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“Yeah. Lots of regrets on this.” I glanced at him again. “Lots of regrets in general.”
He nodded and rubbed his arm self-consciously, lifting his sleeve in the process. I immediately caught the hint of a dark color on his arm, something that looked familiar. It looked like a bruise from a punch. Yes, it was definitely a bruise. I knew those when I saw them.
Was the kid getting in fights? Was he losing? Or was he just getting hurt?
“Alright.” Charlotte finally ended the call and walked back up to us, looking between the two of us. “What’s going on now? What are you two talking about?" She glanced at me when she asked the question. Her eyes screamed,“Did you tell him?”
“Nothing,” Casey said, then smiled shyly. “But I did wanna get his number. You know that I’ve always wanted to try out MMA, and I wanna be able to ask for tips and stuff. If you don’t mind, that is.” He turned to me.
“Absolutely not,” Charlotte replied in a firm voice.
“Why not?” Casey and I said at the same time.
She glanced between the two of us, her gaze finally landing on me. “You’re not serious, are you?”
“Of course I am,” I said. “In fact, why not bring him to my house on Friday? That way, I could show him a few things.”
“Oh my gosh, that would be great!” Casey said, excitement radiating out of him.
I could tell Charlotte wanted to utter another denial, but my face let her know it was a threat. I made sure the message went across clearly.You don’t want me to tell him, so this is the price you have to bear.
“Great, then it’s settled,” I said, trying to hide my grin. “We can do this every Friday after work.”
“Awesome,” Casey gushed, his eyes glittering with excitement. Charlotte, on the other hand, looked like she was about to be sick.
“Um, Casey, could you go upstairs for a few minutes while I talk to Zane here?”
“Zane,” Casey said, still staring at me. “That’s your name?”
I nodded.
“I’m Casey.”
“I heard,” I responded, feeling emotion build in my chest, squeezing it tightly.
It expanded when the boy smiled and said, “Nice to meetcha!”
I couldn’t respond through the emotion in my throat. I simply nodded and waved as he bounded back up the stairs.
9
CHARLOTTE
“What do you mean every Friday?” I demanded once I was sure Casey was out of earshot.
“Did I stutter?” Zane cocked his head at me. I thought I saw some warmth in his eyes when he spoke to Casey, but once Casey was gone, it disappeared, and he was every inch the vicious dictator, issuing his orders that were meant to be followed.
“You’re going to bring him to my house every Friday,” Zane repeated. “If you miss a single day, you’ll hear from my lawyer.”
My heart dropped as I swallowed. “Lawyer?” I muttered weakly.
“You said it wouldn’t be right to take my son away from the only family he’s ever known,” he said mildly, although that just made him appear even more threatening. He took a step closer, his eyes snagging mine in an intense stare that I couldn’t escape from.
“Right.” I did say that, but I was having trouble remembering everything I said when he was standing so close to me.
I could smell his cologne, and the spicy, musky scent sent my insides trembling. His eyes were glinting darkly, and even though, logically, I knew it was probably stormy with anger, some part of me still associated that look with passion.
In a flash, the image came to me then, those eyes staring up at me as he moved lower and lower on my body, his tongue a torturous pleasure on my sensitive skin, every lick making me gasp, scream, and beg.
