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“Charlie.” She puts her hand to her chest. “What have you done?”
“Sins can be forgiven,” the boy with my mom says from beside her. “It’s not too late for her. She’ll repent, and I’ll cleanse her.” I don’t miss the way he’s looking at me.
“Check her legs out again, and I’ll pluck your eyes out of your fucking skull, Opie.”
My mom gasps.
“And trust me, you’ll never be able to cleanse her from the things I did to her body.” Rowan wraps his arm around me from behind, pulling me into him so my back meets his chest.
I want to smack him and kiss him at the same time. That was the worst and best thing he could say.
“Jacob would never succumb to the flesh. He’s a man of God. Unlike some other people.” My mom turns to Jacob. “I think this is a test. We mustn't fail. God never gives us more than we can handle, right?” she pleads with Jacob. “Her soul and salvation lies in our hands.”
For all my mother talks about saving souls, she sure has a way of wearing mine down.
19
ROWAN
“I need to speak to my daughter.” Joanna glares at me. “Alone.”
“I don’t give a shit. If Charlie wants me here, I stay here.” I hold her tighter, her warm body pressed to mine.
Opie–or I suppose, Jacob–gives me a narrow glare. “You may have sullied her, but–”
“Don’t you ever use that fucking word to describe Charlie.” My hand fists, my knuckles aching to do some work on this asshole’s face.
He pales and steps back. “She can be forgiven,” he mumbles.
“Rowan.” Charlie turns and looks up at me, her beautiful eyes full of so much trust. Trust for me. “I’ll talk with Mom for a little while, okay?”
“I don’t like it.”
“I know, but I won’t be going anywhere. I’ll be right here.” She puts her hand on my chest, and her mother groans. “I just need to set some boundaries.” She swallows hard. “For once.” She gets onto her tiptoes and whispers, “I need to tell her that I’m staying here. For good. Or at least until I figure out what I want to do.”
I hold her tighter. “I don’t like it.”
“I know, but I have to do it. It’s time.” She drops back onto her flat feet.
I grind my teeth. I don’t want to leave her with her mother and the prick, but I can’t tell Charlie no, either. Not when she asks me like this, not when she needs me to trust her. Fuck.
“All right, but I expect you to join me when you’re done. We have lots of work to do around here today. I’ll be upstairs in Edith’s room removing a clock from her wall.”
She giggles. “Oh, Grams. Wait!” A smile brightens her face. “Am I like, your apprentice or something?”
“Absolutely.” I lean down and kiss her, bending her back so she holds on to me as our tongues dance.
Her mother spins, putting her back to us, but Jacob watches, his sneer growing by the second.
When I finally let her up, she takes a deep breath and looks at me with hazy eyes. “Don’t worry, boss. I’ll be right along to work once I’m done here.”
“You better.” I squeeze her ass. “If I have to wait too long, I’ll need to discipline you.”
She bites her lip. “Extra work?”
“Extra work on your knees.” I smirk down at her.
Her mother groans again and makes the sign of the cross.
“I’ll keep that in mind. I sure hope I don’t get lost on my way to you and end up being late. That would be terrible.”
I kiss her again, rough and quick. “Get to it then, Bunny.”
She turns to her mother as I walk past, deliberately shoulder-checking Jacob. He stumbles backwards and lands on his ass on the gravel path in front of my cottage. I keep going as he complains.
Once I reach the porch to the big house, I stop and lean against one of the posts, my gaze on Charlie. She has her arms crossed in front of her, her shoulders back, and her head high as her mother runs off at the mouth. I can’t hear what she’s saying, but I’m certain it isn’t pleasant. I itch to return to Charlie’s side and tell her mother exactly where she can stick it, but I won’t. Not when Charlie wants to stand on her own. I have to turn and leave before I go over there anyway, because just watching it makes anger simmer in my gut.
“Morning, Edith,” I call as I walk in.
“I want you to look into installing a pole in here.” She’s in the sitting room staring at the ceiling.
“A pole?”
“Yeah, I want to take lessons.”
It dawns on me what she’s asking. “You mean a stripper pole?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She laughs.
“Oh.” I let out a relieved breath. “I was worried you–”
