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Chapter Text

Colin Bridgerton was very hot, very sweaty and pleasantly sore.  He was the son of a billionaire – with a trust fund – and was quite wealthy enough from his own investments to not be this hot, sweaty and sore but here he stood in the sweltering heat of the late day sun in the middle of a grove of oak trees with perspiration dampening his brow and thick chestnut hair…and he liked it. 

He liked to keep it simple.

He liked working at his family’s lumber mill.  He liked cutting down trees with an axe and chainsaw.  He liked physical labor that made him feel as if he was contributing something useful to the world, like he was earning his keep and not being handed everything on a silver platter in his life…even though he had been since his very first breath.  Maybe that’s what had pushed her away and if he became a little more grateful, worked a little harder then she would acknowledge his existence again.

He liked being alone with his thoughts – because he had a hundred of them running through his mind at once at nearly all times.  Though eleven out of ten times he ended up thinking about her.

He liked the quiet and solitude.  He loved his family dearly – but he had seven siblings plus his parents and his eldest brother’s wife, and his eldest sister’s husband, and they all worked at Bridgerton Lumber Mill and Tree Farm…it was always loud and pure pandemonium.  Most of them worked in the office with her – another reason why he liked to be outside.  The trees were quiet, didn’t argue and shout and didn’t intrude on his life constantly…like his well meaning family did.

Being outside all day meant that he was not too close and could avoid them when he wanted to, but he was close enough when he wanted them…and could be around her.  Close enough to torture himself every day…see her sweet smile and hear her musical laugh with others, and close enough to receive her (barely) civil and clipped responses delivered in a distantly polite and sometimes downright icy tone to him, and him alone…for reasons he still not did know. 

He clearly remembered when she had been so warm and open with him, until one day she just wasn’t.  They had talked and laughed every single day, until one day they just didn’t.  They had been friends every day for twenty years, until one day they just weren’t.  For reasons unknown.

He liked living in a cabin on the edge of the mill with enough land that allowed him a large garden where he could grow much of his own food.  He also had a chicken coop for the eggs and a well-stocked lake that he enjoyed fishing in.  There was something quite satisfying about preparing food that he had grown and caught himself.

He didn’t need a gym membership because of the way he spent his days at work and in his garden afterwards.  He could go for a run around the compound if he wanted more vigorous exercise.   

He spent his nights reading in a hot bath to relieve his nearly always aching muscles.

Colin liked the uncomplicated little life he had built for himself – mostly.  His family were his only friends these days.  He didn’t go out – home, work, work, home.  He went into town twice a month to go to the grocery store to restock his pantry.

He tended his garden, fished and he read…and dabbled in writing on the weekends – a little novel that was suspiciously starting to mirror his own life.  He was lonely sometimes.  He was way too familiar with the feel of his own hand stroking his cock orgasm. 

It was a total one eighty from the way his life had been two years ago.

Two years ago, he had had a high paying, high power, high stress job, a life of nights out at nondescript poseur places, shitty, shady and selfish ‘friends’, petty and jealous women, faceless women and a special and treasured friendship with her…until the day she had gone stone cold silent on him.  Her friendship was the only thing he missed from that life…because it had been morphing to much more to him, something life altering.

Colin was temporarily blinded by a stinging in his sapphire eyes as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and cheeks to wet his dense beard and trickle beneath his protective eyewear.  He closed his eyes tightly against the sensation and blinked a few times before he placed his chainsaw down, removed the glasses and his ear protection then pulled a blue paisley bandana from his back pocket to wipe the sweat from his brow.

He popped a few of the buttons on his brown and cream flannel shirt and dabbed at the perspiration caught in his chest hair and the base of this throat, then wiped the back of his neck before he pocketed the bandana again.  Colin undid the buttons at his cuffs to roll his long sleeves up to his elbows, exposing the sinewy skin of his tanned forearms. 

It was dangerous to work with exposed skin, but he was nearly done for the day.  Greg, his youngest brother, had marked the trees that needed downed today to meet their quota for the next shipment due out to the city and Colin only had one left which would take him an hour at most.

Then he would return to the office and see her.  He stretched his long arms high over his head, stood on the balls of his feet in his brown steel toed work boots and arched then curled his back to loosen his tight muscles.  Colin hadn’t stopped today which was against his father’s working rules.  He was supposed to stop for breaks every two hours and at minimum a lunch…which was still sitting in the iced orange cooler in his truck.  But he’d seen her from a distance this morning as she walked into the office, and he’d been trying to keep himself so busy he had no time for his thoughts to linger on her. 

Clearly, he was having rousing success with that endeavor. 

She and Anthony and Kate, his eldest brother and his wife, had pulled in at the same time so she had walked inside with them.  He could see her smile and her laugh had carried to his ears in the gentle breeze…he could have sworn he caught the scent of her perfume too.  He had bought her a bottle of Clinique’s Happy for her fourteenth birthday and she had been wearing it ever since.  The name and the citrusy smell had suited her perfectly and if he was ever somewhere and he caught a whiff of it he found himself looking for her.  It was her scent.

The sunlight had caught her red hair and spun it a brilliant copper color and her pink maxi dress was hugging her…

“Base to Logger B3. Come in Logger B3.” 

Cell service here was spotty at best and non-existent at its worst so it was his walkie sounding loudly and echoing into the emptiness around him, startling him out of his reverie.  Even with the brusque and short tone her voice was sweet and honeyed.

“Logger B3 here.” Colin hastily replied.

“Time check reminder and progress check in.  Percentage status please and what’s your ETA to return to base?”

“Ninety percent completed, and I’ll wrap up in a little over an hour.”

“Noted, B3.  Sundown in two hours.”

She said no more, and neither did he…over the walkie anyway, his mind on the other hand cried out for her.

Bye, Pen.

Please, talk to me, Pen.

Pen, let’s. have dinner and work this out.

I miss you, Pen.

Pen, Pen, Pen.

But she was Pen no longer.  Anytime he slipped up and referred to her as he had when they were friends, she immediately…and frostily corrected him. 

“Pen…”

“Elope.” She would interrupt and finish for him.  “Penelope.  You cannot call me Pen any longer, and you are lucky that I am not Miss Featherington to you.” 

Eloise, his second sister, had brought Penelope home with her after school one day in their first week of Year One and Penelope had been a part of their family ever since, but it seemed that he was the only one who had lost that privilege though because the rest of the Bridgertons all referred to her as Pen and she made no qualms about it.

For two years now he had been stuck calling her Penelope yet feeling lucky that he was not reduced to calling the woman he had known for twenty years of their lives Miss Featherington. 

Colin picked up his axe and his chainsaw and moved over to his last tree to get to work.  He was working on smaller trees today, which allowed him to be on his own – the larger, thicker trees required a crew of two to three people, and he was in no mood for company. 

He swung the axe repeatedly to a rhythmic thwack, thwack, thwack, his muscles rippling with the motion, until he had a good dent in the oak tree.  Times like this the axe was perfect for relieving stress and tension, so he thwacked away as he relived the last time everything had been good between them with their friendship still very much intact. 

He had spoken to her earlier in the day and told her how he was excited to see her; they were to meet for dinner that night at an expensive steakhouse, then go to the cinema later and a drink afterwards.  He had stood outside the restaurant waiting for Penelope, eagerly pacing back and forth…she was his favorite person to spend time with and thought this was the night things would change between them…which it had, just the total opposite of what he had hoped.

A woman he’d known for all of one lackluster date passed him and stopped to chat, but he quickly shook her off to continue his keen marching and waited for nearly an hour and half for Penelope – she wasn’t answering his texts, or his calls and he was concerned. 

Colin had texted Eloise, who was Penelope’s closest friend, besides himself, to see if she had heard from Penelope.  It wasn’t like her to not show up somewhere or send him a message that she couldn’t make it and what was keeping her.  Eloise had told him that Penelope was fine and to go home and let her be.  That worried him even more, so he’d gone to her flat.  She hadn’t come to the door, though he was positive he could hear her moving within.  His knocks had grown louder and more insistent and two of her neighbors had poked their heads into the hallway and threatened to call the police on him to have him removed so he had finally left for his own flat in near meltdown mode.

He had tried to text and call her repeatedly every day for two weeks and she stalwartly declined to answer him, leaving him to wonder if she had blocked him. 

Eloise refused to tell him what was going on, as did his mother, who was equally close with Penelope - they were staying out of it.

Colin had resorted to staking out Penelope’s flat to catch her unawares but even that had taken him four days to catch her.  She was remarkably talented at sneaking around.

Colin paused his chopping and looked at the tree trunk, deciding it was time to switch back to the chainsaw, so he popped his ear protection back in. 

Penelope had been leaving her flat wearing a hat, sunglasses and a trench coat like a kid in a spy movie, but her red hair and petite stature made her easy to spot from a mile away.  She had gotten to the corner when she spotted him and she had started to run back to her flat to avoid him, but he had a foot of height on her and he was all leg, so he had easily caught up with her and grabbed her wrist to still her, which she had violently wrenched from his grasp. 

“Pen, what is wrong?  Are you ok?  It’s been weeks since I’ve heard from you.  What’s happened?” Colin had asked desperately, jumping in front of her to block her path.  “Let me help you.”

“No, Colin.  I cannot do this anymore.  You can help me by leaving me alone.” She had said, staring at the ground and not meeting his gaze.

He had been stunned into silence with that statement.  Never in all their years had he considered leaving her alone…and he didn’t think he could, even if that’s what she wanted.  He needed to see her eyes – her eyes held no secrets; they were incapable of it…their aquamarine depths conveyed every thought in her head. 

“Pen, look at me.” He finally managed. 

“No.”

“Please.” He begged.

“I cannot.”

“Pen, we are friends.  Let me…” Colin started to plead before she cut him off.

“We are not friends, Colin.  We never were.”  Her tone was cold.  Detached.  Unfeeling.  Something he had never heard from her before.

She had taken a dagger to his heart with that, and he had audibly gasped, stunned into silence once more.  Penelope had used his moment of surprise to dart around him on the pavement and disappear from view, leaving him as a shell of himself because when she had walked away from him she had taken his heart with her with that dagger still plunged dead center. 

He had stood there for a very long time after she had gone, rooted to the spot and with tears flowing down his cheeks, though he had not realized it until an elderly woman had approached him. 

“Dearie, you’ve been standing here for the last quarter of an hour that I’ve seen.  Do you need me to call someone to help you?”

Colin looked at her blankly.  His world had just crashed down around him…who could help with that?  Even a loving, supportive hug from his mum couldn’t fix the emptiness that Penelope Featherington had just created in the chasm where his heart used to be. 

“No ma’am.” He had mumbled.  “Thank you.  I’m…fine.”

I’m fine had become the motto of his life from that moment forward, though he was far from it.  I’m lost was more apt.

He had tried for three more months to talk to her…text, calls, more stakeouts to bombard her.  She constantly refused him.  He harassed his family members about her and still got nothing - they were equally loyal to her and were staying neutral.  He had zero clue what had caused a friendship of two decades to disintegrate.

Colin had been lost, quit his job, come to work at the lumber mill like everyone else in the family, just to be close to Penelope.  If he could be around her every day, then they would work everything out.  They would talk about whatever had happened, he would apologize for whatever he had done, she would forgive him, and they would be the close friends they always were. 

But that was not what happened at all.  He received limited, dead-eyed, terse interactions.

He pulled himself back to the present when he realized how close he was to getting through the whole of tree trunk and yelled timber even though he hadn’t seen another person around all day.

Colin watched it fall as if it was in slow motion and the tree made a thudding sound when it hit the ground.  He looked around to double check that he had not missed any of Greg’s markers before he detached the walkie from his pocket once more. 

“Greg, go to channel five.” Colin said and switched to the channel.

“Go ahead, Col.” Greg replied. 

“All trees down and are ready for the haulers.”

“Thanks.  Clear to return to base.”

Colin loaded his tools into the truck bed then wiped the sweat from his face, chest and neck again before he hopped in his truck, his gut clenching, as it always did, at seeing Penelope…hoping this was the day it would be different.  That his wonderful, warm, friend Penelope would have decided to reinhabit her body.

He parked in front of the building – his tools would be inspected by the safety team and the truck returned to the garage after inspection.  He headed inside and greeted his family as he passed them, to go to Penelope to report back in.

“Hello Pen.” He greeted with a hopeful smile. 

“Elope.  Penelope.” She said in that curt tone that felt like a thousand little needles to his soul.  “Checking in?  Percentage complete?”

“One hundred.”

“Chainsaw?”

“In the truck.  No issues to report.”

“Fine.  Thank you, B3.” Penelope said, still very clipped.

“We’re not on the walkie.  You can call me Colin.”

“I could.”

“But you will not?” Colin asked, his tone entreating.

“No.” She replied simply. 

“Have a good night, B3.” She added, sounding for all the world as if she were saying drop dead Colin Bridgerton instead.

“Your dress is very pretty.” He offered.  “Pink is a lovely shade on you.”

“Thank you.” This time her tone saying fuck you.

This was definitely not the day that his wonderful, warm, friend would decide to reemerge. 

Chapter Text

A few weeks later Penelope was no warmer or more welcoming to Colin than before.  In fact, she may be even more abrupt and distant, for reasons only she knew…the reason she had armed herself with for the past two years.

For fuck’s sake, she wondered with frustration, how could he look this gorgeous after spending all day outside doing strenuous physical labor while baking in the scorching summer sun?  She didn’t even look that good and she’d been sitting in a comfortable office all day.  It just wasn’t fair.

He had sawdust turning his chestnut hair a shade lighter, he had beads of sweat on his forehead, his shirt clung to his muscles in places from the perspiration on his chest, his hair and thick beard were damp, and instead of smelling rank, he smelled heady and musky.  In no way should he have looked this damn sexy, but he did.

The text, the text, the text.

Every day when he was due to return to base, she had to steel herself against the onslaught that she knew was about to happen.  She would read the offending text message thirty minutes ahead of time to remind herself to not cave, but it was very difficult.

His jeans were always fitting him to perfection, making his legs look ridiculously long and strong and his waist narrow, which just made his manly chest appear impossibly more broad as the pattern of his flannel stretched taut and fought for dear life to contain the bulging muscles within and not split open at the seams…really, would it kill him to size up and give the material a break…as well as her nerves.

Colin normally came in with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing how thick and strong his forearms were, and a few of the buttons on his chest open to let it breathe from the suffocating heat of the day, displaying a tempting sprinkling of chest hair that made her want to do so many indecent things to him, until she forced herself to remember. 

Sometimes he hadn’t rolled the sleeves up and loosened the buttons yet and he would do it while he was standing in front of her to complete his check in process.  Those days were particularly more painful because she had to torturously watch him, and she would give him the iciest tone she could muster to keep herself from swooning at her feet…this was one of those days.

Colin stood in front of her in his perfectly worn in, perfectly snug blue denim, and a cobalt and turquoise plaid flannel shirt that made his eyes shine like gemstones, and he deftly flicked open the buttons on the cuffs and rolled them up to his elbows slowly – so unwittingly tantalizingly…his wide wrist, then just above where his arm hair grew denser, the middle of his forearm, to just below his elbow.  He had a vein that started there and wove its way down to the middle of his left wrist to the back of his hand that was particularly fascinating, and she felt suddenly warm and swallowed.  Then he undid three of the buttons on his chest to down between his pectorals and fanned the material to cool down, but it gave her the most revealing look yet at his muscles. 

She had always loved him (was that too strong of a word…no, no it wasn’t…it was apt) just the way he was, in whatever form he was, and he'd always been in shape, but ever since he’d started working in the field at the mill he was…broader…larger…harder…sturdier.  Her throat simply closed and a throbbing pulse between her legs hummed to life.

The text, the text, the text, she reminded herself.

She was not carrying a grudge.  She was not petty.  She had pulled away and went to minimal contact with him for self-preservation.  She was done letting him destroy her…she had to be.

“Good evening, Penelope.” Colin said in the low, familiar timber that she’d known nearly all her life as he wiped the back of his entrancing veiny hand over his forehead then down his bearded cheeks.

Well, damn…he’d already disarmed her with that…she’d been ready to sharply correct him when he called her Pen.  She hated that after twenty years this is where they were at – Penelope and B3, but so it was.

“You smell very nice.  Very Happy.” He continued.

He always threw a compliment at her too, trying to warm her to him – they always discombobulated her even though she knew one was coming.

And you smell delectably rugged and virile…I could lick that bead of sweat from your skin with my tongue if you’d like…do you need help with your shower later, Penelope’s brain shouted at her.

The text, the text, the text.

She hardened herself against the incoming rush of warmth.

“Percentage complete, B3?” Penelope asked tersely.

“Colin please.” He said.

Every single day he would ask her to call him Colin, and every single day it tore her up.

The text, the text, the text.  Some days it was her mantra, and this was one of them apparently.

“B3.” She deadened her voice further. 

“Please, Pen.  It’s Colin.  I’m more than my walkie handle.”

“It’s Penelope, B3.  Percentage complete?”

She heard him audibly sigh and her own heart hurt to hurt him.  He tried so very hard, but she could not let herself be swayed.

“99.97%.”

Penelope’s eyebrows shot up at that.

“Explain.”

“There was a stick growing out of the ground next to a trunk and I figured it was not needed so I let it be.

She wanted to giggle but fought the urge, though he did catch a slight upturn in her mouth in a smile that she could not prevent, and she watched his eyes flare with…something unidentifiable.

“Penelope, please…let’s go to dinner and talk.  Please.” Colin begged. 

She stiffened and shook her head.  The last time they were to have dinner had proved catastrophic – the end of everything.

“No.” She said emphatically.   

“Chainsaw?” She asked brusquely, needing him gone from her presence. 

“In the truck.  Chain needs checked to see if it’s time to oil it.  It stuttered a little.”

“Noted.  I’ll have Simon inspect it by the time you are back on Monday.  Enjoy your weekend B3.”

“Penelope, if we could just talk…fifteen minutes.  Five minutes.  Two minutes.  Whatever you will give me.  I miss you.  I miss us.”

She particularly hated Fridays because this was how he had ended every week for two years and it ripped her to shreds inside – today seemed worse because she had given him some kind of hope with her accidental half ass start of a smile.

The text, the text, the text.

“What us? We are not fucking anything.”  She said, her voice clipped, and her eyes detached.

They were nothing, nor had they ever been.  He had fucking said so himself.  She spun her chair away from him, her hair fluffing out to whirl behind her, to focus on her laptop, effectively dismissing him and ending their interaction.  She would have two whole days away from him, which she needed every single week to recover from the five days that she had to suffer the evening safety wrap ups.

He didn’t leave immediately though, he stood there, staring at her ramrod straight back.

“Pen.” He whispered, then corrected himself before she could. “Penelope.  We were though.  We were something…and I miss it.”

His voice was breaking as he spoke, and she knew if she chanced a glance at him, she would find him either crying or near it.  He had never been afraid to show her whatever emotion he was feeling and her armor weakened with the delivery of his words.

The text, the text, the text.  It was time to visualize it for full effect.

She’d read it so many times since she had received it that she could picture its precise formatting in her mind and recite the words even if she were coming out of the strongest of anesthesia for the way they were seared into her memory. 

It is not a fucking date.  We are not dating.  She is my sister’s little friend.  We are not fucking anything.  Dating Penelope Featherington is not going to fucking happen.  She’s…

Clearly it had not been meant for her, wedged innocuously between messages that were hers – ‘I am starving – don’t judge me when I order the largest plate they have and eat half of yours that you don’t finish!’ and ‘On my way now!  Meet you out front in 10.’ 

Obviously, he had been flipping between texting her and someone else and had not meant to slice her heart in half, but he had because she had been in love with him an embarrassingly long time, of which he most certainly did not reciprocate.  Because even though he had not meant it for her eyes, he had meant to say it to someone.  They were fucking nothing…she was Eloise’s friend, not his…and it was forefront enough in his mind to voice it to one of his asshole friends. 

Penelope steeled herself again with the fresh memory.

She made him no answer to his pleading and stood up from her desk, her skirt flouncing around behind her, to aggressively dig in a file cabinet, that she needed absolutely nothing out of, until Colin finally left. 

“Goodnight, Penelope.  Have a good weekend.” He murmured miserably and trudged away languidly, hoping she would call him back. 

“Goodnight, Colin.” She whispered to the folder she held uselessly in her hand before she looked over her shoulder and softened her posture.  “I miss you too.  Every day.” 

It was true and she hated herself a little for it.

She watched his retreating back with relief but caught herself making a quiet, satisfied sound watching the soft denim cup his firm round butt and she rolled her eyes at herself as she sagged back against the file cabinet.  She was such an idiot.

There was a time when parting from him was the worst part of her day for how much she loved him.  Since the day she had met him she had always had some variation of love for him, but it was around her thirteenth birthday that she’d fallen (apparently irrevocably) in love with him and there had been no going back after that…though she had tried repeatedly. 

She’d spilled her guts to Eloise so many times over the years but her made her promise not to meddle, and she had honored that request.  If anything were to happen then it would happen…but at no time had Colin returned the sentiment. 

Yet she had always thought them friends in their own right, until the text, and, until the text, she had always held out a shred of hope that he would realize how perfect they were for one another.

There were inklings that she thought he may figure it out.  They did things on their own without Eloise – and he was always different with her…softer, caring, more considerate, touchy, more open and talkative, more himself. The friends he had been keeping from his wealth management company had been shady, selfish pricks, and were turning him into a shadow of himself, but when he was with her, he was her sweet friend that she had always known…she had flattered herself that she kept him grounded.

Then he had suggested the expensive, fancy dinner, a film and drinks afterwards – all clearly date activities, the night after they had had, what she had incorrectly thought, a moment.

Colin, Eloise and Penelope had had drinks, and Colin was walking her to her flat since it was so late, and Penelope had been too near the edge that she nearly fell off the curb with cars whizzing by. 

Colin had caught her swiftly around the waist and slammed her into his body to catch her.  Her breath had left her lungs in a whoosh, and she was crushed to him from shoulders to thighs with his heat seeping through every pore of her, and her skin going up in flames at his touch.  His dark blue eyes had been glittering in the light of the streetlamps as they searched her own and his tongue had snuck out to wet his lips – then his breathing had quickened, and he had pulled her even closer than she already was…she was molded into his body.

He was going to kiss her – after being in love with him for a decade he was going to kiss her.  She had given an embarrassingly desperate sigh, and her eyes had drifted closed of their own volition as she waited for this highly anticipated moment.  Seconds passed and nothing happened until…he suddenly whirled her around to the inside of the pavement instead of the outside near the street. 

“Easy, Pen.  Don’t get mowed down by a car.” Colin had said and released her from his embrace abruptly.  “You walk on this side instead.”

He had held her hand securely in his for the rest of the walk to her flat and suggested their outing the following night.  She had thought he wanted to give her a proper date before he kissed her and had eagerly accepted. 

She had thought this was it…this was finally happening.  She would have her fairy tale (ludicrous now that she thought about it) with Colin Bridgerton. 

Penelope had dressed with the utmost care she had ever put into getting ready.  Her long red hair shone in shiny waves, her eyes sparkled an electric sky blue with the soft shimmery shadow, her foundation made her skin flawlessly smooth, her lips were full, red and kissable and her black dress hugged her curves in a very flattering way.  Like a fool, she had thought it was the first night of the rest of the life.

Until she received the text.  She had been about to walk out the door to meet him when she’d received it.

It is not a fucking date.  We are not dating.  She is my sister’s little friend.  We are not fucking anything.  Dating Penelope Featherington is not going to fucking happen.  She’s…

It may as well have been a flashing marquee billboard at Piccadilly Circus, or a singing-gram delivered in a sickeningly sweet melody.  Her world had fallen out from beneath her feet, her heart…well she wasn’t sure she still had one, and if she did then it had fractured into a million pieces and no longer resembled a heart.  She had dropped her handbag on the floor in shock, and she had crumpled to the carpet to follow it as tears filled her eyes and she lay on her side at her front door sobbing.

Penelope had lay there for a very long time – she was late enough that Colin had started to text her and call her.  The audacity – did he really think she was going to go after that proclamation?

She had called Eloise bawling, hiccupping and stuttering for breath, having a hell of a time getting out what the problem was.  Eloise had been ready to call A&E for her until she had finally calmed enough to be understood.

Her hurt had faded to anger until he showed up her flat begging to see her, concerned that she was safe – then she was hurt again.  She had stood on the other side trying (probably failing) to sob as quietly as she could listening to him plead with her through the door.

She couldn’t face him then, she was in no shape for it, she would not let him see her cry, she would not let him see that he had utterly broke her, that he held that much power over her.

The more days she went without seeing him, the more she realized that was what she needed to do.  If she had any hope of getting over him then she needed him gone from her life.  He knew exactly how to charm her, and her soul was just drawn to him.  If she didn’t see him, then she stood a chance.

That had (kind of) worked.  She had her flat, she had a cat, she had her friends – of course they were all Bridgertons…but they had, thankfully, universally decided not to force the situation, not take sides and stay out of it.

Everything had been…ok…not stellar, not horrid, but she was coping…until he started working at the mill.  Then Colin was there every day, trying to win her over, trying to talk to her, trying to become her friend.  Trying, trying, trying – and the more he tried, the weaker she had become, so she had become an ice queen to him in an attempt to push him away, but he was relentless. 

She was clipped, she was detached, she didn’t make eye contact, she refused to speak his name, she refused to let him call her the name every other person in the office called her and still he persistently tried. 

He never stopped trying, which was…endearing.  The icier she was, the harder he tried.  It was sweet and touching…because she was an idiot.

Two years of Penelope and B3 and ice queen behavior and she was no less in love with him than she had ever been so what was the point of treating him this way?  It wasn’t helping anything.  It hurt him and it hurt her in the process.  They were both miserable.  He was in her life regardless if she was kind or brutal.

The only thing that it hurt playing nice was her, and she was hurting either way.  She could at least make one of them happier. 

She sighed deeply with frustration.

Penelope slammed the filing cabinet door shut in a huff as her thoughts struggled against themselves and whirled around to go back to her chair at her laptop but in her rapidly swirling thoughts she had not noticed her skirt had draped into the drawer and when she had turned so quickly the material started to tear. 

Penelope froze and turned back around to tug gently on her skirt to pull it from its prison.  Instead of the fabric coming loose, the heavy file cabinet came forward instead, tilting at her as if it were in slow motion and she had to decide if she wanted to save the skirt or be crushed by a filing cabinet – she made neither choice quickly enough. 

The tipping weight tore her flouncy skirt clean in half and the fully loaded file cabinet landed on her anyway. The only thing she had the presence of mind to do was shriek in shock and pain – loudly.  She wished liked hell that had not been her first instinct because Colin had not made it out of her vicinity yet with as leisurely as he had been walking.

“Pen?” Colin yelled with concern, and she heard his footsteps racing towards her. 

He couldn’t see her, she was behind her large desk and under the cabinet, but the crashing metal and her scream could have woken someone in a coma.

Now her choice was facing Colin again before she’d had time to recover from their interaction or facing her young tragic death by excruciatingly heavy metal filing cabinet. 

Surely, she would make the news for the latter, she’d had a good run, and she had always been extremely dedicated to her job…

Chapter Text

Colin sprinted back to Penelope quickly and was met with horror when he rounded her desk.  Her head and her hair spilling onto the floor behind her was the only part of her not covered by the file cabinet. Her breathing was shallow, and her eyes were closed so he was not entirely sure she hadn’t been knocked unconscious in the ordeal.

“Pen!  Oh my god, are you still with me?  Open your eyes for me, Pen.” Colin demanded, kneeling beside her and brushing the back of his fingertips to her cheek gently. 

Her long eyelashes fluttered open, and her sky-blue eyes met his looking very dazed and confused and he could see the pain in her eyes.  They had always been a window to her thoughts until she had raised her shields to him, but she was in far too much distress to bother with that right now.

“It hurts, Colin.” She said brokenly through her lack of oxygen. 

“Hold on, love.  Brace yourself because they drawers are going hit you as I pick this up.  Biggest breath you can manage for me real quick because this might rob you of it for a moment.”

He was right, she cried out and moaned in agony as the file laden drawers pummeled into her ankles, stomach and chest while he gritted his teeth and tried to soothe her with his words as he lifted the heavy metal off her with his sheer strength and shoved it as mercilessly far away from her as he could so that it was laying on its side with its contents pouring out of it.

“Deep breath in, Pen.” Colin ordered.  “Focus.  Look at me.”

Penelope was so rattled that she forgot that her ruined skirt lay sliced in two beneath her and her lacy pink knickers were on full display so every inch from the dip in her waist, to her creamy ivory legs, to her ankles was out. 

She met his cobalt eyes and tried to focus on him but there was two Colin’s at present, which didn’t clear when she shook her head and her eyes started to drift closed again. 

“No, no, love.  You could have a concussion.  Open those baby blues and keep them open.” Colin insisted, gripping her chin and forcing her to look at him.

“I’m seeing two Colin Bridgertons at present and I’m so tired.  Please, just let me sleep, Colin.” Penelope weakly argued. 

She had been perfectly awake two minutes ago and now she could hardly keep her eyes open.

“You can’t sleep yet.  We need to get you to the doctor for a scan.  It’s highly probably that you hit your head on the floor, love.” Colin said tenderly, moving his palm to cup the back of her head from the floor.  “As soon as you are cleared you can sleep as long as your heart desires.”

At his house, where he could keep on eye on her, he added to himself, because he wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he was sure she was well.  If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

She groaned her protest and shifted, the soft flesh of her outer thigh brushing against his other hand.  Colin was doing his best not to stare but there was so much of her exposed that he couldn’t not notice all her curves sprawled out on the floor and his mouth went dry despite the inappropriate timing of such a reaction. 

“Err, Pen, I hate to tell you this, but the filing cabinet has claimed your pretty skirt as a victim.” Colin said.

That was enough to make her eyes snap open as she remembered her skirt had torn and she must be laying there in only her spring green blouse and her knickers…oh my god, she was wearing knickers today, wasn’t she?  She moved her arms swiftly to cover herself, struggling to sit up and instantly regretted the rapid motion because it made her head spin. 

“Easy now, love.  No sudden movements, slow and deliberate.  Lay back down, focus on me and take deep breaths for a moment.”

He straightened from his crouch and deftly opened the buttons of his shirt and pulled it off quickly then draped his shirt over her waist.

“Sorry…it’s a bit sweaty but it will have to do at the moment…unless you have another skirt, trousers or leggings around here somewhere.”

Penelope had gone mute as he stood there shirtless in front of her, looking down at her worriedly.  He was…otherworldly gorgeous – men did not look like this in real life, this was for actors and models, not a man who spent his days covered in sawdust.  He was incredibly tanned from the sun and impossibly muscled from his work – he positively rippled with each movement he made and inhalation he took.  Her breath actually lodged in her throat, and she couldn’t stop her eyes from roaming over his torso like some pervy, sex starved woman. 

He had colorful ink now too that he must have gotten sometime in the last two years that she had pulled away from him. 

On the hard muscle of his left pectoral, over his heart, he had a swan tattoo, with beautifully full plumage, sweeping eyelashes on eyes of ice blue and its neck arced gracefully as it floated in undulated water amongst tall grass. 

Also, his left bicep had been inked with a sandy beach cove with brilliant blue waves from the sea lapping the shore and a treasure chest spilling over with rubies, sapphires, diamonds and aquamarines.

They both suited him, and she was fully aware that she was wetting her lips as she gawked at him – she wondered at their significance and when he’d got them…both looked pretty settled.  She wondered if he had more that she couldn’t see.

“Pen?” Colin asked, pulling her from ridiculously indecent perusal.

“What?” She asked distractedly, having completely forgotten what his question was.

“Do you have an extra skirt, trousers or leggings around here somewhere?” He prompted.

“Umm, no I do not.” Penelope said, forcing herself to answer and tuck the damp shirt around her, immediately surrounded by his musky scent…it was not at all unpleasant.

Colin knelt once more and put his hand beneath her shoulder to help her sit up.  

“Nice and slow, Pen.  Let’s relax a moment.  Good.”  He scooted behind her and placed a leg on either side of her before he pulled her against him to support her.  “I’ve got you.  Lean against me, love.  Let your balance come back to you, recatch your breath and let the room stop spinning so you stop seeing two of me.”

She wasn’t seeing two of him anymore but at the moment she was sure she wouldn’t mind if she did as she sank into him.

She felt him lean back slightly and stretch to her desk for her water bottle that was perched on the edge, but she was hyper aware that the softness of her back was pressed into every unyielding muscle on his torso and her head was nestled on his shoulder, his heady scent surrounding her and helping her come back to herself – then she realized the only thing separating them was his denim and her knickers and she tried to scoot forward so her bottom was not directly touching him but the rest of her body sagged bonelessly against him.

“Here’s your water.  Take a drink.” Colin said, tipping it up to her lips for her.  “That’s it, such a great job.  We’ll try standing in a few minutes.  I’m sure that file cabinet was the equivalent of taking a locks on your body…anything feel damaged or broken, love?”

Penelope was relatively sure there was something wrong with her right ankle, but whether it was broken or sprained she wasn’t sure because Colin was right, the file cabinet was like taking a tackle from a two-hundred-pound rugby player, so everything felt damaged right now.

“I’m not sure yet.” Penelope answered honestly.  “I feel as if I’ve been flattened.”

“Poor Pen.” Colin said sympathetically, running his hands up and down her arms soothingly.

Well, he intended it to be soothing, but Penelope found it intimate instead.  Less than five minutes into dropping her ice queen persona and he was already discombobulating her as he always had.

He shifted her hair over her shoulder, strands of it catching in his beard, so he could make sure she wasn’t trying sleep on him, but he let her sit there for a few minutes while she caught her breath, his hands resting on his own thighs but itching to rest around her waist to snuggle her to him. 

The longer they sat there the more she realized that her ankle was, in fact, twinging.

“Colin?”

“What is it, love?”

“I…I think I’ve got my bearings back and I’m ready to attempt standing.” Penelope said hesitantly, thrown that he was calling her love.

Colin was reluctant to let her from his arms…he liked her there – she fit perfectly against him, so soft and warm nestled into him…and she was treating him kindly…and using his name…he loved how it sounded from her lips.  He didn’t want to release her, though he knew he needed to get her to the hospital.  Holding her felt incredibly right, like she was just where she ought to be, and he had fought the urge several times to nuzzle his nose to her ear or into the sweet-smelling skin of her neck. 

“Of course, Pen.  Let me help you.”

“I’m going to need it, but I don’t know how to do this with a missing skirt.”

Colin had seen her in a swimsuit many times before, but he understood her unease and embarrassment – that was before she seemingly started hating him and this was her underwear.

He thought for a moment on how to help her.  He was nearly a foot taller than she was, his shirt would be like a dress on her to cover her, but it was damp with his perspiration, yet he didn’t want to leave her here and risk one of his family members taking over the situation – this was forcing her to talk to him…which he sorely and desperately needed.

“I know it’s sweaty but put my shirt on.  Then we’ll go back to my house and get you a clean one to wear to A&E and me one, full stop – I don’t think they’d appreciate me walking in without one.”

Oh, they would appreciate it alright once they saw him…she nearly snorted with her rogue thought and forced her mind back to the task at hand.

Penelope wanted to protest an A&E visit, but she was smart enough to know that you did not chance a head injury, so she nodded obediently, which caught Colin off guard.  He thought he was going to have to convince her and insist on taking her against her will.

“Close your eyes.” Penelope said.

He smiled in amusement because he’d already seen all of her while she was laying on the floor but dutifully closed them. 

“Done.”

He immediately missed the feel of her against his chest when she leaned forward and slipped her arms into his shirt and buttoned it all the way the way down, the fabric whispering beneath her fingertips.

“Ok.  Can you help me stand?  I think something is wrong with my right ankle.”

“Pen!  Why did you not say something sooner?” Colin admonished and quickly stood. 

“Everything hurt.  It took a few minutes to figure out what was going to pass and what was going to linger.”  She shrugged. 

“Well, if you are injured then you are not standing on it.  Where is your handbag and tote?” Colin asked. 

He had watched her enter the office from afar enough times, including this morning camouflaged by several trees, to know what she came in with.  Her black tote was a constant, but she had penchant for handbags and coordinating them to her outfit and today she had been carrying a light green one that matched her blouse.

“They’re under my desk.” 

Colin moved to grab them and handed them to her.  “Grab your keys, love.”

“Colin, I don’t think I can drive.”

“I’ll drive yours to my house and then we can switch to my car.  I’m not sure I could make it all the way to hospital in yours without sacrificing a leg.”

She drove a Mini, which was perfect for her petite stature, but he felt sorry for any passengers she had taller than Eloise…and he himself was all leg.

Penelope was being remarkably agreeable with him, nodded and dug her keys out to hand to him.  He threw her tote and purse over his shoulder than crouched back down to her. 

“What are you doing?” She asked with confusion.

“Put your arm around my neck, Pen.”

“What?”

“It will make it easier and safer.”

“How?  Can you not just grab my hands to help me up, Colin?”

“If your ankle hurts then you cannot stand or walk on it.  How will you get down the stairs?”

Penelope had thought him joking when he said it the first time, but it seemed he meant it when he said he would not allow her to stand on it. 

“You cannot mean to carry me.” Penelope said in shock.

“How else are you going to get your car?”

Crawl, slither, roll, scoot, a Firebolt, teleportation – literally any other way than being picked up by Colin…his bare flesh, touching her bare flesh was decidedly too much.

“Colin, you cannot…” Penelope began but he silenced her by placing her arms around his neck to lock securely around him and sweeping her from the floor as she gasped in surprise and let out a high-pitched cry before her breath was stolen.

He was warm as she settled into him, the skin on the bottom of her forearms touching his corded neck and shoulder as she gripped him tightly, and the back his forearm touching the back of her knees while his thick, callused fingers rested securely on her thighs to keep her steady.

“I can’t leave without telling someone.  I don’t want to make them angry with me.” Penelope protested worriedly. 

“Pen, I’m quite sure you could accidentally burn the place to the ground, and they would forgive you, let alone taking a required trip to A&E from a workplace injury sustained on property.  Besides, I know you are leaving.” Colin said, carrying her across the office.

“Yes, but you are a field logger.”

“I am also a Bridgerton who owns a stake in the company, I just prefer to be outdoors doing work, rather than tethered to conference calls, electronics and paperwork.” He defended, sounding as if she had insulted him.

“I am not trying to minimize your contributions – I see you at the end of each day and know how hard you work…you do the work of two men.  I am merely saying that a Bridgerton who is office-bound will surely notice me missing, and they would certainly not think me off with you, safe, given…our situation.  I never leave without saying something to Violet and Edmund.  They’ll worry I’ve been abducted or something.  I don’t want to frighten them, Colin.”

He reveled in the use of his name – it had been so incredibly long since she had spoken it to him, his blood was thickening and stirring each time she said it instead of B3…and she wasn’t correcting him each time he said Pen or, even more intimately, love.  He hadn’t called her love in their friendship, but it was quite fitting. 

“And what situation are we in, Pen?” Colin asked, making his way down the stairs, careful not to jostle her too much or get her ankle too close the railing, hoping today would be the day he would finally get some answers and create a fissure in her brick wall. 

Penelope snapped her mouth closed and was silent for a moment until she quickly blurted out. 

“I have a cat.”

Colin chuckled at the abruptness of her statement. 

“We can text everyone from the car to let them know what’s going on, where you’ve gone and that your cat needs attention.  I’m assuming my mum or Eloise has a key to your flat?” Colin assured her. 

Penelope nodded.

“One of them will check on your cat, I’m sure.  What color is your cat and what is its name?”

“It’s a tortie named Lady Cat-rine de Bourgh.” She grinned at him, knowing he would immediately understand the reference.

She had forced the miniseries and movie adaptations on him and forced him to listen to the audiobook on a road trip through Wales and Scotland.

Colin erupted in laughter.  “Of course it is.  With it as your favorite Jane Austen book, no, your favorite book at all, your pet is sure to have a Pride and Prejudice name.  No Kitty Bennet? Or male companion Fitzkitten Darcy?”

Penelope giggled and it was music to ears – something he had been starving to hear for two years. His name, her smile and a giggle…he may perish, and it would be worth it because he hadn’t really known what he was missing before it had been taken so unexpectedly from him. 

He shifted her in his arms to bring her closer and brushed his lips to the soft skin of her cheek and he heard her breath catch in surprise. 

“Can you get the car door, Pen?” He asked nonchalantly, bending slightly so she could reach the handle.

He gave her cheek an impromptu press of his lips to her surprised gasp.

He’d kissed her cheek hundreds of times before, but again, that was before everything had gone to shit, and she had definitely not been bundled in his arms when he had done so.  It felt…different…changing…right.

At the moment Penelope was still shaken up and wasn’t remembering to hate him, but he was sure she would, and he had until then to try to win her back over, soften her…bring her back to him - because he needed her…fuck, how he needed her in his life.

Chapter Text

Many hours later Penelope found herself sitting in Colin’s car with Cat-rine’s carrier on her lap and a weekender bag tucked in his backseat that had been packed by both Eloise and Violet – because she was not being allowed to stay at her flat by herself by neither Colin nor Violet.

Her head was uninjured, all her scans came back fine, but they wanted her watched for the next twenty-four hours and to return to A&E if she had so much as a slight headache.   She was quite sore and had an array of bruises, both very small and very large, all over her body and her right ankle had a mild to moderate sprain, so she had a boot and crutches.

Penelope lived in a fourth-floor walk-up so she had too many stairs to even get to her flat, as did Eloise with a third floor flat, and Violet would have taken her in a heartbeat, but she didn’t have the ground floor bedroom like Colin did, so she still would have had to tackle stairs on crutches.  Colin had given her an ultimatum – either he stayed with her in her one-bedroom flat to keep an eye on her and haul her up and down four flights of stairs or Penelope would come stay with him at his cabin on the mill’s property. 

Though cabin seemed a bit of a misnomer…it was certainly made from logs, but it was a six bedroom, six and half bath cabin.  She’d never been inside but the family had all talked about it when he was having it built.  He had wanted enough bedrooms to house the lot of them in the case of inclement weather – her included, though she had always refused him…but there had been times on her drive home that she wished she hadn’t let her pride get the better of her and chanced the elements.  Their elevation tended towards rain and snow, and he wanted to assure himself of everyone’s safety and she had had some very dicey drives.  Penelope had always loved that about him…how openly and protectively he loved his family.

Now he was extending that worry to her and given the choice between Colin being relegated to hauling her around in his arms like a helpless damsel while being bound to her small flat or having freedom of her own movement and space, she thought choosing the latter was the smarter choice.  If she was going to be in forced proximity to the man that she had extremely complicated and baffling feelings about then she would rather have some space to get away…and hide, if need be, so she had opted for his house.

He had even insisted she bring her cat with her and stopped at a supermarket for a litterbox, litter, dishes and food, as well as some supplies for them for the next few days while she waited in the car and mused how ridiculously easily that he could charm her. 

He was flannelled, rugged, manly, muscled, virile, bearded, and tattooed on the outside while being a squishy, sweet marshmallow on the inside.  It hardly seemed fair to everyone else.

When they arrived at Penelope’s flat Eloise was standing there holding the cat carrier and Violet was holding her luggage and the moment Violet saw Penelope, she burst into tears, beside herself that Penelope had been hurt, and on their property by an item they owned.

She hugged her so tightly and apologized profusely, then hugged her again…and again.  Violet fretted, she worried, and she complimented Colin for his insistence on Penelope staying with him for a few days – she could not relax thinking of Penelope alone, nor forgive herself if further injury occurred.

Violet had told her that she would be more than comfortable at Colin’s, she would be very well cared for and praised what a great job he had done with his sisters when they were unwell – which Penelope knew.  He was very caring and patient, and she had been at their house often enough growing up that she had witnessed him with them; he’d cared for her numerous times too when she had been ill over the years that they had been friends…or whatever it was he had pretended they were. 

Violet had shared that his house had a suite on the main floor – she’d have privacy, her own bedroom and bathroom, easy access to the kitchen and the lounge and no stairs to deal with…which Penelope was quickly deciding was a good thing because was not very skilled at navigating steadily with her crutches even on solid ground, let alone steps.

Eloise had asked her if she was alright being alone with Colin and offered to come stay at his house as a buffer, but she had declined her with a fierce hug – she knew she had date with the man she had been falling for, and she didn’t want to interrupt that.  Eloise deserved to be happy…she was the truly the best friend one could ask for.  Penelope was an adult, and she could behave like one for a few days.

“If you change your mind, text me and I’ll be there soon as I can, Pen.” Eloise promised quietly.

Violet had been whispering urgently and gesturing wildly to Colin while Penelope and Eloise spoke but wrapped up whatever they were speaking of to trade places with Eloise to hug Penelope again.  She cupped her cheek, and Penelope saw her eyes filling with tears again. 

“I’m fine, no permanent harm done.  Please don’t fret.” Penelope tried to quickly reassure her.

“Darling, I’m just so…” Violet said trailing off with emotion.  “I love you very much you know – like daughter number five so long as you’ve been around, Pen.  Edmund and I will come to Colin’s tomorrow to check on you.”

“I love you too, Violet, but really, I’m fine.  No need for you and Edmund to come.”

“Nonsense.” Violet had said and hugged her for at least the seventh time in ten minutes before she leaned out of the car to talk to Colin.  “Your father and I will come in the afternoon to check in on her, but if something happens to her before that we expect a call while you are driving her to hospital again.”

Colin had hugged and kissed Violet and Eloise goodbye, which had softened Penelope, then he managed to turn her into melted goo as he spent the drive to his house checking on Penelope’s comfort and trying to comfort Cat-rine, who was not happy in the confines of her carrier and was loudly squawking about it.

“My mum adores you.” Colin remarked.

“I adore your mum…and dad…and the entirety of your family.” Penelope had smiled.  “Never did I fit in better as a child then when I was with them.”

“You always bore our chaos extremely well.  Hungry, Pen?”

“Famished.”

It was already very late, so he went through a drive thru to get them a cheeseburger and chips and they ate in the car on the way back, then he stopped at the office and picked up two walkies for them, since cell service was so spotty, so she could call him if she needed anything in the middle of the night – he didn’t want her deciding to take the stairs because she needed him and couldn’t get her phone to cooperate.

They pulled up in front of his house and he offered to carry her to her room, but she swiftly declined, and he carried in her purse, bag and cat instead.  She had been around the Bridgerton wealth and splendor from a very young age, so it sounded terrible to say she was used to it, but she was – their family home was impressive, their country home was impressive, Anthony and Kate’s home was impressive and now Colin’s was equally impressive and beautiful. 

It was a perfect blend of his life as an affluent Bridgerton and the rustication of how it appeared that he wanted to live now – sophisticated simplicity, elegantly basic.  The kitchen and the lounge were one giant room, furnished with luxurious, yet durable necessities to suit his day job, and free of clutter, knickknacks and extras. It was warm and comfortable and not overdone – the furniture invited you to sit and put your feet up, not intimidate you that you were going to ruin the fabric if you sat on it too long.   

She loved his house the instant she had walked in, it was very homely and relaxing.  For some reason his house made the wall she had built up around herself feel as if it were teetering – though she didn’t have time to ponder on that because Colin had taken her to room to show her around and put down her bags and Cat-rine. 

Penelope liked her bedroom too – it was sumptuously welcoming and made her feel like she was at an expensive hotel.  He told her that the bedroom that was on this floor was where Anthony and Kate stayed when they were here; the bathroom looked straight out of a spa and the room had a king-sized bed with plush and fluffy bedding with a night table flanking each side.  She had asked if he had worked with a designer and was impressed when he said he had picked out everything himself – though she shouldn’t have been, he’d always had a good eye for colors and patterns.  He used to dress very sharply and stylishly when he had worked in wealth management…not that his flannels weren’t also nice.

He had plopped the walkie down on a night table and asked if she needed anything.  She had said no but called out to him just before he had her door shut all the way.

“Colin?”

He hastily opened the door back up and raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.

“I hate to think what could have happened if you had not still been there.  I couldn’t have shifted that cabinet from me, and I couldn’t have yelled out for help with my breath being crushed from me.  Thank you.”

His eyes had positively flashed with seventy-five emotions in their sapphire depths, and she saw his chest catch.

“Always and anytime, love.”

“Perhaps…” She stalled, clearing her throat.  “Perhaps we could talk a bit tomorrow?”

“Truly, nothing would make me happier.  Good night, Pen.”

She was sure the rampant thoughts swirling in her mind and the heightened emotions of the day would have kept her up, but she had fallen asleep within five minutes of her head touching the pillow and unexpectedly slept quite soundly. 

She awakened to the sun hitting her in the eye through a crack in the curtains and she heard the slightest of rustlings outside her window and got up to peek out. 

She knew she was on the back side of Colin’s house, but she had never seen it from any angle than the front.  There was a large lake, fruit trees, a chicken coop and very large garden that looked to be flourishing. 

Colin must have already tended to it this morning because there was a full basket of fruits and vegetables sitting near her window on a planters table.  She could see blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries and apples and many types of leafy greens, parsnips, carrots, onions and tomatoes. 

She heard the rustling sound again and found Colin himself about twenty steps away from her, shirtless in the early morning sun and standing in side profile with his axe next to him resting on a chopping platform, but instead of chopping with it he had about ten logs or so lined up near his feet and, to her astonishment, was pulling them apart with his bare hands.

She pressed herself closer to the glass to get a better look because, surely, she was mistaken, but there he was – his biceps bulging, his triceps swelling, the sapphires, rubies diamonds and aquamarines in the treasure chest of his tattoo bursting their way to the top, his pecs pumping and his back bunched tightly while he slowly and methodically worked the seam of a log up and down, until it lost the battle against him and split in half. 

Her pussy flooded and her nipples peaked– was she still dreaming?  Was this some sort of lumberjack fantasy that she had been harboring and conjuring up in her mind?  Weeks of peeping his chest and forearms when he checked in at the end of the day had made their way into her subconscious and presented gorgeous, bearded, tanned, tattooed, shirtless Colin Bridgerton tearing wood in two like a caveman?  Was she even really here, or had she died under that filing cabinet after all?  Admittedly, this was not far from her thoughts of what the afterlife would be…watching Colin do something ridiculous, while being dressed ridiculous…or ridiculously lacking being dressed…but preferably to her instead of a piece of wood.

She pinched the flesh of her hip to check, and it stung so she must be alive and awake. 

He reached for another of the logs at his feet and worked his fingers into the fissure of the wood and began the process over again, his whole body tensing for a minute with the motions until the log flew apart in his hands and splinters went flying.  Now she was wet, and a throbbing had started. 

Penelope grabbed her crutches and hurried outside as fast as she could, hoping she would make it before he got to another one.

He had it in his hands tugging by the time she got to him. 

“Colin Christopher Bridgerton, what in the bloody hell are you doing?  You are going to rip your shoulder out of its socket and get a splinter clear through your bone…and I cannot drive you to A&E.  Where are your gloves?  And your axe is sitting right there!” She chided him incredulously.

He stopped what he was doing and turned to more fully face her, his posture relaxing – she realized her folly when her mouth went dry…because he looked positively obscene at this distance.  He was covered in a fine sheen of perspiration from his forehead to his shoulders, to his pectorals to his abdomen.  His muscles were taut with his labor he had clearly done this morning, and the sun was catching him, making his tanned skin glow and his rich hair and beard gleam with various shades of browns and reds.  Maybe she was wrong about being awake because for absolute fucking sake, this was some way to start a morning.

While Penelope was appalled at Colin’s actions, he was horrified at her own and immediately reprimanded her back.

“Penelope Anne Featherington!  What are you thinking coming wobbling out here on the grass on your crutches?  You could fall and hurt yourself even further!  To the pavement…or better yet inside!  Look at all these angry bruises your fair skin already has.”

She had seemingly come directly from her bed because she was wearing a small pair of black sleep shorts and a white scoop neck tank with no bra – which was made very apparent as she bent over her crutches and gave him a view nearly directly straight down to the waist of her short shorts and the sun shining through the thin material to display the rest of her.  He forced his eyes to hers but suddenly found it difficult to breathe and swallowed hard to force oxygen into his lungs.

“Pen, to the patio or I will pick you up and put you there myself – and as you can see it is very hot out here.  If you make me do that, you’re going to need a shower simply by me touching you.”

Penelope said nothing for a moment, watching in fascination as a rivulet of sweat slid down from his shoulder to catch in his sprinkling of chest hair and another that found the right path to avoid it and rolled from the base of his throat, veering near his nipple through his swan tattoo, then swerving to his navel before it vanished.  She wasn’t sure she had ever been hit with the urge to trace a path with her tongue to chase a bead of perspiration on anyone other than Colin and she was alarmed at the frequency in which it occurred. 

If she were to try going back to being friends with him then she needed to get a grip – because friends did not lick their friends delectably hard bodies. 

She was also flummoxed that not an ounce of love that she held for him had faded in two years even with her detached treatment.  It seemed such a cruel fate.  He was her kryptonite, and she was his nothing – but that couldn’t be true.  He wouldn’t have tried so damn hard to win her over when he’d lost her if she was nothing at all to him.  At minimum she was his sister’s little friend.

“Alright, Pen, if you’re sure you require the assistance” Colin said menacingly and started walking towards her with his arms outstretched as if he were going to move her himself.

“No!” She shouted loudly, afraid that if she found herself in his arms again just now then she would do something insanely stupid…such as chasing those beads of sweat with her tongue.  “I’m going to the patio.”

She tottered over to the patio slowly then turned around to face him again. 

“What are you doing out here?” Penelope asked.

“This is what I do every Saturday.  Harvesting from my garden and then I’m going to fish for dinner for us and my parents.”

“You were just at the supermarket last night, why did you not just buy ingredients for dinner when we were there?”

“Now, where is the challenge in that?” He grinned at her, disarming her with his smile. 

“And the reason you are tearing logs in two like a supervillain?” She asked.

“Superhero, thank you very much.”  His smile doubled with his teasing.  “These logs had already started cracking and I didn’t want to use the axe so that I didn’t wake you.”

“Well, that is…very sweet actually, but totally unnecessary.  This is your house, and I won’t have you popping a shoulder out of socket on my account.”

“I’m fine, Pen.  I do it all the time without an issue.”

“What do you need logs for anyway when it is this hot outside?”

“For a woodfire.  It’s how I’m going to cook the fish.”

“So, our dinner is going to be from your garden, that you grew and tended to yourself and fish, that you have caught yourself?” Penelope asked.

“Satisfying, right?” He teased again.

“Are you going to wade into the water, stand there for fifteen minutes to become one with the fish only to catch them with your bare hands?”

“I certainly could do that…and have many times in the past, and if I was only feeding myself then I may take your jesting suggestion and do that very thing just to prove it to you…and I could do it in seven minutes, not fifteen.  I have a hand fishing net that is far more efficient when feeding multiple people.”

Penelope nodded and laughed.

“I see your cognitive function is top tier today and fueling your always brilliant mouth.  How’s your head?” He asked.

“I’ve never had any complaints before.” Penelope answered back without thinking and immediately regretted it. 

Colin fell awkwardly silent, felt uncomfortable, glanced at her full lips and began picturing Penelope giving head…more specifically, giving him head and his whole body tensed.  His gaze inadvertently slipped to the gape in her tank again to get an eyeful of her breasts.

“Sorry, bad joke.  My head is great…no headaches, no blurred or double vision, no tension just the normal oral output of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, like a naughty girl.  And my ankle is tight with just a slight throb, which I’m sure will go away with breakfast and some Nurofen. 

Why did her phrasing all the sudden sound so sexual?   Great head, tension, oral, naughty girl, tight, throb. 

Cripes, he needed her to go inside now before he did something that would make her hate him more – like kissing her senseless in his garden and lowering her to the soft grass beneath his feet to show her just how much tension and throbbing he could create while giving this naughty girl oral.

“Can you wait another hour and half for breakfast?” Colin asked hoarsely through the images dancing through his head.

“Of course.”

“Why don’t you go inside and get dressed then?  Feed and play with Cat-rine and I’ll wrap up out here, finish splitting those logs and catch those fish.  Then I’ll go take a shower and make us breakfast.” Colin said.

“Promise me that you’ll use your axe, Colin.” Penelope insisted softly. 

“I will use my axe, Penelope.” He assured her.

“Pen, Colin.” She said quietly. 

He swallowed his gasp and fought the urge to grin proudly – he had cracked her, and she was subtly telling him that.  They had finally moved past B3 and Penelope and returned to Colin and Pen.

“We are talking later.” Colin said, fiercely insistent.

Penelope didn’t know if it was threatening or promising…but found them equally desired and thrilling.

Chapter Text

It had been a hell of a long day – it had started out…well, Colin nor Penelope was in any shape to relive that.  Penelope in her see through and see straight down tank and Colin in no shirt whatsoever had set the tone for the entirety of the day. 

Penelope had returned to her room and found she was unable to stop herself from resuming her spying on Colin from her window… it made her feel like a creepy perv, but it was not enough to deter her.  He had gone back to his woodpile and had used his axe as he had promised her, making very quick work of them.  She had thought ripping the wood in half was sexy enough, but there was something about watching him commandingly wielding a sharp, dangerous object high over his head with his long, strong arms, making him look massively tall, lean and powerful that was absolutely arousing.  The throbbing in her pussy was back and was now accompanied by a pulsing. 

She rather thought she could watch Colin chop wood all day.  Much too soon he had dispersed with the logs and began lugging them over to a stove she had not noticed when she had been out there, and he began arranging the logs into a burn pile.  He grew and caught his own dinner…was he going start the fire for it by clacking two rocks together until they sparked it to life?  She would have to watch him later. 

Penelope was pulled from that thought by Colin moving towards the shore of the lake, feeling completely unhinged, she watched him strip off his jeans to his black boxer briefs and wade into the lake with his fishing net.  She was sure her heart had never thumped so hard in her life and wondered if she needed to return to A&E…she ignored it of course and cupped her hands around her eyes to zoom in for a better view…as if the last two years had never happened and she was the same woman lusting over Colin Bridgerton that she had always been – because that is exactly what she was.  Damnit.

He waded out a few times to add caught fish to an iced cooler near the shore and she wished she had laser vision so she could see the water dripping off his body.  Somehow, she had become mesmerized by watching beads of moisture cascade over his musculature and she wasn’t even slightly apologetic about it…shameless really. 

It had taken him about thirty-five minutes to catch everything he had been looking for and take the cooler away.  Penelope lost track of him after that – he was either too close to the house, too far off to the side or had come inside, so she pulled out her weekender bag to get dressed.  Eloise and Violet had packed her some very questionably seductive lingerie choices and several shorts and skirts to make dressing around her boot easier.  Since she was still emotionally scarred from the skirt incident yesterday, she opted for a pair of shorts and a light grey Bridgerton Lumber Mill and Tree Farm logo t-shirt, put her hair up into a top knot, then played and cuddled with Cat-rine until she was certain she heard Colin moving around in the kitchen, and she stumped in there with her cat trailing behind her, music drifting from a speaker she did not see covering her entry.

She found Colin with his back to her, with his hair still damp from his shower and water spots darkening the shoulders of his light grey t-shirt, and his perfectly snug jeans hugging his perfectly round butt…just as they always did.

It was a marked improvement from sweaty, shirtless Colin but she still rolled her eyes at herself for good measure…she was doomed to admire him from afar…and behind.

“Can I help you make breakfast, Colin?” Penelope offered over the music, relatively sure her voice sounded normal and not wanton. 

He turned around and she found that he was also wearing a Bridgerton Lumber Mill and Tree Farm logo t-shirt.

“Yes, come over here.” Colin replied, turning the music down.  “I see you stole my shirt today.”

“Perhaps it is you who stole my shirt today.” She smiled.

“If I stole your shirt, it would be bursting at the seams.” He laughed as she crossed the room to him.

Penelope laughed and stood next him where he gently took her crutches from her to lean them against a counter before he lifted her onto the kitchen island as she gasped in surprise, her azure eyes meeting his cobalt gaze.

“You can sit here and talk to me while I cook.” He said, patting the top of her thigh with his calloused fingers and leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek.

“This is not helping you.” Penelope laughed plaintively. 

He lingered in her personal space and tapped his index finger to his own cheek, silently asking her and she hesitated only a moment before she shifted slightly forward to brush her lips to the wiry hair of his beard and the warm skin of his cheekbone.  She’d never felt a beard on her lips before…it…tickled, in the best way possible.

“Pen, you have no idea how much it is helping me.” Colin smiled, squeezing her hand before he turned back to the stove.

She sighed and rolled her eyes a second time.  Charming, charming Colin.

They chattered about books they’d recently read, and Colin’s house, garden and lake as Penelope watched while he scrambled eggs, browned sausage, warmed some beans and toasted bread as her cat wound her way through his legs mewling for attention.  It was more than she’d ever seen him cook in her life.

After breakfast, they had moved to the lounge to watch telly until his parents arrived and he let her choose what to watch.  They had always liked watching documentaries on ancient Egyptian pharaohs, curses, mummies and pyramids so she selected one of those and hid her smile and melting insides as Cat-rine proceeded to make herself at home in Colin’s lap and demand scritches. 

“You should feel special.” Penelope had shared with him.  “She usually avoids everyone but me and your mum…she doesn’t even like El and will hide until she leaves my flat.”

Colin cooed at her at her and scratched her belly more while Penelope giggled at him. 

When his parents arrived, she was immediately swept into a big hug by Edmund who was just as distressed as Violet had been last night that this had happened to her at all, let alone at work.  He apologized profusely and assured her that he would take care of everything, make her work area more safe and secure, give her the week off paid, and replace her ruined clothing.  She had protested every offer, but he wouldn’t have it. 

“I can’t think about it without terror.  Our little Pen trapped helplessly under a heavy filing cabinet.  You’re family, like one of our own children for how long you’ve around, my dear.” Edmund fretted.  “Col, I’m so glad you were still there.”

“I told her the exact same yesterday, my love.” Violet said to Edmund, clutching his hand. 

“I have also told him I was glad he was still there.” Penelope said.  “I have thanked him and will continue to thank him for helping me and taking me in here.”

Their eyes bore into each other’s until Violet had suggested eating outside since it was a sunny afternoon which Colin readily agreed to, he had a wrought iron table and chairs outside under the canopy of a large tree near the wood fire stove that he’d be cooking the fish on. 

“Colin has forbidden me from being on grass…but it’s such a lovely day, you all go on.  Colin can bring me dinner inside when it’s ready and I can eat with Cat-rine.” Penelope said. 

“Pen, don’t be ridiculous.” Colin laughed and swiftly moved to her. 

“Colin!  No!” Penelope objected, trying to back away when she realized he was about to haul her into his arms again, bridal style, in front of his parents, but she was no match for his speed…especially when hindered by crutches and a boot.

“Upsy daisy.” He said, ignoring her vociferous protest and his parent’s hearty amusement.  “Mum, could you get the door?  But careful, don’t let her cat out.  Dad, could you grab her crutches?”

Penelope was blushing profusely and fought the urge to bury her face his neck and shoulder in embarrassment, instead meeting his eyes and murmuring to him. 

“I’m going kill you later, Colin Bridgerton.”

“Hmmm.” Was all he said with a grin.

“I’m going to put Pen on the backside of the table it that’s ok so she’s out of the sun and getting more shade – you know how easily she burns.” Colin said to Edmund who was a few steps ahead of him so he could pull the chair out for Colin to deposit her into.

“Ok, fine, maybe not kill you…just a little bruising, because that is very considerate of you.”

“You have more than enough bruising for the two of us, love.” Colin whispered.  “I wouldn’t want you to bruise yourself attempting to bruise me.”

Colin had set her gently down while she sat there uselessly as the three of them ran back and forth to the house for lemonade, a salad, plates, silverware and the items he was going to place in the woodfire oven.

Penelope watched curiously how he was going to start the fire, somehow knowing he wasn’t going to be using a simple stick lighter to get it going and she was not disappointed.  He had a small of bundle of kindling that looked to be dried grass, straw and leaves, a long piece of bark he had most likely taken from one of his logs, and a stick.  He pulled out a pocketknife from the tight pocket of his jeans and he sharpened his stick into a point before gouging a circular hole into the bark before he started rubbing it furiously between the palms of his hand.  His shirt was on of course, but she should see his back muscles bunching tightly under the grey fabric and his biceps flexing rhythmically as she watched in mute fascination. 

If she was ever shipwrecked on a deserted island then she hoped Colin was the one she was stranded with – there was no way in hell he wasn’t getting them off that island, nor was she dying on his watch.

The fire caught far sooner than she would have anticipated, and she felt that surge of arousal knocking about persistently in her belly again.  There was something very seductive and sensual about his rustic and rugged lifestyle; living off his own land and doing some things fully primitively and others in the lap of luxury – he was creating an astonishing juxtaposition that made her long to know more…and why.

She bit her lip to steady her nerves, but she must have made some kind of noise…a gasp…a strangled choke…a small moan…perhaps a strangled choking moaning gasp…because Edmund was immediately concerned.

“Are you in pain, darling?  Can we fetch something for you?  Pain killers, water?  Do we need to return to A&E?” Edmund asked, ready to immediately do whatever errand she needed. 

Penelope reached across the table to pat his hand reassuringly and quickly shook her head. 

“I’m fine, Edmund.  Apologies.  I only bumped my boot into the iron of the table leg on accident.” She lied, hoping whatever noise she had emitted lined up with that excuse. 

After he squeezed her hand back Edmund got up anyway to join Colin at his oven to talk to him while he was cooking but kissed the top of Penelope’s head affectionately before he left her to chat with Violet. 

Penelope tried to hide how much she was watching Colin prepare dinner, and thought she was relatively subtle, she was facing Colin’s back while Violet was facing the tree trunk and Violet only had to repeat herself twice because Penelope had been too distracted to properly concentrate on listening.  He had a small table to the side and was rubbing something on the fish with his palm, then two fingers, up and down, up and down, slowly, methodically…sensuously and she audibly gasped watching his hands, attempting to cover that it was a sneeze instead.

He was so altered…so industrious.  This was a man who used to store jumpers in his oven because he never used it and now here he was making a three course meal for his parents from food that he had grown and caught himself.  He had served a salad with mixed greens, roasted asparagus, carrots and parsnips – all from his garden, the, thoroughly massaged, fish he had caught from his lake, and a layered mixed berry trifle with whipped cream – the berries also had been harvested from his garden; she had teased him if he had a cow hiding around here somewhere that he had milked and made the cream from.

After dinner she had continued to watch on helplessly as Colin, Violet and Edmund cleaned up and she sat waiting to be carried back into the house like some pampered princess simply so Colin didn’t reprimand her again. 

His parents didn’t stay long after dinner, they were due at Anthony’s to watch their kids so he and Kate could go out for a date night so they thanked Colin for dinner hugged and kissed both Colin and Penelope, apologized profusely again to Penelope before they left.

Colin grinned at her, alone at last.  He hadn’t realized how tough it was going to be having Penelope in his home, watching her with his parents – who clearly loved her…and she clearly loved in return, and having her in his arms.  It made it impossible to ignore how right it felt, how soft she was, how many emotions she brought out it in him, how this was exactly where she should be, and that he never wanted her to go home.

He cleared his throat against those thoughts.  They had some steps between they needed to make first before he could share that much with her – like a two-year overdue conversation on how he had managed to lose the best thing in his life.

“How are you feeling, Pen?  Doing ok?”

“I’m alright Colin, no issues.  Thank you for dinner.  It was absolutely delicious.  I’m very impressed.  The man who had takeaways or went to restaurants every night, to what you have fed me so far…it is amazing.  You have quite the life here.” 

He wondered if his chest just physically puffed up like he felt internally at her compliment – he – rather like a dog who had just been told good boy.

Colin tried to tamp it down but the urge to hug her tightly was too strong to resist and he grasped her elbow to pull her toward him, running his hand slowly down her forearm and wrist and until he could capture her hand in his and hold her close to him.  He was stooped to her, so his lips were at her hairline, not kissing her, yet not not kissing her…he was hovering…lingering…almosting. 

He swore she gave a breathy sigh of contentment, and he nearly lost it, but forced another clearing of his throat and released. 

“Come on, love.  Now we talk.” He said and placed his hand at the small of her back to guide her to the sofa.  It was what he had been waiting for…and was terrified for since he had insisted on it earlier. 

He sat next to her and turned to face her, picking up her hand and pressing his palm to hers as he wove their fingers together. 

“Can we have this long overdue conversation now?  Talk to me, Pen.  What happened?” He asked softly, staring into her eyes intently.

“What do you think happened?” Penelope asked.

“I cannot fathom.  I don’t know how we got from A to B.  We were friends meeting for dinner, a movie and drinks one day, and then the next day you could not stand the sight of me.”

“No, Colin.  We were not anything.  I was Eloise’s little friend.”

“Pen, that is not true.  You may have been brought to us through El, but we have been friends since the beginning.  How could we not be when you so selflessly gave me your chocolate bar the first time we met and sweets at every dinner you had with us?  You won me over from the first with your little red curls, sweet smile and your even sweeter nature.”

Eloise and Penelope had been playing in a corner of the lounge and Colin and come in upset because Anthony and Ben had taken his chocolate bar and split it between the two of them while eating it in front of him.  Penelope had one in her backpack that her grandma had given her a few days ago, so she had dug it out to give it to him, looking up at him with huge, round, blue doe eyes when she pressed it into his hand.  He had stared after her in bewilderment that she was willing to just give up her candy bar to him, but she had always preferred savory anyway.  Colin had talked for ages to his mum about how she had given it to him and how she was more giving than any of his siblings. 

Violet had always sat Penelope between Eloise and Colin when she stayed for dinner and when it came time for pudding, she would take one small bite, then give the rest to Colin.  She didn’t have a sweet tooth, and he did, so why not share it with him?

“That is the not first time you have said something completely puzzling to me, Pen.  We were friends…best of, in fact, when everything seemed to come crashing down.”

Was she ready for this?  She’d had two years to rehearse her it in her mind.  Though, she had always pictured herself delivering it spitting fire at him, not a calm collected meeting of the minds while he clung desperately to her hand.  He was a different person than he was two years ago, as was she.

“We’ve always been able to talk…you never showed up and it was…is so unlike you.  Then you refused to speak to me at all.  What did I do, Pen?  All I’ve wanted to know since it happened is what I did to push you away from me.”

Penelope could hear the emotion in his voice and found his eyes shining and intense.

“It is a quote from your text that I’m sure you meant for one of your many asshole friends.” Penelope said, biting the inside of her cheek.

“What text, love?” Colin asked curiously. 

He had poured over their text exchanges from the two weeks leading up to his exile and nothing had jumped out at him that would have had any cause to drive her away. 

“Colin, do not insult me and pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about it.  I know you well enough to know that you would have gone over our text’s multiple times for clues.  You could not have missed it.”

“I did read through our texts…over and over, but I swear to you I have no idea what you are referring to, Pen.”

She narrowed her eyes at him that he was going to make her say it and she knew her voice was going to break when she did.

“It is not a fucking date.  We are not dating.  She is my sister’s little friend.  We are not…” Her voice cracked and she choked back a gut-wrenching sob…she’d read the text a million times, but she had never voiced the full words aloud.  “fucking anything.  Dating Penelope Featherington is not going to fucking happen.  She’s…”

It had gradually become more and more horrifying as she spoke, but then she just stopped.

“She’s what?” Colin asked frantically, tightening his hold on her hand in his.

“That was it.  That was the end of that text.”

“Pen, I did not write that to you…or anyone else.  I would have never!” Colin insisted.

“Colin, I have a picture of it.”

Colin would never swear such a thing lightly – which Penelope knew as he passionately insisted.  “I swear on my life…on your life…on my family’s life that I did not write that.  I couldn’t have ever said anything so blatantly untrue or unkind.  You were…are far too important to me.”

He had thought he was heading off to the restaurant to declare himself to his best friend…start the first day of the rest of his life, for fuck’s sake.  Writing something like that would have been out of the question – she had been more to him than anyone or anything in his life, lest his parents and siblings.

“Can I see the picture?” Colin asked.

He watched her pull it up in less than seven seconds…which he hated.  It meant she looked at it often enough that she had it saved in her favorites to torturously reread over and over.

She held her phone out to him, and he wrapped his fingers from his other hand around her wrist gently to keep it steady while he read. 

FCCCB – I am starving – don’t judge me when I order the largest plate they have and eat half of yours that you don’t finish!

2:32

Pen – I would never…I’m used to it.  As always, my food is your food

2:33

FCCCB – It is not a fucking date.  We are not dating.  She is my sister’s little friend.  We are not fucking anything.  Dating Penelope Featherington is not going to fucking happen.  She’s…

6:23

FCCCB – On my way now!  Meet you out front in 10

6:45

FCCB- Can’t wait!

6:45

Colin was simultaneously seething – he did NOT fucking send that – and baffled, because how in the hell had it got there? 

No wonder she had turned against him…it was cruel.

“What does FCCCB stand for?” He asked.

Penelope blushed and looked away for a moment.

“Pen?” He implored, tugging her hand into his lap.

“Fucking Chaotic Colin Christopher Bridgerton.”

He looked at her with raised eyebrows, but she couldn’t tell if he was amused or hurt.

“That’s how I am named in your phone?”

“You were.”

“Prior to that text?”

“You were named FCCCB for many years.”

“Were?  Please, don’t tell me I’ve been erased from existence from your contacts.”

She shook her head.

“What is my name now?” He asked. 

She looked away again and shifted uncomfortably.

“Please, Pen.  I want to start afresh with you – we need a path forward.”

“Fucking Breaker of Hearts.”

“Funny, that’s how you’re labeled in mine…minus the fucking part.” Colin said sardonically.

“How is it we broke each other’s hearts as low level friends?” Penelope asked ruefully. 

“We were never low level anything and you were always more than a friend.” He said fiercely. 

Colin pulled his phone out of his pocket – he had pinned her thread and backed it up to the cloud, so he still had her conversation accessible anytime he wanted it and had been through two phones now.

“Here, Pen.  This is what I see.  I do not have this message because I have never thought that ever.”

He had been in love with her damnit, and that mystery text had wrecked everything.

Penelope read over the messages with cocked eyebrows.

Colin – I am starving – don’t judge me when I order the largest plate they have and eat half of yours that you don’t finish!

2:32

Breaker of Hearts – I would never…I’m used to it.  As always, my food is your food

2:33

Colin – On my way now!  Meet you out front in 10

6:45

Colin – Can’t wait!

6:45

“You could have easily deleted it.” Penelope said, even though she knew he wouldn’t have.  He would have owned up to it, offered some explanation, profusely apologized and begged for forgiveness.  He was one who took responsibility and owned up to his mistakes.

“But you know I did not…would not.” Colin said pleadingly, squeezing her hand earnestly.  He needed her to believe him, because the last two years without he had been brutal.

Penelope held her phone up to his so they could look at the difference together.

“How could this have happened then?” She asked. 

When she suggested that it been deleted on his side it started a niggling that began in his mind and made his way down his spine to the pit of his belly, and his thoughts started running rampant, thinking back to the afternoon before he was to meet her.

When she had called his friends assholes, she was not exaggerating.  He’d had some heinously selfish people in his life and two of them had been in his penthouse while he’d been getting ready for his date with Penelope.  They had been shits, but he hadn’t thought they were that shit until now.

His friend, Nolan, had wanted to ask Penelope out himself, not to date, to fuck.  Colin had forbidden him from talking to Penelope multiple times and Nolan had always found it hysterical how Colin tried to keep him from her, telling him it was because Colin was in love with her himself but when he started to fuck Penelope it would Colin who would be out the door because he would forbid Penelope from talking to Colin.  Nolan had propositioned Penelope and had been soundly rejected.

Also, the girl he had been hooking up with, Roxy, had been extremely jealous of his friendship with Penelope – she spoke of her viciously and menacingly, told him he spent way too much time and energy on her and was constantly trying to insist he needed to drop her.  He had dropped Roxy instead…that very afternoon he had been prepping to meet Penelope. 

For fuck’s sake, it had to have been Roxy trying to fuck things up after ending things with her.  She was just the sort of petty person to do such a thing, but how had she gotten his phone?

He’d been arguing with Nolan in the kitchen, having another discussion that he was not to ask out Penelope and he was pretty sure his phone had been laying on the kitchen island, so Roxy had probably picked it up when he was distracted…she had always been sneaky, she must have text Penelope from his bathroom, deleted the text she had sent and put it back in his kitchen counter with him being none the wiser.  He honestly didn’t understand her issue with Penelope…they were by no means exclusive, but he was pretty sure she’d been sleeping with Nolan too. 

She had literally managed to fuck up everything…which he imagined was exactly her intention.

He had lost two years with Penelope because of shit choices he had made in his life by bringing shit people into it.  

Chapter Text

Colin clasped Penelope’s hand tighter in his as he finished telling her his suspicions on the two people that he suspected were responsible for this mess…though the more he thought about it he was nearly positive it was Roxy.  When he shared what must have happened with the text message, he watched her shoulders deflate and a sadness wash over her and he was struck with the urge to hug her tightly to him, but he refrained.  She had made no indication of how she felt about his explanation, nor if she believed him or not, but she had not pulled her hand from his, so he was…hopeful. 

“Why would she do that, Colin?” Penelope asked incredulously.  “I never did anything to her.  I never spoke badly to her or about her to anyone.  I was friendly with her, and I think I only met her twice.”

“She was very jealous of our friendship, Pen.  She thought us too close and the time that I spent with you should have been hers.”

“I don’t understand why it even mattered…she wasn’t your girlfriend, right?  You just had random women you were hooking up with.  Why should it matter to her who your friends were?”

Colin hated to hear it put like that, random hookups.  Yes, it was accurate, but he hadn’t enjoyed it, really.  He hated so many pieces of the life he used to have and the things he had done trying to fit in with people he hadn’t really liked…Penelope’s opinion had always been the only one that counted amongst his friends. 

Which he thought they had known how low they were in the ranking compared to her…and he was sure everyone around him could see how plainly he was in love with Penelope – except for Penelope he supposed – and why Roxy had wanted her gone…perhaps she had sensed their end was coming.  He had been breaking off contact with women for a few weeks leading up to the night he had almost kissed Penelope on the pavement and that had been his final push because he had known when he had Penelope in his arms, pressed up against his body as cars whizzed by them that she was the woman who was supposed to be there. 

“You look…offended.  I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.  I didn’t realize that she was more than that…” Penelope started, misinterpreting his thoughts that he hadn’t hidden very well.

“NO, love!  You have not offended me at all.  I cannot think about that period of my life with any satisfaction, except you and my family.  I was just kicking myself for it.  She just wanted more of my money spent on her, I’m sure.  She was nothing and I had rapidly been coming to see what an ugly person she was.  She demanded that I end our friendship multiple times and instead of losing you I lost her instead…that very day I was to meet you for dinner I had told her I was done.  Which I’m is why I’m sure it was her – retribution and ensuring I lost you anyway as some sort of petty revenge.”

“Nolan did ask me out a few weeks after…everything.” Penelope volunteered even though she was sure Colin was right. 

He was angry that Nolan had asked after being expressly forbidden so many times and he had never told him that he had asked her.  There was no life that Nolan deserved her attentions in.  Colin’s chest tightened painfully, which he didn’t care for.  She was a grown woman and could see (or fuck) anyone she wanted to, but he wanted her to have someone worthy of her…like the man he had strived to become for her.

“Did…” Colin began but found himself swallowing around the question.  “Did you go?”

“No – I disliked every person you had in your social sphere.  I would have never spent time with them without you.  I only put up with them for your sake.” Penelope said. 

He breathed an internal sigh of relief.

“Always so good to me, Pen.” He said, pulling her hand into his lap.  “You do believe me, don’t you?  I would have never, could have never…you were my best friend – my only true friend.”

Penelope didn’t hesitate to answer him.  “Yes, Colin.

She fell into silence for a few moments as she pondered over everything that she thought she had been so sure about for two years being completely false and what a colossal mistake she had made.

“So, I was tricked into cutting you out of my life.” Penelope finally said, the weight of her actions settling onto her. 

“Pen, it was my fault for surrounding myself with such vile piles of garbage that could and would do such a thing.” Colin tried to assure her.

She was too in her self-reproach to acknowledge him – the weight now pressing down on her as if trying to flatten her to the sofa.

“I was so cold, clipped and distant to you.  I refused to call you by your name.  I was heartless…rude…I was…” She continued until he interrupted her. 

“You cannot blame yourself for this.”

“Colin…I…”

That’s all she got out before the weight of her decisions completely crushed her and she burst into tears.  Messy, wet, loud, choking sobs that robbed her of her ability to speak coherent sentences as her voice broke, warbled and cracked when she attempted it. 

“Sweet Pen, no.” Colin cooed at her, sweeping her into his arms to pull her into his chest, soaking parts of his shirt with her tears, and sure he was doing the same in her hair.

He had always been so attuned to her that her crying made him cry – he felt the emotions tearing through her.

Her hair was still up in the top knot that it been in all day so instead of stroking it to comfort her, the tips of his callused fingers caressed the soft skin of her neck and between her shoulder blades, then back up again.  His arms tightened around her and while one hand kept stroking her neck his other lowered to rub his thumb over her hipbone and the small of her back. 

“You’re alright, love.  Shhh.  This was not you.  Please.  I’m sorry.”

“Colin…”

He thought it was his name anyway; she was quite hard to understand and was very muffled as her face was buried in his torso.

“I’m…”

Sniffle

“So…”

Hiccup

“Sorry…”

Snuffle

Colin scooted more fully into the corner of the couch which shifted her from near his shoulder to more the middle of his torso, just above his abdomen.  Her hands had been clutching uselessly at the seams of his t-shirt at his neck and they fell lower before she wrapped them around his waist to his back, pressing herself more fully into him.  Her face, her breasts and stomach meshed so closely against him nothing would have fit between them.  It was not appropriate timing at all, but her nearness was stirring his cock to life with her softness, her touch and alluring scent filling his nostrils – he willed himself to calm down.  She was beside herself with distress…this was hardly the time to become aroused.

His fingers rubbed soothing circles from the back her neck, to her left shoulder, to her right shoulder and back up again until her crying had started to subside, her sniffles had slowed, and her hiccups were minimal. 

She continued laying in his arms, listening to one another breathe and each other’s heartbeats until he finally broke the spell.  He took his rough fingertips to her chin to tip her face up to his, her red and puffy eyes ripping him apart afresh and his heart squeezing.  He leaned in and whispered his lips across her hairline…kissing her with his breath alone.

“How do you feel now, Pen?” He asked worriedly. 

“Exhausted.  Mentally and physically.  I’m sorry for…” She trailed off because she was sorry for too many things to name. 

Yet he knew precisely what she meant.  “I know.” He whispered fiercely, hugging her tightly again.  “Me too.  I’m sorry.”

He ran his hands up and down her spine while she absentmindedly drew circles on his back where there was a gap between him and cushion.  They didn’t move for another twenty minutes, as if they were trying to make up for two years of missed closeness in this one evening. 

“I’ve given myself a headache from dehydration with the tears, now.” Penelope mused. 

“Do we need to go back to hospital?  They said to return if you developed a headache.” Colin asked with concern.

“No, Colin.  I’m fine.  I had no headache before that…breakdown.”

“Are you positive?”

“Yes.  I may just go lay down if you don’t mind…I’m sure a bath would help but I’m not sure I could get up from the tub by myself with my ankle.” Penelope said ruefully. 

Colin didn’t want her to leave him…hell, he would like to sleep on the floor at the foot of her bed like a damn Golden Retriever if she’d let him.  He had her back – he wanted to hold on and never let her go.

“Well, easy solution, I’ll help you.  In fact, I’ll take one too.” He replied. 

Penelope picked her head up to look at him with raised eyebrows.  “You want to take a bath with me?”

“Not a bath perse, you just want a soak in hot water?  My bathroom has a very large, jetted tub…like a hot tub.  It’s amazing for relaxing after working outside all day…it relieves all types of aches and pains and would probably feel amazing on your ankle and I’m sure your body is sore from the filing cabinet, though you have not uttered a word about it.  Hot, bubbly jets and I can rub your temples for you…I bet it’s just what you need, love.”

They had rubbed one another’s temples through many a headache and a jetted tub sounded heavenly but…

“I don’t have a suit in my bag.”

“You could just wear your underthings.  I’ve seen you in a bikini countless times, Pen.  It’s really no different.”

He was right…kind of.  Her normal bra and underwear covered the same amount of flesh as her swimsuits did, but Violet…or Eloise had dug to the very back of her drawers and had packed her long forgotten lingerie as if she were going away for a weekend of seduction, as opposed to a weekend of healing from a physical injury – and now healing from an emotional wound. 

All she had with her fell under the categories of teeny, thongs, sheer, lace, push up bras to the heavens, matching sets, and strings.  There was nothing she could wear in front of Colin.

“I don’t have any suitable underthings to wear as bathing suit.  They’re all too sexy and revealing…they really packed me some…questionable bras and panties.  Really, I can’t imagine what they were thinking, knowing I was coming here when they packed it.” Penelope said.    

Colin struggled not to picture sexy revealing lingerie in his mind…and failed – failing even worse, because he was imagining Penelope in said sexy revealing lingerie.  Many thought black the sexiest lingerie but he was partial to white like her flawless alabaster skin…or perhaps something aqua like her enchanting eyes…or a seductive red like her flowing hair.  Whatever color it was was sure to be lacy, and strappy and kissing her hips and butt and barely containing her full breasts and covering her nipples. 

Penelope’s curves were delectable and picturing scraps of sheer lace hugging her lushness was…not helping his cock situation in the least bit and he shifted slightly underneath her, sinking deeper into the cushions, to move it away from her so that she didn’t feel him pushing against her hungrily. 

“Colin, are you alright?” Penelope asked him.

“Yes, why?” He cleared his throat guiltily, wondering if she had somehow read his mind…or felt him anyway.

“Your whole upper body has gone tense against me.  Are you uncomfortable?  We have been lying like this for almost an hour.  Am I too much?” She asked with concern, starting to shift away from him to sit up.

“You are perfect, and I am fine.  Apologies, I hadn’t realized I had tensed.” He said, forcing himself to relax and pulling her back to him to resume the gentle caresses to her neck.

She gave the tiniest, most contented sigh he had ever heard and he was gripped with…elation and fulfillment – because the place she belonged was right here, with him, in his arms, just as they were…but perhaps in his tub. 

“You can wear my shirt in there to keep yourself appropriately covered.  As we learned yesterday, they almost go down to your knees like a dress.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll wear my boxer briefs or I can put on a pair of swim trunks if that makes you more comfortable.”

“I’ll need your help on the stairs if we are to go to your bathroom.”

His heart leapt in his throat, and he eagerly agreed. 

“Pen, I will carry you anywhere in this house that you want to go, just say the word.”

“That’s very sweet, Colin.”

His ego swelled and his chest puffed up with her compliment and when she pulled herself up to brush her lips against his beard, hitting his jaw because she was too low to reach his cheek he felt like the luckiest, most special human being roaming this earth. 

“Are you ready now?” He asked. 

She nodded and moved away from him to let him up and he immediately missed her warmth and softness against him; his body…and his arms, fighting the urge to pull her back in.

“I’m going to take your crutches upstairs and start the bath water…it takes it a few to fill since it’s so large.  Do you need anything from down here before I take away your means of walking?”

“Would you check that Cat-rine has food and water for me?”

“Of course.”

Colin brought her a glass of water to rehydrate then disappeared but he was gone for less than two minutes before he was back to her, and she didn’t seem anywhere near as reluctant as she had been so far when he had carried her around, wrapping her arms around his neck in a lock and nestling into him easily as he made his way upstairs with her. 

He hadn’t turned the light on his bedroom, but the bathroom light lit the path to see, and he had turned on some music for her – relaxing Zen music to help with her headache.

Penelope was gazing around curiously, and he found himself waiting with bated breath for her approval, trying to look at it through her eyes.  The finishes were high end but simple – white marble, brass fixtures, oak cabinets from wood supplied by the mill, the walk in closet…that was not even a quarter filled, a separate walk in rain shower, the sunken large jetted tub that was wide enough to fit two people side by side and long enough to accommodate someone that was even six inches taller than himself, and the sink wall that was L shaped so people could still get ready near one another but the back wall had the most cabinetry and the vanity for lotions, potions, makeup, hair care and accessories. 

“Oh my god, it’s stunning.  I thought my bathroom downstairs was amazing.” Penelope exclaimed over the running water. 

“I spend a lot of time in here after work, soaking my tired muscles and reading a book.” He said demurely. “Can you stand here for a moment if I put you down?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll go grab you a shirt.”

“Colin, I can just take the one you’re wearing.  It’s just going to get wet in the tub, plus it’s already soaked with my tears, so there’s no point in dirtying one of your clean ones…unless you were planning to wear it in there.”

“No, you can have this one.  Much less sweaty than my last shirt you had to don.”

Her tinkling giggle echoed off the marble and touched the very core of his being that had been a desolate wasteland from its long deprivation.

Colin put her down and kept his hands on her waist until he was sure she was balanced, and she bent over to unstrap her boot while he turned the water off and the jets on. 

He peeled his shirt over his head to hand to her, meeting her wide azure eyes.  “Swim trunks or boxer briefs, Pen?”

She slowly blinked at him and breathlessly asked, “What?”

“Which would you be more comfortable with me wearing in the tub?”

She shook herself from whatever fog that had suddenly appeared.

“As long as they are not white, your boxer briefs are fine – no need dirtying a pair of trunks either.” She laughed again. 

He laughed with her, though semi-pained.  He knew how see through her white tank had been in the sun, then he pictured adding water to it..it would have been a window to her breasts.  He was sure she didn’t want a window to his cock.

“No.  They’re not.  I’ll step out for a minute to let you change.”  He moved her crutches closer to her just in case.

He went to his closet to put his shoes away, and throw his socks and jeans in the hamper, standing there in only his black boxer briefs and waited for her to call him back, which didn’t take her long.

“Colin, you can come back.” Her honeyed voice said over the Zen music and madly churning bubbles. 

He popped back out of the closet to her standing there looking as if it were the same shirt she had been wearing all day, since they had inadvertently matched today, but now the shoulder sleeves were at her mid-forearms and the hem, which had been at her waist, was about three inches above her knees. 

Her little pile of clothes next to her revealed she had taken off her bra too…and for fuck’s sake it was same shade as her eyes and sheer and lacy…did her knickers match?

“Ready, Pen?” He asked in a strangled voice. 

She nodded and he took the step down into the tub then spun back around to her to lift her in and place her gently down.  He didn’t sit for a moment, watching her anxiously to make sure the churning water was not going to cause her any discomfort and finally joined her when her eyes drifted blissfully shut and she made a soft humming sound of appreciation. 

“This may be the best bathtub to ever bathtub.”

He chuckled at her and murmured his agreement. 

“Here, love.  Scootch forward then lean against me, and I’ll rub your temples.”

She did and he tried his best not to stare as his t-shirt plastered itself against her buoyant breasts and smothered his own soft humming sound of appreciation at the feel of her back cradling into the planes of his torso and her head settling between his pectorals so her top knot wasn’t jabbing him in the face.

“Comfortable?” He asked.

“Perfectly.  Who knew clearly hard muscles could be cozy?”

He chuckled at that. 

To keep the light from her face, Colin hit the dimmer switch that was near the tub to a lower level and started massaging her temples and the center of her forehead.

“Mmm, Colin.” She muttered and he felt her relax even more into him.

He had thought that they would chat while they were in there, catch up and reconnect, but it turned out words were not what they needed…it was the reassurance of each other’s presence, that they were there for one another, which they were getting in full force with the way they sat.

For twenty minutes his hands drifted from her temples to her shoulders, pressing his thumbs to the top of her spine, then just below her ears before he made his way back up to her temples.  Though he couldn’t hear her over the bubbles and music, he could feel her low purring against him, sending vibrations through his chest and fingertips, and alighting his nerves.

Her breathing was deepening, and her body was melting into his and he could feel her getting sleepy.  She stilled his hands and brought them to wrap around her waist so she could rest her own on top of his and he pressed his lips to the bundle of hair tucked in her top knot. 

“How is your headache now?” He rumbled in her ear.

“What headache?  Mmmm, between the magical bathtub and your magical fingers you have willed it away from existence.”

They fell into silence once more while she idly stroked his fingers, picking them up occasionally to inspect a callus before dropping them back to her middle and he would hug her momentarily.  When her fingers left his to stroke his forearms instead was when he felt how pruned her skin was becoming. 

“You appear to be turning into a raisin, love.  Are you ready to get out?” He asked reluctantly, not ready to leave their cocoon yet, but knowing they couldn’t stay in here much longer.

“Five more minutes?” She asked, apparently not ready to leave it either.

He nodded against her. 

“Colin…” Was all she said after a few minutes.

But he knew what it meant, he could feel it in her body and hear it churning away in her mind. She was thinking about the last two years. 

“I know, Pen.  Me too.”

One of her hands left his forearm and reached to pat his bearded cheek over her head which raised her breast up from the water…which made her nipple immediately tightly bud from the cooler air hitting it…which made his cock, which he had done such an admiral job keeping under control until now, jump to life.  With the way they were laying there was no way she would not feel it pressing her in the middle of her back it they didn’t leave the tub. 

“I’m afraid it’s time.” Colin said as naturally as possible. 

“Alright.” She grumbled teasingly.  “But you should know I’m formulating multiple ways in which to take legal ownership over this tub.”

He laughed wryly – he had a way – but he hardly wanted to tell her now when she had just forgiven him…he had no wish to scare her off.

Colin lifted her from the tub and set her down delicately before leaving her to dry and dress while he did the same. 

“Make sure your ankle is thoroughly dry before you put your boot back on.”

He had her back downstairs in her own bedroom in less than ten minutes and Penelope wished she were a more brazen person, because she didn’t want him to go back upstairs.  She wanted him to stay with her – reassuring her with his presence, flooding her with his warmth.  But she wasn’t, so instead she pulled him down so she could kiss his bristly cheek then offered her own to him and his soft lips brushed her tenderly.

“I’ll see you in the morning…will you be ripping logs apart with your bare hands again?” She asked.

“No.  That’s a Saturday activity.  Sleep well.” He replied and shut her door.

Penelope changed into her pajamas then crawled into bed and flicked off the lamp on the table next to her, her hand brushing against the walkie that Colin had placed there yesterday, and she pulled away quickly. 

She laid down and fluffed her pillows trying to get comfortable, turning to eye the walkie again before she rolled over to face away from it…but it was beckoning her and she rolled back towards it, continuing to stare at it before she snatched it up so she couldn’t talk herself out of it.

“Base to Logger B3.” She said, pushing the button.

“Logger B3 here.” He promptly answered. 

She flipped the button up so that she didn’t have to hold it down to talk to him. 

“I’m sorry again, Colin. I cannot quit thinking of it.  Thank you for never giving up on me and thank you for everything today.  This could have been even harder if you had not tolerated such treatment.  We may never have talked and figured out what had actually happened.”

“Always, love.  I cannot emphasize enough how important you have always been to me, and I will never give up on you…on our friendship.  You have always kept me grounded and made me better.”

Her blood warmed and her heart swelled.

“You have always done the same for me too.  Good night, Colin.” She whispered. 

“Please try not to dwell on it and sleep.  Good night, Pen.” He replied just as softly. 

She flipped the walkie button off and set it back down with smile, settling back into her mound of pillows and bringing the blanket up to her chin while Cat-rined jumped up to settle in at her feet. 

As she stared up at the ceiling, she felt great about their path moving forward and she smiled contentedly.

A rustling caught Penelope’s ears but it was not coming from her room, or outside and she realized that Colin must have flipped the button up on his walkie too and either not realized it or had forgotten he did it, since their work interactions on it were usually so brief.

She giggled and started to reach for her walkie to tell him but then he let out a long pleasured groan and she hesitated. 

Was he…

She wasn’t sure if her mind was playing tricks on her, but she thought she heard the distinct sound of skin sliding on skin. 

He wasn’t…

His breathing was getting heavier and ragged.  Penelope sat up in bed and watched the walkie incredulously, as if it were going to show her what she was suspecting was, indeed, happening. 

Then he started talking and she was…undone.

“You’re so good to me, baby.  Taking my cock down your throat so deep.” Colin said brokenly on a moan.

Her breath caught, then whooshed out of her lungs while the persistent throbbing in her pussy, that had been there since he had rolled up his flannel shirt sleeves and popped the buttons on his chest, woke up anew.

“Fucking hell.” He rasped and hissed.  “Yessssss.”

She should turn off her walkie to give him privacy – she absolutely should not listen to this…but she didn’t touch it, simply continued to listen with rapt attention.

He’d gone quiet for a minute with only his panting breath and the sound of what she was now positive was his hand driving up and down his cock.

Her nipples tightened and her breasts grew heavy. 

“That’s it, love.  Suck it just like that.”

She gave her own soft moan but that perked her ears up further…he had been calling her love since the cabinet fell on her…he wasn’t…surely…

Colin groaned so low in his throat it sounded as if his soul was being ripped from his body.

“You look so beautiful with your lips wrapped around me, Pen. Always…so damn beautiful.”

Oh my god, he was. 

He was jerking himself off imagining her…and he had just called her beautiful. 

“More.  Harder.”

Penelope distinctly heard his speed increase, and the friction become louder as he moaned, whimpered, sighed and grunted in rapid succession and all she could do was imagine him coming while lying sprawled out in his bed.

“Yes, Pen!  Yes.  Swallow every last drop.  Always for you.  Because of you.” 

What?

Colin Bridgerton had just come (pretty damn hard from what it sounded like) to thoughts of Penelope sucking him off.

This was exactly why he had been labeled FCCCB in her phone because what the ever loving fuck?

Chapter Text

Penelope did not sleep a wink, lying awake thinking of what she heard as her thoughts churned wildly in her mind.  She wasn’t meant to hear it.  She had no business hearing it.  She absolutely should have shut off her walkie so she didn’t hear it, but she hadn’t… now here she was, and it was all she could hear. 

Colin’s low, guttural voice growling at her with desperate arousal. 

You’re so good to me, baby.  Taking my cock down your throat so deep.

Her nipples tightened and ached at the mere thought of taking him in her mouth.  Would he tangle his fingers in her hair or cup the back of her neck while she did it?  Perhaps both, one with each hand?  Would he move his hips and fuck her mouth?

You look so beautiful with your lips wrapped around me, Pen.

Her pussy clenched hearing it echo in her mind, thinking of her lips on him, smearing red or pink lipstick all over his swollen head and thick shaft, claiming his cock as hers.

Always…so damn beautiful.

Her blood warmed thinking he thought her beautiful.  She had pretty eyes, and an even and welcoming smile but she hadn’t ever really considered herself beautiful…cute maybe, but beautiful set a whole other set of feelings flurrying over her. 

Yes, Pen!  Yes.  Swallow every last drop.  Always for you.  Because of you.

Her pussy wet with slick at that…every single time she thought it.  For you...because of you. 

He was…bestowing his come upon her…like a gift?  He was coming because of her? Always coming because of her? 

How could she sleep with thoughts like that running through her head, because, again, all she could think was WHAT?

She watched the clock roll by hour by hour without fail and sleep had not so much as dared to approach her.  This had been the longest day in the world and a little after two she gave in to touching herself to try relieving the throbbing ache deep in her pussy that listening to Colin touch himself had created within her…then hopefully it would invite sleep to claim her. 

It was easy to picture him between her legs, Colin’s lips were so soft and sensuous, and his beard…god, to feel that thing scraping at her thighs, and her mound.

His hands alone were mesmerizing…just this evening in the bath she had found a callus on his finger that she knew would make her nerves explode if he touched the roughened surface to her sensitive bud and she pictured him doing just that as she whimpered.

She rubbed her clit in a furious circle, coating herself in her silky arousal, and pinched and tugged at her nipples until she was moaning loudly and arching her back off the bed into her own fingers as she chased her release to thoughts of Colin’s tongue parting her folds, his lips sucking her clit, his teeth nibbling…everywhere, his beard rasping against the lips of her pussy, while his long, thick, rough fingers were thrusting…filling…stretching her until her head tipped back and she cried out as she got closer and closer. 

He had said filthy things to thoughts of her…did he like that?  What would he do if she did the same to him?

Penelope dipped her fingers into her tight channel to drench them with her juices and swipe them over her nipples, the buds tightening further as the warmth quickly cooled down, then she let them be to focus all her attention on her steaming pussy.  The finger from her left hand continued to circle and rub her clit while the finger from her right sank as deeply into her tunnel as she could manage with her petite digit. 

She cried out in ecstasy and gave her own try to voicing her pleasure, using some of his own phrasing. 

“What are you doing to me, baby?  Your fingers are fucking me soooo good.”

Penelope somehow felt silly, salacious and sexy all at once.  She bit her lip and shifted her uninjured leg up to her chest to hit even deeper and she gasped as she curled into herself.

“Fuck yes, Colin.  Oh my god.  Mmmmm.  Keep finger fucking me.”

Penelope added a second finger, and her mouth fell open for a moment, stealing her words and her breath until she adjusted.

“Harder.  Deeper.  I’m going to grind my pussy all over your face.”

She rolled over, imagining herself riding his face and grasping a fistful of his hair instead of sinking her hips further onto her own fingers and changing directions on her clit.  She could feel her walls starting to clamp down around her and she spread her legs wider, carefully minding her ankle, as she drove in harder, deeper and faster. 

“That’s it, bite my clit, fuck me with your tongue, Colin!  Colinnnn!  Col!  Co!  I….” Penelope buried her face in her pillow to smother her screams and cries as she shattered and shuddered on her fingers until she collapsed on her hand with a self-satisfied smile and another few grinds into her palm, eeking out every spasm her body would give up with his name still falling from her lips. 

Colin had always been her go to fantasy man, she’d been in love with him for fifteen years, and tonight…or this morning she supposed was more accurate…this morning was different.  Different because now she knew he did the same with her…at least he had last night. 

Did he imagine her as often as she imagined him?

Was it merely because they had been cuddled up on the couch for so long and she’d been draped on him in the bathtub? 

She was the last woman on his mind so he had used her?

She was conveniently there so it was her that he had pictured? 

Or were they two idiots pleasuring themselves to thoughts of one another when they could be with each other, living the fantasy? 

She rolled back over to stare unseeingly at the ceiling once more.  She had all these thoughts whirling through her mind now so coming hadn’t worked in the slightest to beckon sleep to her doorstep.

Colin, on the other hand, had taken a shower after…that and slept very soundly as she listened to his deep, even breathing all night until his walkie battery finally died near dawn with three small beeps.  He had always slept like the dead and she was sure he would be the none the wiser of what he had accidentally done and what she had shamelessly listened to.

She just had to act as if everything were as it were, and he would never know what she had heard.  Yet she didn’t know if she could do that because she was so preoccupied with WHAT DID IT MEAN????

They had always been close friends…touchy friends…the kind of friends that everyone mistook as a dating or married couple… but masturbating to thoughts of your friend wreaking pleasure over your body was a new level that made her question everything…two people mutually touching themselves while thinking of the other?

Was it possible that he was in love with her too?  Were they two clueless dumbasses missing out on loving each other because each thought one another immune?  Loving and lusting over someone that was equally loving and lusting over them but thinking them indifferent?  Yet she didn’t want to get ahead of herself and read too much into anything.

His words to her had always been open, romantic and sweet, but that was just Colin’s personality…being raised surrounded by four sisters, a wonderful mum and an equally open, romantic, and sweet dad would surely turn any man overly affectionate.  Though Anthony and Ben were nothing like Colin…but perhaps it was because they were the two eldest and had each other growing up as opposed to their sisters.  Greg was certainly the closest in temperament and behavior to Colin and he had also been surrounded by his sisters growing up. 

Until last night, she had always attributed Colin’s treatment of her as that of one his sisters.  He had hugged them, kissed them, taken care of them, hung out with them…was it possible that she had been misinterpreting him for years? 

That night on the pavement, when she thought he was about to kiss her, had she been right?  Were there other moments he had wanted to kiss her?  Why hadn’t he?  He had gone out of his way to have his hookup women when she had been there the entire time.

So many things he did always made her question his feelings and this was no different, thus her mind refusing to be quieted.

The first patch of light that hit the floor was enough for her to call it daytime and she flung the blankets from her with a huff, deciding a shower would refresh her.  Perhaps a nice, long freezing cold shower would help to cool down her still thrumming pussy and put a damper on her rampantly swirling questions.

The shower didn’t help but an hour later she had shampooed and conditioned her hair, blown it dry into shiny waves, donned some ridiculously sexy lingerie to wear under her shorts and tank.  Wait…had Violet packed her sexy lingerie on purpose, hoping for something to happen between them?  Sure, Eloise had been at her flat too, but for some reason this had Violet’s stamp on it.  What did Violet know?  She would freely admit the family loved her, but they had stayed out of their whole ordeal the last two years.  Even more confusion set in.  Why?  What was Violet hoping for from all of this?

It seemed this was to be the day of a million questions.  Penelope sighed and made her way to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and a banana, gazing out the kitchen window to look out over the grove of trees with bright light starting to cut through the branches. 

“Hey, Pen.  Good morning.” Colin said, startling her. 

She’d been lost enough in her thoughts and the questions in her head that she hadn’t even heard him come down the stairs. 

She whipped her head around to find Colin standing there in a pair of red running shorts and sneakers…and that was it.  Her mouth went dry, and her belly clenched, while his did the same for her, as the sunlight streamed in and caught in her hair and highlighted her eyes.

“Hello, Colin.”

“Did you sleep well?  How are you doing today?  Your bruises look wicked today.  Are you hurting?” He asked with concern, crossing to her to hug her gently and press a kiss to her soft cheek. 

“I’m ok.  I think I look worse than I feel.  The bath last night really helped ease a lot of the body aches.” Penelope said, avoiding the question about sleeping, and giving her own brush of her lips to his jaw because he hadn’t bent down far enough for her to reach his cheek.

“Only your bruises look bad, love.  The rest of you is perfect and you are free to use the tub again today if you’d like.” He offered. 

So many things to dwell on with that remark, love, perfect, but most of which was the offer of another soak…alone or with him?  Good god, could she after that?

“Maybe.” She said noncommittally. 

“I was going to go for a run, but I can make you breakfast now if you are very hungry.”

“I just had a banana.  I can wait until you’re back.  I’ll make coffee while you’re out.” Penelope smiled at him and leaned back against the counter, her eyes resting on his tattoo over his heart, then drifting to the one on his arm. 

“Colin, will you tell me about your tattoos?  How long have you had them?  What is their significance?” She asked curiously.

“Hmm, that’s a story for a future conversation, Pen.” Colin said, his heart leaping in his throat at her question and his hand unconsciously covering the swan.  He would sound unhinged if shared that with her now after they had just mended their friendship.

“Are you taking me home later today?”

He shook his head firmly.  He wasn’t ready for her to leave for so many reasons, but he could easily blame it on his safety concerns.  “Pen, you have far too many stairs to tackle for you to go home while you have your crutches.” 

“That could be another couple of weeks!” Penelope said in surprise.  “Surely you cannot mean for me to stay the entire time.”

“What else do you need, and I’ll make sure you have it?  Your cat is here, I have plenty of space for you, you have everything you need on one floor, I’ll cook for you, I’ll spoil and pamper you while you’re here…plus we’ve missed so much time together, it will be good to have you so close whenever either of us wants it.”

More Pen…all the Pen.  Only Pen. 

“Colin, I need more clothes if I’m going to stay longer…and my laptop, and iPad…I have a whole week off…forced by Edmund.  I’m going to have nothing to do without them.”

“Then I’ll take you to your flat for your things and bring you back here.  Perhaps packing your bathing suit too.”

Colin had the sudden image of Penelope’s clothing taking over his nearly empty walk-in closet and smiled, but it was quickly replaced with thoughts of them in his bathtub with her in his arms as he untied her bikini top to expose her breasts to his view.  He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably – running shorts would do nothing to hide a hard on. 

“I’m going to go for my run now, Pen.  I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Maybe he could hide in the forest and take care of his stiffening cock, then go for his run…clearly, he could have gone a second round with himself last night…he had had a hell of a lot of Penelope’s perfect lush curves in his grasp for hours.  He should have known he would have needed a second release.

He turned and started to go, but she stopped him. 

“Colin?”

“Yes, love?”

He watched a whirlwind of emotions cross her face and knew she was conflicted with what to say. 

“Have a good run.” Was all she said in the end. 

Because her eyes had already been roaming his chest and arms, he was terrified they were going to fall to his cock, which was now fully pleading for her attention, he didn’t challenge her and left as fast he could, making a mental note to only wear his jeans while she was here so his erection, that he was sure to be sporting, would remain concealed…until their friendship became solidly established once more anyway – he would not be deterred this time. 

Chapter Text

By mid-week Colin and Penelope had developed a routine that each had quickly adjusted to.  Hyacinth was filling Penelope’s office duties while she was on her forced leisure time.  Forced being the operative word…the television on during the day was truly terrible but she found herself watching anyway, she read countless books on her iPad, she online shopped for things she didn’t need, she napped, and she cuddled with Cat-rine. 

Colin got up for work and made her breakfast. Sometimes she was awake when he left, and she would eat with him and other times he left it for her with a sweet note wishing her a good day.  She loved the notes because she could tuck them away to save, but she preferred waking early enough to be up and see him.  They would chat and laugh while they ate, and he would always hug her tightly, drop her a little kiss on her cheek and she would place her own on his bristled beard…she found she adored cupping his cheek with her palm so that the hair would tickle her, fascinated how something could be coarse and soft at the same time…he seemed to like it too because he all but curled into her hand when she did it until he would reluctantly release her with one more brush of his lips to the crown of her head and a softly said have a good day, Pen.

Then he would pick up Cat-rine and drop a little kiss on her nose before he left for work while Penelope gazed after him in his perfectly sculpted jeans, his too tight flannels and steel-toed work boots.  It was amazing seeing how perfect looking he left the house versus the end of the day, after spending all in the sun doing hard labor and somehow returning looking sinfully fuckable and lickable.

He came home at lunch, driving fifteen minutes from the woods to his house, spending thirty minutes with her, then driving another fifteen minutes back out to his site.  When he returned at the end of the day, looking the aforementioned sinfully fuckable and lickable, he’d go hop in the shower then return in joggers and a t-shirt before he made her dinner.  He would plant her on the kitchen island and chat with her; she was still astounded by what a great cook he had become, and she liked watching him since he refused to let her help.

After dinner they would move to the sofa to keep talking and watch some telly, always starting out in their respective corners but inevitably Penelope would find herself cuddled into Colin’s chest by the end of the night, just holding one another close and reassuring themselves with their presence. 

He would carry her upstairs and they would share his bath, so he could soak his sore muscles from the day’s hard labor, and she could soak her ankle.  The soreness in her own body was gone now and the bruises were nearly faded after a week had passed.  The last two nights she had even convinced him to switch her spots and let him lean against her while she tried to loosen some of the tight knots from his neck, shoulders and his back until he'd turned into a wet noodle against her.  The weight of him pressing into her was delightfully comforting and the feel of his head nestled so near her breast was perfection. 

Warm, solid, soothing and calming mixed with her raging desire to trail her fingers up and down the hard muscles of his chest and press kisses to his neck and jaw, yet it was still her favorite time of their day…it was the hardest to be sure, but it was when she felt the closest to him.

They stayed until they started to prune, or the water grew tepid then Colin would carry her back downstairs to hug her and kiss her cheek goodnight, wishing her sweet dreams before he returned to his own room.  They did not have another walkie incident, so she had no idea if their bathtub encounters were leaving him in the same state that they left her in…horny as all fuck – but at least she had her vibrator now.  When he had taken her back to her flat on Sunday for her things she had packed it, so at least she had something more substantial than her own finger now for her own relief….and she had used it every night after bath time.

Then they would do the whole thing over the following day.  It was comfortable.  It was familiar.  It was homely and it felt like the most natural thing in the world that it had become so.

Penelope found herself looking forward to when Colin would come home for lunch and when he came home at night.  She knew he didn’t normally take a full lunch and would eat something in his truck, but he was coming home to check on her and make sure she was well which she appreciated.  The house was so empty without his laughter filling it. 

He was working in the field this week in a group of three men tackling very large trees, which meant longer days, and he was coming home covered in sawdust, hot, sweaty and in a better mood than she would have thought for spending the day with people who were not his family and being strapped up to equipment, high up in the treetops.

But she was not alone too long because being so close allowed the other Bridgertons to pop in on her during the day too.  She’d seen everyone and they all came with food, love and well wishes. 

Anthony and Kate came mid-morning on Monday and brought bagels with cream cheese, which she saved and shared with Colin when he came home at lunch.

Hyacinth, Ben and Greg came in the afternoon on Tuesday with piles of sandwiches and pickles from a deli in town.

Daphne and Simon came Wednesday morning and brought her favorite coffee order and a blueberry lemon pastry.

Violet, Edmund and Eloise came at the end of each evening and had managed to get a pizza delivered way out there.

And Fran and Eloise came Thursday to take her to lunch in town to grab Mexican. 

“I need to tell Colin.  He’s been coming home at lunch to check on me and I don’t want him to worry or waste time driving if I’m not here.” Penelope said.

“B5 to B3.  Come in B3.” Eloise said, pulling her walkie from her back pocket. 

Penelope eyed the walkie and tried not to blush…she did not want to have to explain that to his sisters. 

“Go for B3, B5.” Came Colin’s voice back.

“B6 and I are talking your hostage to lunch in town.” Eloise said with a grin. 

“She is not my hostage; she is at my house willingly...mostly.” Colin replied lightly.  “If you give me five minutes to get there, I’ll go with you.”

“You were not invited, brother.  This is a lady’s lunch.”

“Go to channel 2, B5.” Colin quickly ordered. 

“I’m on 2, Col.”

“You and Fran better watch her like a hawk.  If she falls and hurts herself, I’ll have your heads.” Colin said. 

“Overprotective much?” Eloise laughed.

Fran took the walkie from Eloise with a smile.  “We’ll watch her, Colin.  Don’t worry about her.  We’ll have her back in a few hours.”

“She pitches left…be ready if she starts veering or tipping”

“We will.” Fran promised.

“She also…”

“Colin!  We got her.  Geez!  Calm down or I really will believe she is your hostage.” Fran interrupted him.

“Is she there with you?”

Fran handed the walkie over to Penelope with a smile.

“I’m here, B3.” Penelope said.

“Please be very careful, PF.”

“Of course.  I’ll see you when you get home.” Penelope replied.

“Pen…” He whispered so incredibly intimately that Penelope’s belly clutched just hearing her own name. “Have a good time.  See you soon.”

“Bye, Colin.” She replied just as softly.  “I’ll be back before you are off.”

Penelope looked up and met Eloise’s raised eyebrows, and Francesca’s wide eyes. 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to end that exchange with a mutual I love you?  Because I feel like it was all but unsaid.” Eloise snorted with laughter.

“What was that, Pen?” Fran asked at the same time as Eloise was talking.

“Has he fucking figured it out now and taken action?” Eloise asked.

“No…we are friends again.  That was merely friends saying goodbye to each other.”

“That is not how friends say goodbye to each other.” Eloise laughed.

“I have to agree with El.  That was a lover saying goodbye to his love...both of you…not just Colin.”  Fran said.

“We are not lovers.  We’ve been having wonderful chats and reconnecting every night.  He holds me for snuggles, hugs me, kisses my cheek, holds my hand in his, and keeps me close.”

“Those sound like…lover activities.” Fran said.

“Don’t they?  But believe me, the one thing he is not doing is dicking me the fuck down on the couch.”

Fran choked on a gasp of air and coughed until she caught breath again while Eloise laughed.

“Do you want him to dick you the fuck down on the couch?” Fran finally managed.

“Oh, I’m not picky – the couch, the bed, the floor, the coffee table, the kitchen island, his monster bathtub. When you are as lost in love as I am you would take what you could get, wherever you could get it.”

“Let talk in the car, I’m starving.” Eloise said.

Penelope had been talking Eloise’s ear off for years about Colin, perhaps Fran could be her new victim…spread the wealth a bit, she knew Fran was a great keeper of secrets.  They flanked her to make sure she kept steady as they walked out to Eloise’s car. 

“All these years and you never told me, though there has always been something soft in your eyes when you look at him…but why is nothing happening now when you both want it to?” Fran asked. 

“Colin doesn’t want me that way, so I grin and bear it to keep him as my treasured friend…especially now with just making up.  I don’t want to lose him again.  It was very tough for us both when we were apart.  This is a one-sided love affair I’m afraid.”   

“Hmmm, are you sure about that, Pen.” Fran said, then seemingly changed topics.  “Do you know what your birthstone is?”

“April is a diamond.”

“Do you know what March’s birthstone is?”

“Umm, March…I think is a very light blue…aquamarine.” Penelope answered.

“And who’s birthday is in March?” Fran continued.

“Colin’s is on the second.”

“What about rubies?  What color are they?”

“Frannie, what is with the gemstone trivia?”

“I’m curious where you are going with this too, Fran-Fran.” Eloise added, flicking her eyes between the road and the rearview mirror to look at her.

“Just answer the question.” Fran said, ignoring both of them and patting Penelope’s shoulder from her position in the back seat.

“Rubies are red.”

“And what amongst us is red at this very moment?” Fran asked.

Penelope touched her hair and fingered a curl thoughtfully, trying to piece together where Fran was going.

“What color are your eyes, Pen?”

“Blue.”

“Ahh, but not just blue…a very distinct blue.  Eyes of what color?” Fran prompted.

“The sky on a clear day.” Eloise repeated the words every Bridgerton frequently told her.

“And what about Colin?  What color are his eyes?”

“The deepest of blue.” Penelope answered, trying to keep the dreaminess from her voice when she said it.

“What stone is the deepest of blues?”

“Sapphires.” Eloise answered.

“Does that sound familiar to you, Pen?  Aquamarines, diamonds, rubies and sapphires?” Fran asked.

Fran was so rarely cryptic…Penelope shrugged and shook her head, totally lost in the conversation but momentarily distracted as Eloise pulled into the car park and they made their way inside to be seated. 

Over a pitcher of margaritas, and chips and salsa Fran resumed her random trivia questions. 

“Do you know another name for a female swan, Pen?”

“Frannie, I didn’t know I was going to need to study so hard for this lunch.  I don’t know that. I don’t have a lot of swan knowledge.” Penelope laughed.

“It’s called a pen.”

“Ok.”

“I understand that you have seen Colin’s bare chest now…when he gave you his shirt to cover for your missing skirt?”

“Yes…” Plus a half dozen other times since, but Penelope supposed Fran was not interested in that information.  “But what does…”

The server returned with their food and interrupted momentarily as they got settled with their dishes.

When the conversation resumed, Fran had pivoted the topic yet again.

“Did you know that Colin is working on a book?”

“No!  That’s wonderful.” Penelope replied with excitement. 

“What?  He never told me that!” Eloise exclaimed loudly, looking affronted.

“He works on it on the weekends.” Fran said. 

“Ahh, well I’m sure I kept him from that this past weekend then…he rarely left my side, but he has not mentioned it to me.”

“It’s a romance.”  Fran said casually.

“He has such a sweet and romantic soul.  That makes sense…and he always loved his creative writing courses in school and uni.” Penelope replied.

“Would you care to know the premise of his story?”

“You have seen it?” Eloise asked curiously. 

“I have read every word of it so far and he likes to run ideas past me.” Fran shared modestly with a shrug. 

“I’m very curious now…but if he has not shared with El or I he may not want you to tell us.” Penelope said, hoping that she would tell them anyway.

Fran ignored the light and polite protest and shared to increasing surprise.

“It is about a man who is in love with his best friend, who suddenly comes to hate him, for reasons unknown to him, and cuts him out of her life.  He changes everything about himself in hopes that she will forgive him and renew their friendship.”   

Eloise and Penelope both stopped, mid-chew, to listen to Fran with rapt attention.

“He drops his shallow friends and stops having soul sucking encounters with faceless women, and leaves his fast-paced, stressful, meaningless city life in favor of a quieter life.   He has loved her for years and continues to love her, despite the estrangement between them.  In fact, he comes to work with his family at their company in order just to be near her as he continues to try to win her friendship.  Once they are friends once more, he desperately wants her to see that he’s a new man doing all he can as he endeavors to deserve her in the hope that she will fall in love with him in return.”

“And…does she?” Penelope whispered.

“He has not written that far yet.” Fran said.

Eloise looked at Penelope incredulously with her eyes wide.

“Isn’t it peculiar that a man, who has no feelings of love for you whatsoever, has a sky-blue eyed pen tattoo directly over where his heart beats, and a treasure chest tattoo spilling forth with aquamarines, diamonds, rubies and sapphires – the same colors as your birthstones, your hair and his eyes?” Fran asked.  “Truly odd, that.”

Penelope’s fork clattered to her plate as her eyes widened and emotion flooded her.

“I wonder if, perhaps, he may even have a third tattoo…in a place that you have not seen?  Maybe its design is even more telling.” Fran said, gazing at Penelope thoughtfully.

If that was the case, then its placement would be limited, because the only expanse of him that she had not seen was what was covered by his boxer briefs, but Penelope could not wonder about that for long as Fran kept up her musings.

“Don’t you also find it strange that the plot to his book matches your situation exactly?  Quite curious and coincidental.”

Colin’s tattoos were for her, or them…together…he’d written a romance about them…he used Fran to unload on, as Penelope used Eloise. 

The walls were closing in on Penelope and she said nothing but looked at Eloise in stunned disbelief, unable to do anything but blink rapidly.

“Pen, I didn’t know.  I guess you should have been spilling your guts to Frannie all these years instead of me.” Eloise said, then turned to Fran.  “So, while Pen has been talking to me all these years, Colin has been talking to you about the very same?  Why have you not said anything until now, Fran-Fran?”

“What do you mean?  I haven’t said anything now.  I have only learned something myself, that our most beloved Pen loves Colin.  Which, upon learning, I have only asked her a series of trivia questions and mused on several happenstances.  I have done nothing else.  Colin has often remarked on what a good listener I am and how I am the most trustworthy among us, and I pride myself on that.  I would never betray his confidences.” Fran replied with a shrug.  “I have shared my suspicions on Pen’s feelings to Colin in the past and he told me I was wrong…perhaps Pen has heard all of these incredible coincidences and will be the brave one now.”

Penelope could do nothing but sit there and continue her befuddled lash fluttering, robbed of all speech and coherent thought.

“Fuck me…I think we need another pitcher of margaritas.  Pen has gone into shock.” Eloise said, flagging down the server for another round.

Shocked was accurate, but it didn’t seem strong enough to support the magnitude of what she was feeling. 

Thunderstruck, aghast, awestricken, flabbergasted, flummoxed were all packed into one five-foot package. There was not enough room in her body for this much elation, happiness, fear and disbelief.

Chapter Text

Colin wiped the back of his arm to his brow in the heat of the midday sun to remove the sweat that was getting ready to fall into his eyes, in turn soaking the sleeve of his light blue and grey flannel but it ran down his throat and caught in his chest hair anyway.  He was working with two other loggers in the grove of the largest trees currently on the property and they were milling about self-organizing with a plan for after lunch.  Ben was acting foreman today, filling in for their regular foreman who was out on vacation, but he was sitting in the truck with the air conditioning, unused to the heat of the day.

When Colin’s walkie had gone off, he had stepped away from the group.  They didn’t really hassle him about being a Bridgerton in the field or being the owner’s son, but he didn’t want to give them any excuse to start…and when El radioed him, who knew what would come out of her mouth.

He was disappointed when they said they were taking Penelope away for lunch…he had been looking forward to seeing her – truth be told he always was now.  Coming home was the best part of his day, holding her in his arms and getting her hug and kiss…on the cheek of course, and now he wouldn’t see her until dinner time to get them. 

He loved how close she was with his family and that they would go do things together, but he missed her. He missed knowing she was at home and the warmth and light she brought the house – and him.

Her honeyed voice on the walkie had squeezed his heart and made him ache to hear more from her but with his sisters listening in she was so quickly gone.  He found himself whispering her name to himself while he stood there like a wistful fool.

Which Ben must have caught because he jumped out of the cool truck to stop Colin walking towards the chainsaw to pick it up, eyeing the top of the tree as he adjusted his eyewear and gloves.

“Lunch time, all.  Take your hour and meet back here.” Ben shouted loudly so everyone heard him. 

“Colin, I don’t think you and heavy equipment are going to play well together today…I’d hate to have to start calling you Stumpy because you lost a finger…or three.  Your head is in the clouds today.”

“I’m fine, Ben” Colin protested.

“You are not fine.  I’ll pull someone else in to finish for you.  You are relieved of your duty for the day.”

“Ben…”

“That’s an order as your foreman and a request as your brother.” Ben said.  “You’ll go home; I’ll check you in, your equipment and the truck.”

“Pen is not home.” Colin shared for no particular reason.

“Ahh.” Ben replied, clarity dawning on him.  “And where did she go?  Has your hostage fled?”

“She is not my hostage.”  He said with a roll of his eyes…why did everyone think he was keeping her against her will?  “She’s gone to lunch with El and Frannie.”

“So, she’s coming back in a few hours, yet you look as if she has stolen your favorite possession…though, perhaps she has…took this into town with her, did she?” Ben said, slapping Colin lightly over his heart.  “You do remember that she is not normally at your house, Col?  And she will return to her flat in another week or so, once she loses the crutches?”

Colin looked and felt as if he been slapped…what a cruel thing to say when he just had Penelope back…which only made Ben chuckle at him.  He stroked his hipbone idly at the thought of her returning to her own flat – he had rather come to think of his house as their home.

“I see.  I think it is time that you do something about this before you become a liability to the company and to yourself.  Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Colin grumbled about it but followed him and climbed in the passenger side, tossing his hard hat and glasses on the seat between them.  They were silent until Ben was nearing his house and started speaking again.

“I’m glad you have made up, but it’s time to take some action.  Pen is wrecking the single braincell you have left, Colin, literally devouring you like prey for years now.  There will be nothing left of you.  You are off tomorrow, right?”

Colin nodded.  “Pen has a doctor’s appointment to check her ankle that I’m taking her to.”

“I say this with love – you have three days with her…will you please have the date that never was and fuck her to get it over with?”

Colin whipped his head around and glared at Ben.

“Oh, right…sorry.  You are in love with her…will you please make reverent, tender, passionate love with your someday wife-to-be and get it over with?  Kick that braincell back into gear?  You have to be tired of jerking yourself off to thoughts of her.”

“Thanks for the ride.” Colin said sarcastically when they pulled in front of his house. 

“Hopefully Pen likes a good ride.” Ben replied with a wink.

“You suck.”

“Hopefully, for your sake, Pen does too.”

“Fuck me, you are impossible.” Colin said, rolling his eyes.

“That’s what Pen said.”

“I’m going inside now.”

“Hopefully Pen likes to go inside.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Yeah, that one didn’t work out too well.  In all seriousness, think about it, Col.  See you Monday.”

“Bye, Ben.”

Colin strode through the front door, immediately greeted by Cat-rine but called out for Penelope even though he was sure she wouldn’t be here…it had only been about thirty minutes since they had radioed that they were going to lunch, but he rapped on her bedroom door just to be sure.  She didn’t answer but he poked his head through the door in case she hadn’t heard him.  She wasn’t there but his eyes fell to the middle of her bed where something candy red caught his attention; he squinted to see it better but couldn’t discern what it was.  Curiously, he walked over to the bed until he got close enough to realize what it was when he gasped and went still. 

It was her vibrator.  Penelope had left her vibrator laying in the middle of her bed, which could only mean one thing, he assumed…Penelope had used this vibrator recently…and likely left it out to dry after cleaning it…there was still water droplets clinging to it. 

Is that what she was doing in the middle of the day?  Fucking herself with this fake red cock?  Colin groaned painfully.

He should have turned around and left the room – but like the glutton for punishment that he was, he did not…in fact, he moved closer…and closer yet until he found himself unconsciously reaching out to pick it up.

It was weightier than he thought it would be and softer than he had expected but the bloody thing looked like a menace, with its large bulbous head, ringed and ribbed shaft and molded lips with tongue for her clit…or nipples…or inner thigh…or inner elbow…or neck…his or’s rapidly shut down with his self-inflicted comeuppance while he pushed various buttons as the thing whirred to life in his hand until it was licking, vibrating and desperately fucking the air.

His cock immediately jumping to attention at the thought of this silicone dick thrusting in and out of her as she writhed and screamed beneath it…and on top of it…and from in front of it.  For fuck’s sake.

The room went eerily silent when he shut it off and he placed it back precisely where he found it and hightailed it from her room – deciding a freezing cold shower was exactly what he needed to ease the pressure on his now painfully hard cock.

Ben was right…Penelope was wrecking him.

Penelope was not very talkative on the way home from lunch, her mind stuck on what she had learned and swirling with thoughts on what to do about it – she could hardly believe it, but it must be true.  Fran would never make up something like that.  Colin loved her and didn’t believe she loved him.  She had gotten too good at living her lie.

Now she was terrified that this was on her – what if he rejected her?  What if he didn’t want her sexually?  What if he loved her but wasn’t in love with her?  She had to force those thoughts from her head – Fran had told her to be brave.  She had three fishbowl sized margaritas in her…she could do this.

But how did she even go about this?  She imagined all sorts of scenarios, all of them involving stripping herself naked and waiting for him somewhere.

Splayed out on the kitchen island...though she couldn’t hop up there herself with her boot and she was sure Eloise and Fran did not want to help with the set up to seduce their brother.

Maybe crawling up the stairs and to his room and surprising him in his bathtub…he would surely chastise her about the stairs.

Perhaps spread wantonly on the sofa for him, tucked in the corner with a leg going in both directions invitingly…though, she better put a blanket down.  His sofa was sure to be expensive and she didn’t want to stain it.

She considered her own bathtub in her bedroom, but while large, Colin would not have fit in there with her…unless she straddled him, which she didn’t hate the idea of.

There was a soft, fuzzy blanket on the back of the leather chair, possibly she could drape it on the floor and stretch out over that for him…everyone had the fucking on a fur blanket fantasy, didn’t they?

Penelope thought she would have a few hours to decide and prepare herself before he got home from work, but he surprised her by being home when they returned from town and removing every option she had considered. 

Eloise and Fran walked her inside and they greeted Colin with beaming, knowing smiles, which honestly made them look guilty as hell that they had spent the whole of the afternoon talking about him.

“Colin, what a surprise that you’re home in the middle of the day.” Eloise grinned and hugged him.

“Right!  No one works harder than you do.” Fran agreed, stepping up to hug him.  “You’re so rarely home early.”

“I’m surprised too.  I brought you a plate from the restaurant, Colin.  I’m so stuffed I don’t think I can eat dinner.” Penelope said, shyly avoiding hugging him in front of Eloise and Fran and handing the food to Eloise to tuck in the fridge for her. 

“Thanks, Pen.  That was very thoughtful.” Colin replied, his arms itching to capture her in them.

“Well, we’ll leave you be, El and I have to go.  Lots to do in the office today and we were already gone longer than we said we would be.” Fran said, backing toward the door.

“Good luck, Pen…with your appointment tomorrow, of course.  Hope all is well.” Eloise said, still grinning, as she backed up with Fran.

Penelope hugged them both tightly and kissed their cheeks before she closed the door behind them. 

“I want mine, Pen.” Colin said lowly, much more near than he had been only a moment ago. 

“Your food?” She asked in confusion, his nearness befuddling her.  “It’s in the fridge.  I can get you a plate and silverware.”

“No, my hug.  I want my hug.  I missed you today.”

He had thrown off every other plan she had come up with on their drive home so now she needed a new one…maybe she could test his responses to her actions before she dove in headfirst and found that Fran was dead wrong.  Tequila could lend her courage.

“Is that why you have come home early?  Because you missed me?” She asked in an octave lower than her normal voice as she walked to him with an extra swish of her hips.

She saw him visibly swallow as he watched her, making her more daring.

“Ben said it was too hot to continue today.  Not safe to work.”

“Ahh, that explains why you’ve already showered and changed.”

Penelope was near enough to him to place her hand flat on his abdomen, to run it up his chest agonizingly slowly, occasionally dragging her nail against him, up between his pectorals until she could lightly trace her fingertips at the V of his white t-shirt, grazing his chest hair and warm flesh, and she heard his breath hitch quietly.  She rested her palm at the bare skin at the base of his throat firmly, intently.

“Not sticky and sweaty in the slightest.” She continued in her huskier voice, meeting his eyes and finding his pupils dilated as he watched her.

Had they always done and she had never noticed it?  She felt emboldened. 

Penelope trailed her hands up to his shoulders until her fingers were clutching him and pulling him down towards her so she could bury her nose in his neck to take a long, deliberate smell of his sandalwood body wash and he trembled, nearly imperceptibly…nearly.

“Mmm.” She hummed, making sure the vibrations slithered across his skin.  “You smell good too.  Spicy and virile.  Very manly.”

She released him and took a step backwards and he said her name in the most pained way she had ever heard in her life, like a whispered groan. 

“Oh, you’re right.  Your hug.  I’m sorry.  Come here, Colin.”

Penelope’s hands repeated their trek up his chest but added a leisurely zig zag, grazing his nipple by his pen tattoo, as she caressed her way up until she was clutching his shoulders once more and pressed herself softly into him, dragging her breasts up from the bottom of his abdomen, up to the top and snuggling herself into him with a shimmy of her shoulders to get settled in and letting out a small moan of contentment for good measure – she felt his cock hotly pressing against her through the thin material of his grey joggers. 

Had it always been this easy?  Could she have done this to him years ago?

“Mmm.” She hummed into his chest again.  “You give such good hugs.  More…tighter.”

Colin’s arms held her more soundly to him, pressing her breasts into him, which had become heavy and peaked with her arousal, certain he could feel them settled into his planes, but she shifted into him, once, twice and a third time just to make sure he didn’t miss them.

“Umm…Pen…” He began. 

“You needn’t even ask, Colin.  Come here.  I know.”

Penelope simultaneously pulled him down and grazed her face higher, nearly dragging her lips against his neck, and across his jaw until she was just at the corner of his lips, yet still technically his cheek while he ceased breathing all together. 

She cupped his jaw to stroke her thumb across his beard then wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck and pull him down again.

“I missed you too, you know.  Here’s another kiss as your makeup kiss from lunch.”

She switched to his other side and this time kissed him so far back that it was nearly his ear, and she felt him shudder against her.

She was doing practically nothing, and Colin was putty in her hands. 

“Colin, are you alright?  You are very flushed.” She asked innocently and blinked wide-eyed at him when she backed away from him again.  “Are you overheated from the sun?”

“Yes…that’s probably it.” He eagerly grabbed onto. 

“My poor, sweet, Colin.  Come with me.” She said, grabbing his hand to place on her crutch with hers and leading him to the kitchen.

Penelope pulled out the kitchen chair for him and pushed him into it before she moved to the sink to wet some kitchen paper for him.  She sat down on his lap before she had even asked. 

“Mind if I sit here to make this easier?”

It appeared she had robbed him of his voice because he merely shook his head. 

“Would you hold my hip, please, to keep me secured?  I’d hate to go sliding off.”

Really at this point she was trying to keep the giggle from her lowered voice as she continued to tease and torture him, easily feeling his erect cock digging into her thigh as she sat on him. 

He continued to not answer her but slipped his hand up to grasp the flesh of her hip, his fingers singeing a hole through her shorts and her knickers until she was positive that she could feel them on her naked skin.

“Thank you.” She murmured, brushing his silky chestnut hair from his forehead to press the cool compress to his face in a circular motion; from his forehead, his right cheek, his right jaw, his chin, his neck and the hollow of his throat, his left jaw, and his left cheek until she was back to his forehead. 

“I never feel unsafe with you holding me.  You’d never let anything happen to me, Colin.  You’re too good to me.”

She made unwavering soothing circles with the kitchen paper as she continued stroking his hair, and his cock grew even harder and more insistent against her.  She suppressed a groan and pretended not to feel it. 

“Do you like that?  Does that feel good?” She asked gutturally, intentionally choosing the naughtiest words she could think of to fit their situation.

He let out a quiet groan, which, of course, she heard since she was sitting on his lap, and she bit back a smile.

“What?” He asked with confusion, his eyes falling to her lips.

“I said do you like that, Colin?  Does that feel good?  Do you want more?”

He didn’t answer her; his eyes had gone hazy and lost focus and his fingers had slackened at her hip, stroking her unconsciously.

“Of the cool towel.” She clarified, taking pity on him. 

“Oh, yeah…it’s…wonderful.” He managed.

“Good.  Let me go get it nice and wet for you.” Penelope said but then paused. “Wait a second.  I didn’t get my own cheek kiss yet.”

Penelope was sure he had growled at her before he pulled her to him and dropped a lingering kiss on her cheek, scraping his beard into her and sending a tremor down her spine.

“Mmm.  Perfect.”

She was finding she enjoyed making her pleasured humming sound for him.  She was delighting in finding that this man fucking wanted her, and she was one thousand percent in control of him – which was heady. 

Penelope unnecessarily wiggled herself off his lap, making him growl loudly enough that there was no mistaking it this time.

“I’m sorry…did I hurt you?” She asked innocently again.

“I’m fine.”

Penelope didn’t miss it when he adjusted his erection from her peripheral vision when she turned, stroking his thumb down his thickness to relieve some of the pressure – but she wasn’t done with him yet.

She rewet the kitchen paper and wrung it out, but instead of returning to his lap she stood behind him, sinking her fingers into his thick hair and pulling his head so far back he had to scoot lower in his seat to nestle directly into her hollow of her breasts, one on each side of his ears and working the towel in the same circular motions as before as she shifted as much as she could beneath him so he was as enveloped in her curves as she could manage to get him without being too obvious with what she was doing. 

His cock was tenting his joggers, and he’d crossed his legs in his attempt to hide and tame it, but she was giving a borderline evil grin behind him.

“Pen…can I take you to dinner tomorrow after your appointment – somewhere nice?” Colin asked hoarsely. 

“I would love for you to take me to dinner tomorrow.” Penelope replied in her seductive tone.

She gave him about five more minutes of her treatment before she released him.

“Feeling better now?  Less flushed?  Cooled down?”

“Umm, yeah.  Thanks.” He replied, shifting in his seat awkwardly.

“Well, I’m going to go slip into something a little more comfortable.  My bra is really pinching today.  Do you want to watch a movie with me on the sofa?”

She would do this tomorrow – she hadn’t been prepared for sex with the man of her dreams/love of her life when she had left the house today.  She wanted to be perfect – coiffed, shaved, plucked, freshly showered and wearing something a lot sexier than her grey cotton knickers and matching bra.

Penelope would give him until tomorrow – then she was going to eat him alive…but she still had tonight to toy with him.

Chapter Text

Colin was absolutely certain he was going to die by the end of this night at the hands of Penelope.  Her musical laugh was skittering up his spine, her honeyed voice was painting the inside of his veins, her fingers were burning his arms while she clutched him as she spoke, and her body…her damn body was what was going to do him in.  She kept brushing against him, her breasts were all over him, her thigh kept touching him, her feet were bumping him…which he thought he could handle nearly any other night, but she had practically killed him last night too with the same type of treatment – first in their kitchen, then on the sofa as they watched their movie. 

He had no idea how she had not felt his raging cock pulsing into her all evening but she had not remarked on it, nor had she moved to avoid it, in fact she kept finding ways to graze it or cuddle more securely into him, eliciting some kind of moan, groan or whimper that had her checking in on him to make sure she wasn’t hurting him. 

You’re not hurting me…you are killing me his mind had shouted but he merely made an uh uh sound, not trusting his voice to speak without growling at her or breaking.  More than once he was afraid that he was afraid he was going to come in his pants just from her laying on him and her accidental rubs. 

They didn’t share a soak in the tub – there was no way he could have handled it without showing his cards…or his cock, as it were, and embarrassing himself.  The moment he had gone upstairs, he had stripped, jumped in the shower…he wanked himself off for approximately forty-five seconds and blew his load all over the shower wall to thoughts of Penelope’s lips on him, her hands on him, and his cock in her while he fucked her until she was screaming his name. 

Ben was right – Colin was tired of jerking himself off to thoughts of her.  He wanted her, fucking hell, how he wanted her…and he wanted her so fiercely because he loved her.

He had resolved to tell her tonight over dinner but then she had emerged from her bedroom looking like that…like a goddess fallen from the heavens.  Her long, red curls were fluffed and falling around her shoulders, her sky-blue eyes were shimmering brighter than the sunset glinting off the sea and her white knee-length eyelet dress hugged every delicious curve she possessed, the corseted cups were barely containing her breasts, he was positive he saw blushes of pink where her nipples were peeking out and there was a lace strip bisecting each nipple, running down her hips, thighs and all the way down to where the dress ended at her knees.

Eloise had dropped the dress off for Penelope this morning and Colin was thinking about an accomplice to committing fratricide charge because his heart had stopped beating in his chest and his lungs could not take in any air when he saw her.  Every thought had fallen out of his head.  He had been murdered by curves, he was certain of it.

So instead of telling Penelope that he was in love with her, that he had been in love with her for years and that he wanted her more than anyone or anything he had ever wanted in his life, he sat here mute, spellbound by how sinfully angelic she looked, watching her full red lips talk, laugh and smile with no real idea what she was saying, yet hoping he was nodding and laughing in the appropriate places with her. 

He didn’t remember driving to her doctor appointment, he didn’t remember the drive to the restaurant, he didn’t taste the food, and he doubted he could have provided someone with his full name and date of birth.  All he saw was Penelope’s bright smile and killer curves, and all he heard was her tinkling laugh.

Penelope said something and giggled again, leaning forward as she did so, and her breasts threatened to tumble out of the cups of her dress.  Colin sat up straighter to see more of her and crossed his legs under the table to control his cock, subtly stroking his length to relieve any kind of pressure he could manage. 

She leaned forward even more, putting one hand on his knee under the table and one hand on his forearm that he had resting on the table as she gazed into his dark sapphire eyes.

“I’m having such a wonderful time, Colin.  Thank you.” She said throatily. 

Her hand on his forearm ran up the length of his arm, to his shoulder, to the back of his neck to pull him toward her so that she could press a kiss to his cheek, yet it was barely his cheek and closer to the corner of his mouth than it was his cheek. 

Then she backed away only slightly so she could brush her thumb to him to wipe her crimson kiss away from his beard. 

“Oops.  Sorry.  Seems I have accidentally let my mark on you, as if I’m claiming you.” Penelope said.

Claim me, I’m yours…always.  It would have been the perfect window to his discussion, but he was so thoroughly discombobulated, filled with stormy lust and utterly bewitched by her that he said nothing, only blinked at her slowly.

It was the longest dinner of his life, and he hadn’t even realized it had ended until Penelope asked him if he was ready to leave. 

“Colin, would you please keep a hold of me until we get outside?  Their floor feels a little slippery under my boot.” She asked, looking up at him with her enormous blue eyes.

Colin placed a hand on the swell of her hip and walked as close as he could to her without getting in her way and didn’t release until he was getting her settled in his car. 

Then he had no idea how he drove them home.  She had held his hand, caressed his fingers, and stroked from his wrist to his elbow – he had lost all concept of time with her touch and his whole body was consumed in flames.

“Thank you for dinner.  It was delicious and your company was perfect.” Penelope said when they were in his lounge. 

He was glad that his company had been adequate because he had felt like a useless slug all night.

“You’re welcome.  Good night, Pen.” He replied, sure it was the most number of words he had managed to string together tonight.

“Oh…you’re leaving me?” She asked, her wide eyes looking up at him again and shredding his soul to pieces. 

Colin needed to be far away from her…his cock was nearly as ready to explode as it had been last night, but he couldn’t leave her when her words tore at his heart and her eyes were almost pleading with him. 

“I was hoping we could have a little soak in your tub.” She continued. 

He could not handle sitting in a bathtub with her unless she didn’t mind witnessing his arousal in its full and insistent glory…unless he could hide it from her somehow.  Could he get to his boxer briefs and pick her up fast enough that she wouldn’t see it?  Then he could nestle into her instead of her into him in the tub?

“Since we skipped last night, my ankle became so tight and stiff.” Penelope added and cracked him.

“Pen!  Why did you not say anything?  I’m so sorry.” Colin said. 

He had set her back and caused her discomfort because he hadn’t been able to control his desire for her – it was enough to make him deflate a bit now. 

“Of course, we can, love.  Go grab your suit.”

“I’ll just wear my underwear tonight.”

Colin swallowed hard and nodded…his cock growing once more.  Such a short-lived little break.

“Let me take your crutches upstairs and start the water.  I’ll be right back for you.” Colin said.

Penelope watched him run up the stairs and grinned before she quickly reapplied her red lipstick, fluffed her hair and rearranged her tits in her dress.  Poor Colin was an absolute mess tonight as she unraveled him piece by piece with well-timed words, eye fluttering and touches…he was about to be more so when she got him in the tub.  She tucked the lipstick back in her bag and tossed it on the sofa, only waiting for a moment before Coin was back.

She wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself into him as securely as she could, angling her torso towards him to assure maximum contact as he carried her to his bathroom and kissing his cheek to show her appreciation, leaving her kiss mark right where it was this time.  He set her down and she bent over to remove her boot, making sure that he was getting the biggest eyeful of her cleavage that he could…and earned a pained sigh from him which was probably louder than he intended since she heard it over the water filling the tub. 

“Colin?”

He grunted at her…she’d reduced him to caveman communication now – she hid the smile tugging at her lips as she turned around and presented him with her backside, arching her back slightly so her hips and butt stuck out a bit as she glanced over her shoulder at him.

“Could you unzip me?” She asked, dropping her voice lower.

She felt his hands shaking at her back as he dragged the zipper down to her waist for her – her fingers brushed his and guided him all the way down to below her butt where her thigh began.  She shimmied out of it with exaggerated movement of her hips and turned around to face him – suppressing a laugh as his mouth dropped open and his eyes darkened with desire. 

“Thank you, Colin.”

She remembered him once sharing how sexy he found white lingerie, and, hoping that was still the case, was exactly what she had donned tonight.  A matching sheer lacy white set that left little to the imagination, showing more than it hid, letting him see her hard pink nipples and her pussy as she stood in front of him and knowing it would become even more sheer once the water hit it.

She turned back around again, giving him her back and her two round cheeks – it wasn’t technically a thong but there wasn’t enough coverage to label her panties as anything else.  He gasped behind her. 

“Did you say something?” She asked, earning her another grunt. 

She had apparently robbed him of his words tonight, because he had said very little.

“Are you planning on wearing your full outfit in the tub with me?” She teased when he stood, frozen in place. 

He cleared his throat, rather forcefully, and finally spoke.  “Pen, would you not like the tub to yourself tonight?”

What?  No…she could not seduce him in the tub if he was not in the tub with her.  So far, her pleading eyes and phrasing had worked on him, so she was hoping that was still the case.

“I wanted to keep talking to you, Colin, and was hoping you would rub my neck a bit.  For some reason the strength of your thumbs sends the relaxation straight down my spine to my ankle.  It is bliss.” Penelope said, blinking her eyes at him. 

Colin leaned to turn the water off and had himself stripped from his clothes down to his boxer briefs and her in his arms so quickly that her own breath caught in surprise.  He placed her down in the tub and took his place next to her.  She shifted, lifting herself from the water enough that he would see her nipples through her soaked bra now, as she moved to lean against his chest. 

She moaned, probably a bit over the top.  “Ohhh, that feels sooo good.” She cooed at the heat of the water and the bubbles.

“Pen, I can’t…” Colin started, his voice cracking, and she knew she had pushed him to his breaking point. 

She rolled over on him so that her breasts were pressed into his stomach. 

“You can’t what, Colin?”

She pressed her lips to his swan tattoo…the pen tattoo…her tattoo and left her kiss mark on him.  Her hands clung to his shoulders to pull herself higher, marking the bottom of his throat, his groan vibrating against her lips.  She moved up more and shifted so she was fully sitting up and straddling his left thigh, kissing him below his ear and making him tremble beneath her. 

She moved her face over his, hovering so near his lips that when she whispered her breath ghosted over him hotly.

“You can’t what?  You can’t kiss me?  You can’t make me yours, Colin?  Your cock threatening to rip the fabric of your underwear tells me that you could…if you wanted me…like I want you.” Penelope asked, then pressed one last claiming kiss mark to his forehead, brushing the curl out of her way. 

“Pen?” Colin asked, searching her eyes.

“Please.” Was her response, cupping his square jaws and sweeping her thumbs across his cheekbones and beard. 

Her stomach swooped and her nerves hummed to life when Colin’s lips crashed down on hers with a starved, gravelly whimper, his hands plunging into her hair to hold her to him. 

Penelope…and Colin for that matter, had always pictured their first kiss as tender and gentle, but this was two people who had denied themselves for far too long and they were beyond that.  This was clingy and needy and desperate.  This was blazing passion that had reached its peak and burst through the roof. 

Colin had thrown her off balance and now she was fully on top of him in an awkward laying down/sitting up position as he attacked her lips with his own while he made wildly out of control sounds of pleasure while he did so – as if this were the greatest satisfaction he had ever experienced. 

His hands caressed their way down her back until he was at her hips, then he slid them back so that they were resting on her bottom.  He simultaneously squeezed her flesh, pressed her into his hungry cock and tugged her bottom lip with his teeth until she was gasping atop him and scratching her nails to his scalp. 

“Pen, oh my god, Pen.” He groaned, still hold her bottom lip captive while he spoke.  “Touch me.”

Colin’s tongue sought hers while her hands roamed his chest and back, stroking, scraping, palming and caressing him until he broke their kiss to bury his face in her neck as he struggled for breath, but Penelope took over.  She grabbed a fistful of his hair to pull him back so she could bury her face in his neck instead and place hot open-mouthed kisses there, dragging her tongue from his shoulder to just below his ear, then nibbling her way back down him. 

His cock was twitching beneath her, and she smiled against his neck as she continued to kiss him and tease his chest with her fingers until she moved back to gaze at him. 

His eyes were darkened with passion, so much so that they were nearly grey with very little color actually showing and he had lost his focus again, looking hazy and lost in the best way possible.  She quickly dropped her lips to his to kiss him again, her tongue seeking his, while her hands reached behind her to unclasp her bra, peeling it down her arms and letting it float away to churn in the bubbles. 

“Your turn.  Touch me, Colin.” Penelope begged when she ended the deep kiss. 

Colin drank her in, she was more beautiful than the goddess he had labeled her earlier – she was a siren.  Her rosy, peaked nipples were begging for his attention and her full and heavy breasts fit perfectly into his large hands when he cupped her.  She arced into him and moaned into his ear, then shrieked when he swiped his thumb across her nipples, pebbling them further.  The shriek became a cry when he pinched them between his fingers. 

“Colin!”

“You are exquisite, Pen.  Beyond beautiful.” He breathed, pulling her high on his chest so he could capture one of the crested peaks in his mouth.

He sucked until she was writhing against him and she tipped her head back, giving him as much of her as she could. He abraded his teeth against her, then laved his tongue over it, alternating between the two until her writhing turned to squirming while she gasped until he moved to her other breast to the repeat the process.

“So responsive for me, angel.” He said between nips.

“Colin, I want to suck your cock.” Penelope said, wanting to make his secret walkie fantasy come true for him…wanting to give him anything he wanted.

Colin didn’t want her to feel his hesitancy, so he kept sucking on her nipple while his thoughts whirled around in his head. 

Penelope had already seen two of his tattoos and not connected any dots, but she could not see beneath his boxer briefs, because that was far too telling – there was no hidden meaning behind his third tattoo on his left hipbone…it was an outright branded, marked and claimed declaration.  If she saw the feather with her name scrawled in cursive at the calamus then there was no hiding that loud, proud and overt announcement from her.

If she saw that tattoo now then he would have to stop and explain it, and he was far too gone for that right now.  He would focus on her now and confess later – he would have to take her in the tub just to ensure he stayed obscured under the water. 

“Mmm, later, angel.  It is time for you to be deliciously tortured.” Colin said, dropping her breasts and dragging her knickers from her legs, leaving them to chase her bra in the swirling of the jets. 

His fingers trailed to her folds to part her with a stroke of one finger, back up with two fingers, down with the same two and back up with one until her juicy pink pussy had parted for him.

“Very slick for me already, my beautiful Pen.”

Colin smiled when she whimpered and bucked into his hand, the callused pad of his middle finger, feeling just as wicked as she thought it would when he rubbed her clit in a circle while her hips rose and fell on him to meet the delightful friction.

“Are you close already?  Some amazing kisses and your perfect tits in my mouth and you are ready?”

He didn’t doubt it…if she wanted him a fraction as much as he wanted her then their first time was going to be fast and furious, which he supposed was fine, because he planned to have a lifetime with her with plenty of opportunity for seductively slow. 

“Out you go then.  I have to taste your silk on my tongue.”

Colin lifted her and placed her on the edge of the tub and groaned aloud with her spread open, water running down her thighs and her arousal glistening for him.

“Pen, you are truly an angel fallen to earth.”

“Colin, I…Ohhhhhh.” Penelope started, then lost whatever thought it was as his tongue danced across her clit then swiped circles around her pussy, his beard rubbing against so much of her that she let out a shuddering sigh and clutched his head to her.

She started to tighten her legs around him but her ankle instantly twinged, reminding her that she could not, and she moaned her protest. 

“Easy.  Don’t hurt yourself.” Colin murmured against her. 

He drew her clit to his lips and thrust his index finger into her slick heat, feeling her walls clamp onto him immediately.  He withdrew and thrust a second finger back in as he continued to nibble on her while he worked his fingers in and out a steady rhythm. 

Her body was blooming around him and her cries were becoming increasingly desperate and high pitched and he sped up everything he was doing to her. 

“Be a good girl and come for me, angel.” Colin said, nipping her clit, twisting and crooking his fingers in her and tweaking her nipple until she did just that.

She cried out his name repeatedly as if it were the only word she remembered in her vocabulary as she shuddered violently on his fingers and tongue.  He didn’t stop until she collapsed into a boneless heap on the shelf.

“Colin…I…”

Colin rid himself of his boxer briefs, sending them floating off to join her lingerie and didn’t let her finish her thought, hauling her back into the tub to straddle him as he grasped his throbbingly hard cock and began running himself up and down her folds to coat himself, sending more shockwaves through her still sensitive nerves. 

“This is you, angel.  You take me, hard and fast.  I ache for you and the second my cock is buried in your sweet pussy I’m going to be a timebomb ready to explode.” He said through clenched teeth, not sure if he just lied to her…he may come just from running his head up and down her slit.

He took the rough pad of his middle finger and circled her clit while she sank down on to him, groaning loudly and gasping as he stretched and filled her.  Her walls flittered and clasped around him until he was fully seated within her, and he was sure he had found his nirvana in Penelope. 

Her mouth had fallen open in soundless bliss the more of him that she took, and she didn’t move for a moment as she adjusted to such length and girth, then she started moving her hips very slowly. 

“Look at me, Colin” Penelope ordered him. 

Colin looked intoxicated as his burning eyes met hers, she held his gaze as her fingernails buried themselves in his shoulders as she increased her speed, sending water sloshing in either direction and on the shelf that he had pulled her from. 

“Yesssss, give me your huge cock.  Fuck me, Colin.  You’re so deep.  You’re so good to me.”

If she couldn’t suck his cock right now, then she could at least give him some of his fantasy phrases until she could.

“Pen, oh my god…you feel incredible.  So tight.  So wet.  So hot.”

Penelope was raising and lowering herself with rapid speed, her hips crashing into his, her breasts bouncing as she moved, her lower lip caught between her teeth while she whimpered and moaned, and he was still chasing her clit with his callused finger as they continued to watch either other’s eyes intently. 

She moved her hips in a circular motion, and he growled at her.  They were both close, he could feel her walls fluttering wildly on his cock while she rose and fell on him.

“Colin, please!  More.” Penelope begged him. 

“Faster, harder, angel.” He begged her. 

Colin changed the pattern on her clit to a zig zag motion and brought the hand the hand that had been grasping her hip to her nipple to roughly pinch her while she spread the stance of her knees, pulling him in further as she increased her tempo to ride his cock just as he asked, harder and faster. 

She broke on him with scream, her whole body spasming around him and her pussy clenching onto him dragging him into her deeper, sending him into his own release with her with a primitive roar and continuing to jerk his hips into her until they both fell into each other’s arms and tucked themselves in their respective necks.

Each was completely shattered because never had it been like that…ever. 

They stayed that way for a few minutes, stroking, snuggling, and pressing lazy kisses to each other until finally Penelope spoke and broke the silence.

“Colin, take me to your bed.”

She had come, he had come and now they could finally talk…then he would take her to his bed…their bed.

Chapter Text

Colin had fully intended on taking Penelope from his bathtub into his bedroom so they could begin their conversation on his long overdue love confession, but he had made the mistake of gently kissing her while she was still in his embrace and straddling him in the in the bubbling water and that had quickly flown out the window.  He kissed her a second time more intently, a third more passionately and the fourth he lost all rationale that he had been clinging to.

His fingers sank into her thick red curls and his lips had captured hers, sending chills and shivers of delight through his body as his heart threatened to beat from his chest and his soul melded with hers as kiss after kiss melted together. 

Penelope was soft, warm, and pliant and her cooing sounds of pleasure had his cock immediately stirring for more of her – exacerbated when her fingers drifted under the water and wrapped around him urgently. 

“Colin, I want you again already.  I am on fire for you. Please.” Penelope begged him. 

A long, loud groan was ripped from his throat at her touch and his head fell back in ecstasy – she cupped her fingers behind his neck to pull him back up and meet her hotly burning gaze…her hand sliding up, twisting and swiping her thumb over his swollen head before it glided back down – his mouth fell open.  She repeated her action over and over, keeping his eye contact and every time her thumb stroked him, he cried out for her.

“Give me your kisses.  I need them.  I am greedy for them all.” Penelope said, silencing her name that was repeatedly falling from Colin’s lips as she swept and down his length.

Colin gave her sloppy, open-mouthed kisses, desperately losing his mind to take her again as he bulged, grew and pulsed in her palm until his tongue touched hers and began massaging hers, stroking up and down, to the same rhythm of her hand, groaning and murmuring between their kisses and her tugs.

“Colin!” She cried hungrily as she moaned lowly and frantically.

She shifted atop him, slipping him inside her and he broke the kiss to raggedly draw in air as he slid into her tight, wet heat until he was completely sheathed in her.

“Yessss, angel.” He ground out through clenched teeth and a hiss.  “Your pretty pink pussy was made to take my cock.”

“Made for it?  Mmm, you may be right.” She replied, kissing him again, stealing any remnants of control he had over the situation.  “I am absolutely stuffed with your huge cock, baby.”

Penelope was not moving as she resumed her kisses, Colin groaned as he grasped at the cheeks of her ass to pull her into him and tried to thrust his hips upwards to chase her, but she put more of her weight on him to hold him still. 

“No, Colin.  Stay right where you are.  Savor this until you can’t take it anymore.  I want to feel you everywhere for as long as possible.” Penelope ordered him, biting her lip and staring into his eyes again. 

“Pen…I can’t…” He started and was hushed when she brought her hands up his face, caressing her fingertips in the soft, bristliness of his beard, continuing not to move her hips with his cock buried deep within her as she stroked, skimmed and rubbed his face. 

“I love your beard, Colin.  The way it feels on my skin is impossibly erotic, scratchy yet soft as it scrapes along my flesh.”

Penelope pulled Colin’s head into the crook of her neck and rubbed herself on him so that his beard rasped on her delicate skin, making it blossom into a light pink at the friction as she mewled into him. 

Frustratingly her hips remained still, but her walls were fluttering around him, pulling him closer to the brink.

“Pen…” He protested once more but she interrupted him again. 

“I love the roughness of your hands from working with them so much outside.  Your callus feels so tantalizing on my clit.  Show me.”

Penelope pulled his finger into her mouth, then drew up and down on it like it was his cock, licking the tip with her tongue before she slid him down her body, to part her folds until she dragged him over her clit and her hips involuntarily jerked, giving him a moment of relief, but she still herself again. 

He whimpered beneath her, torturously dying a slow painful death as his cock pulsed within her, screaming to spill himself while buried so deeply and snugly in her. 

“Rub my clit, Colin.”

He did and she arched her back into him, sending her hips moving again as her pussy clasped him tightly and he gasped at the sensation while she moaned at his tight circles that he was rubbing sent waves of pleasure crashing down her spine and limbs.

“I love your arms.” Penelope continued through her breathless panting.

“I…Pen!” Colin tried again but she silenced him.

“Never have I felt safer and more cared for than when you are holding me.  You are so strong, masculine and tender – truly a combination to behold…a manly marshmallow who is so secure in himself that you give no fucks whatsoever as being perceived as so gentle.” She said, having issues stringing so many words together through her moans at his continued focused attentions.  “Hold me with your other arm – like you’re never going to let me go.”

Colin brought his free arm, that was not wildly rubbing her clit, around her and pulled her even more securely to him, shifting her pussy on him once again while he moved her.

He had so many years of pent-up desire for her that he was going to come just from being so tightly grasped by her juicy channel and her seductive words…which was exactly what she was going for and judging by the look on her face she was almost there with how blissed out she was as she gazed at him.

“How’s your cock doing, baby?” Penelope asked, tightening her muscles on him, making him jerk within her.

He couldn’t even manage her name this time as she kept it up, contracting and releasing until strangled sounds were escaping his throat. 

“Does that feel good?  Do you like that?” She murmured, sending one hand through his hair and the other through his beard as she leaned forward to nip his ear. 

“You’re going to make me come so hard just by my tight cunt keeping you captive and your finger.  Harder, Colin, press me.” 

She screamed loudly into his ear that she had been panting hotly into when he did just that, pulsed her pussy on him tightly and Colin lost it – he came on a strangled moan as he spilled inside of her while she continued to clench and unclench on him until he shuddered and cried out her name, seeing stars behind his lids and his ears roaring with the intensity.

Then Penelope began to furiously move before he went too soft so she could follow him…she was so close it wouldn’t take her much, and his rough finger was still circling her clit, speeding up as her hips did until she fell apart on him with her own shrieking scream that she meant to be his name but was a jumble of incoherent noises instead as she spasmed and quaked in his arm that was still holding her so tightly as he pressed hungry kisses to her neck, jaw and chin until she stopped moving her hips and merely collapsed on him. 

He gave them less than a minute to recover from the absolute most thorough fucking he had received in his life before he spoke.

“Come on, angel. Out of this tub right now.  I have things I need to say to you before you kill me which I am certain is your intent tonight.” Colin said gruffly and fiercely – hoping he was still alive right now and this was not his version of heaven, with a naked Penelope on his lap and his well-sated cock just waiting to slip out of her perfect pussy. 

Colin picked her up from the bathtub and with both of them dripping wet, carried her to his bedroom and set her on his bench at the end of the bed.  He spun quickly so that she wouldn’t see his tattoo, or if she did then it was not enough time to register what it was, and went to his walk-in closet, pulling on a pair of black joggers and returning with a brown t-shirt for her.

“Here, Pen, put this on for me so we can talk.” Colin said.

Penelope shook it out and paused to read it before she did as she was told. 

It was the figure of a man, standing bow legged in front of a chopping platform with a log placed on it, holding his axe between his legs so that it was dropped to the ground and looked more like a disturbingly long cock than an axe; scrawled over his head in a font that somehow looked aggressively sexual it read Behold My Impressive Hard Morning Wood with the sun shining on the words.

Penelope giggled, making her tits jiggle so enticingly that Colin groaned again watching them.

“Sorry.  I didn’t pay attention to what I grabbed but, please, angel.  Put it on.  I have a hundred things I need to tell you, and I can’t think when all your perfectly beautiful softness is displayed for me.” He said pleadingly. 

“Oh, Colin.  That’s so sweet.” Penelope replied, tugging the shirt over her head and wriggling around so it covered her bottom half to her knees.

Colin took his first proper deep breath since they returned home from the restaurant and sat next to her on the bench, turning to face her and reaching for her hands to hold in his.

“Pen…” He swallowed nervously.  “I have a confession to make – years in the making.  You have just brought to life long held fantasies and surpassed anything I could have dreamt up because it has never been like that with anyone else.  Love pushed it the limits of pleasure and I’m still not entirely convinced I am still roaming this earth after that…after both of those encounters.”

“You are still with me, unless we are both not of this earth any longer.” Penelope promised him. 

“Well, if we are not, there is nowhere else I would rather be than with than you.  I want to spend all of my days with you.  You are sweet, funny, smart, caring, amazing and beautiful.  You have always seen straight to the center of my being and seen me for me.  It’s always been you, Penelope.  You are the only thing that has keep me grounded and tethered for so many points of my life.  I love you as my best friend and I am in love with the very essence of your sweet soul and my own aches for you – to intertwine with yours.  I love you, Pen.  For so long I have loved you.  I was going to tell you over dinner the night everything went to shit for us, but it has been even longer than that…so many times that I resisted myself, thinking I could not possibly be in love my best friend, and if I was that you could not possibly love me…so I uselessly fought myself, only to fall harder and deeper for you.”

Penelope’s eyes were blurring with tears of happiness, and her voice broke as she spoke.

“Oh, Colin.  See?  You are the manliest marshmallow I know.  I love you as my best friend and I am in love with you as you have the sweetest soul one could possess.  I have always cried out for you on the deepest of levels – no one is as attuned to me as you are, no one understands me as you do.  You are kind, caring, clever, know how to make me laugh, know how to make me feel heard and you are indisputably the most handsome man I know.  I love you too.”

Colin’s eyes blurred with his own tears of happiness as he pulled her into his arms to hug her close before he kissed her softly, stroking the wetness from her cheeks. 

“Pen, I have more to tell you, then I will make the most gentle, tender, sweet and passionate love to you in our bed, my angel.”

Penelope brought his palm to her lips and kissed it before snuggling her face in it adoringly with a nod.

“There has been no one in the years we were apart because I knew that I loved you and no one else would ever suffice, compare or have my heart so I was determined to make myself into a man who deserved you.”

“Colin…” Penelope started, but he silenced her with a kiss. 

“Please, let me get this all out, my love.”

“I missed you so much and it got harder and harder not having you in my life.  Instead of my love lessening the longer that you were gone, it only grew more insistent and intense, becoming more positive than ever of the claim you had on my heart.  You asked me about my tattoos, and I could not share then, but they were a result of that increasingly desperate love I held for you.”

Penelope stroked the softness of his beard at his jawline affectionately, her eyes dewy and dazed.

“Everything is on my left side because that is the side my heart is on and you had so soundly plundered it – so like the pirate you were, I got the treasure chest first.” Colin said, grasping his left bicep as he spoke.  “I was trying to think of abstract ways of representing us together, in one tattoo. The sea lapping the waves of the shore is the same color as your arresting eyes, the rubies spilling from the chest are the same red as your striking hair, the sapphires are my own eyes because you had so often called out that you found them a remarkable shade and it thrilled me that you had noticed, the aquamarine gems are my March birthstone and the diamonds are yours.”

“Colin.” Penelope said simply, placing her hand over her heart to show him how much he had touched her before she leaned in and brushed a kiss to the treasure chest.

“The second was my swan tattoo – after a year without you I was a bit beyond the abstract.  Do you know what a female swan is called, my angel?” Colin asked.

Penelope feigned ignorance and shook her head – she hadn’t known until yesterday when Frannie told her, and she would never betray what she had not shared… and she never would have connected it without Frannie leading her.

“They are called pens.  So, of course, my pen tattoo also had to have your sky-blue eyes, while swimming in a sky-blue lake, directly over my heart that you had laid such a permanent claim on.  A pen on my heart for all time while my Pen was in my heart for all time seemed quite fitting.”

The explanations Frannie had given her yesterday had flooded her with feeling, but were nothing compared to Colin’s. His lovely and loving descriptions were clawing at her insides, filling her with warmth, love and emotion at being so fiercely loved when she had given him nothing in return. 

Penelope put her hand on his heart and caressed it adoringly before she leaned forward and placed an open-mouthed kiss on the swan while he gasped beneath her lips.

“There is a third one that you have not seen that I got a few months ago at my most desperate, most hopeless and most in love with you yet so it ended up as my most overt declaration of you, to you, ever – if I somehow found myself with another woman that wasn’t you she would end the encounter immediately when she saw it, which would set me right because it was you I was supposed to be with, not any other.  Anyone other than you would meaningless.  A punishment I didn’t want.”

“What is it, my love?  Where is it?” Penelope asked curiously, her heart swelling and her eyes dropping to his waist because she knew that’s where it had to be…hidden under his clothes and obscured in the swirling water. 

Colin stood and tugged the left side of his joggers down scandalously low, baring the low V of his hipbone. There he showed her his loudest and boldest declaration of the three tattoos – a long red feather, with Penelope scrawled in cursive, with a heart instead of the letter ‘O’ in the quill of it and placed at such an angle that the tip was pointing straight at his cock, like a bow with an arrow.

“Oh my god.” Penelope exclaimed breathlessly, not imagining in a million years that’s what it would have been.  She reached out, not touching him but running her finger near it so he could feel the heat emanating from her.

“You already had my heart, this was my reminder that my body was only for you too, because you had captured my soul and the only way to see it again was to join with you, become a part of you.”

“Colin…I…have no words.  May I?” She asked on a near sob.

“I am yours, angel.  Please.” Colin said, waving his hand at his hip for her. 

Penelope moved the fraction closer and touched his warm skin, trailing from the red tip, through the feathers, down her name, to the very tip of the quill, mesmerized by such a pronouncement as this.  Then she flicked her eyes to his, leaned towards him and pressed a long, lingering kiss to the heart in her name while he tipped his head back in bliss and sighed her name.

 She loosened his grip on his joggers and pulled the material back up, covering him once more with a loving pat over his third, and perhaps most precious to her, tattoo.  She stood up, balancing on her uninjured ankle so she could cup his strong, square, beard covered jaw. 

“I will spend the rest of my life making the last two years up to you, my love.” Penelope promised him. 

“There is no need. I have you now and that’s all I ever wanted in my life.  From the moment I met you I strongly suspect.” Colin said, turning into her palm. 

“I know it was for me.  I love you, my Colin.”

“I love you, my Pen.”

“Show me.  Prove it to me.” Penelope said, kissing her way over his abdomen.

Colin did, of course, losing count of exactly how many times he showed her with his body and declared it with his whispered sweet words that he was going to spend the rest of his life repeating to her.

Chapter Text

Penelope awoke just before dawn with her leg draped over Colin’s waist, her face tucked into his neck and her breasts pressed into his chest while he had his arms wrapped snugly around her and his face buried in her hair.  The sex was mind-blowing, the orgasms were rip-roaring but waking up like this, so thoroughly ensconced in Colin’s embrace…this was love. 

She felt complete…content.  She had never been so happy, and it was all because of the man holding her as if his life depended on it.  Colin was the last piece of her life puzzle that she had wanted. 

She wanted to work somewhere she loved, and she had Bridgerton Lumber Mill and Tree Farm, surrounded by those she loved and cherished.

She wanted a huge family who loved her unconditionally and she had the Bridgertons. 

She wanted a friend who loved her unconditionally and listened and supported her, she had Eloise. 

She wanted a man who loved her unconditionally, unselfishly, would do anything for her, was affectionate and would show how much he loved her loudly and proudly, and fuck if that was not Colin – loving her so intently even when she had kept such distance from him, pushed him away and tried to make him think that she hated him, though she had done nothing of the sort. 

She felt a fresh wave of anger for the ridiculous asshole people he had had in his life that could be so cruel as to trick her, she felt another wave of anger at herself for falling so easily into their trap, and a third, also at herself, for being too blinded by her own hurt to allow him the opportunity to explain himself.  It had always been Colin, would always be Colin and she was a damn fool for trying to convince herself otherwise for the past two years.

His sweet soul had always been the one her own had yearned for.  She couldn’t believe he had felt the same all this time. 

She couldn’t believe what masters both of them were at hiding their feelings so deeply that neither of them could believe it could be true there was love there. 

She couldn’t believe this is where she was laying now, in the arms of the man that she had loved for so much of her life, after receiving the love confession of all love confessions, and having her world rocked by his body, showing her what pleasures he could wreak over her. 

Colin stirred beneath her, tightened his arms around her, and whispered her name on the barest of breaths and that he loved her as his chin snuggled into the crown of her head.  She thought that perhaps she had never loved him more than in that moment.

He slept on and her heart squeezed tightly as if a powerful fist had clenched it in its grasp – even his subconscious cried out for her and wanted her with him. 

Penelope’s fingertips stroked lovingly over his heart, and he sighed unwittingly.

“My Pen.” He murmured, shifting more fully into her and pulling her even closer. 

The blood in her veins thickened and the entirety of her body warmed while love washed over her.  His Pen, yes, she was.  She always had been, of course, but now they had made it so – she was sure she was glowing from within from it, luminescent in the darkness simply from being his.

The way he had turned to her allowed her to pull her face from the crook of his neck and place the softest of kisses on his pectoral, over his heart that she had been mindlessly caressing.

With all of their lovemaking last night her mind really hadn’t had a chance to catch up with all the revelations Colin had made to her.  The meaning behind his tattoos had touched her deeply but the information that he had been ready to confess his love to her that night at dinner had blown her mind – because she had not been imagining things…he had felt their pull too, he had waged a war with himself trying to become a man he thought she would want and trying to change parts of himself in order to deserve her, not realizing he always had.

Whether he was the wealth management man in the three-piece suit or the flannelled lumberjack, his heart had remained the same and that was the thing that she loved the most…he had always been the gooiest of marshmallows and not ashamed nor embarrassed of it.  He was simply Colin – take it or leave it…she would take it. 

Penelope kissed his heart again – more than willing to wake up this way every day for the rest of her life, feeling this much love coursing through her.

“I love you, Colin.” She whispered to him as he slept, for no other reason than just bursting to say the words aloud again instead of chanting them in her mind as she usually did. 

“A kiss to the very heart that you possess and a love declaration…I demand to awaken to that every morning now if you are going to start out setting the bar so high.”

Colin’s low voice rumbled against her cheek, and she placed another kiss there, directly on his swan tattoo, then wriggled her way up to continue up his neck, to his bearded jaw and finally his lips. 

“You sigh my name in your sleep, you know.” Penelope said, gazing into his cobalt eyes. 

“I was dreaming of you.” Colin replied with a sheepish smile.

“Oh?  What was I doing to deserve such a blissful sigh of happiness?”

“Nothing more than what you are doing right now.  Holding me, caressing me, telling me that you love me.”

“That is what you dream of?” Penelope asked incredulously.

Of course, her tender, gooey man dreamed of love and sweet touches.

“I’m a simple man, my Pen.”

“Then allow me to continue to make your dream come alive.”

Penelope cuddled herself into him, stroked his chest, his beard, and his hair as she kissed him and whispered her words of love to him between her lips capturing his until she pulled back and folded her arms on his chest to look up at him, his eyes dazed and his smile soft.

“I love you.” He murmured to her. 

“I know…I have never felt more loved.”

Colin kissed her this time until she had started to gasp against him, and he reluctantly pulled back from her. 

“I would love to stay in our bed and show you how much I love you, but I have to go feed the chickens.”

“You are going to leave me, cold and alone, for poultry?” Penelope asked teasingly. 

“How about I take you to your room to shower, you give me an hour with the poultry, my garden and a small woodpile?  Then I will make some very much needed breakfast before I bring you back to bed…or the sofa…or the kitchen island…or the bathtub…or one of the media room chairs downstairs.”

“What do you mean or?  I’m expecting an and.” Penelope giggled. 

Colin chuckled but his eyes darkened at the thought of taking Penelope in every room, on every conceivable surface of the house…their home.  He wanted Penelope’s clothes mixed in with his in their closet, her doing her hair while he was brushing his teeth as they readied themselves for work in the morning, Penelope plopped on the kitchen counter while he prepared dinner.  He wanted Penelope here with him. 

“I hate that you were hurt to make it happen, but it has felt so right with you here, Pen.  It was a nice house, but empty…your presence has turned it into a warm and welcoming home.” Colin said suddenly.

“Damn, Colin.” Penelope smiled.  “Warn a girl if you’re going to try to kill her with sweetness, would you?”

“Never with the intent to kill, but I will always shower you with the sweetness you deserve.”

He kissed her soundly and less than five minutes later he was dressed in a pair of his black work boots, tight jeans and a green and black striped flannel shirt, and had her things gathered up to carry her back to her room, wearing the t-shirt he had lent her yesterday to cover up with again.  She took in the picture, read the silly pun and an idea took root. 

“You said you are going to need some wood?” Penelope asked. 

“Yes, I’ll make some chicken for us later in the outdoor wood oven.”

“Colin!  You’re not going to…your own chickens, are you?” She asked horrified at the thought.

“No, my chickens are for their eggs, Pen.  They’ll live to see another day.” He chuckled. 

“Promise me that you won’t be ripping logs apart with your bare hands again this week.  Use your axe.” Penelope pleaded with him.  “We cannot both be injured at the same time.”

“I will use my axe.”

Colin kissed her and whispered, “Give me an hour.”

She clung to his flannel shirt and kissed him hungrily once more.

“Forty-five minutes.” She whispered back, stroking his square jaw as he melted into her touch.

She could have said ten and he would have done it.

“Yes, my Pen.”

When Colin left to go outside, Penelope set the alarm on her phone for forty-three minutes, hoping he was completing his chores in the order in which he listed them.  She hopped in the shower, brushed her teeth then donned the same Behold My Impressive Hard Morning Wood t-shirt and waited impatiently for her time to be up.  The rhythmic thwacking of his axe told her he had done as she asked, not using his hands to tear them apart like a maniac, and that he had completed his chopping last.

Finally, it was time, and she grabbed her crutches to go to Colin.  She stood on the patio, letting her eyes adjust to the bright morning light until they fell on him, standing with his back towards her, at his wood chopping platform in a stance much like the character on her borrowed shirt, a bow-legged squat to effectively deliver the needed blows. 

She made her way over to him and waited until he had the axe in a lowered position before she spoke.

“Colin?”

He whirled around in surprise to face her.

“Pen!  It is no safer for you on the grass this week, than it was last week.”

“I am much better on my crutches now than I was last week.” She said.  “Besides, I need to tell you something.”

He placed his hands on her hips to keep her steady and he was close enough she could see beads of sweat running down his face and neck to catch in his chest hair – perfect.

“And it could not wait three minutes for me to come inside?”

“It was one minute by the time I’ve made my way over.” She teased.  “And no.”

“What is it?  Are you well?” He asked with concern.

“I’m well…quite well.  The night that we got the text message situation sorted, and I radioed you to tell you good night…you left your walkie flipped to talk.” Penelope said.  “I heard you getting yourself off to thoughts of me sucking your cock.”

She saw him shift uncomfortably and a guilty look overtook his face. 

“NO! I am not telling you this to shame you!  I am telling you because I have thought of it ever since.  I could scarcely believe it when I heard it.”

“Pen, I would love it…damn, I would love it.  The only reason I prevented you last night was because you didn’t know about the third tattoo yet, but today we can…”

“No, not today…right now.”

“What?”

“I want to behold your impressive hard morning wood, Colin.”

Penelope peeled his t-shirt over her head so that she was standing naked in front of him, then laid the fabric over the platform to protect his skin and gently pried the axe from his hand to toss it away from them.

“Pen…” Colin groaned when she began to unbutton his jeans and tug them, along with his boxer briefs down below his butt then pushed him to sit down – his cock already stirring from seeing her bared to him.

“You are the one who gave me this shirt…I think you were hinting at me for it.  I’m going to suck your cock where you chop your wood so every time you stand here you think of me.” 

Her words went straight to said cock and the groan turned into a whimper because for fuck’s sake, yes, he would – she would forever be seared into his mind.

She sat on his lap for a moment to work the buttons of his shirt open – finally able to lave the beads of sweat from his skin, from his neck to the base of his throat, as she had wanted to for so long then dropped her hand to grasp him firmly.

“My own hint for you…I don’t have a gag reflex, Colin.” Penelope breathed onto him, now licking from his ear down his neck with her tongue before she shifted off his lap to kneel at his feet.

Colin gasped, not only at her words, but at the sight of her hovering in front of him, so near his cock, ready to drive him to madness, already halfway there.

Continuing with her tongue torture, she swiped up his hipbone Penelope tattoo before she pushed her tits around Colin’s cock and slid up and down his length a few times, making him harden and lengthen each time.  His head fell back, and he whined at the sensations. 

“Who is killing who here now?” Colin asked through clenched teeth. 

“Silly, Colin.  If I wanted to kill you, I would do this instead.”

Penelope said, letting her breasts fall away and leaning in to swipe the moisture weeping from his head with her tongue and wrapping her lips around him to draw on just his tip ever-so-slightly.

“Angel, oh my god.” Colin ground out, reclining on one elbow and burying his hand in her hair with the other. 

“I’m no angel right now, I’m the devil in disguise, here to be so good to you baby, here to wrap my lips around you, here to take your cock so deep down my throat, here to suck you hard.  I’m going to earn and swallow every last drop you have to spill for me.”

Colin was robbed of any response whatsoever past a primal grunt as her lips captured his head once more, sucking just a little harder than before, but not nearly enough for the gripping desire he had slamming through him. 

“Those were your own words, from the walkie that night, and I pictured myself doing every single one of them to you ever since – now I will.  Would you like that, baby?”

Still without words, his hips merely thrust closer towards her with a growl. 

“I had my own questions too though.  Would your fingers tangle in my hair, or would you hold my neck…which I suppose you have now answered.”

Colin’s hands tightened in her hair.

“Will you fuck my mouth with your cock, chasing your pleasure with me, because you can’t help yourself? Or would you gratefully take what I give you and sit here like a good boy?”

He growled louder and deep from within his chest, his hips involuntarily pistoning towards her again.

“Hmm, I see.” Penelope smiled, with her head so near his tip he felt her breath whisper hotly across him. “I’m going to make you come so fast and hard, Colin.”

He had no doubts whatsoever that would be the case because she had really barely even touched him yet, merely seduced him with words, suggestions and the barest of attention on his cock and he was harder than he could ever remember being and felt as if he were about to erupt simply from seeing her lips so close to him.

“Please, Pen.” Colin begged on a broken breath.

Penelope stopped her merciless teasing and captured his leaking head again, drawing on it with her firmest suck yet and kept him there, until her lips slid further and further down his shaft until he touched the back of her throat.  She pulled back up to his tip again, releasing him to lick the head, before she bobbed back down once more to take him. 

Colin’s back arched and his hips came off the chopping platform, seeking her wet warmth with a groan. 

“Question two answered.” Penelope smiled before she took him again.

His hips were moving of their own volition to fuck her mouth in time to her lips and she hummed her appreciation for him, which made him tilt his head back and pant even harder.

She popped him out of her mouth, pushed on his chest to lean him back fully, stretched his cock up towards his stomach, then licked her way across his sac, up his veiny underside and back down again three times while he writhed underneath her.  Then she did the same to his topside, his left side and his right side. 

He could barely breathe, his eyes were screwed tightly shut, and his ears echoed with her slurps, sucks and moans. He had never been treated with such…enthusiasm.

“Pen!” He cried out hoarsely.

“You are so huge, baby.” Penelope moaned appreciatively before she engulfed him in her mouth again, relaxing her throat to take him all the way down to the base of his shaft this time. 

He was back on his elbow again, his hands tugging near painfully in her hair as his eyes widened in surprise – no one had ever been able to take all of him before, he was too wide, too long, but his slight, beautiful Penelope could and it was…indescribable – all he had been able to do before was imagine the sensation.

“Pen!  You.  Truly. Were.  Made.  For.  Me.” He managed between very broken breaths as he fought not to come right now.

Her tongue was swirling, her lips were sucking, her throat was humming, her head was bobbing, and his hips were chasing everything she was giving him – he was absolutely losing his mind as she wrecked desirous passion through every inch of him. 

Penelope brought her fingernails up to lightly run over his twitching thighs and his pulsing sac while she continued to give him the best attentions that she knew how.  She took the fingers and nails of her left hand to caress and scratch against his feather tattoo while her lips continued their way up and down his cock, licking at his head when she got to his tip before she stuffed him back down with this most erotic savoring sound he had ever heard.

He was getting ready to tell her that he was about lose it but she must have felt it because she stilled her bobbing, simply continuing her firm sucking combined with her hungry hums and his fingers spread wide on her head to grasp her neck too to cradle her as he cried out her name and shot his hot, salty, white ropes of liquid into her mouth while she eagerly swallowed as quickly as she could to catch it all. 

She didn’t release him for a good twenty seconds after he had stopped spasming and she swirled her tongue all the way up and down his shaft to ensure she had every drop of him that there was to be had.

“Pen, for fuck’s sake, kill me indeed.” Colin said, dropping head back again momentarily in pure bliss before pulling her back up into his lap to bury his head in her neck and press languid kisses there.

“Never with the intent to kill, but I will always shower you with the sweetness you deserve.”  Penelope replied, using his own words from earlier.

Colin chuckled and pulled her closer into him while Penelope sifted her fingers through his hair with one hand and alternated between stroking his two upper body tattoos with the other.   

“I’m going to find you a payback t-shirt, you little devil, you.” Colin said.

“Such as?” Penelope asked curiously.

“I don’t know yet…a cat on it with words about petting your temptingly soft pussy or something.” He said.

Penelope giggled.

“So far you are the one doing all the torturing here.” He said at her giggle.  “You’ll have your retribution, my sweet.”

Penelope gazed into his teasing sapphire eyes, but she knew he could torture her and make her beg just as much she could make him do so…she looked forward to it.

Chapter Text

A little over a month later Penelope was all healed up but had not returned to her own flat – she didn’t want to go home, and she was sure Colin didn’t either as he avoided all talk of it.  She’d gone back once after her sprain had healed to bring even more clothes to Colin’s house and gather up toys for Cat-rine and it just didn’t feel like where she belonged anymore.  She belonged wherever Colin was – he adored her cat, he adored her, and she adored him and what they were creating together…it had morphed to ours and theirs…their house, our bed, our kitchen.

They had fallen into an easy domesticated bliss – they got ready together in the mornings, he drove her into work and waited for her to finish her evening checklist then drove her back home.  They made dinner together…though to be fair he was the better cook, and she mostly just prepped or sat chatting with him.  They watched a bit of telly as they cuddled on the sofa, they took a nightly soak in his magical bathtub, which is usually what kicked off their nightly activities…which were incredibly satisfying.

She helped him with his chores, like caring for the chickens…she was afraid of them at first, they were loud, fast, and tended to run at you suddenly, but she’d learned to feed them and collect their eggs and harvest from the garden.  Colin was right, there was something satisfying about growing and picking your own food.

He’d taught her how to chop wood with his axe, but she didn’t care for it…the axe was more than half as tall as she was so it quite unwieldy.  Colin called her adorable but she felt like a child playing with a toy that was far too big for them, so she had only done that twice and opted for chicken duty or harvesting while he chopped – though she became distracted a lot while picking because his chopping platform was close to the garden…she ended up watching him instead, finding herself reliving the memory of pushing him to it and wrapping her lips around him or just watching him work.  She was just as fascinated by him as she had always been – even though she was intimately familiar with every inch of his body, every ripple of his muscles and every sound of exertion he made now.

Sundays they spent most of their day in bed until they were forced to go scrounge up some food for strength.  It was pure bliss.  She felt so loved, both physically, mentally and spiritually and she hoped she was doing the same for Colin. 

More than once he had returned to the office for her and taken her out to the woods in his truck for a sweet little midday lunch date that he’d packed into his cooler for them.  They would eat, they would chat, they would laugh, they would kiss and then things would inevitably spin out of control in some way.  She rode his fingers until she fell apart on him, she sucked his cock until he had fallen apart for her, he buried his tongue in her pussy until she was a writhing, shaking, shrieking mess, they’d fucked in the cabin of his truck, they’d fucked in the bed of his truck, they’d fucked on the ground on the blanket he had spread for them.  It had been weeks and their hunger for each other had not dampened in the slightest because of all they denied themselves for so long.

They had quickly revealed themselves to the Bridgertons the first time they had them all in the same room, which was the Wednesday of the week that Penelope returned to work after her forced vacation from Edmund.  Colin had hosted his family at his house for dinner and they had announced, to the surprise of no one, that they were together.  Everyone had been elated with the news, stating they knew this would happen, it was only a matter of time, that they had been so obvious for years. 

Colin and Penelope both looked suitably sheepish, and Penelope was quite certain that the moment it had been shared Violet had started planning their wedding in her mind.  She could see it working a hundred miles a minute. 

She teared up, hugged Penelope so tightly, whispered how much she loved her, how perfect she was for her darling Colin and perfect Colin was for her darling Penelope then hugged her again.

Edmund had hugged her and kissed her cheek, whispering how happy he was that this was finally happening for them. 

Eloise had called Colin a slow dolt and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

Frannie had smiled warmly and knowingly at Penelope and hugged her.

Kate had hugged her with a big grin and admitted that when she first started dating Anthony that she thought Colin and Penelope were already together – which was a common misconception that people meeting them for the first time often had. 

Anthony, Ben and Greg had thumped Colin so hard on the back that she feared he may topple over then they moved to her.  She was afraid they were going to do the same to her but all three kissed her cheek softly.

Hyacinth however, had toppled Penelope over as she threw herself so enthusiastically into her arms that she had lost her balance.  Penelope was fine, her injury had not been made worse, but Colin bellowed at Hyacinth and picked Penelope up from the ground as if she were made of glass. 

Daphne and Simon swooped in to distract him and save Hyacinth – Simon congratulating Colin and Daphne hugging Penelope happily. 

Penelope had worried that work would be slightly awkward after they had shared with the family – with some family ribbing and teasing about their relationship but there was none.  It was just like it was when Edmund interacted with Violet, Daphne interacted with Simon or Anthony interacted with Kate – expected and easy. 

Perhaps the timing had helped too – the Bridgerton Lumber Mill and Tree Farm Log-A-Palooza, had been fast approaching and everyone had been extremely focused on planning – it was their equivalent of a company picnic to show their appreciation – with tons of food and games for the employees and their families.

There were activities, games and competitions for axe throwing, log rolling, wood chopping, timber hauling and tree climbing races.  As well as a best flannel pageant and best beard competition – which is what Penelope suspected the Bridgerton men had started prepping for when they began coming in looking more like Colin than themselves. 

Edmund, Anthony, Ben, Greg and Simon had all started letting their beards grow, but they were still falling behind Colin, who had stopped trimming his altogether and was starting to look like an off the grid mountain man as it grew towards the base of his throat.  He had told her he would trim it back up after the competition but still Penelope didn’t mind it…the beard balm Colin used kept it highly conditioned and if she thought it tantalizing on her skin before it was nothing compared to now.  While his lips were on her clit his beard was tickling her thighs, and his moustache was rasping her mound and lips, and it was fire. 

So far she thought the only one giving Colin any competition was Anthony – who had even come in one day wearing his own flannel shirt of olive, black and a dark red, layered over a grey t-shirt, and tight jeans….plus he was starting to get some grey in his beard that was lending him a very sexy zaddy look that Colin didn’t have yet since he was so much younger. 

Their office was typically casual, but it was funny seeing them all so different than their typical fashionable and cleanshaven looks. 

It seemed everyone was preparing ahead of time with that competitive Bridgerton spirit permeating the air.

Penelope had had a girl’s night with Daphne, Eloise, Frannie and Hyacinth in town where they had gone axe throwing themselves to practice before hand.  The throwing axe was much shorter than the chopping axe, which had worked so much better for her and even though she’d never thrown an axe in her life she had ended up surprisingly good at it, nearly always at least landing on the target board.  Added with alcohol and giggling with the ladies it had turned out to be so much fun that they ended up planning to go another time after Log-A-Palooza to do it again.

The women had plotted that night that they were going to enter the Best Flannel competition, so it was not just going to be men competing and Penelope had found the perfect outfit online – she was going to snatch this victory from them all. 

The day of Log-A-Palooza arrived and Penelope kicked Colin out of the bathroom while she got dressed.  She put her hair up in a ponytail, put on her reddest lipstick and coated her lashes in mascara until they were wide-eyed, innocent and popping, then pulled the skirt, top and shoes from where she had hidden them in their closet. 

All three pieces, including the boots, were the quintessential black and red schoolgirl plaid but in flannel – the ankle boots had a silver buckle across the top of the laces and a four inch heel, the skirt was flared and flouncy and short, not even reaching mid-thigh, and the top was a deep V that went to her belly button, with strings crisscrossing between her breasts and molded cups to place them in just the right place for the seductively tantalizing  peekage.  She spun around in the mirror and looked at herself from all angles, certain that this was her victory to be won…and another time where she would be killing Colin by curves. 

Though he had ended up equally killing her by manly virility followed by his never-ending sweetness.  He had pulled on his black work boots, his oh-so-tight jeans that clung to every muscle in this thick thighs and butt, and a black and white checked flannel that he had rolled the sleeves up on and left unbuttoned down between his pecs.

“Pen!” He gasped when she had struck a licentious pose and framed herself in the bathroom door for her outfit reveal.  “Oh my god!  I…you…that…wow.”

“Funny, I was just thinking the same about you.” Penelope smiled, making her way over to him to run her hands up and down his chest.  “Do we have to go?”

“If we didn’t my mum or dad would come hunt us down, and I definitely do not want them witnessing what I am going to do to you later in this outfit.”

“Mmm…or what I’m going to do to you…certainly not parent appropriate.  I was feeling pretty good about my chances of winning the flannel competition until I saw you.”

“No, no, angel…I assure you that this is yours.  You look like every man’s naughty fantasy with the curves women strive for.”

“I’m going to come back here and change afterwards, cute as these boots are I don’t think I can walk in them all day on uneven ground.”

“Will you keep the shirt on?” Colin asked, stroking his thumbs across her nipples until they peaked then trailed his fingertips lightly up and down the V split.  Her head tipped back, and she moaned loudly. 

“Do you want me to?” When she was finally able to speak.

“Yes.” He said, back at her nipples again.

“Then I will keep it on…but if you want us to attend then you have to stop that, because I am about to pounce on you.” She replied, running her hand firmly up and down his cock through his jeans to prove her point.

Colin chuckled and dropped his hands away, raising them to show her that she had won that battle. 

“Come on, my naughty little angel.” Colin smiled, grabbing her hand to walk across the grounds with her.

No man even placed in the Best Flannel pageant and the Bridgerton women all grinned proudly as they stood there, collecting their medals – Violet was second runner up in a black and pink flannel skater dress and black work boots, Daphne was the runner up in a pair of brown work boots, tiny denim shorts and a teal and orange flannel shirt and Penelope had taken first in her head to toe flannel.  Colin simultaneously looked proud as hell of her and as if he wanted to maim every spectator that was hooting and hollering at Penelope’s sexy lumberjack schoolgirl get up, legs and tits. 

When they had all left the platform Penelope made her way back over to Colin who pulled her to him possessively as people congratulated her as they passed her, asking her where she purchased various pieces. 

“I’m going to go change now.  I’ll be back before the beard competition…that one I’m sure is yours.” Penelope said, squeezing his hand before she hugged him.

“Don’t lose your skirt and boots…I’m going to have you put them back on tonight.” Colin said, growling into her neck.

Penelope giggled, nodded and stroked her fingers in his beard before she started to walk away, but he pulled her back to him, pressing his body into hers as he continued to fiercely whisper to her.

“And leave your hair up…it’s going to be your reins later when I bend you over in that ridiculously sexy, short skirt.”

She gasped and then moaned when his teeth nipped her earlobe.

“This is the longest Log-A-Palooza ever.” Penelope pouted to his laugh.

She returned in a pair of jeans and her own pair of black work boots and watched as Colin did, indeed, win the beard competition, though surprisingly Greg’s had come in very quickly and had he started growing it even two weeks ahead of when he did then he may have overtaken Colin. 

She watched Colin quickly plow through splitting the most logs in five minutes in a log splitting competition, then celebrate his win by tearing one more in half with his bare hands with an over-the-top loud roar while she gave him a chiding look and he guiltily smiled at her.

Then he took her for ice cream, which they shared, and he tenderly fed her from the spoon while she cupped his wrist gently.

Afterwards Penelope watched in terror as Colin scaled a tree with nothing but a belt around his lower back and the trunk and some sharp tree climbing spikes attached to his boots to dig into the bark.  She was glad she was tethered to the office all day long; she couldn’t bear to watch him up this high and in such a dangerously precarious position.

Kate was standing next to her and tried to lend some levity to the situation.

“Damn, Pen…you’ve got your hands full with that one…quite literally.” Kate said.

Penelope did give a small laugh, because this vantage point really did afford a great view of just how full and round his butt was and how tightly his jeans clung to him to highlight that fact.

“He is too much cake for my little hands.” Penelope giggled with her and wiggled her fingers at her. 

Penelope was sure she did not breath until both Colin’s feet were safely planted on the earth again. 

“Colin, please do not make watch you do that again.  That was horrifying.” Penelope said, throwing herself into his arms.  “I love you far too well to have to watch you fall to your death.”

“Sweet Pen, I’m fine.  I’ve done that hundreds of times.  But I will not make you watch if you don’t want to because I love you far too well.  Come on, let’s go get some of that barbeque I smell.”

He sniffed his way to the tent like a bloodhound and held her close to him while they ate, finishing his plate and what she hadn’t eaten from hers. 

“What do you want to do now?” He asked her. 

“I told your sisters we would meet for axe throwing in about fifteen minutes…can we do that?”

“Sure, I can show you how to throw before they get there, give you a leg up on them.”

Penelope smiled and nodded innocently.  She had told Colin that she was going for drinks with his sisters the night they’d gone out, but she had not told him that there was axe throwing involved. 

If he wanted to ‘show’ her how to throw an axe so she could rub against him, so be it. 

They walked hand in hand to the area and Colin pulled her snugly to him, put a hand on her hip and his other stroked up and down her arm as he swung their arms back and forth together.  Penelope accidentally shifted her hips back far enough to brush his cock to his groan.

“Don’t stick your hips out that much, Pen, you want to stand tall, keep your body in alignment.”

“I’m sorry.” She said sincerely but brushed his cock again, more firmly.

He moved his hand from her hip to her butt to push and straighten her posture himself and she returned his moan.

“Now this is axe is much smaller than the chopping axe, so you should be able to handle it more easily.”

“I’ll try my best, Colin.” Penelope said. 

She continued trying to look innocent when her first axe landed on the outer target ring, her second landed even closer, but when her third axe landed in the bullseye and Colin’s mouth dropped open, she could no longer hide her smile or her laugh. 

“Penelope Featherington, did you just let me act like a patronizing fool, showing you how to throw an axe when you clearly know how?” Colin admonished.

“No, Colin Bridgerton…I let you show me how to throw an axe so that I had an excuse to nestle into your cock, be held in your arms and have your hands on my butt…then show you that I clearly knew how to throw.” Penelope laughed, wrapping herself into him and lowering her voice.  “Again, have I mentioned that this is the longest Log-a-Palooza ever?  I want you, Colin.”

“Pen…” Colin started, pulling her in closer to him.

“Alright, alright, break it up you two – this is a company event with hundreds of people milling about…no one wants to see that.” Eloise interrupted as she came running over to them with Hyacinth and Frannie.

Kate and Anthony soon joined them, with Kate kindly murmuring to Penelope to check in how she was doing after Colin’s tree climbing.  “I don’t blame you.  I wouldn’t like Ant doing that either.” Kate had assured her.   

Then Daphne and Simon joined them, and they spent the next hour throwing axes, laughing with trying to one-up everyone.

Frannie ended up being the winner to everyone’s applause – she’d been such a fan that she’d been back to the bar twice in the last two weeks to practice her throwing and gotten very good at it already. 

“Ant, up for log rolling?” Colin asked, then teased.  “Or are you feeling too arthritic today, old man?

“Never…I’ll take you all down.” Anthony laughed. 

“Pen and I are going to go find the cinnamon buns, then we’ll meet you there.” Colin said to Anthony.  “Why don’t you text Greg, Ben and Dad to meet us there?  Simon you in?”

“Of course, I am.” Simon replied with a grin.

“Time to get wet little bro.  All of you.” Anthony said, grabbing for Kate’s hand as he nodded enthusiastically and walked off. 

“Colin, we just ate a full lunch…and we had ice cream earlier.” Penelope giggled.

“That was a whole hour ago and this is cinnamon buns, Pen!  You can’t not have a cinnamon bun after throwing axes.”

“I am fairly certain that is not a thing.”

“Then we will make it one.  Come on.” He said eagerly. 

Penelope stopped him for a moment as he began tugging her along with him.  “I’m having the best day with you.”

He grinned and swooped down to kiss her.  “Me too, love.”

In the end she thought that maybe Colin was right, and a cinnamon bun was the perfect thing for after axe throwing because as she picked apart sections to feed to him, he kept pulling her fingers into his mouth to suck the icing from her as his eyes darkened. 

He had just licked a bit of the sticky sweetness from the corner of her own lips when she found herself nearly whining again.  “Colin!”

“I know, my angel – I am just as tortured as you are.  A few more hours and we can go home.”

His phone buzzed and he grinned.  “It appears we are now late, and my brothers are all now waiting on me.”

Colin grabbed for her hand as they walked and he held her until he had her tucked in next to Daphne and Violet, then handed Penelope his phone for safe keeping, kissed her soundly…to Violets aww’s, and sprinted off excitedly to join his brothers at the shoreline. 

“They are so competitive I fear this will be the rest of the day, tallying up who can send who into the water the most.” Violet said.

“I think you’re probably right.  Luckily El, Frannie and Hyacinth don’t seem to be interested in completing or we’d be here all of tomorrow too.” Penelope agreed. 

Penelope forgot to check the time when she had sat down but they watched the men do exactly what Violet had said they would. 

They were playing king of the hill style, and though Penelope could not hear their words she knew they were playfully taunting each other.  Eloise and Hyacinth joined them on the benches to watch.

Anthony sent Greg into water.

Then it was Edmund versus Anthony, then Ben and it was Greg who dethroned Edmund.

Colin took down Greg, Anthony and then Ben took out Colin.

Simon took down Ben and on and on it went for she had no idea how long, but she didn’t care, she would stay here until tomorrow if that’s what Colin wanted, because the joy on all their faces was evident.

Penelope could hear their raucous laughter from where she was sitting, and she was filled with love for how much they loved each other – each time someone fell the other helped him up and hugged him tightly, and for some reason that was the sexiest thing Colin had done all day. 

Even compared to all his manly lumberjack glory that she had just witnessed over the course of the events, how badly her body had cried out for his today, it was that sweet, gooey marshmallow center that had her in the strongest of chokeholds.

Chapter Text

Colin tugged uncomfortably on his black and grey striped tie and adjusted his charcoal waistcoat and matching suit jacket, feeling like he was completely smothered in the layers of fabric, unable to believe he had dressed this way every day for so many years in his previous life, but he had two things that he needed to discuss with Penelope and he’d made a reservation at a high end restaurant in the city and he wanted to look…acceptable for both his questions. 

He checked the time on his silver Rolex, that hadn’t seen the light of day since he’d started working the field…Rolex and physical labor didn’t go together, and straightened himself one more time, running his hand on both sides of his beard nervously to smooth it, comforted that it was still there. 

Going back to looking as acceptable as he possibly could, he had had the intention of shaving it and had lathered up with the gel when Penelope had come into their bathroom and immediately stopped him. 

“Colin!” She had cried out, startling him.  “What are you doing?”

“Shaving my beard off…for our date night.” He had told her.

“Is it bothering you in some way?  Is it making you uncomfortable?” Penelope asked.

“No.  I just…it’s a very nice restaurant.” He replied feebly while his mind was screaming, I simply need you to reply with a yes to any question that I ask you tonight.

“A very nice restaurant should still have no issues with your beard…and I love it.  Please leave it.”

“It would grow back in a few weeks, love.” He had laughed.

“No…please don’t shave it, Colin.  The beard suits you.”

She had looked up at him with her gigantic baby blue eyes pleadingly, hopped up on the bathroom counter and wet a towel to remove the lather on his face while he stood there gazing at her with more adoration than he had thought humanly possible. 

Afterwards, she taken a dry towel to him before she had massaged his beard balm in for him…and kept caressing his face long after the balm had been distributed while he melted into her touch.

“I love you just as you are, and in any state that you are in, but your beard makes my thighs quiver.” Penelope whispered after she had kissed him. 

Quiver?  Alright, for fuck’s sake, the beard was staying forevermore after that admission. 

“I’m going to go change.  Promise me you’ll leave the beard, unless we have talked about it.” She said stroking his cheek as he continued to curve into her palm, and she kissed him again.

Penelope could have asked him to promise her a million pounds, his house, his car and his stake in the company and he would have done it.  Two months since they’d admitted their feelings, and he was more in love with her than ever…which was saying a lot – he hadn’t thought he could get more so, but every day he was proved wrong – and he knew precisely what she meant, he loved her in whatever stated she was in, but he supposed he understood, he’d certainly want a warning if she were to order some colored contacts that altered the shade of her beautiful eyes from the aqua that he got so lost in, to something like a brown or a green…or if she were to take her lustrous locks from long, red curls to a short, straight blonde cut. 

“Yes, Pen.  I’ll talk to you.” He said dazedly when she pulled back from the kiss.

She smiled and patted his arm before he helped her off the counter and watched her disappear into the closet with a swish of her hips.

That was nearly thirty minutes ago. 

“Pen, is there anything I can do to help you?  Buttons?  Zippers?  Buckles?  We’ll need to leave soon if we’re stopping by your flat before our reservation.” Colin called gently.

He had four sisters and his mother…he had learned at an early age not to rush them while they were getting ready, or they would start questioning everything and take even longer.

“I’m almost ready.” Penelope said in her honeyed voice.  “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Colin went downstairs and checked Cat-rine’s food and water before he sat down on the couch to pet and coo at her until Penelope joined him.  Five minutes later he heard her heels clopping rhythmically on the wood of the stairs and watched the doorway expectantly.  There were times when she was so absolutely beautiful that she stole his breath and turned his mind to mush – he couldn’t believe she was real and that she was his. 

This was one of those times – she was breathtaking, wearing a simple black dress, that came to her knees, was slightly off the shoulders with a scalloped neckline and a black bow dangling between her breasts, but sinfully hugged her delicious curves and displayed a tantalizing amount of cleavage.  She had her curls up in an updo that made his fingers itch to pull it down, but showed such an expanse of her delicate neck, soft back and creamy shoulders that he knew he would do no such thing, and her lips were so seductively red that he imagined her leaving her claiming kiss marks all over him. 

Without realizing it he stood up and moved towards her as if she had beckoned him, though she had said nothing. 

“Pen, you are exquisite.”  He murmured, hugging her to him, minding her hair and makeup and dragging the tip of his nose down the length of hers instead, the contact causing no less of a zing down his spine.

“You are exquisite, Colin.  I have always loved this suit on you.  You look like Brosnan’s Bond…so effortlessly classy.” Penelope replied, doing the same with the tip of her nose and brushing it to his as she adjusted his black pocket square slightly.  “We could stay here, and instead of nose fucking I could peel you out of that suit, like I want to, and you could kiss my lipstick off, like I think you want to.”

“Reading my mind I see…most definitely later.” He smiled and chuckled, rubbing his nose to hers again even slower than before as his substitute for kissing her lipstick off.  “Right now, we cannot.  We have a reservation, and you deserve a lovely night out, my beautiful love…and I feel the very primal need to show you off – show them all that such an angel has picked me.”

Plus, he had his all-important questions to ask her. 

“It would be a world gone mad if I didn’t.” She replied, cupping his cheek again. 

Her tenderness was going to be his undoing tonight.

“My world would be mad if you didn’t.” He whispered to her.

Colin and Penelope took the drive into the city, alternating between companionable silence and light chatter, holding hands until they arrived at her flat – which was his first piece of tonight’s plan.  He wanted her to give up her flat and move in with him. 

He was tired of living with the worry niggling at the back of his mind that Penelope would leave him and their home that they had created together over the past weeks to come live here again…without him…living where he was not. He needed her with him.  It may seem fast, but they operated on their own time line, outside of the real world and it’s expectations and constraints – they’d known each other practically forever, had loved each other for entirely too long without doing something about it and as he saw it, their dating was merely a formality anyway…she was his, and he was hers for the rest of time and they would wed – that was his second question – they were simply in a layover period to the irrevocable conclusion.

When Penelope had gone out with Eloise, Frannie and Hyacinth for dinner last week Colin had used the time that she was gone to visit a jewelry store and buy her the perfect engagement ring. 

He could not wait to be her lawfully wedded wife…err, no, he could not wait to make her his lawfully wedded husband…wait, that wasn’t right either…he could not wait until they were husband and wife, whoever was who.  She would be Penelope Bridgerton.  Or Penelope Featherington-Bridgerton…hell, he would become Colin Featherington if she asked him to.  She was all that mattered.  His heart squeezed, then thumped rapidly and loudly…then he grinned.

They were standing in her bedroom, and he was watching her shove as many clothes as she could in her suitcase until he started doubting the ability of getting it zipped.

“Pen, when is your lease up here?” Colin asked, even though he knew the answer…Eloise had mentioned it to him and that was what prompted the rampant planning in his mind.  He was against a deadline here…he didn’t want her flat looming over him for another six to twelve months.

“In two months, I halfway expected to have my lease renewal paperwork shoved under the door when we got here today.”

“You should not renew it.” Colin said as his invitation – which couldn’t have been phrased worse if he tried.

“I don’t know, Colin.  Flat hunting is such a pain.” Penelope replied, purposefully making him spell out what she suspected he was hinting…which was exactly what she wanted too. 

“You could move into a house, instead of a flat.” 

Ok, apparently he could phrase his offer worse. 

“Violet and Edmund pay me very generously but even with that I still don’t think I could afford a house in the city.”  Penelope continued, deliberately misunderstanding him again. 

“No, Penelope, what I’m trying to say, very inarticulately, is that I want you to move into the house…into my house…our house.  It has been our house since the moment you limped into it on your crutches and breathed life into it…into me.  The thought of your laughter and warmth not there makes me feel hollow and as if something is missing.  Will you move in with me?”

“Colin, you sweet, sappy man…you are intent on melting my insides.” Penelope sighed, leaving her suitcase to walk around the bed and ruin her lipstick to kiss him.

She slid her hands up his chest to clutch his shoulders and pull him down so she could cup her fingers to the back of his neck and stroke his skin there while her lips caressed his for a moment.  She pulled back to wipe her thumb over his mouth to rid him of the red streaks as she smiled softly at him. 

“I want to be wherever it is that you are, and I don’t want to be separated from you or sleep without you. Moving in with you would make me so happy.”

“All I want is to make you happy, Pen.  Making you happy, makes me happy.”

He kissed her, resmearing her wicked red lipstick all over him again. 

She took her thumb to his lips a second time to clear the remnants of color, and he kissed the very tip of her thumb.

“Does this mean I can claim half ownership of the fabulous bathtub?” Penelope teased. 

“You can claim full ownership of it, and I’ll have one put in every room of the house if you ask me to.”

“Hmm, soaking in a bath in the kitchen while you prepare dinner does sound like it has some merits, however, I fear it will ruin the flow of the floorplan.” Penelope giggled as he nodded in agreement with her.

“Are you ready to go to dinner?  I don’t think any more clothes are going to fit in that suitcase.  We’ll have someone move anything that you want to bring to my house.” 

“I’m ready.”

Colin laughed as he watched squish her clothes into crumpled heaps so she could close and zip the suitcase then he took it from her to carry downstairs and tuck in the boot. 

She immediately reached for his hand to play idly with his fingers when they were settled back in his car, and she kept sharing her musings with him as she clearly thought over moving to the house.

“Does this mean I own chickens?  They’re not as scary now.”

“Am I going to have to learn to fish with my bare hands?” 

“You will allow me to purchase some groceries and not live entirely off the land?  I have seen no Cadbury trees around.”

“Will you let me use a lighter or am I to learn how to rub two sticks together to create fire?  Shall I be a proper cavewoman now?”

“Will you allow me to plant things in the garden too?”

“I do not mean to take over your closet, my love, but I am afraid it may be inevitable.”

“Colin?” She said, after a few minutes of being lost in her own thoughts.

“Yes, Pen.” He asked, curious at her suddenly serious tone.

“I love you.”

“Thank heavens for that.” He chuckled.  “I love you too.”

Penelope fell silent for the remainder of the drive, but Colin could feel her happiness rolling off her, which made his own roll off him and he brought her hand to his lips to brush a kiss to the back of it. He was prepared to give her everything tonight.

He’d made reservations at an exclusive restaurant where there wasn’t a menu to order from, but rather they served what the chef wanted to make that night based off what they’d found to be most fresh at the markets and it was served in long leisurely courses. 

Colin and Penelope chatted, teased, joked, held hands, stole kisses, shared looks and caresses over cocktails, leek and celery root soup, brussels sprouts salad, grilled lamb chops and upside-down pineapple carrot cake. 

Colin had had his first question answered the way he wanted it, Penelope was going to move in, now he just needed her to marry him to be his for eternity…he had his plan to propose to her over dessert – which they were presently in the middle of.

He had his love declaration prepared, and the ring was singeing a hole in the inner pocket of his suit jacket that was pressed to his heart, lending him a little bit of comfort. 

They were dressed for the occasion, they were relaxed and happy, Penelope had agreed to move in, dinner was delectable…the night felt perfect for this to make it a memorable occasion, not only for her, but for him too…he would have his books ending after toiling with it for so many years.

“Have I told you how handsome you look tonight?  This charcoal grey really suits you…brings out the grey tones in your eyes.” Penelope said, reaching for his hand over the table to stroke his fingers. 

“Please…you are the most beautiful one here tonight…an angel walking amongst us.” Colin replied, unable to hide a small blush at her unexpected praise, though he was inordinately pleased with her compliment.  She was a pure ego boost.

She was looking at him so warmly and lovingly, she was clung to his hand tightly and caressing him, the music was soft and romantic, they were in the middle of their dessert to conclude a delicious meal, the candles at their table were twinkling…this was his moment.

He was going to propose to the woman he had loved for so many years…the woman who he had already declared himself to via three separate pieces of body art…the woman who was his very reason for breathing.

“My love, I have…” Colin began but immediately fell silent when her fork clattered loudly to her plate. 

She’d gone white as a sheet, her eyes had fixed on a point over his shoulder and had gone round as saucers, her posture became ramrod straight and he felt the shift in her mood from easy-going, elated love to…horror and discomfort.

He turned in his chair to see what was upsetting her and he understood in an instant, groaning and tightening his hand on hers supportively. 

No, no, no.  This could not be happening. 

Not tonight of all nights.  His proposal was wrecked now.

“Bridgerton!  I thought that was you.  Long time no see.  I saw itty bitty red here first and thought where itty bitty red is, Bridgerton may be close…though if memory serves me, you two were no longer speaking when I last knew.”

Nolan…fucking Nolan, even worse, he was with Roxy.  Fucking Roxy who had managed to destroy them for far too long.

Penelope had hated it when his former friends had referred to her as itty bitty red and Colin bristled at it on her behalf.

“As you can see that is not the case, we are quite well….and her name is Penelope.”

“Yes, I remember her name.  Looking good Penelope.” Nolan laughed and waggled his eyebrows at her, ogling her cleavage in her low neckline.

Colin didn’t know how, but Penelope’s posture stiffened even more, and her mood became heavier with Nolan acting like a horny asshole and Roxy’s death glares.  She was staring disdainfully at both him, which he gave no fuck’s whatsoever about for himself, but also Penelope, which he cared prodigiously about. 

“Very surprised to see you.” Roxy said, her tone dripping with acid. 

Roxy was the polar opposite of Penelope in every way imaginable – she was nearly as tall as Colin himself, willowy, blonde, brown-eyed and a conniving, backstabbing cunt of the highest order.

“I bet you are very surprised to see me.” Penelope bit out, meeting Roxy’s eyes and looking at her just as scornfully as she was being looked at.

“Are you two out on one of your friend dinners?” Nolan asked, stupidly unaware of the raging tension of the conversation.

“No, this is a date date.  Penelope and I are together.” Colin said tightly.

“No shit!  I always knew this would happen…told Rox a hundred times probably, didn’t I Rox?”

“You did…and despite all odds, it happened.” Roxy said, looking over Penelope again, slowly and with the ultimate contemptuous look.  “The hobbit and the model…how…cute.  Like a little fable.”

Colin stood up ready to defend her, but Penelope was faster, knocking her chair over in the process.

“Colin, I want to go back to our home, please.” Penelope said, sidling in next to him to wrap her arm around his waist, then dropping it lower to blatantly cup his ass in front of their most unwelcome guests.  “Home, where it is filled with kindness, love and passion.  I have no patience for immature, insecure hateful people.”

“Of course, Pen.” Colin said, digging his wallet out while Nolan finally caught up that this exchange was awkward as ass as he looked around bewildered. 

“Are you calling me immature, insecure and hateful?” Roxy asked cooly with raised eyebrows and a step forward. 

“I am…and though I was raised with manners and class, I think some situations call for a little bend in good behavior, especially when the one you’re speaking of has no such qualms about it.  Soooo, go fuck yourself you evil cunt.  You know why.  You didn’t break me, you didn’t break us, you lost, and I was the ultimate winner here.” Penelope bit out in a sickeningly sweet voice before she stalked off in her sky-high heels. 

Colin watched Penelope with fascination and pride before he paid absolutely no heed to a shocked looking Nolan and Roxy, threw down a huge wad of bills on the table and chased after her, stopping only to tell the server that they had to run but there was more than enough money on the table…and then some.

“Pen, wait, please.” Colin called after her. 

She was nearly running, and he could easily catch her with his much longer strides, but he wanted her to slow up. 

Penelope stopped moving all together, her shoulders tense and set.

“Are you alright, my angel?” Colin asked worriedly. 

Penelope said nothing, simply launched herself into his arms and sagged against him, tucking her head into his chest.  She wasn’t crying but she had a slight tremble from adrenaline he imagined.  She was a peacekeeper by nature who disliked confrontation, and he knew what it must have taken her to tell someone off…no matter how badly they deserved it. 

Colin held her tightly and stroked his hands soothingly up and down her spine as he whispered how amazing she was, how lovely she was, how brave she was, and how proud he was.  He would hold her for as long as she wanted him to…which was about five minutes until she released him and stepped back.

“Can we go home now?” She asked.

“Anything you want. Come on, my love.” Colin said, leading her to the car, settling her inside, buckling her seatbelt and dropping a small kiss to her forehead. 

She said nothing on their way out of the city, and not only was she was mentally as far away as she could be from him, but also physically while still technically being in the car.  She was leaning her head against the window, with her body angled away from him and her arms were crossed protectively over her middle.  Colin tried to reach for her hand that was closest to him, but she tucked in tighter to herself, nearly making herself into a ball in the front seat of the car and withdrew from him even further, making his heart pinch painfully.  What had been the perfectly romantic night, ripe for a proposal, was now a shit show that he could only try to salvage.

“Talk to me, my sweet.  What flagellation are you inflicting on yourself?  Because you have done nothing to deserve it.”

She was so pensive for so long that he wasn’t sure if she had even heard him, or if she had, he was not sure she was going to answer him, but finally she spoke to break the heavy silence. 

“I don’t deserve…COLIN!” Penelope began but then cried out his name in panic.  “Watch out for the deer!”

Colin pulled the steering wheel sharply into a swerve to dodge what he had seen at nearly the same moment she had.  The tires squealed their protest at the abrupt motion, the bonnet became lodged in a tree, their airbags deployed, the windscreen shattered, and their worlds went entirely black as they slumped forward unconsciously while the deer scampered away unscathed and unconcerned about the two occupants it had just left passed out in its wake.

Chapter Text

Penelope was the first to awaken, blinking slowly and with great confusion.  She was sore and sluggish, and her mind felt foggy.  Her head was lolled to the side, and she found she was looking outside with the road next to her.

Ok, she was in a non-moving vehicle…that smelled like petrol and an engine that was gushing steam.

She forced her head to roll to the other side and her eyes to focus.  She felt dizzy with the movement and found herself staring at Colin, who was slumped over the airbag covered steering wheel with a cut on his head but breathing.

That was enough to bring her back to herself and remember.  They had swerved to miss hitting a deer and were buried in a tree trunk. 

Penelope gritted her teeth against the pain shooting through her body and sat up to unbuckle her seatbelt. 

“Colin?  Colin?  Up!  Please.  We have to get out of here.  The car is leaking petrol…I smell it.” Penelope tried to no avail. 

She stabbed his SOS button on the rearview mirror.

“What’s your emergency?”

“We need an ambulance as soon as possible.  We’ve hit a tree trying to avoid a deer and the driver is passed out and unresponsive and his head is bleeding.  We possibly need a firetruck too…I think the gas tank may have burst…I smell it.” Penelope said urgently, still trying to gently jostle Colin awake while she was talking to emergency services. 

“How many people are involved?”

“Two.”

“Are you injured as well?”

“I…I don’t think so.  Nothing feels broken.  Just shaken up and a bit sore from the airbag deploying.” Penelope replied.

“We’ll send help to your location.”

The call clicked off and Penelope was left in silence as she fought panic for what to do.  She was no medical expert, but she didn’t think you were supposed to move trauma victims, yet given the choice between moving a victim and bursting into flames she would take the former.  They were several minutes outside of the city, and it would take time for an ambulance to reach them.  The odor of the gasoline was only getting stronger, there was more steam than ever emitting from the bonnet, and she certainly didn’t want the car catching fire with them in it, so she had no choice but to get Colin out herself. 

She was a strong, independent woman…and the adrenaline was coursing through her veins…she could do this.

She unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned him back as gently as she could into his seat to get him off the steering wheel, the bright marks of his blood stood out angry against the white airbag where he had sagged doing nothing to ease her discomfort over him. 

“Oh, my sweet Colin.  Don’t worry.  I’ve called for help and I’m going to get you out of here.” Penelope said as if he could hear her…who knows, maybe he could, and her voice would bring him some tranquility to their stressful situation. 

With the bonnet so crushed in, Penelope had to push pretty hard against her door for it to open but she managed it.  She swayed on the spot for a moment as she tried to catch her balance before she made her way over to the driver’s side door and pulled just as hard as she had had to push for it to open.

“Can you hold this for me?  I’ll be needing my phone to call your mum and dad, but I need my hands free for a few moments.” Penelope asked, tucking her black clutch into the inside pocket of Colin’s suit jacket, near his heart, then buttoning him up to keep it secure. 

She stroked his hair comfortingly, almost glad he was still passed out, because there was no easy way to do this.  She was not strong enough to lift him, she was going to have to drag him.  She thought about taking her shoes off but decided the extra height for leverage would be helpful…and she didn’t want to slice up the bottom of her feet.

“I’m so sorry if this hurts you, my love.” She said.

Penelope grabbed both of his wrists and tugged until she had enough of his torso out of the car that she could wrap her arms around his chest from behind to, hopefully, gently lower him.  She had tried rotating him so his back would be on the ground, but she had failed to get him turned over and he went down face first.  She immediately apologized to him again and crouched down next to him to nudge him over, wiping her hand down his face to remove a smudge of dirt that she’d just caused him…as if it were the worst thing about their plight.

“I’ll pay to get your suit dry cleaned, but I don’t know if your silk tie is going to be salvageable.  We’ll find a new one that is just as sharp.” Penelope told him as she continued trying to act as if everything were normal simply to keep her own panic at bay. 

His hands were limp which didn’t give her enough of a grip to move him so she grabbed his arms again, grasping as much of his muscular forearms as her small fingers could manage, and in her five inch heels and curve-hugging cocktail dress she pulled the love of her life, who outweighed her by at least four stones with all his well-defined muscles, and out-heighted her by a foot, step by agonizing step away from the car, to the other side of the road. 

There was a lot of very unattractive grunting and panting on her part, she had to stop three times to catch her breath and readjust her grip and her arms were aching with how high up she had to hold him so that she didn’t whump his head against the craggy pavement as she heaved him along, as well as muttering repeated ouch, ouch, ouch as her arms felt as if they were about to be ripped from their sockets, but they made it to the opposite shoulder as near the grass as she could get them.

She thought about going back for the suitcase of her clothes that were still in the boot but as she thought it, she smelled smoke and turned to find the bonnet in the early stages of catching fire.  She sighed in relief that she had had the presence of mind to pull Colin out sooner rather than later. 

“Oh no, Colin, your car!” Penelope said worriedly as the fire quickly caught…she hoped it didn’t explode like they did in movies…she didn’t know how much farther away she could tug him if she had to do her shoes in the grass, but she did pull him a little further down the road for good measure.

Penelope collapsed on the ground behind him, pushed him up as gently as she could manage and wriggled her way behind him with a leg on either side of him so she could lean his dead weight against her torso to caress his arms, chest and shoulders soothingly as she continued to coo at him. 

“We’re ok, my love.  We’re both going to be fine.” Penelope said.  “I’m going to call your parents and tell them what’s going on.  I know you’ll want them at the hospital with you.  I think Frannie brings you the most comfort, I’ll have your parents call her to tell her what’s happened.  Maybe she can come too.”

Penelope dug her phone out to ring Violet who answered lightning fast, sounding chipper as could be. Penelope hated to burst her bubble.

“Hello, my darlings!  Edmund is here with me too, you’re on speaker.  How are you this evening?” Violet asked expectantly.

“Hello, Violet.  Hello, Edmund.  I have news to share.” Penelope started.

She heard Violet whispering to Edmund, but she couldn’t make out what she was saying. 

“Oh?” Edmund asked excitedly.

“We’ve been in a car accident on our way home.  I’ve called emergency services, and they are sending an ambulance.  Colin is breathing but unconscious…I think he hit his head because he has a gash.”

Penelope heard them both scurrying around and knew they were gathering up their stuff to leave.

“His car has caught fire, but I got him out beforehand and dragged him across the street away from it.  We’re sitting on the side of the road waiting.”

“Penelope!  You absolute angel you!” Violet exclaimed. 

“Would you mind calling Frannie and telling her?  I think she comforts Colin a great deal and he would love it if she was there for him.”

“Of course we will, dearest.” Edmund assured her.  “What about you?  Do you want us to call your mum and tell her?  Unless you have already done it?”

“No.  I prefer the comfort of you and Violet.  I’ll tell her later after everything is dealt with.” Penelope said.

“You know we love you dearly.  Anything else to share with us?” Violet asked hopefully.

“Ummm…it was a deer.  We swerved to avoid hitting it and we hit a tree instead.  The deer lived and scampered off.”

Penelope heard them fiercely whispering between themselves again.

“Was that for me?” Penelope asked.  “I missed it, if it was.”

“No, my love.  Sit tight.  We’re on our way.” Violet promised her.

Their accident had occurred where Violet and Edmund would pass them on the way to the hospital and she wondered if they would even beat the ambulance to them, because she had heard Edmund’s car start up before they had even ended the call.

Penelope continued to rub her hands over Colin, she couldn’t seem to help herself, but she was not sure if she was trying to reassure herself or Colin.  Her fingers trailed over his heart to stroke his pen tattoo, and she touched something hard there.  She immediately became worried that he had some kind of contusion, or something impaled in his chest and started patting him more firmly, finding whatever it was to be square in shape. 

“What have you got there, Colin?” Penelope asked him, slipping her hand inside his jacket pocket.  She had had her clutch tucked in there…had something fallen out? 

Her fingers grabbed onto something velvety soft, and she pulled it from his pocket, gasping in shock when she found she was holding a small, black jewelry box.  She really should put it back…but nosiness was one of her least attractive qualities and she did not.  Instead, she flipped it open and found herself quickly robbed of breath and her thoughts. 

Nestled within was a beautiful diamond engagement ring – a three-carat oval diamond in a platinum setting with smaller diamonds lining the band until it got to the back of the finger…very simple, very elegant, extremely stunning and, she was sure, extremely expensive.

“Oh my god!  It’s gorgeous!”

The weight of what could have happened slammed into her.  Was he planning on proposing at dinner or somewhere else?  Had he changed his mind and decided not to propose to her?  Or had the horrid timing of Roxy and Nolan derailed him?  Though, to be honest, there was no good timing for the pair of them to show up.  Nolan was a pervy creep, and, as established, Roxy was an evil cunt.

Who fucked up this proposal?  Them or her?  She hoped it wasn’t her…for running out of the restaurant and her rampant self-hate and withdrawing into herself in the car.  There were so many times when she didn’t feel that she was enough for Colin and being called a hobbit…or a gremlin…or a troll, or whatever Roxy had called her, fuck probably all of them at one point or another, made her question everything anew.

“I am so sorry, Colin.  I haven’t made a correct decision pertaining to us for over two years.  I’m…sorry.  I’m an idiot, I’m an ass, but I’m an idiotic ass who loves you fiercely.  Please forgive me.”

She supposed that explained Violet and Edmund’s whispers, tone and questions on their call.  Of course, they would know if Colin was going to propose to her, he would have told them ahead of time and promised to call them after he had secured her acceptance…he may have even had one of them accompany him for ring selection…Violet had impeccable taste.

Penelope tucked the ring back in his pocket, severely regretting that it was not on her finger…not for the piece of jewelry itself, but for what it would signify…their eternal love and commitment. 

She hugged him tighter to her and pressed a kiss to his temple.  “I will say yes in a heartbeat the moment you ask.”

Penelope heard the faint wail of the sirens in the distance…several in fact, and relief flooded her.

“They’re almost here, my love.  Can you wake up for me?  I need you, you sweet marshmallow, teddy bear of a man…I am nothing without you.  They’re going to help you, ok?  They’re going to wake you up for me.” Penelope continued chatting with him, finally deciding it was herself that she was trying to appease…she could not let negative thoughts drift in, or she would fall apart, and she’d kept it together fairly well up until now – no tears, no shaking, little panic.

She quickly texted Violet that she heard the ambulances, and they should be gone by the time they would be driving by, and she waited impatiently as the screaming sirens grew closer and closer. 

Two ambulances, two fire trucks and a police car came rolling up and then it was a sea of people milling about.  The firemen immediately started trying to put Colin’s car out and the EMT’s ran over to where Colin and Penelope were on the side of the road. 

“How long has he been passed out?” A man asked her.

“Since it happened.  I’m not sure how long it’s been.  I don’t know how long I was out, not long I don’t think, but I hit the SOS button almost immediately when I awoke.  Fifteen minutes maybe?” Penelope said. 

“Come on, let’s get them loaded up in the ambulances.”

“Ambulances, as in plural?  Can I not ride with Colin?  He’ll be afraid and worried if I’m not with him when he wakes up.” Penelope protested.

“Ma’am, you are bleeding from the head as well.  Two stretchers don’t fit in one ambulance, I’m afraid.”

In her haste to attend to Colin she had not noticed her own wound, but now that he mentioned it, she didn’t know how she had missed the sticky feeling in her hair and her hands flew to her head, which allowed them to pull Colin away from her and move him onto the stretcher. 

She scrambled to her feet to hold his hand and whisper to him urgently until they loaded him up and drove away while she watched on looking forlorn and feeling lost.  Only then did her panic kick in – when she’d lost the comfort of Colin’s mere presence.

Which must have shown on her face or in her posture because the same man, his name tag showed he was Sean, was attempting to reassure her.

“Don’t worry, ma’am…you’re both going to the same place, just fifteen minutes or so apart.  Keep calm.  We won’t take him to Scotland in error.  You said he’s been out since this happened; how did he get across the road?”

“I pulled him out and dragged him over there.  I don’t think I was supposed to move him, but I could smell the petrol and exactly what I was afraid of happening happened only a moment after I got him over there.”

He looked up and down her diminutive stature.  “Very impressive.  Well done you!  Sounds like you may be his angel.”

She nearly giggled at his statement, but with a head wound she kept it in for fear he would think her mad, though she knew if Colin had been there then he would have looked at her with raised eyebrows and an I-told-you-so expression.  Colin called her angel, his mother had called her angel earlier and now this complete stranger was…maybe she was.  She felt far from it – if it wasn’t for her this wouldn’t have happened.

Penelope would have dismissed Nolan and Roxy, she would have sat down unaffected by two such insignificant people to finish her dessert and she would have Colin’s ring on her finger and her promise to love, honor and cherish him between them.

The policeman interrupted them to ask a few questions, but became less interested when he realized it was a deer situation.  The EMT stepped back in with the insistence that Penelope needed to get to the hospital.   

They insisted that she had to get on the stretcher despite the fact that she was walking around, in her ridiculously high heels no less, and once she was in the ambulance it was a sea of machines being hooked up to her checking various vitals.

“I’m assuming your name is Penelope?” Sean asked.

“Yes…how did you…”

“Well, Penelope, you were right.  Colin is awake now and vociferously demanding to know where and how Penelope is.”

“Colin is awake?” Penelope asked with relief flooding her.

“He is, and nothing seems broken in his body and his vitals sound as if they are normal.  You are both going to have your head wounds checked out with scans.  They are nothing to faff about with.” Sean warned her.

Penelope nodded obediently and marginally relaxed, but she wouldn’t fully feel better until she could see Colin with her own eyes and speak with him. 

They continued to poke and prod at her until they pulled up to A&E and Violet and Edmund burst through the door.  When they realized it was Penelope being unloaded, they came running to her stretcher. 

“Ma’am, please.” The woman pushing her inside said to Violet. 

“This is my daughter!” Violet argued fiercely, reaching for Penelope’s hand to clutch and brushing her hair back tenderly with the other.  “How are you, darling?”

“I’ll be well.” Penelope smiled, squeezing her hand reassuringly.  “Colin?”

“The doctors already have him back to look him over and start some tests.  Edmund and I are not going anywhere until we know what is going on with both of you and Frannie and Eloise are on the way.”

“Ma’am, we really need to get her inside now.” The EMT interrupted. 

Violet nodded and kissed Penelope on the cheek.

Penelope was shuffled from room to room, nurse to nurse to doctor to nurse again, run through various different pieces of machinery and heard as many varying sounds of beeps and boops as she cared to in this life before they finally took her to her room where Violet and Edmund switched off between sitting with Colin and Penelope.

Penelope was exhausted but couldn’t sleep through her worry for Colin.  Edmund must have managed to coerce or bribe someone on the staff enough because eventually Colin’s hospital bed was rolled into her room, and he greeted her with a smile. 

“Pen!” Colin said.

“Colin!” Penelope replied.

They didn’t need to say anything more than that – the mood boost was immediate; the relaxation was immediate, and the contentment was immediate, and Penelope finally was able to give into the sleep she wanted.

“You pulled me from a burning car?” Colin asked incredulously after a few minutes of stupidly grinning at each other.

“To be fair, it wasn’t burning at the time.” Penelope replied with a shrug.  “I pulled you from a car I was afraid would burn.”

“My hero, my Pen.” Colin said.  “Sleep, angel.  You earned it.”

They both fell asleep, in their separate hospital beds, facing the other as much as they could manage hooked up to their various machines, with their hands outstretched towards one another.

Chapter Text

A week later and Penelope still didn’t have the proposal she was so eagerly waiting for, and she had begun to worry that Colin was no longer going to ask her.  He was still loving, attentive, demonstrative and verbally affectionate, but she had not received the question she been waiting so earnestly to hear.

The opportunities for it to be asked were numerous – Colin and Penelope had been released from the hospital and spent the rest of the weekend at Edmund and Violet’s house so they could look after them, watch them for any remnants of trauma, but after that they had gone home and were forced on paid leave for the week. Hyacinth would fill in for Penelope as before and Greg would fill in for Colin.

Penelope had protested, she’d already had a week off paid a few months ago for her ankle but Edmund wouldn’t hear of it, insisting that Colin was not fit for the duty of operating heavy machinery or being at any heights higher than ground level, which was probably accurate, but he equally insisted that Penelope heal as well and monitor Colin at home so they found themselves with an abundance of free time. 

They read in the library.  They watched television in the lounge and films in his theater room.

They basked outside on sun loungers near the lake while they could still enjoy the warm weather – autumn would be approaching soon, bringing with it rain and cold. 

They went car shopping to replace Colin’s lost car. 

Since he had not proposed Penelope had started to question if he had regretted asking her to move in and had hinted about returning to her flat after her week of watching over him, but he had immediately insisted that she stay and they move forward with her not renewing her lease and living together, which gave her relief that he didn’t want her to leave. 

They hired a moving company to take the belongings that Penelope wanted to keep to Colin’s…their house, which was surprisingly little.  Everything he had was nicer than hers, so it made more sense to keep those rather than her raggedy furniture, and mismatched plates, cups and silverware. 

The only things she had ended up having packed into the moving van was the rest of her clothes that hadn’t been incinerated, and her sentimental items like photo albums, birthday gifts and some jewelry that her grandparents had given her when she was little – worthless, but sweet things that she valued, and she donated the rest.  Colin said he would hire a cleaning company to scrub it down for new tenants and the flat was now empty with no reason to return to it other than her final walkthrough with the landlord.  Not so much a sock remained.

Colin had volunteered to take her shopping to replace her clothes that were in the boot of his car, but she had declined with a giggle.

“The only thing I needed was removed from the car, which was you, my love.  There was nothing left in there that was so needed that it must be replaced.  I still have more than enough clothes…it’s a problem really.  Perhaps now without what was in that suitcase you have a fighting chance for some closet space now.”

They spent a great deal of time in their bathtub having a soak, which ended up with them making love.  On the sofa, after they had flipped off the television, to make love. Or in their bed, having just made love, getting ready to make love or going for round three of it.  They both felt a little clingier since the accident.

She was absolutely enjoying the thorough worship of her person and was completely enthralled with doing the same to him…but she had rather hoped that one of these times she had managed to bliss out his body and mind so supremely that he would be driven to ask her.

“Penelope, my goddess!  You have possessed my soul with your sumptuous lips and stolen my heart with your wicked hands.  I love you.  I need you.  It is only you and I for the rest of our lives.  Marry me, my sweet, beautiful angel.  Please, swear you’ll be mine.”

Or something like that…but it never came. 

“I love you, Pen.” Was what she kept receiving, which, while nice, was not the epic proposal that her heart longed for…no, that wasn’t even right.  She didn’t need epic…simple would suffice.  She simply needed Colin.

Yesterday afternoon she may have hit her most desperate point yet.  Looking back at it today she felt it was almost comical or unhinged, and she wondered if Colin had thought something wrong with her – she thought not since he hadn’t asked her about it, perhaps he was simply too swept away by her wanton behavior to notice. 

She’d like to say she did everything but throw herself at his feet, but hell, she’d done that too.

They had been having slow, lazy kisses on the sofa, where Penelope was draped on top of him, caressing his bare chest seductively with her fingertips and tugging teasingly on his bottom lip with her teeth while he whimpered beneath her.

She had rolled to the floor so quickly Colin had thought she had fallen off and sat up quickly to reach for her protectively but she placed a kiss on each of his fabric covered thighs, on each of his knees, each shin, then the top of each bare foot before she laid on the floor to look up at him, the back of her head resting on the top of his left foot, only leaning up long enough to tug her dress over her, flick her bra off and push her knickers down, baring her heart, her soul and her body to him…rather hoping for the proposal from her declaration.

“I love you, Colin.  I revere you.  I’m yours – I have always been and will always be.  It’s only ever been us.  Us against the world.  Us in our little bubble.  I want you.  Love me…use me.  Take whatever you want from me, because it is yours to claim.”

But what she had received was possibly the best…albeit most edging fuck of her life instead.  His eyes had burned so hotly as he gazed down at her, raking over her from head to toe, and he growled low in his throat. 

“Pinch your nipples for me, Penelope. Make them even harder.” Colin told her, leaning forward. 

Penelope wanted to make him happy…please him however she could, so she cupped her tits with her palms and brushed her thumbs across her nipples until she started tweaking them between her fingers, arching her back off the floor. 

“Are you wet, baby?

“Always for you.” She murmured, turning her head and pressing a kiss to the front of his ankle. 

“Dip your fingers in your sweet pussy and smear your slick on your nipples.”

Penelope’s eyes slitted as her fingers parted her folds and dove into her tunnel.

“Slower, angel.”

Penelope did not comply as she bit her bottom lip and moved her fingers in and out swiftly as she cried out. 

“Naughty, angel.  That’s the opposite of slower.” Colin chided her. 

“Mmmm…that was slower than what I wanted…why don’t you show me what you mean by slow.”

Instead of pulling her back up to the couch with him, he gently moved his foot from underneath her head and slid to the floor join her, straddling her knees in his joggers so she could not clamp her thighs together and she was spread for him.

“Put your hands over your head, Pen.”

She did as she was told, crossing her wrists over each other, lengthening her torso and pulling her breasts up higher.  Colin took his middle finger and moved agonizingly slowly up and down her slit, pushing in further and further with each pass as her back arced higher and higher with his motions.

He swirled his finger around inside of her, collecting her juices until he withdrew just as slowly as he had entered her.  Colin leaned forward, until he was hovering near her breasts, her breath alternating between heaving and caught in anticipation of his touch.  Instead, he brought his finger to his lips and licked her from his digit, then kissed her between the hollow of her breasts, stroking her with his tongue and sucking her lightly, then firmly, as she groaned beneath him. 

“Colin!”

He leaned up and away from her to her loud protest, and he teased her pussy unhurriedly a second time, this time swirling two of his fingers through her channel and withdrawing when he felt her walls clenching to pull him into her.

“Please.” She pleaded.

“No, baby.  Not yet.” He murmured, leaning down low again, suspending himself over her straining nipples. 

This time he brought his fingers to Penelope’s lips.  “Taste your sweetness, my sweet.”

His stomach clenched when he was in the warm recesses of her mouth and her tongue was languidly licking at him until he pulled them from her pout with a pop.  He raised himself to capture her lips, slipping his tongue into her mouth to taste her nectar from her own tongue.

Penelope moved her arms to thread her fingers through his hair and he broke the kiss to reprimand her, pulling her arms from him and pushing them back over her head again. 

“Leave those right there, Pen.  You want to be a good girl for me right now, right?” He asked, his lips brushing into her neck as he whispered.

Penelope moaned and nodded.

“Well, then that is exactly where I want them for now.”

Colin trailed his fingers down her chin, neck, between her breasts, and down her stomach until he was at her mound again where Penelope spread her legs as wide as could for him in her trapped position.

“I love how much you want me, Penelope.  Always hungry for me and it makes me so hard to feel so wanted.  You feel my cock against you, don’t you?”

Penelope tried to buck her hips to him, seeking friction, but the way he was sitting on her thighs was limiting her movement and she groaned her complaint.

“What do you want, baby?” Colin asked, dragging two fingers through her wetness again and flicking her clit with his thumb.  “This?”

Penelope gasped and shuddered as her reply.  He moved them in a slow, sensuous circle as her hips fruitlessly continued to try to press up against him. 

“Tell me what you want.” Colin murmured.

“I want your cock.” Penelope answered shamelessly. 

“You will have it…but not yet.  What else?”

“Finger fuck me.” She panted, her hips managing to move a fraction.  “I need to be filled.”

Colin pushed her clit more firmly as he flicked but he did not do as she asked. 

“Colin!” Penelope whined.  “Why are you asking me if you’re not going to do it?”

He moved his head so he could tug her bottom lip as she had been doing to his earlier, firmly, leisurely…lazily, before he answered her.

“So that I know what not to do.  I want to play with my toy as long as possible.”

She gave a sound between a purr, a whimper and a groan.

He pulled his fingers from her and stroked each of her nipples, leaving her glistening slick on her before he captured each peak quickly to lick and suck it from her.  He felt her start to move her arms again, undoubtedly to clutch him to her, but he quickly pushed them down and rested his hands on her triceps to keep them there. 

Her arms were pinned with his hands and her lower half was pinned with his hips as he straddled her, the only thing she could move was her head, which was still apparently too much movement for him because he abandoned her nipples for a moment to gather up a fistful of her hair in one hand, effectively pinning her head down too, and held her triceps again before he dipped his head back down to capture her rosy nipple once more with a tug and a lick as he ground his cock on her thigh, the material of his joggers so tantalizingly rough against her skin she mewled and shivered.

Colin’s mouth released her, and he turned his cheek to scrape his beard against each of her breasts until she was writhing as much as she could beneath him. 

“Colin!  I…please…need…no…ahhhh!” Penelope cried out brokenly. 

“Yeah?” He asked slowly with a teasing smile.

He dipped his fingers back into her honey and spread her onto her flesh again, but this time on her stomach, scooting down to paint his tongue across her, quickly dipping into her belly button then tracing a silvery stretch mark up and down as he tugged her hair.

“So beautiful, angel.  So soft.  So lush.”  Colin said, nibbling his way across her. 

“I’m so wet…please.” Penelope pleaded. 

“Oh, I know you are, baby.” Colin smiled, shallowly inserting his fingers into her again to swipe more of her arousal from her, earning her sweet little frustrated noises.  “I’m going to make you more so.”

He smeared it on her mound this time and Penelope thought she may burst into flames.

“Noooooo.” She said, on a long exhale, but forgetting about air intake all together.

“Don’t forget to breathe, my love.” Colin teased, grinding his hips deliciously into her again, instantly forgetting his own advice.

He released her arms and her hair as he scooted down to press open mouthed kisses, licks and nibbles to her mound and as close to her pussy lips as he possibly could without actually kissing her there as a moan was ripped from deep within her chest as she tried to twist.  She was desperate to grab his head and guide him exactly where she wanted him, but she was also afraid he would stop if she did, so she fought herself to leave them where they were and contented herself with her sharp cries of pleasure. 

He pulled away yet again but quickly shifted up to fuck her through his pants, grating his hips to her juicy pussy until he was possibly more wrecked than she was, stopping so he didn’t explode in his pants and have to wait to recover…though he planned on spending so much time pleasuring her he would probably have time to bounce back, but he didn’t want to chance it – and besides given the option between coming in his pants or inside Penelope, he would choose her every single time. 

Colin shifted off her totally to arrange her plush thighs over his muscular shoulders and moved his face to her pussy. 

“You smell heavenly, my angel.  You are so aroused.” Colin cooed as he kissed his way up and down each quivering thigh.

He kissed her hinges where her legs met her hips, then wrapped his fingers around her thighs to spread her knees even wider on his shoulders, before he drew his thumbs slowly up and down her slit to hold her open for him and blow a hot breath over her clit, making her breath hitch.

“Colin, I need you.”

“I love that you need me.” He murmured, nuzzling his nose through her folds and bumping the tip to her clit, making her buck into him, momentarily burying his nose into her deeper and earning her hungry outcry. 

He held her tighter to keep her still and he felt her body nearly sag in relief when his tongue darted out to lick her clit, though it didn’t last long when he sucked the little bundle of nerves, and her body immediately tightened right back up.  He licked up her slit and speared her tunnel with his tongue before his lips locked around her clit again and drew firmly while also laving it with his tongue until he felt her coiling beneath him as her orgasm crept up on her. 

Colin wickedly pulled away from her, slipping her thighs off his shoulders and sitting up on his knees.

“Wha…” Penelope started, completely confused at first.  “Noooooooo.”

He brought her legs back together and straddled her again, holding her down with his hips to swipe a finger quickly through her to collect the nectar and spread her over her nipple again, capturing her crested peaks to lick, suck and nip until her orgasm had started to ebb and her cries took on the frustrated desperate sounds once more.  He nipped equally hard with his teeth as he rolled the opposite nipple in his fingers and switched back and forth so that they were equally worshipped.

“Can I move my arms now?” Penelope moaned.

“No.”

Colin left her breasts and arranged her legs over his shoulders again, wasting no time before diving his tongue back in to take long swipes of her tunnel and slow draws on her clit as her hands grasped and clenched imaginary fabric…or hair.  His middle finger swiftly entered her, and he gave a few pumps while she made inhuman sounding squeals of delight, for only a short time, because he had quickly withdrawn them again when he had pushed her so close to the edge so quickly once more. 

She had no words of protests, only glares. 

“So beautiful, baby.  Even when mentally murdering me.”

He pushed her thighs from his shoulders again and kissed his way up her body so wickedly, so tantalizingly slowly, with his lips and tongue, giving little sucks here and there and paying special attention to her neck, ear and pulse points that were threatening to pound through her flesh.

“Kiss me, Pen.  Kiss me like you love me.” Colin whispered when he reached her mouth.

“I do love you, Colin.”

“Show me.” He provoked.

She left her arms where they were and raised her head to capture his lips so tenderly, brushing soft kiss after soft kiss to him until she angled her lips a bit to kiss him deeply.  Her tongue sought his to dance against it for a moment, before she drew it into her mouth and sucked hard, tasting herself on him, before she trailed her lips up and down as if she were sucking his cock.  When she released him, she nipped his bottom lip roughly with her teeth before soothing over it with her tongue and giving him one last gentle kiss.

“I feel your love.  I love you too, my angel.” Colin assured her.

Colin moved down her body again to lap at her pussy, swirling his tongue, nipping her clit, thrusting his fingers, then stopped all at once to blow a hot breath over her while she cried out again.  She was so wet she was making a mess out of everything, the rug underneath her, her thighs, his beard – she was in his nostrils, on his tongue and on his lips. 

He nibbled at her clit again until she finally stopped obeying him.  He had really wound her up that she couldn’t help herself, her limbs had turned into a veritable casting octopus as he chased them around – her thighs were tightening on his head, pressing into his ears, as she squeezed herself up, desperate to come, her arms had come up so she could bury her fingers in his hair and clutch him tightly.  He moved them all away, but they were nearly immediately back, her feet now pressing into his back as she arched her hips up to grind his face into her and her fingers had gone to her clit, trying to wildly rub it herself.  He moved them away again. 

“No, Colin, please!  I need to come.” Penelope begged, nearly sobbing with her unchecked need.  “Make me come.”

Her insistent pleas cracked him, and he was up on his knees to pull his joggers, and boxer briefs off with one yank.  His cock sprung free, eager for its destination and for her pussy to clench around him – he’d been mercilessly teasing her, but he’d been torturing himself right along with her and was so hard and so ready to come that he was taking deep breaths to calm himself.

“Up, baby.  Lean over the sofa cushions for me.  Let me fuck you from behind.” Colin ground out.

Penelope scrambled up and bent over for him, stuck her ass out and propped her right leg up on the cushion with her. 

“See?  Always eager for me.  Makes me feel ten feet tall.” Colin said, trailing kisses up and down her back and the top of each cheek while she whimpered at his blazing lips.

“Cooollliiinnn.” Penelope said, not caring if she sounded whiny…not really caring about anything other than getting his cock buried deep in her pussy.

“Yes, baby, so starved for my cock.” Colin said, grabbing himself to angle into her.  “Take it, baby.  Take every inch me.”

She was so saturated with her arousal that he’d coaxed out of her that he slid into the hilt easily and her muscles clenched onto him in an instant.  She tipped her head back and arched into him even further for maximum effect and contact and she quite literally sighed in relief.

Colin began rolling his hips, gliding his cock until his head was just at her entrance before pounding back into her as her walls clamped down to follow his drives.  She met him thrust for thrust, pushing back as he was pushing forward and he reached forward to palm one of her breasts pressed into the cushion with one hand and rub her clit with his other.  He was dangerously close to losing it in her wet, tight, heat and he needed her just as ready.

“Yes!  Just like that!  Press my clit.  Pinch my nipples.” Penelope cried out urgently. 

Colin could hear it in her voice and feel her pussy blooming around his cock so he did as she told him and her walls started fluttering and clasping on him as her purring moans turned to panting shrieks as she came hard with a tremor shaking her entire body, the pressure on his over sensitized cock sending him over the edge to join her as he shot thick white ropes of his spend into her as he whimpered and growled, continuing to fuck her until the world righted itself again and their mingled come began to make rivulets down her thighs and onto his hardwood floor. 

Colin collapsed over her back for a moment, pressing kisses to her ears, neck and between her shoulder blades while they caught their breath.

A few minutes later he stood and picked her up his arms, leaving their clothes carelessly discarded where they lay, and kissed her gently as he carried her upstairs to their bathroom and into their shower. 

He cleaned up their messy love between her legs with the netted sponge before he tenderly shampooed and conditioned her hair for her, as they continued to share their sweet, loving afterglow kisses and words of love. 

After their shower, they lay in their bed, with Penelope cocooned around him from behind, stroking his hair and leaving her own kisses on his neck, ears and shoulders.

“You know, sometimes I’m convinced that my heart beats in rhythm to your name…this is one of those times.” Colin said quietly, capturing her fingers to press them against his heart.  “Do you feel it?  Pen, Pen, Pen, Pen, Pen, Pen.”

Even after those words and after all that loving seduction and teasing, he had still not proposed – so Penelope had mulled everything over as they lay there spooning.  She was done waiting for her life to happen to her.  She was going to make the life that she wanted to happen herself. 

She was going marry the love of her life one way or the other and if he wasn’t going to propose to her then she was going to propose to him. 

Chapter Text

Colin was sitting on the sofa in his lounge staring off into space petting Cat-rine, admittedly, lonely because Penelope had gone with Eloise and Frannie for a drink in town.  He had asked Anthony, Ben and Greg if they wanted to go grab a drink with him…at another bar, any of them, all of them, but they were all busy. 

He would let Penelope have some time away, no matter how much he wanted to follow her just to see her smile while she chatted or hear her laugh with his sisters – so he was alone…furbaby notwithstanding. 

He thought he would read or do some chores around the house, but the moment Penelope had walked out the door he’d felt her absence and had been sitting there for about thirty minutes now doing nothing of the sort – it felt like it was going to long night without her. 

Another five minutes passed with Colin doing little more than settling more deeply into the sofa and moving the purring Cat-rine up higher on his chest to scratch her ears more easily when his doorbell rang, and he ran excitedly to answer it.  Maybe one of his brothers had changed their minds and come to keep him company. 

Colin was partly right, about the company, but it was Edmund instead of one of his brothers. 

“Hey, Col.” Edmund said.

“Hey, Dad.  Come on in…I wasn’t expecting you.  Is mum with you?” Colin asked, moving to the side to let him in. 

“No, Hyacinth took her home.  Greg mentioned you were looking for someone to keep you company tonight because Pen was going out.  I thought I’d come and spend with time you.” Edmund replied, following Colin to the lounge to sit in his favorite chair.

“Thanks, Dad.  Drink?” Colin offered.

“I’ll take some of that Irish whiskey you keep hidden so your brothers don’t drink it all.  Neat.”

Colin nodded and pulled down two glasses, poured them each one and headed back to join Edmund in the lounge, sitting across from him in the other chair instead of resuming his seat on the sofa.

“Want to talk about it, son?’ Edmund asked.

“What?” Colin replied with confusion.  “Talk about what?”

“About why every night your mum and I wait on a highly anticipated phone call that never comes.” Edmund said plaintively with raised eyebrows before he took a sip from his drink and breathed out slowly to cool the fire.  “Why have you not proposed to our lovely Pen?”

“Damn, Dad.  No warmup conversation?  No asking how my head is doing or how I’m feeling?”

“Nope.  Your mum talked to you at lunch, and you were fine.”

“I could have developed something suddenly over the last few hours.”

“You’re right.  How are you feeling from your accident, Colin?” Edmund asked.

“Fine.  No issues – I feel right as rain.” Colin smiled, leaning forward to clink his glass to his Edmund’s before taking a sip. 

“I don’t know where you get this cheeky streak from.” Edmund grinned. 

“Mum says I get it from you.”

“Hmmm.  I’d like to debate that, but I think I would lose if I tried.”

“I think you would too.” Colin laughed.

“Warmup conversation sorted…why have you not proposed to Pen?  I went with you as moral support to pick out her ring, you took her to a beautiful dinner…which I know was interrupted, your mum and I were both devastated when the call was the accident instead of sharing happy news.  But you’ve had nearly a week now with just the two of you here.  I know you are not spending any time apart, if tonight is any indication – you look like a sad puppy whose owner left him at home, and she’s been gone for less than forty-five minutes.  I know you have had ample opportunity this week.”

Colin regarded Edmund pensively as he mulled over how to put it into words.  Their night had been perfect, she’d accepted living with him, they’d laughed, they’d chatted, they’d touched, they’d kissed, they’d fed each other seductively teasing bites of their dinner, they’d rubbed their feet as they shamelessly flirted under the table – then he had quite literally started his proposal when her eyes filled with absolute terror. 

He'd known Penelope for so long he knew every look in her repertoire, and he'd never seen such a look on her face…and when he realized it was put there by people that he had brought into her life he couldn’t shake the guilt – he was the one who had, albeit inadvertently, caused her to feel so unsafe and threatened.  Penelope was made for sunshine, love and smiles, not fear, condescension and insults.

He knew it had been so hard for her because she didn’t like conflict, the tremors that had torn through her body afterwards as he held her had betrayed her, yet she had been so brave and sassy that night, telling off Roxy.  He had known that Roxy’s words had gotten to her despite her best efforts not to, and he was still catching Penelope staring off looking sad and he felt her light sweetness turn heavily somber.  Colin had done what he could throughout the week to assure her how much he loved her, was extremely affectionate, very complimentary, and extremely intimate with her.  His mind drifting to yesterday and his eyes unconsciously moving to the sofa where he had bent her over to take her before he quickly shook that from his thoughts…no one wanted a hard on in front of their parent, regardless of their closeness.

Colin just wanted his confident Pen back so that his proposal wasn’t colored with any doubts from her on his intentions – he didn’t want her thinking he was proposing out of guilt over what had transpired.  He loved her deeply and needed her to maintain any sense of sanity over himself.

“You’re not having second thoughts about proposing to her, are you?” Edmund asked when Colin took too long to answer. 

“NO!” Colin protested quickly.  “I love her…more than anything, I love her.  Of course, I want to marry her.”

“Good, because no one makes you light up like she does, son…she could not be more perfect for you if she had fallen straight from heaven specifically for you.  We are all exhausted while we have waited, exceedingly patiently I might add and with great self-control to not meddle while you’ve faffed about for years.  We’ve waited for you both to get it together and figure it out.” Edmund said, leaning forward to pat Colin’s knee to soften his words.

Colin suppressed a smile, a chuckle and irritation at that, Edmund having no idea that Colin called Penelope angel and how had everyone known of their feelings when the two of them had been so stupidly obtuse? 

Penelope had spilled everything to Eloise.  Colin had spilled everything to Frannie…was he to believe that Frannie and Eloise never spilled to each other?  No one could have locked them in a room like old sitcoms until they admitted themselves to one another.  How could his interfering family be this un-interfering?

Colin forced himself to refocus, took a long, calculated sip of his whiskey again, then finally answered him.

“You should have seen the look on her face that night, Dad.  Roxy said such deliberately cruel things to her that really punctured Pen to her core.  They were absolute tosh, of course, but you know her family, Pen has always struggled with feeling like she’s…enough, despite being better than ninety percent of people.  I just want her completely built back up and far away from that memory before I propose to her – I want it to be perfect, with nothing to taint it.  I want it to be a happy memory for her.  The family has made it this long without us engaged…they can be patient for just a little while longer.”

“Just so you know, your mum has already picked out your wedding flowers – if you give her too much time then she’ll pick out Pen’s dress and your music too.”

Colin laughed.

“Why am I positive that you are not joking?” Colin asked. 

“Oh, I am completely serious.  From the moment you told us you were proposing she had started planning on your behalf.  The poor woman is wedding starved apparently…eight of you and only two married so far.  She’s chosen white lilies and tulips, if your curious…tied with a yellow and blue striped ribbon.”

“Sounds lovely, and Pen loves both.”

Edmund smiled and sat quietly for a moment before he spoke again. 

“Col, if I may offer you some unsolicited advice, nothing will ever be perfect…your proposal won’t be perfect, your wedding will not be perfect, your life will not perfect, but it will be perfectly imperfect for you.  Your mother and I have been together for nearly forty years now and I don’t regret a thing, the only thing I consistently wish for is time, time, and more time.  I want you and Pen to have as much time as you can with each other.  I want the Bridgertons to have as much time with her all as an official member of our family.  I also want you to have as much time to savor whatever new family you create together may be, whether it be children, cats, dogs, or fish.”

“We’ve been together for so long already, Dad, just in a different capacity as we figured out what the hell we were doing.  She has always my Pen.”

“No one knows what the hell they’re doing, but me and Violet figure it out together.  That’s all you can do, son.”

“You and mum have always seemed like you know precisely what you were doing.” Colin said with raised eyebrows. 

“Not a bit, but I’m glad you thought so.” Edmund laughed, clinking his glass to Colin’s again and downing the rest of the whiskey while Colin stared into his glass and pondered his words.

Their time would come, and he would know when Pen was ready…a smile, a laugh, a touch, a word.  She knew they were destined to be together.  She had readily agreed to moving in with him and had had no idea that he was going to propose that same night.  She would be delighted and completely surprised when he did and she would accept him in a heartbeat.  He was sure of it.

Penelope leaned over the jewelry counter and was closely inspecting one particular ring that had caught her eye.  She had done some research on the toughest metal for a men’s engagement ring and found that tungsten seemed to be a good candidate to look at for Colin.  She expected he would leave his ring at home during the day while he worked in the field, but just in case he forgot she wanted the ring to have a fighting chance under his work gloves.  Besides, she rather liked the look of the dark, gunmetal hue and thought the color would look well with his tanned complexion…and positively wicked when he was touching her porcelain skin.

“Frannie, El…come look at this one.” Penelope said.

She had had them accompany her for their opinions and then they were going to grab drinks, so she was not technically lying to Colin on her whereabouts.  So far, they had been busy shopping for themselves while Penelope did her browsing.  The sales associates would be pleased with their sales tonight…Eloise had already picked two pairs of diamond earrings for her double piercings and Frannie had chosen an opal pendant.

“What do you think of this one?” Penelope asked, pointing to one on the left. 

It was tungsten with an inlay of sapphires. 

“The gems look like his beautiful blue eyes.” Penelope said, not missing the smirks they shared over her head. 

She imagined they didn’t much care to hear of how beautiful she found their brother’s eyes and in Eloise’s case she was probably tired of listening to it for so many years – but neither said anything about it, and just agreed with her that it was lovely.

“It is very lovely, Pen, but I think Colin would like something darker or something that reminds him of your eyes instead of his own.” Frannie replied helpfully. 

“Well, an aquamarine gem would closest to my eyes and that’s the opposite of dark.  I want something that will suit him, and he that he will love.”

“He will love anything you pick out, because he loves you.” Frannie said. 

“I think it’s so forward thinking of you to propose to him, Pen.  Go against those stereotypes.  Be the master of your own destiny.” Eloise said, making a ball grabbing motion with her hand.  “Grab that bull by the balls…metaphorically speaking, of course.  Please do not grab my brother’s balls…in front of me anyway…and if you do, don’t tell me about it later.”

Penelope snickered at that then sarcastically said, “I’ll try my best to keep my ball touching talk to a minimum, but you know how hard that is for me.”  

Penelope wandered to another counter and inspected those rings, but nothing jumped out for her there.  Too much gold and silver and bling.  She needed something with a simple elegance and wandered on.  When he had worked in wealth management he had had some very fine jewelry pieces.  She had snooped through his suede valet box before she left to remind herself of what he liked and had tucked one of his rings in her purse for sizing.  He liked a platinum chain, a ring or two to fidget about with to keep himself focused and fine watches with chronometers.  She’d loved all the pieces he’d had; they had looked well on him and suited him. 

She was struck with a mental image of one of his expensive chains under his plaid or his Rolex with the flannel and she nearly giggled.  She expanded her need of simple elegance to include being practical for his more rugged lifestyle that he led now.  Her ring that she’d peeked had been so exquisite and obviously chosen with such care and she wanted him to think and feel the same as she had when he saw his.  She’d know his ring when she came across it. 

Eloise and Frannie were following her from glass case to glass case now instead of shopping for themselves.

“Have you figured out how you’re going to propose to him yet?” Eloise asked.

Past deciding that she was going to ask him, she hadn’t decided on much else.  Penelope had considered at least a hundred scenarios on how to do this over the past few days.  Growing up she had never imagined a point where she would be the one proposing, but she had also never imagined having a two-year estrangement from Colin in her life either…particularly when she was the one who had caused it simply by not talking about it and letting him explain.  She shouldn’t have fallen for it…she should have known him better than that – yes, she was still wallowing in that regret and the time she had missed out on with him…so much lost time they could have had together.

The more she had thought about proposing to him, the more she really liked the idea; not only was she taking control of the situation for what she wanted, but she hoped that in some small way it made up to him the pain she had put him through for the those years and show him how special and loved he was that she was spurred to such actions.

“Pen?” Eloise interrupted her reverie.  “I said have you decided how you’re going to ask him yet?”

“No, not yet.  I feel like I’ve had every idea possible, from the ridiculous, to the over the top, to the ultra-romantic, but I am undecided.”

Perhaps in their bathtub?  They spent a lot of quality time in there…naked bathtub proposal?

Maybe in their bed?  Naked after sex glow proposal?’

Can you propose naked?  Where would she hide the ring?  She nearly burst out laughing again as she imagined fishing it out of some hidden crevice.  When they were having sex, Colin was everywhere…he would find it…hide and seek proposal?  Push her button, win a prize proposal?

This time she couldn’t help her laugh.  That didn’t seem safe.  She would prefer not to have another A&E visit and have to explain how that had happened.

“What?” Eloise asked.

“Nothing…you don’t want to know.” Penelope replied with a grin.  If Eloise didn’t want to hear about ball touching, she certainly didn’t want to hear about that. 

“Eww.” Eloise said, scrunching her nose up.

Maybe she could ask while they were doing something menial?  Like harvesting from his garden, hanging up the wash or preparing dinner.  She adored the sense of togetherness and ease they had while doing something so routine.

Or something unexpected, like a nature walk?  He loved the dense thicket of trees near his cabin – ones that would never be harvested by the company.  Though that might set him to wondering her purpose…she could count the number of times she had asked Colin for a nature walk on one hand…zero times. 

Or a hot air balloon ride…but she was terrified of heights.

She would think of something, and it would be perfect and suit them perfect, because they were so perfectly suited.  Penelope paused and leaned to look at another ring.

“What about what you’re going to say?” Frannie asked.  “Have you given thought to that?  You know Colin’s love language is words of affirmation.”

She’d also had dozens of versions of that run through her mind too.  She loved Colin so intensely, so profoundly and greater than anyone else in this world.  Every time she had formed something in her head the tears had threatened to choke her.  That would be the hardest part of this she thought – keeping it together enough to remain coherent. 

She had a sudden panicked thought of that too. 

“Colin, IluvusomuchmyhartachesforuandIcantthinkstraight.  Pleasemarymeandbemineforalltime.  Mycherishedhusbandandfriend.  Iwanttospendmylifewithuandonlyu.”  She would say too fast, too broken, too choked, too…sniffly to be understood.

“What, Pen?” He would ask in confusion.

She would repeat it, and he still wouldn’t get it, making her sob even harder as she stood there exposed and vulnerable.

“Pen!” Eloise laughed and rolled her eyes.  “Did you hear Fran-Fran?  You are on another planet this afternoon.  Are you alright?  You’ve gone pale.”

“I’m fine.  Just preoccupied.  It’s not every day you buy a ring to propose to the love of your life.” Penelope said, shaking away of the horrifying thought of Colin not understanding her.  “I have thought about it.  I have so many things to say to him on my feelings for him and how he makes me feel.  I just need to get them organized to share with him.”

Frannie leaned forward and whispered so that only Penelope could hear her.

“He will accept you if that is what you are worried about.” She said and squeezed Penelope’s hand reassuringly. 

“Thanks, Frannie.  I’m more worried about fucking it up than anything.”

“You couldn’t fuck it up.  He will be overjoyed, his jaw will be on the floor that you are asking him – I would expect tears from him if I were you.” Frannie replied.

Then Penelope saw the one.  She leaned over the counter to inspect it closer, and she felt her heart beat a little faster.  She looked towards the sales associate with a smile to indicate she was ready for assistance, and she quickly came over.

“Can I see this one please?” Penelope asked, pointing at the one front and center in the case. 

The woman handed it over to her and Penelope felt the heft in her palm, ran her fingers over the smooth, cool metal, then angled it around so that the light bounced off the inset gemstones and set it on the back of her hand to admire the contrast against her.  It was classic, it was sleek, it was manly, it was beautiful – it was Colin.  It was perfect.

“What do you both think?” Penelope asked Eloise and Frannie.

They both murmured their agreement.  It was a very handsome ring, very suited to Colin and he would absolutely love to have it on his finger for the rest of his life as his symbol of their undying love.

“I’ll take this one.” Penelope told the associate, then pulled out Colin’s existing ring she had borrowed to hand over to her too. 

“Please, tell me you have one in this size.” She said hopefully.

“I can tell by looking that this one is too small for him.  Let me take his ring, measure it to see our correct size and see what I have in our back area.  I know we had another shipment that was being checked in earlier.”

Less than ten minutes later Eloise had her two pair of earrings, Frannie had her pendant and Penelope had Colin’s correctly sized ring and they stood on the pavement outside the shop. 

“I really appreciate you being here for me, the moral support and the opinions.  I love you both and I cannot wait until I can say you are my sisters.  I’m just going to go pop in for my waxing appointment and I’ll meet you at the bar in about twenty minutes.” Penelope said to Eloise and Frannie as she hugged them tightly. 

“You have always been our sister, Pen.” Eloise said, hugging her back.

She had a ring, and she was going to stop for champagne and flowers on the way home.  She had a half-concocted proposal plan and the man she had always wanted; her stomach fluttered, her nerves sang, and heart thudded.  Penelope Featherington was going to ask Colin Bridgerton to marry her.

Chapter Text

Colin had Edmund’s company for another few hours, which he always appreciated.  When you had seven siblings it was tough to get one on one time with your parents and now Daphne and Anthony had started to add grandchildren to the mix, so it made it even more difficult.

When he left, Colin poured himself another glass of whiskey and decided to go sit outside on the loungers near the lake.  It was a warm, clear night with a gentle breeze and a waxing gibbous moon so you could see thousands of stars in the sky.  He stared unseeingly out at the lake and gazing up at the bright stars as his thoughts turned to Penelope, just as they always did…sweet, funny, kind, considerate, beautiful Penelope.

Which is precisely where she found him when she returned from her outing with Eloise and Frannie, except Colin had fallen asleep.  He looked so handsome laying there with a heavy chestnut curl falling over his forehead and his arms crossed over his chest in her favorite of his flannel shirts, the brown and cream one that clung to him to perfection, and he had it rolled up to his elbows to expose his forearms and left it unbuttoned down to between his pectorals. 

Her heart squeezed – how could one person be this handsome?  And how had he come to be hers?

“Colin?” She said gently to wake him up, but he was such a sound sleeper he didn’t respond. 

Any other night she would let him sleep. She would join him on his lounger, settle herself into his arms and lay there with him but she had things to do tonight, and she needed him awake. 

On the drive home she had decided that she didn’t need to create a special moment to propose – the moment would be special because she had proposed.  She was doing this tonight, with zero prep work.  It was a lovely night, he was conveniently already outside, she had flowers, champagne and his ring…this was happening.

She had put the champagne in the fridge but judging from his empty whiskey glass on the table next to him he may not want any anyway, but she had the ring in her pocket and the flowers that she’d picked up for him in her arms, three dozen white and pink peonies.

Penelope started pulling the bouquet apart and arranging them in a large heart shape on the ground next to her until she was only holding a half dozen of the colorful blooms.  She came back to lean down next to him again, but made sure her body was blocking her floral display. 

“Colin?” She said softly once more, but cupping her palm to his beard-hewed jaw and stroking her thumb across his high cheekbone.  “Wake up for me, baby.”

Her touch stirred him, and he awoke slowly, capturing her hand in his and holding it even closer to him. 

“Pen?” He asked with confusion, unsure if he was dreaming her or not. 

“I’m here.” Penelope assured him and pressed a tender kiss to his lips.

“I’m glad you’re back.  I missed you.”

“I missed you.” Penelope replied with a smile before she kissed him again.

“Did you have a good time?”

“We did.  Thank you.  I love spending time with your sisters.  What did you do tonight?”

“My dad came over and kept me company for a few hours.” Colin said with a grin.

“Oh, I’m so glad.  I know you love spending time with him.”

Colin nodded and sat up more fully and moved to allow her to join him on the lounger, but she stayed where she was, and he finally noticed she had a bouquet of flowers cradled in her arms. 

“What have you got there?  Did my sisters give you flowers?”  He asked curiously, assuming they were hers. 

“No, these are for you.  You are my best friend, and I love you.  You deserve flowers.” She replied, handing them to him.

“You bought me flowers?” Colin said in shock.  He had never received flowers in his life, always the gifter, never the giftee.  “That’s so touching.  Thank you, angel.  They’re lovely.”

He wrapped his fingers to the back of her neck and pulled her back in for a kiss and she sat down with him so that she didn’t topple over, but she was careful to keep her body angled to hide the floral heart behind her.

When he finally broke the kiss, she hugged herself tightly to him to nuzzle her nose in his neck.

“I love you, Colin.  There’s nowhere I would rather be than in your arms.  I’d stay here for the rest of time if I could.” Penelope murmured close to his ear.

She had tried coming up with a plan of what to say but she had talked herself out of it and decided to speak from the heart – come what may from that - and she just hoped she didn’t break out into sobs or become too choked up to talk.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather you be than in them.  I love you, Pen.” He sighed contentedly.

She loved how he sounded so pleased when he was doing nothing more than holding her.  She felt the emotion already nearly sweeping over her and she pressed her lips to his neck to distract herself before she stood up and stepped carefully into the heart of pink and white peonies on the grass.

“That’s so touching, my angel.  I hadn’t noticed you had done that.  Thank you.”

Colin stood and began walking towards her, which she hadn’t counted on, but this had turned into a go with the flow sort of proposal, so she tugged him to stand in the heart with her and held his hands tightly – proposal in a heart of flowers under the twinkling night sky it was.

“Colin, from the moment we met you were so different than any boy that I had known.  I had no brothers, nor male cousins and the boys at school had not been kind about my hair and my freckles, but from the jump you were the sweetest…”

“You gave me your chocolate, Pen…” Colin interrupted her with a smile.

Penelope placed her index finger to his lips to shush him and pulled him down for quick kiss to soften the action.

“Your brothers were equally kind, but you were always the sweetest amongst them…going out of your way to talk to me, check on me, ask me about myself or get my opinion on something.  We were children, of course, so I wasn’t in love with you at that point, but I had such love for you at the earliest of ages, and you were more than setting the stage for falling for you when I was old enough to start feeling those much deeper and confusing teenage emotions.  You always made me feel seen, heard and understood; as if I was special.”

Colin’s heart soared and his blood heated at her unexpected stroll down memory lane. 

“You have always been special to me.” He promised.

“I couldn’t help but love you.  Loving you was inevitable.  You got me.  I wasn’t weird, I wasn’t odd.  I was just me and that has always been enough for you.  You, who I have always seen as infallible, funny, brilliant, thoughtful and the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life.  And even though you are so incredibly, ridiculously good looking it has always been your tender heart and sense of humor that has captured me. Even when you didn’t like yourself and what you felt you were becoming, I could see to your core that you were still you and I loved you fiercely.”

Really…was she trying to make him cry?  Because he could feel tears pricking his eyes.

“When the text came my heart broke in half...into thirds, fourths and fifths.  I was shattered.  I was a shell…”

Colin tightened his hold on her hands and brought them to his face to rub his cheek against her while she continued on – clearly, she had something to share tonight, he could see it in her eyes with the moon brightly lighting them up…determination shone through.

“But even with that, I couldn’t stop myself from loving you; you were my best friend that I was so deeply in love with.  When you left the city and your job to move here and work at the mill you somehow became an even softer, and more caring man who was hell bent on winning your way back into my good graces, on becoming friends again – please know that was as hard for me as it was for you, Colin, to not let you back in.  I didn’t think I could love you more, but I did – even now, with us blissfully happy, I don’t know how I can love you even more each day, but I do.  I think to myself, surely, my heart has a maximum capacity it will reach, as far as it can stretch, as big as it can swell, but it doesn’t – every day you find a way to make me feel more for you with a look, a touch, a smile, a gesture or your kiss.”

Colin’s tears were no longer threatening him, they were coursing down his cheeks freely as she activated every praise craving, compliment hungry nerve of his body.  Now was the time, this was his sign, she was ready…as soon as she finished this soul stirring declaration he would propose to her.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you trying to determine if my heart has a limit.” Penelope said, taking the ring from her dress pocket and sinking to her knee in front of him. 

Colin gasped, his eyes widened, the tears came harder until she had blurred before him when he realized what her words had been leading up to.  Never in a million years, in a thousand imagined scenarios, in his wildest of daydreams had he ever imagined Penelope proposing to him.  It was surreal.

“I love you, Colin.  It should be impossible how much I love you.  I love how you see me, I love how you make me feel about myself, I love every trait that you possess, and I want to be with you every day and every night feeling this way for the rest of our lives.  Will you marry me, my love?”

She’d stolen his very voice as emotion coerced him into choking and he had to clear his throat three times before he managed a barely audible yes.

Penelope pulled the ring from the box and slid it on his finger then tucked the leather box back in her pocket.  He couldn’t see the ring through his tears, then he couldn’t see the ring through her body as he tugged her up from her knees and hugged her until he was thoughtlessly squeezing the air from her lungs in his jubilation.

Colin could not believe she had just done that – Penelope proposed to him.  He and Penelope were engaged.

“Colin, I can’t breathe.” Penelope squawked out.

He immediately loosened his hold on her.  “I’m so sorry.  I am simply…in complete shock and beyond happy.”

Colin dropped a kiss to her smiling lips.  “Come with me, my beautiful angel.  I have something for you in our bedroom.”

“Is it your cock?  Because we could just do it here…or go to your wood chopping platform, if you are that moved.” Penelope asked, raising her eyebrows teasingly. 

Colin realized how that had sounded and threw his head back as he roared with laughter – he couldn’t help it; the lightness and elation was bubbling through him. 

“It is not my cock…yet anyway.”

He pulled her to the house swiftly and picked her up to carry her through the backdoor before setting her back down gently.

“You are to be my bride…I must carry you across the threshold.” He said, leading her through the lounge.

“Ahh, but I proposed, perhaps I should have carried you across it.” Penelope giggled.

Colin laughed and paused for a moment.  “Would you care to try?”

“I think not…unless I’m saving you from a house fire or something and I have to drag you across it by your arms, which may hurt you in your far more alert state.”

“You are truly my hero, my love.” Colin said, pressing a hand to each side of her face and kissing her.

When he released her, the ring on his finger caught his eye and he took his first look at it, his stomach swooped.  It was a dark tungsten with black diamonds circling the band on an inset, so it had a deep tone on tone look.  It was gorgeous.

“Pen, this ring is perfect.  I love it so much.”

“I’m so glad.  It reminded me of you – sweet with the diamonds, but the black making it rugged and manly.”

Colin was overcome again, bending to kiss her so he didn’t have to fight the tears in his voice again.  He brought her arms up to wrap around his neck, then slid his hands down her buttocks to hold her and lift her to force her legs to wrap around his waist as he carried her upstairs to their room, kissing her the entire way until he set her tenderly on the bench at the foot of their bed.

“Wait here.  I’ll be right back.” Colin said huskily, stroking a hand through her red curls.

Penelope heard him rummaging around in the bathroom and he returned in less than a minute then it was he who sank to his knee in front of her, holding the open black jewelry box she had found in his jacket pocket the night of their accident. 

Somehow, her heart swelled, and her love grew even more, consuming her in the moment.

“My darling, it looks like you have beaten me to the punch, but we share the same desired destination.  I had a whole touching speech planned for this, but you have thoroughly discombobulated me this evening and I can’t remember a word that I was going to say – only the question that I was going to ask.  I couldn’t top your words anyway, so I’ll keep it short.  I love and adore you, Penelope.  I am nothing without you here, loving me so thoroughly and making me strive to deserve you and be the best man I can be for you.  Will you do me the honor of allowing me to be your husband?”

His words were few, but they touched her soul, and she knew he would be saying heartwarming things to her for all of time – it was simply his marshmallow, teddy bear nature.

“Colin, of course, I will.” She had kept it remarkably together up until this point, but now she had her own tears of happiness threatening to spill and her own emotions tightening her throat. 

Penelope leaned forward and kissed him, deeply, until she had tugged him up on the bench with her and maneuvered her way into his arms to press herself to him.

She kissed his exposed neck and chest that his flannel had left exposed, then back up to his ear and his soft beard on his jaw and cheek while he groaned beneath her urgent lips.

“Pen, you are sending shivers down every appendage of my body…including that one.” He said huskily but tipping his head around and to the side to drive her lips back to the pulse point at his neck.

“I love you.” She murmured against him as she nipped him gently, then firmly, earning her his very guttural moan, then teasing her fingers against that appendage.  “Feels more like a twitch than a shiver to me.”

“I’m yours, you own my heart.” Colin whimpered.

“Perhaps it you who owns me.” Penelope replied and he felt her smile against his neck and trace her finger down his lower abdomen where his Penelope tattoo was.  “You have your three tattoos as a tribute to me, I wanted to give you my ode to you.”

“Have you gotten a tattoo, my angel?” Colin asked curiously, pulling away from her to look into her captivating sky-blue eyes.

She shook her head. 

“Well, now you have me curious.”  He said.

Penelope stood and maintained her eye contact as she tugged her floral dress over her head to toss on the floor.  He swallowed hard as she stood there in her sheer, lacy white lingerie – his favorite. 

She reached behind her and deftly flicked her bra fastening open and slid it down her arms slowly to drop on top of her dress.  He blinked rapidly several times as his eyes drifted down to her breasts and her peaked nipples and moaned. 

Then she pushed her wispy knickers down teasingly, lazily, languidly, past her hips, and thighs, then bending at her waist to pull them past her knees, calves and ankles before she stepped out of them and kicked them to the rest of her pile.  She straightened back up to stand in front of him naked aside from her sandals. 

His eyes drifted from her heavy breasts to what she had bared to him and she heard him gasp, then loudly groan, switching to a possessive growl when he realized what she had done.

“Pen, for fuck’s sake.” He managed, sounding strangled.

Her pubic hair, which she usually kept groomed into a thin little landing strip, had been waxed into the letter C instead.  She was totally and completely his.  She had branded herself as his.

“That is the hottest damn thing I’ve ever seen.”

He traced the tip of his callused finger over his initial lightly in mute fascination and delighted in watching a tremor chase down spine and her purr when his lips followed, much like when he had revealed his tattoos to her.

“Stake your claim, Colin.” Penelope mewled.

She was going to kill him, and he was going to love every single second of his slow, agonizing death from this tantalizing, loving seductress.

“You are quite wicked, Pen, I don’t think I can call you angel right now.” Colin said, pulling her towards him. 

“I think I prefer fiancée tonight anyway.” Penelope replied lowly, sinking to his lap.

“Mmm, as do I.  My fiancée.”

Chapter Text

Colin wiped the sweat from his brow with his denim and sky-blue plaid sleeve in the heat of the late summer sun as he stood amongst a grove of downed trees with Edmund, Anthony and Greg as they surveyed his days progress and determined if any more would need taken down to meet the quota for the outgoing shipment and the best way to haul away today’s harvest when his walkie went off.

“Base to Logger B3.  Come in B3.”

Colin grinned when he heard Penelope’s honeyed voice, and he reached quickly for his walkie and stepped away from the group to answer her.

“Logger B3 here.”

“Hello, B3.”

He could hear her smile in her voice and his heart warmed. 

“Hello, Base.”

“Hi.” She nearly whispered.

“Hi.” He replied just as softly.

“This is your time check reminder and progress check in.  Can I please have your percentage status and your ETA to return to base?”

Colin mused how different their communications had become – from months ago when she had been perfunctory, clipped and barely civil at times, to now…sweet and caring…intimate.

“What if I were to say sixty-nine percent completed?” He teased.

She said nothing, but pushed her button and her giggle came through…followed rapidly by someone breaking in.

“Giggity.”

Ben.  Colin rolled his eyes and started to reply, but Ben kept on. 

“B2 to B3, may I remind you that this is not a private channel, and anyone could happen upon this very unfortunate attempt at flirting with your fiancée.  Really, PF?  That earned such a giggle and makes you want to marry him?  Nearly as bad as ‘what are you wearing?’  I’m giving it a two out of ten, B3.  Try harder.  I’m embarrassed that I did not teach you better than this.”

“I give it a sixty-nine out of sixty-nine, B3.  Keep up the stellar work.  Base approves of your humor.”

Penelope surprised him by being the one to reply to Ben and Colin grinned even harder.

“Ugg, you two deserve each other then.” Ben said with a laugh.

“Thank you.” Colin and Penelope replied at the same time, smiling equally stupidly on their opposite sides of the conversation.

“Go to five, Base.” Colin said and switched his channel.

“I’m on five.” Penelope replied a moment later.

“I’m at a hundred percent complete but with my dad, Greg and Anthony as they organize the haul away from what I’ve cut down and try to determine if more are needed to ship out Dorchester.  I hope to be back in about forty minutes.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Not as much as I do.  143, PF.”

“143, B3.”

Colin heard her smiling again and started to say the words instead of the code, but he was interrupted…by Ben…again. 

“Aww, much better, B3.  Maybe you were listening to me as a teen.  Score is improving to eight out of ten now.  I love you both too.”

“Ben, for fuck’s sake, stop stalking us across the channels.” Colin rolled his eyes.

“Get a room.”

“We got a room.  Room five.  You just creepily followed us to it.” Penelope teased him lightly.

Colin loved that she knew precisely how to take on his family.  Ben chuckled and they heard him click off.

“Be careful, my love.  I’ll see you when you get here.  Sundown is in two hours.” Penelope said before she too switched off.

“Col? Everything alright?” Edmund asked, wandering over to where Colin had moved to stand, grinning like a lovesick fool.

“Yes.  Just my base progress check and sundown warning.” Colin replied with a smile at him.

“Ahh.  I see.  You’re probably eager to return to our Pen.  You did the hard part of getting the trees down.  Ant, Greg and I will work on our removal plan and figure out if more are needed.  If so, Greg will mark the trees and put them in your plan for tomorrow.  We’ve got my truck here, so you go on back to her.”

“I think I will.  Thanks, Dad.  Do you know where I can find mum?  I want to talk to her first.”

Edmund checked the time and said, “She’ll be in her office for another thirty minutes and then she’ll be heading to Simon’s shop to verify completed repairs.  Everything alright?”

“Everything is perfect.” Colin assured him.

“Are you nervous for Saturday, son?”

Colin and Penelope’s wedding was in three days, and he could hardly wait.

“Absolutely not.  I’m excited.  We’ve been married for years in my mind already.  We’re finally having the ceremony.”

“You’re going to be a very good husband, Colin.” Edmund said, clapping him on his back.

“Of course, I will.  I had the best role model to watch.” Colin replied, refraining from hugging him since he was so sweaty and returning the clap to his own back.

“You did, didn’t you.” Edmund grinned.  “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Dad.”

Colin waved to Anthony and Greg and hopped in his truck to hopefully find Violet in her office before he had to go try to hunt her down in the shop.  He drove the ten minutes to base hoping Penelope wasn’t wandering around to see him when he got there.

He lucked out and didn’t see her as he made a beeline for Violet’s office at the end of a long hallway.

“Hey, Mum.” Colin said, launching himself inside and closing the door behind him. 

“Well, hello, darling.  You’re early.  Pen had just updated you’d be back within the hour.  Is Edmund with you?” Violet said looking at him with surprise.

“No.  He’s still at the site with Anthony and Greg.  I wanted to talk to you.”

“Of course, sit down.  Penelope’s mother, two sisters and their husbands have finally confirmed for Saturday…though I had to chase them down to get their RSVPs…they didn’t think they needed to since they’re the family of the bride…they make things such a challenge, but our Pen will be pleased her family is there.”

“Thanks, Mum.  That will make her happy.” He replied, crossing the room while she spoke.

Colin sat in the chair across from her and crossed his long legs on his knee.  “First, I want to thank you for the help you’ve given us with the wedding planning.  I know you wanted longer to plan but Pen and I didn’t want to wait a moment longer than we had to.  We would have marched ourselves to the courthouse the next day after our engagement if I wasn’t sure that you would have killed me.”

“Of course, Colin.  One month was arduous but since you’re being wed at your house near the lake, that did help.  And the Bridgerton names buys a lot of favors with florists, dressmakers and caterers.  It will be a lovely wedding, simple elegance and not over the top.  Just family, as you have asked for.  And Penelope will look stunning.” Violet promised him.

“Penelope always looks stunning.” Colin replied loyally.

“She does, darling.  What’s the second thing you needed?”

“I need a favor…unrelated to the wedding.”

“Oh?” Violet asked curiously. 

“Can you, or you and any of my sisters, or all my sisters, or whatever combination you need to make this happen, distract Pen for a few hours on Sunday afternoon?  Come to our house and keep her busy with a very long chat or take her somewhere in town?  I need her to not notice I’m away.”

“You want us to keep your wife from you the day after you marry her?  What on earth for?  We fully expected not to see you for a week…possibly two after Saturday and your newlywed bliss bubble.  Then of course you’d be off on your honeymoon for another two weeks.”

“I have a tattoo appointment.”

“You scheduled a tattoo appointment the day after your wedding, Colin?” Violet asked in disbelief. 

“It’s not just a random one.  You’ve seen the ring that Pen proposed to me with?” Colin asked, knowing the answer full well. 

There was no one who he hadn’t proudly showed the ring off to yet…multiple times.  His brothers groaned when left alone with him because they knew they we would be regaled with the tale of the proposal again, despite already hearing it multiple times over the last month.  His sisters humored him marginally better.  He couldn’t help but shout it from the rooftops.  Not only was he the happiest he had ever been, but it was also the most romantic thing that had ever happened to him.

“Yes, darling.  It is a very nice ring with a beautiful proposal attached to it.” Violet assured him with an indulgent smile.

“Pen picked it for its durability but it’s still something too precious to me, to beautiful, to chance wearing during the workdays.  I’m getting its likeness tattooed on my ring finger so that even if I’m not wearing the physical ring, I still have the symbolism on my finger so that the world knows that I am hers and I feel I am hers when I look at my hand.”

“Colin, that’s very sweet.  She’ll be touched, I’m sure.”

Colin nodded, knowing Penelope would likely cry with her emotion, which was not his intent, but she would all the same.  He would comfort her and kiss her…then he would likely tear up because he had made her emotional.

He really had no idea how he would successfully complete his own wedding vows through all the emotion and conviction of them – every time he even thought about them, he became choked up. 

“I can enlist all your sisters, and Kate too.  We’ll tell Penelope it’s tradition for the Bridgerton women to have lunch the day after the wedding as a way to welcome them to the family.  We did take Kate to lunch; we’ll simply make it a tradition starting now.  When Ben and Greg marry, we’ll do the same for them.”

“What about Simon?” Colin asked.

“I’m afraid Edmund is in charge of the men’s day out, darling.  Quite lax in his scheduling of it, I think.”

Colin laughed.  If he and Pen were even a quarter as happy that his parents were after forty years together then they would be doing pretty damn well.   “You might tell him of its existence when it comes time for El, Frannie and Hy.”

“Hmm.  We’ll see.”

“I love you, Mum.” Colin grinned.

“Of course you do, darling.  I’m your mother, and a pretty amazing one if I do say so myself.”

“You may so yourself.  Thanks, Mum.  I’d hug you, but…” Colin gestured to his sweaty torso.

“I’ll risk it.” Violet said and rounded her desk to drop a kiss to the top his damp head and hug him.  “I’m so proud of you, Colin.  We have always loved Pen, and she makes you glow.  You’re going to be very happy together.”

He loved how well his family loved Penelope and he hugged Violet extra tight for always doing so.

On Saturday morning Penelope stood in the guestroom getting ready…well, being readied, as all the Bridgerton women fussed and cooed over her.  Hyacinth was applying a shimmery pink gloss to Penelope’s lips while Daphne was standing on a chair brought in from the kitchen curling Penelope’s hair. 

Violet was working her way up the small buttons on the back of Penelope’s wedding dress while Eloise was chattering away, near tears, about how much she loved Penelope, and how glad she was that this day had finally come and how excited she was to claim her as a sister. 

Kate was wiping Penelope’s shoes with a soft cloth and Frannie was laying out the jewelry that Penelope would be donning. 

The room was buzzing with energy, and her heart was humming with anticipation to marry Colin.  He had offered her their bedroom to get ready in while he got ready in the guest room, but she liked completing the full circle in this room.  It had been hers for two weeks when he’d insisted on her staying with him while her ankle healed. 

She’d heard him on the walkie in here pleasuring himself to thoughts of her.  Which had probably been the kickstart to where they were now because it had opened her mind to possibilities that were previously thought to be impossible.

She had pleasured herself to thoughts of Colin in here…many, many times.

He had carried her up the stairs from this room to soak in his bathtub to help her ankle pain then back, placing her tenderly on her bed with a hug and the barest whisper of a kiss to her crown. 

The room had been a catalyst for the love that had always simmered between them and now she was here, preparing to wed the truest love of her lifetime that had always given her so much of himself and so much to her.

Colin and Penelope had wanted a simple and brief ceremony, merely wanting to be pronounced husband and wife as quickly as possible on the day.  They had had their rehearsal yesterday and it had taken less than ten minutes, suiting them just fine. 

Violet and Edmund had worked with the caterers for a delicious menu and canapés to serve at the reception and an assortment of cupcakes for the guests with a mini cake that Colin and Penelope could cut together.

Violet had handled the floral arrangements, knowing Penelope so well that she had picked precisely what she would love, and she had openly wept this morning when they had been delivered.  She’d thrown herself into Violet’s arms to hug her tightly as she profusely thanked her. 

There were huge bouquets of white tulips and lilies lining the four rows of seats on each side of the aisle, a medium sized bouquet for her to carry, and a smaller bouquet for Eloise, who was her Maid of Honor.  As well as two boutonnieres of the white tulips, one for Colin’s tux and one for Frannie, who was standing up with Colin as his Best Woman, to pin to her dress, which matched Eloise’s.  Penelope had chosen the color of a light, oceanic aqua and Frannie and Eloise had come to an agreement of the cut with a Grecian draping.

The only finger that Penelope had to lift to make this wedding happen was a visit to a dressmaker to describe what she wanted and show up to several fittings.  She had given the poor man the vaguest description in the world, but he had managed to create exactly what she had imagined despite her lack of help. 

It was the palest of watery blues in color, as if someone had spilled only a drop or two of dye in the white. It was off the shoulder, with sheer peasant lace sleeves and enough of a drape behind her that it trailed prettily as she moved…not a train exactly…just an elegant fall with a slight sweep.

Daphne had styled her hair and gave her huge curls that she brushed out in waves around her bared shoulders.  Hyacinth had done her makeup, making her look fresh-faced and dewy. 

Violet was lending her a Bridgerton diamond necklace that she had worn on her wedding day to Edmund, Daphne had worn when she wed Simon and Kate had donned when she married Anthony and now Penelope would wear it today.  She was so touched to be included in such a custom – and they were going to take her to lunch tomorrow as their traditional welcome to the Bridgerton ladies. 

Also, it turned out that one of the pairs of diamond earrings that Eloise had bought at the jeweler the day Penelope had purchased Colin’s ring was a gift for her, so Penelope and Eloise would be wearing matching earrings today. 

Hyacinth admonishing Eloise pulled Penelope back from her wandering thoughts and she found that Eloise was no longer suppressing the tears that she had been holding at bay.

“El, will you stop crying!  I don’t have time to redo your makeup before the ceremony and you don’t want to stand there looking like a tragic clown or a glam rocker with mascara running down your face.”

“Come here, El.” Penelope said, holding her arms out for a hug. 

Eloise snuffled into Penelope’s shoulder while she clung to her tightly. 

“Why are you more emotional than me?” Penelope laughed, before she pushed her slightly away and took a tissue to her to mop her face up and dab away the mascara that she did have underneath her eyes. 

“Everything changes today.” Eloise said with a slight tremble to her voice. 

“Everything changes today for the better.”  Penelope said, grasping her hands.  “We’ve been best friends for fifteen years and you’ve dutifully listened to me prattle on about Colin for more than a decade.  Now I’m marrying him, and I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.  You and I will be even better than best friends…we’ll be family.  I love you so much, El.”

“I love you too, Pen.”

“My darlings, I’m sorry to interrupt this, but it’s time Pen.  Edmund is here to walk you down the aisle.  Are you ready?”  Violet asked. 

While Penelope had been consoling Eloise, Violet had quietly been clearing the room out until it was just the three of them in there with Edmund waiting patiently outside the door.

“I’m ready.” Penelope said, hugging Eloise one more time. 

“I’m ready.” Eloise promised taking a huge sniff and fanning her eyes with her hands so she could put on a fresh layer of her powder foundation quickly before she darted out the door.

Violet turned to Penelope and was hugging her so closely and tightly that tears were now threatening Penelope when Edmund walked in.

“You have always been just like a daughter to Edmund and I, Pen.  We have loved and cared for you as much as any of our children since you came to us so young.  We could not be more thrilled that you and Colin have found your way to each other, my darling.” Violet said. 

Violet released Penelope and kissed her cheek, and then it was Edmund’s turn to pull her to him for a hug while Violet quietly snuck out of the room.  He ran his thumbs softly under her eyes to wipe away the moisture that was getting ready to spill over. 

“Don’t do that, love.  You definitely don’t want me attempting to fix your makeup, Pen.” Edmund teased her. “We don’t want to overwhelm you with emotion right before it’s time to walk down the aisle, but Violet is right.  We love you and are ecstatic to welcome you, officially, to our loving, exuberant, slightly unhinged family.”

“You have always been the precise parents I dreamed of.” Penelope whispered.

“Come here, sweetheart.” Edmund said, pulling Penelope back into his chest to hold her close for a minute before he pulled away.  “Are you ready?”

Penelope nodded with a wobbly, but certain smile.

“Let’s go get you married then.”

The whole ceremony was a blur, she heard the music…Frannie playing The Wedding March on the piano, she was dully aware of being on Edmund’s arm and being led slowly down the aisle, though she felt more like she was floating rather than she was walking, her family and her soon-to-be family were shadows in her peripheral vision, but when she was close enough to lock in on Colin’s cobalt eyes he was all she saw, all she knew.  He looked devastatingly handsome in his tux.

His eyes had teared when he saw her for how ethereal and otherworldly she looked.  He was smiling at her with the biggest, most reassuring and loving grin and he became her sole focus. 

She heard him whisper beautiful angel to her before the officiant began. 

She didn’t hear a thing as she gazed adoringly at Colin and only realized it was time to repeat the vows when Colin started speaking and her smile became even softer, her eyes became even softer, she even felt her body becoming softer as he promised himself to her.

“I, Colin Christopher Bridgerton, take thee, Penelope Anne Featherington, to be my wife. To treasure, value, love and worship for the rest of our days, in this life and any other, for my soul will love yours for eternity.”

She heard his voice break, and she knew hers was about do the same. 

“I, Penelope Anne Featherington, take thee, Colin Christopher Bridgerton, to be my husband. To treasure, value, love and worship for the rest of our days, in this life and any other, for my soul will love yours for eternity.”

They gripped hands tightly, neither turning back to the officiant, simply staring at one another with their emotions swimming between them, joining together, just as they were now.  They were one.

Colin leaned down to kiss her with a tender smile, capturing her lips once. then again and again until the small crowd erupted into applause and cheers and Penelope realized they had been announced. 

Thank goodness the ceremony was being recorded, because she feared it was the only way she could prove it had happened.

“That’s it?” Penelope asked him quietly.  “We’re married?”

“Wife.” Colin replied as his answer, stroking his fingers to her cheek and chin.

“Mmm…husband.” Penelope said, reaching to cup his bearded jaw and caress it. 

“I’ve never heard anything more perfect.” Colin sighed contentedly.  “Mrs. Bridgerton.”

“Neither have I.” Penelope said, matching his happy sigh.  “Mr. Bridgerton.”

Colin pulled her to him for another longer, more passionate kiss that had the Bridgertons hooting, hollering and clapping once more until they had kissed so long they were rushed for congratulations to pull them apart and remind them of their onlookers.

Chapter Text

For Colin and Penelope’s first wedding anniversary he rented a remote and cozy ski chalet in the Swiss Alps for ten days.  The weather had turned unseasonably cold, and their higher altitude had brought snow with it, starting this morning and falling steadily all throughout the day. 

He’d planned to take her into the village today to explore, eat and shop, but they’d spent the day snuggled in front of their woodburning fireplace on the sofa or on the plush, furry rug on the floor instead - huddled near the warmth, napping, cuddling, laughing, and lovingly kissing.

They had fallen into a content silence with Penelope’s head resting on Colin’s chest, with her ear pressed to his heart, listening to it beat against her.  She mused when her hand dipped low enough that she could hear how it sped up and returned to normal when she drifted up higher again.  She could never doubt this man would want her when he reacted so easily to the simplest of touches.

She picked her head up and pressed a kiss to the base of his throat just above the collar of his brown knit jumper.  Colin made a satisfied humming sound against her lips and smiled through her kisses as he moved his head to the side for her.

“The snow has finally stopped.” Penelope breathed against his skin.

“Let’s go get some fresh air and make use of that firepit.  You can seduce me outdoors.” Colin rumbled on her lips. 

She placed one more reverent kiss to his neck before she reluctantly moved off him to let him up. 

They pulled their boots on, grabbed a blanket from the sofa and went outside to find an occasional snowflake still falling and the chalet glittering in the light of the full moon with snowfall on the roof and tucked into nooks and crannies, while the sky was clear and filled with millions of stars, so that it looked like it had been ripped straight from a travel site.

“I’m so glad it snowed today.  I feel like we are the two people left roaming this earth up here.  You have spoiled me with this holiday…this is a perfect anniversary trip.  It is so beautiful, Colin.” Penelope said while he started the outdoor fire.

“And still, you outshine everything around us with nothing more than your smile.” Colin replied, gazing up at her from his crouch and grinning when he earned her blush. 

She tilted her head at him sweetly and bent to kiss the top of his chestnut hair when the fire roared to life. 

Colin wiped off the wooden lounger in front of the stone firepit before he sat down and pulled Penelope into his arms to lean against him as he covered them in a thick and heavy blanket.  He wrapped her more securely into the circle of his arms and tucked the fabric tighter around them, nuzzling his nose into the sweet-smelling skin of her neck and inhaling the scent of her Happy perfume.  Intoxicating and purely Penelope.

The freshly fallen snow around them was allowing the moonlight to brightly reflect off it, illuminating her ivory skin.  The crackling flames from the fire were casting prismatic copper colors through her hair.  She was warm, she was pliant, she was soft.  She was his. 

His lips chased the pulse point directly under her lobe, then his tongue darted to the shell of her ear, and she trembled in his arms with a low purr.

“I thought I was supposed to be seducing you.” Penelope said, though she stretched against him and settled more fully into him.

“Believe me, you are with these responses.  Your purr shoots straight to my cock.” He laughed, tightening his hold on her.

They sank into their comfortable silence once more as they gazed up at the sky, pointing out occasional constellations or collections of stars.

“I think we have to make a wish now.” Colin whispered into the ear that he was still occasionally nipping at when they spotted a shooting star. 

“I have nothing to wish for because I am your wife – and that’s all I ever wanted.” Penelope replied.

“Then we both got precisely what we wanted, Wife.”

Penelope felt Colin smiling against her skin and her fingernails started trailing up and down the back of his hands, over his wedding band, to the tips of his fingers, then back towards his wrist until she reached his watch band, picking one of his hands up to bring it to her lips and press a kiss to the back of it before returning it to where it had been resting at her waist. 

“Colin?”

“Yes, Pen?”

“What do you love about me?” She whispered pensively.

“That’s a loaded question with a very long and unending answer, my love.  You are like no one else, and I love everything about you.”

She turned slightly in his arm to stare at him.

“There’s nothing I do that annoys you?  Talk with my mouth full?  Hog the covers?  Use up all the hot water in the shower?  Take too long to get ready?  Leave you with a foot of closet space as my handbags take over?” Penelope teased.

Her tone was light, but he answered her seriously. 

“If you talk with your mouthful, then you are comfortable enough with me to be your absolute true self, which is all I want.  If you hog the covers, it is because you are cold, and I will give anything to keep you comfortable and content.  If you have used up all the hot water in the shower then I am following you and it means that I have seen your delicious curves naked and wet, so you have made my cock hard anyway, and I need that cold shower to cool down from the fire you light within me.   I will give you as long as you need to get ready because I would wait forever for you.  And you deserve to be pampered and spoiled, so I’ll build you as many closets as you need.”

Her stomach swooped as he spoke and Penelope rolled over in his arms so her breasts were now pressed into his chest, so she could fully meet his eyes as she stroked her fingertips to his beard roughened jawline.

“That was beautiful.  You are such a soulful goo-tastic marshmallow, my love, with the sweetest words.” She said softly. 

Her body was pleasantly humming from his attentions to her neck and ear, and she wriggled her way further up so she could capture his lips gently, then working her way across his cheek and down his sharp jaw until she was at his ears and neck.  He moaned beneath her and slid his hands to her cup her ass and press her even more firmly into him. 

“I love you, my angel.”

“I love you, Husband.” Penelope murmured, burrowing back into his chest again once she had ensured that his body was humming just as loudly as her own. 

“What do you love about me?” He asked, caressing his fingers to the back of her neck.

“Your heart.” She replied immediately.  “You have the sweetest heart in the world, Colin.  You are unabashedly yourself and give no fucks how others perceive you outside of your family.  I love how you are simultaneously a giant, walking, talking teddy bear and the manliest man I know.  I love how you make me feel so many contradictory things at once – butterflies, aflame and safe should not be feelings that go together, but I feel them when I look at you and when you touch me.”

Any compliment from Penelope made him pump up like a peacock, but so many compliments together made him feel ten feet tall and invincible. 

“What do I do that annoys you?” Colin asked curiously, simply to ground himself from flying so high.

“In twenty-one years, you have never annoyed me.  I am quite convinced it is not possible, and you are a deity from above in your perfection.”

“I am by no means perfect, sweet Pen.” He laughed. 

“You are perfect to me and for me.” She promised, her lips back on his neck and her hands clutching at the weft of his brown jumper.

She loved this jumper – it fit him impeccably and made his shoulders look impossibly broader, made his chest look impossibly more muscled and his waist look impossibly narrower.  He was a walking romance cover man come to life when he wore it. 

He had it in a marled green too, that did magical things to his eyes that made her positively spellbound.

Penelope kissed him again, harder and more demandingly this time, nipping at his bottom lip and chasing his tongue with her own, when it was his lips that captured her tongue to suck it hard – it was the match strike that lit her fuse. 

Their kisses could burn out of control so quickly, with such little effort, and it had been such a languid and lazy day of teasing that Penelope had hit her boiling point.  The blood in her veins heated, her nerves fired, her pussy clenched, and stomach rushed at the pressure of his tongue. 

“Touch me, Colin.  Please.”  She said, her kisses insistent once more.

Colin’s hands moved up from where they had been resting on her butt, up her back to unhook her bra, but his fingers weren’t finding it through her black sweatshirt. 

“Where did your bra go?” He asked with confusion through her claiming kisses.

“You took it off me this morning…when you were feeling me up on the sofa after breakfast.” She giggled.

“Remarkable forethought on my part.  Roll back over for me.” Colin murmured, putting his hands to her sides gently to help move her so that her back was pressed into his chest once more.

His hands drifted under the hem of her sweatshirt, and he ran them tantalizingly up her ribs until he was cupping her full breasts in his large palms before stroking his thumbs across her. 

“I love how your tits can’t even be contained by me…spilling over my fingers.” Colin said as he kissed the column of her neck.

He pinched her nipples in his fingers, rolling them between his thumb and forefinger until they were hard buds, and she was arcing up into his hands to chase the sensation.  Colin tugged them gently, making her gasp and tremble as his kisses turned to nips on her soft flesh.  He knew exactly how to spark her…how to make her beg.

“Colin, please.”

He grinned between the scrapes of his teeth at how well he knew her responses, how to anticipate her and how to satisfy her – he could make her come as quickly as he wanted…or as slowly.  Though he couldn’t gloat too much – she could do the same to him.

“Please what, baby?” He murmured teasingly, his hands releasing her breasts to drift down her ribs once more towards her pussy. 

He rubbed her mound over her black leggings, and she cried out then whimpered for him. 

“This?” He asked, biting her neck at her pulse point then laving it with his tongue to soothe the sting. 

“Is this what you want, my angel?” Colin said, stroking his middle finger up the seam of the fabric, directly between the lips of her pussy. 

Penelope’s breath hitched and she nodded as she moved her leg to drape over the top of Colin’s thigh, spreading herself open wider for him as her invitation.  His finger was tracing shapeless patterns over her frustratingly through the cotton of the leggings and her panties as he continued to nip her neck.

She shifted against him trying to force his hand where she wanted it.

“Lift your arms around my neck.  I love it when you are stretched out and wanton while I play with your pretty pussy.”

Her breath caught again, and she trembled, but this time from his words instead of his touch as she did as he bid, vulnerably stretching herself out for him and locking her arms around neck, grabbing a handful of his hair at the nape of his neck.

“That’s right, baby.  That pussy is all mine.” He cooed in her neck.

His fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her leggings and panties to follow the C of her pubic hair that she still kept shaped there for him before running them between her lips and part her slick folds.  Shamelessly, Penelope threw her other leg over his other thigh so that she was eagerly spread for him.

“Such lustful passion, Pen.  I love it.” He chuckled.  “Already so wet for me.”

Of course, she was wet for him…he’d been keeping her on edge all day with the ebbing of their soft kisses and touches. 

“You want me to touch you here?” He whispered, his calloused finger pressing to her clit and rubbing in a sensuously slow circle.  “Is this what you want?”

“Yessssssss.” She hissed as her hips moved in erratic directions mindlessly. 

“What my wife wants, my wife gets.” Colin said possessively. 

He pushed into her more firmly and increased the tempo of his rubbing, alternating between anticlockwise and clockwise until her heated arousal had completely coated his finger.  He slid slowly from her clit into her tunnel to press into her while she groaned beneath him. 

Colin’s thumb resumed the duties to her clit while his finger leisurely thrust in and out of her as the walls of her pussy clasped on him with each rhythmic glide.  He added a second finger to his onslaught while Penelope used his thighs as leverage for her hips to grind against him. 

His tongue was fucking her ear to match the speed that his fingers were fucking her sweet, pink pussy and she’d gone incoherent on him, babbling utter nonsense as pleasure wracked over her. 

Her pussy was opening even wider, becoming softer, on his fingers as she crept closer to finding her release and he could hear the erotic sounds of her silken squelching noises as he she drew his digits in deeper and deeper. 

“Can you handle a third, baby?” He asked, spearing her ear with his tongue, earning her desperate shriek.

He felt her thighs open wider on top of his, trustingly opening herself to him as wide as she could go.

“Third.  Want.  Need.  Give.  Now.” Penelope cried disjointedly.  “Please.”

“Colin.” She added as a plea.

Colin knew she was going to come as soon as he gave her his ring finger.  She couldn’t keep still, she couldn’t keep quiet, and her walls had started trying to clamp down on him and he worked harder to slide them in and out of her.  He brought his free hand to hold her lips open even more for him while thumb continued its torturous circles on her clit, pushing it even more into him for more pressure.

When he gave her his third finger, she squealed at being so fully filled then she exploded around him the moment he’d worked his way up to his knuckles.  She screamed out his name so it echoed around them a dozen more times in the vast nothingness surrounding them as her pussy gushed and fluttered around him while her hips continued to chase his fingers and smash against his palm and thumb until he had eked out every tremble, flitter and twitch he could coax from her delectable body. 

“Colin.” She whispered, sounding so satiated that she managed to make his name sound like the most obscene curse word…and sexy as fuck.

He pulled his fingers from her pussy and her waistband, earning himself one more quiver, before bringing them to his mouth to suck her silken arousal from his digits, slowly, savoringly one at a time while he made delighted and appreciative mmming sounds.

He ran his hands up and down the underside of her arms that were still locked around his neck, brushing the sides of her breasts before he made his way back up towards her elbows again as he pressed kisses to her temples while she floated back down to earth. 

“I want to suck your cock before you fuck me, Colin.” Penlope said eagerly a few moments later.

“Inside, baby.  It’s too cold for exposed flesh out here.”

Colin had them out of the lounger, the gas to the firepit shut off and Penelope wrapped around his waist in record time, kissing her earnestly as he carried her inside. 

They paused at the threshold of the door only long enough to remove their boots and socks, then Penelope was ripping his clothes off as she walked him backwards, towards the rug in front of the fireplace, littering a trail in their wake.

His sweater in the doorframe between front door and the lounge, his trousers behind the sofa, his boxer briefs next to them on the furry grey rug until he was naked, and his cock bobbed free to cry out for her heat. 

Penelope placed dragging, open mouthed kisses to his left bicep, covering his treasure chest and the gems spilling over.

“You…” Penelope began, placing one more kiss on that tattoo before pulling his ring finger to her mouth and drawing it in like his cock.

Slowly, up and down she sucked his finger until he emitted a guttural moan, then her teeth captured the dark tungsten ring and drug it wickedly back up his finger when she drew up, removing it from his finger to place in her palm. 

“Are…”

She took his ring finger back into her mouth, sucking it hard and swirling her tongue around his wedding ring tattoo that she loved so much – it may very well be her favorite of his for his dedicated symbolism alone.

His sapphire eyes bore into hers when she placed his wedding band tenderly back on his wet finger that she had essentially just fucked, and he forgot to breathe when she kissed his fingertip and abraded her teeth against him. 

She slipped her hands up his chest to grasp at his shoulders and pull him down to her so that she could reach his swan tattoo, caressing it in wonder for a moment.

“Mine…” Penelope continued her broken sentence before she began pressing dozens of tiny kisses over that tattoo, over his heart, until she felt the beat thumping wildly against her lips while he sighed.  She brought her fingers up to trail behind her kisses, tracing the fine lines of the plumage and the ripples of the water. 

Colin’s hands had been resting at the base of her spine, but they hung uselessly at his sides for a moment while Penelope sank to her knees in front of him.  She placed a hand on each of side of his hips and nuzzled her nose to his feathered Penelope tattoo on his lower hipbone.  His fingers of one hand tangled in her hair and the fingers from his other rested on the back of her neck while she took the flat of her tongue and swiped it from the sharp tip of the feather’s quill, up to the end of the full vane as he tipped his head back and groaned.

“You are mine, baby.” Penelope repeated as she sketched her tongue up and down. 

“Always, angel.  Always yours.  Only yours.” Colin managed. 

Penelope rewarded that sentiment by capturing his weeping cockhead between her lips and sucking the moisture from him until he jerked beneath her.

She lifted his cock up towards his well-defined abs and kissed her way up and down him then repeated it with small, slow strokes of her tongue, his grip in her hair and on her neck tightening as he grew even harder and longer in her hand. 

She drew him into her mouth again, swirling circles around his head until her lips started to make their way down his velvety shaft, swiftly back up again, taking in more of him each time she dropped back down. 

“Are you going to fuck my mouth?  Hit the back of my throat with your enormous cock?  Take what you want, baby.” Penelope cooed, staring up at him wide-eyed. 

The heat of the fireplace was warming his back and Penelope was scorching his front as he slowly shifted his hips forward and back to meet her bobbing head.  He reared back too far and slipped from her mouth and the string of salvia from her tongue to his cock nearly had him coming from that sight alone.  He let his eyes drift shut to regain some sense of control. 

Her lips captured him again, sucking a moan from him with the delicious pressure and heat she was applying.  She brought her fingernails up to whisper lightly on his thighs and balls and he was at his limit. 

He withdrew his cock from her, that string of salvia giving him pause to growl before he knelt with her on the rug, kissing her lips and brushing the hair from her face.

“Are you going to fuck me, baby?” Penelope asked. 

“No…you’re going to fuck me.” He replied, positioning himself to lay down by her.

“Mmm, yeah I am.”

She didn’t hesitate a moment before she climbed on top to straddle him, grabbing his cock to slide into her and sinking down inch by delectable inch until he was balls deep in her wet pussy. 

Colin loved watching his cock disappear as she took him, like he was being swallowed whole, just as much as he loved watching her tits bounce as she fucked him. 

Penelope pressed her small hand to his chest for balance as she rode his cock up and down, her walls hungrily tightening with each smooth glide. 

“Oh, my god, baby.  So silky, so hot, so tight.  Your pussy is squeezing the life out of my cock with how much you want me.” Colin said, jacking his hips up to meet her. 

She propelled her hips back and forth and rotated them in a circle as she fucked him.  Colin reached to her to rub her clit, following her drives.  She cried out and moaned at his touch.

“Are you going to come for me again, angel?  I need you to come for me.  You’re fucking me so good I’m going to come soon.”

Penelope stopped moving on him for a moment and he groaned loudly in protest when his cock slipped out of her as she climbed off him.  She dropped an apologetic kiss to his lips. 

“Penelope…noooo.” He hissed.

She simply smiled wickedly at him, straddled him once more, but swung her opposite leg over him so that she was facing his feet, and he was gazing at the curve of her ass.  She gripped his straining cock and slid him back into her eagerly searching pussy, taking him even deeper than she had been facing the other direction. 

She resumed the push of her hips to him and the new angles sent her screaming in pleasure as his cock touched and stretched new places.  He grabbed her hips as she arched her back, his thumbs stroking into the softness of her cheeks as he repeatedly drove up to meet her. 

“Colin, I’m going to…ahh.” She cried.

“Touch yourself, baby.  Rub that clit hard for me.  Come for me.”

Penelope tweaked her nipple with one hand and dipped her other to circle her clit as she continued to grind herself onto his thick cock until his head touched her so deeply that it set her off. 

She shrieked then cried out his name as yellow sparking flashes went off behind her eyelids, while her ears roared, her body spasmed, and her pussy gushed on him while her walls fluttered madly around him.  The increased pressure on his cock started his own orgasm, shouting her name and shuddering while his shaft jerked and twitched in her as he sent silky ropes of white come deep within her until it was running down his own length, painting her mound and her thighs with both of their spends. 

Penelope hadn’t slowed the propulsion of her hips yet as she continued riding him for every aftershock she could manage, and he continued to follow her until she ceased her movements.  His fingers had involuntarily flexed so that they were digging into the curve of her flesh, and he released them after giving her a tender pat.

“Come here, angel.  Kiss me.” Colin said, tugging her to spin back around to face him and pressing her to lie on top of him…like the most sensual weighted blanket in the world. 

She settled on him, crossing her arms to comfortably capture his lips in hazy, passionate kisses before she shifted one arm so that she could stroke the softness of his beard. 

“Penelope.” He said in the same tone she had earlier, managing to make her name sound a curse word. 

“Colin.” She replied with a smile, kissing the tip of his nose. 

“Mmmm.” He praised.

“Mmmm.” She answered back.

He let her lay there for a few more moments before he felt their come continue to drip from her and he spoke. 

“Come on, baby.  I’ve made a mess of you.  Time to get you cleaned up.  Bath time.” Colin said gently, kissing her again.

The bathtub in their chalet was not nearly as large as their tub in their bedroom at home but it was still big enough for two and hardly a day had gone by since they were reunited where they hadn’t had a soak together, so Penelope readily agreed. 

She rolled off him as carefully as she could, and he helped her up and led her to the bedroom hand in hand to draw a hot bath. 

Penelope sat behind him so he could lean against her softness as they basked in their afterglow, continuing to share their whispers of love, touches and kisses. 

“Perhaps your book now has its epilogue.” She murmured in his ear, her breath stirring him again already.

“I think you have more than given that to me.  You were the whole book.” Colin agreed. 

“Maybe you could look into publishing it, my love.  It is wonderful, Colin.  You have talent as an author.  Your male voice is so underrepresented in the market.” Penelope offered supportively. 

He hadn’t really thought of it before Penelope, but she made everything seem possible.  Penelope was endless possibilities.  Penelope was joy and optimism. Penelope was sunshine and smiles. 

“Something to consider.” He replied thoughtfully.

Penelope was purely Penelope.  Penelope was his.