The relief I felt from being allowed to kiss her again was insane. I’d never experienced something so satisfying – and she’d barely even touched me yet.

The things this girl does to me…

I’d admitted to myself, her, and even to Jasper, that she was different.

She’s something more.

There was something inside of me that had just snapped from the first moment I’d laid eyes on her. I never acted like the crazy bastard I’d been for the last few days, but here I was, begging a woman for forgiveness.

First time for everything.

She was so beautiful, so fragile. She looked like a little, china doll, and even though she was proving to be anything but breakable, I still felt this overwhelming urge to look after her. My body was always on alert when she was near, as though she might need me to take a bullet, or push her out of the path of a rogue bus or something.

Losing my damn mind.

‘Protective instincts’ Jasper had told me it was. Well if that’s what this feeling was, then my protective instincts for this girl were off the charts.

He’d then proceeded to sing ‘Parker and Charlotte, sitting in a tree’ and make kissing noises like the five-year-old he was – so I’d taken his advice with a grain of salt.

But sitting here now, with her in my arms, I knew he was right.

I’d give it all to protect this girl.

I was relaxed back against her couch and she was leaning against me, her back to my front. I inhaled deeply against her hair as I played with one of the rings she was wearing.

“What shampoo do you use?” I asked her absently. She smelt so good, but I couldn’t put a name to the scent.

“I dunno, rock star, a pink bottle?” she replied, twisting in my arms so she could look at me.

I smiled in reflex to the amused expression she was wearing.

“Why?” she questioned.

“I wanna know.”

She shook her head as she laughed at me. “You are the strangest man I’ve ever met,” she informed me as she promptly jumped up to her feet.

I grabbed for her, but missed. “Where are you going?” I demanded.

She turned back and raised an eyebrow at me. “To find out what freakin’ shampoo I use, you big weirdo.”

Damn right.

I’m gonna buy that shit in bulk.

 

 

I was one lucky son of a bitch to be here – forgiven by this stunning little firecracker.

Charlotte and I had sat together on her couch and talked it all out for hours and hours. She’d told me all about her relationship with Stephen, from the emotional abuse, to the breakup and his sabotage of her career. She’d told me about how her and Hannah had clawed their way back and were now doing better than ever.

After hearing all of that, I couldn’t believe that she’d been so quick to forgive the way I’d acted and how I’d judged her.

She really is something special.

I’d tried to explain why I’d jumped to conclusions and made the wrong assumptions without checking the facts first. I was almost programmed now to believe that people were out to get me – there hadn’t been anybody new in a long time that had wanted to get to know me for who I really was and not just to say they knew the ‘me’ that the world saw.

I’d told her about how, after a little digging, I’d found out that Nelly had inflated most of the information she’d told me – she was hoping to make Charlotte look bad. She’d even fooled Kelvin into telling her the address of her and Hannah’s apartment, which she’d promptly made public to anyone with a camera in a ten mile radius.

To say she was manipulative was a fucking understatement.

God knows what else she’s been up to.

It was no excuse for my behaviour, but I wanted her to know I didn’t go around throwing accusations at people whenever I felt like it. I also wanted to ensure that she wasn’t going to set her brothers on me. Those boys sounded like they wouldn’t stop short of committing murder if their baby sister asked them to.

I found myself feeling jealous of their relationship. No matter what, they’d always had and would have each other’s backs. I had no siblings, but I did have Jasper, and he was the closest thing to a brother I’d ever known.

Charlotte had made a solid point when she’d suggested that I shouldn’t have people around me that I didn’t trust.

Trust… that was the problem.

Jasper, Nona, Sammy and Kelvin were the only people I could safely say I trusted one hundred percent these days. I had a feeling that a mere click of her finger would have Charlotte on that list too. I’d misjudged her once, but I knew now that I could trust her.

“What about family? Or people you grew up with?” she suggested as she cut the vegetables for dinner.

I was lurking around, not being of any real help in the food prep, but not wanting to go and sit down either. I just wanted to be near her. Today was a rare, fluke day off for both her and I. I’d had Jasper cancel the meetings and studio plans I had for today, and Charlotte and Hannah had been forced to cancel their clients this morning when their apartment door was still swamped with paparazzi.

I felt guilty, but I wasn’t exactly sorry about it. It’d scored me the day with her, and it was damn well worth it.

“I’ve got some good mates working backstage and doing some of my promotion work,” I told her as I snagged a piece of carrot from the chopping board. “And a guy I’ve known since kindergarten takes care of my social media and all that bullshit.”

“That’s good.” She nodded in approval.

“There’s obviously the guys from the band when they’re around, and my cousins insisted that they do my shopping for me… clothes and groceries and shit… but I think those girls are just looking for an excuse to go spending up large with my credit cards.”

She laughed loudly. “You give them free reign on your credit cards?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, why not? It’s only money, right? It’s not like I’m short on it.”

“What do they buy?”

“Fucked if I know.” I chuckled. “But last time I checked, forever twenty-one didn’t sell men’s clothes.”

She laughed again. “You know, it’s pretty cute that you let them do that.”

I bit the carrot in half. “Don’t you go telling the boys about that… it’ll screw with my bad-ass reputation.”

She rolled her eyes and leant her hip against the bench. “Oh yeah, you’re just bad to the bone, aren’t you?”

I snaked my hand around her middle and tugged her flush against my body. I dipped my head down to kiss her soft, pouty lips.

She made that little sigh noise that did messed up things to my insides and I knew that this girl was going to be the end of everything I thought I knew.