by Marla Monroe
“I’m fine. I’m fine. That’s the first time he’s ever actually tried to touch me before.”
“I tell you, he’s dangerous.”
“Well, I’m beginning to believe you,” Charlotte said, rubbing her neck.
“Jack said you need to call the police,” Nina told her.
“As soon as we get to the store, I will.”
They drove into the parking lot of the store, and Jack was immediately there opening the door for Nina. He grabbed her and hugged her.
“Charlotte, are you okay?” he asked as he walked Nina over to where Charlotte was getting out of the car.
“I’m okay. I think I’m going to have a bruise on my neck though,” she said.
“Let me see.” Nina pulled out of Jack’s arms to look at her neck. “Yes, it’s going to be a bad one, too, Charlotte.”
The sound of a motorcycle roaring up drew everyone’s attention. Baxter climbed off the bike. He hadn’t even put on a helmet to ride over.
“What in the hell happened?” he demanded.
He grabbed Charlotte and turned her to look at him. He saw the bruise beginning to form on her neck and cursed.
“He touched you?”
Charlotte drew in a deep breath and tried to speak calmly, but she was spooked inside.
“He just appeared from behind my car when we were leaving work. I started trying to get out my phone to call the police when he acted like he was going to take it away from me. Nina drove up in her car, so I jumped in it. He wrapped his hand around my neck before we got the window rolled up.” Charlotte’s voice shook despite her trying to remain calm.
He pulled her into his arms and ran his hand up and down her back.
“Have you called the police yet?” he asked.
“Not yet, we just drove up when you did.” Charlotte leaned back from him and fumbled around in her bag looking for her phone.
He stilled her hands and jerked his phone out and dialed. When someone answered, he reported the incident and asked for someone to meet them at his house to take her statement.
“They’re on their way. Nina, can she ride with you? I didn’t bring a helmet.”
“Of course.”
“Let me tell Joel what to do, and I’ll be right behind you. Hold up,” Jack said and ran inside the store.
A few seconds later, he pulled out on his bike and nodded he was ready. They made an unusual procession of motorcycle, Pathfinder, and motorcycle going back to Baxter’s house. By the time they arrived, there was a patrol car in Baxter’s drive. Nina and Jack drove into their drive next door. Baxter climbed off his bike and met the officer as he got out of the patrol car.
“Thanks for coming.”
Charlotte watched everything as if it were a movie. She retold her story two more times and showed the officer a copy of her restraining order against Neal. He assured her they would be picking him up for aggravated assault and violation of the restraining order.
By the time the policeman had left, Charlotte was a nervous wreck. She stood up, and looking around for the first time, she realized she was in Nina’s old house. Baxter’s house now. She knew where the bathroom was but didn’t feel comfortable just going.
“What do you need, Charlotte?” Baxter asked her.
“Um, to borrow your bathroom.”
“You know where it is. Go ahead,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze.
She nodded and walked to the back of the house to where the spare bathroom was. She ran cold water over her wrists to try to calm down. Her heart was racing ninety miles an hour. She had never really considered Neal a threat before. Now she was afraid to go home.
“Charlotte? Are you okay?” Nina’s voice asked.
She opened the door and nodded. “Yeah, I just needed to freshen up some.”
“You’re not staying by yourself until they catch Neal. You can stay with us tonight. I’ll go with you to get some clothes.”
“No, I’ll go with her,” Baxter said, walking up behind them.
“Really, there’s no need. I’ll be fine. They’re going to pick him up, and he won’t be able to bother me.”
“Charlotte, they have to find him first, and then he can still post bail. I think it would be a good idea for you to stay with Nina tonight. I’ll go pick up your Jeep tonight and bring it back to the house.”
“I can’t believe he really tried to hurt me. It has to have been a fluke,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter if he meant to or not. He did,” Baxter said with a growl in his voice.
Jack walked up and held out his hand. “Give me your keys, Charlotte.”
She dug in her purse and yanked out her keys and handed them to Jack. Jack whispered something in Baxter’s ear, and he nodded.
“What?” she asked.
“Jack and Nina are going to pick up your car. I’ll stay here with you until they get back,” he said.
Charlotte just nodded and watched as Nina and Jack walked back down the hall. Baxter took her hand and led her down toward the master bedroom. He opened the door and picked Charlotte up and laid her gently on the bed. He took off her heels and sat them by the bed. Then he grabbed a blanket from the foot of the bed and covered her with it.
“Why don’t you take a nap? You’ll feel better when you wake up,” he said.
“Baxter, don’t leave me yet.”
“I’m right here.” He climbed up on the bed next to her and wrapped her in his arms.
Charlotte felt better than she had in a long time. She felt safe and secure in Baxter’s arms. She never wanted to lose that feeling again.
* * * *
Baxter worked at controlling the rage inside of him that someone had hurt Charlotte. Not only hurt her but marked her. The bruise on her neck would be bad for several days. No one marked what belonged to him. He stopped and thought about it. It felt right. She belonged to him. He would have to convince her of that though. That could take some time considering that she was afraid now. She wouldn’t easily fall into another relationship, especially one like he needed.
He heard the cars pull up outside and eased out from under Charlotte’s sleeping form to meet them in the living room.
“Is she okay?” Nina asked, looking around for her.
“She’s in my bed asleep. I think she needed to forget for a little while what had happened.
“Jack, she can’t stay by herself this weekend. I’ve got to stay with her,” Nina said.
“There’s no way I’m leaving you here with her while that asshole is around,” Jack told her.
“It doesn’t matter. She’s not going to be by herself. If she won’t go with us on the ride, I’ll stay with her,” Baxter said.
“You promise?” Nina asked.
“I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Jack wiped a hand over his face. “She goes with us whether she wants to or not. It will be good for her to get out of this town for a few days, and you aren’t missing this ride, man,” Jack said.
“I’m not forcing her to ride if she doesn’t want to,” Baxter said.
He looked at Jack, and the other man seemed to understand where he was coming from because he nodded. Jack handed Charlotte’s keys to him.
“Her Jeep is in your drive, and it looks fine. He didn’t seem to have done anything to it.”
“Good. I’ll take care of her. She’ll probably want to go home to get something to wear tomorrow. I’ll talk to her about the ride too,” Baxter said.
“Tell her I’m over here if she wants to talk,” Nina told him.
“I will.”
Baxter walked them to the door and assured Nina again that he would take care of her.
“Come on, Nina. You know Baxter will treat her right,” Jack said.
Nina looked at Baxter, seeming to search for something. She smiled and nodded.
“I know he will.”
Baxter watched them cross the yards and disappear inside their house. Then he walked out and checked Charlotte�
After he’d finished that, he went to check on Charlotte. She was stirring.
“Hey, how do you feel?” he asked.
“Groggy, but okay. What time is it?” she asked.
“It’s a little after seven,” he told her.
“I need to get home. I have to get ready for work tomorrow.” She began to sit up on the edge of the bed.
“I’ll go with you to grab what you need for tomorrow, but you’re coming back here to stay. You’re not spending the night alone there. We don’t know when they’ll find him to pick him up. You’re staying with me.”
“But…” she began.
“No buts about it,” he said.
Charlotte seemed unable to draw enough strength to fight him over it. It was a testament to how the event had shaken her. She would not have normally caved so easily, he knew. She just nodded and let him help her stand. She looked down at her feet and sat down on the bed to put her shoes back on.
They drove over to her house with Baxter behind the wheel of her Jeep. He doubted she would have been able to drive herself anywhere at the moment. She was still shaken up. It upset him that she was so affected, that someone had taken away her sense of safeness. He knew she thought she’d handled everything already, and it would all be fine. When it wasn’t, she had panicked.
He watched her pick out clothes and shoes for the next day. He almost told her to pick out things for the ride but decided to hold off on that until the next day. She would be more herself after a good night’s sleep and a day at the office. If they were going to fight about it, he wanted her to be herself when they did. Of course, he had no doubt that he would win.
When they arrived back at his place, he pulled her Jeep and his bike under the garage and closed the garage door. If Neal knew as much about Charlotte as Baxter believed he probably did, he would know about Nina and where she lived. When he didn’t find her car there, he would wonder if she’d gone out of town or was staying in a hotel.
Charlotte carried her overnight bag, and Baxter carted her shoes and dress for the next day. He set her up in his bedroom. She balked at first, but he was adamant that she would stay there. She was really going to fuss once she realized he planned to sleep with her.
He watched as she settled in and encouraged her to take a bath. As soon as she went in the bathroom, she came right back out again.
“You re-did the bathroom!” she said with a smile. “I like it.”
“Yeah, well. I’m a big man. I needed a bigger bathroom. There’s only one walk-in closet now, but at the time, I didn’t need but one.”
“I love the tub,” she said.
“Well, enjoy it now. You’ll feel better after a nice soak. How do you feel about an omelet for dinner tonight?” he asked.
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m not hungry. I’ll eat breakfast in the morning, but I really don’t think I can eat anything right now,” she told him.
“We’ll see how you feel after your bath.”
She disappeared in the bathroom again, and this time he heard the water turn on. He couldn’t help but smile. She liked his bathroom. Good. He had seen her closets, so he knew the one walk-in wouldn’t do. She would need another one. Probably the best thing would be to add on to the house. There was plenty of backyard to do it. They could add on a master suite and turn this one into a guest suite.
Of course, all of this was contingent on Charlotte agreeing to become his partner, and that was much farther down the road. First, he had to win her trust and then introduce her to the D/s relationship and way of life. She might not take to it, and then he would have to make some decisions, because not having her just wasn’t an option he was willing to entertain.
Thirty minutes later, he decided she’d been in long enough. He knocked on the door, but she didn’t answer. He knocked again and when she still didn’t answer, he opened the door to find her sound asleep in the tub with her chin barely out of the water. He grinned. She looked so cute with her hair haphazardly piled up on top of her head. He gazed in abject wonder at her breasts buoyant by the water, floating. They were more than a handful but not so much they would be called too large. He could easily imagine sliding his cock between them.
She had a slight swell to her belly and strong thighs that would grip him tightly when he fucked her. He followed the long line of her legs and smiled at the daintily painted toenails. She was all woman. He could appreciate that. She would enjoy being treated to spa days and presents for no reason.
He noticed the solid black curls on her mound above her sweet pussy. He would want those shaved of course. Maybe waxed at the spa would be better. He ached to run his fingers through them.
He didn’t want to scare her to death, but she needed to get out of the water before she got sick. He was sure it was ice-cold by now. He backed out of the bathroom and pounded on the door. He stuck his head in and called her name.
“Charlie. Time to get out. You have to be a prune by now,” he said.
“I’m getting out right now. I’ll be out in a few minutes,” she called back around a yawn.
He closed the door and smiled.
Five minutes later, she walked out in a long T-shirt that was three sizes too large for her. He burst out laughing.
“What is that thing?” he asked.
“What?” She looked down at herself. “It’s a sleep shirt.”
“It’s huge!” he said.
“I like it big.”
“Hmmm, I’ll remember that,” he said with a waggle of his brows.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Come watch me while I eat my omelet,” he said.
She slipped on her house shoes and followed him to the kitchen. He already had eggs whipped up in a bowl and several ingredients ready to add. It seemed he liked cheese, peppers, ham, and crisped bacon in his omelets.
“Sure you don’t want any?” he asked again.
“No thanks, I’m really not hungry.”
He began making the omelet as she watched. He noticed she was having a difficult time holding her eyes open. He smiled. She wouldn’t put up much of a fight about him sleeping in the same bed.
“Here, taste and tell me if you think it needs more salt or pepper.” He held out a bite of egg. She took the bite without thinking about it.
“Mmmm, I think it’s just right. Very good.”
He smiled and slid the plate across the bar toward her. “You eat some of it, and I’ll eat the rest.”
“I told you I wasn’t hungry.”
“I know, but you need at least two or three bites in your stomach, so you’ll rest well tonight.”
She frowned but ate two bites and slid the plate back to him. He nodded and ate while she watched.
“What time do you need to be up by to get to work on time?” he asked.
“I have to be at work at eight, so I usually get up at six if I had my bath the night before. I normally wake up without a problem,” she said.
“You’re in a strange place, so you might not wake up like you usually do. There won’t be the same sounds around you. I’ll set an alarm so you will hear it. That way if you wake up before it goes off, you can turn it off.” Baxter smiled at her shrug.
He finished up his omelet and rinsed the dish off. After loading the dishwasher, he threw in a soap pod and turned it on.
“You ready for bed?” he asked.
Charlotte nodded and stood up. She followed him to the bedroom. Baxter showed her how to work the alarm and waited as she got in bed. He tucked her in and then disappeared in the bathroom. He took a shower and dried off and then turned off the light, leaving a nightlight on, so she could find the bathroom in the night if she needed it. Then he opened the door and was pleased that she was sound asleep. He climbed into the bed and pulled her against his naked body. She snuggled and fell deeper into sleep. He smiled and eased her head beneath his chin, marveling that she fit perfectly against him. His last thought before he joined her was that she fit perfectly everywhere in his life. All he needed to do now was convince her.
Chapter Four
Somewhere around a quarter of six the next morning, Charlotte woke and knew immediately that something was wrong. At first, she wasn’t sure what it was, but then the events of the day before came roaring back into her mind, and she shivered.
“Hmm, you cold, baby?”
Charlotte shrieked and tried to climb out of the bed, only there was something holding her legs still.
“Easy, Charlie. You’ll hurt something I really like.” Baxter looked down into her eyes.
His were sleep filled and amused. He had one leg thrown over both of hers, and the bottom half of her body was confined by his. She wiggled, and her eyes grew big as she realized that his naked cock lay heavy across her belly. Thank, God she was wearing her sleep shirt. She often slept nude at home.
“Why are you naked and in bed with me?” she finally managed to choke out.
“I sleep this way, and you’re in my bed,” he said as if that made it all okay.
“I wanted to sleep in one of the other bedrooms if you remember,” she said.
“I don’t have another bed set up yet,” Baxter informed her.
“Then I could have stayed with Nina. They have two rooms with beds,” she complained.
“I’m taking care of you though. Not Jack and Nina.”
“No one has to take care of me. I can take care of myself,” she fumed.
“I know that, Charlie. Let someone else help you right now though. You’ve had a bad scare.”
“I need to get up and get ready for work,” she finally said.
He dragged his leg and his heavy cock off her, so she could get up. Charlotte rolled out of bed and grabbed her stuff before going to the bathroom to get dressed. She couldn’t dress with him in the same room. What was going on, anyway? She felt like she was in The Twilight Zone or something.
As soon as she had finished dressing, she peeked outside the door and found the room empty. With a sigh, Charlotte gathered her things and carried them to the living room. She planned to walk out the door and go on to work, but Baxter headed her off at the door.
-->
