Just A Woman (The Porter Trilogy Book 2)

by Youngblood, Shannon

  I told Bracks to set up an appointment with Senator Nelson as soon as possible, and it didn’t take long before he sent me a text that he would be meeting with me Friday morning. We were still on the plane, before take-off. We left the east coast at almost 11pm on Wednesday night, so we wouldn’t even arrive in Los Angeles until early in the morning on Thursday. That gave me one full day with Charlotte before my meeting with Steve.

  I planned on sleeping through most of it, and loving Charlotte the rest of the time. I didn’t know what was going to happen when I met with Steve, and I hoped for all of our sakes that he would be compliant in helping us out, but both Bracks and I were prepared for the worst while hoping for the best.

  We still had a little over four hours left in our flight, and my sleep reserve was running low. Deciding a nap would be my best bet, I unbuckled my seatbelt and walked over to a sleeping Charlotte. Grabbing her phone from her hand, I placed it on the side table next to her, and pulled the blanket up to tuck her in. Leaning down, I put my hand to her belly for just a moment. I was going to be a dad, and I’d make damn sure I was the best dad any little kid could ask for.

  “I love you, Charlotte. I love you, Gummy Bear,” I whispered, before placing a kiss on her forehead and heading back to my seat.

  **********

  Before I knew it, we were landing in Los Angeles, and a short car ride brought us both to the outside of my building.

  “Charlotte, baby, wake up. We’re home,” I whispered, gently waking her. I loved watching her wake up, slightly disoriented, hair a mess, innocence pouring from her eyes. I helped her sit up in her seat and admired her as she rubbed her eyes and tried to tame her unruly hair.

  “I thought you were taking me home?” she yawned.

  “Why would you think that?” I asked. Why would she think I would want to be away from her at all? Especially not to a home where her crazy ex knew her location.

  “I don’t know. You said you wanted to go home and sleep, I thought you meant without me,” she said sheepishly.

  Her words hurt. I never wanted to be away from her, and I told her that much, “Charlotte, when I said I wanted to go home and sleep, I meant, I wanted us to go home and sleep. If that means you’d prefer to go back to your house and sleep there, I’ll tell Bracks to start the car and head back to Corona. My home is wherever you are. But I will NOT leave you alone. Not only because of the threat, but because I want to spend every available moment with you.” I could tell my admission hit her hard, but I meant every word.

  “I love you so much, Alex, but what about Danny? I’m so worried.” Her voice quivered.

  Handing her my cell phone, I told her to call him. If he wanted to come sleep in one of the guest bedrooms, I had no issue with that. He could even bring Jerry, especially seeing as Charlotte would no longer be sleeping in the guest bed, or be using the guest facilities in any capacity. Her place was in my bed now.

  When we made it up to my apartment, I quickly let us in, doing a once over to make sure everything was as it should be. I didn’t know how Robert was getting the information he was obtaining, but I wasn’t going to put anything past him, including finding out my address. I hated the fact that I didn’t feel safe in my own home, and I hated even more that Charlotte didn’t feel safe anywhere either, but as long as she was with me, I would protect her until my dying breath, and I knew Bracks would as well.

  While I waited for Charlotte to finish her conversation with Danny, I wandered into the kitchen to snag a bottle of water. I would have liked to grab something a little stronger, but I wanted to keeps my wits about me, and besides, I fully planned on spending the majority of my day in bed with Charlotte before my meeting with Senator Nelson on tomorrow morning, and having a hangover was never passion inducing.

  “Thank you, Alex,” Charlotte said, coming up from behind me, handing me back my cell phone. “I asked him to come over here and stay the night, but Jerry is over and he promised he would be safe and lock all the locks on the front door.”

  Pulling her into me, I set my chin on her head and smelled her hair. I loved the smell of Charlotte, so feminine, so….. her. She wrapped her arms around my torso and buried her nose into my chest, and there we stood for minutes, or hours, I wasn’t sure, just living for the time together and enjoying the feeling of being in each other’s arms.

  When Charlotte yawned into my shirt, I knew it was time to take her to bed, and as much as the thought of burying myself deep inside her excited me, we were both worn out and needed the rest. Tomorrow would be here soon enough.

  Releasing her from my grasp, I grabbed her hand and made my way up the stairs, remembering our first encounter on them. Her nerves and her stammer had charmed me more than I had cared to admit at the time, and when she took a tumble down, I felt my heart plummet into my stomach. Thinking about it now sent a shiver through me, which I hoped Charlotte didn’t feel. The rug she had bled on had cost more than a year’s worth of her salary, but I refused to get rid of it at the time. I couldn’t explain it then, any more than I could explain it now, but it still sat in my closet, uncleaned.

  When we got into the room, Charlotte went to the bed and sat on the edge, looking at me. “What’s the plan, Alex?” she asked me, hope filling her beautiful emerald eyes.

  There was no point in keeping this from her, so I told her. “I’m going to go speak to Senator Nelson.” I refrained from telling her when, because I knew she was going to want to go with me, and I was not going to put her in that path. She would go to work on Friday and stay busy, with Bracks keeping watch over her. Hopefully, before she even got out of work, I would be able to tell her everything was taken care of and we were free to live our life, sans Robert.

  As I thought, she jumped up. “I’m going with you,” she announced.

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I told her exactly what she didn’t want to hear. “Over my dead body will you be coming with me. It’s too dangerous, and I don’t know what is going to happen. You’ll go to work as usual and let me handle this.”

  “How DARE you Alex Porter, tell me when and where I can or can’t go. This is my life. MY LIFE!” she yelled.

  MY anger pushed to the surface, threatening to bubble over.

  “How can you think to not include me in this? Robert is coming after me, not you, and I have every right to want to see him locked up forever!” She shouted again, pacing the room. “I’m going to that meeting, whether you invite me or not. Now, when is it?” she demanded, planting her feet inches from me.

  Taking a step back, my fists clenched into balls, I roared back, unable to keep my rage in check. “YOU. ARE. NOT. GOING. CHARLOTTE.,” I bellowed, punctuating each word. I hated to yell at her, and I would never, ever hurt her, but once my anger picked up, it was hard to cool back down. “This is my life too, and the life of our unborn child. I will decide what is best for us, and that means you are NOT coming with me. End of discussion!”

  “Alex Porter. I love you, but I don’t fucking like you right now,” she spat back, before exiting the bedroom. Several seconds later, I could hear the guest bedroom door slam shut.

  Fine. If she wanted to be a child about this, I would let her stew in it. Why couldn’t she see that it was just too dangerous for her to come along? I needed to be forceful in making sure this was taken care of and having her there would only hinder my progress. Who's to say that seeing her wouldn’t set Nelson off? No matter how much he deserved it, she was the one who sent his only son to jail for several years. No, I was definitely right about this. She would stay in the dark as to my meeting time and Bracks would watch over her.

  Flopping down onto the bed, I covered my eyes with my arms. This was not the plan for today. We were going to sleep for a few hours, and then I would wake her with some gentle love making. Then, I’d order in some lunch, and we would stay in bed all day, learning every crevice of each other’s bodies. By dinner, we would both be too exhausted to cook, so I’d run to get us some pizza, and we’d sit
and watch a stupid movie by the fire in the living room, before I passionately made love to her in front of the flames. Now, I would be lucky if I even saw her tomorrow. Knowing her temper, she would stay in there all day.

  I needed to make this ok with her. I needed her to understand why she couldn’t come. What if something did happen? I would never forgive myself if something happened to her. I loved her too much to put her in that kind of situation.

  Once my anger was gone, I sat up and walked to the spare bedroom. Knocking lightly, I opened the door. Charlotte was curled on the bed in a ball, her face wet with tears, her eyes closed. The pain in my chest was excruciating, knowing that once again I was at fault for the tears streaming down her face.

  “Charlotte?” I whispered, wondering if she had already fallen asleep.

  When no answer came, I walked to the other side of the bed and crawled in with her, spooning her back to my chest. I wanted to wake her up and apologize for yelling, but I knew she needed the rest. All of this stress wasn’t good for the baby.

  Stroking her hair, I spoke the words I wanted to tell her. I hoped she somehow heard me from the land of dreaming, but either way, it felt good to get it off my chest.

  “Charlotte, I can’t lose you. I love you so much and, if something were to happen to you because I was selfish and let you come with me, I would never be able to live with myself. I need you to understand where I am coming from, my love. You mean everything to me. I’ve never wanted something like this. I didn’t think I would ever have someone in my life who would love me for me, with all of my faults, and even though you still don’t know everything that has happened in my life, you know more than almost everyone. You are the reason I get up in the morning, you are my reason for breathing and getting through every single day when all I want to do is say fuck it all and leave it all behind. You make me a better person and a better man. Please, let me do this, for you, for me, and for that precious bundle you’re carrying for us. I will fix this for us and we’ll never have to look over our shoulders again. I love you, Charlotte. I love you so much it physically hurts. Please understand.”

  And with that, I dozed into a fitful sleep, filled with monsters in tuxedos and a girl with flaming red hair and emerald eyes who I could never seem to catch.

  Chapter 34

  Daydreamer Musings

  August 20, 2015

  Followers-1352

  I feel like every time I log into this account, it’s either to tell you how wonderful Alex is, or how much I hate him. Today doesn’t seem to be any different. I’m so angry I could spit nails. My moods keep shifting between anger and hurt and rejection and I can’t stop crying. These pregnancy hormones are no joke.

  So what happened today, you might ask? Well, Alex has taken it upon himself to handle my problems, and I admire him for it, I really do, but when he told me I wasn’t invited to a very important meeting involving MY problems, I lost my shit. Maybe I over reacted, but at the time, I didn’t feel like I did. How can I expect him to walk into a potentially dangerous situation to solve a problem that has nothing to do with him?

  What if something happened to him? I would never get over it, and if it wasn’t for this little life growing inside of me to keep me going, I’m not even sure I would make it another day without him. He is my everything.

  So now, I’m sitting in his spare bedroom crying, again, and I’m sick of--- oh shit here he comes.

  Chapter 35

  Daydreamer Musings

  August 20, 2015

  Followers-1353

  Goddamn that infuriatingly perfect, amazing man! I want to be angry at him, I want to throw things at him, I want to be freaking mad, but when he shows up in my hideout room, cuddles up to my back, and speaks the most amazing words in my ear, I melt. How can I stay angry at the man when all I want to do is roll over and kiss him senseless?

  He doesn’t know I’m awake. In fact, after spilling his guts out to my “sleeping” back, he fell into a deep sleep himself. I waited like fifteen minutes, just listening to him breathe into my neck, before I reopened the blog app to update you all.

  So, here’s the main dilemma. I have a stalker. He’s been trying to get to me. He’s the same man I told you all about in my first blog post. (That seems like a million years ago). His dad is a pretty influential man in the community, and my wonderful, adorable, pompous ass boyfriend is going to go talk to him. I don’t know when he is going and he wouldn’t let me go, even if I did know. I understand his reasoning, I really do, but this is my problem to deal with, not his.

  How do I tell Alex that, even though I understand his worries, and I love him for them, this is MY mess to clean up? Not his. I need to make this right. For me, for my mom, for my dad, and for the little tiny gummy bear inside of me!

  Followers, I’m scared. Doctor, I’m scared. What in the hell am I going to do?

  Chapter 36

  Alex

  Walking into the Senator’s office, I felt a wave of calmness engulf me. I had just hung up the phone with Bracks and confirmed that Charlotte was tucked away at Mansfield Management, oblivious to my early morning meeting with Steve Nelson. In fact, the only other person who knew where I was besides Bracks, was Brigitte. I was still weary of her, but if something happened to me, I needed someone else besides Bracks to know what was going on. I also knew that Brigitte would never tell Charlotte where I was, and even if she tried, Brigitte would be hard pressed to get Charlotte to listen.

  This morning I left before she woke up, unable to keep my emotions in check. If something went wrong, I didn’t want her to worry, although I knew she would, and if she had seen my face this morning, she would have known something was up. So, instead, I kissed her on the forehead and kissed her belly and took off. Halfway here, I sent her a text telling her I had been called into the office early. She would be mad at my lie, but I would deal with that after this was complete.

  After falling asleep with Charlotte yesterday morning, we both woke up after five pm. We didn’t talk at first, preferring instead to explore the other person's body. It was sensual, and beautiful, and the most erotic thing I’d ever done in my life. When my eyes opened, Charlie was facing me, her hand roaming over my chest. When I attempted to say something, she put a finger over my mouth, halting my words.

  For the next several hours, we brought each other to the peak of pleasure, descending together over and over again. I worshipped her body with my hands, my mouth, and other parts of me, and in turn, she did the same. We pushed each other past our own breaking points and swam in the intense lust that surrounded our satin heaven. The love that shone from my eyes echoed in hers, and I’d never felt more at peace with my life.

  Walking into this office was an eye opener for me. In any other circumstance, I would be confident in the outcome of a business meeting, but now, I had a lot more to lose than I did six months ago. Not only did I have a wife, I had a child on the way. Stopping short in my tracks, I froze. Wife? When did I start calling her my wife? Now that I had though, the thought wouldn’t leave my brain.

  Charlotte would make an amazing wife and a perfect mother. The thought of her milling around our kitchen, heavily pregnant, cooking up dinner, came swirling through my brain, and I couldn’t stop the smile that creeped up to my face, as I waited in line for my turn through the metal detector.

  “Next!” A security guard called me forward, where I deposited my phone and car keys into the bucket and proceeded through the metal screening device. Once I was given the okay, and collected my belongings, I headed towards the elevators, to find the appropriate floor for Senator Nelson.

  It wasn’t long before I felt the tingles of fear creep up my spine. An overwhelming feeling, like I was being watched, made the goosebumps on the back of neck stand on end. I felt as if I was in a third rate horror film, walking into a trap. Forcing myself to take a deep calming breath, I stepped into the waiting, open, elevator doors and pressed the ninth floor. This was going to be ok. Steve Nelson was a gr
own man, and a businessman to boot. He would hear my side of the story and he would take the appropriate actions.

  If worse came to worse, Bracks was working on a backup plan involving the press, and if I knew Senator Nelson, he would be like any other politician; he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way to another term in office, family or not. No, everything was going to go smoothly and quickly, and I’d be able to make it back to Charlotte’s office to take her to lunch. I only wished the butterflies in my stomach would fly away and never return.

  The ride up to the ninth floor seemed to drag incessantly as we stopped on every floor to either let people in, or let people out. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I glanced at the background now saved as my screensaver. At some point last night, Charlotte had taken my phone and snapped a photo of me sleeping, with her next to me smiling up at the camera. When I saw the changed background this morning as I was sending her the text of lies, a pang of guilt crept through me. Now, the picture just made me smile.

  She looked perfect, her hair was mussed up and she wore no makeup. The sheet was pulled up just past her breasts, but if you looked carefully enough, you can see the rosey outlines of her pert nipples. Her smile was genuine, and there was a glow shining in from the city lights out of the bay windows. The effect made her look like an angel, her hair shining a bright orange. It was intoxicating.

  Sending her a quick ‘I love you’ text, and pocketing my phone, I donned a smile as I stepped out onto the ninth floor and followed the signs to the senator’s office.

  When I reached the door, a very large man dressed in a standard suit stopped my progress. I inwardly chuckled at the sight before me. The suit did nothing for the man’s appearance. He looked as if he would be better suited in a skanky biker bar, wearing a cut, leather pants, a bandana, and dark aviator sunglasses.

  “I’m here to see Senator Nelson,” I spoke confidently to the man. I had been around my fair share of dark, scary men, and they didn’t affect me as they had at one point in my life. I would stand my ground against this mountain of a man, and not let him push me around, whether that was his intent or not.