“What
do you mean? This is good info.”
“I’m
not saying it isn’t. It’s about how it
was acquired.” He paused pacing, and stared aimlessly at the back wall. “Unless
a person who would have this information legally claims to have given it to
you.” He threw up his arms dramatically.
“It can’t be used.”
“In
a court of law,” she finished as she dropped her ever-tiring head into her
hands. Abandoning that she popped her
head up causing her hair to cascade over her head, and resettle disheveled. “So
all this really did was put me on the chopping block.”
Thomas
made an odd negative sound that was between a growl, and a hum as he started
pacing again. “Not necessarily; it gives
us more than we had before.”
Not
seeing the bright side like he was Charlotte hissed, “That being?”
Her
sharp tone made him stop pacing, and turn to look at her as an odd expression
briefly crossed his normally passive features. “A path. We can figure out what he is doing, and how
he’s been doing it.” Thomas nodded to himself. “I can use it to make him
incriminate himself.”
He
then looked at her for only the second time since he had determined that she
needed to relocate. The hard lines of
his face softened slightly. The
difference was almost undetectable. Most
people probably wouldn’t notice, but Charlotte had. It made his lips soften, and the crinkles
around his eyes lessen.
“You
need to sleep.” The statement was more of an order than an observation.
Thomas
walked back to the SUV, and pulled out her gym bag. With a head gesture he inferred that she
should follow him. Feeling like she was
just tired enough not to argue, Charlotte lifted herself from the chair, and
fell into pace behind him as he began clearing the space to the staircase. They went upstairs, and he opened the door of
the first room. Charlotte followed him,
and it was like she was at the Hyatt all of the sudden.
The
room was like a hotel room. The
furniture was wooden and in solid colors.
Not great, but not bad. It was
mostly sterile, and looked like a man had picked out everything. There were no knick-knacks, just basics. An ugly pasty green couch, a matching chair,
and some dull wooden end tables were the highlights of the decor. In the corner was a kitchenette with a full
sized fridge, stove, dishwasher, and microwave.
The sink was a single basin with a washrag, and dish soap nearby. The second door in the room lead to a bedroom
that housed a king-sized bed covered in a hideous beige comforter, and some
more of the dull wooden end tables the living area sported.
“Bathroom
is connected to the bedroom,” Thomas said as he threw her gym bag on the bed,
and started for the door.
Charlotte
stared at the room, and grabbed the arm of the brooding man as he passed
her. She almost hissed at the warmth of
him through her fingertips. The feeling
was short lived as he stopped, and removed her hand from his arm by grasping
her wrist. The action made her snap her
eyes to his, and they held for a moment neither of them blinking for the space
of two breathes.
“You’re
safe here Charlie.”
“Tommy—,”
she stammered not really believing that she had addressed him so familiarly. It had to be her exhaustion because he had
not done anything that would make her assume such an air with him. The look that danced in his eyes for a moment
could’ve been shock or anger. She wasn’t
sure, but she was sure that she had crossed some invisible line with the name
that had fell from her lips.
“Thomas,” she quickly corrected looking up at
him. “I didn’t mean— on the phone—”
He
whipped her body into his, and ducked his head to seal his mouth to hers. Charlotte felt the burn of his lips against
hers. The abrupt entry of his tongue
pushing between her teeth made her stiffen, then practically melt against
him. Her wrists were captured behind her
back by one of his larger hands. The
other hand had taken possession of her left butt cheek pulling her against his
body. She moaned in a haze of
adrenaline, pleasure, and fear as she kissed him back with just as much
ferocity as he was kissing her with. His
hips were grinding into hers. She could
feel the length of his erection between them.
With that knowledge her knees nearly buckled. What she wouldn’t give to get her hands on
him.
What
had started as rough tongue stabbing was dissipating. The forays he took between her lips were
becoming more leisurely as he explored her mouth with long slow licks that drug
his tongue over all of the surfaces of hers.
He would pull away slightly, and then decide that he wasn’t done, and
take her mouth again. This happened a
few more times before he pulled back, and slowly licked his lips. Panting they held there breathing each
other’s air. He let his eyes roam over
her face. She watched as they settled on
her lips then flew back to her eyes.
“Don’t
apologize for calling a spade a spade,” his deep voice was rough, and his
accent was dominating his pronunciation.
An excerpt from Charlotte's Chance on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords
An excerpt from Charlotte's Chance on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords
