Thirty minutes later, Megan’s feet were cleaned, bandaged, and all the splinters had been pulled out. Drew, being Drew, stayed with her and held her hand through the entire ordeal. Laura came in and checked on her, but after seeing the doctor pull out a splinter the size of a tree trunk from the bottom of Megan’s foot, she got queasy and stepped outside to wait with their parents. It was a good thing Laura hadn’t wanted to be a doctor.
Megan had to admit it felt good to have them all there waiting on her.
The doctor patted her leg. “All done. Tonight you need to keep your feet up and you’ll probably be fine by morning. You probably won’t be able to wear shoes unless they’re house shoes for the next few days.”
“A few days?” She groaned and covered her eyes. Trying not to overreact, Megan took deep breaths. Shoes were an important part of everyday life and no way was she wearing house slippers to the festival. “Is there anything I can do to speed up the healing process?”
Please let him say yes, she thought as the doctor gave her a why-are-you-whining look. “Keep them up so the swelling will go down,” he repeated. “Other than that, there’s nothing, really.”
The doctor left the room and Drew helped Megan into the wheelchair. He pushed her into the waiting room where his sister and parents waited. Laura had one parent on each side of her, each with an arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder. It was sweet. That’s what family should be. That’s what Megan had never had and always wanted.
Dorian was the first to spot them. She pushed herself from the seat and rushed toward Megan, bending down to give her a tight squeeze. Feeling the front wheels come off the ground with the forcefulness of Dorian’s hug, Megan’s arms flailed like a windmill to keep from toppling over. Drew laughed and held onto the chair, keeping it steady.
“Don’t worry, babe. I got you,” he whispered close to her ear.
“You saved my baby!” Dorian yelped. Megan gripped the arms of the chair with fear of receiving more bodily harm before even leaving the hospital. “Did those bastards hurt you? I’ll kill them.”
Her stomach clinched as Dorian moved her around to inspect her and the front wheels clanked to the floor causing her feet to bounce on the metal foot pads. Sucking in a breath like a big girl, she managed not to let a string of colorful words loose.
“No, I ran barefoot and got a few splinters on my feet. That’s all. No biggie,” Megan said, waving off her fear. “I just have to stay off my feet for the night.”
“You’ll come home with us then,” Dorian said, nodding to her family. It wasn’t a suggestion. Dorian turned to her daughter. “Laura, you’re spending the night with us, too.”
Laura opened her mouth to argue, but Dorian put a finger up for silence. “Aup, no arguments. Those bastards are still on the loose and I’m not taking any chances with you girls.”
“They’re still on the loose?” Megan’s stomach churned. She had hoped at least that part would be dealt with and over. The diamonds could be someone else’s problem. She had to worry about the FBI.
“We will,” Drew said, bending down and leaning in to whisper in her ear, giving her goosebumps. “I promise, we’ll find them.”
“Don’t you worry yourself one little bit, sweetie. My boy will find ‘em and they’ll be sorry.” Dorian patted Drew’s cheek. “Ain’t that right?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Drew’s mom kissed his cheek, then moved to stand sentry next to Laura. “Are you ready to go home now? I bet you girls are starving. I could whip something up real quick when we get home.”
As if it had ears, Megan’s stomach answered. She placed a hand over her belly in embarrassment. “I guess I could use a snack.”
It didn’t take long for the five of them to load up in the two cars and head toward Drew’s house. Drew’s house! She didn’t want to dwell too long on that. “Do you know if they found my car yet?”
“They’re going to call me if it shows up, but the priority is finding the guys right now,” he explained gently.
“Can I call Lillie and let her know I’m okay?”
“Sure, but I already told her everything and that you would call her in the morning.” Drew pulled into the driveway of a ranch style home. It was red brick from ground to roof with white shutters on the windows. His neighbors were close enough she could probably stand between them and touch both houses.
This neighborhood didn’t fit him at all. Drew belonged in wide-open spaces where he could walk out, bare-chested, and have a cup of coffee on a big front porch on cool mornings and not the small concrete slab he had here.
Megan rolled her eyes knowing it was her front porch she pictured him on… with her.
Leonard held the front door open while Drew carried her inside and tenderly placed her on his oversized couch. Megan peeked around him at the décor and guessed his mother had decorated. Pictures of flowers hung on the walls and actual fake flowers rested in vases throughout the room. One thing was certain: it was spotless. She tried to keep her house clean, but it was nothing like this. There wasn’t even a piece of junk mail in sight.
“What’s wrong?” Drew asked, gently lifting her ankles to place a pillow under her injured feet.
“You must think I’m a slob,” she whispered.
He laughed. The glorious sound vibrated to her soul. “No, not at all. It sure as hell didn’t look like this a few days ago. When Mom has something on her mind, she does two things: cooks and cleans. My place was her latest victim.”
“Ahh…” That explained it. Dorian was definitely a woman who had to be in control or she would lose her mind.
“How about you, me, and Laura go out back and talk for a few minutes?” Drew kept his voice low. Did that mean he didn’t want his parents to hear or he thought his house was bugged, too? If he thought his house and car were bugged, was it possible her place was bugged and everything they had talked about for the past two weeks had been monitored?
Did they already know about her powers?
“Yeah. Sure.” Megan swallowed hard.
Moving to Laura, Drew whispered in her ear then went to the kitchen where his mom was already cooking, then came back and picked Megan up. She could easily get used to him carrying her around everywhere. The way it seemed so effortless for him made her feel quite dainty. Once her feet were better, she would never be this close to him again. She pushed down the rising ping of hurt in her chest. There were more important things to think about.
Like not becoming a lab rat.
Drew set Megan down on a lounge chair and Laura came to sit next to her. He looked around into the darkness of the backyard and pulled up another chair. If anyone were to walk up, it would look like the three of them were simply enjoying a beautiful night. They knew better.
“Okay. You two tell me exactly what happened today so we can get a story together.”
Letting Laura go first, Megan blushed as she retold, in detail, about her stripping down to nothing and blowing her mind when she turned invisible. Megan had to give it to her, she had a great memory for details. Damn it.
Megan told him basically the same story from her point of view and once finished, the women sat in silence as Drew paced back and forth in front of them. Things might be confusing between them, but she was putting her future in his hands and trusted him with the task.
Finally, he stopped and sat back down, resting his forearms on his thighs. Megan sat up straight, waiting for him to fix her life.
“Here’s what you’re going to say.” He pointed to her. “You went to invite Mrs. Harrison to the festival and heard, from outside, someone banging around. You went in to see if Mrs. Harrison fell or had a heart attack and found Laura. Once there, stay with the story of being knocked out, the ice skates, and taking off your clothes.”
“You sure?” Megan questioned, not really wanting the whole stripping for the enemy thing in her permanent FBI file.
“They’ll probably already have your clothes in evidence so we have to get them off yo
u.” He took an exhausted breath. “You’ll have to say you took them of to distract them enough to swipe the keys.”
It sounded like she had planned on giving up her body to get them out. Megan twisted her fingers in her lap. She hoped the papers didn’t get wind of this.
“From there, you say they both went upstairs for a minute, so Todd,” Baldy’s real name, “could get rid of the car and Larry came back. That’s when he slapped Laura and you two fought to get out. From there, stick with what really happened.” Drew looked at both of them with stern don’t-change-a-word-of-what-I-just-said eyes.
“Do you think they’ll believe us?” Laura asked.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s a lot more believable than she stripped down so she could go invisible.”
“True,” Laura said, then turned to Megan. “Once this is all over with, you really have to tell me how you did that.”
“No problem. I can tell you now. I don’t have the slightest clue how I do it. It’s just something I can do.” Laura exhaled like Megan wasn’t letting her in on the real secret of it. “Thank you both so much for not saying anything. There’s no telling what would happen to me if it were let out.”
“Your secret is safe in this family,” Drew assured her and Laura nodded in agreement.
“Now, let’s get back inside and eat. I can smell Mon’s fried chicken from out here.” He rubbed his stomach.
“I get first pick,” Laura yelled, jumping up and running into the house.
Megan smiled. “Your sister is great.” Drew picked her up and she started talking before he got inside. “Hey, uh, when you said the secret is safe with your family, did that mean you’re going to tell your parents, too?”
“No, but there’s a strange thing about my mother. If she knows we’re hiding something, she’ll find a way to figure out what it is.”
“If our story can’t convince her, how the hell are we going to convince the FBI?” Megan asked as Drew held her close. Their heads were only inches apart, and if she wanted to kiss him all she would have to do is lean in a fraction of an inch. Instead, she fought her instincts and looked forward, away from him.
“My mother is a secret agent in her own right when it comes to us kids. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” Much to her surprise, he was the one to lean in and kiss her forehead before moving into the house.
What did that even mean? He was being awfully sweet all of a sudden. The only thing she was certain of was she was hungry and way too drained to try to decipher the many personalities of Drew Calloway.
He dropped her off on the couch and again added pillows under her feet and vanished with the rest of his family into the kitchen. Megan closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of plates clanking and the four of them talking over one another and laughing. It was a beautiful sound. She was happy to help bring that joy back into their lives.
“Hope you like chicken with all the fixin’s,” Leonard said, carrying a tray and setting it on her lap as Drew put a plate packed with food on top of the tray. Her stomach growled again.
“Oh, I think I will love it.”
****
Megan called Lillie and asked if she would meet her at the festival in the morning after assuring her she didn’t need to turn anyone into a human pretzel right then. It took some time, but she finally convinced Lillie she was going to be fine and got off the phone.
The day caught up with her and she could no longer suppress a yawn. Glancing at the ancient coo-coo clock hanging on the wall, Megan couldn’t believe it was almost eleven. With the long day and the pain medicine the doctor gave her, she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She pinched her arm and rubbed her eyes, but nothing worked. Since she would be sleeping on the couch, there was no way she was going fall asleep and let Drew’s family witness her drool.
The family had seen enough humiliation at her expense over the last week; she wasn’t about to add to the list.
Drew patted her on the leg and Megan looked to him with glossy eyes. “Why don’t I take you to the room so you can get some sleep?”
“Would you wake me up when everyone’s ready to go to bed?” She didn’t want anyone else to end up sleeping on the couch on her account.
“Sure,” he said, giving her a quizzical lift of his brow, but she left it alone. Her brain was too fuzzy to analyze him. Drew picked her up and carried her to what she guessed was his bedroom since it was messier than the rest of the house.
“Thanks,” she said after he laid her on the oversized bed, and she cuddled into the soft cotton, drinking in the smell of him surrounding her.
Drew tossed a t-shirt and shorts on the bed. “You can sleep in these.”
“Okay, thanks.” Megan took the clothes and rubbed the soft cotton between her fingers, waiting for him to leave.
“Need help getting into them?” The sides of his lips rose to an evil grin.
Even through the grogginess, Megan managed to smile. “I think I can handle it from here.” Drew winked and walked to the door. “Hey, Drew. Um, thanks for… well, everything.”
His eyes went soft and his smile weakened before closing the door behind him. Once Megan was alone, she let out a deep sigh and wondered what all the little touches and smiles threw her way meant or if they meant anything at all. All she did know was she was terrified to find out.
Chapter Twenty
Megan woke, face down, with something pressing down on the middle of her back. Something, or someone, large. Panic hit her and she pressed her palms firmly on the mattress and pushed up as hard as she could, ready to fight her way out of the dark room.
No way was she going to let him take her again.
“Megan.” Two strong hands wrapped around her upper arms and tossed her on her back before covering her body with his. “Calm down, Baby. It’s me.”
“Drew?” she asked between ragged breaths. She squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness.
Drew released her and moved next to her, his breath close to her face. “It’s okay. It’s just me.”
“I thought… I thought—”
“I know, Baby. It’s all okay.” Drew pushed Megan to her side and pulled her against his chest. The beat of his heart lulled her back to a semblance of coherency.
Rolling her face to him, she whispered, “What are you doing in here?”
“Laura passed out on the couch and I didn’t have the heart to wake her.” He rubbed the side of her face with his thumb. “And you were sleeping so hard, I didn’t want to wake you, either.”
Feeling the heat of his body radiating on her like an electric blanket was the most comfortable place in the world. She sighed. Lying next to the man she loved, Megan tried to soak it all in because tomorrow it would be over for good.
Without overthinking it, Megan leaned back and kissed him lightly. “Thank you again for everything you’ve done for me.”
“Don’t thank me,” Drew replied in a low voice.
“You don’t understand. I’ve lived alone with my secret my entire life and I trust you with it.” She paused. “I can’t thank you enough for not turning me in.”
“You really think I’d ever put you in that position?” His voice was no longer low, but it did hold warning.
Thinking out loud, she said, “No. I don’t think you would and that’s just one of the things I… appreciate about you.” Stupid! Megan thought. I almost told him I loved him.
“There’s… lots about you I appreciate.” His voice went deep and gravelly as he leaned into her. Drew brushed the hair from Megan’s shoulders and placed his lips on her collarbone, then worked his way up her neck in slow, soft appreciation. By the time he made it to her lips, her body was arched into him, giving him full access. His hot breath came to her ear. “Make love to me.”
The only answer Megan could manage to such a lustful request was a guttural moan and a tug at his shirt. Thankfully, that was enough of an answer and Drew made quick work of shedding his clothes. He took his
time removing her shirt, kissing her breasts while pinning her arms above her head. Getting tired of the wait, she started to pull down her shorts when his hand stopped her.
“Let me,” Drew said with humor lacing his words. Megan laid back and let him do whatever he wanted for as long as he wanted and enjoyed every second of it.
****
Tilting her head back, Megan used her hands to make sure all of the shampoo had been rinsed from her hair. She would probably stay in the shower forever rather than face Drew and his family that morning, but the water had already begun to turn cold. Turning the water off, she closed her eyes at her own stupidity. She’s allowed herself have sex with him again… and again. Not that it wasn’t worth it, but damn, she said she wasn’t going to let it happen anymore.
The only thing she could surmise was Drew Calloway was the kind of man a woman simply could not refuse.
He had his own set of super powers.
Cautiously stepping out of the shower, Megan looked at her reflection in the mirror and realized with horror that Drew had marked his territory with a hickey on her neck. Fleetingly, she wondered when he’d left that. She groaned. Her sins were literally staring her in the face.
What surprised Megan most about the night before was Drew hadn’t flipped out when she went invisible this time. He just held onto her and used his hands to know where she was. Luckily, she was able to make herself visible again within a short time. She had a feeling if she had sex more regularly she could eventually have complete control of when it did or didn’t occur. But that wasn’t going to happen. Megan couldn’t have casual sex with Drew even if it seemed he was more than willing to offer it, and she couldn’t have sex with other men to build up her tolerance. Gosh, even the thought of letting another man touch her made her lips curl.
Stepping lightly to the bedroom, Megan finished drying off and slipped on the clothes Drew had given her to sleep in the night before. She sat on the edge of the bed and inspected her feet. They were still sore, but she thought she could wear a pair of soft sole shoes. She wiggled her toes and bit her bottom lip. Not that she had any shoes to wear. She had about an hour to get home, change clothes, and get to the festival on time. Without a car or keys to her house, Megan would have to ask for help from one of the Calloway’s. Just another example of how screwed up her life had become. She’d never been dependent on anyone in her life.
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