Tessa Teevan - Incinerate

“You went and saw your brother? Knox, when I said to work it out, I meant in here,” she tells me, placing a hand on my heart.

“I know, but still, it was something I needed to do. And I’m glad I did.”

“I can’t believe you did that. I’m really proud of you, and I’m glad you worked it out,” she says, leaning up and giving me a kiss on the cheek. “And you hate being in front of a crowd. I can’t believe you did this either, especially coordinating with Chris.”

“For you, it was worth it. I’ve missed you, Charlie. These past three days were shit,” I admit, pulling her close.

Sighing, she presses her head against my chest. “I missed you, too. And you need to know I’m sorry I stormed out like that. I should’ve told you about Drew, even if I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time. I should’ve stayed and talked it out with you instead of running away,” she says before pulling back and looking up at me. “You know, I was hoping you’d be here tonight.”

“You were?” I ask, acting surprised, like Kale hadn’t already told me that.

“Yeah, Rugged. I’ve really been missing you,” she repeats and leans up to press a soft kiss against my lips.

All of a sudden, the music changes, and I hear Chris’s voice over the loudspeaker. “This next song was in the lineup, but I think I lost my guitar player. Bear with me as I only play it on the keys. From Knox to Charlie, this is “Some Kind Of Beautiful”.”

I planned on playing this song for her if she forgave me, but now that I have her in my arms, I’m not letting her go. I listen to the lyrics, and I know that they’re true. I’ve never known love like this, and I’ll take a chance, spending the rest of my life showing her.

Charlie brings her hands up, resting them on my chest, and the words from my tattoo play through my mind. I may not have been patient, but I was tough. And the pain? Yeah, every single ounce of the pain was worth getting to where I am. I wouldn’t change a single fucking minute of it.

Charlie

One year, ten months later.

LOOKING IN the mirror, I smooth out my dress and look for any missed blemishes the makeup artist may have passed over. I’m finally satisfied with my appearance, so I move away from the mirror, my eye catching on the glint of the ring on my finger. I smile to myself at the memory of Knox’s proposal and how nervous he was, like there was even a single chance I’d say no.

Olivia comes into the room and stops when she sees me. “Charlotte, you look beautiful.”

A sheepish grin crosses my face, and I thank her, pulling her in for a hug. “This is one of the happiest days of my life, and I’m so glad you’re a part of it,” I tell her, meaning every single word.

“I’m glad I’m here, too. Are you ready?” she asks, gesturing towards the door.

“I’ve been waiting for this day since I was a little girl. I’m more than ready. Are you?”

She smiles at me and nods, and we head out of the room, anxious to get the ceremony underway.

As I stand in front of the giant oak doors, my heart flutters when I hear the music begin to play. The ushers open the doors, and I slowly make my way down the aisle, trying to commit every moment of this to memory. When I look to the altar, my eyes lock in on Knox, standing tall and rugged in his dress greens, looking sexy as hell. He winks at me, and it takes everything in me not to wink back. Glancing down at the ring again, I’m reminded of everything we went through to get here. Smiling at him, I continue walking until I get to the minister and stand opposite Knox. When the music changes, butterflies flutter in my stomach, and I can’t stop smiling as I’m radiating with happiness that this is finally happening.

The Bridal March sounds, and I tear my gaze from him as I watch Olivia walk down the aisle. Looking at Dad, who’s standing in front of Knox, I can see that he’s beaming. I have to blink a few times to stop the tears from falling. As I watch the ceremony play out in front of me, I almost feel the urge to pinch myself as it seems like a dream, watching Dad finally pledge his love to someone.

At the reception, I’m finishing putting the Just Married sign on the back of Evelyn when Knox finds me in the parking lot. He pulls me into him, pressing his groin against my thigh, letting me know he’s hard, that he wants me.

Grinning up at him, I shake my head. “Seriously?”

He lets out a laugh as he shrugs. “Someone once told me weddings were a turn-on. I’m beginning to think she was right,” he says, winking at me.

“Well, you’re two for two. No reason to ruin your streak,” I tell him, remembering Jace and Lexi’s wedding as well as our own. So we like to sneak off at weddings. Like he said, there’s just something about them.

Leaning down, he presses a kiss against my forehead. “You look beautiful, sweetheart,” he growls into my ear as I cuddle up in his warm embrace, remembering our own wedding day and the two surprises that came shortly after.

Moments later, my man’s pulling away and leading me back into the ballroom of the hotel where the reception’s being held. When he spots the happy couple, he grins down at me, and I know what he’s thinking.

“Let’s go congratulate the newlyweds and then get the hell out of here while we can.”

Looking around to find them, I spot Dad and Olivia greeting their guests, but when I see that they have Cade and Chloe, our five-month-old twins, I stop Knox before he can lead me across the room. I can see that my dad and Olivia are having fun showing the babies off, and I know it’ll be a while before they hand them back over. This is one of the many reasons that grandparents are so awesome, and I’m going to take advantage of it, stealing a few moments away with my husband while I can. Knox’s parents love the twins, and they’re almost overwhelming when it comes to wanting to watch them. Even still, I’m wary of my babies being gone for too long, so it’s been a while since we’ve had a night alone.

“What are you doing, Charlie?”

“Back away slowly. The way I see it, we have at least ten minutes. That’s long enough, right?”

I can hear him chuckle behind me, and I let out a yelp when he picks me up and carries me out the door, into the elevator, and up to our room. He doesn’t put me down until he drops me on the bed, where he promptly joins me.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I cherish the feel of him pressed up against my body. “I love those two, but they have me so tired that I don’t know if I want to take this break to nap or let you have your way with me.”

He unzips my dress, and I stand to step out of it, careful to lay it out on a chair so it doesn’t get wrinkled. I quickly get out of the lingerie I’m wearing underneath. When I turn back to him, he’s already out of his uniform and waiting for me. And when I say he’s waiting for me, I mean all of him is one hundred percent ready.

Pulling me onto his lap, Knox runs a finger down my back as I straddle his waist.

“We can nap later, babe. Right now, I’m too turned on after seeing you in and now out of that dress.”

“I don’t know, Rugged. They were up all night last night, and Lexi said they slept all the way through the wedding, so I’m afraid it’s going to be a long night.” I’m only teasing, knowing I’m too sexually charged to even think about sleep right now.

He wraps his arms around me, and pulls me in so our chests press against each other. “I don’t know how much sleep you’ll get tonight, but it won’t be because of the twins,” he says, grinning at me.

I pull back, wondering what he means. “What are you saying?”

“I may have arranged for Jace and Lexi to keep the kids tonight,” he tells me, and he barely gets the words out before I grab his face and plant a big, wet kiss on his lips. I love my twins, I really do, but the thought of a night of sleep without hearing a baby cry? Yeah, my husband is definitely getting lucky at least twice tonight.

“Lexi’s taking on the twins and Maya? She’s a saint.” Knowing that Lexi already has her hands full with her one-year-old, I feel a little bad that she’s going to be juggling three babies, but I push the thought aside. “Have I told you that you’re the best husband ever?”

“Only one or two hundred times, but that’s probably the same amount of times you’ve called me an ass, too.”

Lifting up, I guide him to my entrance and sink down until I’m fully filled, but I remain still. “Yeah, well you’re the best husband ever who can sometimes be an ass. But you’re my ass and I love you. That’ll never change. Not even when you pretend you don’t know a dirty diaper when you smell one and then hand a baby to me before disappearing.”

Knox leans in close, pressing a kiss to my lips as he lifts his hips up, trying to get me to move. “What can I say? My sense of smell must be going out,” he jokes, grinning at me before he pulls back and stares deep into my eyes as he rocks up into me. “I love you, Charlotte Rose Wellington, and I always will. That’s a fucking promise.”

The End

Read Jace and Alexa’s story in Ignite - Available Now.

Stay tuned for Inflame, Kale and Lucy’s story - Coming Spring 2014.

Let It Be Me- Ray LaMontagne

You Have My Attention- Copeland

Broken- Lifehouse

Say You'll Haunt Me- Stone Sour

So Contagious- Acceptance

Different- Acceptance

Taciturn- Stone Sour

If You Want Me- One Less Reason

Can't Shake You- Gloriana

Kissed You Good Night- Gloriana

Come Wake Me Up- Rascal Flatts

You Make Me Want To- Luke Bryan

Let Me Down Easy- Billy Currington

Haunted- Taylor Swift

Make Me Wanna- Thomas Rhett

Everything Has Changed- Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran

Wrecking Ball- Miley Cyrus

Tomorrow- Chris Young

Don't You Wanna Stay- Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson

Hands On You- Florida Georgia Line

Whatever It Takes- Lifehouse

All I Need- Needmore

Ring of Fire- Johnny Cash

Say Something- Tyler Ward

Falling- Tyler Ward feat. Alex G.

That's When I Knew- Alicia Keys

Stay Awhile-Journey

Hell On The Heart- Eric Church

The Mess I Made- Parachute

She Is Love- Parachute

Crazy Girl- Eli Young Band

Blank Page- Christina Aguilera

Climax- Usher

Sex Never Felt Better- TGT

Hand on Heart- Olly Murs

Beg For It- Chris Brown

I Choose You- Sara Bareilles

Lucky- Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat

Hot N Cold- Katy Perry

On My Mind- Tyler Ward

All of Me- John Legend

The Day Before You- Matthew West

Say Something- A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera

Some Kind of Beautiful- Tyler Ward feat. Lindsey Sterling

Derek, no amount of words would ever been enough to express how grateful I am for all your love and support, and most of all, your patience. You’ve put up with an ungodly amount of dirty dishes, laundry loads, and uncooked meals while I wrote Incinerate. I’m sure our cats also appreciate that there’s still someone around to feed them! I love you, whole-heartedly, and I couldn’t do this without you.

Teri Beth, you’re a magician. Seriously. Incinerate wouldn’t be nearly as polished if your eyes hadn’t come over it with a fine-tooth comb. There’d be an insane amount of ‘so’ written through the book. I’m so grateful to have you on my team.

Stacy, thank you! That’s all I can say. You’re my sounding board on so many things, and I’d be ridiculously stressed if I didn’t have you to vent to. I love your notes by way of voice message. They’re pretty awesome. Keep them coming!

Jenna, he’s the guy you’ve been waiting on! Your notes were invaluable in making Knox the character that you’ve loved since the beginning. I hope I did him justice for you!

Michelle and Bianca, I am so excited I was able to turn you from ARC readers to beta readers. Your input is extremely invaluable, and I love the passion that you express for all of my characters, from Jace to Knox to Sawyer. Michelle, you’re the music queen, and I love getting all your ramblings and music videos that make you think about my characters. Bianca, I always love making you cry, and I promise to never stop!