The Redemption (Charlotte Bloom Book 2) (8 page)

“Alec thinks it’s over, you know.”

“I know.” I sighed. Ennis handed me a cup of hot decaf black tea along with some sugar cubes and cream. “I screwed everything up. Twice.”

I sipped the tea, hoping I wouldn’t need to explain all of the horrible things I’d done to her son.

“Well, you know what they say: the right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past.”

“Right,” I whispered quietly. I hoped this was the right action.

She passed me a hot bowl of soup, and I ate it quickly as she tidied up the kitchen. When she was finished, she took my bowl and offered me seconds, which I declined. I was fidgeting like crazy. I hadn't realized how nervous I was to see Alec. I needed a good night’s sleep.

“Let me show you to your room. I believe Alec said he gets in around 7:00 a.m. Do you want me to wake you?”

“Yes. Please do. And… please let me surprise him. I don’t want him to know I’m here just yet. I feel like if you tell him that I’m here right away, he won’t want to see me,” I added honestly, shrugging my shoulders innocently.

She chuckled. “Certainly. I’ll slyly wake you up when he arrives.” She winked at me, and led me upstairs to the second floor. The staircase was large, and Ennis helped me carry my suitcase to the first room off the hallway. “You’re right next door to Alec.”

I flipped the light on, and a princess’s room greeted me. It was gigantic, with a lounge chair and a chaise splayed around a small coffee table. The bed had a canopy and there was a bathroom off to the left. A white robe hung off the side of the bed. The walls were grey, and all of the furniture was white, making it feel like a spa.

“This is fancier than a hotel,” I said, turning to face Ennis. “Thank you so much. I’m so glad I’m here.”

“Me too. I like you, Charlotte. I think you’re good for Alec. I hope you stay longer.” She smiled and closed the door behind her.

So, this was it. I had exactly ten hours until Alec got here. I pulled on some pajamas, got ready, and climbed into the soft, luxurious bed. I felt like a queen. I read again the two passages from
Love in the Time of Cholera
and for the second time, I was lulled off to sleep knowing that I was so close to Alec. I would be next to him tomorrow. That thought alone sent me into a dreamless, blissful sleep.

***

“Charlotte, honey, wake up. Alec is downstairs.”

I felt Ennis gently shaking me awake. Her words slowly registered in my foggy, sleepy brain. I sat up, immediately alert. Alec is downstairs.
Alec is downstairs.
I didn’t even change out of my pajamas. I just needed to see him. I felt some sort of subconscious urge pulling me forward, step by step. I was running now, barefoot in my fleece pajamas, down the staircase, making sure to grip the railing. I stopped briefly in front of a mirror at the bottom of the stairs. I was wearing my most hideous pajamas (they were the only ones I'd brought) and my ponytail had gotten extremely messy and lop-sided in the night. I looked to my left and saw a small black duffel bag sitting by the front door. I turned right and walked into the kitchen.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw Alec. I froze mid-step. His back was to me and he was drinking coffee at the kitchen island in exactly the same spot I’d sat last night. The morning light was glorious in this room, and it illuminated him just perfectly. I had to stop myself from running over and jumping onto him.

He was wearing a white t-shirt and black, ripped jeans. His hair was messy—his hair was fucking glorious. He had one hand propped under his chin and he was looking out the window and into the wilderness that was the backyard. I couldn’t believe he was here, just five feet away.
Finally.
My heart filled with happiness, longing, and determination.

Before I could say or do anything, he turned around. He jumped up, his face expressionless. I didn’t dare move. I had no idea how he would react. He crossed his arms, looking genuinely surprised, and then looked around, as if this wasn’t real or he was searching for a hidden camera.

He took a step closer, and anger flooded his expression. He looked down and put his hand on his lips. When he lifted his head again, his eyes were closed in exasperation. He opened them and walked over to me.

“What are you doing in my house? And why do you look like you just woke up?” He asked, incredulously.

“I… uh…”
So much for being eloquent.
“I came back for you.” It was the truth, the simple truth. He waited for me to go on, and crossed his arms again. He was pissed. His nostrils were flared, and he was breathing heavily. “I slept here last night.”

“Jesus, Charlotte.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, taking a step closer, breaking the distance. He looked down at me, his expression hard to read. He looked up and away, sighing heavily.

“What are you thinking?” I whispered, quietly, grabbing his hand. He pulled back immediately.
Oh, no.
He wasn’t giving in that easily. He looked at me, his decision splayed on his face.

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

My face paled. I took a step back. He was
really fucking pissed.

“Alec!” Ennis had walked in, and she was glaring at her son from the bottom of the stairs. I stood there willing myself not to cry.

This. Was. So. Embarrassing.

“That is not a very nice thing to say to the woman who came all the way from Los Angeles, via Wales, to see you,” Ennis continued.

“I don’t need a lecture, mum, but thanks,” he said, as he quickly stormed away. “You… out!” He yelled, pointing first to me and then to the door. He walked hurriedly up the stairs, not looking back.

Ennis looked at me sadly.

“I have to go talk to him,” I said meekly.

“Good luck,” she sighed, rubbing her temples.

I walked up to the second story and stood in front of Alec’s door for a moment, waiting to see if he would open it. I knocked. I could hear him moving around inside. I tried the handle. It was locked.

“Alec, open the door,” I demanded. “Come on. You can’t stay mad at me forever.” His silence answered me. I would have to beg. “Fine. If you’re going to be a petulant child about all of this, fine. But just know that I’ll do whatever it takes to win you back. I am sorry. I am so, so sorry,” I continued, yelling into the closed door. It was quiet behind it, so I hoped I was getting my desperation across. “I came back for you. I took a flight out to Wales that night I saw you in L.A. You just… you surprised me. And don’t even get me started on Charlie,” I explained. “HE kissed ME. Rather, he forced himself on me, under the guise of needing to use my restroom. It wasn’t what it looked like.”

I hoped Ennis couldn’t hear me.

Suddenly, the door opened. Alec stood there with his arms crossed. He looked confused.

“So… you weren’t kissing that guy?”

“Not intentionally. Like I said, he lied to me and forced himself on me. If it weren’t for you being there…” I looked down, and I heard him inhale sharply. “I was comparing him to you the entire night. I missed you, Alec. I wanted you. I
want
you,” I corrected myself. I felt myself gravitating towards him.

“Go on.”

He stood back, looking me up and down. For every step I took towards him, he took a step back.

“I came back to you. I want to be with you. I showed up at the Parc and everyone told me you would be here, in Ireland, so I drove all day and got here last night.”

“I see.” He was staring at me, examining my face. I could tell that he was trying to gauge my level of desperation.

“Please, Alec. Let’s start over.”

“I can’t just start over. You broke me.” And with that, he began to close his door.

“Dammit, Alec! For God’s sake, what do I have to say? What do I have to do? I will beg you for forgiveness every day if I have to. I’ll do anything. Just tell me what I have to do.”

He stopped mid-motion, and opened the door fully again. He had a mischievous smile on his face. I could tell he was still mad, but his bemused face was relieving to see.

“Actually… that’s not a bad idea.”

Oh, crap.

“What?”

“I mean… maybe I should make you work for it. Maybe you should beg for my forgiveness every day.” He walked over to me, and stopped just an inch away. He leaned in closer, and brushed his finger against my jaw. “Maybe I should punish you a little bit.” I felt my whole body quiver in response.

What had been dead inside of me for the last three months had suddenly awakened. It took every fiber in my body to keep myself calm and composed. If I tried to kiss him too soon, it would ruin everything. I had to get him to forgive me first. This would be hard. He knew how to manipulate my body. He would use it against me.

“Seriously? You’re only taking advantage of me right now because you know I’ll do it.”

I waited for him to say something, but he just stood there. Then he shrugged his shoulders, as if asking
why the hell not
? He was serious.

“I was going to take you back, Charlotte. I
will
forgive you eventually. Of course I’m happy that you’re here. Of course I still want you,” he said, growling a little bit as he appraised my appearance. “But… this will be fun. This is too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

I knew Alec was using this against me, and yet, I didn’t care. My heart was singing to his words.

I was going to take you back.

I’m happy you’re here.

I still want you.

If this was what it was going to take to win him back, I would do it. I would do anything. I’d lived my life long enough without him. A few days of doting on him wouldn’t be that hard. I just had to play along. We were treading deep water here. This could make or break us.

“Fine. Use me. I don’t mind.” I looked over my shoulder, making sure Ennis wasn’t around. “But just because I’m being punished and begging for your forgiveness doesn’t mean I have to do it with clothes on.”

And with that, I quickly took the hair band out of my hair and tossed my long, red hair from side to side. Before he knew what was happening, I pulled my shirt over my head and stood there, topless. His eyes turned into saucers, and I noticed a dark gleam take over his pupils. He stood completely still. Not happy with the reaction I was getting, I took it one step further, and removed my pants. Now I was completely naked, and my pajamas stood in a pile at my feet.

“Fuck, Charlotte. You make it really hard to be mad at you,” he rasped slowly and, with clearly a lot of reluctance, he shut the door slowly, never taking his eyes off of my bare skin.

I heard the door click and, with a huge grin on my face, I frantically grabbed my pajamas and dashed to my room. The last thing I needed was for Alec’s mom to see me standing buck naked in front of her son’s bedroom. I was still smiling as I went to go take a cold shower. I needed to cool off. I was on fire. As the cool water hit me and ran down the entire length of my body, I tried not to call out in shock. I hated cold showers, but they really did the trick in emergencies like this.

As I stepped out of the shower, I yelped in surprise. Alec sat on the edge of my bed, watching me.

“Did you just watch me shower?” I asked, my breath catching somewhere between my lungs and my throat.

“Why, do you have a problem with that?”

“It’s polite to knock,” I said, dropping the towel as I went to put clothes on. I heard Alec suck in a breath of air.

“I figured we should lay out some ground rules.”

“For what?”

“For your redemption.”

“Oh, right. That.” I put on a sheer, super sexy lavender lingerie set. I turned around and bent over, pretending to pick something off the ground. “Is this against the rules?”

Before I could turn around and see his reaction to my thong-clad ass, he jumped up and pushed me against the wall, so that both hands were on my waist. I cried out, not in surprise or pain but in desire. I saw him move his hands lower and lower, and he exhaled loudly. I looked up at him. We were both breathing heavily. Oh, my god. I was about five seconds away from banging the shit out of him.

“That is so against the rules,” he snarled, as his hands moved up my body. “Because when you’re here, right in front of me, wearing… that…”

“Or nothing,” I countered, making him remember my naked body just a few minutes ago.

“Right. Or nothing. You have to be fully clothed at all times.”

“Fine. As you wish.” Why was I doing this? I slowly brushed against him as I slid away, and I pulled on a pair of distressed jeans and a baggy, black sweater. “Better?”

“Not really,” he answered, appraising my body.

“Well, it’ll have to do.”

“Fine. No kissing.”

“Fine.”

“No hugging.”

“Got it.”

“No sex.”

“I think I can live with that,” I smiled, playfully. “Alec, anything you throw at me, I will do. I will honor your stupid rules if it means we can be together.”