Jack pushed himself off the wall and, flinching because of his soreness, he switched over to sit beside her.
“You shouldn’t move,” Charlie protested.
“Shh,” he said.
He draped his arm around her shoulders and drew her against his side. He tried to ignore the feel of her skin burning against his, but her nearness caused his heartbeat to pick up as lust awakened in him.
“We’ll get back to Dylan tomorrow and start preparing for when the others return,” he said. “We’ll get him off this island, and I’ll make surebothof you get the happiness you deserve.”
Charlie rested her fingers against his chest as she leaned against his side. The solid, reassuring beat of his heart was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever heard. For years, she’d been determined not to let anyone else in, but Jack slipped inside her defenses, and Charlie didn’t want to let him go. Maybe she was an idiot, maybe she was only setting herself up for heartbreak with him, but she didn’t think so.
“I know you said that, without their mate, vampires go insane or die, but you have to promise me something,” she said.
“Anything.”
“If it ever comes between Dylan and me, you will pick Dylanand protect him no matter what.”
Everything inside him rebelled against her words.Shewas his mate. He did not doubt it, and his protective instincts screamed at him that she was the most important thing. That, above everyone else, he had to choose her.
“I’ll be as good as dead without him, Jack,” she said. “And I would gladly give my life for his. He’s far more important than me, and I have to know you’ll protect him.”
Jack despised the idea of putting anyone ahead of his mate, but he knew the truth of her words; she would be as good as dead without her child. And if he chose her over Dylan, she would hate him for the rest of her life.
“I’ll choose him over you.” The words were bitter on his tongue. “And I’ll protect his life with mine.”
Unexpected tears burned Charlie’s eyes. He may not like it, but he would do as promised because he was Jack. “If something happens to me—”
“Nothing is going to happen to you,” he growled.
When she stroked his chest, she was amazed by how he relaxed against her. Whatever this was between them, it was strong, and she marveled at the effect she had over this powerful man.
“If it does,” she whispered, “please save him.”
Jack couldn’t think about anything happening to her. Turning his head into her hair, he kissed her temple. “I will,” he vowed, and though he would probably die without her, he would make sure Dylan was safe before that happened.
“Thank you.”
Jack’s fingers slid over her hair as she nestled against him. She’d spent most of the time he was passed out working the tangles from her hair. “And if something happens to you, is there somewhere you’d like me to take him?”
“There is nowhere to take him,” she said. “Miss Dodd is in Florida, and she would take him in, but she’s already given up so much of her life for us. She deserves the happiness she discovered.”
“Who’s Miss Dodd?”
“She was my ballet instructor,” she said, and Charlie told him everything about her parents and Chad.
Jack listened while she spoke about her family and the piece of shit who used her before tossing her and his child aside. He’d love to hunt this Chad down and beat him into a bloody pulp for what he’d done to her. Her parents had never allowed her to be a child, and Chad stole what little innocence she had from her.
When Charlie finished speaking, she bit her lip as she waited for Jack to speak. He bent his head and, nuzzling her hair, hugged her closer.
“I’m sorry, Charlie,” he said. “You didn’t deserve any of that.”
She absorbed the warmth of his body and the security of his arms. “My birth name was Charlene, and there wereneverany nicknames allowed for it.”
“It’s pretty.”
“I hated it, and I still do. The day they threw me out was the day Charlene ceased to exist. I am Charlie, I will always be Charlie, and if you ever call me Charlene, I’ll make you sing soprano for a week.”
Jack laughed. “I’ll forget I ever heard the name Charlene.”
