Page 192 of The Grand Duel
“We have some champagne opened,” Nina says, looking down the length of the worktop. “Uh, where is it?”
“I’ll get her a drink.” Charlie’s voice washes over me like my duvet after a long day, and my gut uncoils. “Are they being nice?” he says into my ear, his hand teasing down my waist as he steps to stand beside me.
“Of course we are!” Nina defends, looking over her shoulder, her eyes lingering on us. “Dinner is ready, Charles. Do you want to pick out some wine instead?”
He looks to me and cocks his head to go with him.
I follow him out of the kitchen, a heavy sigh whooshing out of me when we find the entrance hall empty.
“You okay?” he asks, our hands slightly brushing as we walk down a set of stairs into a darkened, open space.
He hits the lights and leads me into the wine cellar.
“The house is huge.”
“It is. Mason has builders coming in soon to knock all of this through. They want a swimming pool and a dance studio for Nina so she can work from home.”
“Wow.” I look around the wine cellar, wondering how they could ever get through it all.
Charlie’s hand smooths up my back, the warmth of his palm at the base of my neck making my eyes drift closed. “You okay?”
I realise I hadn’t responded the first time and twist my head up to look at him. “There’s a lot of them.”
“There are. They’re harmless, though. You’ll like them.”
I smile, letting my eyes flick around his face and settle the nerves that followed me through the house and down the stairs.“I don’t think Scarlet was expecting me. Or wasn’t keen on me. I don’t know what they thought of me.” I can’t help but want them to like me. These people who I know mean so much to him.
“Scarlet likes everyone. She’s just a little more reserved than Nina and Luce. Those two aren’t completely sane.”
I smile again, and he frowns, uncertainty bleeding from the blacks of his eyes as he drops them to a spot on my cheek.
My heart starts to thump, his lips part, and then he leans in and places a kiss there.
Heavy eyes lift, his face so close I could tip my head an inch and catch his lips in a proper kiss. “Don’t be nervous, Lissie girl.” He reaches for my hand and places it over his sweatshirt, his heart hammering as quick as mine. “Least not alone.”
“Why are you nervous?” Doubt flares under my skin. “I thought you wanted me to come.”
“I’m not nervous that you’re here,” he says, swallowing as his eyes dip to my mouth and back up, blue eyes flicking between mine. “I’m losing my mind over the fact my friends can simply hold you, kiss you, get to know you, without a second thought.”
“You’re jealous?”
He shakes his head. “I certainly don’t like sharing you.”
My lips twist. “Charles, we’ve been here for ten minutes.”
He shrugs. “I know. I keep thinking I want to kiss you.”
I roll my lips, my face heating. “You once told me you could find better things to do with our mouths.”
“Because I’m a fucking mess who can’t kiss a woman.”
My brows twitch. I reach up and smooth my hand over his jaw. “You’re far from a mess, Charlie Aldridge.” His head turns into my hand, his lips brushing the tips of my fingers. “I said I’d help you, and I will, but I’m still trying to figure out how I do that without crossing boundaries.”
“Exist,” he rasps out. “Simply exist, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be alright.”
My smile is sad, warm, a mix of both maybe. Mostly because there’s a level of pain that comes with the knowledge that this man wants me, wants to do differently, because why hasn’t anyone tried to help him sooner? Why hasn’t someone seen what he is beyond the suit and stern face and demanded he see it too?
He’s beautiful, undeniably the most attractive man I’ve ever met, and yet he denies himself the simplest of life’s pleasures over something he could never be.