03

I rolled my eyes and shrugged because I was just as helpless about this as he was.

I set down my mug and clapped my hands together to call everyone’s attention. “Alright, kids. Time for bed.”

Brandon set Rose down before getting up on his feet and we both walked behind the two children as they headed for the guest bedroom.

“Let’s go brush your teeth first.” I directed them to the bathroom where Mattie grabbed both their toothbrushes—because was Rose too short to reach hers—and squirted some toothpaste on each of them.

“I want some water,” Rose said, turning to Brandon and tugging on his pants. “Lift me up, pwees.”

And so in the next fifteen minutes, the four of us crammed inside the guest bathroom, Brandon and I supervising the children as they brushed their teeth and flossed.

When that was finally done, we walked them back to their room and tucked them in their beds.

They were murmuring sleepy goodnights when we turned off the light and closed the door behind us.

We haven’t gone very far down the hall when Brandon grasped me by the hips and pressed me up against the wall, his warm breath fanning the side of my neck.

“Charlotte, I need you,” he rasped, his tongue darting out to trace the whorls in my ear.

I smiled, a dark, sensual hunger flaring to life inside of me.

Despite his ever-constant sweetness, Brandon was mostly playful and demanding in bed. This wouldn’t be the first time he backed me up against something and literally pressed his cause.

“Shouldn’t you shower first ?” I asked as he lifted me up in his arms, and hooked my legs around his hips.

“I want you,” he said hoarsely, catching the flimsy cloth with his mouth, blowing warm air through the thin fabric of my tank untill I moaned. “I’ll have you. In the shower. Now.”

I surrendered to the lust that was fast shooting fire through my veins.

He deposited me briefly inside the shower stall and made quick work of stripping himself naked.

“I’ve… I’ve already showered,” was my breathless murmur as I stood and watched the stark masculine beauty of Brandon’s physique.

I swallowed hard. “Uh… I could always shower again.”

He raised those molten hazel eyes at me and the lust and desperation I saw there through the misty shower stream made me shiver down to my toes.

Something’s wrong.

Brandon had a fierce sexual drive but there was dark longing in his gaze right now as he reached for me like I was a fast-fading light.

My clothes were practically ripped off of me and in a matter of seconds, I was lifted off my feet and pressed up against the cold slate tiles of the shower wall, crying out in half-pleasure, half-shock as Brandon thrust home with little finesse.

“Charlotte, my love,” he growled low into my ear as he pinned me against the tile wall with his rapid and relentless strokes, his teeth grazing my shoulder.

“Brand,” I gasped mindlessly as I struggled to hang on to my sanity while he pushed me closer and closer to the edge.

Wherever he is, he’s not here with me.

Or maybe he was because as his climax neared, he barely muffled a hoarse shout as he reached for release.

“You’re mine, Charlotte,” he groaned out as he started shuddering uncontrollably. “Mine, dammit !”

Thought we already established that.

I opened my mouth to tell him to stop and tell me what the hell was going on but his thrusts were getting deeper and rougher that I was soon sobbing out my orgasm, hanging on to his shoulder for dear life as my body shook and trembled in his arms.

“I will not give you up,” was his broken, barely audible whisper before he yelled my name and went completely still, his release spilling deep inside me.

Soon, the only sounds in the room were our ragged breaths and the soft splatter of the water against the tiles.

While that orgasm was spectacular, I felt like I just got dropped by a tornado into the Land of Oz.

“What the hell was that, Brand ?” I finally managed, my voice cracking slightly.

He lifted his head slightly, his eyes almost glowing gold in the low lighting of the room.

The tenderness in them was unbearable. “Did I hurt you, Charlotte ?”

I shook my head. “If anyone looks like they’re hurting, it’s you. Something’s going on and you’re not telling me.”

He sighed and pulled away, reaching for some shampoo and raking it through his hair. “Because it’s not your problem, Charlotte. The last few days have just been stressful. I’ll snap out of it. I just need some rest and clarity.”

“Your problems are my problems too, Brand,” I told him as I stepped under the shower spray. I reached for some soap and lathered it slowly over his shoulders and arms.

He raised a brow at me pointedly. “If there’s anyone who always shoulders their burden alone all the time, it’s you.”

I didn’t argue with that because it was true.

I knew it was one of my biggest weaknesses but I couldn’t help it.

I probably have a savior complex of some sort. If only I remembered to save myself, too, sometimes.

“I don’t want to just stand back and watch you suffer,” I said quietly. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together.”

The stony determination in his face startled me as he firmly shook his head. “I’ll be damned if this becomes your fight too. It’s an old war I’m fighting, Charlotte. I won’t let you get hurt.”

“And I won’t let you bleed out for me,” I snapped, angry all of a sudden. “Don’t be such a damned hero, Brand. I’d rather spend my life with you than read about your tragic life in some musty history book.”

A small, faint smile ghosted over his lips as he leaned close and kissed me softly. “Don’t worry. It’s not going to come to that at all, Charlotte. You won’t lose me.”

I gritted my teeth but decided that this was going to be the most I’d get out of Brandon tonight.

“I better not, Brandon Maxfield,” I said darkly. “I better not.”

I peeled myself off the wall and stepped out of the shower stall, grabbing a thick towel and wrapping it around my body as I stood there for a moment and let it soak up the water.

I grabbed my clothes from the floor and dumped them in the hamper before going to the bedroom to slip on a peach-colored, cotton night dress.

Determined to calm my nerves, I tiptoed to the kitchen, briefly pausing to check on the kids.

They were sleeping peacefully—thank God for sound-proofed walls.