From the Ashes (Witches of The Demon Isle Book 8) (20 page)

He cleared his throat and lifted a brow. Didn’t spending a lot of money on a girl make her happy? And give her a sense of security? He was going to burn those ludicrous magazines the minute he got home! Romance is for others, he decided.

Lizzy got up and went to leave.

Charlie nearly pummeled into a waiter carrying a tray of food in his rush to follow, and his attempt to get out of the way almost landed him in the lap of an elderly woman who winked like she would not mind that scenario at all. Except that he’d crush the poor woman.

Epic fail,
Charlie sighed.

Romance zip. Charlie Howard, zip. Lizzy annoyed, strike one!

She stopped at the hostess station on her way out the door. “A table just opened up.”

Charlie had no response when the hostess threw a questioning grimace. He followed Lizzy who was storming down the sidewalk busting through the crowd of people hoping to snag a table at the last minute.

Charlie caught up and spun her around.

“I don’t know how to fix it, but I’m sorry. Obviously, I suck at this.”

She folded her arms in front of her. “You were not lying when you said you never asked a girl out before, were you?” Before he replied she added, “Charlie, what kind of girl am I?” She raised her hand to silence him. “Think. Carefully.”

He closed his mouth.

She gave him a hint by stepping back and looking down at herself and back up to him.

“Right. Um, the kind that doesn’t care about fancy restaurants.”

She nodded, encouraging him.

“The kind that money doesn’t impress, or give a sense of security to.”

She nodded again.

“I way overthought this. Didn’t I?”

“I’m changing your name to overthinker. That eatery is the type of place you bring a girl to, who only eats salads. I’m not a salad girl, Charlie.”

“That really did come out wrong,” Charlie said apologetically. “And you’re right, that eatery was a bad choice.”

“Just, relax, Charlie. It’s not that hard. You’re making it way more complicated that it has to be. Romantic is understanding the person you’re with on a level no one else can. It’s letting them into your life. I don’t mean work. Or the day to day stuff. I’m talking about letting them in. Seeing who you really are. Showing them the sides you never show anyone else. And letting them give that back to you. You actually do it all the time and don’t even realize it. And it’s when you’re allowing yourself to just be you.”

“And am not overthinking things.” He looked around for a minute. Then smiled down at Lizzy. “I have a plan. A much better plan.” He grabbed her hand, took off down the sidewalk, and got Lizzy into his jeep. She opened her mouth to protest and Charlie planted his fingers on her lips.

“Hold whatever thought you were about to yell at me. I’ll be right back.”

He was gone about fifteen minutes and when he returned, held a large enclosed box that he placed in the backseat, gently. He hopped in and sped off down the road, heading out of town toward a marina. He parked, told Lizzy to follow him as he grabbed the box, and headed down a wharf, stopping in front of a magnificently kept wooden boat. About twenty-five feet in length, it glistened above the shimmering waves.

“This is my boat.” Charlie hopped on board and put down the box.

Lizzy ran her hands down the wooden sides, soaking in the details of each seam. “It’s like a work of art. Quite old, I’d wager.”

“My great-great-grandfather built it. It is my most prized possession. I come onto this boat, disappear out on the ocean, and even though I’m all alone, I never feel alone. I see my grandfather sitting over there, next to my Dad, who’s helping a little boy untangle a fishing line. Far too patiently seeing it’s the third time he’s done it just that day. That little boy soaked in every word his dad and granddad ever spoke. Every lesson they ever taught. This is the only place I’m ever me. The only place I can just… be.”

Lizzy stood on the pier, looking like she was about to bite her lip off if she chewed it any harder. She stopped, lowering her gaze for a moment.

He held out his hand to her. “Am I doing better?”

Her eyes flashed upward and she wore a warm smile. Lizzy grabbed his hand, gladly and willingly accepting the intrusion into something purely Charlie. She got onto the boat and lifted to her tiptoes.

“This takes romantic to a whole new level.”

He let out an obvious sigh of relief. “I may not be able to top this,” he warned. He thought for a second she was going to kiss him, instead she meandered over to the box he’d brought. Beer. Snacks. And bait.

“I hope you like to fish. Because that’s the only way we’re getting lunch,” informed Charlie.

“I love to fish. My father used to take me all the time. Granted, you’d better be patient because looking at these fishing rods, they don’t work anything like I’ve used before. I think instead of your father untangling your lines, you’re going to be doing the same with mine.”

“I can untangle you all day, if you like. In fact, I can even tangle you up, just to untangle you.”

“Tempting. So very tempting. But I’m hungry. And to answer your not quite so eloquently stated question from before… yes, I do gain weight. I’ve gained three pounds since returning to my body. I’m pretty certain it’s the beer and pizza that does the trick. But sorry, it goes everywhere, not just straight to my backside.”

Charlie let out an embarrassed laugh. “That was pretty dumb of me. But all over is good too.”

She smirked, admitting, “It’s kind of cute. The big bad wolf learning how to romance a girl.” She tore her gaze away. Even standing in the open air, the space between them was getting hotter. “Give me a tour of your boat,” she ordered him.

“Best part is the cabin. I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve spent in there.” He nodded with his head. Lizzy stepped down three stairs and opened the door.

“Oh my God, how perfect.” She stepped inside. There wasn’t much room to move about, only enough for two people to stand side by side. On her right was a wall lined with storage cabinets, and a two burner stove for cooking. On the left, a bed built into the wall. At the very backside between it all, a closet. She went and opened it.

“Seriously? How do you even fit in here?” It was a toilet, but a tiny space. She turned to see his frame taking up the door. There was a glint in his eye. It stole her breath, the sheer giganticness of him. 

“I’ve never brought anyone onto my boat before. My family doesn’t even come on board often.”

His gaze imprisoned her, which she assumed was what he meant to do once she’d gotten inside the cabin. His cabin. His hideaway from the world. And he’d let her into it.

He nodded to the right. “Kitchen. Obviously. And storage. Need something, start opening doors until you find it. It’s in here, somewhere. Anything from sunblock, to hats, to life vests, to coffee…” he turned to the left and leaned down to lift a frame hidden under the mattress. “Blankets, pillows, rain jackets, a little of everything.” He let the mattress fall down into place. Lizzy saw the ideas dancing in his eyes about uses for that bed.

He stalked inside, filling up the rest of the space, closing in on her. The temperature in the cabin rose a few degrees. Silver eyes warned he was about to kiss her and this time nothing was going to stop him. Every muscle in Lizzy’s body dissolved to jelly drinking in that look.

In a glorious exhale, she was against him. Hard arms securing her firmly. Her feet leaving the floor. Her lips a breath away from his. A massive body embracing such a precious and breakable one.

“Charlie. You down there?” A sharp, familiar voice hollered from the dock outside.

His heart sank. The speed of it screeching to a slow, defeated, thud.

“Charlie?” the voice called out again.

Lizzy let out a disappointed breath and let her forehead fall against his. “We’re not going to be catching our lunch, are we? Or making out. Or fooling around…” She looked longingly at the bed.
So close…
there was an unsatisfied ache creeping through her veins.

Charlie groaned, dissatisfied.

“It’s entirely unfair,” she pouted.

He let out another groan that filtered through as more of a growl.

It was Mack yelling for him, which meant something bad had happened. Something important enough to seek him out at his boat. His sanctuary.

Charlie begrudgingly let Lizzy slide to the floor and lumbered up the stairs to the deck. The sheriff was adjusting her gun belt on the dock, waiting for him.

“Hiya, Mack.”

Lizzy glided up behind him.

Mack’s gaze apologized, but her usual haphazard humor was missing. “I caught ya pullin’ into the parking lot, and didn’t mean to interrupt ya. It’s just…” She trailed off with a disillusioned head shake.

“Another body?” he guessed.

“Fresh kill. No way it coulda been the reporter locked up in your basement. Time of death would’ve been right before sunup, opposite side of the Isle from the mansion.”

Charlie’s jaw ground together.

A jolt crept up his arm, his head dropped to see Lizzy’s fingers entwined in his own. He hooked on, unwilling to let go.

“You know it’s the last thing I want to do, Charlie, but we need to sit down and talk about things. Bodies are piling up. I’m not going to be able to keep the public from finding out. Panic will set it. And the evidence is all pointing toward William, and if it…”

He raised his hand. “I got it, Mack. And I already know what has to happen. But we should get it out in the open and lay it all on the table, just the same. We’ll meet you back at the house.”

Lizzy’s heart warmed over his use of the word,
we,
automatically including her, assuming it was a given. But she wondered if this needed to be a private Howard conversation.

Mack left them with a terse nod.

For a brief few minutes, Charlie had let himself forget about it all, his thoughts entirely wound around the woman he was attempting to romance. Forgetting and letting his brain unwind was the reason to be on his boat. To forget. To pretend for a short time he was a normal guy without these responsibilities and pressures twisting his heart tighter every moment of every day.

Charlie lost the will to remain standing, sinking into a seat on the boat, needing a few minutes to gather himself. Lizzy kneeled down in front of him.

“If you want to do this conversation with just you, and your siblings, I would understand.”

“It’s not going to make it any easier. And the truth is, I’d rather always have you there,” he professed. His hand traced the curve of her jaw. “You have this way of calming me. Making me see straight. Making me so tongue tied I can’t even complete a sentence… when I’m not so pissed I want to throw you over my knee.”

There was far too much delight gleaming in her eye at that statement, her entire body fidgeting with an itch she told herself to ignore. Oh how the woman was asking for trouble. Her tone reminded him of velvet, soft against the skin, something to sink into and get lost in. She licked her lips in that manner that drove him mad to kiss her.

He had half a mind to throw her over his shoulder, lock her in the cabin for the afternoon. It would only lead to things he was not ready to do yet. He swallowed the growl flitting around his throat. Lizzy was teasing, needling him. And one of these days he was going to find five spare uninterrupted minutes to kiss her, properly. 

“C’mon wolf. We’d better get going.” Lizzy made to stand. Duty would not wait long. She made it to the side of the boat to climb onto the dock, balancing on the edge to jump out when the world spun and commanding arms brought her face to face with ravenous silver. Charlie wanted to be gentle. Savor each caress the first time he kissed her, but instead crushed her against him, possessing her.

No more interruptions.

No more stalling.

Or trying to figure out romance.

Kissing Lizzy was akin to drinking bourbon and honey. Sweet at the onset, succulent across the tongue, a sting down his throat. Instantly drunk for more. Her soft hands slid around his neck fisting in his hair. She matched every thrust of his tongue, feeding herself to him. His hands squeezed around her hips, the Guardian ring taming the wolf’s more dangerous desires.

She tempted him to the limit, but the ring kept Charlie from acting on it. Granted, holding back left an unsatisfied need building inside him. And his teeth had a mind of their own, entirely focused on her neck and sinking into the tender flesh there. To leave his mark. Claim her, forever, as his. Something he was not willing to do because it meant Lizzy spending the rest of her life as a werewolf. And therein lied so many of his overthinking problems.

Charlie’s muscles tensed underneath Lizzy’s arms. Damn that brain of his. He needed to pull away and stop before he got carried away. He slowed. Gentled his attack, dragging his lips away, enticed at the sight of her tongue sweeping across lips he’d made swollen. He kissed her again softly, unable to stop completely.

He had never kissed a woman he loved before. Never imagined it any different than kissing any woman he was attracted to, but it was entirely different. It was not about seeking release like his past relationships. Or feeding the wolf’s primal urges. It was branding himself into her soul, tasting it, bathing in it, melding his own being into every soft inch of her.