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“Why though?” I ask with clear frustration. “Why do you even want me? You could have any woman you want—a woman who doesn't resist you,” I add with sarcasm.
“You'll soon give into wanting me too. It's the law of attraction.”
It's like he just slapped me around the face. I will admit, I do fancy him. I just hate how he makes me feel.
“That doesn't explain why you're doing this to me.” I peer down at myself, mystified, then back up at him. “I'm not your type—not like those girls at Maksim's party. I'm not what you want, not really...” I go on and on. Don't ask where my audacity has come from, but I just can't seem to stop the verbal diarrhea. I need to know why.
Reaching over, Charlie flicks down the sun visor and opens the mirror.
I scowl between him and my haunting reflection.
“What?” I say, still scowling.
He looks at me in mocking fondness, as if he knows I don't get his point, then climbs out of the car before I have a chance to ask anything more.
“Charlie, for goodness sake...” I huff out, tensing my fists.
He rounds the car and opens my door for me, just as he did the first night I met him. I don't think about the gesture. I slide out of the car, wishing he'd give me a straight fucking answer.
Of course, he won't. Charlie is nothing if not calculating. I feel he wants me to work out everything on my own.
Seven black SUV's with heavily tinted windows pull up around us. I grab Charlie's arm to keep him near and reach for my gun, thinking this is a setup.
“Relax.” Charlie closes his hand over mine. “They're my men.”
“You have a security detail?”
“Yeah.” He strokes over my knuckles with his thumb, warming me from the outside in. “I don't go anywhere without backup.”
I snatch my hand back, trying to evade the way he makes me feel.
“C'mon,” he says, nodding at the mansion before us—it’s all smooth white walls and tall sash windows.
I walk with Charlie towards the house, peering up at him from the side—I can't seem to help having a nose at him. He carries himself with pure confidence, strolling onward like he owns the world and everything in it, his handsome face as impassive as ever.
We reach the bottom of the porch, and he catches me staring. A huge smile spreads across his face.
“Ready?” he says.
In a bit of a fluster with being caught ogling, I blink away and focus on the stone steps in front of us. “Yeah, I'm ready.”
Charlie's hand hovering on the low of my back, we pace up the porch steps together.
“If anything goes down,” he says, something untrusting flashing through his eyes, “make sure you don't fucking shoot me.”
“I know how to use a gun, Charlie,” I sound offended, because I am. He gives me no credit for my skills. “Believe me, I've never shot anyone I didn't mean to.”
“Just make sure.” He knocks on the door and an unfamiliar face greets us.
14
Charlie shakes hands with a guy he addresses as Robert. He's as tall as he is wide, standing there in the doorway draped in a long black coat.
Remaining in the background, I observe the situation, listening to every word they exchange with extra awareness. I need to know why the Albanians have beef with Maksim, and then I can find a clean solution to how we can avoid a war.
Tatiana doesn’t like unnecessary conflicts.
“I appreciate you agreeing to see me,” Charlie says, withdrawing his hand. “I understand the situation is tense.”
