Torn (The McKerricks Book 1) (25 page)

“Hi my names Connor McKerrick, and there is the really awesome girl I’m into but I’ve really probably been an ass. In fact I’m one hundred percent sure I’ve been a major dick. But I hope that even though I accosted her in a womens restroom… twice… she’ll give me another chance.”

I
’ll give her credit, she manages to hold a straight face for all of three seconds before she laughingly starts kissing me. “Well see that won’t work for me. There’s this swell guy I’ve been seeing and he gave me a drunk contract that says I belong to him until he’s done with me. And you know I sorta liked being accosted in the restroom twice. It’s exciting, I’d recommend it to all my friends.” She took the out I offered her. She is willing to not sit around and lament it. Not dissect every memory until she breaks. But all I can think is seven fucking years. She is so brave. So strong. Anyone else would have broken beyond repair under that kind of torture.

“
Henley, Henley,” I kiss her deeper, pulling her into my arms and curling up in the bed with her again. “What happened to you was… Christ there aren’t even words Lover. But for as long as you’ll have me I’ll be here. I just… I feel like I need to do…
something.
I don’t know how you can sit there with a straight face after telling me all that.”

“
I can sit here with a straight face because you didn’t run. You didn’t turn away from me so I can still face it calmly. Besides… I’ve had a long time to come to terms with my past… I’m sure you have questions, I’ll answer them if you like. You get a free pass ask me any question and I’ll give it an honest answer.”

I know she expects me to ask questions regarding her past. I know I should, but honestly I think we have both had enough upset for one night, so I ask another question that has been bugging me.
“Why in the hell is your dog named
Mr.
Darcy? Was Darcy just not masculine enough or…?”

“
That’s what your going to ask?” Her eyes are smiling again, a true honest smile. “Okay I’ll tell you. I’m a big fan of
Pride and Prejudice,
and I guess I just named him after that.”

At my clueless look she just rolls her eyes.
“Really? It’s a book… a classic… Do you read? Like at all?”

“
I’m just a pretty face, it’s a secret don’t tell.” I hold a straight face, which causes her to crack up all the more.

“
Right a pretty face,” she laughs as she reaches into the nightstand and pulls out a sharpie. She climbs on my lap, straddling my hips with her thighs, and begins running her hands over my chest. “To me…
Pride and Prejudice
is the epitome of a love story. It offers the truest and purest form of what I think love could be. It’s not hot raunchy sex and physical attraction, even though those are all good. It’s love in it’s purest essence.”

She uncaps the sharpie and starts writing along the outer side of my abs. Her brows drawn in concentration. I try my best to hold still, as the pen skims and dips on my skin.

“ ‘In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.’ ” My whole body trembles as she says those words, her green eyes meeting mine for the briefest of moments before she finishes whatever she is doing on my skin. “It is a good enough quote for expression, and one that is frequently remembered, however to me the true essence of what love can do to a person, of what love can be, is expressed ‘By you I was properly humbled.’ ”

Henley slides off putting the pen back in the nightstand, and I look down at the words she wrote.
‘By you I was properly humbled.’ I don’t get it. I look at her for an explanation and she just smiles.

“
Love has a way of changing us,” she says simply, before she gets up and walk so the kitchen.

If I have changed
… if I have been ‘humbled’ it has all been Henley’s doing. Whether she is consciously aware of it or not.

Chapter 19

The next morning we got on the helicopter and headed back toward the plane. It wasn
’t until we were almost back to Seattle that Henley finally spoke. She seemed to be quite the introspective type. Not that I minded. Every second didn’t need to be filled with idle chatter. If she was content to be by my side in silence, I had no problems with that, as long as it’s by my side.

“
Connor? What happens now?” Her green eyes were worried. “I mean we get back and what? Continue our regularly scheduled programming?”

I couldn
’t help the chuckle that came out at her choice of words. Well shit. She’s worried about what comes next. Me too. “Well to start we gotta pick up your dog, I left him with Dr. Castillo.”

“
Oh boy… Mr. Darcy
hates
Nora. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

“
She’ll also have your things. Your purse and stuff.” Next comes the hard part. The part that she probably wont agree to. “And then I suppose we’ll go to my place… since your presence has been requested in Seattle Sunday.”

“
My presence has been requested…? By who?”

“
My mother,” I reply casting a sideways glance to take in her reaction. I’d like to call that expression ‘Oh my fucking shit’ more commonly known as absolute fucking terror. “I was pretty upset last Sunday… when you left I… may have skipped our mandatory Sunday dinners and now she is convinced she has to meet you… Immediately.”

She lets out some kind of panicked wheeze, and her head drops, and I realize she is doing some kind of breathing exercises. Oops.

“It’s fine lover, she’ll love you the moment she sees you. Besides she’s a fan of your books.”

Her face turns a weird shade of scarlet, and she looks down at her lap. I know exactly where her mind went, Henley writes sexy books. I
’d say its awkward but I know my mom. No topic is off limits.

“
The thing that worries me more is Gwen. She’s going to be so mad that I turned you to the dark side,” I offer with a grin, wriggling my eyebrows. She just rolls her eyes in response.

“
I hope she’s not disillusioned… I mean I am just… me after all,” her laugh is stiff and nervous.

I try to put myself in Henley
’s shoes, going to meet her folks. Honestly I can say I’d only be excited to meet her father. Just for the chance to beat the shit out of him. Probably until he dies.

The plane lands without us carrying on a
verbal
conversation, never in my life was I as glad about the bed in the back of the plane as I was when Henley’s clothes came off, and when we get out into the airport, with absolute dread, I turn my phone back on. Seventy-eight missed calls, fifty-three texts… not bad at all. Less than I expected. This is the first time I’ve been unreachable since the day I was born, but unplugging with Henley is exactly what we needed.

I scroll through the numbers, a lot of them are from my family, some from my assistant, and several from Adalin Hirsch. Fuck. I text my assistant, letting him know to schedule an appointment with Adalin. Preferably for Monday. I
’ve got to tell her I can’t do public appearances anymore. The only woman I want on my arm is Henley.

After I
’m done with that I wander over to where Henley is chatting with Micky as he puts our things in the back of the Bentley. I catch bits and pieces of their conversation, Henley is telling him how awesome the island was. Score one for me. I scroll through the missed calls and dial my mom as I pull up next to Henley.

“
Where have you been you stupid son of a bitch I’ve been worried sick!” My head snaps away from the phone as her shouts ring through.

I can hear my dads even toned words in the background,
“You’re aware that makes you the bitch right Soph?”

“
Shut up Alan!” Henley’s eyes are wide as saucers as she mouths ‘Are you sure I have to meet her?’ I just smile and help her into the car, as my mom continues to debate semantics with my father.

“
How could you go off grid like that Connor? Especially after we showed up and you looked like someone ripped your dick off. We were so worried. I don’t care how old you are you’re still young enough for me to put over my knee and whoop your ass, you hear me?”

“
I get it. I get it.”

“
Good,” she replies with a little huff into the phone. “Now did you get your girl back?”

I glance over at Henley who is taking in the dreary Seattle scenery.
“Yeah I did, we’ll be at dinner tomorrow too.”

“
Thank God. I thought I was going to have to deal with a broken hearted child. I’ll tell your siblings you didn’t die. And we’ll see you tomorrow honey.”

“
Yeah, love you mom.”

“
I love you too honey,” she hangs up and I put the phone down watching Henley out of the corner of my eye.

It was a trying week. Excruciatingly so. But being able to share Henley
’s emotional burden was a good step forward for us. She trusted me enough to let me in. To let me see the scuffed up parts, the parts of a human soul that aren’t quite pristine. I take her hand in mine, and she turns her head to me watching me with that ever curious expression, and for the first time in my life I am content. I have enough. I don’t need to drive and press for more money. I don’t need to release the pressure with an easy fuck. There isn’t any pressure it’s just Henley. I want to tell her I love her, but I’m scared it might be too much too soon, so I keep it to myself.

“
Where to boss?” Micky’s voice pulls me from my musings and I turn to Henley.

She rattles off an address that is not her own before turning to me with a smile.
“Nora’s house. It’s Saturday night so she might not be home but I have a spare key.”

“
She works on Saturdays too?”

“
Hell no,” Henley replies with a easy laugh. “She’s probably out patrolling for a guy. She’s a lot like you.”

“
A lot like I used to be,” I correct, and Henley’s cheeks take on a delicate blush. Henley has ruined me for any other women. “Does she always go scouting for men?”

“
Nah, she’s usually pretty chill but… sometimes her vibrator just doesn’t cut it for her.” Micky sputters and coughs in the front seat, and it makes Henley grin. “That’s not to say that she doesn’t just pick up guys either. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s made out with a girl. She can pretty much seduce anyone with that mouth of hers,” Henley says dryly.

“
What the hell,” I say with a laugh. “You sound like your talking from personal experience.”

“
I am.” Henley’s face is straight and completely honest, and Micky and I
both
do a double take. “She thought my aversion was toward men only. So we had a serious make out session. I lasted about five minutes before I had to push her off and go throw up. If I wasn’t so weird I probably really would have been turned on. So she thought maybe I just wasn’t into girls. The guy she hooked me up with was nice enough, but the moment he put his tongue in my mouth it felt like someone dumped and eel in there. I manged to pull away, but not far enough to spare his shoes… six years and I still feel bad about that,” Henley finishes with a laugh.

“
I knew that woman was dangerous.”

“
What’d she do to you?” Henley’s green gaze is full of smiles.

“
She grabbed my dick in public, and said ‘ I owe Henley five bucks’,” Henley’s howling laughter fills the car as we pull into a small suburb driveway… right behind my Maserati. Either my assistant never came to pick it up, which I know isn’t the case, or this bitch didn’t hand it over.

I follow Henley to the door, and Micky follows me. No doubt waiting to see if there is anything he can grab to help out. He really needs a raise, as much as we abuse his use.

Henley opens the door and steps through calling easily for Nora. The entry way is dark, in fact the whole house seems kind of dark, but I can hear noise coming from the other room. Henley walks easily in that direction without turning on any lights.

“
Eh? Why are you watching scary movies in the dark, you know you wont be able to sleep after all this…” the lump of blankets on the sofa moves slightly, and at the sound of Henley’s voice Mr. Darcy Gets up off the floor and makes his way to her side.

“
Henley, your going to stay right? I got sucked in… it’s your dogs fault really, but you can’t just leave me here like this.”

Henley makes a face like this whole thing is troublesome, but her eyes are telling a different story. Her eyes say that she enjoys being here teasing with Dr. Castillo.

“Well I’m not staying, and I’m taking my dog, but I could trade you.”

The blanket moves again and this time Dr. Castillo sticks her head out of it.
“Oh?”

Henley points at Micky, and Nora
’s brown eyes regard him carefully. Looking him over from top to bottom.

“
Hold on wait a second,” Micky’s voice sounds slightly panicked and I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to be left with her either.