“Am I allowed to kiss you?” Charger whispered, leaning close to her.
As if he had a magnetic pull, her body eased toward his. “Just one before I go. After we begin anew.”
“Honey, we’ve already been to third base more than once,” Charger whispered against her lips and smiled when she chuckled.
“Oh, using baseball analogy, are we?” Raven slipped her tongue inside his mouth, kissing him deeply before pulling back. “If the first date is a good one, you may get past first.” With a wink, she backed away and headed for the door.
“And if it’s a really good first date?” Charger’s smile grew, and Raven honestly didn’t think she had ever seen him smile like that before. It fit him.
“That confident, are you?” Raven almost caved and ran back to him, to jump into his arms at the sexy look he gave her. One thing about Charger McNeil was his confidence, and she had just thrown down a gauntlet. Chances were their first date would go well past third base, and if he continued to look at her as if he could eat her alive, it would definitely be a home run. “We shall see.”
Opening the door, she walked out, closing it behind her. Holy hell, walking out and leaving him was not easy. Yet, she knew it was going to be worth it. She meant it when she said she deserved better. Glancing up, she smiled. “See that, Trace. You’d be damn proud of me.” Raven put her hand on her chest, touching the necklace, and smiled, excited for her future for once.
Chapter 21
Charger rushed up to the compound, hitting the button to be buzzed in.
“Who the fuck are you?” Jared’s voice came over the intercom.
“Open the fucking door,” Charger said with a growl, glaring at the camera.
It buzzed, letting Charger inside. Heading into the entryway, he saw Jared coming down the steps, frowning. “What in the hell are you wearing?”
Trying to ignore Jared, he walked into Sloan’s office, which was full of Warriors. “Sorry I’m late.” Charger nodded to Sloan. “I know we already talked on the phone, but I wanted to drop this off.” Charger handed Sloan a set of building plans.
Charger knew everyone was looking at him, and he also knew as soon as business was finished, he was going to get roasted about the way he was dressed. Not that he gave a shit, but he hated explaining himself to anyone. Sloan finally nodded, then handed the plans to Duncan.
“Looks good, Charger.” Sloan gave him a quick once over but didn’t mention his clothing. He’d bought some new dark blue jeans, a white shirt, and a black blazer. It wasn’t too far off the mark of what he usually wore. They were just… newer and no leather. “I think this will benefit us all. I’ve been wanting to find a new place where we can conduct business and training, but not have living quarters. After what happened and what continues to happen, we’re concerned about our mates being here.”
“You are agreeable to a fifty-fifty cut on everything?” Charger cocked his eyebrow at him. One thing for sure, Charger would not be under Sloan, and Sloan would never be under Charger. They would be fifty-fifty with all of it.
“I am agreeable.” Sloan gave him a nod. “I think it’s for the best. Alone, both sides are getting handled. Together, we can conquer.” Murmurs of agreement filled the room.
“There’s one more thing before I go.” Charger frowned, then looked toward Sid. “Word going around is the government, including the police, etc., could be involved with the bombings. Fear is our merger poses a threat to them, and we all know how much politicians love to be in control.”
“I’ve heard the same thing,” Sloan replied, not looking happy about the fact. “Not sure if the source is reliable or not.”
“Is Lana thinking about going back into the force?” Charger directed the question to Sid.
“She will.” Daniel looked up from his phone, then shrugged. “Just sayin’.”
Sid glared back at Daniel, then looked at Charger. “She’s thinking about it. I’m not totally on board with it, but I’ll stand behind her with whatever she decides.”
“Good, because we need someone on the inside to see if these rumors are true.” Charger glanced at his watch. Damn, he was cutting it close. “So, if there isn’t anything else, I’ll get the contracts for the building over to you as soon as possible. I’ll also leave those plans here, so if there’s anything you want to change, just let me know.”
“Sounds good.” Sloan stood and reached out to Charger. Charger shook Sloan’s hand before nodding to the Warriors as he tried to rush out of the room, but Jared stopped him by shutting the door.
“Not so fast.” Jared did a once over again. “What’s with the new duds?”
Charger sighed, rubbing his hand down his face. “I have a date.”
Jared’s eyes narrowed. “Raven knows about this date?”
“It’s with Raven, asshole.” Charger tried to push past him, but Jared stepped further in his way.
“Exactly where are you going with my daughter?” Jared shot him a fatherly frown.
“Did you get her flowers?” Sid called out. “Women dig flowers.”
“Don’t take her to that new seafood place. I ate there and got the burning shits,” this from Steve. “What? Dude, that’s a sure way not to get a second date if ya know what I mean.”
“Wait a minute,” Sid said, shutting everyone up. “Haven’t you two already screwed?”
Both Jared and Charger growled at that.
“What? It’s a legitimate question.” Sid threw his hands up.
“Oh, for shit’s sake,” Becky said from the back of the room. She got up from her desk, heading toward Charger. “Leave him alone. You go and have a good time.”
“Thank you.” Charger smiled down at Sloan’s beautiful mate.
“And don’t tell him, but Sid’s right,” she whispered as she pushed past Jared and out the door. “Women love flowers.” Becky smiled at him before shutting the door.
The voices of the guys shouting things at him, as well as Jared threatening to kill him if he hurt his daughter, filtered through. “Holy shit.” He shook his head and walked quickly to the car, got in, and stared at the compound. He may have made the biggest mistake of his life by agreeing to work with these crazy fucks. A smile lit his face as he backed out of the parking space, then headed out on the highway toward Raven’s.
It had been a few days since he’d actually seen her while he was at the compound. They had talked on the phone, and it killed him not to see her every day. They were both busy, especially with him finding the empty shoe factory and negotiating a buy of the place for a new Guardian/Warrior compound that both he and Sloan agreed upon. Weeks had passed since Raven had changed the dynamics of their relationship, and now finally, they were going to have their first date. At first, Charger was not sure about all this dating stuff, but Raven was right. She did deserve to be taken out and treated right. He was looking forward to spending time with her.
If what he had heard was true, they were going to be in for a fight, and any free time for dating, or anything even like it was going to be put on hold. For all involved, he hoped the government was not connected with the bombings going on around the country. It would be a whole different beast than demons and rogue vampires, one they may not win. Shaking that thought aside, he focused on his upcoming date.
He truly missed Raven. And she had been correct in saying they needed to make things right in their own worlds. He and Val had a long talk—no fists or blood involved. It had needed to be done and what was ironic about that was they had fought because of Raven and were brought back together as brothers because of her as well. After pulling into her apartment complex, he parked, then reached over to get the flowers he’d picked up. He wasn’t a complete idiot, as the Warriors seemed to think he was.
Getting out and walking up to the door, he knocked. The door opened suddenly, and his mouth dropped. Raven stood before him in a short black dress and sexy high heels, looking beautiful with her long hair flowing over her breasts that were pushed up
for his viewing pleasure.
“Holy fuck!” was the only thing Charger could think to say.
“Thank you. Chantel took me shopping.” She did a little curtsy. “Are those for me?”
“Huh?” He was still staring at her breasts. “Oh, yeah.”
She took the flowers and smelled them. “They’re beautiful.”
“No, you’re beautiful.” He finally stopped staring at her breasts because she turned around, but now his eyes went straight to her ass and long legs. He adjusted his hardening cock. This was going to be a very uncomfortable dinner for him. Charger was almost sure he could persuade her to take that dress off and forget dinner, but when she turned and smiled at him, he saw she was excited about the date. Yeah, he wouldn’t do that to her. If he had to eat dinner with a hard-on, so be it. He’d walk through hell for her, so this was nothing.
“You look very handsome yourself.” She put the flowers in a glass. “Do you like my furniture? I finally found time to get some.”
Surprised, Charger glanced around. He sure as fuck hadn’t noticed. His eyes hadn’t left her. “It looks good.” He smiled at her. “You happy here?”
She nodded. “For now. Never really had anything of my own like this.” She wiped her hands. “I’m not here a lot, but it’s a nice place to unwind.”
“I’ll have to show you my new place sometime,” Charger said, then grinned at her shocked look.
“Your new place?” she asked, walking toward him. “You mean the old shoe warehouse?”
“No. I don’t live in the old party house anymore. Signed that over to Kane. Got me my own place not too far from here.” Charger helped her put her jacket on. “You see, there’s this beautiful woman who I really like, but she hated that place. And in many ways, so did I.”
Raven slowly reached up and touched his face. “You heard me.”
“Yeah, I heard you.” He tilted his head. “I heard every single word, Raven. I always have, but now I’m listening, really listening.”
“Why did it take you so long to get here?” Raven frowned up at him. “What changed?”
Charger hated seeing the uncertainty in her eyes. He knew exactly what she meant, and he honestly didn’t have a good answer for her. He was an idiot didn’t seem like a good enough excuse even though it was closest to the truth. “Because I never felt as if I was good enough for you. Still don’t in many ways, but when I first saw you at the wedding standing in the back of the room looking vulnerable, something changed. It was at that moment I realized what a fool I had been and that it was time to make it right, if it wasn’t too late. To you that may not make sense, but as a man it’s my truth.”
“It wasn’t too late.” Raven whispered, then a small grin tilted her corner of her mouth. “So, don’t fuck it up.”
“I won’t.” Charger answered as his head fell back laughing at her honesty. One thing about Raven, she always spoke her mind. He took her hand, leading her out the front door. He opened the car door and groaned when her dress rose so indecently high, he caught sight of her black lace panties. Damn, he was going to suffer tonight for sure.
Closing the door, he went around the car and got in slowly, making sure to keep his dick protected. He thought he heard Raven chuckle, but when he looked her way, her head was turned, looking out the window.
“I got a new bedroom suit also,” she said, still peering out the window.
“How come you didn’t show me that?” Charger asked with a frown, starting the car.
She turned to look at him with a sexy little smile. “Let’s see how the date plays out,” she teased with a fake fluttering of her lashes as she grabbed his hand and put it on her bare leg. “Right now, you’re on first heading to second.”
Charger’s grin spread across his face as he laughed loudly. “You’re going to make me suffer, aren’t you?”
“Now, would I do that?” She laughed, shaking her head.
Giving her leg a playful squeeze, Charger still saw the uncertainty in her eyes when she looked at him. He deserved that. He needed to step up his game and show her that this was real, he was in this for the long haul. There would be no more walking away. Charger still had his own demons, so to speak, to fight. Raven was worth the effort. The one major regret he had was it had taken this long to admit to himself and her how much she really meant to him—wasted time he swore he would make up for, and he looked forward to every single minute of it.
Charger knew that Raven yearned for some type of normalcy and he would do his best to give her that any way he could. But their normal compared to others looked totally different. The merge between the Guardians and the Warriors that was happening all around the world put them in dangerous territory, but Charger felt strongly that it needed to be done. In their line of work the future was unpredictable and Daniel’s vision of Raven’s death proved just how not normal their world really was. Charger’s chest tightened painfully as that thought played across his mind. Reaching for her hand and holding it tightly he made a vow that he would make damn sure this vision of Daniel’s failed.
Feeling Raven squeeze his hand he glanced her way. Her eyes were questioning as she stared at him. Charger knew she felt his tension. Not wanting to ruin her night, their first date, he lifted her hand giving her knuckle a light kiss. He smiled, winked then looked back at the road doubling down on his vow. Nothing short of his own death would take her away from him. Nothing!
Note from author….
Thank you all so much for the support you’ve given me over the years. You will never know how much I appreciate you. I just wanted to drop this note to let you know that Charger and Raven’s story is not over. The next book in the series will be Lana’s book #16.5 and then Raven’s book #17. Their story as well as the merge is a little more complex. I don’t want anyone to feel disappointed as if you haven’t gotten the full story because in truth you haven’t…yet. I have had this planned for a while and I’m excited in the direction the Warriors are going. I really hope you are also. Oh, and there are some characters from the past getting ready to make their appearance once again. You’ve asked about them and they are ready for their stories to be told soon. Hugs!!
Also by Teresa Gabelman
Lee County Wolves
Forbidden Hunger (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #1
Forbidden Seduction (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #2
Forbidden Desire (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #3
Forbidden Temptation (Lee County Series) Book #4
Forbidden Secrets (Lee County Wolves Series) Bk #5
(Lee County Wolves Series) Book #6 (2021)
The Protectors Series
Damon (The Protectors Series) Book #1
Jared (The Protectors Series) Book #2
Duncan (The Protectors Series) Book #3
Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4
Adam (The Protectors Series) Book #5
Slade (The Protectors Series) Book #6
A Warrior Wedding (The Protectors Series) Book #7
Jax (The Protectors Series) Book #8
Sloan (The Protectors Series) Book #9
Blaze (The Protectors Series) Book #10
Invisible Warrior (The Protectors Series) Book #11
Ronan (The Protectors Series) Book #12
Nicole (The Mate Series) Book #12.5
Viktor (The Protectors Series) Book #13
Tessa (The Mate Series) Book #13.5
A Warrior Christmas (The Protectors Series) Book#14
Bishop (The Protectors Series) Book #15
Pam (The Mate Series) Book #15.5
Charger (The Protectors Series) Book #16
Lana (The Mate Series) Book #16.5 (Coming Soon)
Raven (The Protectors Series) Bk #17 (Coming Soon)
The Enforcer Series:
The Enforcer: Marvick
The Enforcer: Dusty (Coming Soon)
Other Books by Teresa Gabelman
Sanctuary (Stone’s Wolf Sanctuary) Book #1
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nbsp; Refuge (Stone’s Wolf Sanctuary) Book #2
Claiming Jade
Blind Faith
Rodeo Romance
Karma’s Revenge
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TeresaGabelman.com
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Charger (The Protectors Series) Book #16 Page 15