***Charlie***
Charlie came slowly back to her senses, Vincent still buried deep inside her, and sighed contentedly. He lifted his head and looked at her, a silly smile on his face, then rolled off her and pulled her into his arms. She went willingly, snuggled a little deeper in his arms, and closed her eyes, but through the haze of pleasure, her brain was already beginning to work again, and she had the insane urge to flee.
The warmth she felt deep inside was new to her, she’d never felt anything like it before, but she knew what it was and what it meant, and it scared her. She was falling for this handsome, stubborn man, forming a connection that could never be broken, and in the process, would destroy all her hopes and dreams. Her father was depending on her to continue the family name, depending on her not to let their long heritage of protecting the world from demons be lost to time.
She looked up at him, wondering for the first time if it was worth it, if giving up something as wonderful as what they could share would haunt her for the rest of her life. But she knew that was what she would have to do. Now wasn’t the time for her to bond; she’d made a promise to her father, and she’d keep that promise. A broken heart couldn’t last that long, and since they hadn’t bonded yet, she could walk away, would walk away.
Vincent sighed deeply and began to rub her back, making goosebumps break out on her skin and a thrill erupt deep inside her. Outside the window, the moon had risen in the sky, and she knew that they only had a few more hours before the world would intrude on them again.
Almost as if he’d been reading her mind, he rolled over on his side and propped his head up on his hand and looked down at her. “We’ll have to head back in a little while,” he said. “I wish we could lock ourselves in and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.”
She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I was just thinking the same thing,” she said, her words laced with the sadness that was spreading through her.
“We still have a few minutes before we have to go,” he said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “I did promise you some things earlier that I haven’t quite gotten to.”
When his hand slid down her body and between her legs, she gasped. “Vincent, we shouldn’t...” she murmured, her protest cut off by his finger slipping between her folds.
“Shouldn’t what, sweetheart?” he whispered in her ear.
But she was already lost, her body coming to life under his tender ministrations, her earlier thoughts lost in the pleasure of his body. When they finally, wearily, slipped out of bed and dressed in silence, Charlie was tormented by the choice she was going to have to make and hoped that the rising sun would make it easier.
When they landed in the yard of the farmhouse, there were lights on in the kitchen, but neither of them wanted to go inside, knowing that once they did, the night would no longer belong to them. Vincent pulled her into his arms, lowered his mouth to hers, and the passion between them exploded to life, stealing her breath, making her question her decision. Feeling herself losing control again, she slipped out of his arms, her chest heaving with the effort.
“Vincent,” she said when she caught her breath. “We’re right out here in the open.”
He shrugged. “It’s still dark,” he said. A wicked grin spread across his face, then he closed the distance between them and pulled her back into his arms. “Don’t worry, they won’t see anything from the kitchen.”
Charlie laughed. “Not going to happen, Mr. Chambers,” she said. “Should we go in or just go home?”
He looked down at her. “That depends what you have in mind,” he said.
“I was thinking about breakfast and a nap,” she said.
“Hmm, I could get behind that idea,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “Let’s just sneak off and go have breakfast in town.”
Charlie knew the moment had come, that she’d have to choose between what her heart was telling her and the promise she’d made her father. Her heart beginning to ache, she knew there really was no choice: her duty was to her family first. She turned away from him, knowing that she could not face him and say what she had to.
“I think I’ll just go home alone,” she said. “It’s been a wonderful night, but I need to get some sleep.”
The words caught in her throat, but she managed to get them out, then waited for Vincent’s reaction, not sure what to expect. There was a long silence, then he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him, his face filled with disappointment, and she knew that she’d hurt him with her curt dismissal. She wanted to apologize but knew that she had to stand firm, had to get some distance from him—and fast.
“Are you blowing me off?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. “I thought we started something last night, Charlie. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel it.”
“It doesn’t matter. I came here to hunt demons, to prove to the council that a woman can be a guardian, and that’s what I’m going to do,” she said, the words coming faster than she wanted, her fragile control slipping. “This thing between us is only going to get in the way, and I can’t let that happen. Last night was wonderful, Vincent, but I can’t do this.”
“So, you’re just going to walk away?” he asked.
“I have to,” she said, even though it was killing her. “I made a promise, and I have to keep it. To do that, I have to stop seeing you.”
“I’ll train you,” Vincent said. “You more than proved me wrong last night.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Vincent, but I think it would be better if Adam or Michael took over. I wish it could be different, but I can’t be around you,” she said, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. “I have to go.”
Chapter Thirteen
***Vincent***
Vincent watched Charlie’s taillights fade in the darkness, stunned and disappointed, then turned and went into the farmhouse. Adam grinned at him when he came through the door, but the smile quickly disappeared. “Where’s Charlie? I thought she’d come inside with you.”
“She went home alone,” he said, dropping heavily into a chair.
“I assume that’s not what you wanted by the look on your face,” Adam said, setting a cup of coffee down in front of him.
Vincent snorted. “No, that wasn’t in my plans for the day,” he said, picking up the cup and taking a long swallow.
“I think I need a little more information,” Adam said, sitting down at the table with him. “What happened after we left?”
“We fought some more, and then...well, you know, and I thought...well, I thought everything was going to work out,” he said.
“But?”
“She doesn’t have a place for me in her life; she’s so stuck on this guardian thing she can’t see that we’re perfect for each other,” he said, the words painful to say. “She wants you or Michael to train her.”
“Wait,” Adam said, holding up his hand. “I think you’d better start from the beginning.”
“Start what from the beginning?” Molly asked from the doorway. “Where’s Charlie?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Adam said. “It sounds like she rejected him.”
Vincent glared at him. “She didn’t reject me,” he said. “She...she, oh, I don’t know.”
Molly poured herself a glass of juice and joined them at the table. “I think you’d better start from the beginning,” she said, echoing Adam’s words.
When he’d finished pouring out his story, leaving out the more intimate parts, there was a long silence. Then Adam looked over at Molly. “I think I’ll pass this on to my wife. A woman’s opinion seems to be called for in this instance.”
She looked over at him. “Gee, thanks, sweetheart,” she said, but she was smiling.
Adam leaned over and kissed her, then got up from the table. “More coffee?” he asked.
Vincent’s head was already spinning from exhaustion and the jumble of emotions that Charlie had stirred to l
ife. “No, I’m fine,” he said, then turned to Molly.
She studied him for a second then said, “You’re not going to like what I have to say.”
His heart sank. “You’re going to take her side.”
“Not exactly, but what I am going to tell you to do is back off, give her some space,” Molly said. “Do you think she’s going to give up on her dream to be a guardian that easily? She’s been working and planning for years to get to where she is, and you’re asking her to just throw that away.”
“But...” he started to protest, but deep down, he knew that Molly was right, at least partially, and closed his mouth.
He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest. “I would let her hunt,” he said.
Molly shook her head. “That right there is why you have a problem,” she said. “Did you just hear what you said? You said you’d let her.”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” he defended himself. “I just...”
“I’ll leave you to think about that,” Molly said and got to her feet.
Adam came back to the table and put a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of him. “Eat,” he ordered.
Vincent looked down at the food, felt his stomach gurgle, but picked up the fork and took a bite. Adam went back to the kitchen and came back with a glass of juice, set it down in front of him, then sat down. He ate in silence, thinking about what Molly said, turning it over in his mind, but couldn’t convince himself to take her advice.
When the plate was empty, he pushed it away and turned to Adam. “I can’t risk Charlie leaving before we’re bonded,” he said. “I have to do something.”
Adam shook his head. “Molly’s right, Vincent; the more you push her, the more she’s going to pull back,” he said. “She’s going to be here for months, so what’s the hurry?”
He sat back and thought about Adam’s question but couldn’t find an answer, only a driving need to make Charlie his forever. “I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I just know that I can’t wait for her to come around.”
“What exactly are you thinking?” Adam asked. “Because I’m not sure I want to be a part of it.”
Vincent stared at him for a second. “I think you owe me,” he said. “If I recall, I did a lot of lying for you when Molly showed up here.”
Adam sighed. “I’m not going to lie to Molly,” he said. “I can’t.”
A burst of hope blossomed in his chest, and a smile spread across his face. “I haven’t got it all worked out yet, but all I have to do is get Charlie to umm...well, you know...bond with me.”
“And how are you planning on doing that?” Adam asked.
“That’s the part I haven’t quite figured out yet,” he said. “But until I do, will you train Charlie? I’ll come stay with Molly while you do.”
“Why are you coming to stay with me?” Molly asked, coming back into the room.
Adam opened his mouth, but Vincent cut him off. “Because he’s going to train Charlie,” he said.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Molly said.
Vincent grinned at her. “I know, but then I’ll get to see Charlie, you know, accidentally run into her.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “As long as that’s all you’re doing, Vincent,” she said. “Take my advice: give her some space.”
***Charlie***
When Charlie finally woke from a deep sleep, it was late afternoon, and while she felt rested physically, her heart still ached when she remembered the look on Vincent’s face when she drove away. But she pushed the memory away and thought instead about the fact she’d finally made her first kill, and a good one at that.
Wishing she could call her father, she made herself something to eat and after a shower, went back to the festival planning to distract herself. The sun was just going down when there was a knock at the door; her heart leaped at the thought that Vincent might be on the other side. But when she opened it, Adam was standing on the porch. Disappointed, she invited him in.
“I thought I’d come by and check on you,” he said. “I heard about the demon last night.”
She grinned. “I wasn’t planning on doing it quite that way,” she said. “But a kill is a kill, right?”
Adam nodded his head. “I can’t deny that,” he said. “You want to go out and see if we can find some more?”
“You mean it?” she asked, afraid to believe he was being serious.
“From what I heard, we’ve been wasting your skills,” he said, gesturing to the piles of festival paperwork scattered everywhere. “It’s time you did what you came here to do.”
“What about Vincent?” she asked, some of the joy going out of the moment. “Does he agree?”
“It was his idea.”
A few minutes later, she was driving through town with Adam, butterflies in her stomach. When they got to the farmhouse, Molly greeted her warmly and put dinner on the table right away. “I like to send Adam out with a full stomach if I can,” she said, putting down the last serving bowl. “I don’t know if it makes any difference, but it makes me feel better.”
Charlie smiled at her, looking at her rounded belly, and wondered if she was really happy staying home all day, sending Adam out to certain danger every night. It was the life of so many women who’d bonded with guardians: a life spent taking care of their men and children, working in the community, holding things together with little glory. It was the life her mother had lived, but she didn’t think it was for her, that she could live without the thrill of the hunt.
When Adam excused himself from the table to answer his phone, she hesitated only a second before asking. “Do you ever feel left out? I mean I know it’s different for you, you’re not a shifter, but staying home all day, I don’t know if I could do it.”
Molly studied her for a second, and Charlie knew that she was choosing her words carefully. “It is different for me. I’m not a shifter; I’m a bookkeeper,” she said, smiling at Charlie. “The life I found here with Adam fits me for now. I’m happy to stay home, do the accounting for Adam’s landscaping business, and take care of this little one. Someday I might want more, and I’m sure when that day comes, Adam will support me, but for now I’m happy.”
“I’m just not sure it’s worth the sacrifice,” Charlie said, more to herself than to Molly. “I’ve worked so hard to get here. I can’t just give it up because of a man.”
Molly reached out and squeezed her hand. “Love is never easy to navigate. My best advice is to give yourself and Vincent some time to get used to this. When it hits you as hard as it hit you two, sometimes you have to step back and take a deep breath. Stay true to your heart and what you know is right, and you’ll find your way.”
Charlie felt better when she and Adam took to the air, and for the next few hours, she was able to push Vincent out of her mind. But when she got back to the cabin, he was back in her thoughts like a bad infection that wouldn’t go away. After going to bed and getting up again, she wandered into the kitchen and made a cup of tea, planning to watch the night pass outside the window.
But when she sat down at the table, she saw the journal. Feeling slightly guilty but desperate to distract herself, she picked it up and started to read. As the tea grew cold next to her, she became enthralled by the story that unfolded on the pages, and by the time she reached Vincent’s birth, she had discovered that his mother was a determined, intelligent woman who’d made a choice she was never quite comfortable with.
Before the birth, she closed the journal and set it back down on the table, not sure she was ready to witness the moment when Josie lost her freedom forever. After dumping the cold tea down the drain, she went back to bed, finally feeling sleepy enough. Reading the journal had only made it that much clearer to her that she was making the right choice, no matter how much it hurt. She wasn’t ready to give up her freedom.
But that didn’t mean that Vincent stayed out of her dreams that night; he floated in and out, sometimes with her father and so
metimes alone. Trapped in a dream sequence, she tried time and time again to reach Vincent, but her father always stepped in her way. Each time felt worse than the last until she woke with tears streaming down her cheeks and the morning light streaming in through the window.
Desperate for the company of other people, she climbed out of bed, exhausted but determined to move on, took a shower and headed for the restaurant. She chose a spot at the counter, soothed by the chatter and conversation around her, gave her order to the cook, then sat back and sipped her coffee.
The cup was almost empty, and she was considering getting up to refill it when she heard a woman calling her name. She turned, expecting it to be Molly or Amy, but instead, an older woman was waving her arms at her and cutting through the tables, oblivious to the other people around her. When she got to Charlie, she had such a big smile on her face, it was impossible not to return it.
“Hello, Charlie. I’m Margaret, Michael’s mother,” the woman said. “I’ve been dying to meet you.”
Chapter Fourteen
***Vincent***
Vincent leaned back in his chair, listening to the phone ring, hoping that Margaret would pick up. He’d been trying to call her all afternoon, and he was beginning to think he’d have to find another way to get to Charlie when she finally answered, slightly out of breath. “Vincent, is there something wrong?” she asked without even greeting him. “You never call me.”
“No, Margaret, everything is fine,” he said. “I just have a favor to ask.”
There was a slight pause, then he heard her talking to someone in the background. “I just came in the door; give me a minute,” she finally said, then he heard her put the phone down.
She wasn’t gone long, which was good because he almost lost his nerve waiting for her. “Sorry, Arthur and I just came in from a walk. We were down at the town square watching them get ready for the ball; only a few days to go,” she said when she picked up the phone again.
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