Page 16 of Sweet Redemption
Chapter Seven
Markus
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I left Charlie, half naked in the library back office, pissed off and hurt—both emotionally and physically.
I saw the damage I did with what I said, saw it in her teary eyes before I stalked out. But the truth had to be said. I was no good for her. But damn it, I wanted Charlie in a bad way. In such a way that I hungered for the taste of her mouth. I had never felt such intense attraction for any woman.
She was nothing like the other women I knew. And the shit that came out of her mouth…well, she made me laugh. Though, there was no reasoning behind my attraction.
Why her?
Charlie was average looking, nice body with a shapely ass and a face that reflected honesty and trust… That was a bold face lie.
Fuck. Charlie was far from average. She was perfection in my eyes. There was no amount of lies I could come up with that would pacify the need growing in my blood. As much as I wanted to turn around and go back into that library to plunder every inch of Charlie’s luscious body, I shouldn’t. Walking away from her was the best thing I had done in a very long time.
Standing at the curb of the street, I stared across at Arlene’s restaurant. Lila stood in the window, smiling and waving at me to come inside. She just couldn’t get the hint. She was the usual type that gravitated toward me. Thin, blond and no brains in their heads to know I was using them for a fuck. Thinking as far back as college, the Lila types were the one I had messed with.
I shook my head. I hadn’t changed at all. I’ve had many women in my bed, maybe more than most men wanted to admit, but they were all shallow physical relationships. I had admitted that when I was bent over the toilet back in L.A. I had enough—of everything. Drugs, booze and partying with women who meant nothing to me except to indulge in getting off.
Truth was, I was afraid to admit that I wanted what my brother Bryce had. Beth made him whole, a better man to what he already was. Bryce deserved it.
However, I wasn’t sure if I did.
I wanted someone solid and consistent in my life, someone who made me better than what I saw myself as. And for the first time in my life, I saw that in Charlie.
As crazy as it may be, in that short amount of time, Charlie had wound her way into my heart. Though, the worry and rejection had me second guessing myself and thwarted my need to turn around and head inside the library to find her.
I crossed the street, entered the bed and breakfast doorway while avoiding Lila’s attempt to grab my attention, and went straight to my room.
I paced the wooden floorfor four hours until I couldn’t take it anymore.The hell with it all.I had to see Charlie again and make sure she was okay, and apologize for being an asshole.
With a quick look around the main entryway, I left the bed and breakfast, and headed straight to the library.
The door was locked, which made me slightly worried. Charlie couldn’t be far. I spotted her station wagon parked at the mechanics.
Then a thought occurred to me. Charlie was walking—to where I wasn’t sure. But I was going to find out. I raced over to the garage, where Mike was working on an old Chevelle hiked up on the raised platform.
“Mike, I’m looking for Charlie. Do you know where she’s at?”
Mike stepped out from under the car and eyed me. “Yeah, I gave her a ride home. Why?” He frowned. “You wouldn’t happen to know she got hurt?”
“Home,” I said with relief, picturing Charlie limping through this crappy weather. I then noticed Mike took an aggressive step forward, to which I stepped back, giving the mechanic some distance. “She twisted her ankle. Charlie tripped on the stairs, and I caught her before she fell.”
That seemed to appease the man because the frown line across his forehead disappeared.
“Okay.” Mike said and turned back to the car.
“Wait. I need to talk to her. Can you tell me where she lives?”
“I can tell you but it’s a long walk to get there,” Mike said while shoving his hand into his pocket. He took out a set of keys and tossed to me. “Take my truck—but I want it back here tonight.”
I snatched the keys from the air. I was stunned at the trust Mike was showing. No one, not in L.A. nor in Chicago would trust a total stranger with their own vehicle.
“Thanks,” I said, then out of curiosity asked, “How was the dance?”
“It sucked, as usual. That’s why I left early and saw Charlie.”
I gave him a nod and asked, “Now where does Charlie live?”
The way Mike explained how to get to Charlie’s place; I would have been totally lost. However, Mike grabbed a map and drew the lines from where the shop was at to Charlie’s house. He wrote the address on top of the area and circled it. From what the legend showed, she was about fives miles outside of town.
With gratitude, I didn’t hesitate and got into the truck and took off down Main Street.
