Page 88 of Promises in the Dark

She turns and heads for the front door, leaving me wondering…

What the hell am I doing?

“Just breathe,” I tell Charlotte as I place the unloaded gun in the palm of her trembling hand, curling her slender fingers around the grip. “I want you to get comfortable with it first before you use it. Note the weight and how it handles.”

She carefully adjusts her fingers as I let my hand fall, holding it as far away from her body as she can.

I smirk. “There are no bullets in it.”

“Oh.” She seems to relax at that notion, bringing it in closer to her. She tilts it to the side, her eyes grazing over the cold metal.

“This is a semi-automatic pistol.” I point to the small circular piece on the side. “And this is the safety. No matter how many times you pull on the trigger, nothing will happen as long as this is on.”

She nods. “Okay.”

I point to the button behind the trigger. “This is the magazine release.” I reach inside my pocket. “And this.” I pull out the magazine. “Is the magazine.” I take the gun from her and insert the magazine fully inside until I feel it click into place. “This particular style carries twelve bullets.”

“There are…bullets in that?”

I nod and take her hand, once again wrapping her fingers around the grip. I arrange her trigger finger high and aligned with the frame. I step to her other side and reach for her non-dominant hand, wrapping her four fingers over her other ones beneath the trigger guard and aligning her thumb with the frame. “The safety is on.” I position myself behind her, using both my hands to cover hers as I raise the gun before us, pointing directly toward the target I strung up beneath a tree branch.

Her back presses against my chest, my head lowering beside hers. I hear every shallow breath she takes, my eyes glancing to her face, noting the way her lips are parted and her eyelids appear heavy.

My cock instantly hardens as she pushes back against me, a tremble washing over her. I internally shake my head, adjusting my stance. Now is not the time to get a hard-on.

“Now what?” she asks, looking straight ahead.

“Now.” I use my thumb to pull back on the safety. Her breaths pick up speed, her fingers shaking beneath mine. I tighten my grip around hers. “I won’t let anything happen to you. You know that, right?”

She nods. “Yes.” She licks her bottom lip. “I just… I can’t tell if I’m nervous or…” She glances up at me beneath her dark lashes. “Excited.”

Fuck me.

I let out a breath, my cock aching from the look in her eyes.

It’s the same one she gave me last night when she offered me all of her trust on a silver platter.

“You’re holding power between your fingers.” I press my lips to the side of her neck, and a small gasp escapes her. “One pull of the trigger and you can eliminate your enemy.”

She swallows hard. “I don’t know if I could actually do that. Taking someone’s life…” She shakes her head. “I don’t know. But I want to be ready in case I ever have to.”

I glide my lips up the delicate column of her throat. “You will be.” I lift my head, placing us almost cheek to cheek. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

I bring the gun up closer to her dominant eye and align the front sight post between the two rear notches. “Your eye should be focused sharply on the front sight,” I instruct her, my finger pointing to the piece. “The target and rear sight will appear a little blurry, but that’s okay.” I watch as she closes her other eye. “Keep both eyes open. It’ll give you better depth perception and prevent tunnel vision.”

“Okay,” she whispers.

“Now pull.”

Her finger hesitates, hovering over the trigger. I feel a tremor intensify through her. She swallows, her chest heaving. “I can’t,” she breathes shakily.

I brush my lips over her ear. “I want you to picture Garrett standing before you. I want you to think about everything he ever did to you. Everything that brought you to—”

Bang!

Charlotte gets slightly thrown back against my chest, her eyes widening, her lips parting in shock. I stand tall and look at the target.