Chapter 25
Charles’s hand was on my knee, inching higher and higher with each mile that passed.
We were in the back of his sleek, black car, heading for his buyer.
I had to think of a way to stop it, or his hand would end up inside my pants before we could reach our destination.
All while Wesley had one eye on the road, the other one on me from the driver’s seat. He was suspicious of me. He should be.
“How do you think Shaun would feel about this?” I bit at my lip, conflicted. “I mean, it would be weird for him, wouldn’t it?”
Charles sighed and shifted his weight, taking my hand instead. It had worked. Cooled him right off.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spoil the mood, I’m just genuinely concerned. I don’t want anything to ruin this.” I squeezed his hand.
He smiled a too-white smile and kissed the back of my hand. “You worry too much, dear. He would just have to accept it. Now that I have you, I’m not letting you go.”
I shuddered at his words. It was a threat I had to pretend I didn’t hear for what it was. So I faked my best smile.
Charles turned to look out the window. “Besides, the little shit cheated on you. Wouldn’t it be the best revenge to become his stepmother?
” He winked at me and laughed boastfully.
“I’m just mad I didn’t find you first.” He looked out the front window.
“We’re here,” he said as the car came to a stop.
Wesley came around and opened the door for Charles.
I was glad for the time to right my face.
It was no secret that Shaun’s relationship with his father was strained, but I just now felt how little Charles actually cared for his son.
There was no love or respect in his voice when he spoke of Shaun.
How had I missed it all those years before?
Another thing Grayson was right about. Charles saw his son as a rival.
Shaun was next in line to take over the family business, but Charles kept him out of it.
I had thought that maybe Charles was trying to shelter his son from what they did, but it was obvious now that Shaun was kept away because he was competition.
We stood in front of a shabby building in one of the lesser pretty streets of Paris.
A street you would never be taken down when on a tour bus.
There was graffiti on the brick walls. Some spots were dull and flaky, as if someone had attempted to clean it, but gave up.
The large window was covered in a sticker, so no one could see inside.
The store’s very French name was written in yellow cursive letters on the window sticker that was supposed to look like gold but didn’t.
The smell of urine hanging in the air, paired with Charles’s overpowering aftershave, was enough to make me gag.
I supressed the urge but couldn’t stop the crinkle of my nose.
Charles suddenly pulled me against him. If it weren’t for the van I saw over Charles’s shoulder, easing around the corner, I would have turned and ran.
But Grayson was there. I was safe.
I let my hands glide down the lapels of Charles’s blue suit, so there was a bit of distance between us.
I made sure to keep a shy smile on my face.
Yes, Charles wanted a strong woman on his arm, someone who wouldn’t balk at his indiscretions against humanity.
But he also expected his woman to be demure when it came to him.
He wanted to be the hunter. And I had to play the gushing maiden.
“Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about Shaun?” His icy eyes inspected my face, narrowing slightly.
“Of course not. Not now that I know you want me.” It was the right thing to say. His chest puffed out a bit and a satisfied smile spread over his cold face.
Yep. Father of the year. “You do want me, right?” I bit my lip, trying to look unsure.
“Of course, dear. Look at you!” He lifted my chin in a similar way that Grayson always did, and I hated it. “Although, I would like it if you wore less mascara. I like my girls a little more natural.”
What a piece of work. It’s been all of two days and he’s already telling me how I should look. I tried not to let the rage boiling in my body show on my face. “I will be sure to remember that,” I bit out with a lovely smile.
He didn’t seem to notice my hate. He was smiling down at me as if he’d seen an angel.
“You are perfect, aren’t you?” he said before dipping his head and pushing his lips against mine.
It felt wrong. It wasn’t a bad kiss, although he was a bit forceful in getting his tongue in my mouth. But it felt wrong. So wrong.
It wasn’t Grayson.
My stomach turned. It was Charles. The man who has his assistants killed when they try to quit because they’ve seen too much. The man who let his henchmen first have a little fun with the poor women beforehand.
I couldn’t stomach any more of his tongue. I was ready to pull away, but his hand came up behind my head, forcing me to kiss him a while longer. He was getting off on it. The control.
By the time he let me go, my cheeks were warm with fury, but Charles, of course, saw it as a blush.
I caught a glimpse of Grayson over his shoulder.
He was outside the van, his hands balled into fists as he stared at us.
He had seen it too. How Charles forced me to keep kissing him.
Luckily, Gemma was there, her back to me, a hand on his chest, as she tried to calm Grayson.
I exhaled a breath as Grayson took a step back, his eyes flitting to Gemma. Whatever she had said to him worked.
Charles and Wesley were perfectly oblivious to how close they came to their deaths. Wesley was holding the door to the store, the bag of gold in hand, trying to mind his own business and Charles was grinning smugly, like he had concurred me.
“We can continue this after we sell your gold.” The lust in his eyes made my stomach turn again. He pulled me into the store.
I was hit by a metallic smell as we made our way to the glass counters.
Like dirty pennies. The whole place felt dirty.
There was an assortment of jewellery on display, but I did not look closely, as the man behind the counter caught my attention.
His small eyes raked over my body. He was practically salivating.
I knew with every fibre of my being, that no woman should ever be left alone in a room with this man.
I could almost hear the screams of the women who’d found themselves in such a situation.
How come I never had this strong a feeling towards Charles?
Although he had men doing his dirty work most times, he was not much better.
“Ah, Monsieur Anderson. Please come through.” He gestured to a door, leading to the back of the store. His voice perfectly fitted with the way he looked. Menacing.
I followed Charles behind the counters and through the door, for the first time glad to have Wesley at my back.
We walked into a dim-lit room, foul smelling and dirty.
There were tools and papers scattered everywhere, including the floor, which was sticky for some reason.
In one corner was a mountain of take-out boxes, bulging out of the trash can, covered in black and green mould.
The cagey store owner made his way around a table and waited. Wesley lifted the bag onto the table and set it down with a heavy thump before backing away. The man greedily opened the bag and stacked the gold bars on the table.
“Ah,” he said as he inspected the bars a bit closer.
It almost looked as if he was about to sniff them.
“Four-hundred-ounce bars, Swiss made, and very, very pure.” He licked his lips and nodded in appreciation as if he was turned on by them.
“Very pretty.” He looked up at me. “Almost as pretty as you.”
I kept my face bored and my head high, as if his slimy eyes on me didn’t make me want to gag.
Charles snorted a laugh, his chest puffing out as if he’d just received a compliment. He put his hand possessively on the small of my back, grinning widely.
“Where did you say you got them?” The man’s eyes darted between me and Charles.
“Now that isn’t really your business, is it?” I answered coolly with a mock smile.
The man shifted his eyes down, glancing over the bars again, nodding with a grin. Charles was staring at me with pride.
“I’ll give you full value of the gold, if you let me have an hour with her,” he directed his question to Charles, ignoring the death glare I gave him.
My fingers were tingling from the adrenaline coursing through me. Would Charles do that? I turned to him as he started laughing, his chest bouncing.
He put an arm around my shoulders. “Any other woman I would agree. But this one; she’s all mine.” He looked down at me as if he’d just given me a compliment.
I tried and failed to gather a smile on my face. I wanted nothing more than to run from these monsters.
The slimy man pulled up his shoulders. “Eighty percent it is.”
“How does it feel to be a millionaire?” Charles asked as we walked out of the store, Wesley carrying my bag of money.
I smiled dimly. “Actually, I’m not feeling very well.
I think there might have been something wrong with my steak from last night.
Would you mind taking me back to the hotel?
” I took his hand. “I know you had dinner planned, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.
” I couldn’t bare one more second with him. I had to get away.
He frowned down at me. “You do look a bit pale.”
It was probably true.
“Very well. I wouldn’t want you to be sick on my new suit,” he joked.
He walked me up to my hotel room again. This time he pushed me up against the door, his tongue invading my mouth again. I endured it. It wouldn’t help to push him away. He would only enjoy denying me if I did.
Luckily, another guest stepped off the elevator, and he had to let me go.
“I know how you can make it up to me.” He raised his brows suggestively.
“Wesley will drop off a little something for you to wear when you come to my house tomorrow.” He placed a kiss on both my cheeks before finally disappearing into the elevator.
I closed the door behind me and sagged to the ground.
I couldn’t keep this up for much longer.
And I sure as hell couldn’t stomach sleeping with the man.
This relationship was moving much faster than previously anticipated, and I felt helpless to slow it down.
Charles wouldn’t take rejection well at all.
Grayson’s footsteps resounded from the alabaster floors on the other side of the door. I stood and opened it for him, pulling at my too-tight shirt. The buttons, strategically straining over my breasts, had me suddenly feeling claustrophobic.
His face looked worried as he assessed me again. His hair was messy, and I knew why.
“I have to make something. I need you to get me a few things,” I said before he could speak.
He gripped my hands to stop my wringing. “Anything you need, Princess.”