He reached around the front of me, pressing his fingers against my clit. “My turn to make you scream, Ginger.”
As he moved inside of me harder and faster, his hands seemed to be everywhere. He skimmed over my breasts, pinching my nipples, and then dipped down. As soon as he touched me there again, I tensed. He thrust hard. I threw my head back and screamed, my nails scratching uselessly over the tiled wall as I came. “Yes. Oh my God.”
He moved inside me once, twice, three times, his grip on my hips so tight it almost hurt—but in a good way. He dropped his forehead against the shower wall, cradling me in his arms from behind. “Holy shit, you’re going to kill me.”
“Never.” I slid off him and spun around, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I love you too much.”
Grinning, he trailed his fingers over my tattoo. “I love you, too. The sun is always shining around you, Ginger.”
My heart warmed. “Indeed it is.”
And I had a feeling it would never stop.
Four months later
I climbed off my bike and hung my helmet on the bars, taking a calming breath and smoothing my hair as I did so. The crisp early September morning air smelled fresh, sending awareness through my veins. Waking me up. It felt renewing, almost. Since this was the start of a new chapter of my life, it felt fitting. These past few months with Carrie had been pure heaven. We fought. We kissed. We made up. We loved.
I never thought I could be so damn happy.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket. Senator Wallington. Good luck, Finn. Let me know how it goes. Give Carrie my love, too. We miss you two already.
I smiled. We’d spent the summer with them, getting to know each other better. I could almost say that they actually liked me now. They got to see the “me” I was without the pain and grief. It had been good for us. Thank you, sir.
I still couldn’t believe how much he’d changed. But then again, we’d all changed. I sure as hell had, and so had Carrie. It stood to reason that he would have, too.
My phone buzzed again. Talk to you later.
“Who was that?” Carrie asked, smoothing her hair and coming up beside me.
“Your dad.” I slipped my phone into my pocket and offered her my arm. “He was wishing me luck.”
“Oh, that’s nice. I bet he—” She checked her phone and frowned. “Hey. I got nothing.”
I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m the favorite child now.”
“Only because you can talk with him in his study for hours about politics without getting bored.” She pouted, stealing a peek at me. “I had to escape. He can’t blame me. Even Riley left after an hour.”
I laughed. “That’s ’cause he’s not as cool as me.”
“I know it.” She wrapped her hand around my bicep. “But after we spent all summer living with them, I think my father really does love you more than me in some ways—and I love that fact, just for the record.”
“That’s not true.” I grinned. “Okay. Maybe it’s a little bit true.”
She smacked my abs with her free hand. “Ha-ha, really funny, fresh meat.”
“Hey, you promised not to call me that.”
She laughed. “No, I promised not to call you that in bed. I didn’t say anything about not doing it here. And I never promised not to laugh at you if you get lost on campus.”
“Brat,” I said, kissing her temple. I slid my bag higher on my shoulder and handed her hers. “Somehow I think I’ll be fine, though, with or without your help.”
“You think?” She smiled at me. “Are you ready for this?”
“Of course I am.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been on this campus since last year. What difference is taking a few classes going to make?”
“Tell me that when you’re buried in homework later this week.”
I readjusted so I could put my arm over her shoulder. “As long as you help me study? I won’t give a damn.”
“You know I will.” She wrapped her arm around my waist and hesitated. “You know…I was thinking.”
“Sounds dangerous,” I quipped.
She smacked my arm. “Stop it.”
“Fine. I’ll behave.” I grinned and yanked my bag up higher on my shoulder. “What’s up?”
“We’re going to be studying so much, and at the same school, so I thought,” she peeked up at me, “maybe I could move in with you? I mean, I practically live there now, but we could make it official.”
I stopped walking, my heart thundering in my ears. “R-Really? You want to?”
“I do.” She smiled up at me. “If you do.”
“Fuck yes.” I picked her up and swung her in a circle. “Yes! Are you sure?”
“I’m as positive as a proton,” she said, grinning.
“Me too.”
She laughed, and the melody washed over me, washing away any nerves I had—that I’d deny I had if anyone asked. I had her with me. What could ever possibly go wrong? She loved me, and I loved her.
Life was fucking good.
I kissed her, my mouth melding to hers perfectly. Which made sense, since she was made for me. I pulled back and grinned so big my cheeks fucking hurt. “If we weren’t on our way to class, I’d celebrate this with you my favorite way—naked and wet.”
Desire flared in her eyes. “Meet you out here at twelve for a nooner at home?”
“Yes.” I kissed her one last time. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I looked to the left and sighed. “I have to go this way to my economics class.”
“And I go this way to trigonometry.” She backed away from me, our fingers still entwined. “Then tonight, we’ll tell my dad together? About us living together?”
I groaned, not letting go. “Do we have to? He liked me, but will he like this?”
“I don’t know.” She grinned. “But we’ll find out the best way possible.”
“Together.”
“Always,” she said, looking at me with so much love it almost hurt. “Now get your butt to class, freshman.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I let go of her reluctantly. “Look in your bag first, though.”
She reached in and pulled out a yellow rose. Grinning, she read the message. “I’ll miss you. Love me.” I’d ended the note the same way as I had the day we’d gotten back together. It was easily one of the best days of my life. She looked up at me, her blue eyes shining in the sun. “I’ll miss you, too. And I do.”
I blew her a kiss. “Stay in class and don’t wander off, since I won’t be watching you.”
She laughed and called out over her shoulder, “You worry about me too much. Good luck!”
“I’ll never worry enough when it comes to you,” I said under my breath, watching her walk away. She took my heart with her, but I knew it would be safe in her hands.
Always.
Seven years later
I watched Carrie from across the room, my arms tightening on the precious bundle in my arms as I juggled the phone with my free hand. She stretched her arms up, trying to get the last ornament on the perfect branch toward the top of the tree, her lips pursed in determination. The pink rose I’d given her earlier lay on the table behind her, the message still attached to the stem.
“Are you still there?”
“Yeah, sorry.” I forced myself to focus on the conversation I was having with Carrie’s father. “We’ll be there first thing in the morning for Christmas breakfast.”
“Coffee starts at eight,” her dad said. I heard paper crinkling, which probably meant he was wrapping his presents at the last minute like usual. “Did Carrie tell you to make the fruit salad? She told me she would remember.”
I laughed. “Yeah. It’s all ready to go. We’ll see you tomorrow, sir. Tell Margie I said merry Christmas.”
My father-in-law sighed. “If I ever finish wrapping these godforsaken presents, I will. I should really just hire someone to do it.”
But he wouldn’t, because he liked doing it.
“Well, good luck. I have to hang up now, because your daughter needs help with the tree.”
“Don’t let her knock it over like she did last year,” Senator Wallington said. “She might hurt—”
I rolled my eyes. “I won’t, sir.”
“All right. Merry Christmas Eve.”
“Same to you.” I hung up and tossed my phone on the sofa, turning back toward Carrie just in time to hear her curse under her breath. “I heard that, Mrs. Coram.”
She shot me a frustrated look, her blue eyes blazing at me. “I’m going to get this last one on if it kills me, I swear it.”
“I can help you, you know.” I crossed the room slowly, trying not to upset my balance. “I am a bit taller than you.”
“Nope. I get the red ones, not you.” She looked at me, her gaze dropping low and then slipping back up. “It’s our Christmas Eve tradition.”
I grinned. “Yeah, it is. Then when we’re done, we drink and have hot, sweaty—”
“Sh,” she hissed, her cheeks going red. “She’ll hear you.”
“I think we’re safe,” I whispered, stopping directly in front of her. The colored lights on our tree twinkled merrily, and all that was left was the ornament in Carrie’s hand and the angel—which came last, of course. “She doesn’t really speak English.”
“Still. It’s the principle.” She peeked at me, a sly grin on her face. “We don’t want to have to foot that therapy bill, trust me. We cost way too much.”
I rolled my eyes. “Believe me, I know that.”
Carrie had changed her major the second year of college. After seeing how much Dr. Montgomery had helped me, she decided she wanted to do that for other people like me. Wanted to help soldiers and others who suffered from PTSD. She worked on base now, and she always looked so damn happy.
I liked to think I had something to do with that.
And I liked that we worked in the same building, so we got to have lunch together every single fucking day. It was heaven, and I never failed to thank God for giving me my Ginger. She was my life. My partner. My world. My everything.
Sometimes it all seemed too good to be true.
She was a therapist, and I was a computer engineer, just like we’d both wanted. We still lived in Cali, thank fucking God. D.C. was way too cold, even if her parents still lived there half the year. They spent a lot of time out here, too.
Everything in our life was perfect. Scarily, unrealistically perfect.
Carrie waved her hand in front of my face, laughing when I jumped slightly. “Hello? Earth to Finn?”
I caught her hand and kissed it, right above her wedding ring. I must’ve zoned out. I still did that sometimes. Got lost in thought. “Sorry, Ginger. I was lost in time.”
“What were you thinking about?” she asked, a soft smile on those perfect lips of hers.
“You.” I leaned forward and kissed her, loving the way she tasted, even after all these years. “Always you.”
She closed her hands on my shoulders before pulling back and looking down for a quick second. “You two ready for the angel?”
I looked down at the baby in my arms, smiling with so much fucking happiness I swear my heart would burst. Our red-haired daughter, Susan Marie Coram, fluttered her lashes open and looked up at me with the same blue eyes as her mother. She was only three months old, but already I knew she would own my heart as fully as her mother did.
“We’ve been ready for years,” I said, making my voice higher as I held Susan’s hand. She cooed and closed her tiny little fingers around mine. “She’s so f-f—” I cut myself off. I was trying to cut back on the cursing. “—uh, fetchingly perfect.”
Carrie laughed, picked up the angel, and came over to us, her eyes on me the whole time. “How could she not be? She came from us.” She trailed her fingers over the scar on my forehead, smiling. Then she laid the angel on Susan’s belly. “You’re up, princess.”
I walked up to the tree, lifting Susan above my head. With my help—aka I did it myself—we put the angel on top of the tree. Backing up far enough to really see it, I eyed the tree skeptically. We’d gotten better over the years, because it actually looked evenly spread out. Perry Como crowed in the background, and lasagna cooked in the oven.
It was tradition.
No sooner did I nod in satisfaction than the timer dinged. I looked down at Susan. She was fast asleep. Good, it was time for me to have some one-on-one time with her mama. I smiled at Carrie, my heart so full it had to be close to bursting. “You get the lasagna out, and I’ll lay down Susan.”
“Okay.” She walked by me, heading toward the kitchen, her hips swinging with each step she took. She wore a red dress and a pair of red heels. Fucking hot. “Hurry up.”
“Oh, I will.”
After watching her go, I climbed the stairs to Susan’s nursery. I laid her down to rest and snuck into the master bedroom to grab my present for Carrie out of my underwear drawer. I’d gotten her another sun pendant, but this one was white gold with a diamond in the middle of the pendant. She’d love it.
I stopped two steps into the room. Lying in the middle of the bed was my wife, and she didn’t have anything on except a pair of red heels and a seductive smile. “Merry Christmas to me,” I said, shutting the door behind me.
She opened her arms. “Come here, love.”
I crossed the room, climbed onto the king bed, and lowered myself on top of her. She moaned and closed her arms around my neck, arching her back seductively. Trailing my fingers down her side, toward her hip, I kissed her. Her tongue tangled with mine, fighting for control before she gave it to me.
I moaned and deepened the kiss, wedging myself between her legs. Breaking the kiss off, I whispered, “I love you, Ginger.”
She smiled up at me, tracing her fingers over my faded scar. “I love you, too.”
Unable to resist her when she looked so fucking hot, I kissed her again. I never could resist her, and never would be able to for as long as I lived...because she loved me—and needed me—just as much as I needed her.
Imagine that.
Stay tuned for more Finn and Carrie. A new chapter of their lives is coming late 2014/early 2015...and you'll want to be there to see what happens.
Read other books by Jen McLaughlin
Dear Reader,
Some of you might have recognized this already, but the epilogue in this book is almost exactly pulled out of Finn’s thoughts in Out of Time. When he and Carrie are decorating their first Christmas tree, he thinks to himself:
If Captain Richards asked me where I wanted to be in ten years, I’d have an answer for him. I’d want to be right here, decorating a sloppy tree with Carrie. Maybe with a baby in my arms. That’s where I wanted to be. And I would be, damn it.
Well, Finn got what he wanted, and I hope you all did, as well. I’ve had tons of fun writing Carrie and Finn’s story, and I hope to see you again soon. Even though Finn and Carrie got their happily ever after…Marie, Hernandez, and Riley didn’t.
At least…not yet.
If someone asked me where I saw myself in the next ten years, I’d have an answer too—just like Finn. I’ll be right here, writing stories for you. Thank you for letting me do that for you. I feel so very blessed.
Till next time? The sun is finally shining.
Love,
Me
Bonus Scene #1
Finn
This scene takes place a few weeks after the end of OUT OF TIME, but a couple of weeks before the beginning of OUT OF MIND.
I woke up slowly, blinking away the sunlight streaming through the hospital windows. I must have dozed off for a little while. By some miracle of miracles, I hadn’t had a nightmare. I usually did. Sighing, I reached out and pushed the morphine button on the machine next to me. My head and arm hurt like a fucking bitch.
The door opened, and I tensed. My last visitor had been Senator Wallington. He’d reminded me exactly how beneath his daughter I was, then left. Ya know, the usual.
But this time? It was a most welcome visitor. Carrie’s red head peeked inside the hospital room.
“I’m awake,” I said, smiling and adjusting myself against the pillows. “Come in.”
She grinned at me and slipped through the crack of the door. “I came by earlier, but you were sleeping, so I went to the gift shop. Here. It’s for you.”
“Thank you.” I took the yellow rose she held out for me, not quite sure what I was supposed to do with a flower. I was a dude. We were supposed to be the one’s giving out the flowers—not the other way around. “I didn’t realize they made yellow roses.”
“They make them in every color imaginable,” she said, sitting down on the side of the bed gently. “You’re probably wondering why I got you a flower, right?”
I chuckled and stared down at the gentle bud. “Uh, yeah, kind of.”
“From what I’ve seen, roses are the toughest flowers out there. One year, my mother’s gardener planted the garden way too early. A frost came through, and it killed all the flowers outside.” She leaned in and touched the soft petal. “All of them except the roses. They were the only flowers that thrived, despite the cold and the frost. They had the biggest batch ever that year. And they were gorgeous.”
I swallowed hard. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” She cupped my cheek. Her soft touch was so soothing and perfect that I closed my eyes and savored it. “And those roses remind me of you—of us. You are so strong, and I know it’ll be tough, but you’ll get through this, and you’ll be stronger because of it. I know it.”
My heart clenched. “We’ll get through this.” I squeezed her hand with my one good one. “Together, we can do anything.”
“Together,” she echoed, her eyes filled with tears that didn’t spill out. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Ginger.”
I kissed her, my lips fleeting over hers. My grip tightened on her hand, and she strained to get closer. I drew in a ragged breath, my body responding to her closeness. Her tongue flicked over mine, making my stomach get tight and other things go hard. What I wouldn’t give to be out of this hospital room, and back in California with her in my apartment so I could take care of this need for her that was trying to kill me.
The OUT OF LINE Series Page 61
