Temptation

[Shezza]

Great Update! I loved the silly excuses from Charlie and Bianca. I loved Heath in this chapter it is great to see his softer side as well.

I think I know what has taken Charlie by surprise at the end but I am not sure if I should write it here or not??? I could be wrong too.

Can't wait to see what you come up with next

[Charlie-brax]

Greaaat Update! You should update on it soon

[Sazzle]

Fabtastic couple of updates!

Love that Chax are actually enjoying being with eachother and I'm loving your writing! Very funny interactions with Bianca and Charlie both realising they were busted

Excited for more! My suggestion for who is in the office is the skank Hayley and eager to find out and see how story develops! Hope she doesn't try and mess with the Chax....or who ever it actually is

Thanks for sharing!

[Chax47]

Hey everyone!!

Thought I'd get this one out to you a little faster this week....

I know I say it everytime, but thank you so so so much for the reviews! They quite literally make my day I love hearing your thoughts!

Anyway, the next one should hopefully be with you on Monday....but for now, enjoy...

Lianne

Chapter 9

"Sergeant Buckton, how nice of you to join us." A sarcastic voice filled the room, as the woman sitting behind the table looked up and smirked in Charlie's direction. On the opposite side of the table, Watson turned her head to glance at Charlie, although Charlie's eyes were fixed on the other woman.

"What are you doing here? You're name isn't mentioned as being Mr Taylor's lawyer?" She tried to remain professional but the knots in her stomach made that difficult. She glanced down at the notes in her hand to check what she already knew. "A Mr Gillespie is mean't to be here?"

Charlie looked to Watson for an explanation, but before Watson could answer the laywer had spoken up again.

"I heard about this case and I just had to help." She exchanged smiles with the man sat beside her. Michael Taylor was in his late twenties and was a well known gang leader. He sat with his arms folded across his chest, a self assured smile planted firmly on his face. Charlie knew there was something dodgy about him, and his recent choice in lawyer confirmed her suspicions.

"Personally, I think it's disgusting how my client has been harrassed by all of you. I'm going to make sure that you pay for screwing people over." The lawyer continued, aiming her last comment directly at Charlie.

Charlie was thankful that no one in the room could hear the pounding in her chest as she returned the woman's cold stare. Watson watched the exchange between the two women and cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence that had filled the room.

"Shall we get started?"

-----

Bianca stretched in her chair as she stared out towards the empty classroom. She was greatful for the free period, as for most of the morning her mind had been far from the classes she should have been teaching. Her thoughts continued to drift to the previous night's activities which inevitably brought a smile to her face.

She sighed as she forced herself to focus on the stack of exercise books which were piled up on her desk. She had forty minutes before her next class was due and she knew that at the rate she was working at today, she would never be done in time.

Her phone beeped in her bag. Seeing it as yet another distraction, she threw down her pen and opened up the new text message.

Heath

How is your day going?

Her smile grew. He had been on her mind all day, and clearly she had been on his.

Good but I'm a little distracted today. You?

She waited only a matter of seconds before the phone beeped again, alerting her to his reply.

Heath

Something, or someone, on your mind?

Bianca couldn't help but laugh at his forwardness. She could imagine him sitting there with a cocky smile on his face, waiting for her reply. She was undecided whether or not she should play it cool or just give him the answer she knew he was waiting for.

Her thumbs were hovering over the keypad as her mind raced over how to reply. A knock on the classroom door caused her to look up and smile.

Oh my God...is he here?

Her mind was now in overdrive as she placed down the phone and stood up, straightening out her outfit. Ruffling up her hair, she walked over to the door and opened it, the smile already on her face.

It faded quickly.

"Liam?" The excitement she felt only seconds ago was now long forgotten.

"Can we talk?" He asked, gesturing into the classroom.

Bianca hesitated for a moment before moving aside and allowing him to enter the room. Once the door was closed behind them, she walked over to her desk and closed the text message. She had a feeling the object of her texts was suddenly about to become the object of this conversation.

Leaning against the front of her desk, she looked over to Liam who had taken a seat at one of the tables.

"So, what can I do for you?"

She smiled lightly at him. Despite all that they had been through, a part of her still and possibly always would care for Liam. She knew that it was probably not in the way that he wanted, but the feelings were still there.

"I saw you and your boyfriend together this morning...." He tried his hardest to keep calm. He knew that getting angry at her would just push her further away.

Bianca sighed. "He is not my boyfriend, Liam. And like I've told you before, it's really none of your business."

"But you're sleeping with him?"

"Again...none of your business." Her voice raised slightly which didn't go unnoticed by Liam. "If that is all you came here for, then you can leave now. I'm busy."

Liam stood up and took a couple of steps towards her. He had rehearsed the conversation for most of the morning but it wasn't quite going the way he had planned.

"He is no good for you, Bianca. He is a drug dealer. Do you not get that? You could do so much better!"

"And you are a drug user, Liam. So don't dare try and tell me who is and who isn't good enough for me. That's no longer your right." Bianca pushed herself up off the desk and made her way over to the classroom door. "Now, if you don't mind," she continued. "I have work to do..."

Liam paused for a second before reluctantly heading out of the room. He stopped in the doorway and turned to face her, determined to give it another go.

"Please, Bianca. Just promise me you'll keep your distance from him."

Bianca refused to make eye contact with him. She was far too annoyed and confused.

"Just go." Her voice was cold and abrupt, but she knew there was no other way.

Liam sighed before walking away, leaving Bianca in the classroom alone with her thoughts. Groaning, she threw herself back down on the chair and placed her head in her hands. Was she kidding herself about Heath? Could he really be the person she thinks he is? Or was he simply what everyone was saying; just another dangerous River Boy.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she reached for her phone and turned it off, placing it back in her bag.

-----

Brax stood behind the counter at Angelos, staring out at the packed dining room. It was supposed to be his day off but he figured that if he went in for a couple of hours it would be less time for him to sit around thinking of Charlie. Plus, if he kept himself busy it would soon be time for him to pick her up from work.

His plan, however, was full of flaws.

"Table nine have sent this back." The waiter slammed the plate down on the counter in front of Brax and stared at his boss.

"What's the matter with it?"

"It's not what they ordered." The waiter was clearly annoyed as he picked up the dish and headed back to the kitchen. It was the third one in a matter of hours that had been returned.

Despite how hard he tried, his mind was just not on the job; not unless his job suddenly involved Charlie Buckton. Laughing quietly to himself at the person he'd now become, he gathered his things and said goodbye to the staff who all tried to hide their relief at his departure.

He was heading to the door when he was greeted by Heath.

"Bro, buy me a beer!" Heath grunted as he moved past Brax and slumped into one of the booths. Brax paused before checking his watch. He still had a two hours before he was due to pick Charlie up. Spinning round, he gestured to the bar staff before taking a seat beside his younger brother.

"What's up with your face?" Brax asked as Heath checked the screen on his phone before tossing it down on the table.

"Women."

Brax couldn't help but laugh. He himself was in the same predicament, although in Brax's case his issue was more of a distraction, not a problem.

"Bianca giving you grief?"

A waitress brought two beers over to the table. Brax thanked her while Heath remained silent. He checked his phone once again. Nothing.

"I just don't understand them. One minute they're into you, the next...nothing."

Brax stared at his brother in disbelief. He'd never seen Heath Braxton bothered over a girl before; Heath was usually the one who broke hearts all over the place. Not the other way around.

"She's giving you the cold shoulder?" Brax guessed.

Heath took a long gulp of his beer and gazed down at the bottle. "So, Buckton eh?" He wasn't too subtle at the topic change but Brax didn't mind that his mind was suddenly back on Charlie.

Brax couldn't help the smile that had formed on his lips. He checked his watch again; less than two hours to go now.

"Yeah. I have her back, and I plan to keep it that way." Brax sipped at his beer, willing for the time to pass quickly.

Heath noticed the change in his brother; a change which always happened when a certain police Sergeant was mentioned.

"If you ask me mate, they are all more trouble than they're worth...." Heath finished his beer with another two gulps and set the empty bottle down on the table. He got the attention of the waitress and ordered another round. He checked his phone once more and sighed.

"What's that saying? A watched pot..." Brax started, hoping to bring a smile on Heath's face but gained no reaction.

They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts. Never in a million years would either of them have pictured themselves obsessing over a woman.

----

Charlie tried her best to retain her composure. They had been in the interview room for just under an hour; time which Charlie would never like to repeat. They were getting no where. It hadn't been one of the easiest interviews she had ever conducted, especially when the defendent's lawyer is hellbent on getting any dig that she can.

"We have witnesses that place you at the scene of the crime, Michael." Watson informed them. Charlie had to hand it to her. She had definitely stepped up and tried to take some of the heat off Charlie, even though she had no idea what subtext was really going on.

"The evidence you have against my client is, at best, circumstantial." Hayley stated. The smirk hadn't left her face.

"There is nothing circumstantial about it. We know you were there, we know it was your gun which was used to injure the victim. Just come clean..." Charlie ignored the glares she was getting across the table as she stared back at the man sitting opposite her.

Hayley started laughing, causing them all to look at her.

"Sergeant Buckton, I think it's you who needs to come clean."

Charlie frowned at her in confusion. "What?"

"Well, we all know that Michael is a member of a gang; a gang which is currently in conflict with another gang. A gang, which I'm pretty sure, has strong connections to the family of your boyfriend. You're unfairly targetting my client in order to even the playing field for your boyfriend, Sergeant Buckton." Michael joined in with the laughter as Hayley taunted Charlie over the table.

Charlie stared back at her, resisting the urge to jump over the table and hit her. Violence had never been the answer for her problems but there was something about Hayley which got her at the core.

"That's a very interesting story you've written for yourself. Maybe you should consider a change of career...." Charlie retorted, feeling her face burn with anger.

Watson stepped in. "Let's stick to the facts shall we. Mr Taylor, we have..."

"So, are you denying that you are sleeping with a well known criminal and gang leader?" Hayley interrupted Watson, her eyes never leaving Charlie's.

Reaching breaking point, Charlie pushed back her chair and stormed out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind her. Hayley watched her go and smiled.

"Was it something I said?" She replied, sarcastically.

-----

Bianca finally left the gym feeling more frustrated than she did when she started. Her mind had been racing ever since her conversation with Liam that afternoon. She knew he had no right in telling her who she should and shouldn't spend time with, but once the seed of doubt had been planted it was difficult for her to stop it from growing. She knew she liked Heath, and she knew that he liked her. But was she just fooling herself?

She had yet to reply to his text from this afternoon. A couple of hours later he had sent her a different one but that too went unanswered. She wasn't all too sure why she was ignoring him, but at the minute she no longer knew what she should say.

Walking out into the surf club with her bag in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, she stopped in her tracks as she spotted Heath walking down the stairs of Angelo's holding hands with a scantily clad brunette. He didn't seem to notice her as he laughed and joked with the woman and made his way towards the door.

Bianca froze, watching as they left the building. Her vision clouded over as tears filled her eyes.

-----

Charlie's eyes kept flicking to the clock, waiting for the minutes to roll over. After the interview was suspended, she had taken refuge in her office using the excuse of paperwork. Her collegues had taken note and no one had bothered her.

She wasn't too sure if Hayley was still in the building or if she had left. Either way she didn't really care. She thought this case was going to be fairly straight forward but that idea was now far from a reality.

Her phone buzzed on the table.

Brax

I'm outside whenever you are ready gorgeous.

Can't wait to see you... x

She had failed to tell him about her afternoon run in, figuring that she would just wait until she saw him. Now seemed like the right opportunity. Ignoring the last fifteen minutes of her shift, she grabbed her bag and coat and made her way out of the station.

Brax was leaning against the bonnet of his car waiting for her to come out. He had spent the afternoon listening to Heath go on and on about how bad women were; all Brax now wanted was an evening in the arms of the woman he loved to prove his brother's theory wrong. He beamed as Charlie walked out of the station, but noticed immediately the down beaten look on her face.

"Hey lovely. What's the matt..."

Before finishing his sentence, he caught sight of Hayley walking out behind Charlie. She had a huge sly smile on her face.

Brax's hands rested on Charlie's sides as she looked up at him.

"What is she doing here?"

"Darryl! How lovely to see you again..." Hayley winked at him as she walked past, throwing a glare in Charlie's direction as she passed.

"Please, just take me home." Charlie begged as she walked past him and into the car.

----

"I don't understand why she would still be in the Bay?" Brax started once they were in Charlie's room. The drive home had been fairly quiet.

Charlie ignored him as she moved around the room and changed into a pair of sweats and a vest top. He couldn't help but think she looked beautiful, although now wasn't really the time for those kind of thoughts.

"She's going to do whatever she can to make this really difficult for me, Brax. You should have heared her accusing me of questioning her client just to help out with the gang war." Charlie rubbed at her forehead, before pushing her hair off her face and tying it back in a loose pony tail. She started pacing in front of him but he quickly reached for her arm and pulled her down on his lap.

"Hey...you are far smarter than her, Charlie. Don't let her get to you, ok? At the end of the day, you are just doing your job, there's nothing corrupt about it. We both know that, so don't let what she says get to you." He wrapped his arms tighter around her middle, resting his head into her chest. She kissed the top of his head as she responded to the hug.

"I know. It's just...you know what the worst part of that interview was?" He moved back from the hug so he could look at her as she spoke. "It wasn't what she was saying that hurt me. I was looking at her and all I could see was the two of you together." She couldn't help her eyes filling up. The feeling had eaten away at her all day and now that she was finally getting it out, she was overcome with a variety of emotions. "It kills me, Brax. It kills me that you looked at her the way you look at me..." She trailed off as the tears started to descend down her cheeks.

Brax caught each of the tears with his thumbs, his hands moving to settle on either side of her face. He forced her to look at him before he spoke.

"Charlie...I could never look at anyone, the way I look at you." The sincerity was evident in his voice.

Her eyes focussed on his as the anxiety in her stomach was now replaced with butterflies. Slowly she smiled and let him pull her in to a passionate kiss.

------

Thoughts?!

[Inactive User]

Fab chapter More soon please xx

[Danni02]

That was great!! Grr Hayley, go away! And Liam too, please!!

[soph1303]

Great chapter,

Thoughts?..... Um amazing!!!

Aww kinda felt sorry for Heath in that chapter!

Hayley - please kindly shove off and leave Summer Bay !!

Super cute ending !!!

More soon please

[Sazzle]

Skanky Hayley!! uuurrrgghhh! Gutted for Charlie having to deal with her but loved how you described the intearaction...think a Charlie/Hayley cat fight would actually be quite entertaining

LOVE Chax conversation at the end! Beautiful!!

Heath so cannot deal with feelings bless him...Bianca does play him though...sad she saw him walking off with someone...

Great update! Thanks

[Shezza]

OMG that line at the end of the story " Charlie I could never look at anyone the way I look at you" wow what women wouldn't want that said to them.

I don't know what to make of Bianca and Heath I wish they would just get their act together.

Great Update can't wait for more

[EmyKate68]

Aagh Heath - what are you doing! Hope that he comes to his senses before he goes too far. Liked Bianca's comment to Liam: "And you are a drug user, Liam. So don't dare try and tell me who is and who isn't good enough for me. That's no longer your right."

More soon please!