Beautifully Broken

by Christa Simpson

  “You did.”

  “Oh.”

  “But a little birdy might have told me first.”

  Felicia sighs again.

  “I’m sorry. Was it supposed to be a secret?”

  “No. I just wonder whose side Destiny is on some days.”

  “Well, she is a Knight now. Standing up for your family is the honorable thing to do. But I don’t think you need to worry. Destiny’s got your back.”

  “I don’t know. She absolutely adores you.”

  Matt growls on the other end of the phone. “That’s disappointing.”

  It makes Felicia laugh. “Did you hope Skylar would invite you into their marital bed?”

  “No. Your bed is the only one I’ve set my eyes on at this point.”

  “That, quite literally, is not going to happen. In case Destiny didn’t tell you, I’m living with Natalie now. I think we should figure out what we’re doing here before letting anyone else in on our plans.”

  “If you insist. I prefer to have you to myself anyways. The cabin can be quite a drive. Are you up for it? We could always rent a place closer.”

  She hears him mulling it over. The idea of going back to the place they’d first met makes her anxious, but it only makes sense. Why pay someone for a dirty motel room, when he has a perfectly private cabin? She wants to say yes to the cabin, but she can’t find the courage to talk.

  “I suppose if we’re going to do this—and we are—then we might as well do it right.” Matt’s voice has her belly flip-flopping.

  “The cabin it is.” Felicia can’t believe she’s agreed to spend more time with him. Their time together is always amazing, but it’s a crazy mixture of pain too. “It’s set, then.”

  “Right. We’ll go to my cabin. It’s a long weekend. I have Monday off work. You?”

  “I do too.”

  “We can make a weekend out of it then. That should be enough time to figure out whether we should give this thing another go or not.”

  Her voice sounds a little too chipper. “Great. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Really, Felicia?”

  “I’m serious. Need I remind you about Natalie? I can’t leave my car home for a couple of nights, or she’ll know something’s up.”

  “I’ll drive your car then. Skylar and Destiny are supposed to be going away for the weekend, so we should be covered.”

  “Are you sure they aren’t planning on heading out there? That would be a disaster.”

  “Nah. Skylar used to spend every long weekend out there with me, but it’s not going to happen this weekend. He said so himself. I haven’t spent a single weekend out there since the accident, so I think it’s time I get back to some semblance of normalcy.”

  “Taking women you barely know out to your cottage is normal to you?” She catches herself scowling.

  Why did I ask him that? Do I even want to know the answer?

  “I know you better than you think,” he states, leaving her question alone. “I’d like to get to know you better too, if you’ll let me.”

  Her heart begins to race. The idea of opening up an old wound is terrifying, but all she feels is exhilaration. “Are you sure it won’t be too stressful? It’s going to dredge up a boatload of bad memories.”

  “The only person with bad memories from that place, Felicia, is you. I have plenty of things I remember about it that make me smile. Maybe if you go out there with me, you’ll be able to clear your head and see how beautiful it truly is. If you would put the shield away for one weekend, I guarantee you it will change your perspective.”

  She doesn’t like the way he’s calling her out. She could say no. She could stay home like a total loser, in a town where she knows a whole lot of no one. Or, she could go. Give the place a chance. Give Matt a chance.

  “I already said okay,” she tells him. “Let’s see if you can change my outlook.”

  His voice tells her he’s smiling. “It’ll be a tough job, but I plan on using the proper tools.”

  Chapter 25: A Splash in Time

  Matt can’t believe Felicia’s agreed to give him another weekend. Their relationship seems like a collection of memorable weekends that are getting closer and closer together. He doesn’t even know if he’s ready to go where this is heading, but he plows on and is a little excited to see where they end up.

  The drive is long, but their conversation flows smoothly. Even though, counting days, they haven’t known each other very long, he feels like he knows her on a much deeper level than anyone he’s forged a long term relationship with in the past. He smiles over at her as he lightens up on the gas pedal.

  Her eyes dart across the car to meet his. “What’s wrong?”

  Matt flicks on the left-hand signal light and presses the brake a little harder. “This is it.” He turns her car down the worn gravel path that leads to nothing and nowhere except for his cabin. “This is my land here.”

  She gazes out her window in awe. “It’s beautiful.”

  When he glances at her, he can’t help but smile wildly, appreciating the brightness of her eyes in comparison to the colorful, autumn backdrop behind her. Getting her here was half the battle. He’s feeling lucky to have one last chance to sweep this stunning woman off her feet. He is confident, now that he’s got her here, that it’s in the bag. He’s almost certain that one weekend with him alone is all he’ll need to have wedding bells chiming in Felicia’s dreams.

  He clears his throat and shakes that terrifying image from his head. “Sometimes all you need is a change of venue, a place where you know no one’s going to judge you.” Matt wonders if he says it more for her or for him.

  “That may be true, but I doubt there’s anything here that you couldn’t do back at home.”

  Matt parks the car and chuckles darkly. “Oh, have I got news for you. This is very different and I plan on showing you all the ways it is, city girl. Bring your things inside and get yourself comfortable. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  He piles all her things on the front porch and unlatches the lock on the door. After retrieving a few remaining items from her trunk, he slides a knapsack over his shoulder, leans his cane against the porch and moseys out to the old barn with a swagger. Walking without a cane is a new thing he’s relieved to experience. He carefully climbs onto the four-wheeler Skylar recently purchased and turns the key. It hums to life and with a flick of his wrist he’s speeding to the spot he had cleaned up early in the week, banking on this very moment.

  If Felicia is going to give him a chance to officially win her heart, then he is going to pull out all the stops.

  He races back to the cabin on four wheels. He doesn’t want her wandering off on her own, or like a true city girl, getting scared. When he appears from the woodlot, she’s standing on the front porch waiting for him. She hops down the three stairs to the ground and meets him outside the barn.

  “What are you up to?” She can sense that he’s preparing something sneaky.

  Matt prefers to call it smooth. He takes her hand and pulls her around the cabin to the back porch. It takes him longer than it used to, but she’s patient with him. The view is as beautiful as he knew it would be.

  “There you have it.” He watches her mouth drop in awe as she takes in the most beautiful private lakeside a person could ever see. “It is very different here, Felicia, and I’m going to prove it to you again and again.”

  He drags her off the porch, heading through the back yard toward the lush wood lot.

  “My purse!” She reaches back toward the house.

  “You won’t need it where we’re going, city girl.”

  Her eyes are darting around the yard, looking for a clue as to where he’s taking her. She glances back at her car and then back to the house again.

  He laughs. She doesn’t know what to do with herself out here. She doesn’t get it. They’re all alone, except for nature and all its natural remedies.

  “Rather than kill yourself trying to figure out what’
s going on, why don’t you just ask me?” He stops and turns to her, lancing her with a smile.

  She thinks about it and asks one question. “Are you taking me to the lake?”

  He smirks. “I am.”

  “Why?”

  She’s so beautiful and that curiosity is going to get her laid. He draws the back of his hand down her cheek. “This may come as a shock to you, but besides my stunning good looks, I have also been known to be a romantic gentleman from time to time.

  “Hah!” she belts out.

  “Funny, is it?”

  She covers her smirk. “I’m sorry, but you?—romantic? This is something I must see.”

  He takes that as a challenge and plans to do his best to woo her with her panties on. “Then let me show you.” He urges her ahead of him, so she can see it first. A picnic lunch is resting on a blanket and a bottle of wine is sitting in a tub of ice.

  “You’re kidding me.”

  He mocks her. “Are you going to take back your rude comments now?”

  “What? No!” She acts like she’s done nothing wrong.

  “Yes. You’re going to take back what you said, Felicia. You hurt my feelings. I am romantic. You see?”

  She shakes her head side to side and so he grabs onto the loose portion of her shirt to steal her attention and draw her close. He watches a breath hitch in her throat and her eyelids dip half-mast. Her body presses down the length of his.

  His voice is soft now, in stark contrast to his actions. “Tell me this doesn’t exceed your wildest expectations.” He releases her shirt and draws a warm hand over her hip. “Tell me you love the way I surprise you.”

  She chews on her lower lip after taking a shallow breath. “I am pleasantly surprised.”

  He smiles and sets her free from his rigid body. “Good. I’m glad. I never want to be that guy, the predictable one.” Matt quickly lifts her chin and pecks her lips. “Come. See what I’ve made you.”

  Felicia smiles as she’s led to the basket of food. “Did I hear you correctly? You made this?”

  He glances back at her with a devious smile slanting across his mouth. “Are you scared?”

  “Not in the slightest. Intrigued, maybe. But never scared.” She is so confident.

  Matt brushes a lock of hair out of her eyes and smiles into them. She waits for another kiss to rain down on her, but it doesn’t come. He leaves her side again and quickly orders the dishes on the soft blanket. He wants her to beg for his intimate company, to crave it.

  “Please. Have a seat.”

  She settles on her knees, still smiling, as he rummages through the wicker basket and plates the decadent fruit. Her eyes alone tell him she loves what she sees. She should. He’s selected her favorite: red wine, chocolate-covered strawberries, and vanilla ice cream.

  “Sorry, the ice cream’s a little melted,” he admits. “The long drive always does it to our frozen foods in the summer.”

  “It looks great. What’s the story behind these foods? Or are they completely random?”

  Matt smiles. “I know that you like all these things. Yes, I asked. But they’re all aphrodisiacs, of course. The red wine will boost your blood flow, the vanilla stimulates your nerves and the chocolate will help conjure up good feelings that make sex sound like a good idea.”

  “And the strawberries?”

  He smiles. “I like the taste of strawberries. The sweet flavor consumes your mouth and makes it water for more.” Matt reaches out a strawberry and touches it to her lips before rolling it over her tongue. “Want a bite?”

  She moans when he rolls the strawberry into her mouth.

  “Close your eyes,” he growls.

  Everything about this moment is sexy.

  “Taste the chocolate melting on your tongue? Now bite it. Slowly.”

  Her mouth is so erotic. Her rosy lips close around the sweet red fruit in an amazing blend of delicious. He leans in and steals a taste. Just a chaste one, despite the growing need to kiss her deeply. Then he steals another. He can’t help it. She tastes that good.

  He hurries to scoop a spoonful of ice cream for her before he throws the entire feeding idea out the door. He takes a bite, hoping the vanilla will cool him off. It’s a refreshing treat, but even more refreshing is when Felicia dives in for a taste herself, dragging her tongue across his for a medley of flavors uniting.

  Matt groans, unable to deny how excited this has him. He’d planned this as a warm up, a way to turn her on, but it seems to have backfired on him. Now he’s the one who’s desperate for more of her. His body has already grown immeasurably and he had other ideas to fully romanticize her.

  Felicia smiles coyly as she grabs another strawberry. “May I?” she asks, as she foregoes the small plastic glasses and takes a swig from the bottle.

  “Classy lady,” Matt teases.

  “There’s no one here to judge me. You said so yourself earlier.”

  Matt takes the bottle from her hand and has his own gulp. “So you were listening to me.”

  Felicia stares into his soul. “I always listen to you, Matty. Even when you least expect it.”

  He starts working himself into a bad case of she’s-too-good-for-me. This girl is the perfect blend of sweet and sassy and has the body to back it up.

  He sighs softly as a sudden guilt trip scares away his naughty intentions. “I’m starting to wonder why I’ve taken you out here. You probably have a group of friends or family who were planning to spend time with you. I’ve taken you away from them. That’s very selfish of me.”

  Her smile is golden. “It’s okay to be selfish sometimes.” She flattens her hands over his chest and presses them up to his neck and down to his abdominals. As she takes her feel, her voice turns seductive. “Sometimes it’s the only way to get what you want.”

  Did the food do the trick already?

  He boldly asks her a question. “Is that what I have to do to get what I want, Felicia? Be selfish?”

  Felicia’s instantly torn from the moment with wide eyes and an open mouth. “What was that?” Her eyes scatter the ground as she scours the nearby bush from afar. Has she actually seen something behind him? Is it a bear? It’s not unheard of in these parts. He’s taken all the precautions, but bears always seem to make unplanned visits.

  When Matt glances back toward the water, Felicia picks up a rock and tosses it as hard as she can into the lake. Matt turns back toward her as the rock plunks into the water, not realizing that she’s only distracting him.

  He gets up, using one knee. “What the hell?”

  He steps closer to the water and stares into space, determined to figure out what is making all that noise, while Felicia strips off her shirt and tears off her shoes. By the time he spins around, it’s too late; she’s already charging him.

  They both crash into the shallow water. She mustn’t have expected it would be quite that shallow or half that cold. He’s glued to the bottom in a slick of mud and she’s flattened on top of him shivering with delight.

  “Surprise!” she gasps.

  After an extended silence, Matt breaks out in a hearty laugh that comes right from his gut. He crawls a little farther into the lake, lies back in the water and swishes around. He resurfaces looking a little less muddy.

  “I cannot believe you did that.” He slides up beside her and takes a seat. Maybe now’s not a good time to tell her about the snapping turtles or the friendly fish.

  Felicia shrugs her shoulders and then shivers uncontrollably. “Then you’re going to be really shocked when I do this.”

  She comes off the bottom with a handful of mud that she slaps on his face. She’s laughing so hard, he hears her let out a snort. She tries to get away before he can retaliate, but he’s not as slow as she might think. He happens to have experience in this area. He scoops up some mud and dives onto her back, smearing it into her hair. They submerge in the deeper water, attached at the hip.

  When they break the surface he gets to see the new chocolate col
or of her hair thanks to his attack. “That color looks good on you. It really does,” he teases, his hot breath rushing over her cold cheek.

  “I don’t know,” she teases back, smearing her hair all over his face, like a cat would snuggle its owner. “I think it looks better on you.”

  They’re so busy arguing haughtily that they don’t notice the bear smuggling their treats until it’s got its nose in the picnic basket. The second Matt realizes what’s going on, he freezes.

  “Don’t move a muscle,” he orders, with her body attached to his like they’re sharing a straightjacket. The tone of his voice is all Felicia needs to hear to know he means business.

  Suddenly the bear glances over at them. If it decides to come and get them, they won’t stand a chance. Lucky for them, the bear is content to return to the ice cream. Neither of them moves. Felicia stares into Matt’s eyes. He smiles at her encouragingly. After another minute or two, the bear goes on its merry way, as if it’s forgotten about them in the water.

  Matt waits until the bear disappears into the bush before speaking. “I think we’re going to be okay,” he says softly, gazing into her eyes.

  She releases a breath, the one that she seems to have held that entire time. “Oh my gosh. I’ve never been so scared in my life.” A tear appears in the corner of one of her eyes, right before she squeezes them shut.

  Matt drags her muddy hair away from her face. “I’d never let anyone or anything hurt you. I’d rather die.”

  The look on her face is wistful. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

  He nods at her with certainty written in his brow as he slides his fingers over the softness of her cheek to her chin. He realizes then that he loves her more than life itself.

  As if reading his thoughts, she slowly leans in and takes his lips. “Thank you.”

  He holds her in his arms and kisses her forehead. “Thank you for coming here.”

  She rests against his chest momentarily, and they just stand there, soaking up the peace and quiet. Soon, she’s gazing into his eyes with an unexpected plea. Her hands carefully explore his wet upper body, massaging every rigid muscle through his wet t-shirt. It makes another muscle in his body hope for its own personal massage.