Steeling My Haart (2 page)

        
Ripping
at the overgrown foliage surrounding the doorway, he managed to ease the door
open just as the full force of the tornado hit the neighborhood. Huge pieces of
unidentifiable debris, along with pieces of farmyard machinery, large chunks of
clapboard, and roofing that had been ripped from the recently destroyed houses were
swirling around just meters in front of them.
 
The noise was thunderous. The pressure
changes were causing havoc with their ears and there was no way they could
communicate effectively.
 

        
Charlie
turned to grab his sweetheart to pull her into the safety of the shelter and he
found she had vanished. His heart failed when he realized that she could be
anywhere by now if she had been caught in an updraft because the power of this
storm was terrific.
 
He stood from
his position near the entrance and glanced around in every direction. Even
though it was pointless he started frantically shouting,

        
“Emma,
Emma where are you? Emma!”

        
His
voice drowned out by the relentless force in play around him. Seconds later he
ran in the general direction of a muffled scream. The intensity of the wind had
obviously dragged her several meters from the shelter. Because of the
increasing force of the storm, she was clinging for dear life to a tree.
Grabbing her with both hands and holding on with all his might, he managed to
free her grip from the tree trunk and dragged her down the stairs into the
cellar. He safeguarded her on the floor near the shadow of what looked like a
small bed and then went back up and tightly secured the shelter door. He took a
moment to silently thank old Mrs. Fitzgerald for her emergency planning.

        
As
the relief hit him and the adrenalin coursed though his veins he fell against the
dirt wall of the entrance tunnel with his back and his legs gave way. Letting
out a long sigh, he realized he could hear the sounds of gentle sobbing coming
from deeper in the shelter. The noise outside was phenomenal although he hoped
that the storm would relent soon. He crawled slowly on his hands and knees
towards his beautiful girlfriend, the love of his life, and took her into his
arms and held on like it was all he could do to survive.

        
As
Emma melted into him, he felt complete and he lost count of how many minutes
they sat there in the darkness just listening to the sounds of the storm raging
above them. The only other sounds were of their ragged breaths and thundering
heartbeats. That had been too close.

After what felt like
hours, the violent wind and relentless rain and hail still pounded on the metal
door above them.
 
This was one bad
storm and it sounded like they were probably safest to stay in the shelter for
the night. Fumbling about the dark shelter and as his eyes adjusted to the
darkness, he could just make out the outlines of a couple of metal boxes in the
far corner of the small underground room. As the lightening flashes continued
to illuminate the room with enough sporadic light to see he gently tried to
release a shaking Emma and attempt to find some more permanent light.

        
“Sweetheart,
I just need to reach over there and see if there are any candles or a torch and
a radio so we can monitor the weather, okay? I will be right back and won’t
leave you here, I promise.”

        
She
nodded slightly and took this as his cue to quickly rummage through the boxes.
He soon found a box of candles, some glass jars, and box of storm matches and
set about putting them to use. When he had finally lit a few candles, the room
looked a little less scary and was actually pretty well stocked. It seemed as
though the old lady had kept this place provisioned with a few items right up
until she moved.

        
After
setting the candles in the jars securely, he glanced back over to Emma and his
heart almost stopped as he saw her cowering in the same spot.
 
He noticed she was shaking slightly, but
he couldn’t tell whether it was from mild shock or the cold, damp air in the
room. He scooted towards her, taking her once again into his arms.
 

        
She
was too quiet and all he wanted to do was to make sure that she was okay. He
scanned the room and saw that there was a small, comfy-looking sofa. A couple
of beautiful handmade quilts had been left on the cushions, wrapped in thick
plastic storage bags, no doubt an attempt to keep the dust and damp out. He gently
carried her across the room laid her on the sofa. After unwrapping them
carefully, covered her with a couple of the patchwork pieces. As he went to
seek out what was inside the other boxes he could see in the shelter, she
reached out and grabbed his arm with her hand, still shaking with the stress of
the evening.

       
“Thank
you.” her tiny quivering voice echoed round the room. “Thank you, Blaze. You
literally saved my life. Twice.”
 

        
He
turned to her to say something just as she burst into a heart-wrenching sobbing
fit. He eased onto the sofa with her and took her gorgeous, tear-stained face
tenderly in to his hands. As she sobbed he wiped away the tears with his thumbs,
kissing the tracks that they had made on her dust covered cheeks. Leaning in
and kissing her forehead tenderly he replied, “My absolute pleasure,
sweetheart. Knowing there could be a world without you in it would completely
break me, do you know that? I would rather die before I’d let anything happen
to you, Emma. I really would.”

        
She
threw her arms around his back and nuzzled deep into his neck, taking comfort in
the fact they were both still breathing and had so far got through this ordeal
in once piece. “I love you, I really do. If you hadn’t been there tonight…”

        
“Shhhh,
Em, it’s all okay. We’re safe now. I’ve got you, sweetheart, and I’m not
letting you go just yet,” he replied and then in a sudden moment of lucidity,
the meaning of his words sunk in. He wasn’t letting her go just yet, but
probably in the morning things would be a lot different. He still believed
letting her go was the right thing to do. Especially now if it meant getting
her out and away from this bullshit weather and the threat of this ever
happening to her again.

        
“Oh
God! Charlie, what about your mom? How is she going to get away?” she cried out
as she pulled away from him. “My mom and dad headed to see Grams this morning
and aren’t due back until tomorrow but your poor mom…” She continued to sob.

        
Reaching
out and holding her tight again he answered in a soothing voice, “Em, she’s
with Hank, sweetheart, and she’s safe. They left for the Arthritis clinic in
Baltimore this morning. Remember, I told you Hank has paid for her to see that
specialist to find out if they can help? I had a call to say they had arrived
just after lunchtime and were settling into a nice hotel for the weekend. Hank
had called to warn me of the weather alerts too. Don’t worry yourself; lets
just get through tonight, okay?” he soothed gently trying his best to calm her
even though he felt scared himself. “Come here. I think you’re getting cold.
Wrap yourself in this quilt, and I’ll go see if there is anything to eat or drink.
 
We can stay in here for the night. I’m
not going out there again until I can see and I know its safe.” He suggested,
mainly because he was worried about what may be waiting for them outside after
the storm had ceased. There was no point in worrying tonight, especially with
the weather still being bad out there.

        
He
wrapped her up in the one of the quilts and settled her back onto the huge sofa
and moved to check the other boxes. He was surprised when he found a real treasure
trove of tinned long life food with a can opener and some bottles of water.
Delving further, he uncovered a small butane stove and a couple of butane
canisters.
 
The final box held some
herbal tea and pan. Rustling up the best meal he could under the circumstances,
he brought it over to Emma and they sat and ate and drank the warm tea. He was
grateful, and having some food and warmth inside him took away the edge and
helped to calm him down.
 
It seemed to
have the same effect on Emma. Doing something so normal with her, despite the
chaos that had erupted around them, seemed to bring them both round from the
events of earlier. He noticed that her shaking had subsided and they gradually began
to warm up and relax. The storm was relentless. He took it as a clear sign for
them to stay well put until they were sure it was safe. In the boxes, he had
found an all-weather radio and had this tuned in on low volume, ready to alert
them to the all clear for their area.
 
By the ominous reports of the broadcasters, though, all advice was to
stay safe for the rest of the evening.

        
Clearing
away the remains of their canned dinner, he walked over to Emma and took her in
to his arms. He maneuvered her around the tight space and onto the sofa, taking
the seat next to her. Pulling her to his side and nestling her head on to his
chest he heaved a deep sigh of contentment and relief. Taking in the deep
breath saturated his lungs with the residual scent that clung to Emma’s hair. A
mix of her usual herbal shampoo and the wind and rain from earlier had added a hint
of fresh air and it had a slightly damp edge to it. It was calming him, and he
loved it. Right then and there, he felt a peace like he had never felt before
in his life.

        
Emma
had begun to finally relax. She leaned her pale face up towards him and slowly
began to kiss him, much to his surprise. He could feel the gratitude and
emotion flooding through her kiss to his lips. She began to deepen the kiss and
slowly moved her cool and clammy hands up and under his shirt, gently tracing
up his defined stomach ending at his muscled chest. It felt amazing.

        
Groaning
heavily, he pulled himself away with everything he had, “Em, please don’t start
anything you don’t want to finish, sweetheart. I want you so much. I want to do
this more that you’ll ever know, and it’s killing me, but I’m not doing this
here, not tonight. Not our first time together. I wanted it to be perfect for
you and this isn’t.
 
This… this is
just not the time and place, sweethe…” and before he finished she was on him,
straddling across his thighs kissing him more fervently than ever before.
 
He could feel her heat through their
layers of clothing, heating a spot on his thighs through the warmth she was
emitting. She was obviously turned on by the passionate kiss. His pants started
to pull tight over his now uncomfortable groin. He almost came undone when she
began delving her tongue deep into his mouth, giving him full access to hers.
He greedily took everything she had to give with his mouth and offering her as much
in return.

        
She
pulled away, breathing heavily as she looked right into his eyes. He felt
everything else melt away as he knew she saw right into his soul. His heart
skipped several beats as he returned her gaze. Heat radiated from between her
legs and felt like it was searing his thighs through the layers of cotton
between her and his bare skin. The immense effort it took to restrain himself
caused him incredible discomfort as his nails dug hard into his fisted palms
and the skin of his knuckles stretched taut over his bones. Pleading and gazing
at him with such passion and need in her eyes, she whispered, “I totally disagree,
Blaze. You have just saved my life, and I want this now more that I have ever
wanted anything else.”
 

Her breath blew warmly across his
swollen lips, fuelling his already raging attraction to her. Inhaling sharply,
he became aware of the sensations that were spreading across his entire body.
Each tiny whisper of warm air blowing over his lips was arousing in him thoughts
he knew he would never feel again. Every hair on his body was standing on end, her
husky voice was sending tingling sensations across every inch of his cool
skin.
 
He shivered; feeling himself
hardening to such an extent he was sure he was going to be ruined for life,
even if he never got to feel her soft, warm core surrounding him in very way
possible. Even just the promise of this chance would be enough to satisfy him
for a lifetime. The one person he had already given his heart to was now
offering him absolutely everything. His pants were so tight across his swollen
groin it was uncomfortable but he had to restrain himself. He couldn’t do this
tonight then just walk away. Take everything pure from her for his selfish
needs and then leave her to go on without him. Could he?

        
He
was dragged from his own lust-fuelled musings when the beautiful woman
straddling his lap persisted, breathing gently over his face and towards his
ear, “This is our night, Charlie, it has to be. We are never going to be in
this position again. I hope to God you never have to save my life again. I love
you with all that I am and it has brought it home to me tonight that if I never
get this chance again, I want you and I to have been together. I want you so
badly right now. So please, Blaze, do this for me. Right here, right now.
 
Please?”

        
At
her heartfelt words, the last of any resolve he pretended to have fell away. He
was just about to prove to himself just why Emma didn’t deserve him in her
life. He was just like his father, taking all that he wanted and not thinking
about anyone else in the equation. He told himself a long time ago that he was
never going to be worthy of someone so amazing. She had the potential of an
incredible future and he shouldn’t be standing in her way. He had said as much
to her father, Michael and had promised that he would do everything in his
power to make sure that she should have every opportunity to make something of
her life.
 
What he hadn’t factored
into all this was nearly physically losing someone he cared so much about. His
resolve was weakened more as he basked in the relief that he had saved her
life.

        
Gazing
deep into her eyes, seeking the reassurance he needed, he bobbed his head
slightly and gave her silent permission to continue as she slowly started to
undo the buttons on his shirt.
 
When
he didn’t stop her, she then peeled it down his back, pulling gently on his
shoulder so he would sit forward to assist her. He sucked in a sharp breath as
she tugged it free from his arms and threw it across the small cabin. He closed
his eyes and lost himself in the sensation of her kissing down his chest so
slowly and the feeling of her warm breaths was teasing his already sensitive
skin.
 
As she reached for the button
on his jeans, he took her hands. Breathing heavily he was so turned on he then gently
lifted her up until she was eye level with him again.
 
Hesitantly, he looked deep into her eyes
and stared for a moment, searching for any sign in her eyes she didn’t want
this to happen. When he saw nothing but the same hooded desire and blazing love
he was feeling, reflected back into his eyes, he took this as his cue. Purposefully
slow in his actions, he reached for the bottom of her soft pink sweater and
pulled it with the ribbed white vest she wore underneath. As the two items of
clothing popped over her head, he discarded them in the general direction of
his shirt.

        
He
was transfixed, watching her sitting there in just her white lacy bra, hints of
her dark nipples peeking over the lace edging of the generous c-cups. She was
beautiful and he took in a deep breath before slowly cupping each breast in his
hands.
 
He began rubbing his cool
thumbs gently in a circular motion over her warm nipples, causing them to
harden quickly. In the dim candlelight of the shelter he could honestly say he
had never seen anything as stunning as the woman sitting here with him. Sighing
deeply, he took the temptation she was offering and murmured, “God, Em, you are
just… perfect.
 
So amazing, your
skin is just so soft and, oh my God, sweetheart, I can’t stop this.
 
I tried, but I haven’t got the
willpower.
 
You are just… so
beautiful.”