A New Leaf (Hemlock #1)

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Finn

Those little fuckers.

I got cockblocked by overgrown teenagers dressed as Mario Kart characters. Not exactly cockblocked, but kissblocked. I open the door with a little more force than necessary, throw the miniature candy bars into Mario and Luigi’s pillow cases, and shut the door. When I turn back to the couch, Charlie is now sitting on the floor, petting Frank and Vera. Contentment consumes her features. With a gentle smile curling on her lips and a soft twinkle in her eye—she looks absolutely perfect in my home.

It’s a beautiful sight.

Stepping towards her, I open my mouth to compliment her costume, but another group of trick-or-treaters is at my doorstep, practically banging down my door. I drop my head, feeling irritation flare in my chest.

These damn kids are ruining my night.

After passing out candy to the cast of Sesame Street—Big Bird and Elmo, specifically—I spin toward Charlie and stroll over to where she’s seated on the living room floor. Crouching down, I sit next to her and the two dogs, who are both belly up with wagging tails.

From this angle, I can see down the neckline of her costume. One of the buttons must’ve accidentally popped open, and I completely lose my train of thought at the sight of her soft cleavage. Seeing the swell of her full breasts causes me to lose all focus. Every time I’ve been around Charlie, she hasn’t worn anything that dipped this low. I feel myself harden beneath the zipper of my pants—the fabric pressing uncomfortably against my growing erection at the sight of her breasts covered in nude lace.

My one-track brain is having difficulty concentrating on anything else except for the beautiful sight before me. I’m like a man stuck in the Victorian Era who just saw a woman’s ankle for the first time.

She clears her throat, looking up at me like I got caught. Which I did. Heat burns from my chest to my neck and finally arrives at my cheeks. Charlie tries hard to hide a smile while I quickly look away, wishing the embarrassment would soon disappear.

“S-sorry,” I wince, my voice sheepish. “That was creepy and weird and I’m sorry. If you want to leave because you’re uncomfortable?—”

Please don’t leave early.

“How do they look?” She intercepts my ramble quicker than the speed of light.

My pulse is thumping loudly in my ears, my dick is achingly hard, and I feel like a creep gawking at her cleavage like that. When I meet her eyes, she pins me with a stare. Her expression is neutral and unreadable.

I swallow hard. “Th-they look g-good.” The sweat on the back of my neck is practically dripping down my shirt.

Wow. Smooth, Finn. I’ve been transported back to my bumbling sixteen-year-old self again. I’m really knocking this whole “charming” thing out of the park.

Charlie’s face hasn’t changed. She gives a slow, pensive nod and her eyes lock on mine.

I definitely fucked up.

A few seconds of her intense glare pass before she suddenly breaks into a fit of giggles. “Oh my god, you should see your face! I’ve never seen a person’s face turn that red before!”

I’m too stunned to speak. This woman’s poker face is unmatched. I breathe out a long exhale and drop my head. She’s still laughing, and the dogs think something is very wrong. Frank is all over Charlie, practically crawling in her lap, and Vera is licking my face to get my attention.

I turn my head to Charlie. Her smile is so big that her kind brown eyes are creasing at the corners. As always, her classic smile proves to be infectious, and I feel my own lips curling up at the ends.

“I thought you were going to punch me!” I say, laughing. I swipe my hand across my damp forehead. “I felt like such a fucking creep.”

“Listen, I’m only handy with a golf club. The last time I tried to throw a punch, I broke two knuckles.” She shrugs.

I throw a bemused look her way. “We’ll need to discuss that incident at a later date, because I’m sure there’s a good story there.” She nods in agreement. “Remind me to help you work on your self-defense skills. I can teach you how to throw a few punches without injuring yourself too badly.” I give her hand a quick squeeze, but don’t move it away.

Any chance I get to touch Charlie, I take it and run. At least until she pushes me away. Which she hasn’t so far. She rolls her eyes with a light laugh. When she looks down at our joined hands, I notice her chewing on her inner lip, worry etched on her face. With my thumb and index finger, I gently tip her chin to meet my gaze.

“Hey,” I say gently. “What’s on your mind?”

She opens her mouth, ready to speak, before we hear another loud banging at the door with more trick-or-treaters.

These little twerps.

My hand drops from her chin, and I groan in annoyance. Begrudgingly, I get off the floor and grab the candy bowl, charging to my front door. “I’m shutting off this fucking porch light, I’ve had enough of these hellions interrupting—” I open the door with agitated force, though I don’t dare finish my sentence. Instead, I freeze, my eyes taking in the scene before me, carefully weighing my next words.

A man, who easily has seventy-five pounds of muscle on me and looks like he belongs in a motorcycle club, raises a single, displeased eyebrow at me. I look down and see that he’s holding his daughter’s hand, who’s wearing a sparkly pink princess costume.

Clearing my throat, I put on a cheery voice. “Wow! Beautiful costume. You know what? Tonight’s your lucky night. Here, you can take all of the candy.” I pour everything from the bowl into her pumpkin pail, and Mr. Clean's tattooed, Harley-riding cousin nods in approval. “You guys have a great night. Hope to see you around the neighborhood!”

I hope I never see them again.

Stepping back inside my house, I lock the door and turn the porch light off. Charlie is now sitting on the couch with both dogs, fighting a smile at the sight of my exasperation. Heading back to the couch, I whistle for Frank to move over so I can sit next to Charlie. The damn dog doesn’t move an inch, and Charlie’s shoulders shake with laughter.

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” I say, moving to sit in the chair across from the couch. I pull my glasses off my face, set them on the coffee table, and rub my eyes. A laugh bubbles out of me.

“This is not how I expected tonight to go.” Sighing, I run my hands through my hair.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m having a fun time,” she says with a fit of delicate laughter.

“Yeah?”

“Of course. Seeing you get flustered is much more entertaining than reading one of my romance books.”

My head whips in her direction. Even though I can barely see her without my glasses, I don’t miss the pink stains on her cheeks when she realizes her admission.

“Ahh. So you read romance. Any recommendations?” I pry. As I put my glasses back on, I lean forward in the chair. My elbows rest on my knees, and I cradle my face in one hand, patiently waiting for her to tell me anything about her reading habits.

“No,” she says, her voice flat.

“Oh, come on. I’m looking to get back into the genre. Maybe I want to learn a new thing or two?”

“Hold up. Back into the genre ? What does that mean?”

This revelation will put me into an early grave.

Sighing, I anxiously adjust my glasses before I look up at her. “Aunt Donna convinced me to join her book club when I was seventeen. I have three boxes of historical romance books in my attic.”

“Three boxes?”

“Three boxes,” I echo.

She looks off into the distance, nodding thoughtfully. “I could see you with long, flowing hair and your chest on full display, ripping a bodice.”

I slump back in my chair, groaning. “This is embarrassing.”

Charlie laughs. “If you want updated recommendations, go look up the bestsellers. You don’t need to know my favorites to learn more.” She shakes her head, laughing.

Leaning forward again, I fix my gaze on hers. “See, sweetheart, that’s where you’re wrong.” Charlie’s eyebrows knit together in confusion, tilting her head to the side as she does. “I want to know your favorites so I can learn what you like,” my voice is hushed and rough. Charlie’s eyes widen in surprise while the flush on her face deepens in color. My mind wanders to an entirely different place.

Does she blush when she comes? If a little flirting gets her blushing this quickly, I can only imagine the shade of red her pretty cheeks turn as she moans my name, writhing beneath me in my tangled bedsheets.

We sit there looking intensely at one another for what feels like an eternity. The tension in the room has turned into something palpable enough that the dogs have hopped off the couch and disappeared elsewhere in the house. I can see the wheels in Charlie’s mind turning over and over again. Trying to work out what just happened and what could happen between us.

It’s driving me crazy that I can’t read her thoughts.

She clears her throat. “Let’s go for a walk, yeah?” Charlie briskly stands up, grabbing both our jackets and handing me mine before she puts hers on.

As we walk out into the cold, damp darkness outside, I don’t say anything. The night is calm, and the sky is clear, dotted with bright stars. Our walk is silent for the first five minutes, and I can’t help but think I royally fucked this up and flirted too close to the sun.

I glance down at her. “Hey, about earlier?—”

An amused smile washes over her. “Don’t,” she says. “I liked it.”

She whispers the last part, intentionally not meeting my eyes. It’s adorable how shy she gets around me sometimes. Each time she does, my heart thrums with excitement.

We keep walking until we end up in a clearing at the edge of my neighborhood. Lush, tall pine trees surround the grassy field, and a small stream runs through it. The sounds of the stream soothe my racing brain. She said not to apologize, but I can’t help but feel that something in the air is off with us.

I can’t pinpoint it, but there’s just something .

The mood has changed.

We feel different.

“Fuck it,” I hear her say, pulling me from my thoughts.

My eyes flicker over to her. “Huh? Fuck what?”

“This.”

The next thing I know, she grabs me by the lapels of my jacket, pulls me down to her level, and kisses me senseless.

I’m stunned.

Her lips are soft and warm, and the kiss is so careful and tender that it takes my breath away. She pulls away and we lock eyes. I’m still stunned, unable to form any words. My face must be twisted in confusion, because panic quickly settles over hers.

“Oh, dear god. I misread the situation.” She lets go of my jacket and starts backing up. Her panic-stricken face morphs into regret and defeat.

Charlie turns to leave, walking away from me at a speedy pace.

Finally, my brain catches up after trying to process our kiss. All I feel is relief, desire, and lust rapidly burning a path through my veins. In a rush, I catch up to Charlie. Closing the distance between us, my arm wraps around her waist, spinning her to face me.

“Get back here.” My voice is gruff as I draw her closer to me. “I wasn’t done yet.”

With one hand around her waist and the other cupping her jaw, it’s my turn to press my lips against hers. Our kiss is gentle but desperate. Demanding but intimate.

I remove my arm from her waist and deepen the kiss by cupping her face in both of my hands, carefully tilting her head back. Her hands reach for my coat again, gripping the lapels tightly, like she’s afraid she may drift away. As she lets out a soft, satisfied whimper, I instinctively pull her closer against me.

Our bodies meld together, enveloped in a kiss so intense and passionate that it overwhelms all of my senses. From the scent of her citrus shampoo and the taste of watermelon candy on her lips to her lush curves pressing into my body and the sweet sounds she’s making—I’m completely and utterly consumed by this woman.

There’s no chance in hell I’m letting this one get away from me.