Page 16 of Claiming Charlotte

But I didn’t move, I was too entranced in the app on my phone showing me where each planet was located on the horizon.

The grass shifted underneath me and a warm tuft of air rested in the crook of my neck. “Anything interesting tonight, new life perhaps?”

I giggled. “No sadly, but I saw a few satellites. I always wondered what it's like up there.”

“Peace and quiet, just you and the universe, literally.” He said with a sigh. “Nikki told me your date didn’t go so well. What happened?”

I was embarrassed to admit how upset it made me and even thought about making up some story like I wasn't interested, or he was an asshole.

“He stood me up” I said, wiping the stay tear away from my face hoping he wouldn’t notice. “I mean I’m not as pretty as Nikki, or outgoing, or?—.”

“Woah,” He stopped me, propping himself up on his elbow. “You don’t need to be any of those things. There's only one of you, and quite frankly that should be enough for anyone. It’s his loss in my opinion.”

“Do you mean that?” Even in the darkness, I could see the glimmer in his eyes as he spoke.

“Lottie, you know so many useless facts it’s astonishing, and you have these little quirks that someone would have to be paying close attention to catch them. Like when you smile, I know when it’s real, and when it’s a load of bullshit.”

“How?” I questioned with a laugh.

“Well,” he said, bringing his thumb to the corner of my eyes. “There’s these little crinkles, three of them to be exact, that form when your smile touches your eyes, and you just glow; like when you tell me about a new book you have, or when I ask you to read to me.”

This was probably a mistake, I've never seen Roe even bring somebody home, but I saw an opening and took it. I traced my finger gently along his jawline feeling the rough stubble on it, before?I wrapped my arm around his neck, lowering his face to mine. His fingers danced nervously at my waist as our lips connected. It was soft and gentle, yet need was prevalent in both of us as our mouths molded together. He was the first to pull away.

“We shouldn't have done that Lottie,” He groaned, pressing his forehead against mine.

“You don’t even realize what you do to me.”

His sweetness was contagious, and the way he touched me always had me wanting more. He was so many things—a gentleman, down-to-earth, loving, compassionate— even though he was also hard-headed, possessive, and stubborn.

He’d let me see a side of him that nobody had seen before, and I craved his presence. I’d give anything to hear him tell me everything was going to be okay, in that sweet voice of his.

It’s been a while now since I had heard Rowan's screams. Listening in agony as he faced his own torture. They got quieter and quieter until I heard nothing at all. The thought of that man being wiped from the face of the earth, never having the life we wanted to have, had me holding back a different kind of sob, an angry one.

What I did know, was if Rowan was in fact gone, I'd be following him. Richard Walker could have the family name, but not before I killed everyone that man ever loved. A frustrated growl erupted from deep within me as I continued to twist my hands around the restraints, until I heard the door creak open and my whole body tensed.

The men were still touching me, but I was grateful the blindfold was returned to my eyes. I didn’t have to watch anymore, but I didn’t want Walker to intervene and make things worse. Struggling against my restraints, I sensed someone step between my legs and I whimpered, I resolved to not give up, but right now I was so sore.

“Please, stop,” I tried, but my words were lost around the gag. “Hurts.”

A gentle hand touched my clit and rubbed circles around me gently, and my body responded instantly, arching against the table. The hand played its way up my torso, brushing against my nipple, and pulled at the collar that remained at the base of my neck. The warm body leaned over me and latched onto my neck, sucking sensuously on the sensitive skin.

Those touches felt different than the others. They hinted at care and respect, and I couldn’t help but remember Rowan touching me in a similar manner. The thought of him threatened to spill tears again and my lip quivered.

Then I heard it.

“Don’t cry Princess, I'm here now, just a little bit longer,” he encouraged reaching behind me to loosen the straps of the gag and carefully pull it from my mouth, and the blindfold slid from my eyes.

I struggled to adjust, and once my eyes focused, I could see that it was Roe on top of me. I melted against the table, relieved to see his familiar eyes behind the mask he was wearing. The other three men surrounded us, and it didn’t look as though they recognized who he was.

“Roe,” I whispered. He nodded and placed a finger to the lips of the mask.

He was such a welcome sight, but I couldn’t help feeling ashamed at the way I was splayed out for everyone to see, having a collar around my neck like an animal. He swept a lock of hair out of my eyes and wiped my tears before dismounting and walking over to a table in the corner.

Picking up the metal rod, he turned on the blow torch and heated it up. Once it glowed red, he touched it to his hand and watched as the smoke rose from it.

I stared at him in confusion, his eyes were closed, and a grunt left his lips. Setting everything down and lifting his head to face the room, I saw then that he was missing a finger, and he’d cauterized it to stop the bleeding. Rowan lifted his mask as the others turned to face him, and a smirk crossed his blood-covered face. The sight of him brought a sob to the surface. What did they do to him?

Rowan

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