Covered in Coal

by Silla Webb

  I take a deep breath before turning to Luke and looking into his blue eyes. Holding up my fingers I snap at him, “Two things. I’m the frickin’ CEO, I’ll leave that shit hole any damn time I please. Hell, I’m ‘bout to run and never look back. And two, I’ll run to the damn ends of the earth for some peanut butter fudge cheesecake and you can believe that, honey.” I snap at him.

  I motion for Mitzi to refill my tea, and ask her how much longer the to-go order will be. Luke huffs, pulling my attention back to him. He just looks down at me, his face void of emotion. Over the last month or so, we have become closer friends, learning more about each other. But with each interaction, Luke gets closer, friendlier. He can sense that I’m fraying at the edges. I can tell he is deciding on whether to proceed with caution, or bolt. Luke grabs the base of the barstool I’m sitting on, with one strong hand, and pulls me toward him.

  “Talk to me.”

  I stare up at him, behind confused eyes, “Bout what?”

  “What’s botherin’ ya.” he states. He doesn’t question me, he is firm in wanting to know.

  “Just your usual shitty day at Simon Energy. Nothing that warrants a conversation.”

  He cups my face with is hand and leans in closer to me. “I mean it Carly, you know I’m here if you need to talk. Stop hidin’ behind that hard ass act.”

  Just then, two bells ring, followed by an ‘Order Up’, and a shrilling bubbly voice. “Carly Jo! Daddy said that was your muscle in the parkin’ lot. You can eat dinner with me now. Daddy is that okay, can Carly Jo eat with us?” Heidi squeals, dancing around in front of Luke, Colton and me.

  Colton doesn’t even acknowledge her question, he just keeps his deadpan gaze set on Luke. At first, Luke barely acknowledges Colton, but once the tension fills the room, Luke stands, towering over Colton, shielding me. Luke and Colton size each other up for a beat. Colton is rigid, his arms flexed tight at his waist as he grips his fists, rotating them in circles. His breathing is rough and his face is marred in anger. Colton is pissed. Luke stands relaxed, barely even acknowledging the aggression rolling off of Colton. Luke smiles and nods, “Weston.”

  Colton steps forward and a frustrated roar begins to rattle in his chest. “What’d you call me? Who the hell are you?”

  Luke chuckles to himself, then shakes his head. Colton is becoming a ticking time bomb by the second, and as much as I’m enjoying their pissin’ contest, Heidi Jo is getting scared from the scene that’s playing out before her. I don’t think she has ever seen her daddy react in such a harsh way.

  I step between Luke and Colton, pressing my finger tips on both of their chests before giving a slight nudge. “Do I need to call the zoo keeper to wrangle up the lions and tigers?” I glance back and forth from Luke to Colton.

  Luke throws his hands up in defeat, before sitting back down with a sly smirk splayed across his face. Colton doesn’t budge, his chest rattles with fierce roars threatening to escape.

  “Piss contest is over, stud.” Colton’s eyes are dark, and trained on Luke, like an animal waiting to pounce on his prey. I snap my fingers in front of his face to get his attention. “Seriously, Colton, snap out of it. Look at how scared you have your daughter. Now can you please drop the whole alpha male He-Man shit and calm the hell down?”

  Colton’s eyes flicker from Luke to me, to Heidi Jo who is standing in the center of the diner with her hands wrapped around her waist. Colton takes two strides to Heidi Jo and kneels in front of her, checking her over to make sure that she isn’t too startled. “Princess, I’m sorry. Daddy was just bein’ a butt head.” He kisses her on the forehead, before scooping her up in his arms. “Let’s just grab a pizza tonight, princess. That sound like a plan?”

  “Only if Carly Jo can come too.”

  “I think Carly Jo already has a dinner date tonight, maybe next time, ‘kay?” Colton spits the words in my direction, and it feels like vinegar on a fresh wound. With a pained look in his eyes, he turns on his heels and stomps out of the diner with Heidi Jo firmly on his hip.

  Mitzi had left the to-go order on the counter and headed to the back, just before the circus act started. I place my hand on Luke’s shoulder and give him a small apology, before grabbing the bag of food and leaving.

  I unlock the Camaro, and sit the to-go order in the back floor board along with my purse. Just as I squat to climb inside, Colton grabs me by the crook of my elbow, pulling me against his hard body.

  “Who the hell is that?” his voice is a low feral growl.

  As pissed as I am at his little show and tell in the diner, I’m still having to clinch my legs together to will down the heat that blazes in my core. He sets fires in places unimaginable. Pressing my fingers to his chest, I try to press him back, but he’s too solid to budge.

  “I ain’t movin’, sweetheart’, ‘til you answer me.”

  “Colton, you’re bein’ an ass.”

  “Maybe so. Who the hell is HE, Carly Jo? Don’t make me ask you again.” He presses harder up against me, breathing his hot breath across my face.

  “Luke Ashton.”

  He takes a step back and looks at me with quizzical eyes, then laughs. “Bullshit.”

  I cross my arms across my chest, popping my hip to the side just as the attitude starts to fly. “Bullshit, really? Go ask him. Hell, ID him. After this little act you put on in there I’m sure he will get a barrel of laughs out of that.” Laughter bubbles up in my chest, and I think it is clear that I am so stressed with my life that I’m truly on the breaking point. I see a pretty new pink jacket in my future. Ya know the kind that buckles in the back?

  “THAT is Luke Ashton? The little, lanky white trash shit that used to live up Millers Branch?”

  “One in the same, honey,” I sneer at him. If smoke could roll out of his ears right now, I’m sure it would.

  “And just what the hell are you doin’ with that dick?”

  “I ain’t doin’ nothin’, with any damn body.”

  “Sure as hell didn’t look like nothin’, baby!”

  We stand in the parking lot, passing the minutes by as Colton takes his sissy tantrum over Luke and I, ending up at the same place and the same time. It’s coincidence, but to Colton it’s anything but.

  Finally having enough of his shit, I climb inside the car, daring him to touch me. Throwing his hands up in defeat, he stomps off to his truck. Mascara laced tears run down my face. I let the rumble of the Camaro settle my nerves briefly, before I streak the rubber against the road and speed towards home.

  Chapter 27

  By the time I get home, my food is cold, and my appetite is diminished. I put the food in the refrigerator, then climb the steps towards the bubble bath that’s calling my name.

  I start the bath water, and turn it to a scorching heat that will surely singe my skin, before adding some cherry blossom bubble bath. I pull my hair up on top of my head, and strip the clothes from my body. I set the iPod on the docking station, letting Adele’s Rolling in the Deep fill the room. Grabbing my Kindle from the nightstand, I carry my tired, vanquished body towards the promise of a relaxing bath.

  Testing the water with the tip of my toe, I jerk back quickly from the sensation of the heat, before stepping in and sitting down in the water quickly. I lay back in the bubble filled tub, stretching my limbs and allow the warmth of the water and the scent of cherry blossoms carry away the tension from this day. I grab the Kindle from the tub tray, and open Relinquishing Liberty by Maureen Mayer. This is the first book in her Second Chances series, and I’m totally swooning over Shayne Thompson. I’m anxiously awaiting the second release in the series, Unforeseen Heartbeat, because I hear that Hunter Bryant is just as sexy. These fictional men are so much more pleasing and less dramatic than the real jackasses in my life. Don’t judge me, I love my romance smut novels.

  After reading seven chapters, I’ve soaked in the bubble bath until my skin reflects that of a shriveled prune, the scalding water has turned luke-warm, and the bubbles are no
w small suds dancing across the water. I pull the drain from the tub, and set aside the bath tub tray in the floor before starting the shower. I wash off quickly, leaving my hair for another day. I step out of the shower, and wrap a towel around my body, before padding through my bedroom for my favorite UK sweats.

  Just as I’m getting dressed, the doorbell rings. My heart sinks to the bottom of my stomach, because I know on the other side of that door will either be an amused Luke Ashton, or a very pissed off Colton Weston. I take my time making my way down the stairs, as I try to steady the nerves that are threatening to jump right out of my skin. The doorbell rings again, just as my feet hit the bottom stair. I pad over to the front door, twist the locks and pull the door towards me. Before I can even peak around the door to see who is on the other side, Colton stomps inside. Should have known.

  “Did slamming the car door in your face give you the impression that I needed a follow up visit from you tonight? Or are you a glutton for punishment?” I sneer at him, slamming the door shut. He’s one ballsy son of a bitch to show up here after the shit fit he took at the diner.

  Colton’s head snaps up to mine, throwing daggers at me with his eyes. “What the hell was that back at the diner?” Colton growls.

  “I’d love to know the same damn thing,” I throw back at him. He takes two steps forward closing in the distance between us.

  “Really? ‘Cause I’ll tell you what I saw, Carly Jo. I saw some dick with his hands on my woman. I saw a smile on my woman’s face that only I should put there.”

  “So you’re pissed because someone else made me smile?” I ask, laughter bubbling in my voice.

  “No, I’m frickin’ pissed because he touched you, and you loved it. I’m pissed because after every damn thing we’ve been through, I’m here trying to love you, but you keep pushin’ me away.” He growls at me.

  “My god you’re so frustratin’. You would turn somethin’ as simple as me pickin’ up dinner, into a nasty fight.”

  “Simple? Tell me how Luke Ashton putting his nasty ass hands all over you is simple.”

  “Colton, calm your ass down! I stopped by to pick up dinner. Luke was there, so he sat with me while I waited for my order. Just friends talking is all.” I explain to him, trying really hard not to yell but he’s pissin’ me off!

  “Friends? Bullshit.” He chuckles, “I’ll be damned if that’s gonna happen.”

  “Like there’s a damn thing you’re gonna do to stop it? Luke is my friend. I’ve had lunch with him at the diner several times. Hell, he came over a couple weeks ago, and watched a movie with me. I don’t see what the big deal is!” I yell in his face. Colton’s eyes widen as he looks down at me. He inches closer to my face, a little too close for comfort.

  “That little shit was here? In your house?” His voice is a low mumbled growl.

  “Yeah.” Colton turns away and starts to pace the floor. His body is hard and rigid in built up anger. “You’re acting like a jealous teenager, Colton, it’s pathetic. Luke just needs a friend. He’s harmless.”

  He stops dead in his tracks, slowly turning his body so that he can look at me. His head is hung low, his eyes are crunched into a piercing scowl. He brushes his fingers through his hair, shaking his head as he tries to fight back the anger boiling in his chest. I can see it. It’s written all over his face, all over his body. His fists are tight at his sides, his chest heaving up and down quickly as his breaths grow quicker. A low rattling growl is building deep in his chest.

  “Damn, you really have been blind to men for far too long. Luke ain’t harmless, Carly Jo. He’s a nasty piece of shit, not worthy of a woman as beautiful and gracious as you. A frickin’ blind man can see that he wants you. When I saw his hand on you, and thrill in his eyes, it took everything in me not to strangle every last breath from his body with my damn bare hands. I swear my hand to God if he lays another damn finger on my woman, I’ll kill him. Stay the hell away from him.”

  My mouth drops at his threats, and anger roils deep in the pit of my stomach. “Your woman? I’m not your friggin’ property, Colton!”

  “You’re not my property, but you are a part of me, whether you are willing to accept it or not,” he whispers from across the room.

  Silence falls across the room. Emotions roll through my body and I feel paralyzed. He’s right. My heart races, pounding rapidly against the walls of my chest, vying for its escape to the one it rightfully belongs too. I pinch my eyes shut and try to take a deep breath, but the emotions are too thick. I can feel them all over me.

  Colton’s fingerprints, invisibly marked all over my heart, body and soul. Those fingerprints smear and smudge in all of the right places, right where Colton has affected me the most. Releasing a defeated sigh, I hear his feet shuffling quickly across the floor, but I keep my eyes forced shut. Grasping my face in his hot palms, he whispers against my lips, “Say somethin’.”

  But I can’t. It’s hard enough mentally accepting that he’s right. I do belong to him. But to uncage my heart, setting it free to be shattered by Colton is unimaginable. I can feel the heat from his rage, radiating over my body as trembles slither up my spine. Colton’s lips crash down onto mine. Our tongues tangle and dance together, passionately. He licks, bites, and sucks my lips and tongue roughly. He breaks contact briefly, then tosses me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He climbs the stairs taking two at a time, keeping a firm, tight grip planted on my ass. He kicks open the bedroom door, then slides me down the front of his hard, heated body.

  Pulling my lips between his teeth, he grazes softly, then licks, sucking my lip roughly between his. Grasping my t-shirt in his thick hands, he rips it from my body, leaving it to pool on the floor behind me. He clinches my hair tightly in his fist, tugging my head back so that I’m looking up at him.

  “You’re gonna find out tonight just who the hell you belong too, darlin’.” He whispers in my ear, as he trails his tongue down my jaw line, then begins to nip and suck at my neck. His body is rigid and scorching with a heated desire that causes my core to melt with each trace of his tongue, clinching with each graze of his fingertips. He continues to lick his way down my chest, nibbling small bites on the swells of my breasts. He reaches behind me and pops my bra open, freeing my breasts for him to ravage himself in. And he does. He pulls my thick nipple between his lips, sucking and tugging gently, as he graciously caresses my other breast.

  He continues to trail hot wet kisses down my abs, hooking his thumbs in the waist of my sweats and slowing gliding them down my legs. I step out of my pants, as he digs his hands into my ass, pulling me closer towards him. I push my fingers though his hair and tug roughly as he kisses just above the pink lace panties. He looks up at me, behind hooded eyes and he slowly trails his fingers across the seat of my panties. Goose bumps cover my skin, and my breath hitches in my throat at his touch. He stands up, pulling me tight to his solid chest, keeping his hands firmly on my ass, and presses his hardened erection into my belly.

  “I’ve barely kissed you, and your pussy is already drenchin’ wet for me.” His words dance with his hot breath across my face, sending a bone chilling tingle to flow through my body. Biting down hard on my lip, I beg for his touch.

  “Please, Colton,” I whisper against his lips. My breathing comes in pants, as my heart hammers in my chest as it soars to an unsteady pace.

  “Barely kissed you, and I already have you beggin’ me for my dick.” Colton laughs against my lips. He has his right arm wrapped tight around my waist, firmly grasping my ass, and his left hand tangled up in my messy hair. His eyes are hooded, dark as night, full of lust and passion. He pulls my lip between his, and grazes it slowly with his teeth.

  I slide my hand up his shirt, across his firm chest, then claw my nails back down roughly to his waist. Trailing my nails across his abs, I begin to nip at his lips as he sucks at mine. I unbutton his jeans, and he removes them quickly. He pulls his shirt over his head, then lifts me by my ass with one strong arm, and my leg
s immediately hook around his waist. He walks me to the bed, gazing his eyes into mine, peering into my soul. He lays me down, spreads my legs wide, and presses his body against mine. His skin is sizzling, sweat already beading down the center of his back. Hooking my heels around his thighs, I pull him deeper into me.

  As I dig my nails into his shoulders, a small moan escapes me and he crashes his lips onto mine. He wastes no time covering my body with heavy kisses, wild sucking, licking every inch of me from my lips to my thick breast. With each lick of his tongue against my flesh, my core clinches tight, pools of moisture seeping to my thighs. He feathers kisses down my abdomen and down to the center of my thigh.

  “Baby, you smell like heaven.” The words flow off of his tongue as he traces his fingers against the dainty lace thong that covers my wet heat. He twists his fingers into the thin lace, ripping the tiny fabric away in one solid tear. He continues his descent, dipping his head between my thighs and pulls my clit between his lips and rolls his tongue around it softly. My eyes pop open and my body springs forward from the tantalizing seduction he teases my body with. He looks up at me with a devious grin, a low feral growl escaping his lips. He locks his lips around my clit again and sucks, flicks and rolls his tongue roughly. The sensation is mind blowing. I bite down on the bottom of my lip, trying to hold back the screeching moans that are sure to bust from my lungs at any given moment. Colton flicks his tongue back and forth, and shoves two fingers inside of me. His fingers move in rapid movements, massaging the most delicate, sensitive areas of my core.

  The hurricane of waves building in my stomach intensifies, each time he pulls my clit between his lips and tugs lightly, while pumping his fingers into my core. I keep a firm grasp in his thick dark hair, pulling him deeper into me. It doesn’t take but a few seconds more, before my walls tighten and clamp down on his strong fingers. But he doesn’t relent. His momentum increases. He massages deeper, licks and sucks my clit harder. I can’t control the moans any longer, as the orgasm crashes down on me.