by Nikki Ash
“I don’t like Daddy being mean.”
My hands still for a beat before I continue running my fingers through her silky curls. I want to tell her she doesn’t have to worry because in a couple weeks we’ll be gone. I’ve almost gotten all the pieces of the puzzle put together for Georgia and me to disappear, but I can’t tell her that. She’s only three years old and if she lets it slip to her father, the consequences could be deadly.
As much as I wish we could leave now, I need to stick to my plan. The calendar says Justin will be gone for a few days leading up to Thanksgiving, and then we’re meeting the night before the holiday in Virginia, which means he won’t know we’re gone until we don’t show up at the airport in Virginia.
It also gives me a couple more weeks to gather a little more money and triple check the plans I’ve made. I’ve been taking small amounts from the safe for the past year and putting it into a safety deposit box I took out years ago after my parents passed away. With me being young and in college when my parents died, I didn’t want to keep the few pieces of jewelry my mom had put into a safety deposit box, in my dorm. So when I closed hers back in Georgia, I took another one out in my maiden name to keep it all safe.
Not wanting to touch the little bit of money left over after paying to have them buried, I left it all in there and luckily, I never mentioned it to Justin. It worked out in my favor because he has no way of knowing I have thousands of dollars hidden away.
I never imagined my life would come to this, but looking back I can see the red flags. The way Justin was jealous and possessive yet secretive. He wanted me to bare myself to him while he kept everything about himself clandestine. I heard rumors he was cheating on me, but whenever I confronted him, he would tell me the women were jealous. I was so desperate for companionship since my parents died, I lived with blinders on. How many times do we wish we can turn back time? If only life worked that way.
I look down at my daughter whose eyes are now closed, and scooping her up into my arms, I lay her down in her bed for a nap. “Don’t worry, baby girl, Mommy will get us out of here. Soon…very soon.”
“Where’d you go?” Tristan’s knuckles gently brush down my cheek. I look down at Lexi and she’s sleeping. I’m not sure where her mother is or what their relationship consists of, but she deserves more than I can give her. I never should’ve allowed this attachment to happen.
“I should probably get going.” He must be so sick of me ignoring his questions, but he’s only known me for a minute. He doesn’t understand the simple questions he’s asking have such complicated answers. Answers that will inevitably change everything.
“Give me a minute. Let me put her to bed.”
He picks up Lexi and carries her to her room, and I start picking up the mess, moving the coffee table back to where it goes, and gathering up the empty bags of popcorn and other trash.
I’m in the kitchen, wiping down the counters when I feel Tristan come up behind me. His hands come down on top of mine, bringing my cleaning to a halt. His simple touch shouldn’t feel this good but it does.
I can feel his cool breath against my ear as he whispers, “You’re a guest here. It’s not your job to clean.”
I swallow thickly, confused as to how a simple touch—a single sentence—can bring out so many foreign emotions in me. My heart is racing, my head is foggy, and holy shit, between my legs is buzzing with the possibility of getting attention. It’s been almost a year since I’ve been this close to a man, and almost four years since I’ve actually wanted to be this close to a man. My brain is screaming abort while my vagina is screaming yes, please!
“It’s okay. It was a mess. I don’t mind.” I go for nonchalant, but my words come out winded like I’ve just run a mile. Tristan’s hands go to the curves of my hips, spinning me around to face him so my back is against the cool, granite countertop, our fronts touching, and his face only inches from mine. His knee parts my thighs and my body gets far too excited. I have to stop myself from dry humping this man’s leg like a damn dog in heat. It would be far too easy to just rub my body up and down until I—
“I know you aren’t ready to open up to me yet, but when you are, I’ll be here. I saw it in your eyes from the moment I watched you talking to my daughter, the haunted look. I felt the sadness right here.” His hand moves to my heart, laying his palm flat against my chest.
I shake my head in a futile attempt to deny his accusations, but he ignores me.
“My daughter is an excellent judge of character and she is smitten with you, which means you’re now a part of our lives. If you need a friend, someone to talk to, I’m here. Okay?”
I nod in understanding and he grants me a small smile. “Good. Now let’s watch a movie, one with actual adults in it. I can’t take you home because I can’t leave Lexi here, and I don’t want to wake her up. And before you say a word, even though it’s only a mile from me, you aren’t taking a taxi this late at night. Mason should be home later, so I can have him watch Lexi while I take you home after the movie.”
Chapter Fifteen
Tristan
As my knee parted her legs, I felt her tighten around me. She wants me. But I’m not going to take her, at least not yet. A woman like Charlie would be too easy to get lost in. I need to know what she’s hiding. I need to find out what makes her eyes well up with tears, what makes her space out at any given moment. It’s obvious Charlie is broken, and fuck, if I don’t want to be the one who puts her back together.
The woman I first saw that night at Plush was only one layer of the woman standing in front of me right now. There’s no doubt in my mind, Charlie has several layers to her. She’s complicated, and God knows the amount of baggage she’s carrying, but none of that is going to stop me from slowly peeling back each layer of this woman until I get to the core.
Backing up, I let her walk past me as I follow her out to the living room. She walks over to the case where we keep the DVDs but pulls out a video game instead then puts it back. She pulls another one out and frowns.
“Looking for something in particular?”
“Mario Cart. I used to play it when I was younger.”
“That would be the Wii U. Those are PlayStation games. But you’re in luck, I have a Wii in the cabinet. I bought it for Lexi for Christmas, but she never uses it.”
Charlie’s eyes light up in excitement. “How about you set it up and I’ll grab the Vodka I bought out of your truck?”
Chuckling, I agree, throwing her the keys. “Go for it. Nothing like some drunken Mario Cart.”
I get the gaming system set up while Charlie gets the liquor from my truck. She brings it to the kitchen and calls out, “Orange juice or lemonade?”
I reply with a “Don’t care” because I don’t. Liquor is liquor. I’m not a big drinker and I’m okay with really anything.
She comes back in with two screwdrivers and sets them on the table. I notice her sweater has been removed and she’s only wearing a tank top which must have been underneath. Without the sweater covering her upper half, I’m able to see all the curves it was hiding. Her ample breasts are even more voluptuous than I thought. Her tight tank shows the outline of her soft tummy, which has ridden up slightly, revealing just a hint of skin.
I take the drink closest to me and guzzle down half the glass. She frowns and lifts hers up to take a small sip.
“You’re not an alcoholic, are you?” she asks hesitantly. I open my mouth to make a smart-ass comment, but her eyes tell me she’s being serious.
“No, I barely drink.”
She eyes my half-empty glass, her one brow going up.
“You took your sweater off,” I grunt and she looks at me confused. You and me both, sweetheart.
“Okay,” she says slowly looking down at herself, completely unaware how damn hot she looks. “Ready to get your ass handed to you in Mario Cart?”
It’s the first time I’ve heard her come close to being silly, but even as she says it, the words come
out serious like it’s hard for her to joke around.
“You’re crazy! I’m a guy.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m a ten-year-old boy in a twenty-seven-year-old man’s body.” I shrug because it’s the truth, and any guy who tries to deny it is full of shit.
“So, you think because you’re a man-child you’ll beat me?” She looks at me incredulously.
“Pretty much.”
Her head tilts to the side slightly. “How much are you willing to bet on that?”
“What are we talking here?”
“If I win, you have to let me paint Lexi’s room.” Her bet confuses the hell out of me, but I don’t ask questions right now. I’m more concerned with what I will get when I win.
“Okay. And if I win, you kiss me,” I blurt out and then wait for her reaction. It’ll tell me if the chemistry I felt in the kitchen is one-sided or if she wants me the same way I want her.
Her eyes practically pop out of her head, her brows lifting in shock. Her mouth twitches like she’s unsure whether to frown or smile, but she quickly composes herself refusing to give anything more away.
“Fine,” is all she says.
I nod. Game on.
We sit on the couch next to each other, close but not close enough to touch. I start the game and we pick out players. Most women would pick one of the more girly players like Toadette or the princess, but not Charlie, she picks ugly as fuck Bowser. I pick the toad and hit start.
Charlie leans forward, completely focused, and when the screen blinks start her character peels out. I press the button for the gas and my character follows hers, quickly catching up. With one eye on the screen and the other on Charlie, I chuckle when her nose scrunches up and her eyes turn into nothing more than slits out of anger as my guy flings green turtle shells at hers. I’m not sure if she’s determined to win for the sake of winning or if she wants to ensure I don’t kiss her. I doubt painting my daughter’s room is that big of a deal.
“Seriously?” she groans. “They keep giving me crappy banana peels! What am I supposed to do with that behind you?”
When I shoot a path of banana peels at her, Bowser goes flying all over and Charlie huffs in annoyance. It’s adorable how serious she’s taking this game. With only one lap to go, I know I have her beat, and she must know it too, because she leans over and tries to swipe the controller out of my hand. I’m too quick, though, and she falls to the side, her controller dropping to the ground. I let go of mine and, grabbing her by the waist, start tickling her ribs.
“Tristan, stop!” she tries to say, but it comes out muffled from her laughing so hard. I continue tickling her. Her laughter is loud and melodic and it has me grinning at how fucking beautiful she looks right now—happy and carefree as if she doesn’t have a single worry in the world.
“Oh my God! Please!” Her laughter continues, and I finally stop.
“You’re a damn cheater.” I chuckle while she struggles to catch her breath. I quickly grab my controller to finish the race and she does the same.
We get to the finish line and I consider slowing down to let her win, but my competitive side wins out and I cross the line slightly before her. Charlie dramatically drops her head in defeat and says, “Damn it. I was so close.” I glance over at her and she looks genuinely upset, and the kiss I was excited for minutes ago doesn’t feel much like a prize anymore. It does, however, answer my question as to whether she feels the way I do, which is clearly a big fat no.
“Um, I need some more to drink.” She grabs her glass and hightails it out of the room before I can even tell her I’m not about to make her pay up. I shouldn’t have made that bet in the first place. I should only want Charlie to kiss me because she wants to, not because of some elementary school style bet we made.
While she’s in there, my mind shifts to the last woman I wanted who didn’t want me back. I never pushed Bella to be with me, but she knew how I felt. She knew I wanted more, but she didn’t reciprocate those feelings. Then thoughts of Gina pop into my head. The way she begged and pleaded for something I wanted no part of. I have learned over the years you can’t make someone want you. There’s nothing Gina could’ve done that would’ve changed my mind. And as far as Bella goes, I never begged her to be with me and I’m sure as hell not going to beg this woman for anything. She’s already all over the place as it is. The last thing I need is to get involved with someone who isn’t all in, and in the end, hurting my daughter.
When Charlie returns a few minutes later, her glass is filled back up. She doesn’t make eye contact with me and it confirms my decision to let the bet go. I shoot a text to Mason asking him how late he’ll be so I can get Charlie home. His response is immediate.
Mason: I know it’s been awhile but don’t worry, your dick will come back up soon and you’ll last longer the next time.
Fucking asshole.
Me: It’s not like that. Lexi fell asleep and I don’t want Charlie taking a cab back to her place.
Mason: I’ll try to make it quick, but I can’t make any promises. Great stamina and all that.
“Mason said he should be home in a little bit. Want to watch something on the television?” I’m already grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels before Charlie answers.
“Sure.” She takes another sip of her drink and then gets situated on the couch. Note to self: This is why I don’t bring women here around Lexi. Because it’s awkward as fuck when I can’t take them home.
It’s Saturday night so of course there’s nothing on but reruns of crap television. I find an old episode of Vampire Diaries on, and leave it there. My sisters love this stupid show. Charlie drinks some more of her screwdriver while silently watching the show for a few minutes, when I feel the couch sink next to me, Charlie scooting closer.
“Did I do something wrong, Tristan?” she whispers. I turn to face her, and she has a look of dejection in her eyes I want to take away. I want to worship her body until she knows just how wanted she is. How could she even think that? She was the one upset about the prospect of having to kiss me. Jesus, I sound like a fucking whiny kid right now.
“No.” I shake my head. “You didn’t do anything. I shouldn’t have made that bet.”
Charlie frowns then shocks the shit out of me when she slowly climbs into my lap. Her thick lashes hide her gorgeous eyes as she looks down shyly. “Because you don’t really want to kiss me?”
Has she lost her fucking mind? Who the fuck wouldn’t want to kiss her? My eyes dart to her plump lips wondering how delicious they would taste. Maybe I had it all wrong. Maybe she does want me.
“I didn’t think you wanted me to kiss you.” My thumb rubs across her bottom lip feeling the softness. I haven’t even touched her and my dick is already hard. She parts her lips and darts her tongue out to lick my thumb, taking it into her mouth and sucking on it softly before releasing it. I smell the alcohol on her breath, sweet and cold like lemonade on a hot summer day. It would be so easy to drink her up, savoring every last drop, but no matter how badly I want this woman to hydrate me, nothing can happen. The alcohol on her breath confirms that. It’s more than likely giving her false confidence she wouldn’t have if she were sober.
“I wanted to paint Lexi’s room for her.” She pouts. I’m not sure why the hell she wants to paint my daughter’s room so badly but with the look she’s giving me right now, she can paint this whole damn house if it means she’ll never have that look of disappointment on her face again.
“Kiss me, Tristan,” she murmurs. “Please.” Her tongue darts out to wet her lips, forcing me to lose all resolve.
Pulling her close, my lips brush against hers. They’re soft and sugary just like I knew they would be. She sighs in contentment, her lips parting just enough for my tongue to push into her open mouth. My tongue swirling with hers, sending me on a sugar high from her taste alone. Her hands come up to my neck and she breaks the kiss, her lips moving to place open-mout
hed kisses along my jawline and down my neck. My hands move down, squeezing the globes of her ass through her denim and pulling her in closer. Needing more contact. One damn taste and this woman already has me addicted.
The door swings open and Charlie jumps—my hands holding her in place.
“Did I misunderstand the text? Was it an invitation? If you wanted to have a threesome you should’ve told me. I would have come back a hell of a lot sooner.”
Groaning, I drop my head to Charlie’s chest. I can’t see her, but I can feel her silent laughter shaking throughout her body. “Let’s get you home.”
Charlie climbs off me—her cheeks tinted pink from the embarrassment of Mason walking in on us—and grabs her sweater from the chair, throwing it back on.
“I’ll be back,” I tell Mason, closing the door behind us, thankful I stopped drinking after my first large sip. Otherwise, Mason would have to take her home for me.
The quick drive to Charlie’s apartment is silent. The sexual tension palpable. It would be so easy to get wrapped up in this woman—in her warmth. But then what? She has secrets she doesn’t trust me with yet. Now that she’s no longer in my house, on my lap, I’m able to think with the right head, and I can’t let a woman in my life—into my daughter’s life—who isn’t all in. But at the same time, I can’t be with her with no strings attached. Most red-blooded males would throw caution to the wind, but that’s not who I am. It’s not how I was raised, and I can’t in good conscience allow this woman to become some notch on my belt, no matter how much I want her. I meant it when I said she needs to be handled with care. I don’t care what her occupation is, I’m not about to treat her like a piece of ass. I need to proceed slowly and hope over time she’ll trust me enough to let me in.
I pull up to her loft and she gives me a quick smile then opens the door. This time I grab her hand, not letting her get away. “Can I walk you up?”
