Skin (McCullough Mountain 2)

  Her fingernails bit into the leather upholstery of the seat and she panted, crying out with each hard thrust. Her body contracted and clamped down on him, a rapid thrumming starting somewhere in her womb and bursting outward. He cursed and fucked her harder. As her second climax peaked, he filled her completely, his body stiff yet quivering, and warmth bathed her channel.

  His body fell onto hers and she shivered. His lips kissed her cheek, the other side of her face stuck to the seat of the truck. “I love you, Mallory, so much.”

  She loved him too. So much it terrified her. She blinked back at him and smiled. “Ditto.” As she saw his hair she laughed. “You’re soaked.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Come on, get in the truck.” She wiggled, but he growled in protest as she tried to peel apart their bodies.

  Once she climbed into the passenger seat, Finn ran off to get the equipment. The rain let up and returned to the soft misting it had been all morning. He climbed in the truck and slammed the door. They studied each other and burst out laughing. They were soaked to the bone.

  “Here,” he said reaching behind the seat. He produced a gray blanket. “Let’s get out of these wet clothes.”

  He peeled off his flannel and she did the same. Even the thermal she had underneath was wet. Finn started the truck and turned on the heat. He placed their wet clothes over the heater vents.

  She unfolded the blanket and he helped her wrap it around her shoulders. Tucking the edges close to her neck, he pulled her close and fit her right in the crook of his arm. They were down to their undies, hers partially shredded, and there was no place else she’d rather be.

  The windows fogged as the scent of rain and heat filled the air. “I can’t believe you made it to the top. I mean I can believe it, I’m just so proud of you,” he said, brushing a damp curl from her forehead.

  “I’m proud of me too,” she admitted.

  “You should be. Not just because you rang the bell. I know you had a lot of goals when you moved here and you haven’t reached them all yet, but you’re doing a damn fine job of getting there, Philly. I never knew a woman with a stronger will. You figure out what you want and you take no prisoners. I admire that.”

  Her lips trembled as his words sunk in. So many times in her life she felt less than everyone else—or in her case more. Things were different. She wasn’t perfect. She still had a boatload of flaws, but she liked herself in a way she’d never been able to claim before. Finn did that.

  It wasn’t that she only found value in herself through Finn, but he showed her she was valuable in a way she couldn’t find on her own. He was like her beacon in the night. He made her happy and made her see reasons to celebrate herself and the little victories in life. He even got her to eat ice cream again, small bites, but she realized she could have a little and that was enough.

  Bottom line, she loved him more than she’d ever loved anything in the entire world. “Thank you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. She was thanking him for the sweet compliment, but also thanking God again. Never had she imagined this sort of contentment. She was finally at peace with herself and believed life didn’t have to be so lonely or hard. There were good days and there were bad, but she’d take days of bad for even a few minutes of good, especially when the good included Finn.

  * * * *

  The following week was Thanksgiving. She was a little high strung. There was a fine line between excitement about seeing her Philly friends and vomiting all over her suitcase from nerves. Finn had been very understanding all week. She had no idea how he remained so patient with her when she was acting like a complete psycho.

  As he sat on her bed eating a banana, she rummaged through her closet and tossed various pieces of clothing around her room. She’d have to refold everything.

  “Do you realize you’ve been packing for five days? You’re only going home for four.”

  They were leaving Thanksgiving morning. One, because she didn’t like driving at night and two, because it was widely known the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was the biggest bar night of the year and the worst for travel.

  She and Finn were leaving at six a.m. and returning to Center County on Sunday. It was Tuesday night and she had packed and unpacked more times than she could count. “I don’t know what to bring. I don’t know if we’ll be going out and if we do I don’t know what to wear.”

  “Just bring two nice outfits and a bunch of casual stuff. I’m bringing jeans.”

  “All you own are jeans,” she huffed, digging through her shoes. “These or these?” she asked, holding up two pairs of pumps.

  “Mmmm, the red ones.” She studied the shoes and tossed the red ones back in the basket and opted for the black. He laughed. “I’ll never understand women.”

  “You don’t need to understand women. You only need to understand me.”

  “True.”

  Once she had her suitcase packed with everything but her sneakers, she carried it to the front door. She wanted everything loaded up Wednesday night so she could run out the door first thing Thursday morning. But she needed to run one last time before she packed her sneakers.

  “You should bring your stuff over tomorrow so I can load the car,” she suggested.

  “Hey, OCD, relax. We’ll have everything loaded up and ready to go in time. Stop obsessing. Everything will be fine.”

  She took a deep breath, fighting the urge to vomit again. She was ridiculously nervous. Maybe it was because she was finally bringing home a guy. Maybe it was because she’d lost thirty-seven pounds since leaving home six months ago. She needed to calm down.

  “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m acting like this.”

  “I think you need to get your mind off things. How about tomorrow we go out? Braydon will be home from college, so it should be a fun night.”

  “But then we’ll be hung over.”

  “I’ll drive and you don’t have to get wasted. Let’s just go out and have fun. Then before you know it we’ll be driving to the city and you won’t have to worry. Remember that saying, it’s not the boom, but the anticipation of the boom? You’re just going to keep working yourself up over nothing.”

  “Okay,” she whined, leaning into him. “Thanks for understanding I’m crazy and still loving me.”

  “Hey, being around family is stressful. I know.”

  “Are you nervous to meet my parents?”

  “A little.”

  She laughed. They’d love him. Sure, her dad would threaten disembowelment and castration if Finn hurt her, but that’s only because he was an Italian father of two daughters, born and raised in South Philly. It came with the territory. But she had no doubt Finn would win over her mother and father in a matter of minutes. “They’ll love you as much as I do.”

  “I hope.”

  * * * *

  The following night, Mallory needed to run. Her nerves were making her crazy and she couldn’t seem to settle her stomach. She ran six miles and was feeling every ache by the time she got into the shower. Maybe she’d skip the bar that night and just go to bed early.

  When she was drying her hair her phone buzzed. She had a voicemail from Finn. She hit the button and listened to the message.

  “Hey, babe, it’s me. Braydon needs to take his car into the shop and wants me to drop him off. I told him since I’d be away all weekend he could use my truck. I’m going to drive him into town now. Why don’t you just meet me at O’Malley’s to save time then we’ll stay at your place tonight? Don’t worry I’m all packed. Love you. See you soon.”

  She put down her phone and sighed. She supposed her plan to skip the bar wasn’t going to happen. Venturing to her closet she dug out something to wear.

  * * * *

  Walking into O’Malley’s with Braydon was like walking into Cheers with Norm. Everyone cheered when they saw the blond McCullough son had returned home and women flocked to him. Finn patted his brother’s shoulder and went off to find Ma
llory. The lot was packed and he didn’t see her car, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t there.

  Kelly was busy at the far end of the bar, but they had a new bartender working—Sue or Sally or something. He approached the edge of the bar and muscled his way to the front.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Can I get a draft?”

  She disappeared and returned a moment later with his beer. “Hey, you’re Kelly’s brother, right? One of the twins?”

  “Yeah. I’m Finn.”

  “Finn? There was a girl here looking for you a few minutes ago.”

  He paid for his beer and left the change on the bar. “Do you know where she went?”

  “She headed in the backroom, I think.”

  “Thanks.” He nudged his way through the crowd and headed toward the back where the pool tables were. As he ducked into the room he saw a few guys having a game and a couple people sitting in the booths along the wall. Then he saw her. Erin.

  “There you are,” she purred, abandoning her drink on a tall table.

  Great. This was the last thing he felt like dealing with. He scanned the room for Mallory. “Hey, Erin. Have you seen Mallory?”

  She stepped close and smiled. “Not here. She’s pretty hard to miss.”

  He grit his teeth and took a step back. She cornered him against the pay phone. He needed to get rid of her before Mallory showed up. “Well, it was nice seeing you.”

  As he turned she snatched his beer out of his hand and took a swig. “Wait, I was looking for you. I need to talk to you.”

  She could keep the beer. Their days of sharing beverages were over. God only knew where her mouth had been. “What, Erin?”

  She pouted. “You never have time for me anymore. I remember when I was all you thought about.”

  “Well, those days are over.”

  “Right, because you found yourself someone new. I have to admit, she’s a whole lot more woman than I ever was.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Don’t start.”

  “Sorry. You’re so touchy.” She stepped closer. Her finger plucked at the collar of his shirt. “I couldn’t sleep last night. Wanna know why?”

  “Not really.” He caught her wrist and shoved off her touch.

  “I couldn’t sleep because I was up all night thinking about how good it used to be with us. Remember how hot we were?”

  No. He didn’t remember. They ran lukewarm at best. They were always fighting and Erin was the unforgiving type. For as volatile as their relationship had been, they didn’t even have good make up sex. She used sex to get things, like her way, which she got a lot.

  “Don’t do this, Erin. I’m not in the mood for games.”

  She lifted to her toes and whispered in his ear. Her breath smelled like she’d already had a few drinks. “I used to love sucking your cock. I bet she can’t do it like I can.”

  Gripping her hips to push her away, she turned and caught her mouth with his. He jerked, but his head hit the wall. Her arms laced around his neck and he dug his fingers into her hips to rip her off.

  * * * *

  Mallory saw Finn’s truck and knew he was there. The parking lot had cars everywhere. She’d never seen the bar so busy. As she pushed her way inside she searched for him, but didn’t see him. She saw Braydon, but only women surrounded him.

  Heading to the bar, she found Kelly. “Hey, Philly. What can I get you?”

  “Hey, Kelly. Can I just have a ginger ale?”

  “Sure, love. You feeling all right?”

  “Yeah, just sore and my stomach’s upset.”

  He used the soda gun to fill a glass. She handed him a few dollars and he shook her off. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Thanks. Have you seen Finn?”

  “Yeah. I think he’s in the back.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you later.”

  Getting to the back of the bar was no easy task. Some guy nearly spilled his drink down her front and twice she got elbowed in the boob. Assholes.

  The back room wasn’t as crowded. She stepped through the door and saw some people sitting around and playing at the billiards. She scanned the room for Finn and there was a loud shatter.

  Something told her it was her glass of soda, but she didn’t know. Her eyes were glued to her boyfriend, cozied up at the back wall, kissing his ex.

  Her chest ached as she breathed rapidly. No. This isn’t happening!

  The crash of her glass must have drawn some attention. Everyone looked at her, including Finn, but all she could see through the haze of betrayal was that slut’s lip-gloss covering his mouth.

  A gasp left her mouth and she shook her head. She needed to get out of there. He pushed Erin away and cursed. “Mallory! Wait!”

  No way. She turned and pushed her way through the crowd. She nearly slipped on the dance floor and some guy caught her arm. “Hey, cutie, where you rushing off to?”

  “Let go of me!” she snapped, ripping her arm out of his grip.

  “Don’t let her leave!” Finn yelled over the crowd. She turned and saw him practically climbing over the mob of people separating them. “Mallory! It wasn’t what it looked like!”

  A sound of absolute distress left her and she shoved her way to the door. Those were the last famous words of every cheater.

  When she reached the door her hands slammed into the handle and she propelled herself into the parking lot. She rushed to her car and yanked her purse over her shoulder. As she dug for her keys the bag fell to the ground and if things fell out she didn’t care. She saw her keys, grabbed them, scooped up her bag and made it to her car.

  The door to the bar burst open and Finn came flying out. “Mallory, wait a minute!”

  Her hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t get the door unlocked. He grabbed her shoulder and her purse fell again.

  “Wait a damn minute, will you? It’s not what it looked like!”

  “Fuck you, McCullough!” She ducked and snatched up her purse, this time not sparing a minute to repack it. Her door unlocked and she threw all her crap inside, not caring where it landed. She slid behind the wheel and jammed the key in the ignition.

  Finn caught the door. “Wait!”

  “No! Get away from me! How could you?”

  “I didn’t do anything! She kissed me! I was shoving her away!”

  “I saw you!”

  “I was pushing her off. I was only back there because I was looking for you.”

  “Yeah, you were really looking hard.” Her hand swiped under her eyes.

  “I was! Damn it, Mallory, I wouldn’t cheat on you. I fucking love you!”

  “Right, until something better comes along.”

  “Wrong. There is no one better than you. You’re all I want. What do I have to do to prove that to you?”

  “I don’t know. Don’t make out with your ex!”

  He growled. “I wasn’t fucking making out with her. I can’t stand her.”

  “Four months ago you intended to marry her.”

  “Well, a lot’s changed. Come on, Mallory, don’t leave. Please. I swear it wasn’t what it looked like.”

  She sniffled. She was pretty sure her heart was actually breaking. “See, Finnegan, that’s the difference. I would never let another man get close enough to me for there to be a question of what ‘it looks like’. You let her get to you. You had your mouth against hers. God, all I can see is your hands on her!”

  “I was pushing her away!”

  “Please let go of my door.”

  “No. I don’t want you to drive this upset.”

  “Well, there’s no fixing that now.”

  His voice softened. “Come on. We’re supposed to have a fun night and leave for the city tomorrow.”

  “Well, I’ve had all the fun I can take.”

  “Don’t do this,” he begged. “Please.”

  She saw him, but her mind’s eye was torturing her. She shook her head. Her heart was being ripped through her chest. “I have to go.”

/>   “No, you don’t.”

  She put the car in drive. “Yes. I do.” As she hit the gas he cursed and let go of her door.

  She should have just gone home, but he would have followed her there. She took the main road out to the highway and cried the entire four and a half hours back to Philadelphia.

  Chapter Fifteen

  When she parked her car outside of her childhood home, she simply sat there with her head resting on the wheel. Her phone had been going off the entire first hour she’d been on the road. Eventually, she shut it off and was currently too tired to look at all her missed calls and texts from Finn.

  Leaving her luggage in the car, she grabbed her purse and headed up the stoop to her parents’ house.

  Her keys slipped into the lock like feet slide easily into a favorite pair of slippers. The door opened and she stepped into the dark living room.

  “Who’s there?” Her father’s voice called from the top of the steps where the bedrooms were located.

  She stepped into the glow coming from the hall. “Daddy?”

  “Mallory, is that you, buttercup? I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow afternoon.”

  Something broke inside of her. As she stood there in her home, surrounded by the scent of her childhood memories and the sound of her father’s voice, she shattered and fell into a fit of tears.

  Her dad rushed down the steps and wrapped her in his arms. “Sweetheart, what happened?”

  She sobbed into his soft chest and hiccupped out words that barely made sense. The light flicked on and she heard her mother’s voice. “Vince, you better not be picking at those pies!”

  “Mallory’s here,” he called as he ushered her to the sectional sofa that was badly out of date.

  “What? But she’s not coming until tomorrow.”

  Her dad sighed. “I know, but she’s here now. Get down here. She’s all upset and I can’t understand her.”

  “Let me get my housecoat.”