Page 35 of Rescue
Chapter 17
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Penelope
“I never shared that with anyone,” Miles admits. I can tell how painful this secret has been for him and I can feel his relief at finally revealing it. “But Caroline’s death was enough to divide our families. The Callahans and the Carters used to be the best of neighbors, but after that day, nothing has been the same. Caroline’s parents sold their house and moved to San Diego. They said the mountains reminded them too much of their little girl. Her grandparents are trying to find someone to buy their business so they can leave too, but when we made an offer, Mr. Callahan basically shot me down. Didn’t really listen to a word I said. I know they blame me for what happened that day, and I know they’re right to feel that way.”
I don’t even know what to say. I knew he carried a lot of negative feelings about that day, but I had no idea how deep those feelings went, or how awful that day really was for him. The grief he must have felt when he heard Caroline was gone, and then again when he found out that she had been pregnant must have been profound. I can’t imagine how hard it was for him to recover from such a horrific loss. I’m still sitting in his lap with one arm around his back. All I know to do is lean into him and hold him, trying to tell him with my body, what I’m too scared to say with my words.
I lose track of how long we stay wrapped up together. It could be 5 minutes, it could be an hour. When he finally lifts his head to look at me, I see fear and pain in his eyes, but more than anything I see hope. Hope for us, hope for the future. This poor man has been through so much. I can see why he hid himself away for so long. The pain that he’s been carrying must have been so heavy.
“I’ve been afraid to love again. Afraid of what might happen if I do. But from the moment I set eyes on you again, something was different. Something about you changed me. It’s opened my eyes to what it could feel like to let someone in.”
I don’t know who initiates the kiss first, all I know is that we’re instantly wrapped around each other. One of his hands cradles the back of my head, the other moving firmly down my spine. When he gets to my waist, he slides his hand around my hip and pulls me tighter against him. His touch leaves goosebumps on my skin as he moves around to grab my butt. He keeps exploring, moving down to grab my whole thigh in his huge hand. He deftly flips us on the couch so he's next to me and I’m lying flat on the couch. He keeps up the exploration as he attacks my mouth from this new angle, sliding his hand back up my body, beneath my shirt and up under my bra. He grabs my hard nipple and pinches, just slightly, before pulling everything up and leaning down to soothe it with his tongue.
I arch my back to give him a better angle and then bring my hands up to his chest to start my own examination of his body. The hard muscles under his shirt are too much to resist so I grab the hem of his shirt and start to work it up over his abs. The bit of skin I see only fuels me more. He catches on to what I’m doing and reaches up with one arm and pulls his shirt over his head. My mouth drops open when his full naked torso comes into view. This man has been working hard for that body.
He smirks when he sees the look of raw attraction on my face. Well, two can play that game. I raise up a little and grab the bottom of my shirt and pull it off, a lot less gracefully than he did, but when his face comes back into view I can tell he doesn’t mind. As I lay back down against the couch, he leans in and gives me the most life affirming kiss. It feels like he’s pouring his heart into this, so I give it back, matching him with intensity. His hand reaches up to hold my face and then glides down my neck and finds my nipple again. Frustrated with the bunched up bra between us, I reach behind me and try to undo the clasps. “Here, let me,” he says through his kisses. He slides his hand under me and has the clasp undone in seconds. He gives me a cocky grin and says “I still got it,” before he leans back in for another steamy kiss. I giggle a little and toss the bra away, not caring where it lands.
Miles’ hand instantly finds my breast again. He gently pinches the tip, smiles at my quiet gasp, and then leans down to rub his tongue over it, moving his hand over to the other and doing the same thing. He groans loudly, clearly enjoying what he’s doing, so I reach up and grab his hair, encouraging him to continue.
When I hear a knock at the door I’m almost too distracted to even notice. It’s not until I hear another knock and then keys in the lock that my brain snaps to attention. “Miles!” I reach down and push on his chest and that gets his attention.
“What is it? Are you ok? Is this too much?” The look of confusion I get is adorable. His eyes are dilated and the haze of lust is written across his face. It’s so distracting that I nearly forget what I just heard. Just as I’m about to respond I hear the lock click open and then someone opens the front door.
“Hey, Miles, you here?” I recognize the voice, but I can’t quite place it.
“Bryant! Get out!” Ah, that’s why I know that voice. The couch we’re on is positioned so that the back of the couch faces the front door. We’re sheltered enough that Bryant can’t see anything, but if he comes further into the room, I’m not sure what he’ll see. I slide further under Miles, so that his torso is covering my topless form, or at least I hope it is. I really don’t want Bryant to see me without a shirt on.
“Dude! Don’t be so upset, I just wanted to stop by and say hi to Penny. Is she here?” I guess he can’t actually see me down here. Relief washes over me.
“Bryant, I gave you that key for emergencies. This is not one. NOW GET OUT!” Miles voice is more stern. He’s starting to get angry now. I giggle a little bit. I’ve never seen him get this worked up.
“It could have been an emergency. How was I to know? Your car is out front and you weren’t answering the door,” he says in an innocent voice. Everyone knows Bryant is anything but innocent.
“Ok, well now that you know it’s not an emergency, it’s time to leave,” he says and I can tell he’s about to lose his temper.
“Alright, alright, don’t have to get so mad, bro. Someone’s gotta be the responsible brother.” I hear him laugh loudly at the joke. There’s no way Bryant is the responsible Carter brother. I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh at Miles’ face. He’s anything but amused.
“Bryant-”
“Ok! I’ll leave!” he says and shuts the door. It immediately opens again and Miles lets out a loud growl. “By the way, hi, P! Good to have you back! I know Miles really is really happy about it!” He shuts the door behind him just in time to miss a shoe Miles rips off his foot to throw across the room at him.
I burst into laughter. Same ridiculous Bryant that I remember. Miles collapses on top of me and starts to laugh, too.
“I can’t believe he almost walked in on us.” I’m still giggling, but glad that he didn’t see anything. I felt safe, hidden underneath Miles the whole time.
He raises up and gives me a considering look, then says, “Why don’t we take this to my bedroom?”
“That sounds great,” I answer, feeling a little shy suddenly. I don’t know why I’m feeling vulnerable with this man. After everything we’ve talked about tonight, I should be completely comfortable, but for some reason I feel really exposed right now. Maybe it’s because I’m sitting here topless in front of him, but I have the sudden urge to cover up and hide somewhere while I try to control myself.
Miles doesn’t seem to notice as he somehow manages to gracefully get up off the couch without squishing me. As he rises up and I get the full picture of him standing in front of me, shirtless, with more muscles than I can count, his jeans hanging off his hips just so, I forget what I was thinking. My mouth waters a little thinking about what’s underneath those jeans. When I finally rake my eyes back up his body to his eyes, I get another one of his cocky grins.
Unexpectedly, he leans down and picks me up with one arm under my legs and the other around my back and sets off for his bedroom. I wrap my arm around his back to make it easier for him and can’t help running my nails through the hair on the back of his head. He leans his head down to give me better access and in doing so comes face to face with my bare breasts. He lets out a low, tortured groan and moves faster up the stairs.
When we get to his bed, he gently sets me down on the edge of the mattress and moves to kneel between my legs so we’re eye to eye. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long,” he whispers, almost like a confession he didn’t intend for me to hear. Then he leans in and begins to worship my body.
He starts by kissing my forehead then brushing his lips over my eyes and down my face to my mouth. He leaves a light kiss there and then moves over to my jaw where he gently runs his teeth over to my ear and down my neck. I arch my back and turn my head to the side giving him more room and access to whatever he wants. He pushes at my chest until I’m lying back against the bed with my feet still on the floor. Then he reaches up to unbutton my jeans and pulls them and my panties off in one smooth move. Now he’s in front of me, still half dressed, and I’m laying half on the bed, half off, completely naked. He looks down at me and seems to pause for a minute while he takes me all in, his eyes ravenous for my body.
