Chasing Charli (7 page)

“You’re killing me here Charli. I wanted to be all sweet and gentle about this, but when you say shit like that it makes me even harder, if that’s even possible right now. You walking around flaunting how beautiful you are, it’s been driving me fucking crazy all week” he finishes and his lips press down on mine roughly.

His hand fists in my hair as he uses his other one to positions himself right at my entrance. Then slowly he enters me with a soft moan and I gasp; Jesus he feels good.

“Oh god” I breath because right now everything feels incredible.

I drag my fingers across his back and grab at his waist, pulling him closer against me before I pull my legs up and wrap them around him. He slides in further still and a sexy throaty growl escapes his lips as he finally slides in all the way.

He starts to move harder and faster and thrusts into me while his lips press soft kisses against my chest, then up to my lips.

It’s rough just like I wanted it but his kisses in between the passionate ones, soft and gentle, almost loving, make me wonder what he’s thinking.

It’s passionate, it’s hard, it’s goddamn fucking amazing sex and the way he looks at me every chance he gets, I feel so worshipped, so wanted, it’s driving me insane.

Words slip out of my mouth along the lines of “Oh Jesus”, “Jax oh god”, and “don’t stop.”

In this moment, I don’t think I could get enough of him. Now that I’ve had him once, I want him a million times more and I don’t want him to look at me any other way.

I grab his hair roughly and a small growl escapes his lips, it sounds so damn sexy.

I pull his face closer and kiss him so hard before pushing him back and rolling so that I’m now on top, straddling him.

I can only imagine how I look since my hair was slightly wet before we started and after rolling around roughly amongst the sheets, it’s probably full on crazy medusa style hair right now.

I start to move against him in a slower rhythm and try to run my hands through my hair, trying to yank out any knots or crazy bits.

He pulls both my hands in his and surprises me by twisting his fingers through mine.

“You look fine, more than fine, you’re so fucking beautiful Charli” he says breathlessly as he pulls my hands making me fall forward.

My breasts brush against his bare chest as he kisses along my neck. His hands let go of mine and skim against my sides as he grabs my hips firmly, pulling me harder against him.

“Jax…” I don’t even know what I was trying to say but now all I can manage is a few moans and hopefully sexy groans as I let him get deeper.

I can feel he’s getting close because his breathing’s become shallower so I push myself harder.

He grabs a fistful of my hair, pulling my face to his and kisses me hard as I start to moan against him. His kisses muffling each sound I make as I start to come apart around him.

A small cry escapes my lips as my body quivers against his and I moan even louder as a very satisfying orgasm seeps through my body.

He pumps a few more times and moans slightly, sounding so sexy and then wraps his arms around me, holding me against him. We lay like that for a few minutes, trying to catch our breath back and I feel his fingers start to softly slide through my hair.

After a while I slide off him and curl up next to him, looking his way.

“Wow” he finally says, still slightly breathless.

“Mmhmm” is all I manage coherently and he pulls me closer against him.

Jackson

To say life was shit right now would definitely be a lie. My job and sole purpose was to keep Charli safe, to watch over her and make sure no harm came her way for whatever reason.

I’ve known for a while now, maybe even from the time I agreed to this job, that Charli was more to me than that.

I lightly trace my fingertips against the skin on her bare shoulder, noticing a few freckles lightly dotted across her skin; perfect imperfections. The room was dark but I could still see her under the faint glow of the moon. Her lashes brushing against her cheek as she sleeps blissfully against me.

She murmurs lightly and her arm tightens around me before she resumes her peaceful sleep.

Okay I was being pretty creepy just watching her but who wouldn’t when they had someone this gorgeous pressed against them, and she was still practically naked.

After the first rough and fucking incredible first round we had sex again, this time slower, paying attention to every curve and every inch of her soft skin; I was getting hard again just thinking about it.

We had a quick shower and spent the day just lounging around and watching movies before we went to bed. She fell asleep almost instantly looking unbelievable in her barely there underwear, which I’m most certain were created for a man’s pleasure rather than comfort or coverage.

My phone pulls me out of my thoughts as it vibrates loudly on my bedside table. I quickly look at Charli to make sure it didn’t wake her up and reach for the phone without moving her too much.

I look at my screen and before the call can end; I slide my arm out from around Charli and dash into the living room.

I answer the call as I throw on some sweatpants, “Jackson” I say as I pull open the window and slide out onto the escape stairwell.

“Jackson, I’ve got some more information on Charli’s situation” says the firm voice on the line I know as the head of the agency I worked for, Vince Archer.

I called them to see if they could get any more details on the case or whether there was something they knew that I didn’t. After the break-in at Charli’s apartment and the way she was acting, like she was hiding something, I just had to find out before she did something stupid. I called them the day after she moved into my apartment when she was out for a run and have been waiting for this call ever since, anxiously.

“Can you talk Jackson? Are you with someone?” he asks enquiringly.

“No…I’m alone” I answer and start to make my way up to the roof.

“Okay so we did some digging around and it seems like it wasn’t just anyone average she pissed off, it was Morelli.”

“Shit” I say. Morelli was pretty known amongst any police department, federal agency, hell even the news teams or just the public. Morelli was like the grim reaper of the country. Never been caught for any crime, never been seen by anyone, only multiplying the deaths around the country for drugs, weapons, trafficking, crimes I’d probably never even heard of.

You never dropped that name unless you really were doing their biddings or you were exceptionally stupid.

“These were just petty crooks, even if they did work for Morelli, why would they care if those two went to jail for a murder that has no connection to them at all, no proof right?”

There was nothing but silence on the phone and it made me more agitated and anxious.

“What is it Vince?”

“Apparently, according to the guys she gave her testimony to, she’s got proof. She kept talking about Morelli, kept bringing up the name and the dodgy part is…there must be a rat because they obviously found out. Whatever she has on them, she still has it with her. A lot of evidence has gone missing and clearly they haven’t found what they’re looking for yet.”

“It must be something big if they’re so desperate to get their hands on it.”

“You have to find out what it is, bring it down to us. We can keep it safe until the court date. Keep her safe too Jackson.”

“I’ll…umm… I’ll try okay?”

This didn’t sound right, he sounds a little too desperate. Knowing there was a rat somewhere, now I knew we honestly couldn’t trust anyone, Charli was right. Shit this was bad, this was really bad. Fucking Morelli; it couldn’t have been a simple court case and a simple testimony for a murder, she had to try and bring down the biggest criminals in the country. Fuck, she was brave.

I run my fingers through my hair and listen while he gives me instructions on what to do if I find anything. Was I able to trust him? I mean, I have known him for my entire career. He found me when I was straight out of boot camp and told me I could be great, told me I could do great things for people. He trained me extensively with weapons and in combat and even got me my first job as a guard for an important CEO.

I started out in the lower rankings and worked my way up from celebrities, to CEO’s, to even members of Government.

Charli started out as a temporary in-between jobs kind of gig and somehow, I just never wanted to leave. A waste of my talent according to some but I don’t feel like she’s a waste, I’m right where I need to be.

I end the brief call and slide my phone in my pocket then decide I need to snoop around a little. As much as I hate rummaging through her things, I just want to get to the bottom of what she’s hiding, how much trouble she’s actually in and try and help her. She doesn’t need to do all this alone, especially if she’s up against Morelli. I shake my head and sigh as I rake my fingers through my hair yet again, slightly agitated.

I silently climb down the fire escape stairs and stop at my apartment. I climb in just to make sure she’s still asleep and find her sprawled out across my bed on her stomach. The sheet barely covering her ass and her back is bare since she went to sleep topless. Her tan skin looks so smooth I can’t resist touching her so I faintly trace my finger across her skin and down her back. I see goose bumps rise on her skin and I keep running my fingers down and along the back of her thigh. She stirs slightly but then she’s still again so I let her sleep in peace.

I grab a sweatshirt and throw it on before I jump out the window again and make my way into her apartment. It’s dark and silent and looks like nothings been touched since we were here a week ago. I’ve been in and out a few times to grab some more things for her and fix the locks but other than that we haven’t really touched anything.

Okay think Jax, what could she possibly have and where would she keep it. Charli’s a smart girl so I know she wouldn’t keep it in the most obvious place. I take a few steps around her apartment and think back on what was messed around. The DVD’s were scattered and a few opened but none taken, so maybe they were looking for a disc, her drawing books were open too so maybe even photos.

I take a look around and see her laptop propped up on the kitchen counter half open. I know she hasn’t used that since classes finished; now that she was on holidays I don’t think she’d even done one assignment.

I shuffle over quietly to the counter and sit on a barstool, pull the laptop open and the screen automatically turns on as if it was in sleep mode. The screen’s open to a few tabs from her photos file and the videos file but there’s nothing there out of the ordinary.

She isn’t stupid enough to keep shit like that on her laptop. If she did have photos or videos she would have taken it on her phone and then stored it on a flash drive or a memory card before handing it in. Suddenly what Vince said earlier made sense, he mentioned that some evidence went missing but they were still looking for whatever she had. I bet you anything that her old phone went missing and she managed to get the videos or photos off before telling them all what she had, she’s smarter than I gave her credit for.

So if I’m right, I should be looking for a flash drive of some kind; so obvious now that I think about it.

I close the laptop and spin around on the barstool, leaning against the counter top. I scratch the back of my neck and look around her apartment again. Something so tiny, she could easily hide anywhere, but if I know her like I think I do, she would want to keep it close by, especially after her apartment got broken into. It’s probably right under my nose, somewhere mundane that even if you did look there you wouldn’t check thoroughly.

I’m contemplating just asking her but I’m still not too sure, especially after how closed off she got right after we saw her apartment was trashed.

I sigh and make my way back upstairs, sliding in through the window and shut it as quietly as I can. I strip down to my briefs and then slide back in next to her. I pull her against me and she mumbles softly, not waking though. She’s a pretty heavy sleeper I’ve noticed, but she definitely moves around a lot in her sleep.

I tuck her in against my side and fall asleep pretty quickly, especially because it’s now way past one in the morning.

**

I wake up and instinctively reach out, finding nothing but empty bed. I open my eyes groggily and find myself alone in my room.

“Charli?”

No answer.

I sit up quickly and hop out of bed, grabbing the same sweatpants I threw on last night. I take a quick look in the bathroom, empty as well.

“Charli?” I say again as I make my way into the living room rubbing my eyes, which I notice is also empty. I sit down on the couch and am momentarily lost. I can’t be mad at her for going out but I guess knowing that we’re dealing with Morelli makes me feel more on edge. Why wouldn't she tell me? I’ve heard the crazy shit they do when they want something, the torture they put people through just to get one scrap of information.

I push up off the couch and get my phone off my night stand in the bedroom; no messages, so I swipe to unlock it and call her number.

I hear her phone ringing somewhere back in the living room and groan. The amount of times I’ve told her to keep her phone on her and she still doesn’t listen; I swear she’s the biggest fucking pain in the ass.

I pace in the living room for what feels like an eternity, tapping my phone against my chin lightly until finally I hear the door click open and watch her stroll in.

“What the fuck Charli?”

“Umm…good morning to you too” she rolls her eyes at me and I’m so mad at her I can’t even explain why. Why do I feel this sudden urgency to wrap my arms around her now that I can see she’s here and okay, a sudden need to kiss her and tell her what? That I love her?  Shit Jax, you’ve had sex with her a few times and you already think you’re in love. I’d kick my own ass if I could; I’m definitely not going to say that. I don’t even know what we are, what this between us really is. For the few years I’ve known her she’s driven me crazy, but I guess I slowly did fall for her. Shit, I am so fucked here.

“Where were you?” I finally ask, trying to sound calmer than I am.

“Well…if you weren’t pacing like a mad man, and don’t even deny that you weren’t, you would have seen the note I left you in the kitchen” she says and puts her hands on her hips, one holding a brown takeaway bag. I notice now that she’s wearing her running shorts and top, sweat still glistening on her flat stomach and her face still slightly flushed.

She continues speaking since I don't bother moving to go find the note, too busy checking her out; hey I’m a guy, sue me.

“I went for a run and stopped off to get us some bagels, not the end of the world Jax. You’re not getting all controlling on me already are you?” she smirks a little, “well more controlling than your usual self” she adds.

“You think I’m controlling?” I ask softly, Morelli momentarily forgotten.

“Well…yeah. Your too paranoid, you need to chill out, have a night off every once in a while from your macho, alpha, dominating self” she laughs a little.

I think of Morelli again and get slightly irritated that she’s taking this so lightly, being so careless knowing they are after her, so when I speak I sound more aggravated than I intended.

“I kind of have to be when you do stupid shit like this.”

“What…go for a normal run, like a normal person and try and do something nice like get you bagels for breakfast?”

“Leave your phone at home when you know there are people like Morelli after you, that’s what’s stupid.”

“I didn’t have pockets so I couldn’t really be running around with my phone….wait….what did you say?”

Shit…I mentioned Morelli. I run a hand through my hair and stop pacing, turning my gaze back on her.

“Can you please just take your phone with you if you go anywhere, please just promise me that?”

“Jackson….how do you know about Morelli?”

“I…I asked around okay? Now I know just how much shit you’re actually in, who we’re dealing with.”

“I told you to leave it Jax. Why can’t you just drop it?”

“Because I can’t don’t you understand?”

“No clearly I don’t. I told you to leave it alone for a specific reason and you still went behind my back. I told you that there weren’t many people you could trust but you still went and snooped around and brought attention on yourself. What did you bug me? Bug my phone? Search my apartment too?”

She must have seen me freeze for a second or maybe I look guiltier than I think because she throws the takeout bag of bagels at me; I manage to avoid being hit though.