Ain't Misbehaving by Shelley Munro

moved on to crushing garlic and dicing button mushrooms. Logic told her Gran would have collapsed even if she’d been here, yet guilt ballooned inside her.
    Gran didn’t care about their lack of blood relationship. She treated Charlotte the same as her real grandchildren. Charlotte hadn’t minded looking after her even though it meant spending most Friday and Saturday nights at home. Gran had repaid her in other ways—her interest in crafts and design sparking the seeds of a career for Charlotte. And the interview—
    “Phone for you,” Jenny snapped, temper contorting her pretty face into a caricature mask.
    “Me? Who is it?” Charlotte’s fingers itched for a pencil and paper to record her stepsister’s expression.
    “Answer it and you’ll find out. Don’t hog the line for too long. I’m expecting a call from Steve.”
    And heaven forbid Jenny missed a call. Charlotte picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
    “Charlotte, it’s Ash.”
    Charlotte heard a shocked gasp on the line before the phone in the lounge clattered down, shutting off the background noise from the TV. Her stomach turned a slow somersault. Answer the man, Ms. Feisty ordered. Don’t make me get out my pointy boots.
    “Hi,” Charlotte said. Great conversational skills, not!
    “I enjoyed meeting you at the ball.”
    “I…that was a one-night thing.” Play our cards right and we could have more of that prime hunk of man. “Shush,” Charlotte snapped.
    “Is someone there with you?” Ash asked, sounding amused.
    Meeting him again without his Zorro costume meant she could picture him properly—the crooked, impish grin and the way it lit up his pretty blue eyes. The muscles of his chest, his bulging biceps and the corded muscles and tendons of his tanned arms. His hands, the skin callused from some sort of manual labor. The confident attitude. The underlying charm. The hard bulge of his cock and the way it felt surging into… No. No. No! Charlotte shook herself, glad he couldn’t witness the fiery heat surging into her face. Combined with her red hair, it was never a good look. She turned, her grip tightening on the receiver as she met the gazes of her stepmother and stepsisters.
    “Are you there, Charlotte?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’ve called at an awkward time. Could we meet tomorrow for coffee?”
    “I’m not sure. My Gran is in the hospital. I want to visit her.”
    “I’m sorry,” Ash said, and his tone was genuine and sincere rather than someone going through the motions. “I talked to your grandmother on the phone. She’s a very determined lady. With her feisty attitude, I’m sure she’ll make a speedy recovery.”
    “Yes. Thank you,” Charlotte added, remembering her manners.
    “I’ll call you again about coffee, Princess. I’m not letting you go so easily.” His voice held the same determination she saw every day in her grandmother.
    “You’re my boss.” She wanted freedom to do her own thing, to explore the world outside the current bubble of her life. And while she might hook up with a man, she didn’t want anything permanent. It was too risky.
    “I was your lover first,” Ash said. “I’m a professional. I can keep my hands off you at work, but after hours is a different story. I’m going to run my hands across your naked body, suck your pretty apricot nipples into my mouth and fuck you blind every opportunity I get.”
    “Oh.” Charlotte bit her bottom lip. Was it possible for her face to get any redder? Any hotter?
    “Charlotte, pay attention. The onions are burning,” Elizabeth said. “Get off the phone. Jenny is expecting an important call.”
    Surely she could use her cell phone? Charlotte grabbed the pan off the heat, wrinkling her nose at the onions. Not too bad. She’d saved them.
    “Who is that?” Ash’s voice changed, letting her know he’d heard every word.
    “My stepmother.”
    “Not the Wicked Witch of the West?”
    Charlotte giggled and slapped her hand across her mouth when she