Chapter 8

 

Charlotte moaned into Ren’s mouth. What they were doing was a mistake. She knew it was wrong, but that knowledge didn’t stop her from throwing her arms around his neck and pressing herself eagerly against him.

His hands, his warm and deliciously hard hands, were pushing her jacket from her body while his tongue continued to taste and lick and skate across her own. She closed her lips around his tongue and sucked hard, pulling a groan of desire from his throat.

She moved her hands to his jacket, tugging at the buttons until they were undone and she could slide it from his broad shoulders. It joined hers on the floor and she was yanking at his tie and undoing the buttons on his dress shirt as his own trembling fingers were unbuttoning the buttons on her blouse. He nearly ripped her blouse open, his large hands cupping her breasts through her bra with warm familiarity.

She traced his naked chest with her fingertips, rubbing the coarse hair between her fingers before tweaking one flat nipple lightly. He twitched, his breath exploding from his throat in a long, hoarse moan as she kissed her way down his throat. She bit his collarbone and then moved back up his neck to his ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth like she had wanted to do earlier.

“Oh my God, Charlotte.” He muttered. He grabbed her ass and pulled her against him. She could feel his erection pushing against her belly and she wiggled her hand between them and cupped it through his pants.

He growled, the sound sending shivers down her spine, and then his hands were cupping her thighs under her skirt and he was lifting her and shoving her back against the wall.

“Put your legs around me.” He demanded.

She hooked her legs around his hips as he pressed her hard against the wall and rubbed his erection against her throbbing pussy. She moaned, her back arching, as he supported her weight with his lower body and pulled the cups of her bra down. Her small breasts spilled out and he dipped his head and sucked a nipple into his mouth. His tongue swept across the sensitive tip, abrading it with long slow strokes that had her panting with pleasure.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and clutched his head to her breast as he nipped lightly at the nipple before kissing across her chest to the other. He gave it the same treatment, running his tongue repeatedly over her nipple until it had tightened into a hard pink bud in his mouth.

“Ren.” She moaned softly and he kissed her again. Their tongues tangled together in a haze of need and want and lust, and she thrust her pelvis almost frantically against him. She didn’t protest when he slipped his hand under her skirt. He traced the smooth skin of her inner thigh before stroking her through the material of her panties, and she moaned her need.

He pushed the crotch of her panties to the side, his breath harsh and hot in her ear, and then his fingers were on her, they were pushing into her, and he could feel how wet and ready she was for him.

She was reaching for his belt buckle when the door to the broom closet flung open and bright light flooded in. The janitor stared at them in shock as Ren automatically leaned forward, shielding her naked breasts from his view.

“I – I need a broom.” The janitor, the tag on his shirt said Albert, reached in and grabbed the large broom that was leaning on the wall beside them. He slammed the door shut, plunging them into darkness once more.

“Oh sweet Jesus!” Charlotte moaned and pushed roughly at Ren. “What the hell am I doing? Let me go!”

Ren dropped her gently to the floor and eased away from her. She tucked her breasts back into her bra and quickly buttoned her shirt as he buttoned his own. She reached down and snagged her jacket from the floor, shoving her arms into it and zipping it up to her throat.

“Charlotte, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what – “

She held her hand up. “Stop, Ren. Please. My life was threatened, I’m being hounded by reporters, and then I lost my mind entirely and nearly had sex with you in a goddamn broom closet. Oh - and I gave Albert the janitor a free show of my tits. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I really need to get away from you.”

She ripped open the door and hurried out of the closet. He snagged his jacket from the floor and slipped into it before stepping into the hallway. The janitor was nowhere in sight and Charlotte was just turning the corner. He straightened his tie and walked slowly after her.

“Charlotte! Where have you been?”

Mel, Michael and Vince were standing in the foyer of the courthouse. The reporters were gone and she heaved a sigh of relief.

“I went to the washroom.” She lied.

“Are you feeling okay? You look flushed.” Mel asked.

“I feel fine.”

Mel’s eyes flickered to her left. “Hello, Ren.”

“Hi, Mel.”

After a brief hesitation, Mel stepped towards him and hugged him tightly. “It’s good to see you again.”

They stood in awkward silence for a moment and then Charlotte looked at Ren pointedly.

He cleared his throat. “Hello, Vince.”

Vince gave him a startled look. “Hey, Ren.”

After another moment of awkwardness, Michael smiled at Charlotte. “Are you ready for that drink now?”

“What?” Ren was standing distractingly close to her and she forced herself to focus on Michael.

“A drink. Remember, I promised you one after all this was done.”

“Right, of course.”

“Shall we go?”

He held his arm out to her and grinned boyishly. After a brief hesitation, she took it. “Yes, I’d like that.”

She was lying. What she really wanted was to take Ren home, lead him into her bedroom, strip off his clothes and ride him to a body-shuddering orgasm.

“Great! Vince, Mel – I’ll talk to you later. Detective.” Michael smiled at them and led Charlotte towards the door.

She glanced over her shoulder at Ren. He was staring at them, his face an expressionless mask, but his hands were rolled into tight fists and his eyes glittered angrily. She quickly turned around and followed Michael into the warm sunshine.

* * *

 

Charlotte parked her car in the driveway of Vince and Mel’s modest bungalow and stepped from the car. She reached under her shorts and tugged self-consciously at the bottom of her bathing suit before heading around to the side of the house.

It was Saturday afternoon. Mel had called her last night to remind her of the barbeque and she had been this close to begging off. It had been a hell of a few days. Work had been busy, although she suspected that it was because people wanted to come in and gawk at her more than because they needed a haircut, and she hadn’t slept well since the day in the courtroom. Her dreams had been filled with images of Ren and his hard body, and she would wake from her fitful bouts of sleep feeling an odd mixture of confusion and horniness.

When she had started to decline, Mel had cut her off before she could really get started. “You’re coming, Charlotte. This is a celebration of the nightmare finally being over and you need to be there. It will mean a lot to Vince.”

She opened the gate and walked down the narrow stone pathway between the fence and the house. She could hear laughter and the low murmur of talking as she entered the back yard. It was spacious and completely closed in by a large cedar fence. On her far left was the inground pool they had installed over four years ago. To her right was a large stone patio with a barbeque. Chairs and tables had been set up in the small grassy area behind the patio, and she could see Mel and Daniel and six or seven of Vince’s work colleagues.

There was a shrill squeal beside her and she turned to see Jade standing there. The young woman was dressed in a tiny bikini and her short dark hair was wet and spiky.

“Charlotte! I’m so glad to see you!” She hugged Charlotte enthusiastically.

“It’s good to see you too, honey.” She stepped back and stared at the young woman. “You’re looking fantastic.”

“Thanks! Dad hates this bathing suit. He forbids me to wear it but I’m nearly twenty-one – his days of forbidding are long over.” Jade grinned at her.

“Are you home for the summer?”

“Yup. I got home two weeks ago. I’ve been taking a bit of a holiday but now I need to start looking for a job.” She grinned impishly at Charlotte. “I’ve already had both Tony and Stan offer to get me a job at the station.”

“I bet you have.” Charlotte rolled her eyes as Jade snickered.

“Yeah, I turned them down. I don’t think I want to work that closely with dad. Now that I’ve had a taste of parental freedom, it’s kind of hard to go back, you know?”

Mel appeared beside them and she gave Charlotte a one-armed hug before staring affectionately at her daughter. “Hey, Jade? Do you think if you tried a little harder, you could find a bathing suit that lets even more of your ass hang out?”

Jade laughed and wiggled her butt at her mother before sauntering back to the pool.

Mel shook her head and smiled at Charlotte. “I’m really glad you came, honey.”

“Me too.”

Mel gave her an appraising look. “How was your drink with Michael?”

“It was good. We weren’t out for long. Just had a drink and then I headed home.”

“That was it?”

“Well, we talked about some personal stuff. Did you know that Michael was the youngest lawyer in forty years to be offered a position at Richardson and Company?”

“Vince told me.”

“He turned them down. He said he couldn’t picture himself defending sleazeballs like Steve for the next thirty years. I admire that.”

Mel smiled at her, “It sounds like you had a good time.”

“We did.”

“He was happy to hear that you would be joining us today.” She pointed towards the pool. Michael was sitting on the edge of it, his feet and legs dangling in the water as he spoke with Daniel. His short blond hair glowed in the afternoon light and his short but muscular body was tanned from the sun.

“Was he?” Charlotte was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Definitely.” Mel winked at her.

Charlotte decided it was an excellent time to change the subject. “What can I do to help?”

“You don’t have to help, sweetie. Just sit and relax. Why don’t you go and visit with Michael?”

“Nope. I’m helping or I’m going home. You don’t need to do all of the work.”

Mel hesitated. “Well, if you wouldn’t mind going into the kitchen and grabbing the potato salad and the green salad from the fridge, I would appreciate it.”

“Of course.” Charlotte headed into the house. It was stupid of her not to realize that Michael wanted to be more than friends.

Not that stupid, she argued with herself. You dated Rick for two years and were married for six. You haven’t been hit on in eight years. It’s not surprising you didn’t recognize the flirting. Besides, you don’t think of Michael as anything more than a friend.

As she closed the patio door and headed down the hallway towards the kitchen, she wondered if that was true. Yes, she decided. It was true. Michael was good looking and clever and funny, but she felt nothing more than friendship for him. Part of her tried to insist that it was because she still felt like she was married to Rick and that it would be a betrayal to him. She glanced down at her left hand. She had taken her wedding ring off nearly two months ago.

It’s not because you’re worried that you’re betraying Rick, a small, sly voice whispered in her head. It’s because of Ren. Michael’s not attractive to you because you want Ren. Admit it girl, you’re thrilled he’s alive and not just because he saved your life. You’ve been itching to get him into your bed since the moment he walked into the courtroom. It doesn’t matter that he’s dangerous, and utterly unlike anyone you ever imagined yourself being with. You had a taste of him ten months ago and now you want more.

She snorted angrily to herself. Just two weeks ago she was thinking that she was ready to be done with therapy. Then Ren walked back into her life and suddenly she was considering upping her weekly therapy session to twice weekly.

Why did he have to be so nice? Why did he have to act like he cared for her and was truly upset about what had happened in the salon. He looked like a mean biker with his muscles and his tattoos, why couldn’t he be one? It would make it a lot easier to hate him. She stalked into the kitchen and yanked the fridge door open before bending and looking into it.

From his spot across the kitchen, Ren sucked in his breath when Charlotte bent in front of the open fridge. She was dressed in a pale yellow tank top and jean shorts. Her bare legs were tanned and looked delectably smooth and touchable. Her shorts cupped her ass tightly, the worn material straining against her skin. He wanted to walk across the room and run his hand over her ass, slip it between her legs and –

He reigned his imagination in. He already had an erection and it was embarrassingly noticeable in his swim trunks. Coming to the barbeque had been a bad idea but when Mel had invited him, mentioning that both Charlotte and Michael would be there as well, he had immediately said yes.

It was ridiculous to be jealous over Michael’s obvious interest in Charlotte. She didn’t belong to him, and she had made it perfectly clear in the broom closet that she hated him. Of course, she had also made out with him and drove him nearly mad with need but that didn’t mean she liked him. Plenty of people had sex with someone they hated. Hell, his parents had been a prime example of that.

He pushed away from the counter. “Need some help?”

She shrieked and bounced up, her head banging painfully into the top of the fridge.

“Son of a bitch!” She backed up, holding her head as her eyes started to water.

“Charlotte, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you okay?” Ren was standing beside her, his face pinched with worry.

“Ren! You scared the hell out of me!” She smacked him hard on the chest and realized just a moment too late that he was shirtless. As though it had a mind of its own, her hand flattened against his warm skin and she traced the large skull tattoo on the right side of his chest.

“What are you doing here?” Her fingers continued to trace his tattoos.

“I’m doing what you asked – trying to forgive Vince. When they invited me, I figured you would like it if I said yes.”

“Charlotte…” He swallowed hard at her light touch. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She whispered. The throbbing in her head was probably still there but the heat under her hand had completely obliterated it.

“I like your tattoos.” Her left hand joined her right hand in tracing the tattoos that covered his broad chest. She ran her fingers across the name above his heart, secretly delighted by his quiet gasp.

“Who’s Esther?”

“My grandmother.”

“You’re close to her?”

“Yes.” She didn’t resist when he let his hands rest on her hips.

“This one must have hurt.” She traced the lion’s head that was tattooed across his ribs.

He shrugged. “A little.”

He leaned back against the counter and tugged her closer. She came willingly enough, settling herself between his spread legs while she continued to run her hands over him. His erection was poking against her lower abdomen, and he moved his hands to her ass and cupped it through her shorts before pressing her more tightly against him. He rubbed and kneaded her firm flesh as she examined the cross tattoo on his upper right arm and the pinup girl on his upper left.

“Did you get these tattoos after you joined Steve’s gang?” Her voice was a little breathless, the only indication of the effect his hands were having on her.

“Most of them before. There are a couple on my back that I got after.”

“I’ve always wanted a tattoo.” She admitted. “Something small and pretty like a daisy. It’s my favourite flower.”

“Why didn’t you get one?”

He slipped his hands beneath her shorts and under her bikini bottom. Her ass cheeks fit perfectly in his hands and he stroked and squeezed her bare skin. She arched her pelvis, just a little but enough to make his cock rub against her stomach, and he groaned quietly.

“I don’t know. I’m a little afraid of needles and Rick never really cared for tattoos. He thought they were tacky and that nice girls didn’t get them.”

He bent his head and nuzzled his face into her neck. As his tongue traced a leisurely hot path across the sensitive skin she arched her hips again.

“I find them sexy.” She confessed and shivered delicately when his lips found her earlobe and sucked softly on it.

“I find you sexy.” He whispered in her ear.

Her fingers went to the scar on the left side of his chest. No hair grew on it and she rubbed it lightly before tracing the “Esther” tattoo again. “Did the bullet really get lodged in your lung?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but it they got it out pretty easily, all things considered. Your body slowed it down.”

She leaned forward and placed a light kiss on the scar. He inhaled sharply and she stared solemnly at him. “You saved my life that day.”

“I got you shot. You almost died.” He said bitterly.

She didn’t reply and he slipped his hands out of her shorts and grabbed the hem of her tank top. “Let me see yours.”

He pulled the tank top over her head and set it on the counter behind him before staring down at her.

Her scar was larger; an almost star-shaped patch of raised skin that went to the top of her perfect, pale shoulder and outwards to just touch her collarbone. The skin on the scar was pink and shiny.

“Is it sore?” He frowned.

“No. I just don’t scar very well.” She said self-consciously. “The doctors said it was Keloid scarring now.”

She glanced down at it. “It doesn’t hurt but it’s so ugly.”

He shook his head immediately. “It isn’t. Everything about you is beautiful.”

He moved her bathing suit strap off her shoulder and placed a series of light kisses on the scarring. She moaned a little, her hands digging into his hard biceps.

He smiled down at her and kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re so beautiful, Charlotte.”

Her bikini was a dark blue and he traced the outline of her nipple that was clearly visible against the slippery material.

She sighed softly. “We shouldn’t be doing this, Ren.”

“I think we should.” He hooked his hand around her thigh, the skin was as smooth and soft as it looked, and lifted her leg, resting her knee against his hip. He stroked her leg and placed a smattering of gentle kisses across the top of her chest.

“In fact, it’s all I’ve been thinking about for the last ten months.” He traced her lower lip with his tongue. “The way you taste, the way you moan, how good it felt to be in you.”

Charlotte’s entire body was on fire with need. The way he was touching her right now, the way he repeatedly brushed his mouth against hers but pulled back whenever she tried to deepen the kiss, was driving her insane.

He stroked her back with light, delicate strokes. His touch was gentle but underneath it she could sense the hunger and urgency. His hands paused at the clip to her bikini top and he flicked it open before stroking her back again.

She surprised him by flattening herself against his chest and kissing him deeply. Her tongue flicked past his lips and she explored his mouth with wet, hot licks until his gentleness was gone and his fingers were digging into her back.

“Charlotte, do you need – “

Charlotte tore her mouth from Ren’s and looked behind her. Vince was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and he looked horrified.

Without speaking he turned and left the kitchen.

“Goddammit! Vince – wait!” Charlotte started to go after him and scowled at Ren when he grabbed her arm.

“Let go of me, Ren. I have to talk to him.”

“Your bikini top.” He said patiently.

She looked down at herself and groaned. Her breasts were nearly falling out of her unclipped top. She reached behind her back and yanked at the straps. “For God’s sake!” She grumbled.

His hands pushed hers out of the way and he clipped her top together for her. She covered her face for a moment and he rested his hands on her shoulders.

“Charlotte – “

“No!” She snapped. “Do you know what I wish? I wish that I could, just once, keep my clothes on when I’m around you. Does that seem like too much to ask? I don’t think it is. Do you think it is?”

He tried not to grin and she gave him a fierce look of disapproval. “This is not funny, Ren.”

“It’s kind of funny.”

“No, it isn’t! I’m losing my mind. It’s like – it’s like you’ve cast some kind of spell on me!”

“I haven’t, Charlotte.” Ren said soothingly. “I want you and you want me. Why don’t we say our goodbye’s to the others and go back to my place?”

“Are you crazy? I can’t leave with you! What will the others say? I can’t - “

She took a deep breath. “Listen, Ren, near death experience in a hostage situation aside, I’m not the type of girl who just falls into bed with someone she barely knows. I know I’m coming across that way and I’m sorry, I don’t mean to. I think we need to take a step back and just – “

“I love you, Charlotte.” Ren blurted out.

Her eyes went wide and she took a step back, her hand picking nervously at the waistband of her jean shorts. “What?”

“I love you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough. I know that I haven’t been with anyone but you since that day in the salon. I know that you’re all I’ve thought about for nearly a year. I know that thinking of a life without you makes me feel lost. I know that I love you.”

She punched him hard in the shoulder. “Stop saying that! You do not love me, Ren! Do you understand?”

She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “You have like, I don’t know, post-traumatic stress disorder or something. You can’t be in love with me.”

He shrugged. “I am.”

“I leave my dirty underwear on the floor! I’m a terrible driver! I love reality TV! I never vacuum and I hate vegetables, and I never return my library books on time.”

He laughed. “That’s adorable.”

“It is not adorable!” She hissed at him. “Seriously, I have terrible taste in television.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to find something else to do together instead of watching TV.” He gave her a slow and sexy grin.

Heat unfurled in her belly and she squashed it down fiercely. Ren was still staring at her calmly and she realized with something close to amazement that she could see the love in his eyes. He did love her. Or at least thought he did. For a moment her heart opened to him, to the possibility of accepting his love and loving him in return, and it must have flickered in her eyes because his widened slightly and then he was pulling her into his embrace.

He kissed her mouth lightly. “I know it’s weird and strange and doesn’t seem possible, but I do love you, Charlotte.”

She pushed away from him and picked up her shirt from the counter. She slipped it over her head and looked at him solemnly. “We’re too different, Ren. What you find exciting and new right now will eventually become stale and unappealing. We have nothing in common.”

“Opposites attract, Charlotte.”

“Only for a little while.” She said a bit melancholy. “I spend my weekends watching bad TV and going to the farmer’s market. You’ll get bored with me.”

“I won’t. Besides, you don’t know me yet. Maybe those are the things I like too.”

“Are they?” She asked quietly.

He hesitated and she gave him a dry smile. “You will get bored. Not to mention that I’m used to a certain type of man and you – “

“Someone like Michael?” She could hear the jealousy in his voice.

“Michael’s a nice man.” She admitted.

“You don’t want nice.” His gaze dared her to deny it. “You want someone like me. Someone who excites you and wants you and loves you.”

“Stop saying that!”

“Charlotte? Is everything alright?”

Michael stepped into the kitchen and stared suspiciously at Ren. “Hello, Detective.”

“Hey.” Ren grunted.

Charlotte forced herself to smile at him. “Everything’s fine. I was just grabbing the salads for Mel.” She tugged open the fridge door and pulled both salads out.

“Here, I’ll help you.” Michael took the potato salad from her.

“Thanks.” She followed him out of the kitchen without looking at Ren.