The Wrong Groom

by Emelia Blair

  As Charlotte peeled my hands away, Zayn tucked his tongue in his cheek, “I have a feeling that Charlotte can curse much better than any of us.”

  I glanced down at my wife, looking affronted, “No, she-“

  Charlotte just smiled at me, in agreement with Zayn, “I did live on the streets for a long time.”

  I shook my head, “Get out all of you.”

  Ian shook his head, disappointed, “It’s basic hospitality. Where did we go wrong with him?”

  Fergus wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, “I don’t know, man. It keeps me up at night.”

  Zayn rolled his eyes, but grinned at the antics of our friends, “Come on. I have to meet a client in an hour. Wrap this up.”

  Chuckling, I closed the door after them, and turned around to see Charlotte a little awestruck, “Were they always like this? They went from serious to joking in a heartbeat.”

  I tucked her under my arm and made our way to the bedroom, “We’ve all been through enough shit to know that too much darkness isn’t good for any of us.”

  I stripped off my clothes and it amused me to see her blush and turn her back. However, I was equally tired today, so I didn’t tease her much, just a wink in the mirror facing her.

  The hot shower soothed my muscles and I emptied my mind. We had enough problems, but they could be faced tomorrow.

  My shower was quick, because I was eager to get to Charlotte who was waiting for me in our bed.

  Our bed.

  I liked the sound of that.

  I liked the idea of seeing Charlotte’s face first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. I didn’t mind the idea of being tied to her.

  I had never brought a woman to my apartment and it surprised me how Charlotte just seemed to seamlessly belong in here, and in my bed.

  Although these past few weeks had been full of taut tension, having her around almost seemed to be the only normal thing.

  Patting myself dry, I pulled on a pair of boxers and looked hesitantly at the pyjamas. Before today, I had been wearing them to bed. But a lot of things had changed today.

  This could be one of them.

  I usually didn’t sleep with any clothes, but I hadn’t wanted to drive Charlotte away. It was easier for her to sleep in my bed, knowing that I was partially clothed.

  Easier to get her used to losing one article of clothing at a time.

  I walked out and was surprised to see her curled up in the centre of the bed, looking at a book that Agatha had forgotten from one of her visits.

  I sat down next to her and she didn’t even look at me, just skimming through the book, “I had been wanting to read this one. The local library didn’t have it.”

  I watched her form as she lay on her stomach, taking over the whole bed and I wondered when she had become so comfortable in my bed, and when she had started stealing my shirts to wear at night.

  I glanced at the bags in the corner. Some of them held some very comfortable night dresses; comfortable and sexy. However, right now, as she lay on her stomach, the uncuffed sleeves of my button up shirt reaching past the edge of her fingers, she had never looked more sexy.

  But she was talking about herself right now, offering me an insight into what she liked. And that was more important to me.

  “You like these kinds of books?” I asked.

  “Hmm,” She made a sound, as she jumped to the middle of the book. “It’s fantasy. Easier to lose yourself in a world that you know doesn’t exist. Plus, this writer is really good.”

  “I’ll buy you the entire series.”

  She looked up at me, frowning, “You know, every time I tell you that I like something, it isn’t an invitation for you to buy it for me.”

  “But I want to,” I told her with a cheeky grin.

  She closed the book with a snap, “But I don’t want you to.”

  I scoffed, rolling her over to her side of the bed, “That’s just a matter of opinion.”

  She smacked my thigh with the book, scowling, “Yeah, mine!”

  I snatched the book away from her and put it on the nightstand, “Come on, give me a kiss.”

  “No,” She turned away, sulking.

  “Just one,” I wheedled.

  When she offered me stony silence, I couldn’t help but grin. Then, I switched to bribery, “I’ll give you the book back.”

  That got her attention.

  She turned over to eye me warily, and I quickly snuck past her defenses and claimed a quick kiss, making her bat at me, indignantly, as I laughed.

  “You can’t do that! Gimme the book!”

  She was clambering over me, trying to reach out for the book and I pushed it out of reach, grinning at her.

  She was half on my chest, a scowl on her pretty face, “I hate you.”

  “Now now, darling. Hate is just another form of love.”

  She smacked me in the chest, and I put my arms around her, kissing her on the forehead.

  Her form relaxed against mine, “You’ll give me the book tomorrow.”

  “I’ll buy you the entire series in hardcover if you want,” I promised. “But for now, we both need to sleep. It’s been a shitty day.”

  She yawned, and buried her face in my chest, “It wasn’t all that bad.”

  I smiled tenderly at her, agreeing, “No, it wasn’t. Just the last part of the day.”

  “Hmm,” I could feel her drifting off. “I feel safe when I’m with you.”

  Her words were a sleepy mumble, something she might not have intended to say to me, but just came out.

  I kissed her forehead, “You’re going to be okay, Charlotte. Nobody will be able to get past me. And if they do, there are still those three fools to bypass. You’re as safe as you can get.”

  My words made her sigh and within minutes her tired form curled up around mine and she was out like a light.

  14

  Charlotte

  I stared at the book, feeling the words jumping over my head.

  I looked up in frustration.

  My class was in two days and I still hadn’t managed to finish these two chapters. Since I had to skip last week, I was already behind.

  Where was Philip when I needed him?

  Hearing the buzzer, I glanced up, a little worried.

  Should I answer the door?

  Philip had gone to drop his grandmother off at the airport. He wouldn’t be back for another hour.

  Grams had dropped by this morning with her bags. I had been delighted to see her, and so had she, but she had been in a hurry because she had to hurry back to her son’s side, who had left the hospital to join his cruise.

  Now, she had to go threaten him back into the hospital so that he could recover properly.

  I had felt sad at seeing her leave after such a brief meeting, but Philip had insisted that I stay home and that he would drop her off at the airport. I got what he was saying.

  Me, out in the open, with some sort of weird target painted on my back, wasn’t a very smart idea.

  However, I wasn’t expecting any visitors.

  I made my way to the door and glanced at the image on the screen and tensed.

  It was the detective that had been with John, the other day.

  Why was he here?

  I wondered if I could ask one of the men standing outside to accompany me.

  I opened the door and stared at the two men who stood in the hall and blinked at them.

  They looked at me, warily.

  “Uh, there’s a detective downstairs. I don’t want to be alone with him when he comes up. Could one of you stay in the room with me when he’s there?”

  The bigger, bulkier looking guy stiffened, “He can come back later. You can wait for Mr. McCoy.”

  I winced, “I might have already buzzed him up.”

  The man raised a brow, and then shared a look with his colleague before taking a step forward, “I’ll do it.”

  I nodded, grateful, and just then the elevator dinged and t
he doors opened, revealing the gray haired detective. He had a bag in his hand and looked surprised to see my head peeking out from the door.

  “Mrs. McCoy. Uh, were you waiting for me?”

  He sounded confused and sheepish.

  “Not at all. I was talking to-“ I glanced at the bodyguard, feeling guilty for not knowing his name.

  He must have seen the guilt on my face because he grinned, “Tim.”

  “-Tim. I was talking to Tim, here. About cookies.”

  All three men turned to stare at me, and I kept my expression absolute.

  If you spoke a lie, you had to stick to it. No matter how stupid it sounded.

  “Cookies, Mrs. McCoy?”

  Clarence looked so bewildered that I actually felt sorry for him.

  I ran a hand through my messy bun, “Yeah. I wanted to make some.”

  That answer just raised more confused questions. However, to my relief, nobody pursued this line of questioning.

  “Is Mr. McCoy home?” Clarence asked.

  I shook my head, “He just stepped out.”

  The detective looked disappointed, “Oh, I thought I could ask him about the people on the tape.”

  “The tape?” I asked.

  He lifted the bag that was dangling from his hand, “Yeah. He got the man who was following you and the tapes from the restaurant that you visited, delivered to me three days ago. I couldn’t find anything of use in it, though. And the man was even worse. He lawyered up. So, we can’t question him.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad.”

  I didn’t feel all that bad because I knew that Philip’s people had managed to extract some information from that man and that Zayn had found the video more than useful.

  Clarence staggered, and I took a step forward, alarmed, “Are you okay, Detective?”

  He used the wall to steady himself, “Sorry. I didn’t get time to eat, today. My blood sugar must be dropping.”

  My eyes widened, “I’ll fix you something. Please come in.”

  Tim frowned at me, “What are you doing, Mrs. McCoy?”

  His words were a hiss, and I gave him a helpless look, “I can’t let him leave like that. He looks terrible. Besides,” I patted his huge forearm, “You’ll be right there.”

  Tim looked uneasy, as did the other guy, but he nodded.

  “I don’t want to cause inconvenience for you, Mrs. McCoy. Maybe just something sweet to sustain me. I’ll get a hotdog on the way back to the station though,” Clarence ran his hand over his forehead, looking exhausted.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I have some ham fixings inside. I’ll make a you a sandwich. I also might have some muffins.”

  I let him inside and Tim followed us, closing the door behind him.

  I settled Clarence at the kitchen counter and quickly threw together a sandwich and heated two muffins. One I offered to Tim, who took it hesitantly as if it were a live snake.

  Clarence glanced at the book that was on the counter. He sounded impressed, “Woodworth College? Are you studying there?”

  I nodded, “Night classes. I have one in two days. I’m just trying to catch up to the class.”

  “My nephew goes there,” Clarence said with some pride. “It’s a tough school to get into. You must be very smart.”

  I felt a little awkward under the praise, “Well, their night classes don’t have that high eligibility criteria. Probably that’s how I managed to get in.”

  I placed the sandwich in front of him, and watched him tear into it, ravenously.

  “He also takes the night classes. His name’s Felix. You must know him.”

  I shook my head, “I take the later one. He must be in the evening class.”

  Clarence blinked, “There’s a difference?”

  I smiled at how adorable this man was, the sort of bungling cop, who was a little sweet on everybody.

  “Mine starts at eight. His ends at eight.”

  “Oh,” Clarence made a sound of understanding. “You kids sure have it hard.”

  I grinned, “It’s not that bad. I like the classes. The material is tough, but the teachers are very adept at their subjects.”

  I saw Clarence glance at his watch and sigh, “That’s all the time I have. I have to get back to the station. Can I wrap the rest of this up?”

  He looked at me hopefully and I smiled, “Yeah, I’ll pack it for you.”

  I quickly packed the remaining piece of the sandwich and another muffin for him and handed him the paper bag.

  He looked grateful and then gestured at the bag he had left, “Tell your husband the tapes are in this. I had hoped to meet him, but maybe some other time.”

  I walked him out, Tim trailing after us.

  At the door, Clarence turned around and fidgeted, a little nervous, “I wanted to apologize for John’s behavior the other day. He’s been given a paid leave of absence when he insisted on remaining on this case and made a fuss. He’s a good cop, just a little over enthusiastic.”

  I watched him leave and then saw the other bodyguard staring at Tim as he ate his muffin. Then the man looked at me, “I’m Jim.”

  I tucked my tongue in my cheek, “I’ll get you a muffin, Jim.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Come on, Charlotte.”

  I was laying on the bed on my stomach, my Valuation book open in front of me, a highlighter in my hand as I made notes.

  I gave him a look, “I have to study.”

  Philip had come home later than I had expected. When I had told him about Clarence’s visit, he had called up the detective, but that was it. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to work on the piles of documents that I knew needed his attention.

  No. He wanted to watch a movie with me and rest on the couch.

  Unfortunately, I had this entire chapter to get done and his persistence wasn’t helping me concentrate, especially when he kept making kissing sounds to annoy me.

  Also, a part of me really wanted to go along with his plans, but I was trying my best to suppress it.

  “Don’t you have work to do or something?”

  Philip looked up from where he sat on the sofa, a few feet away, a soft ball in his hands that he had been tossing up in the air and catching.

  I regretted buying the ball for him at the flea market.

  He had become so attached to it that it almost made me jealous.

  He grinned in a way that made me instantly, wary, “Am I distracting you?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, “As if you could.”

  I knew what I was doing.

  I was inviting potential trouble, but even I couldn’t help it. A part of me waited with bated breath, wondering how he would react to my indirect insult.

  He raised a brow, “Really? So, you think I can’t distract you?”

  I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the book, lying in front of me, “Well, I’m talking to you right now. That’s as distracting as you get. Now, leave me alone.”

  I felt the bed move a second later, accompanied by his silky voice, “That sounded like a challenge, Mrs. McCoy.”

  I frowned over my shoulder, “It really wasn’t.”

  I felt his hand on my calf as he caressed my leg, “How about this? If I manage to distract you in under ten minutes, you’ll watch the movie with me?”

  I narrowed my eyes, just for show really, because I already knew that his skilled hands could drive me insane within seconds, let alone minutes.

  However, I wasn’t going to give in without putting up a fight.

  “Fine,” I turned my head back to the book, “Don’t put me to sleep, though.”

  I heard him make an indignant sound and hid my smirk.

  However, he didn’t do much, just moved his hand up and down my exposed calf.

  I was wearing loose shorts and a huge T shirt because getting seduced hadn’t been on the agenda for today. I had been more focused on getting some studying done.

  When he didn’t do anything, except flirt with my
calf, I felt disappointed and just returned my attention to the book.

  “What are you reading?” I heard him ask, and I shrugged.

  “Something about how dividends are both a curse and a blessing to companies.”

  His hand settled on my thigh, as he leaned forward to take a quick glance, “That sounds interesting. Why don’t you read it out loud?”

  I didn’t mind, so I started reading out the text to him. For some reason, reading it aloud made it easier for me to understand so all my focus was there when he started creeping his hand up my thigh.

  My voice remained steady as his hand settled on my ass. He squeezed the soft flesh, and I settled into the sheets, not knowing how he was going to proceed from there.

  As my voice droned on, I felt him tug at my shorts, till they were drawn off my hips and tossed to a corner of the room.

  Unable to help myself, I glanced at him, and he raised a brow when he met my gaze, “Keep reading. If you stop, I’ll assume you’ve given up.”

  I immediately turned back to the book.

  But my attention was on the way he kept using his hands to mold my ass cheeks and I wondered why he was giving them so much attention. I soon found out, when I felt him strike one cheek, not too harshly, but enough to make the skin there turn red.

  I cried out in startled pain, and his voice was sharp, “Keep reading.”

  The command in his voice made me shiver and I slowly picked up where I had left off.

  He struck my second cheek and my voice quivered.

  They weren’t hard strikes, just a tinge of pain that made me shudder. Then he used his hands to forcibly part my legs, till I was completely exposed to him.

  I bit my lower lip as I felt the air brush against my pussy.

  His weight left the bed, and just as quickly, he returned.

  Hearing the clink of ice in his glass, I wondered what he was up to.

  I found out soon enough when he struck my ass cheeks two more times and then I heard the ice cubes rattle. The cold wet touch of the cube against my abused skin made my voice hitch as my body shuddered with relief and a tinge of pleasure.

  One of his hands moved towards my pussy and I quivered when I felt another ice cube being slowly being rubbed over my exposed clit, making it come to attention.