She whimpered, shaking her head as she kissed him again.
“Charlotte, baby, we have to stop.”
“No,” she growled, and kissed his neck.
Niall stood with her still wrapped around him and lowered her feet to the floor. Charlotte whined in protest and pulled his head down for another mind-blowing kiss. She slid a frozen hand under the waistband of his jeans again and Niall sucked in a deep breath. He didn’t know how much more he could resist.
“Charlotte,” he rasped, and stepped away from her.
Her eyes were green, glassy, and frantic as she licked her lips. “Come here.”
“No, baby. We need to slow down.”
“Damn it!” she snapped as she picked up her empty wine glass, throwing it against the wall. He watched as the glass shattered and the sound startled her. She gasped, laying her hands over her mouth. “What did I do that for? Oh, Nye. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She rushed to pick up the glass, cutting her finger in the process.
He knelt beside her and took the glass shards from her trembling hands, kissing the cut and healing it. He noticed her hands were warm again.
“What’s wrong with me?” She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t understand. I have never felt rage like that before.”
“I’m not sure I understand it either,” he admitted. “You have some very strong emotions, and I’d venture a guess, some gifts that are quite rare.”
“This isn’t me.” She swiped her tears away. “I really am some sort of freak.”
“It is you, sweetheart. But it’s perfectly normal and okay.” He stroked her cheek. “It’s because of me you’re feeling all of this.”
“Yeah, I figured.” She sighed. “Is it always going to be like this? Because I can’t go around smashing glasses and fine tableware every time I get horny. We won’t be able to have any nice things if I do.”
“We will sort this out. I promise.”
He leaned in to kiss her again, but she laid her fingers over his mouth. “Um, no. No more of that business until we can be certain I won’t go all rock star on your hotel room.”
Niall chuckled. “All right, love.” He helped her stand and guided her away from the glass. “You are going home with me, though. We can’t get any answers here.” He grabbed several paper towels and went about cleaning up the glass.
“I can’t get on a plane, Niall. I will panic.”
“Your fear is ungrounded, Charlotte.”
“Isn’t most fear?”
“You have a point.” He threw the glass shards away and closed the distance between them. “I want you to do something for me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“Close your eyes and imagine yourself getting on the worst plane imaginable.”
“You mean like a puddle jumper?”
“Sure, if that’s your worst fear.”
Charlotte took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Panic set in almost immediately, but disappeared just as quickly when he took her hand. She gasped and opened her eyes. “How did you do that?”
“Baby, it’s what we do. We’re connected. I can calm you and you can do the same for me.”
“But I thought it was just if I was kind of upset. Not freaking out.”
He smiled. “We can calm all of it. And when we’re bound, I won’t even need to touch you.”
“Wow, that’s a cool trick.”
“Aye, it is.” He kissed her palm. “Try and panic now.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded. “Very. Try.”
Charlotte imagined all manners of horrors, but regardless of what she envisioned, she stayed calm. Niall ran his thumb across her knuckles and smiled. “See? You can get on a plane and be perfectly fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” He kissed her nose.
“So, you will hold my hand the whole time?” She raised an eyebrow. “What if I have to pee?”
“If you want me to come with you, then I’ll come with you.”
“Ah, no.” She widened her eyes. “That falls under ‘things,’ I think.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Things?”
“Yes. My mother always said that there were certain things my father could never see. And I believe bathroom habits were on the list.” She shuddered. “Among other things I wish she hadn’t shared. You know, being able to un-hear things would really be a nice gift to have—can you manage to get me that one?”
Niall laughed and poured a fresh glass of wine for her. “What’s the point in being married if you can’t share each other’s ‘things’?”
“Well, I suppose you have a point there.” Charlotte sat on the sofa and took the wine he offered. “I always wondered if they would have stayed together if she weren’t so weird.”
Niall sat beside her again. “How did they meet?”
“My dad works for Grace’s dad and they met through them. I think it was just as hard for Lila and Garrett when my parents split. They did a lot of stuff together.”
“I really like Grace’s parents.”
Charlotte smiled. “Who wouldn’t? They’re basically perfect... and they probably have no secrets from each other.”
He chuckled. “Well, I look forward to discovering everything about you, sweetheart. Even your ‘things.’”
She giggled. “Me too.”
“Is that a ‘yes’?”
She tipped her wine glass toward him. “To getting on a plane with you, yes, but no ‘thing’ sharing until we’re married... or bound.”
He grinned. “Fair enough.”
“I suppose I need to find out if my passport’s still good.”
“That would be a good idea. We can expedite it if we need to.”
She rolled her eyes. “Kind of expensive, don’t you think?”
“Worth the price, don’t you think?”
She pressed her lips together in a thin line.
Niall cocked his head. “What, love?”
“If this all works out, do you expect that we will live in Scotland?” she asked.
“When this all works out, I suppose we can make that decision together after you’ve visited, why?”
“Because I love America. I know Grace jokes about my card-carrying ways and all, but I seriously don’t think I could live anywhere else.” She ran her finger down his chest. “I met a lot of people from a lot of different places while I was in L.A., and they all said America was the best boat afloat. I tend to agree, even with my limited experience of traveling.”
He smiled gently. “I feel a bit like that about Scotland. I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else. My people are there, so it’s comfortable. But that doesn’t mean I’m opposed to living here.”
“Really?”
“Yes, love. Perhaps we can live here part of the year, and Scotland part of the year.”
“I love that idea.” She settled her head on his shoulder. “I am totally going to get used to this.”
“What exactly?”
“Oh, I don’t know, this unlimited flow of money you seem to possess.” She grinned. “Especially, if you’re spending it on me.”
Niall laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “Shall I just hand over my credit card now?”
“According to you, we won’t ever be apart, so I don’t think we need to go quite that far.”
He nodded. “Touché.”
She glanced up at him. “By the way, when I checked my balance this morning, I noticed the charge from the bar never hit my debit card. Should I assume you had something to do with that?”
“Well, the slimy little bastard you were with wasn’t going to pay up.”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “Were you there the whole time?”
“Not the whole time, love. Just long enough to watch him skip out on the bill.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That was kind of a dick move.”
“Aye, it
was.” He scowled. “It’s a moot point now. He won’t be contacting you again.”
She sat up. “What did you do?”
“I simply let him know my opinion about what he did and suggested he make it right.” He smiled without mirth. “He quite enthusiastically offered up what was in his wallet, which was just enough to settle the bill and leave a relatively decent tip. I managed to intercept your card.”
“Nye.” Charlotte groaned. “I don’t think I want to know what your version of ‘suggested’ entails.”
He grinned. “No, you probably don’t. Halo slippage and all.”
“You didn’t hurt him, did you?”
“I didn’t touch him, love. He knew what he did was wrong, so my words were enough to drive that home.”
“See? Vanquishing the demons before I even met you. Halo back in place.”
He laughed. “He wasn’t someone you liked, was he?”
“Good lord, no.” She wrinkled her nose. “Horse teeth aside, he was one of the most irritating people I’ve met in a long time.”
“Yes, I picked up on that as well.”
“And what was the purpose of drugging me?” Charlotte continued. “It’s not like I was going home with him or anything.”
“We need to stop talking about him,” Niall warned.
She wrinkled her nose. “Sorry.”
He pulled out his cell phone and frowned. “Damn it.”
“Everything okay?”
He nodded distractedly as he fired off a text. “I have a conference call in thirty minutes. But it can wait.”
“I’ll go.” Charlotte rose to her feet and grabbed her purse.
“You really don’t have to.”
“I can’t monopolize all your time, Nye.”
“Yes, you can.”
Charlotte grinned. “Will Bruce mind dropping me home?”
“I’ll come with you, sweetheart,” he said just as his cell phone buzzed again.
“It’s fine.” She kissed him. “Do your thing. Call me when you’re finished.”
His cell phone continued to buzz, so he gave her a reluctant nod and sent a text. His phone buzzed again. “Just wait for Bruce,” he said, and answered the call. “Niall here.”
Bruce arrived within minutes and Charlotte blew Niall a kiss as she followed the driver from the room.
BACK AT HOME, Charlotte decided to look for her birth certificate, heading straight to her mother’s office and pulling open the drawer that held her private papers. The light caught her diamond and, not wanting to open herself up to grilling, she slipped it off her finger and into her jeans pocket, then went back to her search. She located Vandi’s birth certificate, but there was no sign of hers.
“Mom?” Charlotte called. “Where’s my birth certificate?”
“When did you get home?” her mother asked as she walked into the room.
“Just now.” Charlotte pulled open another drawer. “Do you know where my birth certificate is?”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need it?”
“If I’m heading to Scotland, I want to make sure I have everything I’ll need with me.”
“You’re going to Scotland?”
Charlotte shrugged. “I think so. Niall wants me to, anyway. Still trying to figure out if I can physically get on the plane without attempting to claw my way out midair.”
“Well, if that man can get you out of your comfort zone, I’ll thank him.”
Charlotte smiled. “Trying to get rid of me already?”
Her mom chuckled. “Oh, is that what you’re picking up on?”
“Not at all,” Charlotte retorted. “So, where’s my birth certificate?”
“It’s here,” she said, and pulled a shoe box down from one of her cabinets. She rifled through the Payless Shoe Source carton and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Charlotte. The document appeared to have been torn and taped back together.
“What happened to it?” Charlotte asked. Her mother frowned. “Mom? Why is it ruined?”
“Your dad did it one night when he was mad.”
“He tore up my birth certificate?”
Her mother nodded.
“Why?”
Her mother waved to her desk chair. “Have a seat and I’ll do my best to explain.”
Charlotte lowered herself slowly into the seat.
“When you were born, Daddy and I were told that you didn’t survive. They worked on you for quite a while, eventually rushing your tiny little body out of the room to God knows where. They had to sedate me, but when I woke up, your father was holding you.” She bit her lip. “It was a total miracle.”
“Wow,” Charlotte whispered. “And that’s why he tore it up?”
“No, hon. Just listen,” her mom said. “You have always been a very different and special child. But that’s part of the confusion.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you were about three, strange things started to happen to you.”
“Like?”
“You’d freeze. Well, your room would. It was usually when you woke crying from a nightmare. Your body temperature would also drop to dangerous levels, and it wouldn’t matter what we did... blankets, hot baths, showers, that kind of thing... we couldn’t warm you up. But by the time we’d arrive at the emergency room, you’d be fine. Back to normal. The doctors dismissed everything, but after a couple of years of this, I pressed your pediatrician into having more tests done. They did a battery of blood tests, genetic testing and the like.”
“And they found out I’m fine, right?”
Her mother nodded. “Yes. And that your father is not your father.”
“What?”
Charlotte? What’s wrong?
I’m going to commit matricide. That’s what’s wrong.
Deep breaths, love.
Charlotte stared down at the document. “So, you lied to me.”
“Well, yes, I suppose we did,” her mother said with a sigh. “But for the right reasons.”
“There are never any right reasons to lie, Mom.”
“Of course there are, it’s just that you’re ruled by your black-and-white filter when the world is actually many shades of gray.”
“Way to justify,” Charlotte snapped.
“Look, honey, we never wanted you to feel like you weren’t special.”
“But you cheated on him, right? That’s why he left?”
Her mother shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “No. I would never, ever do that. Your father was and is and always will be the absolute love of my life.”
“Then how is it possible he isn’t my father?”
“I don’t know,” her mom snapped.
“Good God, Mom, you are the queen of denial,” Charlotte accused. “Who was he?”
“There has never been anyone other than your father. I can’t admit to something I didn’t do. I have never cheated on your father.”
“So some other man’s sperm just happened to find your egg? Come on, Mom. You’re lying!”
“I’m not lying!” her mom bellowed.
Charlotte crossed her arms. “Did you test yourself to see if you’re even my mother?”
Her mother slapped her. Charlotte was so surprised, she didn’t react right away. Her mother had never hit her. Ever.
“Oh, baby,” her mom said with a gasp. “I’m so sorry.”
Charlotte held her hand against her cheek. “You know what, Mom? At some point, you have to stop lying to everyone. Especially yourself.” She forced away angry tears. “I have to go.”
“You just got home.”
“Yep and now I’m going out again.” Charlotte slipped the birth certificate into her back pocket.
“Please don’t run out of here mad. I don’t know what else to tell you. I just needed you to understand.”
“So, you hit me?”
Her mom sobbed. “I didn’t mean to. Please don’t go.”
“I have to.”
“Why?
”
“Because it’s what sane and mature adults do when they don’t want to scream like a banshee at their mothers!”
“Where are you going?”
“Out. Don’t wait up.” Charlotte headed to her car. She was so angry she was afraid she would say something that would eviscerate her mother, or worse yet, she might hit her back.
“Charlie! Come on, honey. Let’s talk.”
“No, Mom. You’ve had twenty-some-odd years to ‘talk.’ Right now, you need to back off and give me some space.” Charlotte jumped in her car and sped out of the driveway. She didn’t really have anywhere to go. Grace would have been her first destination, but that option was no longer available to her.
Come to the hotel, love.
You said you had a conference call. You’re busy.
I’m never too busy for you. I’ll see you in a few minutes. Don’t speed.
Charlotte bit her lip. You’re not the boss of me.
Think of the possibilities if I were.
She couldn’t help but smile. Oooh, kinky.
Charlotte turned onto Tenth and followed it down to One-Thirty-Fourth, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel and trying not to yell obscenities at the Subaru in front of her. She was all for not tailgating, but leaving forty-two car lengths in front of them was ridiculous.
She pulled into the hotel parking lot and headed up to Niall’s room. He opened the door before she knocked, leaning down to kiss her cheek even though he was still on his phone. He paused with a frown and straightened as he waved Charlotte into the suite and closed the door behind her.
“Aye, Pay.” He chuckled. “I just brought you root beer. You drank it all? Is that good for the baby? Sorry, lass. No, I’d never... no, of course not.” He rolled his eyes. “Yes, fine, I’ll bring you more. No, lass, I don’t get it. It tastes like toothpaste. Okay, I’ll talk to you later. ’Bye.” Niall hung up and slid his phone in his pocket, scowling. “What happened to your face?”
Charlotte covered her cheek. “Nothing, it’s fine.”
He lifted her chin. “What happened, Charlotte?”
“My mother hit me.”
Niall swore as he laid his hand gently over the sting, easing it immediately. “She will never do that again, Charlotte.”
Charlotte grasped his arm. “I know she won’t. She was super stressed and reacted in a way she never has before. Just let it go.”
Bound by Dreams (Cauld Ane Series, #5) Page 13