CHARLOTTE

I was waiting for Deck to come back to the room. After making love to the man who had completely taken possession of my heart, I thought we would talk about what had happened that day. I was ready to, at least. The last thing I wanted to do was lose him over this. When he came into Gypsies, he was furious, so I was truly expecting him to yell and tell me to go. Instead, he ran to me when we arrived back at the compound. He lifted me out of the car, carrying me inside and directly to his bathroom. He treated me tenderly by showering the filthy smoke and stink from my body before giving me the most amazing experience of my life.

I felt my cheeks flush with heat as I remembered the feel of his tongue on my most private area and the words he spoke. Oh, Lord, that man had a dirty mouth on him.

His reaction to me calling him honey flooded me with warmth all over again. So after he cleaned up, there was another surprise from my gentle and rugged soldier—he brought food and Shiloh back to the room.

The little girl bounding into the room was exactly what I needed to assure me that he was still in this with me. Sure, the sex was a good starting point. But Shiloh was his life. No one got to be around her if he didn’t trust them.

We shared a homemade pizza with Shiloh’s favourite toppings of ham, pineapple, and, unfortunately, green olives—a taste, I learned, she had picked up from her bodyguard—and we chatted about dance class that day.

I smiled as she scolded me for not being there at the end of the day for pick up.

“Youse don’ts dos that no more, Miss Char-char, me and daddy were sad. Got it?” Her finger waved in my face, telling me off good and proper.

I was still giggling twenty minutes later when Deck returned to the room. He had taken Shiloh back to their suite to bathe and read to her. Even though it was later than her normal bedtime, he had wanted to settle her properly like he always did.

“What’s got you laughing, Sweetness?” he asked as he pulled his shirt over his head and removed his jeans.

Good gravy, the man’s body should be on a poster or something. My mouth was dry just from his abs alone. Sculptured. Chiselled. Delicious.

“Sweetness, my eyes are up here.”

“Huh?” My fuddled brain was not keeping up with this conversation.

“Laughing. You. Why?” Deck’s knowing smirk told me he got it. Then he took my fun away by getting into the bed with me and covering himself from the waist down, but then he made it all the better by pulling me half on top of him.

Then I remembered his question.

“Shiloh telling me off with her finger wagging in my face.”

I could feel his silent chuckle as his chest jostled me about.

“Yeah, she is a little princess, isn’t she?” he replied, but his tone was is too serious. “Tell me about today, Sweetness.”

“Hmmm, I love it when you call me that.” I was stalling, and I knew it. It was just, where should I begin? How do I explain my family to him?

He must have sensed my dilemma because he said, “How about I ask the questions, and you answer them. Yeah?”

Nodding my head against his chest, I smiled. How could he be so perfect?

“Have you stripped before?” The question was almost growled.

Okay, I knew that would be his first line of questioning. When I saw him earlier at the club, I could tell how seeing me up there on the stage gutted him.

“No, and I promise you, I was not taking off my clothes. Deck, you must believe that. I told Shifty that was my solid stipulation.”

I felt his arms give me a gentle squeeze and his body relax.

“I believe you, Sweetness. I do.” His gently whispered words settled me instantly. “How did you come to know about that fucker Shifty?”

“His niece was one of my dance students at my old job. She was good, and believe it or not, he is a great uncle to her. Once, at a recital, he mentioned what he did and asked me to dance for him. I was so repulsed, I told him to go to hell, but I remembered the name of his club and how much he told me I could earn.”

I knew Deck was taking it easy on me, but the ultimate question needed to be answered. Putting my big girl pants on, I decided just to go for it, but I needed to see his eyes as I told him the rest. I wanted him to see my truth. So, licking my dry lips, I pushed up on Deck’s chest until we were face-to-face.

His arms instantly wrapped me in his warmth, giving me the support I needed to go on. His hands slowly stroked my back, soothing me.

“I owe my family money. A lot of money according to them, and now the courts, since they sued me eighteen months ago for damages, I apparently caused to one of their buildings.”

Deck visibly baulked. “Your own family sued you?”

“Yeah. How’s that for family relations?” My shaky laugh and attempt at humour didn’t please my rugged soldier.

His eyes narrowing and the tilt of his head urged me to continue. “The scars?” he asked.

I could feel the larger one. I always felt it. I didn’t like talking about what happened that night, but Deck made it all right. I felt safe with him. The memories weren’t nearly as bad as they used to feel, so taking in a cleansing breath, I told him.

“Yeah, there was a fire in the building my grandmother had given me to use as a ballet studio. I got all the students out, but after checking to make sure no one else was left in the building, my way out was compromised by the fire. So I broke a glass door out the back of the main dance studio. As I got through, I cut myself several times.”

“So you get injured, and they blame you and sue you for the damage to your own fucking building? Fuck, Charlie.” His voice was rough with anger.

“My career had all but finished professionally. Because of injuries to my knees and being so tall, I didn’t get picked for too many lead parts since the men in my company didn’t like to pick up and dance with someone as tall as me. I also think my mother somehow had something to do with the company turning their back on me.”

Hmm. His hands roamed all over my back, down over my bottom, and up again to my shoulders, my neck, and my hair—not a place missed with his caresses.

“How?” His eyes watched my face intently. A smirk graced his handsome face when a moan escaped my mouth.

 Darn, his hands were driving me crazy. I gave him a mock glare and shrugged my shoulders. “They were the main beneficiaries for the company. A company depends mainly on rich people and donations to keep them going.”

“So your family is rich, but you obviously don’t have any claim to their money.” It wasn’t a question. Deck was a smart man, and I knew he was putting everything together. Booth had mentioned during the ride back to the compound that they had been to my apartment. He’d obviously seen how I lived. It didn’t matter to me that Deck had seen my meagre possessions and tiny place. I was more concerned about Winnie. She needed to be fed and played with.

“Winnie. Deck, I have to get back to Winnie.” Pushing up, I attempted to untangle myself from Deck’s gorgeous, strong arms.

“Calm down, baby. Everything is under control. Seb, Squid, and Darth have been to your place, and they picked up Winnie. They also gathered her shit and your shit up, and it’s all probably in my room as we speak.”

“What are you saying? How can you just do that? You have no right.” I was indignant. Who did that? All these years I had been just fine without anyone helping or taking over my life, and I would be damned if I was going to let someone else just start making decisions for me. My parents had done that for most of my life until Granny stepped in and gave me a way out.

I pushed at his chest really hard this time, trying to get loose, but his arms were just too tightly wrapped around me. His eyes were an impossibly deep dark blue, but unlike before, it wasn’t passion. He was angry.

“You did. You gave me the right the minute your lips met mine for the first time.” He growled as he flipped me, and suddenly, I was underneath him. “Now it’s my turn to speak.”