by Anna Blakely
She swallowed, praying he couldn’t see how truly terrified she was. “I’m not going with you, Caleb. It’s over. I’m done.”
He bit the inside of his cheek and drew in a deep breath. “Is that what you think?”
“I can’t do this anymore. It’s not good for either one of us, and you know it.”
“What I know is that my wife slept here last night instead of being with me, where she belonged.”
She’d had enough of the asshole’s self-righteous attitude. Feeling a little more like her old self, Charlotte lifted her chin and called him out on his bullshit.
“And where did you sleep, Caleb? Because I’m pretty sure that’s the same suit you had on when you left me on the hotel floor, unconscious and bleeding.”
“Fuck the clothes. We’re leaving. Now.”
His hand flew out and grabbed hold of her left wrist. When he pulled her forward, Charlotte used her other hand to grab ahold of the door’s wooden frame.
“No!” She tried wrenching her arm free. “I told you. I’m staying here.”
“The hell you are.”
He yanked her arm so hard, it felt as though her shoulder was going to rip out of its socket. Muscles and tendons burned from the strain as her other hand lost its grip.
“Let go!” She screamed louder, hoping Derek would hear.
Caleb used his tight hold to jerk her body up against his. With their chests pressing against one another's, he got right up in her face.
“You’re coming with me. And when we get home, I’m going to teach you never to pull another stunt like this again.”
His threatening words sent a shiver down her spine, but she was already in too deep. May as well go for the gold.
“I still have the scars from the last time you showed me. Remember that? The thing is, I don’t care, anymore. I’d rather die than spend one more second as your wife.”
“How amusing. You think I’m going to agree to a divorce? I’ve told you before, bitch. No one leaves me. No. One.”
“They do, now.”
For a split second, Charlie could’ve sworn she saw a tiny spec of insecurity flash behind his eyes.
“Why? Because you spent one night spreading your legs for him?” He tipped his chin toward Derek’s door.
She shook her head. “This isn’t about Derek.”
Ignoring her, he kept on with his rant. “It’s because he was a big, bad Navy SEAL, isn’t it? You think you need a bad boy like him to get you off?”
Sick of the insults, Charlotte decided to throw out one of her own. “I wouldn’t know. It’s been too long since a man’s actually gotten me off.”
Caleb grabbed her chin and squeezed. “You want to get fucked? That’s fine. I’ll fuck you. Over and over again until you learn that pussy belongs to me and no one else. You hear me?”
“Get your fuckin’ hands off her!”
Charlotte heard the words just as a set of arms flew past her and slammed into Caleb’s chest. She went flying to the side, nearly toppling over before finding her footing.
Growling, Derek shoved Caleb against one of the porch columns with such force the entire structure shook. Charlotte watched as her husband looked up at Derek, his wide eyes full of shock.
“Let me go!” he demanded.
For a moment, Derek didn't say anything. He just stood there in his boxers, his sculpted body shaking with rage.
When he finally did speak, his voice turned low. Deadly. “You know what my dad would call you? A ball swinger.”
Caleb’s eyes narrowed, but he kept his mouth shut.
Smart move on his part.
“Wanna know why he’d call you that?” Derek got so close to Caleb’s face their noses nearly touched. “’Cause you must have a huge fuckin’ pair to even think about coming here after what you did.”
“Get your hands off me, or I’ll have you arrested for assault.”
Ignoring the threat, Derek gave one of his own. “Touch her again and I swear to God, I will kill you.”
A smug look crossed Caleb’s face. “And now I can add threatening my life to that charge.”
Derek chuckled humorlessly. “Oh, believe me, Porter. It's no threat. If you ever put your hands on Charlie again, it’ll be the last fuckin’ thing you do.”
Derek paused, then. Looking at her from over his shoulder, he asked, “Did he hurt you?”
“No,” she lied. “I-I'm good.”
His eyes lowered to where she was holding her sore wrist. She could tell he didn’t believe her.
Flinching slightly when Derek let him go, Caleb began wiping the front of his shirt in an attempt to regain his composure.
“You’ll be hearing from my attorney.”
“Duly noted. Now, get the fuck off my property and don’t come back.”
Caleb’s eyes slid to hers. The bastard actually smiled when he said, “Last chance, Charlotte. You can come with me right now, and we’ll forget this little incident ever happened.”
Yeah, right.
Derek swung his head in her direction. His fury toward her husband mixed with the fear she knew he felt for her. He was worried she’d leave.
Not this time.
“Goodbye, Caleb.”
Though she knew he wanted to say something more, Caleb turned to leave. Just as he got to the first step, he glanced back at her.
“You're making a mistake.”
Derek took a step forward, but Charlotte beat him to it. “The only mistake I made was accepting that first date with you.”
Then, unwilling to give this man any more of her time, she turned and walked back into the house.
****
Derek watched and waited as Caleb walked down the porch steps and along the sidewalk to his car. Stopping suddenly, he glared back up at Derek.
“This isn’t over. She’ll come crawling back to me once she realizes where she truly belongs.”
“Funny. Pretty sure she just told you to kiss her ass.”
The lawyer’s eyes narrowed slightly before filling with feigned humor. “Keep her, then. You’ll find out soon enough if you haven’t already.”
Derek played along, just for the hell of it. “What’s that, counselor?”
“That she’s a lousy lay. Frigid as hell and can’t fuck to save her pathetic soul.”
Derek’s vision filled with images of him jumping from the porch and beating the ever-loving piss out of the bastard. Unfortunately, they were out in the open and couldn’t risk someone seeing that.
Forcing his fingers to remain loose by his sides, he faked his own smile. “Thanks for the tip, Porter.” Then, because he couldn't help himself Derek added, “Although, I have to say, when she was in my bed last night, she was anything but cold.”
Caleb’s nostrils flared, and his face looked as though it would explode. This time, however, the prick was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and walk away.
Derek waited to go back into the house until after he was certain the other man had left. Shutting the door, he locked the locks and entered the code just as the alarm company called.
When Charlie had opened the door, she hadn’t thought about the system being armed. Even if she had, she didn’t know his code. She will, now.
After giving the information required by the company, Caleb went into the kitchen to make some coffee. Not usually his first choice, but between last night and what happened just now, he needed it.
He also suspected Charlie could use a few moments to herself to process what had just happened.
When it was finished brewing, he fixed them both a cup and went searching. His heart was heavy when he went into his bedroom and spotted her through the French doors leading to the back patio.
Now dressed in a t-shirt and yoga pants, Charlie was sitting in one of his two patio chairs with her knees pulled up to her chest.
As he stepped outside, Derek could actually sense her pain and sorrow. It took everything he had not to howl out in anger at the bastard who�
�d caused it.
Lost in her thoughts, Charlie didn’t notice him until he spoke.
“You okay?”
The muscles in her shoulders jumped, and her gaze swung up to his. “Yeah,” she breathed out, clearly startled.
He walked over where she was sitting and placed the steaming mugs on the small table separating them. Squatting down in front of her, he cupped the fragile hands fisted on top of her knees with his.
“What do you need?”
Her eyes widened just before her brows turned inward. “I-I don’t...I don’t know.” She licked her lips, her gaze skittering nervously away from his. “No one’s asked me that in a really long time.”
Fucking Porter. As if Derek needed another reason to hate the bastard.
“Well, I’m askin’.”
Staring at their joined hands, she smiled sadly. “You don’t happen to have a time machine, do you?”
“A time machine?” The odd question made him smile.
Charlie nodded. “I want to go back. To before I ever met Caleb.”
A tear fell from the corner of her eye, crushing Derek’s heart as it fell.
“I wish I could make that happen for you, sweetheart.”
She used a shoulder to wipe it away. “Pretty sad, huh?”
“What?”
“This.” She shrugged, looking out at the still water. “Me. Bet you never thought I’d end up like this. Or, maybe you did. I don’t know. I don’t know much of anything, anymore.”
“Stop.” Derek’s hands tightened over hers as he gave the stern order. Charlie’s eyes flew up to his, and damn if there wasn’t fear in those beauties. He loosened his hold. “I told you last night this isn’t on you, and I meant it.”
More tears began to well in her eyes, but Charlie blinked them back quickly. “Sorry.”
“And that’s another thing. Quit apologizing. You’ve done nothin’ wrong.”
Looking unconvinced, she nodded. “Sor...” Catching herself, she gave him a ghost of a smile. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath and sat in the empty seat. “What would you like to do today? I figured we could grab a bite to eat and then maybe steal a plane and fly off to Paris for dinner.”
It was a game they used to play when they were younger. Derek, Eric, and Charlie would all sit around and plan an entire day filled with elaborate, impossible tasks. They’d compete with one another, trying to come up with the wildest, craziest one they could think of.
She barked out a watery laugh and then began to think. “After dinner, we could fly to our super-secret scientific lab and build that time machine we talked about.”
“Where would we go?”
“Back home,” she said wistfully. “We could drive to the beach we used to go to. I could watch you surf, and then we could sit together and enjoy the sunset.” Then, surprising him, she smirked and added, “Or, we could find the younger version of Caleb and beat his ass senseless. Either one works for me.”
Derek chuckled. It was the first glimpse he’d seen of the old Charlie since bringing her here, and it gave him hope. She was still in there, somewhere. He just had to figure out a way to set her free.
“Thank you,” she whispered, interrupting his thoughts.
“Nothin’ to thank me for, darlin’.”
She grabbed her mug and took another sip before staring down at the dark liquid. “I hate that you had to see me like that. At the hotel, I mean.”
“Just glad I showed up when I did.”
“Why were you there?” Her questioning gaze found him again.
“I was worried about you.” Derek shook his head. “I could tell you were scared when you got that text. I never should have let you go back to that hotel alone. If I hadn’t—”
“No,” Charlie lowered her legs and sat up straighter. “This is my fault, not yours.”
“The fuck it’s your fault. That sonofabitch had no right to do what he did. He’s a fuckin’ coward, and I swear to Christ, he shows up here again—”
“Derek, don’t,” she warned. “You don’t know what kind of man Caleb is. He has a lot of friends. Powerful ones.” She sighed with frustration. “They’re everywhere.”
“Don’t give a damn about that, sweetheart.”
“Well, you should.” Sitting her cup down, Charlie stood and went to the edge of the pool. With her hands wrapped around herself, she turned back to face him. “Caleb’s a damn good lawyer, Derek. He knows the law forward and backward, and he always seems to find a way around it.”
“He won’t this time. I promise.”
Charlie brushed some strands from her face. “You don’t get it. He’s done a lot of favors for a lot of people. Bad people. Now, they owe him, and I know Caleb. I know how he thinks and the way he works. You go to war with him, he’ll come at you with everything he has.”
Derek pushed himself to his feet. “Let him.”
“Derek, please.”
“I understand your concern.” He walked over to her. “But Porter isn’t the only one with connections. And I’m willin’ to bet mine are even more powerful than his.”
He saw the wheels turning. “Your security company?”
Derek raised his hand to rest it on her shoulder, but Charlie flinched away. The regret in her eyes told him it had nothing to do with him, but rather a learned reaction. Still.
Don’t be afraid of me, baby.
“I didn’t mean to do that.”
“It’s okay.” When Derek saw tears threatening to form again, he quickly tried changing the subject. “So, I don’t have a time machine, and while Jake did recently purchase a private jet for the company, I don’t think he’ll let me use it to fly to Paris for dinner. But...” He paused dramatically. “I do have a car, and it just so happens I know the way to that beach you were talkin’ about earlier.”
Charlie’s eyes lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning but then dimmed a bit. “What about your job?”
“What about it?”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“I have the next several days off, remember? Come on...what else do you have to do?”
He asked already knowing the answer. She didn’t have a job waiting for her back in New York. He’d checked.
“What about Caleb?”
Derek shook his head. “He’s not invited.”
She laughed. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know. Listen”—he took a step closer—“this will be good for you. We can even visit my parents.”
He knew that would entice her. Back in the day, his parents had been like family to her, and she was like the daughter they never had.”
“I meant to ask. How are your parents?”
He smiled. “They’re good. I know they’d love to see you.”
“I’d like that, too.”
“We can stay at their beach house if you’d like.”
She seemed surprised. “They still have that place?”
“Yep. They don’t use it much, but Dad refuses to sell it.”
“It was always so beautiful there. Peaceful.”
“Want me to call my folks and tell them we’ll be there for dinner? We could eat, visit for a bit, and then head to the beach. Or, we can stay here. It’s up to you.”
Not wanting to push her into something she wasn’t comfortable with, Derek let her think about it some more. After a couple of minutes, she smiled and nodded her head.
“Let’s do it.”
Chapter 7
From the passenger seat in Derek’s Hellcat, Charlie stared past him and out the driver’s window. Her nerves were in high gear as she stared at the house she’d practically grown up in. The brown, craftsman-style house looked the same, yet different.
Kind of like me.
The last time she was here, her entire world had changed. She couldn’t help but wonder whether or not that would happen again.
“What are you thinkin’?” Derek’s deep voice tore through her thoughts.<
br />
She bit her lip. “Nothing important.”
“If you’re thinkin’ it, it’s important.”
An unfamiliar warmth spread through Charlie’s chest. She couldn’t even remember the last time anyone cared what she thought.
“You’ll probably think it’s silly, but I’m...nervous.”
“You have the right to your feelings. Doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. Including me.”
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, but she held them back. It seemed all she did lately was cry.
“Do they know?”
Understanding what she was asking, Derek took her hand in his. “Only that you’re separated from your husband, and you needed to get away for a few days. But it wouldn’t matter if they did. Those two people in there still care about you very much.”
Charlie cared about them, too. Mr. and Mrs. West had been more like parents to her than her own ever were. The last thing she wanted was to have them take pity on her.
Pushing her fears aside, she sat up a little straighter and ran her fingers through her hair.
“How do I look.”
Derek’s eyes darkened slightly, and his voice lowered. “You look perfect.”
Her heart thumped a bit harder. “Thanks.” She smiled shyly.
Charlie had spent a little extra time on her makeup, doing her best to cover the bruises on her chin and temple. She’d also left her hair down, hoping it would hide those and the cut near her eyebrow.
Knowing Derek’s mom, the woman would still figure things out. Marcia West was one of the kindest, sweetest women she’d ever known. She also seemed to always know what was going on, even without having to be told.
It made it hard for Derek and his brother to get away with much when they were younger. Of course, that didn’t stop them from trying.
“We’d better get in there before Mom comes lookin’ for us.”
Charlie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay.”
The scent of fried chicken and other delicious aromas hit her nose as they made their way up the brick path. Almost protectively, Derek kept one hand resting against her lower back the entire time.
Having paired a silky white blouse with her dark jeans, she could feel the heat radiating from his palm against her skin. Every step caused it to shift back and forth slightly, sending an unfamiliar tingling deep inside Charlie’s belly.
