Between us

Chapter 16

I woke up and stretched happily. Next to me Ryder slept peacefully on his stomach. I smiled and slowly got out of the bed to take a quick shower. After I was done I decided to wear a thin blue summer dress with teeny straps and pink sandals.

I looked in the mirror and smiled happily. The pregnancy really made me glow and the dress exposed a good amount of cleavage. I applied perfume to my collarbone and smiled at the little hickey there.

For someone who spoke such steamy stuff, Ryder was very gentle. Even though he was gentle, I can still feel the aftermath of what we did. I blushed at the memory and curled my hair.

After I applied makeup Ryder groaned and sleepily lifted his head. "Why are you not in bed next to me?" He asked and I got goosebumps just listening to that deep morning voice.

"Good morning to you too." I answered sarcastically and he groaned again.

"You look gorgeous, where are you going?" He asked and I put my hoop earrings on.

"I'm going shopping with Isabella." I said and turned to face him. "What do you think?" I asked and posed in front of him.

"Mine." He said and stretched.

"No, seriously." I said and he smiled seductively, causing my heart to pound in my chest.

"Mine," he repeated and stood up. I blushed and he put on his boxers and came to stand in front of me. "You look ravishing, and mind you, I haven't eaten breakfast yet. But this dress is too revealing." He added and pointed to my breasts.

I gasped and moved to swat his arm but he caught it in time. "Don't be so harsh love." He said with a husky voice and pulled me closer.

He began to kiss my hand and then he kissed up my arm, his kisses slowly reaching my neck. I shuddered and he smiled seductively. He then looked in my eyes and lifted my chin up slightly.

My hands found their way up to his chest and I traced the scar with my finger and he groaned. "Charlie, don't." He began with a raspy voice and I smiled.

"Don't be so harsh love." I said and he groaned again, before kissing me on my mouth.

A knock on the door interrupted us and Ryder pulled away with a irritated expression on his face. "What?!" He barked at the door and I struggled to keep a straight face.

"Shame on you for yelling at your mother!" Isabella's voice yelled on the other side. This time I couldn't keep it in and I burst out laughing. Ryder just gave me the stare and went to open the door.

Standing there was Isabella and another older woman, who looked like her. I remembered from one off the family pictures that it was Gabriella.

"Go put some clothes on!" Isabella scolded and Gabriella blushed.

"Yes! Go cover up, we don't want to see that so early in the morning!" Gabriella agreed and my eyes involuntarily darted down there.

Yeet!

Ryder seemed confused and then he saw where our eyes were located. "So what? At least I have boxers on." He said with a red face and walked to the bathroom.

We all laughed and then Gabriella came forward and gave me a hug. "Finally! You are so beautiful!" She exclaimed and I smiled.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you!" I said and she touched my stomach. I could see a lot of emotions running through her face but she covered it up quickly and smiled.

"Let's go eat breakfast, I hope you enjoy croissants, I made a variety of them this morning." Isabella said and we went to the dining room.

As I sat down I couldn't help but think of Gabriella's behaviour just now. I wonder what happened to her, but common sense told me to keep quiet.

On the table there was a meal fit for a king. Eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, croissants and so much more. My mouth watered and Isabella came to dish up for me.

"What kind of croissant do you want?" She asked me. "There is blueberry ones, chocolate ones and also cheesecake ones." She added.

"Cheesecake ones? I've never heard of cheesecake croissants before." I said and she smiled huge.

"It's a Storm family speciality. Which one will you take?" She then asked.

"The cheesecake one and the chocolate one." I said and she chuckled.

"You are just like Ryder, when he was a kid he couldn't also pick one, he always chose the cheesecake and the chocolate ones." She said and we all laughed.

Leonardo and Lorenzo came down and soon Ryder also joined us at the table. He looked very handsome in his black jeans and green shirt with his nikes. His hair is still wet from the shower and I could see that he trimmed his beard a little.

As expected, he dished up for himself and also took the cheesecake and the chocolate croissants. I smiled and soon we began to eat.

After we were done, Ryder got a phone call and he looked very worried. When I asked him what was going on he simply shrugged and told me to forget about it.

When he left suddenly with the twins following after him, I got a really bad feeling. But I forced myself to stop thinking so much about it when I went shopping with Isabella and Gabriella.

I must admit, shopping with these two sisters was crazy, but it cleared my mind of recent events. While we were in a cafe waiting for our order, Jessy called me.

"Hello Jessy, how are you?" I asked and from the excitement in her voice, I could tell that she received good news.

"Hey Charlie! I'm over the moon!" She exclaimed and I smiled.

"What happened Jessy?" I asked her.

"Armano proposed last night!" She squealed in my ear.

"What?! He proposed?" I softly exclaimed.

"Yes! We're getting married on Christmas Eve." She said and I smiled happily for her.

"I'm really so happy for you Jessy." I said with a lump in my throat.

Did I forget to mention that Jessy and Armano has started to date after me and Ryder's wedding? And now they're finally engaged!

After I finished talking to Jessy, I told Isabella and Gabriella about it and they were all very happy for her.

But even through all this joy, I had a strong feeling that I was being watched...
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A/n: Hey guys!👋
Welcome back to another chapter of Between us.

Ooh la la! Someone is being watched...And why is Ryder and the twins so mysterious after that phone call?...

*Sorry for taking this long to update.🙈 It's just that the last two weeks have been hectic! 😧*

Q: Who is watching Charlie? Will she ever be safe? But most importantly...will Ryder be able to protect her?... This is the calmness before the storm...

Stay tuned for more action...and passion! ^_^

Please forgive any typos and please comment...and don't forget to vote! ;)

Kind regards and stay safe :)

A . Freeman
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