“Why do you push people away?”
I open my eyes and roll onto my back to stare at the ceiling. She shifts closer, not allowing me to escape and presses the length of herself against me, her upper body half on mine so she can look into my eyes. I embrace the exquisite torture she wreaks within me. Her scent so delicately feminine, soft, like a secret just for me, invades my senses.
She’s all I see, her lovely face so close to mine. If things were different, if she didn’t look at me with guilt and pity in her pale green eyes, maybe I could let her in. Instead, I lie here cursing myself for not being enough of a man for a woman like her.
She cups my jaw in her hand and whispers, “What’s going on in there?”
I can smell lemonade on her breath and dream of tasting it from her lips. Would I repulse her? Could I live with the look of disgust she’ll have if I do it?
In that moment, I decide I don’t care.
My hand firm on the back of her head, I pull her lips down to mine. She manages a small gasp of surprise before our mouths touch. I don’t waste the opportunity and slide my tongue inside to taste her. She doesn’t pull away, instead she melts against me; the hand she had pressed to my chest to lean over me, now bunches the fabric of my t-shirt.
Days of wanting her, of fantasizing about her body beneath mine shred my willpower. It will hurt if she rejects me, but that’s a risk worth taking.
Rolling back to my side and taking her with me, I deepen our kiss as my other arm presses her tightly to me. Her tongue touches mine and my hand slides down to grasp her perfect ass. She moans against my lips and shifts her leg up and over my hip to grind her body against mine. I harden, almost too painfully to relish the warmth of her body within my arms.
My lips break from hers, the desire to taste her skin too great to ignore. Her hands move up to my head, her fingertips sliding into my hair as she holds me to her. I taste her jaw, her neck, the hollow of her collarbone. I move my hand from her hair to cover her breast. She moans again, the sound goes straight to my dick. I tug at the V-neck of her t-shirt, pushing her breast up to kiss the flesh exposed above the cups of her lacy bra.
It takes all my willpower not to rip her shirt from her body. Instead, I lower my hand to its hem and pull it up high enough to uncover her bra. I don’t wait; I suck her nipple into my mouth through the lace of her bra. She bucks against me. I lift my lips back to her as my fingers tug the cup of her bra down. Her bare skin is heaven against my hand.
I roll her nipple between my thumb and index finger, pinching it lightly and swallowing her cries. I pause when her hand moves to cover mine, pulling my hand away from her. I still and start to lift my head but her other hand in my hair holds my mouth to hers. I groan when her intent becomes clear. Her hand firm on mine pushes my hand down her body until I’m cupping her between her legs.
I fumble with the button of her shorts until it opens and slide the zipper down before sliding my hand right into her panties. Her hips buck as I stroke her soft skin. She breaks our kiss pulling back to lock her eyes on mine. I don’t slow my touch. There is nothing I wanted more in the entire world before now than to watch this woman release in my arms.
“Hey guys.”
The shout preceding the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs causes both McKenzie and me to freeze.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I mutter before hurriedly fixing her clothes. She stares at me slack jawed, her eyes never leaving my face.
A moment later, Rachel steps into the basement.
I peer over Mitch’s shoulder to see Rachel standing there, her mouth hanging open at the sight of us on his bed.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I’ll just go,” she shouts, turning on her heel and running back up the stairs.
I face plant into Mitch’s chest and laugh. It takes me a moment to notice he isn’t laughing. In fact, he seems stiff and tense. I lift my face to look at him, my cheeks heating as I remember what we were doing before Rachel interrupted us.
His face is hard, his eyes no longer melting with desire. I move to press my lips back to his, but he pulls back.
“No,” I snap. “You don’t get to go all cold on me now.”
He closes his eyes; but instead of moving further away, he tucks his face into my neck and coils his arms around me. I soften against him circling him with my arms. I’m not sure why he kissed me; though, I’m certain it won’t be the last time, if I have anything to say about it. It was the best first kiss, scratch that, the best kiss I have ever had.
I rest my cheek against his temple. “How did you know I was in trouble?”
He starts to pull away. I move my hands to frame his face when he doesn’t answer. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. I’ll stop asking.”
I pause and press my forehead to his. “He was going to hurt me.” My breath hitches. “He used to hurt me when we were together.”
I pull my face back and slide my thumbs back and forth over his cheekbones. “Thank you for saving me.” I suck in air, and wetness hits my eyes. “I’m so sorry you got hurt.”
“Don’t,” he whispers, moving forward to kiss away the first tear that spills from my eyes, and then the next.
“Even from the first night I met you, even though you look scary . . .”
His lips tilt up at this and I continue. “Somehow I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”
His eyes close briefly before he opens them and nods, the look in them filling my belly with warmth.
“You won’t will you?” He looks confused so I keep going. “Ever hurt me?”
I answer for him. “You’ll keep me safe.”
He pulls me tightly into his arms and kisses my forehead. I settle against him, exhausted from our earlier activities, our conversation, and fall fast asleep.
“McKenzie.”
I burrow closer to the big, warm body in front of me.
“McKenzie,” Mitch says again, this time chuckling.
“I’m sleepy,” I mumble.
“My family is going to be here soon,” he replies.
My head snaps up and he laughs aloud. He’s always been scary beautiful; but laughing, a wide smile on his face, even with all his scruff, he is the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.
He stops laughing, his face soft as he reaches up to stroke my cheek.
“I don’t want to get up,” I admit.
He shrugs. “Don’t blame me. I didn’t invite them.”
I smack his arm. “They seem nice.”
To this, he makes no reply so I move on. “Do you want to try to put your leg on by yourself?”
The soft expression in his eyes vanishes as I watch it harden.
“Don’t pull away.” I breathe, moving forward to press my lips to his and, with my mouth on his, say, “I won’t let you.”
I’m relieved when his lips soften under mine, and he kisses me back.
“Stubborn,” he mutters before releasing me, rolling to his other side before sitting up, and shifting ’til he’s at the edge of the bed.
“I know you are,” I tease, getting up and off the bed to move over to him.
His liners are on the floor next to his leg. I lift the nylon one up and offer it to him. He takes it from me and quickly rolls it on.
The first time I saw his bare leg it shocked me. I’ve never known someone who’s lost a limb before Mitch. My help getting his liners off and on bothers him; and at this point, that’s the only thing that bothers me.
Once he has his nylon liner on, I offer him the silicone one. This one is not easy to put on. I sit back and let him do it without my help, even though it’s almost impossible to ignore the way he grimaces as he bends over to do it. With the walking we’ve been doing, at this point, it shouldn’t hurt his stitches to be a bit more physical.
I pass him his leg once he’s finished with his silicone liner. He stands, stepping with his prosthetic until it clicks into place. His forehead is beaded with sweat from the effort; but I don’t
care, I still want to celebrate.
I jump onto the bed behind him and spin him to look at me. Putting my hands on either side of his face, I slide my fingers into his hair and drop my lips to his. His arms wrap around my lower back, holding me to him.
I lift my head, gazing down at him. “Don’t think you can get rid of me now that you don’t need my help.”
He grins and puts one of his hands on the back of my head.
“Shut up,” he mutters before pulling my lips back down to his.
There’s a creak as the door at the top of the stairs to the basement opens.
“Is it safe to come down?” Rachel teases.
I pout against Mitch’s lips before lifting my head. “Yes.”
Her steps sound down the stairs and she enters the room. I haven’t moved from Mitch’s arms and she grins at the pair of us.
“We’ll need to get you a portable stepstool,” she remarks.
“Har har,” I deadpan.
I step off the bed, holding onto Mitch’s arm to keep from falling on my face.
He dips his mouth to my ear once my feet are firmly on the ground. “Once my stiches are gone, I’ll pick you up whenever you want to kiss.”
I shiver and he tucks me into his side. Rachel lifts her brows and I smile broadly at her, wrapping my arm around his waist. Instead of taking the basement stairs to the main level, we take the long way around the outside of the house to the front door since there are fewer stairs.
Zeus takes a moment to do his business in the backyard before we reach the gate to the front drive. I’ve never known a better-behaved dog, I think to myself, and not for the first time. When we get to the front stairs, Mitch takes his time with them, careful not to overdo it.
For once, he doesn’t seem to mind my help. Somehow, downstairs we had a breakthrough. Rachel is waiting for us at her front door, holding it open as we both pass through it.
“What can I do?” I ask.
“You’re on salad duty.”
She turns to Mitch, “Will you help me set the table?”
I was a lame friend for napping while she prepped for a dinner party.
“Are you sure I can’t do anything else?”
She nods. “All I did was throw together a chicken and pasta casserole. Alec is picking up some cheesecake on the way home so relax, babe.”
I do as she says, thankful she didn’t outdo herself food wise and kept it simple. Giving Mitch’s hand a squeeze before I go, I turn and head into their kitchen. Rachel has everything I need laid out for me on the kitchen island. As I work, I listen to Rachel attempt to engage Mitch in conversation in the dining room and laugh to myself at his one word answers.
By the time I’ve finished the salad and put the bowl in the refrigerator, Rachel and Mitch are done with the table. I walk out to look at their handy work.
A cheerful multicolored tablecloth covers their large table. They must have put in extra leaves because it normally only seats six. Two folding chairs complete the eight circling it. Rachel and Alec’s simple green plates are set in front of each seat, a napkin and flatware on either side.
In the center is a blue table runner with short and long tea light candleholders in the middle of it.
“We’ll light the candles before we sit down,” Rachel remarks, stepping back to admire their work.
“Looks great.”
She blushes, reaching out to straighten the fork at the place setting in front of her. You’d think she was cooking for Alec’s parents with the effort she’s putting into this. It’s another reason why I love her. There’s no way I’d be able to host something remotely similar at my place. She’s doing this as much for me because I like Mitch, as she is to thank Mitch for being there that night.
I move to stand next to Mitch and reach for his hand. He doesn’t hesitate to hold mine and we move into the living room. This one room still has its original wallpaper. While the paper isn’t as bad as what was in the dining room, it still isn’t great.
This paper mimics wood paneling, but not well. It also doesn’t go with their furniture. Rachel bites her lip as she sits on her sofa, leaving her loveseat for us. I can tell the wallpaper irritates her and promise myself to start working on it as soon as I can. With all of the Mitch drama, time has flown by. It’s hard to believe but the grand opening of our Critter Haven and Spa is next week.
The front door opens and Alec hurries in, a grocery bag in hand. Rachel stands to kiss him and walks with him to the kitchen.
I turn my torso toward Mitch and look up at him. “Do you forgive us for springing your family on you?”
He shakes his head, but does it smiling.
“You are a complicated man, Mitch Brooks.”
He shrugs and kisses my temple in response.
“I’m taking your smile and your kiss as forgiveness. Just so you know,” I mutter.
He makes no argument to this, and when Rachel and Alec come in, I leave it at that.
“How was work?” I ask Alec as he sits with Rachel on the sofa.
He lifts his hand, a bandage covering the backside of it. “I had a cat take offense to her checkup.”
“Goodness,” I blurt. “Did she scratch you or bite you?”
He grimaces. “A bite. She wouldn’t let go either.”
“What happened to your magic touch, Dr. Doolittle?” I tease.
He shakes his head, grinning. “I guess she didn’t see the movie.”
“You wouldn’t do that, would you?” I ask Zeus, leaning forward to stroke his fur.
No matter where Mitch is, Zeus is not far. At this moment, he’s curled up in front of us. He lifts his head, his tongue lolling out as I scratch him behind his ear. Just then, their doorbell rings.
We all stand, but Rachel is the one who moves toward the door to answer it. Mitch is stiff next to me, so I move closer to him, tucking my side flush to his. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and glances down at me, his face soft.
It’s not long before Rachel ushers his family into the living room to join us. When Alec is introduced, he lifts his bandaged hand as his excuse for not shaking their hands.
I wave and say, “Hello,” with a welcoming (I hope) smile on my face.
I don’t move away from Mitch, as his arm around my shoulders has not moved, making it clear he likes me right where I am. I am pleased to see him nod a greeting to his family, which is an improvement to earlier.
Rachel glances at her watch. “Okay, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes. Can I get anyone a drink?”
I abandon Mitch briefly to help her with drinks in the kitchen. He reclaims me, tucking me into his side, once Rachel and I have finished passing the beverages out. His family watches this, riveted. I can’t help but wonder why it’s been so long since they’ve seen him, considering how obvious it is that they care for him.
Alec and Rachel are the king and queen of small talk. Thanks to them, the conversation doesn’t seem stilted or uncomfortable. They are the best buffer friends ever. The dinger on the oven goes off; signaling Rachel’s casserole is ready. I hang back, collecting everyone’s glasses to put them in the kitchen, while everyone, minus Rachel, goes to sit in the dining room.
I wasn’t expecting Mitch’s mom to hang back as well.
She takes the opportunity, with us alone in the hallway off the kitchen, to speak to me.
“Thank you, McKenzie, for everything you’re doing for Mitch.”
I start to remind her that it’s the least I could do, considering him rescuing me, and all; but she stops me, grabbing both of my hands in hers.
“I thought I’d lost my boy forever. Thank you for bringing him back to us.”
I gulp down the lump forming in my throat at her words. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to start sobbing in front of her. I manage to hold back the tears from forming and squeeze her hands back.
“He’s an amazing man,” I reply.
“That means you must be pretty amazing as well,” she murmurs bef
ore letting go of my hands and leaving me dazed in the hallway.
I take a deep breath. I’ve only just scratched the surface when it comes to understanding Mitch. It’s nice to know I have his family already in my corner.
When I join everyone in the dining room, I see the seat next to Mitch has been saved for me, so I slide into it. As soon as I’m settled, his hand is warm on my thigh. There is nothing sexual in this. He isn’t rubbing my leg or trying to slide his hand into the danger zone at a table with his family and my friends.
No, we had a breakthrough today. His hand is there for comfort. Twenty-four hours ago, I wouldn’t have believed my presence could offer that to him. I cover his hand with mine and reach for my wineglass when Alec raises his to make a toast.
“To friendship, both the tried and true support of old friends, and the possibilities awaiting us with new friends.”
“Here, here,” Mitch’s dad replies, lifting his glass and the rest of us follow suit, clinking them together before taking a drink. Then we all dig into the casserole and salad. Throughout dinner, Mitch is quiet. Without prying, I do my best to learn more about him through his family.
His Aunt Cathy sits on the other side of me. I direct my questions to her.
“How long are you all planning to stay in town?”
Mitch stills next to me, clearly wanting to hear her answer as well.
“Liz has to get back to work by the end of the week. Joe is going to fly back with her. Cindy and I can stay longer. Since we’re close, we were thinking about going to my place at the beach since there isn’t a renter there next week.”
Rachel has supersonic hearing. “You have a beach house?”
I suck my lips between my teeth to keep for smiling.
“Yes, in Corolla.”
Rachel grins. “I love the Outer Banks.”
Cathy’s eyes move to focus on Mitch, “You kids are welcome to use it whenever it isn’t rented.”
“That rocks,” Rachel replies, Alec bursts out laughing next to her.
He looks at Cathy. “You might regret making that offer.”
She glances from Alec to Mitch and then back again before saying, “I’ll risk it.”
Rachel giggles and helps herself to another serving of casserole.
Chasing Daylight Page 11
