Amid the Roar - Sequel to M.A.L.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“It’s over,” he mumbled as he violently jammed his things back into his suitcases. “She’s gone. It’s over. She doesn’t want me.”

Having his Annabel… having Gabrielle, run away like that wounded Charile. It was worse than her leaving the first time. She had run and now she was gone for good. It was over.

Charlie packed up his things. The closet was emptied, the refrigerator was cleaned out and the rest of his personal belongings were packed. He was returning to the Clover. Alice had been asking if he was coming back. Each time she called, he gave a hesitant reply. But now his answer was certain. He would be glad to go back to the Kingdom. Charlie shook his head and zipped the last of his luggage. Maybe now, even though it would hurt, he could move on.

The heartbroken man looked over the generic furnishing one last time. His time at the apartment was up.

Out of the blue, the doorbell rang. Charlie wondered for a moment before nodding his head. It was trick-or-treat night. Kids would be coming and going all night, begging for treats. He ignored it and went back to sulking. When they started knocking on the door, he had to yell.

“There’s no candy here,” he barked. The knocking continued. Charlie growled in frustration and stormed over to open the door. The kids were going to get a piece of his mind. “I said I don’t have any—”

Looking through the doorway, his lungs tightened and nothing in his mind seemed to work. Gabrielle stood there breathing very heavily. She was wearing the same jacket he found her in the day he took her. Charlie inhaled sharply at his unexpected guest.

“Is this real,” he asked. His hand rose to caress her cheek but Gabrielle didn’t shy away. Her skin felt as soft as a rose petal under his fingertips. “Are you really here?”

Her brown eyes stared deep into Charlie’s. Everything in Gabrielle was screaming it was wrong to do what she was there to do, everything except one pesky voice that she couldn’t help but listen to. The girl pressed closer to him, sending his nerves in a whirl.

“We need to talk,” Gabrielle told him. After checking the hallway to make sure no one saw them, she forcefully turned Charlie around and pushed his back to get him inside. He stumbled on his carpet. Her touch felt real enough. The sound of his front door slamming sounded real.

“My darling, I’ve missed you,” Charlie sighed turning around. His joy quickly soured. “What’s this? What are you doing?”

Gabrielle held a gun in her shaky hands, pointing it directly toward his chest. It was stolen from her father’s lockbox under his stack of risqué pictures that were not of her mother. She knew all the dirty secrets in her house. The handgun was the only secret worth knowing about.

As for Charlie, he nodded. It was indeed reality.

“Listen very closely,” Gabrielle ordered. She tightened her grip to stop herself from trembling but it was no use. Her emotions went haywire from the moment she saw Charlie open the door. “You have to… I can’t have you here. You can’t be here.”

As Charlie nodded his head, Gabrielle looked around. His apartment was mostly bare and nothing in the room looked like it had a proper owner. The girl scrunched her eyebrows and scarcely lowered her aim.

“You’re leaving?”

“You don’t want me here anyway,” Charlie said angrily. His stare intimidated her, making her back away slowly. He was going, practically gone. Gabrielle lowered her arms.

“You know,” the girl chuckled pitifully. She scratched her temple and let the gun fall to her side. “I had this long speech and everything ready to go. I was going to tell you off and make you regret ever picking me off the street. I was going to—”

During this, Charlie gradually moved closer. He knew there were things running through her mind and hesitations on doing him harm but he wouldn’t take the chance. When Gabrielle turned her back for one second, Charlie seized the gun, easily taking it from her and pinning her smaller body to the wall. Gabrielle was trapped by his strength but more so by the intense stare of his eyes.

“Next time, take the safety off and I might feel threatened,” Charlie said. He slammed the handgun onto the table beside the front door, making a loud enough noise for Gabrielle to flinch. “Get out of my apartment. Get out before I do something I really don’t want to.”

Gabrielle looked up at her looming ex-kidnapper. She had been this close to Charlie very few times, only having the upper hand once. It was the first time she tried to kill him. She smiled slightly. How many times can girls say they’ve tried to kill someone more than once?

Charlie leered down and she fought against the desire she reluctantly felt. Their breath mingled from being so close. If the past hadn’t happened, she would have come undone by his perfectly sculpted face alone. But her inner turmoil kept her motionless; her thoughts were still deciding what to do.

It was all to do with the thoughts shouting in her head. There was that one voice she was still trying not to listen to and that voice belonged to her heart. It was the only reason she was there; Jason was planning something very dark in his mind and no matter how badly Gabrielle thought the world would be better off without Charlie, she couldn’t let it happen. He was wrong for her, too old, too needy, and too psychotic. But he was also kind, gentle, and a romantic at heart who let his obsession get carried away. The girl knew she could never and would never hurt the man she had unwillingly fallen for.

Screw it, Gabrielle shouted at her mind. Her heart and the sexual tension building between them won out. The girl took her arms out of Charlie’s grip and wrapped them around his neck. Here goes everything.

Gabrielle pressed her lips firmly to Charlie’s. There was no going back, no turning away. The only thing she was channeling was her instincts. Her mind, which was screaming to run away and never look back, had been silenced.

Charlie pushed the girl off at once, stunned by the kiss. He didn’t know what to think of it. But the way Gabrielle looked at him was like he never seen her before. For the first time, he saw her true feelings. It was all he ever wanted and more.

Gabrielle was shoved into the wall by the ferocity of his reciprocated passion. It sent a craving sensation running through her veins. Everything was on fire for her. She knew this was going to be a mistake but she wanted nothing else. Their lips met again with more desire.

His unshaven face tickled her skin as it moved toward her neck. Charlie may have been out of practice in loving a woman but he knew exactly how to make her melt. He dragged his lips lightly over her skin and left a trail of kisses. She sighed and clawed the hem of his shirt. They’re movements were heated, their hands growing bolder. Gabrielle turned his face back to her and bit his bottom lip, making the man moan. Charlie caressed her thigh but her pulling his belt closer to her made him finally realize what was truly happening.

Gabrielle wanted him. This was her choice.

Charlie smiled inquisitively at his love and the girl nodded her consent. She jumped into his arms and straddled his waist. That was the last and final time she could have stopped them but she wanted their night to be shared. The man carried her to his bed, throwing his luggage to the ground. His things fell all over the floor loudly and Gabrielle giggled into the skin of Charlie’s chest.

Tomorrow she would regret everything but tonight… tonight was theirs.

.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: kjhdfksjhflskjhdfkjgleiurtjkbhiglsehrgeiugh To those of you who ship Charlie and Gabrielle… I can only imagine what you think… And to those of you who don’t… I can only imagine what you think. Either way, there are still more surprises in store! ;)