Sweet Redemption (Landry Brothers Duet Book 2) Read online

  I paced the wooden floor for four hours until I couldn’t take it anymore. The hell with it all. I had to see Charlie again and make sure she was okay, and apologize for being an asshole.

  With a quick look around the main entryway, I left the bed and breakfast, and headed straight to the library.

  The door was locked, which made me slightly worried. Charlie couldn’t be far. I spotted her station wagon parked at the mechanics.

  Then a thought occurred to me. Charlie was walking—to where I wasn’t sure. But I was going to find out. I raced over to the garage, where Mike was working on an old Chevelle hiked up on the raised platform.

  “Mike, I’m looking for Charlie. Do you know where she’s at?”

  Mike stepped out from under the car and eyed me. “Yeah, I gave her a ride home. Why?” He frowned. “You wouldn’t happen to know she got hurt?”

  “Home,” I said with relief, picturing Charlie limping through this crappy weather. I then noticed Mike took an aggressive step forward, to which I stepped back, giving the mechanic some distance. “She twisted her ankle. Charlie tripped on the stairs, and I caught her before she fell.”

  That seemed to appease the man because the frown line across his forehead disappeared.

  “Okay.” Mike said and turned back to the car.

  “Wait. I need to talk to her. Can you tell me where she lives?”

  “I can tell you but it’s a long walk to get there,” Mike said while shoving his hand into his pocket. He took out a set of keys and tossed to me. “Take my truck—but I want it back here tonight.”

  I snatched the keys from the air. I was stunned at the trust Mike was showing. No one, not in L.A. nor in Chicago would trust a total stranger with their own vehicle.

  “Thanks,” I said, then out of curiosity asked, “How was the dance?”

  “It sucked, as usual. That’s why I left early and saw Charlie.”

  I gave him a nod and asked, “Now where does Charlie live?”

  The way Mike explained how to get to Charlie’s place; I would have been totally lost. However, Mike grabbed a map and drew the lines from where the shop was at to Charlie’s house. He wrote the address on top of the area and circled it. From what the legend showed, she was about fives miles outside of town.

  With gratitude, I didn’t hesitate and got into the truck and took off down Main Street.

  Chapter Eight

  Charlie

  Right after I got home, I took a better look at my ankle. It was slightly swollen but not as bad when I first twisted it. The ice Markus brought had helped a great deal.

  Forget about that man. I scolded myself when my brain wandered at the memory of his kiss, his touch and the way he carried me off into the office to love me—no. Not love me, but to screw me.

  And Markus was right. I wasn’t that kind of woman to just sleep with anyone. Though I would have done it with Markus.

  I just had to get him out of my thoughts. After a hot bubble bath, I wrapped my ankle with an ace bandage and then cozied up by the fireplace in the family room, with a hot cup of tea. It had been a crazy day, and it wasn’t over yet.

  The sound of a gruff muffler alerted me. The rattling noise reminded me of Mike’s tow truck. I hobbled over to the window and peered out. He pulled up into the driveway and abruptly stopped. “Now why is Mike here?”

  However, it wasn’t Mike who got out of the truck. It was Markus. What the heck was he doing here? I slowly made my way to the front door and glanced at myself in the oval mirror. I was a plain mess. Hair snarled up into a ratty ball on top of my head, and my eyeliner and mascara was smeared under my eyes. I resembled a raccoon. Markus couldn’t see me this way.

  The doorbell sounded. Merde!

  I quickly pinched my cheeks for color, flipped my robe closed, knotted it at my waist and wiped the dark smudges from under my eyes. I undid my hair, running my fingers through the damp strands, and reached to open the double doors.

  ***

  Markus

  The second I pulled up to the large Victorian house, I went speechless. The home was beautiful. Dressed in a sea foam green color, with accents of white on the trim and dark sea foam on the textured shingles, this Victorian lady had a grand look to her. The house silently spoke of the history in these parts.

  The wraparound porch gave off warmth, and it lent an inviting sense of belonging as I stepped up onto it. The double doors were a welcome too.

  I pressed the doorbell and waited. And waited and waited. I looked around and wondered if maybe I did have the wrong house. Yet, the address Mike had written down matched the numbers on the house plaque.

  As I turned to head back down the six steps, the wooden door opened and Charlie stood there looking absolute flustered and maybe slightly muddled. Dark smears were under her eyes with a hint of pink staining her cheeks.

  Her robe was partially opened and I noticed the swell of her full breasts. Damn, I had those in my hands and mouth four hours ago and I had let them go, and Charlie.

  “What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Her questions pulled me out of my lusty revelry. She crossed her arms protectively. Was she flustered to see me?

  “Mike told me where to find you. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I went to the library but it was closed, so I headed over there. He lent me his truck and gave me the directions to your place. By the way, your home is beautiful.”

  “Well, thanks. Umm. I’m fine—my ankle, I mean…is fine.” Charlie stood stock still, as though she was afraid to say something else.

  I wasn’t sure what to do next. Since she wasn’t opening the door for me, I figured I lost my chance to get to know Charlie better.

  Better to just apologize and leave.

  “I’m glad you are doing well. I a…guess I’ll head back to the bed and breakfast.” I gave her a single wave and headed back down the steps. The whole time, I wished she would tell me not to leave but it wasn’t going to happen.

  However, the second I opened the truck door, Charlie stepped out of the house and called to me. “Since you came all this way, why don’t you come in for a cup of tea.” She turned and headed back inside. “You drink tea?”

  I hated tea but I wasn’t going to deny this opportunity to be close to Charlie. With a big smile plastered on my face, I closed the driver’s side door, hurried up the steps and walked inside the house.

  Chapter Nine

  Markus

  Talk about history. Everywhere I looked, there were pictures of Charlie’s family adorned on the wall. The furniture was no different. It was old, except for the huge couch and loveseat in what looked like a family room Charlie led me to. A large fifty-inch flat screen television was on the wall adjacent to the seating area was the only modern amenity I saw and looked out of place in the room.

  “Have a seat. I’ll get you a cup of tea, unless you’d prefer coffee.” Charlie yanked her robe tightly closed at her chest and tightened the belt around her waist.

  “Coffee, please, if you don’t mind.” I sat at the end of the couch.

  She gave me a nod and walked off into another doorway. From the way she sauntered off, her ankle had to be much better. I wasn’t sure if Charlie was angry because I showed up at her home or that I left her wanting and in a state of undress in the library. I had never walked away from a woman like I did with Charlie, for good reasons. I thought so at the time. I would have to wait and see.

  It wasn’t too long before Charlie was back with a small tray filled with cups, cream, sugar cubes and cookies. She had also changed her clothes into a sweatshirt and shorts. Both surprised me.

  “I hope I wasn’t intruding in something you were doing,” I said and took the cup of coffee Charlie handed me.

  “No. I just got out of the bath and was enjoying a cup of tea when you pulled up.”

  I placed the cup back on the tray and looked at Charlie. “Are you still mad at me for leaving you?”

  Charlie’s cup of tea was midway to her mouth when
she paused and looked at me. She didn’t take a sip. Instead, she put the cup down and wiped her palms on the small hand towel she’d brought with the tray.

  “Markus…” She shook her head and laughed. “I was going to lie to you and say no. But I have to be honest. Yes, you left me half naked, and a bit confused, but I’ll have to get over it. We’re adults and after thinking about what your reasons were for stopping, I’m glad you did. I know I’d regret sleeping with you, for the simple fact that I am not that way and I don’t even know you. Though, that still doesn’t mean that you didn’t hurt my feelings.”

  “Like I said, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” A level of nervousness and trepidation swirled in my gut. What I was about to say would go against everything I had done in my life. Being upfront and honest about my feelings was something foreign to me.

  I took a deep even breath, moved over to the love seat where Charlie sat and took her hand. She didn’t pull away from my touch. That was a good sign.

  “As crazy as this sounds, Charlie, but the moment we met, I knew you were someone special. And it made me nervous—scared even. You have to understand something about me.”

  “What?” Her fingers tightened around mine.

  “I’ve fucked around since college—hell, even some in high school. Practically slept any woman who showed interest in me. Granted, I’ve slowed down since then, but I was still up for a party.”

  “Are you saying you’re a man whore?” She smiled. There was no hint of censure in her eyes. No judgment.

  “You can say that.” I took another breath and let out the demon I had bottled up for years. “About two years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life and for that, I lost my family.”

  Charlie stayed quiet and only listened. I needed that. I hoped after what I would say, she wouldn’t throw my ass out of the house.

  “My brother Bryce was engaged to the daughter of a friend of my father. Her father was one of the incoming partners at my family’s firm. It was a match made in my father’s world. But their relationship went to crap, or so I thought from what Brittany had told me. Anyway, she called me one night crying saying that she and Bryce had broken off their engagement.”

  “You went over there.” It wasn’t a question. Charlie was smart and caught on quick. “She seduced you, didn’t she?”

  “When she called me, I just got home from having a few drinks with a couple of clients of mine. I ran over there to console her. One second, I was hugging her and then she started to kiss me. I know it was a lame excuse using the alcohol as my weakness, but it was a part of the issue.”

  “When did your brother find out?”

  I let go of her hand and stood. “When he walked in on us in his bedroom.”

  “Markus.” It was all she said.

  “So, everything Brittany had said to me was total bullshit. And I believed it.” I paced the small room and then stopped. The realization dawned on me. I wasn’t worthy of Charlie. I wasn’t worthy for any good woman. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking… to spill my shit out on you.” I needed to leave. “I’ll just go.”

  I reached the handle of the front door but Charlie was right there, blocking my way. “Did you try to tell your brother what his fiancé had said and done?”

  “In that moment, Bryce only saw betrayal from me. From that point on, we stopped being brothers. We haven’t talked, not since that night before I left for Los Angeles.”

  “Oh Markus.” Charlie cupped my face and pulled me to her. She kissed my lips and then hugged me tight. So tight that I could hardly breathe, but welcomed it.

  “Charlie. There is another reason why I came here.” I had to finish. I wanted her desperately, and that need hadn’t stopped for one second. I just hoped that Charlie felt the same way. From the second our eyes met, there were sparks between us. Though, for me, it was more than a physical connection. I couldn’t explain it but knew immediately Charlie was much more to me than a beautiful woman.

  “Don’t say it,” Charlie replied with a hand on my cheek.

  “But—” She covered my mouth with her finger.

  “I said, don’t say it,” she interrupted. “Show me.”

  Chapter Ten

  Charlie

  Markus didn’t hesitate and scooped me up into his arms and plastered his lips to mine. I reveled in the way he kissed with urgency and desperation. His tongue delved deep while his teeth clashed against mine in a frenzied want. I gave in to the need, feeling the same delirious way.

  “Take me upstairs, Markus,” I ordered against his mouth.

  Markus spun toward the staircase and took the steps two at a time as though I weighed nothing in his arms. The gnawing need to taste this man grew. I nipped his shoulder and neck.

  “Woman, stop. Or I’m going fuck you on these stairs.” I smiled as he bit out his warning. I loved the way his skin tasted and I kissed along the red marks I left on his shoulder.

  He let out a low growl when we reached the second floor. “Where to?”

  “My bedroom is on the third floor.” I pointed up the stairs.

  Without delay, Markus rushed his way up to the top floor where there was only one door. He maneuvered me to my feet and pressed me against it, not losing contact for a second. I loved the difference between our bodies. His hard sinewy muscles to my soft curves. God, I relished how his control was on the brink of losing its grip. His ravenous kiss was proof.

  “I need you, Charlie,” he whispered before plundering my mouth.

  “I need you too,” I uttered under his sensual attack. He reached behind me and turned the knob, letting the door fully swing open. I backed up into the room, leaving a large gape between us. I quickly pulled off my sweatshirt, which left me with only a bra and shorts on.

  Markus stepped inside, his eyes never leaving me, and groaned with appreciation. “Baby, I want inside you so bad that if we wait any longer, I’m going to come in my pants.”

  “Then what are you waiting for? Take off your clothes.”

  He doesn’t hesitate and took off his shirt. Yet, as he began to undo his belt, I rushed forward and took over the job. “I want to taste you. Let me.”

  “You can do whatever you want with me, baby.” The husky way he called me baby made my core pulse to the near point of pain. I had never wanted someone so bad that my body ached with want.

  I stripped off his pants and for a second, appreciated the boxer briefs that caged his full erection. Oh merde. The man was hung. I was beginning to get nervous as I pulled off his briefs, revealing every inch of his massive penis.

  “Charlie, what’s wrong?” he asked, concern knitted his brows.

  My mouth went slightly dry. “Markus, you’re huge.”

  “Are you afraid?” he asked with a small smile.

  “I think any woman would be afraid when confronted by your…” I didn’t want to use “penis”, because that would be something a librarian would totally say. “Dick” and “cock” was not the type of vocabulary I used either. “Your manhood.”

  Markus threw his head back and laughed. “My manhood?”

  “Don’t make fun,” I chided. “Okay. Dick. Are you happy?”

  “Touch me, Charlie. It won’t bite.” Markus stepped closer, my face inches from him. I could smell his musky scent, which I had to admit turned me on even more.

  “Stand,” he ordered, and pulled me up. His hands went to my shorts and yanked them off. “I want to touch you while you’re touching me.”

  Oh merde. Now that was a sound plan.

  Before I reached for Markus’s…okay, I can think “dick” without worried that my gran—stop thinking, Charlie. Just feel.

  Markus pulled down my underwear as my thoughts flew out of my head. I shivered as my heated flesh was exposed to the coolness of the room. Or was it Markus’s hands caressing my skin that ratcheted the fever spreading through my body. He unclasped my bra and dropped it to the floor. The only clothing left on were my socks
, but I forgot about it the second his lips captured mine.

  Heat from Markus’s body quelled any nervousness. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his narrow waist and kissed him with all my pent up need.

  “Are you safe?” Markus asked, laying me down on my queen sized bed.

  “Yes. I’m on the shot. But I want you to use a condom.” I trailed the tip of my tongue along his jaw and down his neck. The mix of his sweat and something else intoxicating flavored his skin, and I wanted more.

  I twisted until I was on top and continued my assault. He groaned in reaction, grabbed my hair by the back of my head and encouraged me to keep going.

  I slithered down, my breasts grazing his chest, which made my taut nipples pebbled harder and became more sensitive.

  While my hands explored every inch of his skin, my lips kissed, my tongue licked and tasted and my teeth nipped. In that moment, I finally knew where I wanted to be. In his arms.

  His shaft was hot, hard, but velvety soft at the same time. While I stroked in a slow languid rhythm with one hand, I cupped his balls and massaged the sensitive sack.

  Markus started to move his hips, matching my slow pace. “You’re going to kill me, babe. I’m not going to last,” he groaned his admission.

  “Just want to taste a bit first.” I didn’t give Markus time to absorb what I had said and took the tip of his dick into my mouth. I sucked, tasting the pre-cum from the slit. “Mmm. You taste good, Markus.”

  “Oh Charlie, either you’re going to let me fuck you right now or I’m going to cum right down your throat.”

  No man had ever said naughty things to me. I actually liked it. The idea of Markus losing total control by using my mouth sent a wave of euphoria right to my belly. I took him deeper, flattening my tongue until he nearly passed my gag point at the back of my throat. But I didn’t stop.