by Celeste Raye
“I will see you in the morning, Charlie, and we will have a lot to talk about.”
He glared over at the witch that was messing everything up, and Charlie shielded her from his view. He didn’t want anyone to see her that way again.
“Tomorrow then.”
“And I want to know what the hell happened to my bike.”
Charlie chuckled. He’d been so worried about it before, but now it seemed like nothing. How quickly a person’s perspective could change.
“Evelyn is the one you need to talk to about that. See you tomorrow.”
Jake wanted to stay longer, but he was being kicked out, and he left, even if it was against his wishes. Charlie knew he was going to pay for it in the morning, but right then, at that moment, all he was thinking about was getting back in bed with Celeste. The rest would work itself out, or not. Charlie found himself not giving a damn like he usually would. No longer was he worried about proving himself. All of it seemed so juvenile now, everything that he’d been so worried about.
He went back to bed with Celeste and wasted no time, sliding back in and giving them both the night that they had wanted. He knew that he had trouble to deal with in the morning, but when Charlie was with her, the morning seemed like it was a long way away.
Chapter Twenty
Jake wasn’t impressed by his brother’s newfound courage. He didn’t like it, especially when he was telling him the way things were going to be. It was Jake that was in charge, and though he was trying to do better than his father, there was still a part of him that was worried about how it was all going to work out. How far was he going to let it all go before he had to put his foot down?
Seeing his brother and the big cheesing grin on his face, he knew that Charlie was on a cloud, and it was going to be his job to pull him back down to earth. That was going to be easier said than done. He’d been there himself. He knew how it was, and now that Charlie was married, it wasn’t like he could do much of anything anyway. He could kick them both out but turning his back on his brother wasn’t something that Jake was willing to do. But he had to find some way to punish him, or others would find it unnecessary to follow the rules, and he couldn’t have that.
When Charlie came in a bit later, he had thought about what he was going to say to him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been in the exact situation before. He had loved someone that he wasn’t supposed to, was at odds with the gang because of it. He would have done more. He would have left, almost gave up the title of alpha. He did all of that for a woman, so it was easy to see that his brother would do the same. Donovan had shown that to be true when he had brought a human home to marry. It wasn’t at all what was desired in the gang, but it was happening.
“I see that you slept well, brother.”
“And I see that you haven’t slept a wink.”
Charlie grinned a little wider. “I suspect that if I had, it wouldn’t have been much of a wedding night. You know humans go off and travel for a while, a few weeks; I wonder if there is time for that?”
Jake was incredulous for a moment, but then he remembered that his brother didn’t know what happened when he and Donovan went to see the Bennigans. He didn’t know that they are about to go to war. Jake almost didn’t want to be the one to tell him. He was still trying to come to grips with it himself.
“Look, Charlie, I know that sounds like a good idea, but not right now. I have a lot to talk about, and only about a tenth of it is because you have brought a witch into the mix. The elders are going to freak out, as they always do. Just promise me that this is definitely what you want, and so be it. You love her and trust her, so she is one of us.”
Charlie beamed. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that, brother.”
“Actually, I do. I was in your position not too long ago. I would have done anything to keep my wife. Nothing dad said would have mattered. I don’t want to lose my brother that way. If you love her, I am sure there is a reason, and if you trust her, then so do I, because I trust you.”
“That’s good to hear. You won’t regret it. I think that she will help when it’s needed, and it will just give us one more advantage.”
“I hope you still think that when I tell you what else I want to talk about.”
Charlie started to get into the two deaths and the destruction of the part of the clubhouse. He wanted to bring up the bike, but Jake waved him off. They would have time for all of that later; for now, though, he wanted to talk about the Bennigans and what was going to have to happen with them.
“Oh no, I have seen that look on your face before Jake, and it’s never good.”
“Well, you’re right this time, too. We need to talk about the Bennigans.”
“I thought that they were our allies?”
“Yet they are doing things to our carriers—attacked a supply truck and almost killed Donovan and me. If it wasn’t for Donovan’s feeling that something was off, we would have been blown up. The Bennigans are claiming that they didn’t do any of it, but there is more proof that they did than that they didn’t. I have tried to contact them, but the leader is running scared. The old alpha is gone. His son Talmet is in his place and wants to fight. He only remembers whispers about when we went in there before. It’s time to refresh their memory.”
Charlie was taken aback. It had come out all at once, and there wasn’t an easy way to sugar-coat it. He hadn’t tried but assuaged his guilt by claiming that there wasn’t another way. How could he make going to war more palatable?
“You’re serious?”
“Yes, and I waited a whole night for you to get it on with your wife, so now it is time to drag you away from her. She will be safe at the clubhouse with our younger brother. I need someone there to hold down the fort. He was a good choice to leave him with it. I know that you didn’t want to do this for Evelyn, take care of Donovan’s debt, but I am glad something good came out of it. I really am happy for you, brother.”
Charlie smiled and said that he was just trying to do what was right.
“I know. So now, we have to do the right thing again. Leave her where she will be safe and come with us. We have to take care of them before it becomes too late.”
“We should take Celeste with us.”
“You will survive without her for a while, Charlie. I am sure of it.”
“No, it’s not like that, though I would miss her. She’s a witch. Pretty powerful from what I’ve seen, and it would be a good help to have some of that kind of magic on our side, just in case we need it.”
“Do you think she would?”
He shrugged. “I will ask her.”
“Do that and get back to me ready to go. I want to be out of here as soon as possible.”
Charlie agreed and went off to find Celeste. He didn’t want to be without her, and he did want her help, but only if she wanted to give it. Charlie really wasn’t so sure how it was all going to work out if she had to go back to the clubhouse without him. He knew that she didn’t want to stay at her aunt’s either.
Celeste was getting breakfast and looked delicious. He gave her a kiss good morning, and they sat out underneath a weeping willow by the house, but far enough away that they could have privacy.
“It’s going to be a beautiful day, Charlie.”
He agreed, but he wasn’t looking around at the clear skies and the trees. None of that was giving him much to go on. It was the woman in front of him, the breath of fresh air that he couldn’t seem to stop looking towards.
“You’re beautiful like this, first thing the morning. I don’t think I’ve seen you all mussed up quite so much.”
Her hand went subconsciously to her hair. “Well, it was a long night, and I didn’t get much sleep.”
“I thought you would be napping?”
“Me too, but my stomach was growling. The food smelled good here.”
She handed him a piece of some kind of sweet bread. He didn’t ask what was in it, even though he would have loved for a way to d
istract from the real conversation, the one he didn’t want to have.
“I need to go with Jake and Donovan, Celeste. I need to go pretty quickly.”
Her smile faltered. “Where are you going?”
“To stop a war or start one; not really sure which way it will go.”
“Oh, well, how long are you going to be gone?”
He could see that she had a lot of questions, and he didn’t blame her. If Charlie was in her shoes, he would probably feel the same way about it as well.
“I want you to come with me, but I don’t know for how long. We will have to find out when we get there. They’ve been causing trouble, tried to blow up Jake and Donovan, so to say that it is a pleasant social call would be a lie. It’s going to be a mess, but maybe we can make them see reason before it gets to that.”
“You want to use my powers, don’t you?”
He hadn’t thought of it that way, but now Charlie was starting to see why there was suspicion in her eyes all of a sudden. He didn’t blame her. Charlie had immediately thought of her power and tried to bargain it off like it was his own.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to go, Celeste, but yes, your powers would come in handy. But I don’t want you to think that it is the only reason I wanted you to go. Or that you don’t have a choice. It’s up to you, whatever you want to do. I just don’t want to leave you behind. I don’t trust my people yet, and I don’t want you here because I know how much you feel trapped. So, your choice.”
Celeste seemed to relax a little bit, and that made Charlie do the same. He never wanted her to think that he was with her for those reasons. He loved her. That was the gist of it, and no curse, or anything else, was going to change that. He thought that she needed to know where he stood.
“Thank you, Charlie. I do want to go with you. You’re right. I don’t want to stay here, and I don’t know if I would want to go back to your gang either. You guys are a rough-looking lot.”
He grinned. “Rough, but soft on the inside.”
She agreed, and they kissed before he pulled away and told her that they had to get going. He knew that if he kissed her for too long, all of their plans would go out the window. Charlie wasn’t sure what he was walking into with the Bennigans, but he knew that it wouldn’t be good, and he was going to have to keep her close. It wasn’t like they hadn’t conquered them before, but from what Donovan says, they had been tough back then.
He tried not to let it all bother him. He held her hand a little tight, and she seemed to know what was wrong, reassuring him that everything was going to work out just fine. He didn’t know if he believed it but having her next to him was the safest place for her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Her aunt Evelyn didn’t want her to go on the fool’s errand with her new family, but Celeste felt like it was the first time she would be able to prove herself to them. She didn’t want to be focused on it all that much, but she knew that it mattered. If she was able to help them, then maybe she would be able to get along with them better. Celeste knew how sensitive the shifters were about mixing. No one was happy about it on either side, but Evelyn was already liking Charlie. He cared about her, and it showed. Now, she wanted to do the same thing with Charlie’s family, then it would hopefully be easier.
“What has you in a daze? Did your aunt give you a hard time about leaving?”
Celeste agreed but assured him that she didn’t care one way or another. It was hard for her to imagine a time when she could say that and actually mean it. Marrying Charlie had given her a new type of freedom. She just wanted to make sure that it didn’t turn into another obligation. She didn’t want people to assume; she wanted them to ask.
“Of course, she did. She said that I should just let your beasties fight it out and see what happens afterwards. She actually told me about a couple of people that are interested.”
Celeste said it as a joke, but he wasn’t smiling. They were getting on the bike after stopping for some drinks and to stretch their legs. It was apparently a while until they were going to get to the Bennigans. They lived in the swamp, and it didn’t sound like a very pleasant place to be. Celeste was not looking forward to it at all.
She was thinking about that again, but he was pissed off about something. When she asked him what was going on, he looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Celeste had gotten onto the bike, but she was still waiting for Charlie.
“Seriously, what is going on with you? I thought we needed to go?”
“We do, but what do you mean that your aunt had other guys lined up for you?”
Celeste giggled nervously and realized how that must have sounded. She didn’t mean for it to sound that way, though, not at all. In truth, she was just talking, and it had come out. It wasn’t supposed to get the sort of reaction that she was getting right now. Why was he mad at her?
“It was just a joke.”
“Not to her it wasn’t. I bet she really does have someone else lined up for you.”
Celeste shrugged again. “Probably. My aunt would definitely do something like that. It’s not like I would do it anyway. It’s just her. Trust me, it is no love lost or anything. She had five husbands; they all died on her and she is done trying to get one to stay alive. Long lives, unforeseen consequences kind of thing.”
He seemed to be settling down, but Celeste was a little surprised at how upset he had gotten and how quickly. It was like one minute he was just jumping mad, and now he didn’t seem so bothered at all. The change was quick enough that Celeste could very well have whiplash from it.
“Are you jealous, Charlie, that someone is waiting to marry me?”
He pulled her face close and kissed her lips hard, almost like a punishment.
“No one else is ever going to marry you, Celeste. You’re mine, and that’s for life. If I have to live a little longer to make sure that no one else has you, I will.”
She smiled and kissed him softly, trying to bring him back down to earth, but the intensity in his face was hard to imagine. It made her shake inside, and Celeste wanted to give him everything he needed to get that look off of his face and ease his thirst. Charlie seemed to have a lot of it.
“No one else will ever do, Charlie, don’t worry about that. But think what you want, whatever it takes for you not to get hurt.”
He smiled and got on the bike finally. “Nothing is going to happen to me, Celeste. I wouldn’t miss another night with you for anything in the world.”
The bike took off quickly, making her hold on a little bit tighter just so she didn’t fall off the back of it. It was hard to get used to riding on the back of a bike with him. However, there were perks that were hard to deny. Being smashed up against the back of him wasn’t bad at all. She liked the way it felt and even though what they were doing was so serious, Celeste knew that she was going to be thinking of something else entirely once they stopped for the night.
When they finally did stop, they were a few miles from where the swamps began. Everyone decided that a dawn raid would be better. It would be easier to see the terrain and what lay in it, as well as having a better chance to catch them unawares. They were up late, so Jake was hoping that they would be able to get in, take out a few of the leaders and next in lines to cause enough chaos in the ranks to leave them busy for a while. Once it settled down and another leader was found, Jake would see if they were ready to play ball or at least stay in line.
Celeste was happy for the stop and the hotel room that the two of them were going to share. They had been interrupted and rushed the night before, so she was ready and willing to continue where they had left off.
Charlie wanted to talk, but she didn’t. Celeste knew that he was worried about the next day, but she didn’t want to worry about it. All she wanted to have on her mind, was her husband that she couldn’t seem to get enough of. His scent drove her wild, and Celeste knew that he was going to take her to the place of pleasure that she wanted to go. He was the only one that could.
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“Why are you being like this, Celeste? Don’t you want to talk about it?”
Celeste looked at him like she didn’t know what he was talking about. She was pulling her clothes off, though, letting them fall to the ground, as she got closer to him.
“Are you telling me that you don’t want me, husband? I mean, we just got married. I thought you would tire of me after a while, but this soon is ridiculous.”
He pulled her up into his arms, his mouth quickly latching onto one of her bare breasts. It was jiggling in his face, and she was trying hard not to call out with the immense pleasure of it all. He had a way with his mouth, words, hands. Everything about him was made for pleasing her, and he used them all to his advantage. Celeste wasn’t really sure what she was supposed to do, but she knew that calling out her need was already happening. She didn’t want to be too loud, knowing that his brothers were in the next room over.
“God, Celeste, you know that I want you more than I want my next breath. I would try to figure out a way to go without it. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I would do anything to protect you. Anything.”
She shushed him because Celeste knew that he was getting off-topic, and she didn’t want that to happen. She wanted to keep pushing the agenda that she was on. She wanted him in her, or on top of her. They both needed to think less.
When her hand went to the hard length that was settled between his legs, he growled at her and Celeste knew that she was going to get everything that she wanted and more.
“I am starting to think that you’re distracting me, Celeste.”
Celeste smiled and then agreed with the sentiment. “Are you going to try and stop me?”
He said that he wasn’t, while the other breast was slipped into his mouth, and he groaned with pleasure. The act reverberated against her sensitive skin, and Celeste was holding on tight. She was going to try and hold in the sounds that were already threatening to rip from her lips. She really wanted to keep it together, but it was impossible. Simply impossible.