Page 37 of Good Girl

“Come on, Charlotte, you were caught up in all your womanly emotions, and I know that can get things in a tangle for girls like you, but you can’t deny that we were good together.” He stepped closer and leaned uncomfortably into my space. “Don’t you think?”

Fucking hell. How I had managed to date this asshole for so long was beyond me. The things I did to keep my mother happy.

“Jonathan, look—”

“What’s that?” Jonathan snapped suddenly, and there was a painfully familiar cold edge to his raspy voice. A lurch of anxiety flashed through me like an internal strike of lightning. Jonathan was staring intently at my neck, and I lifted one hand warily to my collar.

“What’s... what?”

“On your neck, is that a hickey?” Jonathan’s hand shot out and grasped my wrist, jerking me close as his other hand lifted to touch my face. Before he could make contact, though, a larger hand shot out from my left and wrapped firmly around Jonathan’s arm. It jerked him back a step, and Jonathan yelped sharply.

“Hands off the lady,” came a deep, familiar voice, and my heart fluttered when I looked up to see who had interrupted us.

Matt stood over me like a brooding shadow, and his face was like thunder.

“Who the fuck are you?” Jonathan barked. Matt leaned over me, his broad chest pressing firmly against my back.

“I’m the guy who’s going to break your wrist if you don’t take your hands off her.”

17

MATT

The little punk bearing down on Charlotte looked ready to lash out like a coiled snake, but I was ready. He was shorter and skinny. One punch, and he’d be laid out flat as a pancake in the aisle, and I would gladly leave him there.

His arm twisted slightly against my palm, but my grip was like iron, and it would remain so until this twerp had taken his hands off Charlotte. I wasn’t sure what I had stumbled onto, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone talk to her that way. We stared each other down for a long moment, then he finally let go of Charlotte’s wrist. I waited an extra second before releasing his arm.

“Who the fuck are you?” the asshole barked again, and I swiftly stepped around Charlotte to put myself between her and this punk.

“I told you, the one who will break your wrist, so get the fuck out of here before I make good on that promise for my own personal enjoyment,” I snapped.

The man’s eyes went wide, and he tried to look past me at Charlotte, but I shifted my stance each time to keep her hidden from view. Thankfully, the guy got the hint and turned around, scurrying away down the aisle and vanishing from sight. Swiftly turning back to Charlotte, I offered her my softest smile as she stared up at me with wide doe-eyes.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” I asked.

“No.” Charlotte shook her head, her blonde waves swaying across her shoulders. “I–I mean yes, I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.”

“Who the fuck was that guy?”

“Jonathan, myex.” Charlotte’s face twisted in disgust, and a pulse of anger warmed my gut.

“I’m sorry.” I lifted a hand and rubbed my jaw, glancing back down the aisle. “If I overstepped when I shouldn’t have, I apologize. When I saw him with his hands on you I just... I couldn’t stand by.” That and the moment I had glimpsed it, an unexpected rush of possessive jealousy had swelled in my chest and I had wanted to stop that asshole from touching someone who didn’t belong to him.

Not anymore.

“No, you didn’t. That was... actually, that was uh... well-timed.”

I glanced back at Charlotte, and she was still staring up at me with those adorable wide eyes. Her cheeks were dusted a soft pink. It was cute, and I was briefly reminded of how sweet she had looked with her flushed apple cheeks and my cock down her throat.

I smiled. “It would make me feel better if you would let me escort you for the rest of your shopping. Just in case.”

“Oh, it would makeyoufeel better?” Charlotte chuckled. “That’s fine, I’d like that.”

As I fell in step beside her, I noticed Charlotte taking a few deeper breaths, likely to calm herself down. While I didn’t want to press the topic at her reassurance that she was fine, I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight.

“Do you shop here often?” Charlotte asked, leading the way to the refrigerated area.

“On and off,” I replied. “It’s good for the little things when stocking up my office. There are amazing Oriental noodles that come in these square boxes that are todiefor.”

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