For the Empire - Inganno

Chapter 50

JOHN PAUL

I watch as Charmaine hurries out of my room to change out of her dress, and I know I'm fucking whipped when I would rather her stay in the dress, so she doesn't have to leave.

I sigh as I begin to move to sit up slowly, using my left arm to push myself up. My right arm is useless; in the damn sling it's in; to help keep my arm elevated and in place.

I grimace as the pain erupts from my right side, where the bullet hit the kevlar. I grit my teeth as I shake my head, remembering the impact of the shot. The air left my body as I slammed back onto the ground, smacking my head on the pavement before everything went black.

When I woke up in my room, I was frantic when I didn't see Charmaine with me, assuming the worst had happened. The last thing I remember seeing was her falling over, which made me think she had been hit. It wasn't until my father told me she was fine that I had calmed down.

Well, that and the Dr. threatening to sedate me.

I never did tell her how breathtaking she looked tonight in that dress. However, her words come to my mind before we left for the gala when she said maybe we were moving too fast or that this was a mistake. The panic I felt at that moment was indescribable.

Images of her dancing with that fucking asshole flash in my mind, too. It was him; I know it was, Furia. If my father hadn't stopped me, I would have smashed his face in repeatedly.

Jealousy coursed through me as I watched him dance closely with her, but there was no denying how well they looked, dancing together; I had no idea she knew how to dance like that.

The sound of my door opening brings me back from my thoughts, and she peeks her head in, smiling at me, and like always, she takes my breath away. She walks in and flips the lamp lights on. My eyes take a moment to adjust, but the sound of heels clicking against the wood floor reaches my ears, and I frown.

"I thought you went to change?" I rub at my eyes, still trying to adjust to the lighting.

"I did."

She walks to the bathroom, turning the light off that was left on in there. My eyes travel down her silk robe and nude heels, and then she reaches up and pulls at something that releases her hair in big waves around her shoulders. Her eyes are on me as she unties her robe slowly.

My mouth runs dry as she rolls her shoulders a little, and the robe slides off of her, pooling at her feet, and I take in what she changed into; a see-through shirt--dress--thing and nothing else under it.

I swallow, "Char..."

She looks over her shoulder at me as she turns around slowly. "Do you like it?"

I don't trust my voice, so I nod my head in response.

Charmaine smiles and starts to walk towards me in slow, measured steps, and my eyes travel down and back up, taking in her beauty. She smiles at me and then bites her lip, in the way she does when she's nervous but looks incredibly sexy; her eyes are watching me, but then her eyes widen before she starts to fall forward.

"Whoa!" She hits the floor hard, groaning loudly, followed by a quiet, "Ow..."

I move to get up quickly but then regret it immediately, groaning in pain. "Fuck. Char, are you okay?" I shut my eyes tight, hissing from the pain radiating from both my side and arm from sitting up too fast.

"Charmaine...?"

"Yeah?" I hear her sniffle.

I sit up slowly and see she's doing the same, and I slide off my bed to make my way over to her. I bend down on my knee to help her up while trying to keep myself from groaning in pain. She takes my hand and stands up slowly.