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“What?”
“I asked you to call me Chris, Charlotte.”
“Oh.” It takes me a while to recover from the effect him saying my name like that has on me. When I manage to, I do exactly as he says. “Chris.” His name drops from my lips like a prayer or a plea and deep down in my soul, I’m begging him to make me his.
I’m startled by his growl and I watch as he shuts his eyes tightly, as if I have an effect on him too. When he opens his eyes, I gasp at how completely darkened they are.
Suddenly, it’s like there’s this pull between us and I find myself drawn to him. My eyes are still on him when my phone dings.
With an exhale, I avert my gaze from Chris and check the notification I’ve just received. “No way,” I exclaim. I raise my head and look into Chris’ curious eyes. “I got it,” I laugh excitedly. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I got it.”
Before I can think twice about my next action, I jump with a squeal into Chris’ arms and wrap my arms around his neck.
Without hesitation, his strong arms come around me, supporting my weight so I don’t fall while I scream the words “thank you” numerous times in his ear.
4
CHRISTOPHER
Dressed in my white lab coat, my hair a mess from continuously running my fingers through it, I pace around the lab. Everything has to go well and I want to yell at everyone to be on their A-game, but at the same time I know the level of perfection I want is going to take time.
“Sir,” Ryan, one of the underwater specialists starts as he approaches me. “The simulation is ready.”
I clap my hands together.Finally, something is going right today. “Show me,” I order and follow behind him as he leads me to the large and impressively deep simulator diving tanks. The clear blue water in it is transparent enough that I can see the faux plants and microorganisms at the base.
It’s notthe real thing, but it’s necessary that my entire team for the undersea project we’re preparing for can handle surviving underwater for a certain amount of time without oxygen. If things go wrong, something I’m working tirelessly to avoid, the team is going to need basic diving survival skills.
I checkthe time on the watch around my wrist, wondering why Charlotte isn’t here yet. After receiving the email confirming the approval of her application, she had been so excited that she had practically jumped on me.
The feel of her soft,curvy body against mine was a sensation I doubt I’ll forget anytime soon. She had felt so warm against my skin and for once in a long time, I had felt a semblance of peace and tranquility.
Just as I’mabout to get my personal assistant to put a call through to her, Charlotte walks in and her presence is like a breath of fresh air. She radiates so much more good and serenity than she could ever imagine.
There’sa wide smile on her face as she takes in the lab, looking like a kid in the candy store. She has on a simple white blouse and blue jeans with a long, checkered coat and red sandals. She looks stunning. It’s easy to forget all of the reasons why being involved with her would be a terrible idea.
She doesn’t look around longbefore her green eyes land on me. When I wave her towards me, her round cheeks instantly fill with color and I wonder if she’s recalling the hug she gave me and feeling embarrassed about it.
When she’s right in front of me, with a few inches of distance left between us, she starts to call me Dr. Young, only replacing it with Chris when I give her a stern look. Christ, I can’t get over how tempting my name sounds coming out of her mouth.
“Nice of youto finally join us, Charlotte.” I try to channel the anger that was slowly rising within me the longer she refused to show up. If there’s anything I hate more than betrayal, it’s tardiness and Charlotte is very late.
She’sthe only one on the team that’s yet to engage in the simulation, but her wide green eyes and pleading expression renders me unable to stay mad at her.
“I really wasn’t late,I swear. I just, um, I got lost in the building.” The rest of her words trail off into a whisper and I don’t know when I start chuckling. Affronted, she raises her eyes to mine. “It’s a large building, okay? Don’t make fun of me.”
I raisemy hands in surrender as my laughter slowly dies down. “Okay, you’re right. It is a very large building.”
She turnsher attention from me to the tank before us. “Wow, this is incredible,” she says as she takes it in. “It looks so real too, but I can’t wait for the actual thing. I doubt there’s any simulation that can compare to the ocean itself.”
As she speaks,I can hear how passionate she is about this world and everything that accompanies it. I realize that I could listen to her speak about her interests all day long.
Unfortunately, she eventually stops talking. “I’m so sorry, I could ramble on about the ocean and its environment for ages unless someone stops me,” she grins sheepishly.
I shrug.“I don’t mind it,” I tell her. “But since you were late, we have little time on our side. Everyone else has gone before you and left a long time ago. It’s just me, my personal assistant, Ryan, and the two divers that will aid your simulation.” I look her up and down, amused by how she’s practically bursting at the seams, because she’s so excited. “Are you ready?” I ask a question I already know the answer to.
“Hell yeah,”she says, pumping her fist in the air and causing me to chuckle again.
Shaking my head at her youthful exuberance, I gesture at Sheila who is at the far corner on our left talking to Ryan. In no time, she reaches us. “Charlotte, this is Sheila, my personal assistant. Sheila will take you to the dressing room so that you can change and we will begin.”
