“Kitten, I’m going to get us back-up.”
ChapterEighteen
Xander
Charlotte was such a cock tease but I loved it. The way she made my body shake with desire, my cock dealing with a constant hardness that I hadn’t had since my pubescent years. She was a temptress. Charlotte was unlike any woman I’d experienced in my life; she was everything to me. She was my world even and I wasn’t going to let anyone stand in my way of having her. Not Stuart Castleford and certainly not a stalker.
I wasn’t expecting to admit my innermost feelings to her while in the throws of passion but I knew that when the mind is relaxed and calm, it’s normally when those admissions tend to slip out, even if it was too soon; maybe. I didn’t see time as a deciding factor though. If anything, time was a ticking time bomb, limited and uncertain. Why should someone have to be in a stable relationship for a set amount of time before discussing the next life step? Even if it was life-changing. I know stating that I wanted her stomach rounded with my child when fucking her wasn’t the cleverest thing to do and some women would’ve run away at that point, throwing me off them and most likely slapping me too.
Charlotte was different. Charlotte saw me and she saw my past.
Deep down it was almost as if I knew she wanted it too.
I wrapped my arms around her, desperate for comfort and just to listen to our breaths mingling and our heart rates beat as one before I took her to the bathroom and cleaned the pair of us up as I got to examine the bite mark on her thigh I’d created. Fuck. I loved how her pussy tightened around my cock when I did that. I just never expected to hear those words echoing in the room whilst we were here alone.
“Code Red.”
I quickly jumped out of Charlotte’s tightened grasp on me and grabbed my pants, thankful I took them off up here and not downstairs where she’d began toying with me. I quickly started patting down the length of them, desperately in search of my phone. I couldn’t comfort her in this moment as her partner or lover, for that matter. I had to be professional. I needed to know what had set off the top alert and why the driver or no other fucker on my team knew about it yet and hadn’t raided my sorry ass.
“Got ya.” I typed in my pin code and scanned what data was being streamed through to me, deciphering it as I went, knowing that Charlotte was petrified and scared. I glanced up at her as she wrapped the sheets around herself in an attempt to protect herself and I silently cursed myself that it should have been me doing that. I should be holding her close. “Kitten, I’m going to get us back-up. I need you to get dressed. Can you do that for me?”
I watched her slight nod as the alert finally became silent before I typed out the emergency command to all. What the hell?
Cameras back online.
“The cameras. Someone’s infiltrated the security footage here,” I barked out, blowing out a long breath. “Shit!” I ruffled my hands through my hair and pulled tightly, grateful for the slight bite of pain. “Charlotte…”
“What cameras, Xander?” she asked. A pair of low hung yoga pants hung from her hips and a crop top that revealed a sliver of skin across her waist made my cock hard at the sight.Down, stay down. This is not the time.“Answer me! When did you put cameras in my house? Have you been spying on me?”
“Kitten, it wasn’t like that!” I threw my hands up in the air exasperated before I bent down and slid my pants on and grabbed my t-shirt. “I needed to know you were safe at all times. I couldn’t take any chances.” I walked over and grabbed hold of Charlotte by the waist as she pushed her palms straight against my chest to get out of my grip.
“You could have told me. I would have understood.”
“Would you?” I honestly asked, moving back toward her and slipping my arms around her shoulders, allowing her tear-filled eyes to take me in. “Anything I’ve done has only been in an effort to protect you.”
“You have. I’m sorry,” she blurted out through a muffled cry. “I… just what does this mean?”
“That the house has been compromised and as it stands, I don’t know how but I’m here with you and you’re safe.” I pulled back and rubbed my thumb under her eyes, gathering the tears there. I watched patiently as her body slowly began to relax against mine. “The guys are on their way. That fucking driver should be on his way. He was only at the bottom of the drive.”
“What… what if something has happened to him?” She gasped, her eyes darting around as she pulled her hand to cover her mouth. “What if he’s hurt?”
“Charlotte, my top priority is you. Barrett and Memphis know where each man is stationed. They’ll pass him on the way up to us. If, and I mean if, he isn’t here before them,” I uttered in a steady tone, knowing that if Charlotte detected an ounce of panic in my voice, it would send her over the edge and then her senses would explode and her panic would go wild. It didn’t matter that it felt like my insides were catapulting around up and down like a child bouncing on a trampoline on a hot summer’s day. The nauseous sensation was at an all-time high because my woman was at risk and I had nothing to go on to help me plan and strategize. We were both sitting ducks without any help for at least the next fifteen minutes. It would only take less than a second for someone to pull a trigger and gun us both down. Fuck. “It’ll be okay, kitten. I promise.”
I focused on that promise, hoping that I wouldn’t ever have to break it. I’ll always protect her.
* * *
Each minute felt like it turned into hours as we waited for someone to approach the property. I just hoped it would’ve been one of the guys or the fucking driver; anyone apart from Charlotte’s stalker. It didn’t matter how much I wanted to catch the fucker. Without the right tools for the job and back-up, I’d be no use for anyone and It would be an unfair fight. Didn’t matter if I had fantastic face-to-face combat skills, nothing compared to a gun and a quick fire of a bullet straight into my head—or Charlotte’s for that matter.Where the fuck was the driver?Charlotte’s earlier concern about something having happened to the driver had now settled deep within my mind as I checked my watch, realizing it had been nearly ten minutes since I had told everyone about the code red.What if she was right?
An alert to my phone told me that someone was heading straight up the driveway to the property. As I checked the license plate, I realized it was Memphis and Barrett and I quickly sent out a message to both guys confirming it was them. I wasn’t taking any chances. It only took two seconds for someone to hijack a car. I’ve never felt such relief when I saw the confirmation flashback on the screen.
It’s us. Driver has been knocked out cold outside of his vehicle. ETA: two minutes. Be ready and waiting.
I was glad my men were both calm and collected as I needed their wits about them to help me determine what happened here.
“Kitten, the guys will be here in a moment. I need you to listen to what they say,” I told her as I slipped my shoes on and pointed at a pair of pumps for her to put on. “I need to make sure you are safe. Wait here until I say to move.”
“I’m safe with you. I don’t want to be anywhere else,” Charlotte whined, the moment I began checking the rooms of the floor we were situated on. “Xander, I mean it.”