Page 23 of Shadowing Charlotte

Chapter twenty-three

Charlotte

W e were both lying naked on the living room floor, twisted in the throw blanket I'd pulled off the couch, when I unblocked him from my phone.

I found myself oscillating between contentment and maddening hunger for the man beside me.

Alexander had been running his fingers through my hair for nearly half an hour, his eyes full of fascination as he moved a lock back and forth, watching it shine like copper when it caught the light.

"Are you going to change your relationship status?" he asked playfully, glancing over my shoulder as I approved his friend request. I looked up from the phone, my eyes narrowing at him. The grin fell from his face.

"I don't think that's a good idea. At least, until this shit with Adam dies down," I said seriously. The sound of shattering glass echoed in my head and I shuddered. No, the last thing I wanted to do was set him off again.

"Fair enough." he agreed, snatching the phone from my hand.

"What are you doing—"

"Deleting him from your friend list." He scrolled down on the screen before I snatched the phone away from him.

"That's going to piss him off…" I complained.

"Fuck him!" Alex replied with an amused grin. "You should have filed charges the night he struck you, Charlie." I chewed on the inside of my cheek, hating him for being right.

"Well, since you want to delete my ex from my phone, do I get to delete that bitch from your photo gallery?" The bitterness was prominent in my voice as my cheeks warmed with jealousy .

"Go ahead." He handed me his phone, his blue eyes still glued to the screen of mine. I shifted on the floor, set my own phone down, and opened his photo gallery, scrolling through—

"They're gone…" I whispered.

"They were gone the day you found them." he replied easily, glancing at me. "I didn't even take them for me. She wanted me to take them." I grimaced, wrinkling my nose in disgust. "And she's not a bitch, Charlotte. She's a grown woman who had consensual sex with—"

"With my boyfriend," I finished with a glare that silenced him.

"I wasn't your boyfriend then." Lex's tone was somber.

Pulling the phone from my hand, he tossed both devices on the floor.

"But I am now," he added, wrapping his arms around me and staring at me with adoration in his blue eyes.

My heart nearly stopped. "I'm not going to cheat on you, Charlie. Not ever."

"What if you meet your hall pass?" I countered.

"Hall pass?" he echoed in confusion, pulling me into the crook of his arm so we both could stare at the ceiling together.

"Yeah, a hall pass. You know? Like some famous, hot celebrity who you couldn't pass up if you got the opportunity," I explained.

"And who is your hall pass, Charlotte?" Alexander squinted his eyes with playful suspicion.

"I don't know… Sean Bean, maybe?" Lex burst into laughter, his entire body shaking as he tightened his hold on me.

"One does not simply walk into M—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I laughed, rolling my eyes as I covered his mouth to silence him.

"Got a thing for blue eyes?" His words were muffled by my hand.

"His eyes are green, you imbecile," I replied, unable to stop grinning at him. I wanted to hate him for the way he'd hurt me, but I couldn't. He made me feel like I belonged to someone, like I was needed.

"I don't need a hall pass, Charlotte." As he finally answered my question, he pulled me until I was lying on his chest. "Not as long as I have you…

" My stomach flipped at his sweet assurance, warmth coursing through my veins.

I rolled flat on top of him, finding his lips and kissing him until we were both panting for air.

"Oh, I lost my client today, so… I don't have shit to do for a while. "

"What happened?"

"He's an asshole, basically." He shrugged. "I've been following his wife around for months, and she's never done anything wrong. Seems to me like he's just pissed because he's not getting any. But why would his wife want to fuck him when he basically ignores her?"

I smirked at him. "Why did you want to fuck me when I ignored you for two years?"

His expression grew serious. "That's different Charlotte. You were so young… I just wanted to protect you." He paused. "Did you really know the entire time?" I couldn't tell if the look he was giving me was because he was in disbelief or because he was impressed.

"Well, not the whole time. I had suspicions after you took me home that night.

I remembered that someone had taken me home.

I was shitfaced, but I recognized the car.

Only, the next day I remembered my dad had sold it, and he never mentioned picking me up, so…

Anyway, I didn't know , really. But I felt you watching me. "

"You're… strange, Charlotte." His whisper was almost contemplative, like he had much more to say. "Strange in the best and worst ways... You should have called the police, but you didn't. I'm grateful for that… But you also should have filed charges against your ex."

"I didn't think it would be this bad." I fidgeted anxiously.

"Adam and I never made things official. He always told me it was because he had things he wanted to do before being in a serious relationship.

I realized the night he came over, that he probably just wanted to fuck around without feeling guilty.

He accused me of cheating on him, but I think he was just projecting his guilt. "

"Makes sense," Lex agreed.

"Since things had never been official, I assumed he'd just move on and turn his attention to whoever else he was sleeping with. I didn't expect him to be so pissed off; so vindictive."

"Men, not all, but most, are wired differently than women, Charlotte. When one of those wires is tugged on, they short circuit."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously. Was he actually defending Adam's actions?

"To put it bluntly, babe, men get pissed when they think someone else has been inside what belongs to them" I cringed at the vulgarity of the thought.

"So, if I slept with someone else now…?"

"Unless it's Sean Bean, I'd fucking kill him." Alexander's blue eyes were fixed pointedly on me, looking far too serious. I laughed, shoving against his chest, but his expression didn't change.

"You wouldn't—"

"Of course, I would." Lex replied, blinking at me. "I almost smashed little Adam's face into the pavement when I found him in your driveway."

"Alexander," I whispered anxiously. I didn't want anyone to get hurt over me, even if Adam was an asshole.

"Don't worry, princess. I won't do anything crazy as long as he leaves you alone." Lex smiled, kissing the tip of my nose .

"Come on, let's go to bed," I whispered, climbing up off the rug. I didn't want to talk about Adam anymore. I wanted to fuck Lex until we both couldn't think straight.