Penelope was unprepared for the twists and turns of this night. She'd gone into it trying to convince Marina not to trap Colin. Coming away from that conversation, Penelope prepared for a lot to go wrong with the new plan.
Convincing Harry to accept a wife, future children, and potentially a feud with Colin and/or all the Bridgertons was no small task.
Drafting and finalizing a Lady Whistledown article that placed no blame on Marina, Colin, Harry, or the Featherington household - all while in a moving hack - was not her idea of a simple errand.
Sneaking in and out of the Featherington home at night without detection, on the other hand, was as easy as promenading. She'd been doing both for months.
Unfortunately, the one action she didn't worry about was the one she failed in.
Penelope had never seen Colin's face set in such anger. She didn't even know it could twist in that way. As her back hit the side of the Featherington home, out of sight of the Featherington windows or any other homes on the square, Penelope expected Colin to stop where he was - a dance step's distance from her.
Yet, he stepped in closer to her, closer than he'd ever been before. He rested his forearm on the wall above her head and leaned down to her. The moonlight created shadows on his face, but his angry eyes were blatantly visible.
Penelope knew Colin was tall. But to be confronted with his height … she should not be finding him attractive at this moment. But she couldn't stop her heart from speeding up and heat warming her cheeks. She'd never been so close to anyone.
"Colin," Penelope breathed it out quietly. It was more of an exhale of air that vaguely resembled his name.
"I have never been this furious in my life. What were you thinking about getting into a hired hack?" Colin's eyes pierced hers. They were not full of the kindness she was accustomed to from him. His hand on the wall above her was tapping his finger against the wall repeatedly.
"Oh, um what hired hack?" Penelope hunched down, looking away from his harsh gaze.
"Don't try to be cute, right now. You are never to do that again." Colin raised his other hand to her chin and slightly lifted it, so he could see her face.
Penelope's mind was frozen. He'd lifted her chin, but he didn't remove his hand. Then her brain processed what he'd said. "You think I'm cute?"
Colin let out a groan of frustration. "You're focusing on the wrong thing. Promise me that you will never get into a hired hack again, Penelope." He moved his hand from under her chin to rest on her cheek, his thumb rubbed under her eye.
His hand was huge against her face. Her eyes darted around quickly. But all she could see was Colin. All she could smell was Colin. All she could hear was Colin's breathing. He was overwhelming her senses. But, even distracted, Penelope knew she could not make - much less keep - that promise.
"Penelope, answer me!" Colin said intensely.
Penelope took a deep breath. She could channel her confidence from earlier. "I can't promise you that."
"Why not?" His chest was rising and falling quickly with his breathing.
In for a penny, in for a pound, "Why do you care?"
Colin's body stilled - even his finger above her on the wall. Penelope had never noticed how much he'd always been in movement until she was faced with the lack of it. It was disconcerting. His eyes were the only part of him moving, jumping between looking at her left eye, her right, and back again.
"You are Pen," He finally said, with a slight pause, "You are my friend. I don't want you in danger or worse."
"Friend?" Penelope said. She looked him up and down, shaking off his hand from her face. Gathering her courage, she would not be told what to do. "You have no right to tell me what to do, or even to stand this close to me. If we are discovered you would be forced to marry me. You can't just use the rules of the ton only when it suits you and ignore them otherwise."
Penelope raised her hands to his chest.
"Pen." Her name sounded as though it was dragged out of his mouth without his consent.
Putting a little force into her hands, she attempted to push him back. Colin didn't move. Of course, he was much stronger than her. But even though she'd never seen such anger from him before, she trusted this man. If he knew that she wanted space, he would grant it.
With a final ragged breath, Colin stepped back slightly. But he was still close enough that his hand remained on the wall above her head.
"I have to get inside. If you feel we must, we can talk next week. Tomorrow morning might be … hectic." Penelope turned under his arm and began to walk away from him.
Grasped with fear - not entirely sure why, but knowing he could not let this woman walk away from him - Colin removed his hand from the wall and grabbed her wrist lightly.
He must have done the same a dozen times before - at balls, at events, even promenading - but it was different this time. He couldn't stop himself. Tugging lightly, Penelope was spun back into his chest and his arms. She could easily resist if she wanted. His pull was even lighter than her earlier push against his chest.
She bumped lightly into his chest. Colin raised his hand back to her cheek. Why did it feel so right there? Like it was perfectly molded to hold her face. Colin slowly lowered his head and kissed her. Penelope had plenty of time to stop him or turn her head. She chose not to and his heart soared.
Lightly brushing his lips against hers, Colin couldn't stop himself from kissing her a second time. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip. She gasped and parted her lips. Colin slid his tongue into her mouth. They kissed furiously. Colin's hand moved from her cheek to the back of her head to slide into her loose curls and his arm wrapped around her back to tug her in closer to him.
Penelope's hands reached behind his head to run through his hair. His head was dazed and all he knew was that he never wanted to be parted from her. Stepping forward so that her back was to the wall and her front was against him, Colin was tempted to lift her.
Penelope pulled her head back. Colin followed her before releasing her lips.
They were both breathing heavily.
"Pen," Colin said hoarsely. He would erase all other words from the world and only keep her name.
"Thank you for a lovely first and last kiss, Colin," Penelope said. While he was trying to piece together what she meant, Penelope successfully walked away from him.
Colin was left senseless. It was as if Penelope had stolen his ability to think. She had … thanked him. Did she think the kiss was out of pity? That couldn't be further from the truth. He kissed her because he HAD to kiss her. She was there, and he couldn't exist without needing to be near her. Thinking back to all the balls this year, he had naturally sought her out time and time again to spend them with her.
But wait, last? A low simmering anger began to creep up in him. How dare she call that their last kiss? His feet were rooted into the ground until he saw her successfully re-enter her home. Trying to control himself, Colin wanted to chase after her again and finish what they started.
But with no other choice, Colin returned home.
His valet appeared to help him prepare for bed. "What did you want to discuss with me for tomorrow, sir?"
Colin blinked. He'd asked his valet to stay late earlier to discuss his plans to wake up extremely early to collect Marina and go on to Gretna Green. But tonight, Marina had been a distant thought when Colin was with Penelope.
His cheeks warmed, and Colin fought not to fidget. He didn't have a solution on the spot. But, he could use the extra time in the morning. Instructing his valet to wake him well before dawn - earlier than originally planned - Colin would have some decisions to make in the morning.
His sleep did not come easy that night.
A/N: You're telling me that a kiss didn't fix everything? Disney lied to me? J'Acuse! But yes, things are not fixed. We'll get there. Or at least close to there. Well, maybe just in the same ballpark as there. We're also letting Colin pull from the Katniss Everdeen school of thought about the one that you love. You're telling me that you notice little things about her, always want to be near her, and only ever get angry at her for putting herself at risk? But you don't have feelings for her? Okay…