by Eliza Quinn
“I think I might be in love with you Charlie,” he said softly. Charlie didn’t stir, too deeply asleep to have heard him, though he heard her sigh and smile again in her sleep. Even if she couldn’t hear him, her body knew and the knowledge made him sleep better.
“You’re not going to tell us how it went? I mean you could but I can see you had some really hot sex from the glow. Is he as good as I think he is? Tell me. Give me all the details,” Kay squealed as she cornered Charlie with Celine next to her. Charlie rolled her eyes and tried to push aside the faint memory of Damien’s voice saying that he loved her. He couldn’t have. She was just having fantasies because the sex was amazing.
“It went well. Yes we had sex, I think we’re a couple now and yes I’m happy. We talked, really talked about the stuff that happened six years ago and he was in a really bad place. He’s come out of it and he’s willing to try, again, with me,” Charlie said. It still surprised her. Damien could have his pick of women and yet, he’d picked her.
“You’re willing to give this a shot then?” Celine asked.
“Definitely. But I don’t know that I trust him completely. Part of me still thinks that the moment stuff gets serious he’ll leave. I worry about that because he makes me so happy,” Charlie confided.
“Stop it. You’re happy with this fantastic new man. Don’t wait for the other shoe to drop because guess what? There is no other shoe. There’s just you being happy okay? We’re living proof of that,” Celine said.
“I had no idea that you were that fatalist, but enjoy it,” Kay ordered.
While it lasts. Her brain thought insidiously. She shoved that dark thought to the far recesses of her mind and ignored it. She was going to explore whatever it was they were without judgment or waiting for something to happen.
Damien, it turned out, was the perfect boyfriend. He began to learn the things she loved, like random flowers showing up at the office, dinners and lunch dates, taking a liking for her interest in things. He’d been hurt before he’d tried to control his emotions around people. The opposite applied to Charlie. She loved life.
Charlie enjoyed Damien even though she held herself back. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to make up for lost time. When he wasn’t wining and dining her, he was getting to know her body intimately. Sometimes he did the two at once, like the one time he bent her over the table at The Four Seasons and fucked her so hard and deep, she was clutching the tablecloth trying not to scream. It had been a private dining arrangement so luckily no one saw anything, but at that point she wouldn’t have cared. She was falling in love with him and he with her. That was worrying.
Charlie had never been one to have such amazing luck with men. She’d tried her fair share, including Damien, who’d just walked away. She didn’t understand it. No matter how hard she tried, something always went wrong. So even though she had fallen in love with Damien, she knew admitting that to him and herself would end in incredible heartbreak. Damien knew she was holding back but he didn’t push. Perhaps it was because he thought of the way he’d left and thought she was struggling with that. She wasn’t. She might not have made the same decision then but she understood it. She didn’t hold it against him.
Charlie smiled as she snuggled into Damien. It might not last, despite all the promises Damien had been making, but she knew that whenever it ended, she would have enjoyed every single second of it. She’d gotten a second chance. How many people could say that?
Chapter Eight
If Charlie was being honest with herself, when she left her house that evening, she was looking for something. Now she wasn’t one to give in to bouts of hysteria, but Damien had come into her life and she’d somehow convinced herself that they weren’t meant to last. Charlie sighed and tried to order her mind to turn off. She wouldn’t agonize so much if she wasn’t in love with him, but she was and she hadn’t even told him. How could she not? He was everything that had been lacking with other men. In the space of a few weeks, no one had gotten to know her better than he had. Maybe if she told him?
Charlie thought of the risk she saw herself taking. Would she ever be ready to take the plunge? As she debated with herself, a text from Damien came through asking her if she wanted to come over. He wasn’t home yet but he loved to come home when she was present. He often texted her to ask her if she’d like to stay at his place. Sometimes he brought food, and sometimes they made it together. It was a domesticated scene and Charlie liked it a little too much. They had fallen into the rhythm of sharing space really easily. The only reason she spent any time at home was because she insisted and he didn’t fight her on it. Why didn’t he?
She sighed and texted him a confirmation that she was on her way. She took her overnight bag and called a cab. As soon as she got to his place, that feeling of the other shoe about to drop intensified. Charlie walked on the sidewalk facing opposite the lobby and briefly considered texting Damien to tell him she was around the corner. There was no need right? He’d invited her over. She sighed to herself and strolled through the glass doors of the lobby. Then she froze.
Damien stood there but he wasn’t looking in her direction. His back was facing her. Instead, he was focused on a woman who stood in front of him, a blonde bombshell with boobs as big as her head. Jealousy, hot and bitter, crawled up her throat. Charlie took a deep breath and told herself it was nothing as she prepared to move forward. Just then, the woman’s eyes landed on Charlie’s with a malicious gleam. Charlie gulped, suddenly feeling sick for no reason. The woman smirked at her, launched herself at Damien and kissed him full on the mouth. He didn’t pull away. Charlie stared at Damien in shock. Her heart ruptured, bleeding in her chest until the taste of bile rose in her throat. She couldn’t. Charlie took a step back, then another one, then another one, until she was running home with blurry vision and tears streaking down her cheeks.
Chapter Nine
“I’m so stupid. I knew something was wrong. I knew something was going to happen and do you know what I did? I still hoped. Like an idiot.” Charlie sighed into her bowl of ice cream, wishing it was pizza as Celine and Kay resisted the urge to say anything. They had been right where Charlie was. A listening ear was what she needed, and some understanding.
“You’re not stupid. There might still be a good explanation for all of this.” Celine tried to assure her.
“Like what? Like he loves to lock lips with skanky women with big boobs and bleached blonde hair? Like he can’t just be a one-woman man? I should just face the truth. He used me. Again. And I fell for it.” Charlie sniffled and violently brushed away the tears from her face. She refused to cry for that asshole. He didn’t deserve her tears.
“You should call him. You can’t just take what that bitch did as the truth. She has her own agenda. He’s been trying to reach you. Talk to him,” Kay said gently.
“No. They deserve each other,” Charlie insisted. Why go out on a limb again only to get her heart broken?
“You’re stubborn,” Celine sighed.
Charlie just ate another spoonful of ice cream and stared at Celine and Kay in annoyance. The women shook their heads, giving up. They came to the couch and pulled her into a loose group hug so she could still eat her ice cream. As they settled there was a pounding at the door. Charlie stared at the slab of wood that someone was threatening to knock down. Her heart leaped in her chest. Could it be? Even though she didn’t want to admit it, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing Damien. But she saw him with her own eyes. He had definitely been kissing that woman. She didn’t think there was anything he could say to fix that. Charlie tried to take small steps to the door. Knowing she wasn’t fooling the girls, she pulled the door open and her heart leaped and bounced, as broken as it was, at the sight of who stood behind the door.
“Dammit Charlie. I’ve been calling and texting. What the hell is going on? I come home and instead of you I see Liza in the lobby waiting for me. She randomly grabs me and forces her dry-as-fuck lips on mine out o
f nowhere while I’m telling her to get the fuck off of me! You were supposed to come over and now nothing. How? Why? I thought we were good baby?” Damien asked, scrubbing his hands on his face in frustration.
“That was Liza? Oh my God! It looked like you had someone else in place of me. I saw her kiss you and you didn’t push her away…” Charlie pointed out. Please say no, that I overreacted and jumped to the wrong conclusions.
“Fuck no. She grabbed me and launched herself at me like a rocket. I was too shocked at first to push her off. I did after it registered but you must not have stuck around for that. Charlie, she is sick. How could you ever think I’d choose anyone else over you? I love you.” Damien stares at her like she had grown a second head. How could she have believed that? Was she crazy?
“She kissed…” Charlie started.
“Liza is a liar and a manipulative person. Don’t think I don’t see you holding back because I can. This ends now. If you’re with me, be with me. Don’t run at the slightest sign that something might be wrong. Stay and fight with me because I sure as hell want to stay and fight with you. I love you Charlie. You are it for me baby. You’re going to have to decide if I am a risk worth taking and I sure hope to hell that you do.”
Charlie took a short step forward. Her heart was singing. He loved her. Damien loved her. He wasn’t cheating on her with skanky, bleached blonde bimbo bitch! Could she take the risk?
“I love you too so yeah, I’m all in. I want to be with you. No more holding back,” Charlie said, softly reaching up to touch him. He took her hands gently in his and kissed her softly on her lips to seal the deal. Kay and Celine cheered from behind and it was only fitting because finally, their friend had taken the plunge.
Epilogue
Charlie looked sleepily at the blinking light on her phone. She’d turned it to vibration mode but whoever it was just kept insistently calling.
“You should pick up, it might be an emergency,” Damien grumbled sleepily. Charlie smiled a little bit at him. He was such a grouch without sleep. Charlie looked at the unknown number that had started insistently calling again. She sighed and picked up.
“Hello?” Charlie said.
“Charlie? It’s Leslie. I know this is a lot to ask but can you come pick me up? I’m at Grand Central,” a familiar voice said on the other end.
“Leslie?” Charlie asked shocked.
“Please Charlie. I have nowhere else to go,” Leslie pleaded.
“Fine. I’ll be there. Just give me some time,” Charlie conceded, still shocked.
The call ended.
“Who is Leslie and why was she calling so late?” Damien asked with a frown, sensing Charlie’s disquiet.
“She’s my sister. My younger sister. I haven’t spoken to her in five years. She says she’s at Grand Central and she has nowhere to go,” Charlie said still trying to process what just happened.
“What are you going to do?” Damien asked, quietly searching her face.
“She’s my sister,” Charlie said simply.
“Then we go to Grand Central and pick her up,” Damien said, already reaching for the lamp switch.
THE END
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Rule #1: Never get involved with a student.
Professor Patel Park knows better than to risk his career on a student. It was right there in the rules; rule number one, to be exact. So what if it was his own personal rule? But when Tatiana Edwards enters his classroom, he knows things are about to heat up. Because she’s attractive as can be and there’s a look in her eyes begging him to dominate her.
Tatiana wants to seduce her anatomy professor.
Tatiana isn’t happy about her unexpected move, but when she meets her new anatomy professor, she can’t stop thinking about him. She can’t stop imagining him taking control and taking her. Is he the kind of guy that’s into all the dark things she wants? Or is he as vanilla and boring as most of the guys that try to come on to her?
There’s only one way to find out!
I hope you enjoy the story!
Stay Sexy and Sassy,
Eliza
About the Author
Eliza Quinn lives in the Midwest with her husband and two boys. She’s loved reading since she could hold a book and has spent many a sleepless night reading just one more page. Now she has channeled that joy of reading into writing and hopes to provide you with many sleepless nights too.
She wants people to laugh, smile, and sigh as they fall in love with her characters. She wants to write books that make people feel. When she’s not writing, she’s reading or trying to keep up with two boys and a husband as incorrigible as the children. And she loves every second of it.
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Other Books by Eliza
I’ve listed the books below but you can see them all easy when you click on my Amazon Author Page.
Desire Series:
Controlled Desire - Book 1
Unleashed Desire - Book 2
Bound Desire - Book 3
Surrendered Desire - Book 4 Coming July 2020
???? Desire - Book 5 Coming August 2020
Strict Series:
A Strict Lesson - Book 1
A Strict Hunger - Book 2 Coming soon
A Strict Need - Book 3 Coming soon
A Strict ???? - Book 4 Coming soon
A Strict ???? - Book 5 Coming soon
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Eliza
