AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Eleven – Charlie
Brett had basically just told me that he didn’t care about going back and finishing his business in Eastcreek—and that was basically a love declaration from a serial killer. When he said it, my heart skipped a beat and my palms got all clammy, and all I could whisper was his name: “Brett.”
With the light from the nearest pole shining down, I could see the depths of his blue gaze, and I knew right then I’d lost myself in them. In his eyes, in him, in everything I shouldn’t. This feeling I had for him was doomed. We could never go the distance… could we?
Brett leaned over the center console, letting go of my hand so he could bring both of his to my face. They swept back along my cheeks and made me sigh, and Brett swallowed up the sound when his mouth pressed upon mine.
A heated kiss, yes. A fiery one, duh. But there was an added weight behind it, maybe because of what he’d just told me. Honestly, it was enough to make me forget all about seeing Uncle Dave tonight, enough to firmly plant Brett as the one and only man taking up my thoughts. It was the kind of kiss that they wrote stories about, passionate and grasping and so long it was basically never-ending.
I’d come to enjoy having his lips on mine, not to mention the way he took hold of every part of me. Brett gave me a sense of peace, made me feel safe. He might’ve said I wasn’t his type in the beginning, but God, he had a way of making me think I was exactly his type.
I never wanted this moment to end.
But it had to, because we were in my tiny car, in public, in the middle of a restaurant’s parking lot, where anyone could see. As much as a part of me wanted to crawl into the backseat and continue making out, I also knew it’d be uncomfortable as hell for him, given how tall he was.
By the time we stopped kissing, by the time Brett let my face go and I could lean back in my seat, I was out of breath and flustered to hell and back. My cheeks burned, and I had to breathe out of my mouth. From what it sounded like, Brett was the same, because all I could hear was his hard, ragged breathing.
“Fuck,” Brett breathed out the word. Normally, I wasn’t one to find swearing hot, but when Brett did it, it was sexy as heck, with his low, gravelly voice and the intensity behind it. “I really wish I wasn’t living in that stupid treehouse. I really want to take you home, Charlie.”
The corners of my mouth curled upward as I glanced at him. Even from the side, he was handsome. I think I liked him better as a blond, but for the foreseeable future, he’d have to stick to brown hair.
“Technically, I’d be the one taking us there, since I’m driving,” I told him.
“Well, if you want to get super technical, if I had a place nearby, I’d also have a damned car, so I wouldn’t need you to chauffeur me around like a prince.”
“Oh, are you a prince now?”
The look Brett gave me made me hot all over. Smug and yet hungry at the same time. Hungry for me. “As much of a prince as a serial killer can be, sweetheart. I’d take you back to my castle and ravish you all night long—and since no one else would be nearby, you could be as loud as your little heart desires.”
Okay, that did sound kind of nice. Even in the treehouse, a part of me never wanted to be too loud; never knew when sounds might carry. My parents did sleep with their window open in the spring, for the cooler night air, the freaks.
Then again, their window had a screen, so they didn’t have to worry about bugs flying in.
“I wish,” I whispered.
Brett let out a sigh. “I wish that, too.” And then, because he was Brett and nothing could be serious for too long, he said, “You could have a whole room for your grandma sweaters. Imagine the possibilities.”
I chuckled in spite of myself, and then I swatted at his arm. “You’re such a jerk.”
“Yeah, but you put up with me because I’m your jerk, right?”
I didn’t answer right away. Brett had called me his before—and unlike any other time I’d heard it in my life, I think I liked it. I liked being Brett’s. Who knew all it took was the right guy for you to crave the feeling of being possessed?
“Yes, Brett. You’remyjerk,” I told him, shooting him a quick look.
He lifted a hand and placed it over his heart. “You’re giving me all the feels, Charlie. I think my heart just grew three sizes hearing you say that. Oh, no. What if I start being nice? What if I start donating to charity and volunteering my time?” He said those things as if they were the worst possible things someone could do. “Quick, tell me I’m a terrible person, you hate my guts, and want me to die.”
“I mean, youarea terrible person. Let’s not forget what you did to Zak.”
Brett made a phew sound, and he acted as though he was wiping sweat off his brow. “Thank fuck. I just felt my heart get a little smaller. We’re good now. Got a nice balance of good and evil in there.” He tapped his chest.
Was I desensitized to violence? Or was I just broken? Maybe it was a little of both, because I knew I should care more about what had happened to Zak. He wasn’t my stalker, so he didn’t deserve to die.
But, as much as I knew I should be upset at Brett for doing what he did, I just couldn’t be. I couldn’t be upset with him.
Was it because my weird crush on the serial killer had morphed into something more serious?
Brett asked, “Do you think it’s been long enough for your uncle to leave?” When all I did was shrug, he said, “Man, that guy was a little weird. I got a strange vibe from him, but your parents seem to like him, so I guess he can’t be that bad.”
