Midnight (McKenna Chronicles Book 1) (49 page)

Looking
out to the expansive lake, I see the sun bouncing brightly off the ripples of
the water. I nod. “It is. It’s one of my favorite places in the whole world.
You’ll have to come back in the summer when the water is warm enough to swim
and we have the boats in the water. I’ll take you for a ride.” I smile at him
again.

His
eyes are smooth, not faltering when I mention the future. “I’d like that,
Charlie.” His voice is soft as his eyes connect with mine.

Ali
takes this moment to pop in. “Mind if I join you?”

Before
either of us can answer she plops down next to Colin, pushing him toward my
side of the bench with her hips. He laughs at her tenacity, scooting over to
give her more room. His arm drapes naturally over my shoulder, pulling me into
his side like he has done a hundred times before. My heart swells. I love
having him here; I love him.

“Did
Charlie tell you I’m in med school?” It’s very unlike Ali to start a
conversation with this information. Where is she going with this?

“Yes,
she mentioned you just finished your third year in the residency program at Georgetown.
Have you decided on a specialty?”

“Mmmm,
not necessarily, but I really enjoyed the rotation in the emergency room. The
people, the injuries you learn about in that element are unbelievable. You
would be amazed at the things I’ve seen. In one case, I had to stitch a poor boy
back together after he was stabbed—stabbed by his girlfriend’s sister because
he broke her sister’s heart.”

“Ali
Carter!” I scream, turning a few heads in our direction.

Colin
laughs, his head thrown back, a deep belly laugh that warms my heart. Well, I’m
glad he finds her funny. I’m horrified she would threaten him. I glare at Ali.
Her face remains sweet, and she bats her beautiful eyelashes at me. She looks
like a cherub sent from the heavens, but she’s a devil. I narrow my eyes in as
menacing a look as I can manage and mouth,
Stop!

Colin
recovers, pulling me closer into his side. “You don’t have anything to worry
about, Ali. There won’t be a need for you to wield your scalpels against me.
I'll protect Charlie’s heart with my own.”

As
if it knows Colin is referring to it, my heart flutters; how is it possible he
can be this romantic on top of everything else? Ali beams. “I just needed to
make sure.” She pats Colin’s thigh, a friendly tap to confirm her consent. Her
eyes grow wide as she feels the hard length of his muscle, well hidden by his
jeans.
Wow
, she mouths at me with large eyes. This time
I
laugh,
giggling at her expression.

I
nod in agreement, saying out loud, “You have no idea.”

Colin
looks at Ali and then me unsure of what passed between us, but we’re both
giggling like schoolgirls so he lets it go.

~

Colin’s
arrival and subsequent joining of the party has completed this chapter of my
life. I feel whole and happy. He has enjoyed himself too, as a good-natured
smile hasn’t left his lips all day. His phone remains relatively silent, giving
him a much-needed day off.

Ian
and Sammy asked him to play a game of horseshoes with my dad, so the four of
them are playing and chatting easily. I’m at the makeshift bar getting a refill
from Uncle George, who took over for my dad to give him a break.

“That’s
a pretty solid fellow you got there, Charlie, girl,” he says kindly.

I
smile. Uncle George is very kind and gentle, like my dad. “He is, Uncle George,
a very good man.” Walking back to Colin with our beers, I giggle as I think of
the words
solid
and
Colin
in the same sentence. That he is—very,
very solid.

I
notice he has stepped back from my dad’s side to take a call. I’m still smiling
when I reach him, my grin broad and just for Colin. Before I know his
intentions, his phone waves in front of me and he snaps a picture.

“Let
me see it!” I demand.

“It’s
beautiful, Charlie. You’re beautiful,” he says as he leans down for a kiss, our
lips barely touching in a sweet caress. Just for fun, I open my mouth to touch
his bottom lip with my tongue. A low rumble resonates from his chest before he
pulls away.

I
can’t help the impish smile sassing my face. “I’m going to go help Mom with
dinner.” I lean into him once more, my hand caressing his cheek this time.

“Don’t
be gone long, baby.”

My
heart does a somersault and I leave him with wobbly legs. I can’t believe how
much a word or a look from him affects me. I’m glad to have the distraction of
pulling out all of the food and getting it situated on the buffet table.

My
mom puts me in charge of a large pot of boiling potatoes, carrots and onions
she has in the large turkey fryer just outside the right of the house,
separated from the guests. I glance at Colin and my dad, their game still
underway. He’s watching me intently, eyes dark and devilish. A deep longing
radiates from those eyes, as if he wants me for dinner rather than food.
Hmm,
I just might be able to make that happen
. I tear my gaze away and continue
scooping the steaming vegetables into a couple of smaller bowls, placing them
on the buffet table not too far away. As usual, my mom made way too much to
ensure there’s plenty of food. I’m careful not to splash or drop anything; the
steam rising heavily from the opening of the pot indicates the water is still
scalding.

Just
as I put the last batch into a bowl, the next-door neighbor’s dog begins
barking, and it’s progressively getting louder. Kim and Jake are here, so I’m
not sure why Mick is loose. He rounds the corner into our yard, running
full-tilt toward Jake’s voice, who is yelling for him to stop. Too late, he
trips over one of the legs of the stand holding the fryer full of water. Mick
rights himself immediately, unhurt from the accident. He runs to Jake, but the
fryer becomes unbalanced with the force in which he hit it. It’s going to
collapse, the boiling water coming with it. There isn’t enough time to stop the
fall so I jump away before it topples over.

I
wasn’t quick enough. The hot water slaps against the back of my leg, my exposed
right ankle taking the brunt of the heat. I hear a scream of pain and know it
must have come from me as I stumble to stay upright, withdrawing as much weight
from my right foot as possible. My skin is burning, searing painfully. Somehow,
Colin is at my side, his breath coming in quick bursts. Ian and Sammy follow,
one of them taking the bowl of vegetables from my hand. I’m amazed I didn’t
drop them.

Colin
easily picks me up in his arms, taking me away from the spilled water running
in rivulets through the lawn, steaming as it goes. I bury my head in his
shoulder, trying to hold back tears as my ankle throbs, the pain pulsing from
the burn.

Rushing
into the house, Colin heads to the kitchen where my mother is frantic; I
suspect she saw what happened from the window. Setting me on the counter, Colin
turns the faucet on quickly, gently moving my leg from the knee down into the
cold running water.

It
feels so good, bringing some relief to the pain blistering my skin. I haven’t
lifted my head from the crook of his neck; his hand is gently rubbing my back
to offer comfort. His breath is fast and harsh in my ear.

“I
need to get your pants off, Charlie.”

Why
is he trying to get me undressed now? Later, would be a much better time. “Your
ankle will swell and I need to get them off of you before it happens. I can cut
them if you prefer,” he answers my unasked question.

I
pull back with wide eyes. “No, I love these pants. You can’t cut them.” I hear
the incredulity in my voice.

He
glares at me. “I’m not worried about your fucking pants, Charlie.” I can see
he’s angry, and not in a mood to be reasonable.  

Fine.
I lean back into his hands and unbutton my pants at the waist; I don’t want him
getting near me with a pair of scissors. He lifts me up to push my pants down
from my hips, leaving me in my tank and a pair of pink lace panties. I’m
thankful I put on a nice pair this morning. Who knew at the time that I’d later
be stripped for
Colin
and everyone else? I forgot my mom was in the
room, and Ali now, too. I glance at them as Colin strips me. They don’t seem
too worried about my scanty appearance, their faces are filled with fear and
worry.

“Hold
on to me, baby.”

Without
thinking about his command I grab his neck. He pulls my pants over my ankle as
gently as possible, but they still scrape against the delicate skin, sending
spikes of pain up my leg. I gasp, not expecting how much a small injury could
hurt. Colin tosses my pants to the floor, holding me close.

“We
need to keep your leg under the water for fifteen minutes and then we’ll take a
look at it and decide if we need to get you to the hospital.”

“No,
no hospital,” I say my voice full of trepidation.

“Charlie,
I’m not arguing about this. If you need to go you will go.” Again with the
no-argument tone. I’ll wait to dispute his notions of a hospital until I have
to.

Glancing
away from him and to my anxious audience, I say, “Mom, Ali, I’m fine. Go get
everyone eating. Colin’s with me, I’m fine.”

My
mom looks like she’s going to cry, but I’m not sure it’s for the obvious reason.
“I can see you are, honey.” Her wet eyes glance at Colin’s stoic figure, his
hand mindlessly rubbing my back to soothe me as his other hand rests on my bare
leg.

“Go.”
I shoo them away. Ali walks up pushing Colin to the side, her
over-protectiveness popping through. Doctor Carter is doing a house call. She
looks at my ankle under the water, examining it closely. Washing her hands in
the opposite side of the sink and rinsing with the spray nozzle, she presses a
finger gently to the burn. It stings and aches, but the pain is manageable.

“Keep
the water running on it for another ten minutes and I’ll be back.” Her voice is
trained and sounds like a physician. She grabs my face with both of her hands.
“Why do you always do this?”

I
shrug. “Who knows why things happen to me? They just do, I’ve learned to live
with it.”

Colin
groans and I lift my eyes in time to see his rolling toward the heavens. Ali
laughs, patting him gingerly on the back. “Better get used to it. Charlie has a
natural lure to all things dangerous or that cause injury.”

“I’ve
had the unfortunate pleasure to learn that she does,” he says with painful
recollection of our days in New Jersey, upstate New York and the recent threat
from a stalker.

Ali’s
head whips to me. “What have you not told me?” 

I
glare at both of them. “Nothing, I’ll tell you later. It’s nothing.”

Colin’s
low growl in his chest gives me away. My eyes blaze into his in warning for him
to keep his growls and everything else to himself.  

“You
will tell me,” she warns as she begins to back out of the room, her eyes
flashing angrily at me.

“Geez,
both of you lay off a bit, will you? It’s not like I invite bad shit to happen
to me, it just does.” I pout, crossing my arms in front of me like a petulant
child.

Colin’s
hand rubs my back again, soothing my anger and the pain in my ankle.

We’re
alone in the kitchen now; the only sound is the running water. I can see Mom
has gotten everyone to start eating, the river of water sunken into the grass,
the remnants of the fryer removed.

Colin
lifts my chin so I have to look at him; his eyes are hooded and unreadable. I
can’t tell what he’s thinking, but I can guess what he’s going to do when he
drops the blinds. We’re plunged into early evening darkness and shielded from
prying eyes . Leaning down, he presses his lips against my forehead, but that’s
not good enough for me. One of my arms slips around his lower back and the
other moves into his wind-mussed hair. I won’t accept anything other than what
I want and right now that’s him. “Make me forget about the pain,” I whisper,
knowing very well he won’t refuse me that.

His
breathing escalates, hands snaking into my coiled hair to hold me close as his
lips dip to touch mine. Our mouths move as one, tongues dancing together in a
passion play. Granted I haven’t really had any experience in this department,
but Colin is a damn good kisser. I’m panting into him with no thoughts to the
outside world, everything forgotten.

A
hand leaves my hair, sinking slowly to press against my neck, his thumb stroking
my collarbone. My skin melts under his hot touch, and the heat sends sweet
tingles to spark my blood into a boil. Groaning into his mouth, he responds by
nipping my bottom lip and diving back into me hungry and greedy, leaving
nothing in his wake. His hand slips underneath the band of my tank and strap of
my bra, caressing the curve of my breast. Oh, how I want him to touch me. I’ve
missed him so much; my breasts ache for him, his fingers and his mouth.

My
hand moves south under the waist of his jeans, pulling his shirt so I can slip
under his boxer briefs to feel the hard definition of his butt. He groans now
in response to my touch, deepening the kiss automatically as if he wants to
grind something else into me. As my hand squeezes him tightly his fingers slip
into my bra, rubbing against my nipple. Instantly it peaks for him and I push
my chest forward, imploring him to play with me. His lips leave mine to look
into my disoriented stare as he grips my nipple, tweaking it between his strong
fingers. I inhale quickly, feeling the twinge profoundly in my groin. Instantly
I’m moist and wanting.

“Colin.”
It’s a whisper, barely audible as his fingers tease me, rubbing and pulling at
my nipple. His eyes are dark with longing, heated with lust and something
else—devotion? I gasp again as the feelings grow intense, my body bowing into
him.