“You are lucky the boss said no one can touch you or I’d let the whole crew fuck you.”
With those fucked up words, I force the door open and glare directly at the man responsible for saying such a vile thing to Charlotte. I can’t see straight as my rage boils over, blinding me for a moment. Once my eyesight is back, I walk over to my dockmaster, and I snap his neck without preamble.
“I fucking said notonetouch. Not onefuckingtouch.” I kick him in the gut. Turning back to Charlotte, I growl. My little rabbit is bleeding.Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I walk over to her, and she flinches, then blubbers as the spikes bury themselves into her skin. “Stop moving, Charlotte.” I tell her gently.My eyes dart back and forth, trying to figure out the easiest way to get her out of the chains. I don’t want to cause her more pain. At least, not by these chains. I am certain my brothers and I will cause her much pain in the future.
My voice stays soft as I try to keep her calm. I don’t know why. But right now, I don’t want her to fear me. I want her to relax and let me get these damn chains off her. I take the chains off her ankles first, wondering if it’s a bad idea because she likes to be feisty.
She doesn’t kick me, which I take as a good sign. I unwrap the chain from her body. Her utter quietness and grimaces make me hot with anger. If anyone is going to cause bruising on this woman, it’s going to be me and my brothers. I pull the chains away from her waist and try to be as careful as possible with the spikes.
Charlotte cries out as I remove the spikes. I can see the blood seeping through her shirt. Fuck me. Another thing to add to the list of things I’ll never be able to take back with this girl. Fuck.
“To answer your question, I was his boss, and you are in so much trouble,” I tell her as I take the chains from her waist and throw them to the ground.Assessing the damage, I know she will need medical attention once I get her home. I need to keep calm and help her see that she’s made a mistake. It’s hard to think, with her looking so beautiful and vulnerable. I have to stay strong even if all I want to do is hug her.
“Kr…” My hand comes out fast and I slap her hard. Her head falls to the side, and I shake her to get her attention. She doesn’t get to faint on me. She ran, and another man touched her. Just no. No, she doesn’t get to plead with me right now, dammit I’m the one in fucking control.
“Don’t say another damn word.” I growl and I see her legs shift. Is she turned on by my growl? She bites her bottom lip, and I want to suck that lip into my mouth and taste her sweetness.
“You ran from us,” I state the obvious and see her beautiful green eyes look up at me. The sign of fear is there, but I see the want. There’s confusion mixing around in there. Hell, it mirrors my own feelings. God, I want her.
For a moment, I space out as a memory hits me.
“Dove, come on. Just one date.” I smirk at her. She looks down at the mini me of hers. Damn, if it weren’t for those wide green eyes, the little girl would be a mirror image of Dove.
“I’m sorry Charles. I can’t because I don’t have a babysitter.”
“Bring her along.” What the fuck? I hate kids. Why the hell would I want that brat on a date when I’m trying to get in her mother’s pants?
Hypnos snorts and pulls me away from Dove. “Come on lover boy, we have to get going. The lady said no.” He looks at me and then turns towards Dove. “For now.”
The tiny girl watches us, and before we can get to the office door she runs up to Hypnos. He jerks but looks down at her. She touches his wounded arm with her lips.
“Your boo-boo will get better now.”
Hypnos flinches, but he looks at her in awe as she goes back to her mother. My heart tugs but I drown it out with the hatred of what we are doing in this office. We have to get our shit together.
I open the door when Dove’s voice floats to us.
“Charlotte, you don’t touch people like that.” She admonishes her.
Charlotte … Char …
I snap out of it and look at the woman sitting before me. Fuck. I could have lost her to my employees. Shit. My heart races at the idea of them possibly hurting her, let alone touch her. Fuck.
I growl, trying to hide the fear I am feeling with anger. I stare down at her. “These bastards could have hurt you, Charlotte.”
She huffs and gives a sad chuckle. “Theydidhurt me.”
Yeah, I can see that, but I refuse to feel sorry for her. I grab a handful of her hair and yank her head backward.
“You’re getting what you deserve. We were being gentle with you. You do not know how bad we can get.”
Tears well in her eyes, but she refuses to back down. She stares at me boldly. So, fucking bold.
“Gentle? You don’t know what that word means, Kronos.”
She dares to talk back to me. If I wasn’t so angry with her, I might laugh at her. Yet, I can see why Hypnos calls her a warrior. She’s not backing down, and fuck, that’s such a turn on.
