Safe With You: Winter's Rose #1 Read online

  I tensed, expecting him to slam the door when he left but he didn’t. Instead, all that followed was silence and dread. I returned to my bedroom and climbed back into bed. Tugging the blankets over my head, I pushed my face into my pillow. Tears fell and little pieces of my heart broke.

  Alex was a better man than David would ever be, and I knew that after yesterday—after him finding out what I had kept from him—I would never have another chance. He had walked out of my life, and I didn’t think he was ever going to come back.

  When someone asks for time and space, it’s just a polite way of them trying to get you to go away.

  A few hours passed, and I was still hiding in my bed. I was thankful that Addie was getting the message that I didn’t want to be bothered. She could sometimes be classed as a blonde ditz, but she had a heart of gold beneath her tough exterior. If she poked her nose in to your business, it was only ever because she wanted to help.

  Just as I thought that, my door was kicked open, and Addie filled up the doorway. She had her hands on her hips and a pissed off expression on her face. “We are still moping then, are we?” She took a few steps into the room before coming to a stop. She cocked her hip to the side and stared down at me. “Do you know how pathetic you’re looking right now?”

  “Go away.” I grabbed the blanket and tugged it over my head, attempting to block her and the intruding light out.

  “None of that.” She grabbed the blanket and ripped it away before she threw it towards the bottom of the bed, making sure it was out of my grasp. “You need to get out of bed,” she ordered.

  “Why?” I complained.

  “Because, you idiot, you let that guy walk out of here and you didn’t even try and stop him. You just stood there and took it.” She flopped down next to me on the bed. “I thought you were tougher than that.”

  “You heard us?” I asked.

  “I might have had my ear pressed up against the bathroom door.” She rolled her eyes at herself before she continued. “He’s hurt, Charlie.”

  “I did that,” I whispered. “I hurt him.”

  “You did,” she said matter-of-factly. “But I think this morning hurt him more.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. I was confused. “I didn’t do anything this morning.”

  “Sweetie.” She rubbed my pyjama-clad leg before continuing. “He asked you for space and you agreed.” She raised her eyebrows at me. “You covered something up, he found out about it and you just let him go.”

  “What was I supposed to do?” I asked. “I’m not you, Addie. I’m not as confident in myself as you are. You know what you want and you go after it. I…”

  “You let him walk out.” She tapped my leg before she walked out, leaving me alone. The sound of the apartment door closing soon followed.

  I lay in bed for a few moments, silently cursing Addie’s name before I swung my legs over the side and headed to the bathroom. As much as I might have hated her directness, I couldn’t lie and say that she was wrong. She was right, and that was the part that sucked. I’d just stood there and taken what he’d had to say without complaint, and I hated it. Hated it because that is exactly how I would have acted with David. I’d let him walk all over me like a doormat, and I wasn’t prepared to do it again.

  Alex was not like David. He was better. He was a good man who had been honest with me and it seemed like it was time for me to start doing the same.

  After taking a shower, I got myself ready—foundation and mascara—and left the apartment. Walking down the block, I probably looked like a crazy person, giving myself a pep talk.

  Hearing a whistle, I looked up and saw James standing outside the bar.

  “Hi.” I waved before crossing the street.

  “You seemed kind of out of it there.” He grinned at me. “You okay?”

  “Not really.” I shook my head. “Is Alex in?” I hedged.

  “Yeah.” He took a drag of his cigarette, inhaling before blowing the smoke away from us. “A little warning. He’s not in the best mood.”

  “I figured.” I smoothed my grey, knee-length skirt down before holding my hands out to the side. “How do I look?” I had paired it with a white top—kind of tight for my liking—and my brown jacket.

  “Like a million bucks.” He gave me a cheeky wink before he nodded his head to the door. “I’d wish you luck but I don’t think you’ll need it.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, disagreeing. “I think I messed it up this morning.”

  “Just be honest.” He slid his hands into his pockets. “If you like, I’ll walk in with you.”

  I nodded, giving him a small smile and followed him through the door.

  “James, I need you to go back to the—” Alex stopped talking when he saw me, looking a little surprised.

  “Can we talk?” I asked, fidgeting with the strap of my handbag.

  He nodded his head. “Sure.” Placing the glass down on the bar, he gestured towards his office. “We can talk in here. James, watch the bar.” He led the way and waved his hand to the two chairs opposite the desk before closing the door. “Take a seat.” Walking around his desk, he sat facing me before he spoke again. “What can I do for you?”

  He sounded polite but I could tell that he was tense.

  “Nothing.” I shook my head, at a loss about what to say next. “I, uh… I’m sorry—again—for yesterday. I should have told you and I—”

  “But you didn’t,” he said, interrupting me. “After the other night, when I told you about my past, I thought that we understood each other.”

  “I know.” I looked down at his desk, hating the way that he was staring at me. I had never seen him look at me so coldly before.

  “I understand it was personal for you, and I get that it wasn’t exactly an easy topic that you could just bring up but… Fuck, Charlie. What I told you was pretty fucking personal for me, too.” He combed his fingers through his hair, appearing agitated. “I just thought that you trusted me.”

  “I do.” I looked up at him. “I do trust you, Alex. I just know that this isn’t forever.”

  His eyes widened in surprise at me, and I knew that my words had shocked him.

  “I know that you’re not a relationship guy, Alex. I don’t know what we are.” I bit my lip, hating that we were having this conversation like this. “It’s hard for me to give myself over to someone who I know this is a temporary thing for. And now it sounds like I’m asking you to commit to me, which I’m not. It’s just…”

  “Charlie.” He stood and came around his desk before taking the seat next to me. He turned to face me and reached for my hands. “I know that you’ve heard the rumours about me. I know I’ve been with a lot of girls and I know that doesn’t make me the man of the year.” He rolled his eyes at himself before he reached across and rubbed his thumb along my cheekbone. “You’re the girl for me. I wouldn’t have started this with you if I was going to end it in tears.”

  I smiled at him, trying to ignore the tears that leaked over my eyelids. “I didn’t expect you to be so sweet,” I whispered.

  “Only with you.” He took my hand in his before bringing it to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “Just no more lies or half-truths. Deal?”

  “Deal,” I whispered.

  15

  Alex

  Watching her sitting at my bar, I chuckled when I saw James helping her. They had been sitting there for the last hour making a pros and cons list on dessert suppliers.

  It had been a few days since our argument, and after our promise of no more lies or half-truths, she had confessed to me that she had been struggling at the shop since its grand opening. She hadn’t expected it to take off as well as it had, and the early mornings and late finishes were going to wear her down. Since then, she had made some calls to a few suppliers and she now had to decide which ones to use.

  “So, remind me again,” James said. “Why don’t you just outsource everything?”

  “Because
,” she said while huffing, “I love baking. It’s why I wanted a shop of my own. I love seeing people enjoying my food.” She looked up at me, smiling when she saw me watching her. “I still want to make a lot of the products, but for some items, I could outsource.”

  “Like donuts,” he said, filling in the gap.

  “Yes. Like donuts, scones, sandwiches… Maybe the bakewells, the products that have icing on. I already outsource for the crisps and bread.” She scribbled some numbers down. “The majority of products I’m not willing to outsource.”

  “Like the caramel bites,” I said, interrupting. It earned me a giggle.

  “Yes, like the caramel bites. The desserts I supply to your menu wouldn’t be as fresh if I outsourced them. The donuts fly off the shelf and my older customers love the scones with their teas.”

  “Okay, okay, I think I get it.” He reached over and pulled the list of items she had marked down with her pen before he grabbed the supplier sheets. “Let’s look at this item by item, then.”

  For someone who lived in the kitchen, James was pretty dense when it came to discussing someone else’s love of all things food.

  An hour later, they were both sitting there with giddy expressions on their faces.

  “You guys all done?” I asked. I placed a glass of red wine in front of Charlie before stealing a caramel bite off her plate.

  She smirked at me before speaking. “I think so.” She slid the paper across to me before taking a sip of her drink.

  “This looks a little expensive.” I raised my eyes at her over the paper. “Can’t you find a cheaper supplier?”

  “Quality over quantity. Besides…” She reached for the paper and took it off me before folding it up and sliding her paperwork into her bag. “This means I will have more time to spend with some ruggedly, handsome man.”

  “Sounds good to me.” I leaned over the bar, meeting her halfway and stole a kiss from her.

  “Also, the shop can cover it and it might leave me with enough revenue to take on another member of staff.” She sounded perky, and it made me relieved that she seemed to be looking at this in a positive light.

  “Which means you could maybe have some late morning starts.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her, loving the blush that spread along her cheeks. “That reminds me. Did you hear back from the police?”

  Her face dropped when I mentioned the ‘p’ word, and I knew it was because she had been trying to put it out of her mind.

  “They rang me this morning,” she admitted. “They have requested that he keep his distance, which he has agreed to. If he doesn’t, they will petition for a restraining order.”

  “Does that make you feel better?” I asked. Sometimes her face was so easy to read, but right now, she had a poker face.

  “A little. I just wish he would move on.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Addie thinks he thought I would have gone back to him—that maybe I would have put up with what he did to me?” She ended it as a question.

  “Do you think you could have?” I asked. “Do you think if you didn’t have Addie to share your problems with, you would have given in?”

  She stared up at me for a few moments before responding. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  I nodded, accepting her answer before I went down the bar to serve some customers.

  “See you tomorrow,” James called as he headed toward the exit. “Have fun.”

  I laughed, knowing full well what he meant. Charlie had disappeared up to my apartment an hour ago, insisting that she was exhausted. She had stayed over a couple of times but tonight felt different. Her staying over tonight was the first time since we had admitted to each other that we were more to each other than just a temporary arrangement.

  I quickly locked up, and after setting the alarm and checking all the doors and windows, I turned the electrics off and headed upstairs.

  Walking in, I chuckled when I saw little signs of her everywhere: shoes by the door, cardigan on the sofa, a worn copy of Lovebomb by Sienna Grant she’d been reading on the coffee table and a tub of caramel bites on the kitchen worktop with a lipstick kiss on a post-it note.

  I grinned when I saw her lying on my bed. The soft rise and fall of her chest told me that she was sleeping. She was in a pink tank top and shorts, taking up most of the bed and lying in a starfish pose.

  I took my phone out of my pocket and snapped a picture of her before toeing off my shoes and changing into a pair of pyjama bottoms. Normally it’d just be underwear for me, but lately, I had a feeling she compared herself to my past sexual adventures. I wanted her to feel that this was more than just a string of one-night stands. We had more than that.

  They had fuck all on my girl. Charlie was sexy without even trying to be.

  Gently taking hold of her wrists, I placed them around my neck before sliding my arms beneath her and lifting her up into my arms. Moving the blanket back, I placed her under it before climbing in beside her.

  I reached over and turned the lamp off, sliding my arm around her waist and cuddled closer to her, spooning her gorgeous body. I closed my eyes, the tension beginning to leave my body when her voice spoke out.

  “Good night, Alex.”

  I reached down and kissed her shoulder before laying my head back on the pillow. “Good night, darling.”

  Waking up the following morning, I smiled when I felt movement next to me. I had expected her to have left by now and be at the shop, but as I felt her warmth against my side, I was happy to be wrong.

  “Good morning,” she whispered. She leaned up on her elbows and kissed me.

  “It definitely is.” I chuckled against her lips, loving how she felt against my side. “I could get used to this.”

  She giggled, resting her head against my shoulder. She trailed her fingers across my stomach, making patterns with her fingertips.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Touching you.” She lowered her head and kissed my shoulder. “Does it feel good? My touch?”

  I groaned. “It does.” I could feel myself hardening, and I know that she could see it as well.

  She moved her hand further down before sliding her fingers beneath the waistband of my pyjamas.

  “Charlie!” I grabbed her hand, halting her movements.

  “Let me touch you,” she whispered. “Make you feel good.” She dipped her hand lower and rubbed her fingers along my shaft. “Pull your bottoms down,” she whispered in my ear before licking the lobe.

  I lifted my hips and yanked my trousers down over my waist, my cock springing free. I shoved the blankets down, groaning when she grasped me tighter in her hand.

  “Is this okay?” she asked. She pumped me a couple of times before she licked behind my ear.

  “Like this,” I whispered. I reached down and placed my hand over hers before bringing her hand up and pumping my cock faster. She tightened her grip, following my direction. “Ah, fuck.” I roughly turned her face to mine and thrust my tongue into her mouth.

  She slid her palm over the head of my cock before moving back down. On the next pass, she reached down and fondled my balls, making my eyes roll back in my head. I rocked my hips before guiding her hand again. “I wish I was fucking you right now.” I tilted my head back against the pillow, imagining how fuckable she would be riding me.

  She giggled before nibbling on my earlobe. “Good things come to those who wait,” she teased me.

  After a few quick pumps, I tore her hand from my cock and took over, not stopping until I was ejaculating on my stomach. I groaned as the pleasure moved through me before looking at her.

  “That was kind of hot,” she admitted.

  I laughed at her before grabbing my t-shirt off the floor and wiping the mess away. Reaching down, I tucked myself back in my trousers and yanked her down to me.

  She shrieked at the action, lying half on top of me.

  “You are not helping,” I growled. I reached up and grabbed her breasts, rubbing them. She moaned at the action befor
e I felt her rock her hips against me. I grabbed the straps of her vest, moving them down her arms, determined to move this along.

  “Stop,” she whispered. She pulled away from me, rolled over and climbed out of bed. “I need to get to the shop.”

  I groaned as I watched her sexy arse in those shorts walking away from me.

  “You’re just going to leave me here?” I sat up against the pillows, watching my sexy minx tease me.

  She slipped her shorts down and removed her strappy top, leaving her in only a pair of sexy, yellow, lacy knickers.

  “You’re killing me.”

  She giggled, covering her breasts from my eye with a matching bra. Minutes later, she was pulling her cream top on and wrapping a skirt around her waist. “I might make it up to you.” She walked over and bent down, kissing me before pulling back. “If those caramel bites are still there later, I may reward you.”

  “Fucking minx,” I responded. I climbed out of bed and followed her out of the door, staring at her sexy as sin legs as she approached the door. “I’ll take you down.” I placed my hands on her shoulders as she walked in front of me.

  The last few days we had become closer—physically and emotionally—and I was filled with this constant need to always be touching her.

  “Dinner tonight?” I asked when we were standing outside. “I can cook for us. At yours, preferably? Fewer interruptions.”

  “Addie might be there,” she replied. “I can ask her and see what her plans are.”

  “Don’t worry about Addie,” I replied. “I’ll have a word with James and see what’s happening.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “James?” She gasped. “Do you think something is going on between them?”