Charlotte (Marked Heart #2)

by M. Sembera

  Slowly opening his eyes, Auggie reached to grab his phone. Not fully awake yet, he looked at his empty night stand. His phone wasn't there but when he looked up, Charlotte was.

  "Nice background," she said, waving his phone at him.

  Without a second thought, he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her onto the bed with him. She let out a squeal as he rolled them both over keeping his arms and legs firmly around her.

  "Good morning," Charlotte whispered, most likely because he was squishing her against the bed.

  Burying his face in the side of her neck, he breathed her in, saying, "Morning."

  Charlotte's arms slid around him, pulling herself even closer as she rested her head against his.

  It felt so amazing to have her curled up with him in his bed. He didn't want to ruin the moment, but the possibility of making it better was driving him crazy.

  Sliding his hands down to her hips, Auggie pushed her down into the mattress, whispering, "Stay right here."

  As he started to let go, Charlotte softly asked, "Where are you going?"

  "I wanna kiss you."

  Charlotte appeared confused, then smiled as she let go. He hated to tear himself away from her, but there was no way he was going to do anything else without kissing her. Kissing Charlotte was better than anything in this world, only because he hadn't had sex with her yet. That would be the best feeling and kissing her would become a close second. Still, the two weren't separate for him. He needed to kiss her. Before her, he'd always viewed kissing as a means to an end, not that he disliked it, it was never his goal. Until Charlotte. Gah, he could kiss those perfectly imperfect lips of hers for hours.

  Leaping into the bathroom from the bed, he swung the door closed. He wasn't nervous, but he was so excited he dropped his toothbrush in the sink a few times and had trouble squeezing the toothpaste on. After taking care of a few other morning necessities, Auggie swung the door open ready to climb back in bed with her and show her the kind of man he was. The kind of man he wanted to be and would only be with her.

  Instantly deflated when all that was waiting for him was an empty bed, he didn't understand what was going on. Had he imagined the whole thing? Was he hallucinating? Walking out of his room, Auggie stepped in the living room and found her on the couch. It was hard for him not to be irritated with her. He told her to stay in bed. It couldn't have taken him more than five minutes to come out and she bailed on him.

  As the unpleasant feeling of 'It's not going to happen, again' set in, Auggie noticed a look of regret on Charlotte's face. Her eyes were saying she was sorry but since her ass was still on the couch instead of in his bed, he continued to be frustrated with her.

  "What the hell?" he griped at her.

  Patting the spot next to her on the couch, she replied, "I'm not trying to mess with you. I actually came over to talk to you."

  With a heavy scowl, Auggie made his way to the couch and sat down, informing, "You're gonna end up giving me a damn stroke. I hope you know that."

  "Well, I didn't know you were going to tackle me into your bed when I got here," she argued.

  "What did you think I was gonna do with you in my room?"

  Giving a slight huff, Charlotte rolled her eyes, answering, "I went in there to wake you up. When your alarm went off, I saw the picture on your phone and got distracted."

  "Distracted?"

  There was a sweet smile on her face as she shared, "You have a picture of us on your phone."

  Auggie was still upset with her but between the look on her face and knowing he was responsible for it, he slowly got over his feeling of being hung out to dry.

  Shaking his head at her, he couldn't help but smile back. He leaned in to kiss her, stopping half way when he remembered he had something for her.

  "Sit tight," he blurted, patting her on the leg as he hopped up.

  Swiftly making his way back to his room, Auggie opened his dresser drawer. He pulled out a small black box and headed back into the living room.

  Handing her the box as he sat down, he said, "I got this for you."

  "What is it?" she asked, holding the box in her hand.

  "It's a present," he replied, confused by the way she was acting.

  Nodding at him, Auggie could tell she was holding her breath as she opened the box.

  A slow smile spread across her face as she looked over at him. That expression on her face and the anticipation she built by holding her breath as she opened her gift made him want to go out and buy her something to open every single day.

  "Will you put it on me?" holding her hand out to him.

  Auggie took the thin silver bangle that had a silver peacock feather and a tiny letter A hanging from it, out of the box and slid it over her hand onto her wrist.

  One moment she was sitting there admiring her gift and then in the next, Charlotte was straddling his lap kissing him like she was going to eat him alive. Still in his pajama bottoms, there wasn't a whole lot between them causing him to feel every movement, no matter how slight, she made.

  Pressing his hands into the small of her back, Auggie breathed out, "You're welcome," as her kiss made its way down his neck to his shoulder.

  Pulling up, Charlotte placed her hands on the sides of his face, asking, "Is this your way of marking me?"

  Knowing she was referring to the little A that hung next to the peacock feather on her bracelet, he replied, "Yes."

  Closing her eyes, she leaned her forehead against his, whispering, "Then I'll never take it off."

  She acknowledged what he was doing and was happy about it. A sense of peace settled over him, knowing whenever she left no matter where she went, she would still be his. Auggie's insight was quickly replaced by urgency. He had a distinct need to christen the moment and physically claim her as his own.

  Auggie wrapped his arms around her tight and kissed her while standing up. Her legs were wrapped around his waist as he hurtled the coffee table, heading straight for his room. His heart was pounding and his mind was racing as everything he planned to do to her flashed in his mind. A sudden jolt stopped him as he noticed her grab hold of the doorframe before they could enter his room. Pulling back out of the doorway, he continued to kiss her as he turned around and pushed her up against the wall.

  Breaking their kiss, Charlotte breathed, "Wait."

  Pressing into her, Auggie leaned his forehead against the wall, pleading with her, "Lotte, please."

  It was at that moment, as he heard himself beg for her, he knew she had him. It was an irrational and unreasonable thing that he had made fun of all his life. When someone has you so strung out all you can do is want them. There's nothing rational about it and it makes no sense whatsoever but right then and there he knew, she could have him on his hands and knees begging if that's what she wanted. She had him.

  ~

  Guilt among other things settled in Charlotte's chest as she unwrapped her legs from him, letting her feet fall to the floor. Earlier, he was just being Auggie in bed but this was all on her. She couldn't help it. Staring at the bracelet, he gave her and knowing the meaning behind it, twisted her insides to the point to where she felt like she would explode if she continued just to sit there. He was going to start hating her if she kept this up. Hell, she was starting to hate herself for stringing things along.

  Taking a few moments to catch her breath and try to relax, Auggie hadn't let up.

  "Hey," she soothed as he continued to breath heavy, shaking his head against the wall.

  Slowly loosening his grip on her, he breathed, "Stay."

  Charlotte's hands started to shake as she slid them to the sides of his face, saying, "I know this is going to sound a little crazy coming from me, but I want it to be special."

  Scowling, he blinked a few times before asking, "You want me to take you out? On a real date or somethin'?"

  "No. Well, I wouldn't say no but that's not what I meant."

  Auggie was still so close to her it was hard for her to concen
trate.

  "I was thinking, Sunday."

  "Sunday?"

  "Yea, this Sunday. After the baby shower."

  Appearing confused, he questioned, "Any particular reason?"

  Taking a deep breath she gave him a soft kiss before sharing, "We'll be all dressed up and you won't have to go to work."

  A light smile played on his lips as he confirmed, "Special."

  Nodding, she gave him another soft kiss.

  ~

  After walking Charlotte out to her car, Auggie sat in his chair thinking. Sunday. She said Sunday. Although today would have been better, he was glad to know it would finally happen. He honestly didn't know how many more times she could bring him to the edge of sanity and then body slam him to the ground before it killed him.

  Charlotte wanted special; he could do special. Getting up out of his chair, he walked to the bathroom. Looking at himself, he decided it wouldn't hurt to trim his beard a little neater and maybe while he was out getting the suit he forgot to buy, and get a haircut.

  32

  Drunk

  Stepping into her silver heels, Charlotte turned and looked in the mirror. The floor length sundress that she found while out shopping with Penny was a perfect peacock blue, matching some of the feathers from Brennen's peacock farm, she attached to the band of her white sun hat. She still thought having a baby shower tea at a bar was a crazy idea but it turned out to be a great set up for what was to come that evening.

  Checking her eye makeup in the mirror one last time, she smoothed her chubby stick across her lips as she smiled at the A hanging from her bracelet. Laughing to herself at how she had to pinch Silvia to remind her to keep her mouth shut when she saw it, maybe it wouldn't always be a secret. Hopefully, when she told him tonight that she was staying, they could ease everyone into the idea of them being together.

  ~

  Standing behind the bar in his dark grey Glen plaid suit and tie, Auggie watched the door like a hawk, waiting for his first glimpse of Charlotte for the day.

  "You gotta date comin' or somethin?" Braden asked, startling Auggie away from his thoughts.

  Giving his brother an unhappy glare, he answered, "Quit being stupid."

  "You still pissed at me?"

  Glancing back at the door before turning to Braden, Auggie replied, "Yea, but it's your life do whatever you want with it."

  Braden looked shocked as he blurted, "Since when?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "You get a new suit, cut your hair and trim your beard and suddenly you're a new man?"

  Checking the door again, Auggie informed, "I'm never gonna like her but she's your girl and I can respect that. What's going on between the two of you is your business. So yea, it's your life."

  "Who the hell are you?" Braden laughed.

  Shaking his head at his brother, Auggie made a 'Shut up' face at him before focusing back on the door.

  Auggie's keeping a watchful eye on the door paid off, the second he saw Charlotte walk in with her family. No way he was going to make it through the shower pretending to ignore her. She had a flow to her walk and with that dress, she was a classy kind of gorgeous.

  "Hey, Charlotte!" Braden shouted out to her, causing Auggie to growl at him under his breath.

  Charlotte turned to her parents for a moment before heading towards the bar. For a second, Auggie wondered if she was going to punch Braden in the eye like she said. The thought made it hard for him to keep a straight face and he decided if she did, he just might grab her and kiss her in front of everyone for being such a bad ass.

  Keeping a reasonable distance, Charlotte replied, "Hi, Braden."

  Auggie stood up tall, stating, "Charlotte," with a nod.

  Lifting her hand, to adjust her large white sunhat with peacock feathers that he was sure came from their day at the farm together, she wiggled her wrist making the bracelet he gave her move against her arm as she replied, "Augustus."

  Out of nowhere there was a clapping sound as his sister suddenly appeared in front of them, cheering, "Charlotte!"

  Charlotte instantly held her arms in the air, "Penny!"

  Auggie watched in a daze as Penny and Charlotte laughed, walking away from the bar together.

  Once again, Braden's voice interrupted his thoughts, asking, "You alright?"

  Auggie scowled at him, snapping, "Did you want somethin'?"

  Braden smiled wide, "Nah brother, not a thing," as he stepped away.

  Rolling his eyes at his brother, Auggie stepped from behind the bar to find a spot where he could keep an eye on Charlotte without being obvious about it.

  Quickly finding a spot next to Kieran and Liv against the wall, it was crazy how fast the bar was filling up for a baby shower.

  "What's up sexy," Kieran laughed, reaching out to shake Auggie's hand.

  Laughing back, Auggie said, "Damn, you clean up nice."

  "Y'all need a minute to go make out with each other?" Liv teased them as she bumped Auggie with her shoulder before saying, "Wow, who is that?"

  Auggie scanned the room wondering who she was talking about.

  Kieran asked, "Who?"

  "Peacock girl over there sitting with Penny."

  Kieran and Auggie glanced at each other before Kieran answered, "Charlotte Roberts."

  "No way," Liv blurted before sharing, "I'm going to go introduce myself."

  Kieran laughed, shaking his head saying, "Serious man, I can't take her anywhere."

  With a loud exhale, Auggie thought 'It's gonna be a long day'.

  ~

  Once all the greeting formalities were over, Charlotte sat at a table with Penny off to the side. Everyone, including her family, were taking turns oohing and aahing over Sophia. It was her shower so that was expected. When Sarah walked by she looked so much like an older version of Penny, it made Charlotte want to smile at her. She settled on a polite 'Mrs. Caffrey' instead. Sarah turned and although there was sort of a smile on her face it was more 'Why are you speaking to me' than anything else. Also to be expected. What Charlotte didn't expect was company at their table

  A woman with long black hair, colorful full sleeve tattoos wearing a blue and white striped tank dress, aviator sunglasses and a navy blue sunhat pulled out a chair and sat down across from them.

  "Hey beautiful," she greeted Penny with a wink before asking, "So is this the outcast table?"

  Penny laughed, answering, "Men are men and boys will be boys but us girls are the black sheep of this family."

  Nodding in agreement, she asked, "So, are there drinks at this thing?"

  "It's a baby shower," Penny reminded, pointing to Sophia.

  "Ah, that's right. You know this having it in a bar just throws the whole thing off."

  Charlotte started to laugh thinking the exact same thing as Penny introduced them, "This is Liv by the way. Kieran's wife."

  Remembering the framed heart on the wall at Legacy Ink, Charlotte replied, "It's nice to meet you."

  Liv made a clicking sound with her mouth and winked before asking, "So, Charlotte Roberts, what brings you to our festive family gathering?"

  "Ren made Sophia invite me," Charlotte replied.

  "Don't you just love her! She's so badass!" Liv practically shouted, receiving a few glares in the process.

  Penny placed her hand across her face and shook her head, warning, "Mom's gonna kick you out if you don't behave."

  "Oh yea?" Liv asked before looking at Charlotte saying, "Watch this." Holding her hand high in the air, Liv shouted, "Hi, Sarah!" waving at her.

  Sarah looked like it actually hurt her so reply as she stated, "Liv."

  Turning back to them, Liv shared, "She secretly loves me," with a nod.

  Charlotte tried not to laugh but couldn't help it as she thought, Liv might be the most awesome person she'd ever met.

  As Liv chattered away, poking fun at various family members, they heard a whinny voice call out to Penny.

  Sophia had a helpless look about her as she
said, "We ran out of cups. Do you know if there are more in the back?"

  Penny gave her a sweet smile as she started to stand up.

  "Where are you going?" Charlotte asked.

  "Oh, you don't know. That was code for 'Penny to get her highness more cups'," Liv shared.

  Charlotte thought 'You have got to be kidding me' as she offered, "I'll go look."

  "Are you sure?" Penny questioned.

  "Yep, I'll be right back," she assured, not because she was just dying to go get cups but because she disliked the way Sophia was sending Penny instead of Braden, who was standing right next to her.

  ~

  Breaking off his conversation with Kieran the second he saw Charlotte walk through the swinging doors to the back, Auggie tried to be covert in making his way in the same direction. Taking a look around before pushing through the doors, it didn't appear anyone was paying him any attention. Being as quiet as possible, he crept down the hall and up to the storage room.

  Charlotte was staring at the wire shelving against the wall with her back to him. He watched her for a moment, place her hands on her hips and look up at the top shelf.

  Leaning against the doorframe, Auggie complimented, "You are lookin' mighty fine today, Miss Lotte."

  Slowly turning around, she peeked up at him from the brim of her hat, saying, "Why Mr. Caffrey, are you flirting with me?"

  Auggie could feel the side of his face scrunch up into a smile as he took a few steps closer, sharing, "You look beautiful."

  A mischievous grin formed as she replied, "Do you know how hard it was for me not to pull you over the bar by your tie and give you a proper greeting?"

  Closing the distance between them, he dared, "So what's stopping you now?"

  "I came in here to grab some more cups, not fool around with you," she said with a laugh.

  Charlotte reached up to grab a sleeve of cups off of the shelf when Auggie caught her by her forearm. He smiled at the little A on her bracelet before pressing his lips against her wrist.

  "You may have come back here for cups. I came back here for you," he shared in a low tone before lowering her arm, whispering, "And I do intend on greeting you properly."