embarrassed by your reaction to me? We
are mates!”
How could she make this
beautiful man, who no doubt had women falling at his feet, understand that she
lacked the experience to fulfill him in the bedroom? Was she even contemplating
a relationship with him, especially with the danger that lurked in every shadow
she cast?
In reality, she knew somewhere
in her heart she craved the sort of relationship Judge was offering. It was the
reason the fates had just shared that vision with her. She had to have accepted
it on some level otherwise the vision couldn’t exist.
Knowledge of the future was only
gifted to psychics once it was set in concrete and decisions were made. It told
Charli that no matter how often her brain screamed at her to run in order to
protect Judge, she had somewhere along the line accepted what he was to her and
in turn, accepted him as her mate. Otherwise that vision that had left her hot
and bothered could only be put down to her imagination. And she didn’t have a
very good one, just ask her high school English teachers.
A vibrating sounded behind her,
pulling her from her ponderings. Judge was looking down at his phone, smiling.
When he raised his gaze to her his eyes were full of laughter.
“It would seem that the girls
have harassed poor Viper into inviting you to a girls’ lunch tomorrow at the
hotel. It will be the first outing Nikki has been on since her attack, and she
wanted you and Gabby to be with her,” Judge explained. “Are you free tomorrow
or do you have clients to meet?”
“I rearranged everything as soon
as Emily was admitted. I’m free, but what about Viper, won’t he want to be with
her?”
“He’s been banned and so has
Devil. They have both been accused of hovering over Nikki too much.”
“Viper I can understand, but why
Devil. Isn’t he Gabby’s mate?”
“Yes,” Judge said as he sat in
the other chair in the room. “But remember, his vampire blood now runs through
Nikki’s body too. He knows what untrained vampires are capable of, and he won’t
allow anyone in his family to experience the aftereffects. It’s not a pretty
thing to go through.”
“Oh,” she replied, still unsure
about Devil. He scared her. “Well if it’s just going to be the three of us,
that I can handle. I would love to see how Nikki’s doing.”
“Just a warning, it might not
just be the three of you. Our little sister is due back from her holiday any
day now. If she’s back, she’ll be invited too.” Judge smiled. “You’ll love
Jewel. Though I do fear what trouble the four of you could get into.”
“Well don’t expect me to tell
you if we do,” Charli teased. For something she rarely did, it felt natural
with Judge.
“Oh you will be telling me,
mate. Tomorrow night over an early dinner before we check on Emily.”
“Since when are we having
dinner?”
“What, you didn’t foresee that?”
Judge joked. “Actually I have a proposal that will definitely offer you
protection as well as provide Emily with a little bit of normalcy in her life.”
“Really? Now I’m intrigued.”
“Then you’ll have dinner with me
tomorrow?” Judge asked. If she was reading him correctly, he was slightly
nervous about her response. This strong, beautiful man, who could have any
woman he wanted, was worried about being rejected by her.
It was now or never. Was she
going to continue lying to herself about where her future lay or was she going
to trust in not only her own visions but Emily’s as well? Her little sister had
confirmed that Judge was the man she had seen in her visions. The man whose
future intertwined with Charli’s. She could almost renounce fate, but the one
thing she had yet to find the strength to do was deny Emily any glimmer of
happiness.
“I’ll have dinner with you,
Judge. And not just because I’m interested in this proposal of yours.”
She felt surprise at how much
she truly meant her words. Excitement raced through her as her mind
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