Page 22 of Blaire
“Your eye is bleeding quite a lot,” he says softly, glancing between my eyes and my mouth. With his other hand, he covers mine where I'm holding the towel to my lip and forces me to press it to my eye, dabbing there.
It stings, but that isn't what's bothering me.
I back up out of his grip to put some well needed distance between us, unable to think or speak. I just look at him, unnerved.
He observes me from a few feet away, running his tongue across the sharp of his upper teeth. I'm sure he knows how he makes me feel when he touches me. I can see it in his eyes.
He nods a few times, confirming something to himself.
“What?” I say, but he doesn't answer me.
Breaking eye contact, he crouches down, grips James around the waist andtosses him over his shoulder. Straightening, he heads for the exit with steady grace, as if carrying a shopping bag rather than a fully grown man.
For a time, I'm frozen in the middle of the ballroom, watching him leave. What is it with the way he touches me? Why does he make me feel weird?
Tossing the towel on the floor, I jog through the house to go after him. Outside, the floodlights are beaming in full force. I squint, catching up with Charlie.
He seems to know exactly where he's going because he's heading straight for the SUV James arrived in.
“Open the back door,” he says, nodding at the car, so I do. He bends at the knees to put James across the back seats and tells the other two in the car to just let him rest. “If you give him water when he wakes up, make sure he takes it in small sips.”
“Eh, okay,” they say in union, glancing at each other, then back at Charlie.
Now James is safely in his car, I relax somewhat. I turn for the house, heading back to Maksim.
“Are you gonna answer my question?” Charlie says, walking up beside me. “I just had your back in there, so the least you could do is-”
“What question, Charlie?”
“Why'd you stay with Maksim? Why doesn't he insist you wear a tracking device?”
I roll my eyes, refusing to go there.
We jog up the porch steps together.
“Blaire?” He gently touches my arm.
“Are you stupid or just deaf?” I face him, stepping back because we're too close for comfort. “I'm not allowed to talk about Maksim. Do you want to get me fucking whipped?”
“He whips you?” Charlie says this like he's surprised, raising his eyebrows. “We'll have to remedy your situation then, won't we?”
“Fuck you.” I step for him, craning my head back so I can defiantly meet his wicked gaze. “Fuck you and whatever you're up to.”
He looks down on me like I'm small and harmless. “I'm not up to anything.”
I laugh under my breath, jabbing a finger at my temple. “You must think me a fool, Charlie.”
“Not at all. Far from it, actually.”
“Yes,” I huff at him, looking between his eyes as he looks between mine. “I've seen men like you my whole life. I know when one is up to no good.”
“I'm not up to anything. I'm just curious as to why a pretty girl like you who has immense discipline and fighting skills, bows to a motherfucker like Maksim.” His eyes pour over my body, and the lust that burns in his expression... it’s back in full force. “It's crazy. I mean, look at you... how strong you are.” He gestures at me with a sturdy hand. “You could choose your own path, Blaire, and you damn well know it.”
I point at the ground between us. “This is all I know—it's all I've ever known.”
Leaning down, putting us eye to eye, he whispers, “You can learn something new.”
“Oh?” I cross my arms, stepping away from him. “Because it's that easy, is it?”