Just A Woman (The Porter Trilogy Book 2) (24 page)

Even with all of the sex Charlotte and I had recently had, it wasn’t difficult for me to be on the brink of orgasm again, and now that I was awake, I wasn’t prepared for our fun to end just yet.

“Charlie, you keep this up, I’m not going to last much longer, and I need to be inside of you,” I panted.

Instead of her stopping, as I had not so subtly hinted, she picked up the pace, working her fist up and down my length, drawing another moan from my lips. It was clear she had no intentions of stopping, and who was I to complain? I would be ready to go for round two sooner rather than later, I always was with her.

Leaning my head and body back, ready to collapse on the bed, I let go of the remaining control I had and let the pleasure take over my body. Within moments, I felt a familiar tingle, and with barely enough time, I let her know I was done for.

Surprising me even further, instead of swallowing, as she had done in the past, this time, she pulled me out of her mouth at the last second and my spray coated her delicious breasts, dripping down between her cleavage.

It wasn’t often I was rendered speechless, but between the mind blowing orgasm she had just delivered and the look in her eyes as I came all over her chest, I found myself unable to say anything for quite some time. I had never had a girl willingly do that, and although it sounded strange to say, it made me love her even more. There was a level of comfort in just that simple action.

Still on her knees, lazily stroking my cock, she looked up at me, innocence playing on her features. “Well Mr. Porter? Care to tell me how lucky you are now?”

Without a word from me, I grabbed her under the arms and plastered her to my chest, eliciting a squeal from her mouth.

“Alex, stop, I need to get cleaned up,” she whined, trying to get out of my hold.

“Fuck it,” I shouted, feeling my own stickiness covering my chest. Flipping her around so I could loom over her, I bent down to capture her lips. I needed a few minutes to get back into fighting shape, and making out was always the best time waster.

After an hour, we both laid together, wrapped up, a tangle of limbs, satiated and content, my mind blissfully blank. Once Charlotte’s breathing returned to a steady in and out, she turned in my arms, staring up at me.

She had a question in her eyes, and I knew that look well.

“Question?”

I watched as a few emotions flitted across her face. She wanted to ask me something, but she was nervous, and a little scared. Truthfully, I already knew what she wanted to hear, and although I knew she deserved to know the full truth of my past, I just wasn’t able to do it.

Grabbing her hand and putting it on my chest, I looked her in the eyes, “I promise, Charlotte. I will tell you. One day, I will tell you everything. I don’t want to burden you, especially now that I know you carry my child, but I promise you, I
will
tell you everything. Just please, give me some more time.”

She wanted to argue, I could feel it radiating from her brain, but instead, she nodded at me, and began tapping her fingers over my heart. A small irritation filled my brain. I had been patient waiting to hear her story. I hadn’t pushed until it had been a necessity that I knew the details of her past, but on the other hand, I could empathize with her pain. She hadn’t wanted to divulge, as much as I still didn’t. I took a deep breath and let the sense of serenity fill my brain as I closed my eyes and drifted. Although I desperately needed a shower, it was going to have to wait.

Unfortunately, my nap was short lived when my phone blasted Bracks’ ringtone. Scrambling off the bed to retrieve it from my pants pocket, I pressed answer and waited.

“Boss, I have information on the mugging.”

Slipping on my boxers, I headed into the conjoined living room. I knew I had to tell Charlotte what he said, good or bad, but hearing it for the first time away from her would give me the time to tell her the information as she needed to know, and as slowly as I needed to. I didn’t want her worried more than was necessary, and she’d be able to tell from my facial expressions if things were too bad. She was pregnant, and I was not willing to risk her health if the news was minor.

“Ok, what did you find?”

“As I told you before, he was wearing a mask at the attack, but, once I tapped into the cameras a few blocks in the direction he headed, he had removed the mask and slipped into a car. I was able to get a clear shot of his face at the next intersection. His name is Randal McDougal, or Randy as people refer to him. In and out of jail for petty robbery.”

At that comment, my hope deflated a little. I thought for sure it had been more than just a mugging. Something inside told me this had been Robert and I wasn’t ready to give up that easily, but this news didn’t favor well for my theory.

“He got out just a few weeks ago from San Bernardino,” Bracks finished. I could hear the smile behind his words.

This bit of info, inflated the hope bubble within me again as I smiled myself.

“You get where I’m going with this boss?”

“I follow. Cell mates?” I asked

“You got it, Randal and Robert were cell mates through Randal’s entire stay.”

“Good work. See if you can track him.”

“Already on it, Mr. Porter.”

“Thanks, Bracks.”

A smile crept onto my face. Knowing now that Robert was behind this was oddly comforting. I was 100% certain now that the brakes on Dimitri Hightower’s car being tampered with was also the work of Robert Nelson. Now, how was I going to break the news to Charlotte?

“You ok, Alex?” came a small voice behind me.

It was now or never. She expected trust and honesty, and I was going to prove to her I could do that.

“Why don’t we go sit down?” I motioned back towards the bed.

Crossing her arms over her chest, I could feel the defiance pulsating from her. Eager to get this conversation underway and get back to our loving, I decided just to tell her and let the chips fall where they would.

“The man who attacked your mother, his name was Randal, and he was cellmates with Robert,” I said, waiting patiently for it to sink in.

I expected tears, even numbness, but anger was not at all what I anticipated. I watched as Charlotte flew around the room, mumbling under her breath, periodically grabbing her hair. If she hadn’t been angry and the situation had been different, I may have laughed. She was still naked, her hair in all sorts of directions and, against the light, I could still see my dried come on her chest. It was incredibly hot, and although I had just orgasmed twice in the last hour, I could feel myself stirring again, ready for another round.

It took me a moment to realize that Charlotte was talking to me, and when I raised my head to meet her eyes, red hot daggers pierced me in the heart. Mingled in her perfect emerald gaze was a mixture of pure rage and utter terror. The merriment I had been feeling watching her run around the hotel room left me quickly and I felt pretty shitty.

“Alex, are you listening to me? He’ll never stop. He’ll never stop coming after me. I’ve got to run, or kill him. I don’t have any other choice,” her voice broke, realizing that neither would be an option.

Walking up to her, I caught her as she crumpled into my arms, sobs racking her body. Stroking her back and her hair, I consoled her the best I could as she continued mumbling about him never stopping.

I couldn’t disagree with her. If something didn’t change soon, someone was going to actually get hurt, worse than a mugging, and I’d be damned if it was Charlotte or our unborn baby. I’d just gotten her back and nothing was going to pull us apart again. It was time to take matters into my own hands. First thing was first though, I needed to come up with a plan and talk to Bracks. Although, technically, he was just my employee, I valued his perspective and his opinion as a friend.

But for right now, I needed to calm down the weeping woman in my arms, and I knew just how to do that. Picking her up, I headed for the bathroom. A nice hot bath was in store for both my woman and myself.

**********

The next morning, I found a much calmer Charlotte, a determined look in her eyes. She was oddly silent as we ate our hotel room service and it was starting to unnerve me.

“Are you ready to take your mom home, Charlotte?” I asked, trying to initiate some small talk.

Without looking up, she gave me a slight nod, and continued eating her scrambled eggs.

After I had asked multiple questions and received the same treatment, my anger rose to the surface. I wanted to push it back down, because she really didn’t need anything else on her plate, but I was tired of being ignored. We were going to figure this out together, and I refused to let her push me out.

“CHARLOTTE!” I belted out.

My yelling got her attention, the surprised look evident in her eyes as she looked up at me.

“I’m sorry, Charlotte, I didn’t mean to yell, but I’ve asked you a dozen questions and you’ve only responded with a head nod. What’s going through that head of yours? I know I have no right to ask, but please share it with me.”

“You do have a right to ask, Alex, we’re in this together,” she said on a sigh. “I can’t get this sick feeling out of my head. My mom was attacked because of me! My dad is dead because of me! I can’t live like this.”

Startling me, she pushed back from the table and stood with her plate in her hands, and before I could get to her, she’d thrown the entire plate at the wall, shattering it and spitting eggs and bits of bacon and fruit around the room. Although our room was sound proof, I didn’t want someone thinking the worst. Walking over to her, I lightly gripped the tops of her arms and made her look at me.

“Charlotte, your mom gets out of the hospital in less than hour. I know you’re upset, and I know this isn’t fair to you, but let’s get through today first and then we can figure out our next move. Don’t let Robert win. You didn’t pay the attacker, and you didn’t cut your fathers brakes. All of this was done by a crazy man who needs to be locked away. Let’s get your mom, tell her our news, and then get her home safe and sound. Ok?”

I leaned down and kissed away the few tears that slid down her cheeks.

“Ok, Alex. Let’s go get my mom.”

When we got to the hospital, Lizzie Hightower was already dressed and sitting in a wheelchair reading a magazine. Her bruises had turned darker, making her look worse than she’d been upon admission. I felt Charlotte flinch when we walked in and immediately squeezed her hand in comfort.

“There you two are,” Lizzie bellowed, “I was beginning to think you forgot about me! I understand you kids need your,
ahem,
time together, but don’t leave a poor old lady waiting.” She laughed at us.

I saw Charlotte turn a brilliant shade of red before walking over to her mom and kissing her on the cheek. “I’m sorry, mom,” she muttered.

As usual, Elizabeth missed nothing, “Charlotte, honey what’s wrong? Is this about my mugging? I’m ok, I promise. It looks worse than it really is.”

“I know mom. Let’s get you home,” Charlotte responded, wiping away another stray tear.

The helplessness that coursed through me was crippling. There was nothing I could do to help Charlotte with the demons inside of her, and there wasn’t much more than comfort I could offer her when she told her mom everything. All I could do was be there for her, and I feared I wouldn’t be enough.

When we made it back to her mother’s house and walked her to the couch, Charlotte went into a cleaning and tidying frenzy. I didn’t know if she was doing it because of the guilt raging inside of her or if she was putting off telling her mother all of our news, but either way, she didn’t sit down for almost an hour.

When her mom finally had had enough of the crazy and made her sit down, the agitation was apparent in Charlotte’s stature.

“Now, I know this isn’t just about the mugging, Charlie, and don’t bother lying to me. What’s going on?” Lizzie demanded, folding her arms over her chest. She knew her daughter even better than I did.

“Mom, it’s a long story, and I don’t plan on leaving anything out. Are you sure you’re up for this? Maybe you’d like a nap first?”

I expected Charlotte’s mom to get angry, maybe say a few choice words, but instead, her mom did the “mom” thing. I’d never really seen it before, seeing as I was orphaned, but I could definitely understand why moms got their way once done.

With her arms folded over her chest, she narrowed her eyes and glared at Charlotte, her lips pursed in obvious irritation, a single eyebrow raised. It was a terrifying look for me, let alone a possible ten year old. A brief thought ran through my mind. Our kid wasn’t going to get away with anything with Charlotte if her look ended up being half as fierce as Lizzie’s.

Realizing her mom wasn’t planning on backing down, Charlotte took a deep breath, grabbed my hand, and began speaking. She started with the New York trip, detailing her kidnapping and the ransom, but leaving out the details of my involvement. When she finished with that, she looked over at me and gave me a small smile. She was protecting me from her mother’s wrath. Next, she told her the suspicions surrounding Dimitri’s Hightower’s death and finally, the mugging. When she was done, she took a deep breath before continuing.

“Amidst all of that mom, I have one more thing I need to tell you. Do you remember how the doctor told me I had a less than 1% chance of having a child? Well, surprise, I beat the odds. You’re going to be a grandma.” She smiled a sad little smile, hoping the humor of her admission would override the shock.

Looking at Charlotte’s face, I felt an immense sadness. On most normal circumstances, when you tell your mother you’re going to have a baby with your significant other, it’s supposed to be a joyous occasion. Listening to Charlotte tell her in an almost defeated voice broke my heart. When she said “surprise” it wasn’t a happy surprise, it was more of an almost sarcastic surprise. I knew in my heart that Charlotte was happy about the baby. I would imagine anyone who suffered from any form of infertility would be ecstatic to find out that they had defied the odds, but in the midst of everything else going on, and not knowing how her mom would take the news, Charlotte just needed to get it out, no matter what the backlash.