Edge of Disaster (14 page)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

We landed in Charleston right around eleven and we were at the Middleton mansion before noon. They did brunch once a month as a family.  It was quite an extravagant affair with all sorts of wonderful dishes.  Eggs benedict, crab omelets, shrimp and grits, biscuits, bacon, sausage and an array of sweets.  Bloody Marys, mimosas and Bellinis were also making the rounds.  They were a family that liked to have a good time.

“Oh Pearce, don’t forget about the upcoming Heart Ball.  Your father is the chairman this year and we’re hosting several tables.”

“Right. What’s the date again?” Pearce asked.

“It’s the first Saturday in February.  I hope you’re bringing Alexia.”

Everyone turned to me as Pearce answered, “I hope so too Mom.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied.

“The Heart Ball is a fundraiser that Dad’s practice is involved with every year. It’s a black tie affair and it’s usually at Charleston Place.”

“That’s right,” Susan chimed in.

“Sounds great.”

“Then you’ll come?” Pearce asked.

Talk about pressure.  I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t afford to buy anything but I didn’t have anything fancy to wear to something like this.  Pearce must’ve noticed my angst, because he leaned in and whispered, “And I get to take you shopping.” He was serious. I could tell from his expression it was something we wanted to do. I raised my brows but he just nodded.

“Sounds like lots of fun...especially going with you all.”

Susan beamed and then so did Henry.

Pearce looked at Justin and asked, “Who’re you taking?”

“I have no idea. Maybe no one.  Alexia, you don’t know any single ladies, do you?”

I looked at Justin for a moment and thought really hard about this for a second. Then I blurted out before I lost the nerve, “Yeah, yeah I do.  Her name’s Terri and she’s my best friend.”

Pearce turned to me and said, “Are you sure?”

“Why not? Maybe you should meet her first. That was the plan anyway, remember?”

“Yeah.”

“So what, I need Pearce’s stamp of approval or something?” Justin asked.

I backed out of this whole thing because I didn’t want to get caught in an argument. We all thought it best that Pearce meet Terri first and then the four of us could go to dinner.

********

My week was so busy with the upcoming trip to Greenville that I didn’t have time for anything.  All the security measures had been finally completed at Lisbeth’s so I was free to move back in. I was nervous staying by myself the first few nights, and I also missed Pearce like crazy, but I had so much work that I didn’t need any distractions. He was on call for the week, all the way to Saturday, so it worked out to my advantage.

Every night he’d text me if he was able to make it here before two in the morning, so he wouldn’t scare me or anything. That only happened on Wednesday and Thursday. By Saturday, when his call was finally over, he was beat.

I went and picked up some things to cook and had dinner ready for him by the time he walked in the door. He looked a wreck. He walked straight into my arms and hugged me, then gave me a long sexy kiss. He pulled me behind him as he walked up the stairs.  I helped him undress so he could take a shower.

“Join me,” he begged as he moved us into the bathroom.

How could I resist that invitation?

We got in the shower and I squirted a big dollop of body wash in the palm of my hands and rubbed them together to make a sudsy lather. I began to wash him, starting at his neck and moving south. I allowed my hands to linger in certain areas, rubbing the knots of tension out of his muscles. I started massaging the body wash on his shoulders and back, down to his waist and I couldn’t stop when I got to the round curves of his ass. My hand slipped between his legs and things got really heated then. He spun around and picked me up, slid inside of me and backed me into the corner of the shower. His mouth was all over mine, but the way I matched the motion of his hips had me telling him I wanted more.

“Tell me Alexia. What do you want?”

“I want you Pearce.  All of you. Faster.”

“Like this?”

“Yeah, just like that! Ah,” I cried.

“Look at me Alexia.” His voice was hoarse and raw with passion.

Every time he said that to me, it threw me off the cliff. I came and he followed.

“I don’t want you to pull out. Do you think we can just stay like this forever?”

“It’d be nice, but a little difficult to explain to my patients.”

I broke out into a fit of giggles.

“You are so sexy, Pearce.”

“Ha! Not anywhere near as sexy as you. Now it’s my turn to wash you.”

I knew where this was headed.  He started with my hair.  He really loved to wash my hair. I think he loved watching the soap suds travel down my body most of all. Next he said he thought my nipples needed an extra washing so he took great care to be thorough with them. By the time he finished, I was moaning and grabbing his hair. He moved to my abs, then my hips, but then he teased my inner thighs, massaging and tickling. When he finally slipped two fingers inside of me, I orgasmed around them, calling his name. He turned me around and stretched my arms above my head. Then he slipped in behind me and started moving at leisurely pace. That didn’t last long. It seemed that whenever we joined together, some kind of force overtook us and we became so passionate our slow pace was thrown out the window. We simply couldn’t stick to slow. We were breathless and completely spent by the time we both climaxed.

“You’re gonna be the death of me one day.”

“What do you mean.”

“Sex, babe.  Death by sex, Alexia. It’s fucking amazing with you. Every damn time. Always. Never the same. Always a new experience, like it’s the first time. I love you sweetheart.” He bent and kissed my neck.

“Aw, you’re just saying that,” I kidded.

“Yeah, uh huh.”

“Pearce?”

“Yeah?”

“I think you’re gonna need to get a bigger water heater.”

We both laughed as we got out of the now cool shower.

I served him dinner in bed and he told he about his week. It was a killer...no pun intended. Lots of gunshots, car wrecks, and one guy got mangled up by a boat propeller. Other things happened but I was amazed by his talented hands again and I held them against my heart and told him so.

“Thanks angel. I’m drifting so I’ll just tell you now. Don’t want to sleep alone anymore. Marry me. Love you.”

And then I heard his soft even breathing.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Pearce and I were meeting Terri at Home Team in West Ashley for lunch. We got there a little early and got a table in the back where we could have a little privacy. She bopped in and I waved my arm at her. She couldn’t see Pearce until she was right in front of him.  Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped open. I grinned and Pearce rose to his feet.

“Hello Terri, I’m so happy to finally meet you. Alexia has told me so much about you. I feel as if I already know you.”  I could already tell his voice had hypnotized her.

He ushered her into her seat and she still hadn’t said a word.

“So how’s it going Terr? I already put in an order for some wings.”

Still no word. It was like her mind had been zapped by Pearce.

I looked at Pearce and he looked at me and shrugged.

“Terri! Hello, is anyone home?” I snapped my fingers in front of her face.

She finally shook her head and said, “Sorry. Don’t know what got into me.” Then she blushed.

“S’okay. So, I wanted you to meet Pearce because you said you wanted to give your approval.”

“Oh, I approve all right. He’s hot as shit.”

“Terri!”

“Oh fuck! I did not mean to say that out loud. I am so sorry. Oh shit. Lexi, I’m sorry.”

“Well, don’t apologize to me. You need to apologize to Pearce. That was kind of rude.”

She turned to Pearce and said, “She’s totally right. I’m really sorry. I was just...well, I wasn’t expecting you to look the way you do. I mean you’re a doctor for Christ’s sake.”

“TERRI! What the hell?”

“Oh man, this is going from bad to worse. What I meant was that doctors aren’t usually good looking.  They’re normally pretty geeky.”

“Okay, look Pearce, my friend Terri’s body has been invaded by a species that has absolutely no tact. Please forgive her and then forgive me for making you sit through this torturous lunch.”

After about fifteen minutes, Terri finally got her mind and wit back and Pearce had her charmed like nothing I’ve ever seen. He could really put it to work when he wanted to.

They talked about growing up in Charleston and the high schools they’d attended. He was seven years older than she was so they weren’t in school at the same time, and they’d gone to different schools, so it really didn’t matter anyway. They talked about college and she told him about meeting me at UVA and she wanted to know where he went. I had never thought about this, so when he told her he’d gone to Harvard, I almost fell out of my chair.

“Don’t let it fool you though. I’m pretty thick headed most times.”

Yeah, right. Harvard. WTF! How did I not know that?

As if he read my mind, I felt his hand slip into mine, under the table, and his thumb started massaging tiny circles in my palm.

The waitress showed up with our wings and I was glad for the distraction, but not nearly as glad as my stomach was. I was starved.

We all dug in and munched on the best wings in the universe when Terri, or maybe it was Pearce, almost, but not quite, made me require the administration of the Heimlich maneuver.

“So Pearce, what are your intentions as far as Lexi is concerned.”

“Well, Terri, I’m glad you asked. You see, I’m madly, passionately and wildly in love with your best friend here and I would love nothing better than for her to be my wife. But, she thinks things are moving too fast, so I want her to live with me until she is used to the idea of becoming Alexia Hammond Middleton.”

I choked as Terri yelled, “Holy fuck!”

Pearce immediately wanted to know if I could breathe. Terri kept yelling, “Holy fuck!”

Now, other people in the restaurant were looking at us and Pearce kept asking me loudly if could breath. I finally eked out a squeaky, “Yes,” as I continued to cough.

“Jesus, Alexia, you just gave me another MI.”

“Oh,” cough, cough, “and what do you think you did to me?”

Terri kept staring at Pearce, mumbling, “Holy fuck,” over and over.

“Terri, will you stop it already.  I love the hell out of him too, okay?”

She gave her head a really hard shake and then asked, “Why don’t you want to get married, Lex?”

“Ha, good question, Terri!” exclaimed Pearce.

“I do...just not yet. We’ve only been together a couple of weeks.”

Pearce grabbed my head and kissed me soundly on the mouth.

Terri just looked at us in awe and mumbled something like, “If only in my dreams.” Finally something clicked in her brain. Then she said, “Okay look, Pearce, Lex is like my sister. I love her more than my sister. Well, I don’t have a sister, only a brother, but you get my meaning here. She’s right. Y’all have only been together a couple of weeks.  Anything this magical is worth treasuring and waiting for, right?”

“Yeah, it is. And I told her I’d be waiting for her until the end. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here for her forever.”

Terri looked at him, examined him, to make sure he was being honest. I already knew he was, but I wanted her to see it for herself.  When she did, she said, “You’re a good man Pearce Middleton. But if you ever harm even an eyelash of hers, I’ll twist your balls till you’re blue in the face. You feel me?”

Pearce looked at her and said, “You know I do and you can count on me Terri. The last thing I’d ever do is hurt our girl here. Plus, I really value my balls.”

********

Three nights later, on Wednesday, the four of us, and that would be Pearce and I along with Terri and Justin, met at McCarthy’s for a casual dinner. Pearce had been so taken with her, he agreed that maybe she and Justin might end up having a good time at the Heart Ball together.

I warned Terri about how much the two brothers looked alike because I didn’t want her to act like a buffoon again.  She promised that now the shell shock of being surrounded by a Greek god had worn off, she’d be on her best behavior.  I did some serious eye rolling on that comment.

Terri and Justin seemed to have a great time. I didn’t push anything, but I knew I’d get the truth from her afterward. I was headed to Greenville in the morning for my big presentation, so maybe I would have some time to call her later that day.

The presentation went great and we would find out the following week if we were awarded the contract. My manager did most of the presenting, except for the pitch to get all the hospitals on board to align with the electronic medical records. My part was to show them how they could integrate what they had now and streamline everything into one secure system. It could be linked to their offices and all satellite hospitals, making it a simple task for their physicians to access any of their patients records. As long as the patient was in the system somewhere, they could link to that patient. The hospital could stop duplicating its data entries everywhere.

Then I went in for the kill. I explained how this could decrease their costs because it could allow for fewer employees, lessen the chance of medication errors, which in turn, could protect them from avoidable lawsuits. Patient information at the physician’s fingertips, anywhere, anytime without a time lag is the dream in streamlined medical care.  When I finished, they were practically drooling.

We wrapped everything up and hit the road. We had a three hour drive so by the time we got back to Mount Pleasant, it was after seven.

I took my time getting home, being extra careful because I was really tired. Pearce was on call so I was in no hurry.

I pulled into the driveway and went inside after disengaging the alarm system, being careful to reset it immediately.

I grabbed a water out of the fridge and headed to the bedroom. I changed my clothes, washed my face and brushed my teeth and crawled into bed.

********

My phone ringing woke me up at six the next morning.

“Hey sweetheart. How’d it go?”

“Hmm. Great.”

“I woke you.”

“Yeah. What time is it?”

“Six.”

“Oh, thanks then. I was so tired I didn’t set the alarm. Are you home?”

“Not yet but I’m headed that way. God, it was a long night. Can I bring you a latte?”

“Would you?”

“Are you kidding? I’m leaving here in ten.”

“See ya in a few.”

I got up and showered. I was getting dressed when I heard him come in. I ran to greet him and damn, he looked perfect, as usual. Hair all messy, wearing blue scrubs and those running shoes he loved. He had that nice dark scruff on his face so I grabbed his cheeks and rubbed mine against his.

“Damn you look good,” I told him. “Wish I didn’t have to go to work this morning.”

He took my hand and slid it down between his legs and said, “Me too.” His erection was bulging against my hand.

“Shit Pearce, that is so not fair.”

“For who, you or me, ‘cause baby the way I see it right now, it’s not fair for me.  I’m a bit uncomfortable at the moment.”

“Will it always be like this between us?”

“It is for my parents.”

“How do you know?”

“Just start watching them when you’re around them and then you tell me.”

The biceps and deltoids in his arms stood out as he handed me my coffee. 

“Thanks.”

He leaned in to kiss me. “Are you going to tell me or do I have to tickle it out of you.”

I beamed from one ear to the next. “It was awesome. I think I killed it.”

“Woohoo!” he yelled as he picked me up in the air and twirled me around. “You go get ‘em babe!”

We both laughed.  I looked at the clock and he knew I had to get a move on.

“My house tonight?”

“Yeah. You on call?”

“Nope. I need to get you my call schedule. I’ll email it to you today.”

“Kay. Stay while I get dressed.”

He followed me back to my room as I threw on some clothes and he looked in my closet as he sat on the bed.

“I want to take you shopping tomorrow to get a dress for the ball. You up for it?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

I finished with my stuff and we both headed out at the same time. I set the alarm as I left. He kissed me and I hopped into my car and took off.

Traffic was cool so I got to work on time.  My manager was thrilled with our performance yesterday so it was a great day at work.  The hours flew by because now my manager wanted to write up a plan that everyone would start following when they presented our package to large hospital systems.

It was five o’clock before I knew it and I hadn’t even eaten lunch. I left work and drove home. Once there I grabbed my weekend clothing, and headed to Pearce’s.

When I pulled in his driveway, there was another car there. I really didn’t think anything of it so I ran up the steps to the side door we always used and let myself in with my key. Once inside, I was going to go upstairs to leave my stuff in the bedroom, but I heard Pearce’s voice coming from the front of the house. He was in the formal living area that we didn’t ever use. What I heard next made me cringe.

It was the banshee.

“But Pearce, darling, we used to have so much fun. I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.”

“I’ve told you Carmody, I have someone in my life that I love, that’s why.”

Okay, I like that.

“Why, you can’t mean that mousy thing you had with you at your parent’s house, can you? Because if so, what’s happened to you honey?”

“Alexia isn’t a mousy thing and you know it Carmody.”

“Well darling, she certainly looked frumpy to me. What was that thing she was wearing?”

I heard Pearce expel his breath forcefully. “Carmody, I think it’s best if you leave.”

“Pearce, I was hoping you and I could, well, you know, rekindle our flame. I’d like to wrap my lips around your...”

“Enough Carmody!”

I’d never heard Pearce use that tone of voice so I could tell he was super angry.  I decided he could use a little help in there.

I waltzed right in the room and from the look of the banshee’s face, I knew I was the last person she expected to see. I went straight up to Pearce, stood on my tiptoes, wrapped my arms around him, pressed my body against his and kissed him. Really kissed him...total tongue, lips and mouth moving against him and then I ground myself against him until I heard him moan...loudly. When I was satisfied, I released him and leaned back a bit and declared, “I’ve missed the hell out of you today Pearce Middleton.”

Then I turned around to the banshee and grabbed her arm and escorted her to the door.

“I believe your visit is concluded, Darmonkey. Have a nice day.” I shoved her out on the front porch and shut the door behind her, turning the dead bolt so she couldn’t mistake the sound.

When I walked back into the room, Pearce was looking at me with a new kind of respect in his eyes. Then they started twinkling.