First Rapture (The Rapture #1)(19)

CHAPTER FIVE

If Madison possessed a gun she would have shot the alarm when it jolted her out of her restless sleep.

With a groan, she lifted her head, blearily reaching to grab her phone and end the chirping.

Eight thirty.

Crap. She’d been asleep less than two hours.

She hadn’t actually expected a good night’s sleep after she’d returned to Kristen’s apartment. Not after the way she’d parted from Luc. But it was still aggravating that she’d tossed and turned until after six a.m.

Even worse, she had an appointment at nine thirty that she couldn’t miss.

Cursing at the headache that felt as if it was drilling a hole in her brain, Madison stumbled from bed and into the shower.

Thirty minutes later she was clean and dressed in faded jeans and a casual stretchy top. She pulled her hair into a braid, but she left her face bare of makeup.

Her appointment was at a shop known for its discretion, but there was no point in trying to attract unwanted attention. She was famous enough to occasionally capture the interest of the paparazzi.

Besides, there wasn’t enough makeup in the world to disguise the pallor of her skin or the purple shadows beneath her eyes.

Grabbing her purse, Madison stumbled out of her bedroom, lured toward the kitchen by the scent of freshly brewed coffee.

She ignored Kristen’s curious gaze as she moved to take a seat at the breakfast bar, deeply relieved when a cup of steaming black coffee was placed on the counter in front of her.

“Thank god,” she muttered.

“And good morning to you too, sunshine,” Kristen mocked, appearing nauseatingly perfect in her black pencil skirt and crisp white shirt. There wasn’t so much as a strand of honey hair out of place.

“Ugh.” Kristen sipped the coffee, sending her friend a jaundiced scowl. “Why are you shouting?”

The indigo eyes widened with surprise. “Do you need my famous cure for a hangover?”

Madison shuddered in horror. She’d only tasted the infamous cure one time, but it was enough to have left the hideous taste scorched into her memory.

“Not even if I was on my deathbed,” she muttered.

“Hey,” Kristen protested. “It’s guaranteed to work.”

Madison grimaced. “It also tastes like snail sludge.”

“How would you know?” Kristen narrowed her gaze. “Have you actually tasted snail sludge?”

Madison held up a hand, her brain still throbbing. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t have a hangover.”

“Uh-oh.” Kristen turned to cross the tiled floor, swiftly returning to place a small bakery bag in front of Madison. “Here.”

Madison frowned as she reached into the bag. “What’s this?”

“An emergency red velvet cupcake,” Kristen said. “I swung by the bakery last night just in case you failed in your mission.”

Madison pulled out the cupcake, her mouth watering at the sight of the cream cheese frosting topped with sprinkles.

“I didn’t fail,” she said, concentrating on pulling the wrapping from the cupcake in an effort to avoid her friend’s searching gaze.

Kristen made a sound of disbelief. “This is what you look like when you succeed?”

“It’s…complicated.”

“Somehow I’m not at all surprised,” Kristen said on a sigh. “Eat.”

Ignoring the massive calories that would have to be worked off at the gym, Madison demolished the cupcake in record time, pleased when her headache became almost bearable.

Nothing like sweet, gooey goodness to ease the pain.

“Mmm.” Madison licked her fingers. “Much better than your nasty hangover remedy.”

Kristen rolled her eyes, cleaning away the mess Madison had made. The woman was a true neat freak.

“Now tell me what happened,” Kristen commanded.

Madison wrinkled her nose, taking another sip of the coffee. “Luc Angeli happened.”

“Ah.” Kristen leaned against the edge of the counter, her expression warning she wasn’t going to allow Madison to leave until she had the full story. “So he was at the hotel.”

“Yes.”

“And as handsome as ever, the annoying devil,” the blonde-haired woman said, obviously having seen Luc around town.

“And as arrogant,” Madison muttered.

“What did you expect?”

Madison gave a short, humorless laugh. “A good question.”

Kristen stilled, studying Madison with a growing concern. “Maddy…” She abruptly grimaced. “Sorry, I meant—”

“Maddy’s fine,” she assured her friend. She’d ridiculously thought that insisting on being called Madison would somehow separate her from the naïve girl who’d so eagerly invited Luc into her bed.

The truth was that she would never be able to rid herself of Maddy.

Her past was simply a part of her.

“What happened?” Kristen prompted.

“It went just as I planned.” Madison grimaced as she was forced to relive her latest humiliation. “I met Luc at the party and less than a half hour later he was in my hotel room.”

“Not surprising,” Kristen murmured, her gaze closely studying Madison’s pale face. “No man could resist a night with Madison Philips.”