Charmed

“And you’ll get me a hotel?”

“I’ll get you anything you could ever ask for.”

She places her hands on my chest but doesn’t push me away.

“Is that your boyfriend, Charlie?” the little girl from before who was dancing with Charlie asks walking over to us looking between us.

“No,” we both say at the same time.

“I’m more than her boyfriend.”

Charlie’s eyes flare at that. I expect her to say something to rebuff what I said.

“You have a deal,” she finally says, and I feel myself smile.

Chapter Five

Charlie

Dimple. He even has a freaking dimple. It lends a softness to his hard face. Though everything about him seems a little softer at the moment. Maybe he’s not so pissed. Still, I don’t understand why he’s doing what he’s doing.

“Come.” He pulls his coat off and throws it over my shoulder, wrapping it around me and pulling me into his side. I’m almost swimming in his coat. The smell of him surrounds me and puts me at ease for some reason.

“I need my backpack.” I nod over toward the bleacher where I left it. He guides us over to it and picks it up. I jerk when I see Mr. Barton in the doorway. My stomach drops. Warren looks down at me, sensing my distress. He already seems to be in tune with me somehow and reads me easily.

“Change your mind?” he asks. I shake my head.

“You heading out, Charlie?” Mr. Barton asks. Warren’s hold on me tightens. I didn’t know he could pull me into his side any more than he already did, but somehow he manages to.

“She has dinner plans with me. You are…” I don’t know how Warren does it, but he isn’t asking Mr. Barton a question. He’s demanding to know who he is. There is no question that Mr. Barton will give it to him. I’m seeing this man always gets what he wants.

“I own this place.”

Warren looks at Mr. Barton like he’s bored. “Move. You’re in the doorway,” he tosses back at him. Mr. Barton’s face turns red. He’s clearly pissed at being dismissed.

“Listen, you—”

“Warren.”

“What?” Barton asks in confusion.

“Listen, Warren Shade. My name.”

Recognition flashes on Barton’s face. He takes a step back out of the doorway, almost tripping on his own feet, but doesn’t say anything else as Warren guides us out of the building. I see the man who was with him earlier. He straightens from his leaning position and opens the car door for Warren and me.

Warren guides me into the backseat. He stops to say something to the man before sliding in next to me. He places his hand on my thigh, stroking his thumb back and forth. The simple touch makes my breath catch.

As we pull out I let myself relax into the seat. I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into. All I do know is I’ll likely have a safe place to rest my head tonight. After Fredrik left me to go work I couldn’t help myself from looking Warren up and finding out more about him. I needed something to keep my mind off Mr. Barton and not having a place to sleep anymore.

Not only is he super rich, but he’s also a decorated former Marine. There were lists and lists of things he’s done for charities and so on. He’s even a good son, it looks like. At half the events he went to his mother was on his arm or he was alone. Sadly I was trying to dig into the woman he might have dated. After Frederik had hinted that Warren might be into me I let curiosity get the best of me. I didn’t come up with anything on his dating life. I did notice he rubbed shoulders with a lot of politicians, though.

He seems safe from what I read and something inside me tells me he is. Having been on the streets as long as I have, I’ve learned to read people. To trust what my gut is telling me. Still, my gut has a feeling Warren might not hurt me physically but he could emotionally. He has heartbreak written all over him. He could make me feel safe then rip it away from me. I don’t know why but even after only spending a few moments with him I feel a pull to him.

I’m even starting to think I felt the pull before I even knew he existed. His building drew me toward him from the start. I had a driving need to be outside it and to paint it for some reason. I’ve always believed in fate.

I glance over to Warren, who has his eyes on me. My gaze goes to his mouth. Before I know what I’m doing I’m moving toward him. His hands dig into my hair as our mouths meet. It’s almost awkward at first as I have no idea what I’m doing, but quickly Warren takes over the kiss. I dig my fingers into the front of his shirt.