by L. J. Dee
“Oh yeah,” he said as I nodded my head and he wrapped his arms even tighter around me.
“Yeah, Carpe Diem,” I smiled as he chuckled softly.
“Seize the day. Are you trying to tell me something, Chas? That saying is often misinterpreted to justify reckless behaviour. I assume that’s not what you’re suggesting,” he said as I spun around to face him, suddenly wishing I hadn’t when I saw those plump pink lips smirking and only millimetres from mine. God, this was hard.
“I was not suggesting any reckless behaviour, Charlie Hunter; I was just telling you that it’s the only Latin I know. For the record, I know from experience that living by that mantra can land a girl in a whole heap of trouble.” I forced myself to turn around as he spooned me again.
“I think I’d like to hear about your naughty little adventures,” he whispered against my ear, his hot breath sending a delicious shiver bursting down my spine. I was pretty certain he wouldn’t. It was the day I’d met Roman.
“Behave,” I chastised him, almost wishing he wouldn’t, and trying to ignore the cock that seemed to be growing against my behind by the second as he laughed softly. There was one last thing I had to say. “Charlie,” I whispered as he nuzzled his head against mine breathing deeply. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so safe.” He responded by kissing my hair and nuzzling even closer, and eventually I drifted peacefully into a long, uninterrupted sleep.
I woke in the morning relaxed and warm, wrapped in the arms of Charlie, whose hands had wondered to my breasts in the night and his very solid dick was thick through his boxer shorts and every inch the morning monster I’d grown used to with Roman. What was it with these Hunter men? They seemed to have it all, and what was worse I was seriously attracted to more than one of them. A girl couldn’t beat herself up about that too much. Physically they were glorious male specimens.
Instinctively I knew Charlie was awake. “Do you want to take your knee out of my back,” I said as he laughed, disappointed as he rolled away, pulling his hands behind his head.
“Sorry, Chas; just give me a minute,” he smiled as I turned to face him, already missing the warmth as I snuggled in beside him.
He cupped his muscular arm around me and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. I wasn’t like this with my other male friends, but Charlie and I were different. Our relationship was unique and he was truly someone to be treasured. “Thank you for staying, I really appreciate it. I can’t believe I slept like a baby after everything that happened. It was blissful,” I smiled, shielding my morning breath with the covers as he gazed at me curiously.
“Blissful, Chas? It was fucking torture, and I’m glad you slept because I couldn’t. I don’t think I’ve ever been so....” His voice trailed off before he finished his sentence. He jumped out of bed before I could even ask what he’d been about to say as I watched him dress. “I need to run, sweetheart, but I’ll send a team around later to secure the place,” he said, moving to kiss my forehead quickly.
“Can’t I even get you a coffee?” I asked, climbing out of bed as he looked me up and down.
“Where are the socks?” he grinned.
“I kicked them off in the night, I was hot,” I smiled as he chuckled gently.
“You certainly were,” he winked, taking off just like that as I stood there silently shaking my head.
Later I would clean the apartment, ridding it of the powder they’d used to fingerprint, hoping Charlie’s team would secure the place so I could try and get my life back to normal. He hadn’t been here long, probably barely got inside, but everything seemed dirty and tarnished and I felt somehow violated. Everyone had a right to feel safe in their home, and up until now I had always taken that for granted, pulled from my thoughts by my ringing phone and a panicked sounding Jess.
I filled her in on the events of the night and she was crying down the line, worried sick for me and apologising profusely for not being around more. “It’s not your fault, Sis, and I’m glad you weren’t here. Can you imagine if he’d woken Dexter? I shudder to think. I felt better when Charlie came and I’m going to clean the place up. Hopefully once it’s secured again I can get back to normal,” I tried to reassure her although I wasn’t even certain I believed that myself.
“I’ll spend more time there,” she said as I ended the call, letting Charlie’s security team get to work. He had certainly pulled out all the stops as the neighbours gazed on curiously.
Chapter Twenty One
I picked up my ringing phone, not recognising the number. “Hey, sweetheart, I’m just calling to see how you’re doing after the break-in.” I sat back in the chair, curling my feet underneath me and smiling at the familiar voice that was laced with concern. It was the last thing I’d been expecting.
“I’m okay, a little shaken. Did Charlie tell you?” I asked and he was silent for a second.
“No, I’m in South America, I got a notification on my phone,” he said as I frowned. What the hell did that mean?
“What kind of notification, Roman?” I asked as he chuckled softly. He probably wouldn’t tell me.
“I have a link to the police database relating to certain people. If anything is recorded, it flags up on my cell phone,” he said as I gasped.
“Why the hell do you have me flagged?” I asked, utterly confused and wondering what other tabs he was keeping. He was laughing gently.
“I tag all the people I care about, baby. Just because I’m not there it doesn’t mean I’m not watching out for you all,” he said and the admission warmed my heart.
“Wow. What exactly is it that you do for a living again?” I smiled as he laughed wholeheartedly.
“I told you, I’m a negotiator.” Well that covered all bases and I was still none the wiser, deciding to probe deeper while he seemed in the mood for honesty.
“What are you negotiating in South America?” I asked, biting my lip to stifle my laugh.
“Right now I’m negotiating the price of a pretty necklace I think would look nice on you, with a particularly obtuse street merchant,” he said as I raised my eyebrows, suddenly hearing a lot of what sounded like unfriendly shouting in the background.
“Is that what that God awful racket is?” I asked, knowing full well it wasn’t and wondering what the hell was going on at the other end of the phone.
“Something like that,” he laughed. “Hang on.” He went quiet for a second and the voices faded. “That’s better. Now where were we?”
“We were on the subject of your very secretive and clandestine negotiation job,” I smiled as he laughed again.
“Were we? I thought we were on the subject of your burglary. How are you really feeling?” he asked as I sighed.
“It was awful, Roman. I thought it was you at first. When I came through to the lounge and realised it wasn’t, I freaked out. I don’t feel safe. I can’t believe I was actually half expecting you to turn up in the middle of the night.”
“If I’d known that I would have done,” he said as my stomach did a happy little flip. We’d had our goodbye and the admission surprised me. “Do you want me to send a security team over to sort out the house?” he asked quickly before I could say anything else.
“No, thank you. I really appreciate the offer but Charlie did it already. He came over and stayed with me and sent a team round this morning. I’ve got new locks on the windows and doors, CCTV and a whole lot of other paraphernalia. It bet it will take me ten minutes just to get out,” I laughed.
“Charlie stayed over?” His voice was a curious mixture of surprise and concern.
“Yeah. He was out with Scarlett, but I didn’t know who else to call. I couldn’t be alone, I was too frightened.”
“You could have called me,” he said as I frowned. “I told you to call if you need me.”
“You’re in South America, Roman,” I smiled although, in fairness, I hadn’t known that then.
“It doesn’t fucking matter where I am. If you’re in trouble yo
u call me. That’s why I gave you my number, Chas,” he said sounding suddenly annoyed.
“Okay, next time I will, although I’m hoping there won’t be a next time. If Charlie hadn’t been here I wouldn’t have got a wink of sleep. Burglary really fucks with your feelings of security.”
“Did he stay in your bed with you?” Roman asked as I frowned.
“Yes, but just as friends obviously,” I said as he went silent for a moment.
“What were you wearing?” he asked. What?
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” I asked as he laughed.
“Just tell me, Chas, I want to know,” he said as I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t laugh. I was wearing a crop top and shorts with Minnie Mouse on, and a not very sexy pair of scrunched up bed socks,” I said as he groaned audibly.
“You didn’t have your hair in pigtails and start calling him Daddy, did you?” he asked as I gasped.
“No I did not,” I said indignantly as I felt my cheeks heating and he was chuckling in that low gravelly sounds that pulled at my insides. Sexy bastard. “That little stunt was exclusive to you, Roman. In fact, most things I did that weekend were exclusive to you.” It was true. I’d been less sexually inhibited then than I ever had before. I wasn’t sure if it was the Carpe Diem, the dangerous nature of the bad bastard on the other end of the line, or just because I’d abandoned my list for once, but one thing was certain; I had definitely enjoyed it.
“Glad to hear it, baby, because some things are just special, and that was,” he said as my cheeks flared again, a delicious little shiver running through me at the memory. He was right about that. “Did he try it on?”
“No, of course not,” I gasped. “He’s with Scarlett, Roman.”
“I bet he tried to feel your tits,” he laughed suddenly before I got the chance to say another word.
“His hands moved a little during the night,” I giggled.
“Lucky bastard. He’s always been a tit man.”
“I know, he told me in the tree house.”
“He took you to the tree house?” Roman asked seriously.
“Yes, why?” I asked, taken aback by the tone of his voice.
“Because it’s a no chick zone,” he chuckled softly.
“Are you serious? I rather enjoyed the variety of reading material on offer up there. It cheered me up.”
“Why did you need cheering up?” he asked as my eyebrows flew up in shock.
“Because you’d bloody well abandoned me and I was upset.” The hurt that day had been real, but I felt significantly better about it now.
“I am really sorry about that, baby, you know I regret it,” he said, warming my heart. “But it’s getting clearer now. He took you up to that tree house to make me look bad. I bet he told you all that porn was mine and I was unreliable and untrustworthy. He probably even tried to kiss you, didn’t he?” he asked as I laughed. I was saying nothing.
“He fucking did. Sly bastard”
“What the hell are you talking about, Roman?” I asked as he laughed.
“He used to do that all the time when I pulled a girl he fancied. He’s got form, Chas. Honestly. He did it to Joanne McVey, Shay Simpkin, and this bird who worked on Saturdays in the chippy when we were kids. He played you, baby,” he said as I shook my head. “He wants me out of the picture.”
“You sound like a twelve year old and he didn’t need to get you out of the picture, you’d done that all by yourself, Roman Hunter,” I quipped, still laughing.
“Mark my words; he wants me gone so he can make his move. The question is do you want me out of the picture?” he asked suddenly serious and I swallowed hard, not sure what he was asking and why. We’d said our goodbye, sexually at least. He hadn’t offered more, and I had come to terms with the fact there wouldn’t be any. It was a short term, sexually glorious fuck-a-thon with the beautiful and charismatic Roman Hunter. At least I thought it was. All of a sudden my stomach was spinning in anxious knots.
The shouting suddenly started up in the background before I had the chance to give it any more thought, followed by what sounded like the deafening whirr of helicopter blades. “Roman,” I gasped, in fear and shock.
“Sorry, babe, I need to go, I’ll see you soon. Call me if you need me,” he shouted, sounding further and further away as my eyes widened in horror.
“Be careful,” I muttered quickly as the line went dead and my heart was in my mouth. What the hell was all that about. I mulled over what he said, not even sure what he was offering, if anything at all. He was already out of the picture; he was in frigging South America, and mixed up in all kinds of danger from the sounds of that call. Roman Hunter was certainly complex.
I had to put them both out of my mind and sort out my life. Between my shifts at work, I cleaned the apartment, scrubbing and polishing, washing and dusting and it still felt tarnished. The windows were secure and I had a new front door with a variety of locks, CCTV outside and a state-of-the-art alarm system. I still felt uneasy, but certain that would fade, looking forward to tonight and the chance to escape my little drama and inject some fun into my schedule.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
I looked out of the window at the sound of the blaring car horn and the shining red Lamborghini parked on the street outside, grabbing my bag and running to meet him with a huge smile on my face. He opened the door as I slid inside, leaning across to kiss him. An incredible white smile lit up his face and he spent the next ten seconds running his eyes across every inch of my body.
“When were you thinking of getting dressed?” he asked as I laughed, rolling my eyes.
“It’s a rock concert, Charlie, and I’m still at the age I can pull off a mini skirt, boots and a tight little T-shirt.”
“I am not disputing that, Chas, you look hotter than the sun, baby. I’m more worried about how you expect me to keep my eyes on the road, it’s a pretty long drive,” he winked as a little slither of thrill ran through me.
“Just look straight ahead and think of your girlfriend,” I smiled bitterly, wondering how things were going with Scarlett.
“Speak of the devil,” he said as the shrill ring of the car telephone system broke through the enclosed space and he pulled onto the quiet street.
“Hey baby,” he said as I tried not to grimace, wondering if Charlie actually addressed everyone that way. I knew it was wrong and I’d just fucked his brother, but Charlie was special, we had a connection and no matter how much I tried to deny it, I was finding it more difficult than I should to come to terms with his new relationship.
“Where are you? I just wondered if you want to come around here and have that gorgeous, thick hard cock of yours sucked,” she purred as I raised my eyebrows and stared at him hard. The last thing I needed to sit through was telephone sex talk with my best male friend and his sidekick sociopath.
He smiled, raising his finger to his lips and bidding me to be quiet. So he hadn’t told her he was taking me. I stared out of the window instead. “I’m on my way up to Manchester. I told you, I’m going to watch Tyler’s gig tonight,” he said as she laughed gently. “Of course you are, I forgot, Sugar Pie.”
‘Sugar Pie’. Really? Bleugh. I turned to Charlie who realised my issue and threw me a smile that looked almost apologetic.
“Well I’m missing you already. Will I see you when you get back tonight?” she asked as he frowned.
“No. It’ll be the early hours when I get back, and that depends on how long Ty wants us to stay for the after show party. You know how he is,” he laughed.
“Of course, but will I see you tomorrow? I’ve got a surprise for you,” she said seductively.
“Yeah, I’ll call round tomorrow.”
“Say hi to the boys for me, and Jess. I can’t wait to meet her, Charlie, and your other friend, is she going too? I can’t remember her name,” she said as my hands flew to my mouth and I tried not to laugh.
Like hell she couldn’t.
&nbs
p; “Chas. Yeah, she’ll be there. Listen, I’ll try and arrange for a get together with the family, Scarlett, but you know how things are. You never got along before and it could take a while,” he said as I shook my head.
“Anyway, I’d better go, Sugar Pie, Daddy’s on his way over to sign some paperwork. I’ve bought four new businesses this week,” she laughed as Charlie rolled his eyes, ending the call.
I turned to Charlie incredulously.
“Her Daddy’s on his way round? Was she planning on letting him watch while she sucked your ‘gorgeous thick, hard cock’,” I uttered sarcastically, pulling my fingers into quotation marks, just so he knew they were her words, not mine.
“What are you talking about?” he laughed.
“Well, at first I thought I was about to be the third wheel in a telephone sex chat, and the next minute her Daddy’s coming over. Which is it?” I asked as he shrugged and laughed.
“She always offers me sex to get me round there. It’s kind of a long standing tradition of ours,” he said as though that were the most normal thing in the world. I decided not to push it.
“Why haven’t you told her about me?” I asked as he frowned.
“I have, Chas. Only after I stayed with you when Roman left, ditched her to come to your birthday and abandoned her at a black tie dinner to spend the night at your place after the burglary, she started to get a bit pissy. I decided not to tell her we were going together tonight, just because I didn’t want a load of grief,” he said which made perfect sense. If I were Scarlett, I’d be pissed off too, although I knew one thing for certain and decided to challenge Charlie.
“If she’s so pissed off with me, how come she doesn’t remember my name?” I asked as he laughed.
“She’s bought four businesses this week, Chas. She probably can’t remember her own,” he said as I smiled inwardly.
“She had a stand up row with me and called me a jealous, gold digging skank, Charlie. I’m pretty certain she damn well does know my name,” I said, crossing my legs as I turned to look at him.