Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
My heart pounded as fifty faces swung toward me.
I pointed at the water.
“She’s in there! I saw her go under!” I yelled.
“Who?” several people shouted. Already two men were taking off their jackets and handing them over. Almost everyone in the tent was looking my way, most of them walking toward the commotion to get a better look. The music had stopped, but the chatter was loud.
“It’s… um…”
I looked around quickly. I didn’t want these men to dive in just to be heroes in the dark waters of the Atlantic on a wild-goose chase.
Mrs. Gordon was slinking off toward the house.
Two large men were each holding an arm of the struggling Andrea, and one had a gloved hand over her mouth.
Colin was removing a microphone from her grip.
“Mrs. Gordon!” I shouted, looking back toward the sea.
There were cries of, “Someone help her!” “Do something!” “Call 911!” when the sound of banging came over the speakers.
Then, Colin’s composed voice: “Sorry, everyone, for the confusion. My mother is right here. There’s no one in the water.”
The worried voices quieted around me. And again, but this time for a different reason, all eyes were on me.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted out, voice cracking. Have you ever had a crowd instantly judge you as a crazy person? There were whispers, slight laughter from a nearby young couple, but mostly varied stares of pity, confusion, and contempt.
Colin was parting the crowd. “It’s okay, everyone! She’s had nothing to eat today and just had a little too much champagne,” he tried explaining as he took off his jacket and put it over my shoulders.
The last thing I felt in my state of embarrassment was cold, but I figured I’d let the handsome, gallant man be a gentleman and suffer with my sweaty armpits for a few minutes while my face regained its normal color.
“Thank you to our guests for keeping the party interesting!” Stephen’s voice boomed over the speakers.
Interesting? This was even more humiliating than anything I’d imagined. I didn’t want Colin to regret bringing me here.
“Nice job,” Colin spoke into my ear.
I swallowed hard and nodded, trying to calm my shaking hands.
At least I’d thwarted Andrea’s plan to ruin the wedding.
Stephen continued into a speech aimed at his soon-to-be wife, singing her praises, wondering what he’d ever done to deserve her, and how she was an angel to put up with him.
As we walked around the perimeter of the tent and toward the house, I saw Haley standing by Stephen, her hand coming up to his chest in a gesture of affection.
I couldn’t help wondering if her bright smile was an act for all the guests. She must have seen Andrea.
Colin had said he wondered at his brother going for someone like Andrea, but was Haley any different? It wasn’t my place to judge, though, was it?
Once the toast and cheers were a distant sound in the wind, and we were climbing the couple of steps toward the pool area, I took off the jacket and handed it back to Colin. The grin on his face was priceless.
“That was incredible,” he said. “If it weren’t for your quick thinking, that would be a very different party down there. Andrea had grabbed the microphone, but your screaming stopped her.”
“I don’t know that I even thought of it. I just did it,” I said, laughing now at how absurd it all had been. Then I put my face in my hands. “Oh my God. Everyone thinks I’m a nutcase!”
“Don’t worry about that. You’re not the first person to have had too much to drink. And you won’t be the last one this evening, I’ll bet. Someone will stumble and have to be helped out before the night is through. Probably my mother.”
“We can go back. I can overcome my mortification to do a little dancing,” I offered.
He shook his head. “I have the perfect excuse to get out of being at the party. Don’t take that away from me. Besides, I’ve done my brotherly duty. My work there is done.”
Colin winked at me and motioned his head upward, showing we should continue on.
When we entered his bedroom, I closed the door behind me and stood against it. I still couldn’t believe I’d caused a scene.
“You should get a raise for that little performance,” he said.
“How would that look? My getting a raise after having a weekend away with you?” I asked with an exaggerated head tilt.
“I suppose it wouldn’t be prudent,” he said with a twinkly in his eye. “But you understand that you saved my family, and thus the agency, from scandal? Our PR team would have had to spring into action.”
“Happy to help,” I said, unsure how I really felt about saving the wedding of a couple that probably shouldn’t get married. “Maybe we should discuss how things are, um…progressing between you and me. Like for HR… we should probably figure that out. Your board members were commenting on it.”
“I don’t have to answer to the board about my relationships,” he said, sliding his tie from around his neck and working on the top buttons of his shirt. “But if you are willing, Katelynn Donovan, I’m ready for us to sign those HR consent forms.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Are you sure? You’re the subordinate. I’m trying to hold myself back here. If you only knew all the things I’m thinking of doing to you…”
He untucked his shirt and stood firmly without moving. Like a moth to a flame, I glided over to him. My hands reached up and slid into the collar of his shirt. I smoothly passed my hands over his shoulders and down his arms, bringing his shirt to the ground.
“Tell me,” I whispered, emboldened by my brazenness.
“I’ve been wondering what you look like under that dress since the second you put it on.”
“So, look,” I said.
I witnessed his resistance break down.
Colin kissed me like he’d been holding himself back for days, and the second his mouth found mine, everything inside me gave way. His hand slid into my hair and pulled just enough to make me gasp.
His hands fell down to the backs of my thighs, and he lifted me with one smooth motion.
My legs wrapped around him instinctively, my dress riding up dangerously high.
He walked us backward until my back met the cool wall beside the bed.
He kissed me again, slower now, one hand sliding beneath my dress to trace the edge of my panties.
“Colin…” I breathed, plunging my fingers into his hair.
He lifted his head slightly for our eyes to meet. The intensity there almost undid me.
“Tell me if you want me to stop,” he said.
“I don’t,” I replied instantly. “I really, really don’t.”
And then he touched me where I’d been wanting it.
A soft stroke at first, then firmer, more confident when my hips lifted toward him. He watched me as I bit my lip to keep from making noise. Those eyes of his pulled everything out of me.
My breath was all over the place. I clung to him as if he were the only thing keeping me upright because he was.
When he stopped to push the dress up and over my head, I ached from the lack of his touch. It was also the first time he’d seen me naked, and that small bit of insecurity I had about what he might think of my body popped up.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, taking my hand and leading me to the bed, his eyes not leaving my body for a second. I swam in the praise he bestowed upon me, the way his gaze lingered, his hungry expression.
With a swift removal of his pants and shorts, it was my turn to marvel at his beauty, but he didn’t give me the time.
Colin lifted me onto his lap, his body hotter than I expected. His hands traced the shape of my hips. When his lips moved slowly down my neck, a soft sound escaped me.
“God, you feel good,” he whispered, his voice steady but low.
The way he said it made me tremble. I slid my hands down his chest, feeling the strained muscles under my fingertips. His hardness beneath me was a reminder of where we were going.
I craved it too.
“I’ve wanted you like this since the first time you looked at me,” he said, cupping my face with both hands as if he needed to make sure I heard him.
It hit me hard—the sincerity in his voice, the intensity in his eyes. My heart squeezed tight in my chest.
I kissed him again, deeper this time, and he responded instantly, rolling us back onto the bed so my body settled beneath his. One hand slid down my side, gripping my thigh to guide me into the exact position he wanted.
He lowered himself then, fitting inside me fully in a deep warmth that had never felt so good. I arched into him, and he let out a quiet, strained sound that made everything inside me squirm.
“Katelynn,” he said as if he were barely hanging on.
My name on his lips did something to me I wasn’t prepared for.
“I want you,” I whispered, breathless and shaking with how much I meant it.
With slow, deliberate movements, he built a steady rhythm that sent shivers up my spine. He leaned down to kiss me once more.
“You’re driving me crazy,” he said against my mouth. “You don’t even know what you do to me.”
My legs wrapped tighter around him, pulling him closer.
“Colin,” I whimpered.
He groaned, pushing us deeper and making it hard for me to breathe, think…anything. The sensation kept building as he thrust expertly against me, the fire climbing inside me so fast it made my eyes close and my fingers clutch at him until I lost all sense of reality.
The moment hit me hard, and my body tightened around him as the wave broke and left me shaking beneath him. He whispered something I couldn’t make out and followed right after me, his body tense above mine, his breath ragged against my neck.
When it finally eased, his hand came up to the side of my face, brushing my hair away gently.
“You’re unbelievable,” he said softly.
I touched his jaw, letting my thumb trace the light stubble there as I studied his satiated face.
“I didn’t expect this,” I whispered. “Not like this.” It was true. I knew I was attracted to him. I’d had sex before. I’d imagined it would be like that.