Sweet Charity (2 page)

“So what do you think?” he asked as he stood leaning against the wall trying to regain his equilibrium.  Yes, Charity Spencer had the ability to totally affect him that much. 

As Charity stood up and turned to look over at Jackson she almost felt overcome by his presence.  He was so tall and handsome.  He took her breath away.  Some would say he was an imposing man with his bald head, his broad shoulders and body rippling with muscles but that wasn’t at all what Charity saw when she looked at him.  Of course she saw the same sexy features others saw, but those muscles were so hot and his baldness was softened by that devastating smile of his, which showcased the cutest dimples ever.  There were also his blue eyes; not periwinkle, not royal or navy either, but a perfect combination of them all.  When Charity looked at Jackson she saw a warm, strong, and sweet man who always treated her with the utmost respect.  He was always a complete gentleman when he was around her, maybe even too much of a gentleman.  It was that thought that drew her out of her musings over him before she found herself drooling.  She shouldn’t be thinking about how sexy she thought he was--after all, she had a boyfriend. 

When the thought of Thomas entered her mind, the smile that was on her face suddenly gave way to a frown and that was when Jackson became worried that she was unhappy with what she had seen just now looking at the plans.  She had been standing in silence for several seconds, looking at him with that stunning smile of hers, making him feel for a few minutes, like she was as attracted to him, as he was to her.  When the frown found its way onto her face, he had the urge to tell her that whatever was wrong, he would do everything in this world possible to make her happy. 

“Ms. Spencer, is something wrong? Are you unhappy with the drawings?” he asked.

As soon as he spoke, Jackson’s words pulled Charity out of the daydream she had been caught up in. “Um, no why would you think that?” she asked him.

“It’s just that you were smiling, and then suddenly you frowned.  I thought something was wrong.  You looked so pleased and then something changed. Would you like to sit down?” he asked her. As Charity took a seat at the table, Jackson asked her, “Can I get you anything to drink?   I picked up some iced tea, or I have coffee, soda or ice water?”

“Iced tea would be lovely Mr. McKay. Thank you,” she answered, once again smiling. 

While Jackson went over to the small side table and poured them each a glass of tea, he asked, “Ms. Spencer, I was wondering if it would be alright if I called you Charity? And...I’d like you to call me Jackson instead of Mr. McKay.  If that’s okay,” he added.

“Of course it’s okay, Jackson,” she said looking up at him as he turned towards her with their glasses of tea in his hands.  Listening to her say his name sounded so good, he couldn’t keep a stupid ass grin from taking over his face.  Whenever he was around this woman he couldn’t keep that silly grin from showing up.  He set their glasses on the table and took a seat beside her. As he slid his chair further under the table his knee brushed up against her outer thigh and they both immediately glanced at one another.  For a few seconds, they just stared at one another as the air around them seemed to be electrically charged
.  Fuck I want to taste her lips right now.  Why the fuck am I even thinking about it?  What’s wrong with me
, he thought.
I want to lay her out on this table and ...
Before he could finish that thought, Charity reluctantly looked away breaking their connection and asked, “Should we take a look at what you’ve come up with for my restaurant?”

A few days later

Charity took the pot roast out of the oven and set it on the top of the stove. She should have just enough time to make the gravy before Tommy walked through the door from work. He liked dinner to be ready to eat the minute that he got home from work, something Charity stressed about every day.  Tommy was known to have a short fuse and this just happened to be one of the things that would set him off.  Thankfully Charity’s business allowed her the time to be home every day in plenty of time to prepare him dinner.

That could all change soon, however, if the expansion of Sweet Charity’s was a success as she hoped it would be. It was always her dream to own a place where friends could gather for a pot of tea, or a cup of coffee and a few sweets that she baked herself.  After her parents died and left her some money, she was able to make that dream become a reality.  Three years ago, when she opened for business, Sweet Charity’s was just a small shop where she sold her baked confections as well as coffee, tea, and a few cold drinks.  But now she was happy to say, because of her very loyal customers, she would soon be opening an expanded restaurant in the old library building next door to her current location.  Her parents would be very proud of her as they always thought she could and should pursue her dreams. She wasn’t certain, though, how well these changes would go over with Tommy.  He didn’t seem to care about her restaurant as long as her business didn’t interfere with her being here when he wanted her to be.     

After Charity finished thickening the gravy and placed a lid on the pot to cover it, she made her way over to the table and adjusted the napkins she had placed upon each plate earlier. Even though she knew Tommy could care less about all the “fucking flippery”, as he called her table settings, with pretty placemats, matching napkins, fresh flowers, and matching dinner and serving ware, Charity still took the time and pride in her work to set a pretty table for their dinner every night.  She returned to the stove, and double checked the temperature of both the oven and the stove top, to make sure everything would be perfect when Tommy arrived home. 

As she turned from the stove, she caught sight of the clock on the kitchen wall and noticed with surprise, that it was almost 6:30 p.m.  Tommy was always home by 6:20 at the latest, unless he had somewhere else he needed to be--the one sure thing about Tommy was that he always told her if he wasn’t going to be home for dinner.

Tommy, Thomas Birtch, was a member of the Red Aces Motorcycle Club, something Charity hadn’t known when she met him.  As a matter of fact, she didn’t learn about his club membership until they’d been dating for eight months.  It seems Tommy decided that he didn’t want Charity to know anything about the club, because he suspected that, if she knew, she would never have gone out with him let alone moved in together.  He was right.  Had Charity known that he was the President of the, rather nefarious, Red Aces MC, she would never have given him the time of day.  When she found out what he did in addition to running his own welding company, Charity was quite upset.  She knew he and some guys got together a few evenings a week and on weekends, but Tommy always told her he was helping a friend building a house. She knew he wore a leather jacket but she had never seen his cut.  Tommy had kept that in his truck and put it on when Charity wouldn’t be able to see it. 

One day, when Tommy came home in a rage, he forgot to remove his cut before charging into the house.  Because Tommy was not in a good mood, to say the least, Charity had just sat quietly and listened, only able to nod her head, as he ranted on about someone being incompetent and things falling apart. She had no idea what he was shouting about, but she knew better than to ask questions, because any inquiries by her would only incite further anger in Tommy.  Charity also knew better than to comment on his cut, and the fact that she was aware that his club was rumored to be into highly illegal activities.

Charity had discovered during recent months, that by staying quiet and waiting until Tommy finished, she was actually able to diffuse his anger.  It was the best way to prevent him taking his anger out on her.  If she tried to speak to Tommy while he was in this state, he had been known to threatened her with physical violence.  She really didn’t know what to do about her relationship with Tommy but she was afraid to rock the boat for fear things wouldn’t bode well for her.  

Soon Charity looked at the clock and another half hour had passed and still no Tommy.  If he came home and supper wasn’t waiting, or if it was ruined, she knew he would be angry.  The fact that she didn’t know he was going to be late, would be no excuse.

Charity anxiously waited until seven thirty, and when Tommy still hadn’t come home or called, she ate a quick bite of dinner herself, and wrapped up the rest and placed it in the fridge.  She decided to pull out a book and just spend the evening quietly reading until Tommy arrived home.

After several attempts at trying to concentrate on her book, Charity found herself thinking about Jackson.  He was always so kind to her, and she couldn’t help wishing that she were sitting here waiting for
him
to come home.  Tommy was so volatile, and she never knew what mood he would be in when he came home.  She knew that she would never have to fear Jackson coming home, and had no doubt, how good he would be to her.

Charity thought about the last time they had met about the renovations on
Sweet Charity’s,
and how handsome he looked, with those cute dimples of his and that body full of rippling muscles.  He was so sexy, and even though she knew it was wrong, she was very attracted to him.  If she read had him correctly, she thought he almost kissed her then.  She couldn’t help but think what it would be like if he had.  Then totally lost in her fantasies, she imagined Jackson holding her in his arms, nipping at her lips, and tasting her with his skillful tongue.  She remembered how good he always smelled with his clean smelling cologne--she could actually smell it now!  She could feel the light tickling of his short beard as it moved over her skin, his nose trailing down her neck, and down further still to the tops of her breasts, as chill bumps broke out over her now as they did in her fantasy.

Next thing she knew, her blouse was completely unfastened, and Jackson’s lips were tugging at her hard, swollen nipples.  She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn’t even realize it was she, who had just unfastened her blouse and was now plucking at her own nipples with her fingers.  Next she felt Jackson’s work calloused fingers as they stroked through her slippery folds and rubbed her clit--all the while, she was the one rubbing her swollen clit, her fingers wet just thinking about the man.  As she slowly lay back on the couch, she imagined him lowering his mouth over her clit and tugging and sucking, as his fingers continued to stroke in and out.  When she cried out her release, and lay panting for several seconds against the coach cushions, it was then that she came back to reality, and realized that she had just cum from thinking about a man she shouldn’t have been.

The smile that had covered her face as she’d been thinking about Jackson now disappeared, as guilt set in over thinking of him, rather than the man she shared a home with.  She knew Tommy had his flaws and made threats against her, but would he ever really actually hurt her?  She wanted to believe he would never do such a thing, but deep down she knew that she wouldn’t want to trust in that belief too much.  Looking down at herself, she realized for the first time her state of undress, and decided that she best head to bed.  Thinking about a man she would never have and one she almost wished she’d never cared about in the first place, wasn’t doing her any good.  Tommy would certainly be angry when he came home if he were hungry and she were in bed, however she needed to be up early in the morning to head to
Sweet Charity’s
and get her baking underway.  All she could think of now was getting some sleep.  

Suddenly Charity woke up to the sound of a Harley outside.  No, not just one Harley, but what sounded like several.  Please God, she prayed, don’t let him be bringing a bunch of his club mates around to the house--especially at this hour.   Shortly after, as she lay in bed listening, the sound of roaring motorcycles ended, to be replaced with the loud voice of Tommy and what must be his friends.

Within seconds, the door to the bedroom was kicked open and the light switched on, while Tommy and four of his friends moved into the room as Tommy yelled, “What the fuck are you doing in bed you stupid cunt?  Where’s my dinner?”  That caused a roar of laughter to rise up out of Tommy’s friends.

“Fuck man, she’s a looker this one.  When are we gonna share her?” a heavy set and very hairy man standing next to Tommy said with a chilling smirk on his face.