheel.

  “Ty, I don’t feel much like going anywhere else.” She peeked at him from the corner of her eye. “Can we just go home?”

  He couldn’t help but heard the hope in her voice. It broke his heart that she was so upset. “We can order in if that’s what you want.”

  As he started the car, she tried to smile, “I just want to be back in the house, and to shut the world out.”

  “We can do that. Just hang out and binge on junk food.” He smiled when he saw the corner of her mouth twitched. He thought to himself that it was going to be a while longer before she told him what was really going on in her marriage. Until then, he would just be patient…even if it killed him.

  Chapter Four

  Madison woke to the smell of eggs, sausage and coffee. She jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom to freshen up. As she got dressed, thoughts of Ron flooded her head. It had been a week since the altercation at the movie theatre and she was finally starting to feel safe. If he haven’t done anything by now, then maybe he wasn’t going to. Clearing her mind of all thoughts of her husband, she went downstairs in search of breakfast.

  The moment she entered the kitchen, Tyree shoved a plate at her, “Eat. I know you got to be hungry.” He smirked, “I saw how little you ate last night because of pouting.”

  She grumbled and sat at the table with her plate of food. “I don’t like to lose and you know it.” she complained.

  Sitting down beside her, he laughed. “You are such a poor loser, you shouldn’t even play any games.”

  She ignored him and dug into her food. Tyree was a great cook and he knew it. It was not much the man could not do.

  He broke into her thoughts, “I’m going into the studio today.”

  “That’s great. Did you finish the song that’s been troubling you?”

  “Yeah, a few days ago.”

  She gave him one of her brilliant smiles, “We have got to celebrate.”

  So distracted by her smile, he did not hear her. “What did you say?” Laughing lightly, she repeated what she said. “You know we will. I just don’t how lo
ng I’ll be.”

  “That’s okay. We can celebrate anytime. I’m just happy you finally finished.” He finished his meal, stood up and bent his head and kissed her on the forehead. Feeling a little puzzled about the kiss, she asked, “What was that for?”

  “For being my best friend.” And before she could say more, he left.

  Almost immediately after Tyree left, she headed out the front door. She wanted to get to her house and back before he returned. It was also a good time to do so since Ron should be at work. He went in early on Tuesdays and she was going to use it to her advantage.

  Getting into her Sentra she strapped her seatbelt on, thankful Tyree had had the car brought to his house. It was a miracle it wasn’t towed away. Something else to be thankful about. Money was something she did not have much of. Ron didn’t think she needed anything other than what was needed for the house. Men, she thought, disgusted.

  At her house, Madison hurriedly packed her things. She was so preoccupied with packing, she didn’t hear Ron pull up in the driveway, nor did she hear him enter the house.

  “Well, well, well. If it ain’t my cheatin’ ass wife.” Because her back was facing the bedroom door, she had to turn around to face her angry husband. Noticing the bags for the first time, Ron sneered. “Going somewhere?”

  Inching toward the door, she said, “I’m going back to Tyree’s.”

  He stopped her from sneaking around him by grabbing her arm. “You ain’t going nowhere. You belong to me and me alone.”

  “Ron, I don’t want to be here. Can’t you understand that I cannot live with the way you have been treating me?”

  He backed her up against the wall. “You want to be here. That nigga just got yo head screwed up.” He ran a finger down the front of her shirt. “It’s been a long time since you’ve let me have my way with you.”

  “Ron, please let me go,” she pleaded.

  “I can’t do that.” He paused as if thinking. “At least not until you give me what you’ve been givin’ yo friend.” When he rubbed her breast through her shirt, Madison thought she would be sick. Remembering the last time he raped her gave her the strength to stay her stomach. Now was not the time to be weak, she had to get free.