“Why should we debrief?” I raise my eyebrows as the tips of my thumbs slowly meet each other in the middle of her stomach. From there, my hands begin their patient crawl up her torso.
“Because there’s a touchy situation that may have a very sticky end result.” Now she’s the one licking her lips as my thumbs circle around her nipples at a pace I’m sure may kill her.
“Oh, I think we’ll be drowning in the effects of the touchy situation.” My hand travels back down her body and searches between her legs. I swirl a finger around her entrance a few times before plunging it in. “I see you agree with me.” I brace her with my arm as she arches back from the intrusion. Pulling her closer to me, I taste the skin at the base of her neck. I nip gently, avoiding the urge to savor it. I don’t want to leave marks on her, and yet I want to somehow brand her. Anyone that looks at her—dares to think of touching her—should know that she is mine and move on without another thought of her.
“Mitch ... Mitch, please,” she’s breathless. Wanting. She embraces my face with her soft, sweet hands. Their coolness calms me in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.
“I need you, Mitch.”
She needs me ...
“I want you.”
She wants me ...
“Baby ... please.”
Baby ...
I stare into her jade-colored eyes. They show me her words are pure and true. My head says to run ... run fast, or she’ll destroy you. Except, no other part of me is listening to my head as I toss her onto the couch. I will brand her. I will make it so she will not want another man’s hands on her body. No other lips will do. My hands, my kiss will be all she thinks about—craves—when she is not near me. My fingers and mouth comply with the plan as they worship her body, like she’s an exotic goddess. I believe she is, actually.
I glance at the clock on the wall as it ticks to the exact minute I began my worshipping, two hours ago. Charlotte is cradled in my arms, softly crying. Every few minutes, she stops long enough to kiss my neck and shoulder. I am almost certain it is her way of telling me, without words, that no man has ever adored her the way I just did.
“The sun will be up soon, baby.” I glide my hand up the length of her body. “We should get back to bed.” Charlotte lifts her head to look at me. Her eyes pierce mine and I swear, if I let her stare long enough, she could uncover every last secret I have. “What?” I touch her cheek lightly.
“Nothing,” she murmurs, shaking her head.
“Don’t lie to me.” I strum her bottom lip with my thumb. “What’s on your mind?”
“I’m not lying. Not exactly. I’m not quite sure what to think. I don’t want to say any more. You know I ramble. I don’t want to say anything that may scare you off.” She offers me a half smile before she lays her head back down.
“Charlotte,” I say, trying to mask my building frustration. “You can’t say all of that and not explain what you mean.”
“Mitch, there’s nothing to explain. Nothing that I can really articulate well enough to form an explanation.” She leans on her hand and runs her fingers over the stubble on my chin.
“Charlotte ... why do you think it would scare me off?” I grab her hand and allow my voice to show my impatience.
She gives it back to me with an exasperated sigh. “Okay—here it goes.” She pauses, closing her eyes momentarily. Seems a bit dramatic to me, really. I almost laugh.
“C’mon!” I slap her ass playfully when she takes too long.
“Ow—sorry.”
“There’s more where that came from if you don’t spill it.” I bite at her pouty lip and rub where I just smacked.
“Ha ... well, I was going go to say, before you rudely interrupted me—fourth rude thing, by the way.” She taps my chin with her index finger.
“I’m going to show you ‘rude’ in a minute if you don’t get to it—just so you’re clear on my definition.” I give her my sternest look, and she replies with that sexy little smile, a hint of sass on her lips. I bring my hand down again on her ... harder than I intended. Charlotte jumps up from my arms.
“Whoa ... wait ... wait.” I pull her to me. “Sorry, baby. Sorry. I didn’t mean to do it that hard.” I laugh nervously as I try to hold her to me. “Baby.” I kiss her shoulder. “Look at me, please.” I touch her chin lightly and turn her face to me. “I’m sorry ... honestly.” I lean forward and nudge her lips with mine.
“Don’t do it again,” she says quietly.
“I promise, I won’t.”
“C’mon, let’s go to bed,” she says after a deep sigh and nod of her head.
“Wait, you didn’t tell me what you were thinking.” I stand up with her and help her back into my shirt. I don’t know why she’s bothering; it’ll be back off in a minute.
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“Oh ... that’s not fair.” I grab her hand and walk to the bedroom with her.
“No rewards for bad behavior, Mitch.” She climbs onto the bed. I run a hand through my hair as I try to figure her out. I shouldn’t have to figure anything out.
“Shirt off, Charlotte,” I say before climbing in. She glances at me before taking it off, and then curls up on her side, facing away from me. “In my arms, Charlotte!” I snap. She turns to me and slowly slides halfway onto me, into my arms.
“Goodnight, Mitchell.” She kisses me, then lays her head down.
Mitchell? Shit!
“Charley,” I whisper, cringing at the use her nickname. “Don’t be like this, please. Not even an hour ago you were like butter—melting under my touch.” I run my hands up and down her back. “I want this to work with you, Charley, but I’m not going to put up with this behavior.”
“You fucking hit me, Mitch! You want me to be all warm and fuzzy toward you now?” She lifts her head.
“I said I was sorry! What else do you want me to do?” I yell.
“Just give me a goddamn chance to calm down and get over it!” she yells back. I grab her face and kiss her hard. Christ, she’s fucking hot as hell when she’s mad! She tries to pull away. I turn her and pin her down on the bed.
“Get off of me!” she says through clenched teeth and tries to break free from my hold. I tighten my grasp on her and knee her legs open wider. She bucks her hips and pushes off the bed with her right foot, flipping me onto my back. Damn, she’s strong! She holds my arms down and whips her hair over onto her shoulder. I sit up quickly with enough force to knock her on her back and pin her once more. I attack her lips, biting at them—savoring them. Placing both of her arms above her head, I use my free hand to pin them together. I free my trapped hand and grasp at her breast, then pull her nipple into my mouth and grind it gently with my teeth. She squirms and bucks, trying to break free. I bring my mouth up to her ear.
“Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte,” I sigh. “The more you fight me, baby ... the harder I’m going to fuck that sweet, tight pussy of yours.”
“Ah!” she gasps.
I bite at her earlobe. “Keep fighting me, baby ... I want to make your pussy so sore.” I notice Charlotte go limp and start breathing erratically, so I lift my head to look down into her face. Her eyes are wide. “Is my choice of words offending you?” I grin playfully and continue to torture her nipple with my fingers.
“Well ... uh ... no, I just,” a very flustered Charlotte starts, “you haven’t talked to me like this all night.” On a hunch, I choose to ignore her comment and shock her some more.
I keep my voice low. “Charlotte?”
“Yes?”
“Who does your pussy belong to, baby?” My hunch is right—her breathing is out of control.
“You.”
“Say it, baby. Tell me who this belongs to.” I bring my hand down and let my fingers trace her cleft. “Full sentence, please,” I add.
“My pussy belongs to you, Mitch.” Her voice shakes, the volume just above a whisper.
“Baby, baby, baby ... it’s okay for a good girl to be a little bad,�
�� I say as soothingly as possible.
“I’m going to let go of your arms. I want you to touch me and see what you do to me.” I release her hands and anticipate her touch. Slowly, her hand travels down between us. My breath hitches as she wraps her hand around to stroke me. “No. No, baby, don’t.” I pull her hand away. “Tell me what to do with my morale.” I kiss her. “Say it the way you know I want to hear it.” She takes in a deep breath. “Say it, baby ... tell me,” I encourage her, desperately trying not to come undone at the thought of her talking to me that way.
Charlotte grasps my face aggressively. “You take that morale of yours and fuck my pussy so hard I’m begging you to stop. When I do start begging ... fuck my pussy harder. You don’t stop until you’re convinced my pussy is the sorest it has ever been!” Holy shit! Did that just come out of her mouth? “Now, Mitch!” She heels me in the ass. “By the way, I’m very flexible—I suggest you take advantage of that,” she says against my lips before kissing them.
After a moment of disbelief I fly into action, whipping her legs into the air wide and down on either side of her head. Shit—she wasn’t kidding! I slam into her hard and relish in the sound that escapes her throat.
“Ready, baby?” I ask, breathless and anxious.
“Are you?” she counters, her tone mocking. I push her legs down hard and have at her as if my life depended on it. My efforts are rewarded by her whimperish moans. When she finally begs me to stop, I call on my reserves and pound into her harder. The good thing about fucking this hard is that just when you don’t think you can keep up another minute with this stamina, the tightening and tingling occurs. It travels up into my shaft and the pit of my stomach. I erupt inside of her with such force I half expect it to pour out of her mouth. Releasing her legs, they fall to my side as I give my final pumps and crash on top of her. I lift my head to look at her. Her eyes are still closed and she’s breathing deeply.
“Baby,” I say, touching her face, “are you okay?”
“Mmhmm.” She smirks. Taking reassurance from this, I pull out of her, enjoying the face she makes. My right hand runs from her breast, down her torso, and between her legs. Charlotte opens her eyes and stares into mine as I swirl my come around her pussy. I can tell she likes this by the way she softly moans and gyrates against my hand. I love how much she likes it.
“We’re so good together, Charlotte.” I kiss her.
“Let me taste how good we are together.” She licks and nips at my mouth. I bring two fingers up and run them along her parted lips. She opens them, fully taking my fingers in and sucking our taste off of them. I close my eyes to squash the tightening in my stomach. Charlotte stops sucking. I open my eyes.
“Do we taste good?” I smile.
“Uh-huh ... c’mere.” She pulls my face to hers. “Taste for yourself,” she mutters and softly presses her lips to mine. I suck all of our taste off. Damn, she can kiss. I deepen the kiss and pull her close. We spend the next several minutes making out like a pair of teenagers. Christ, I feel twenty years younger with her.
“Mitch, I need to go to the bathroom, baby.” She smiles against my lips.
“Go. I’ll straighten this mess out.” I eye our bed; everything is twisted.
Once the bed is tidy again, I rest my head back and wait for Charlotte. It’s almost six. Thank God I don’t have a meeting until the afternoon!
“Hey ... what are you thinking about?” She climbs in.
“The meeting I have at two.” I kiss her head as she snuggles against me.
“Anything interesting?” She leans her head back to look at me.
“No, nothing as interesting as you.” I smile. “Incidentally, Charlotte ... I’m very shocked at your vulgar language!” I try to look appalled. She smacks my chest, making me laugh.
“The Devil made me do it.” She rolls her eyes.
“I thought you might have been possessed,” I say after some thought.
“Well, you exorcised the shit out of that demon ... didn’t you?” She bites back her smile.
“I hope not. That was hot as hell!” I kiss her again. “Get some sleep, baby.”
“Sleep—now there’s a concept!”
“Mm,” I agree and kiss her hair again before we both drift off.
I take a deep breath and am fully awoken by the glorious aroma of coffee in the air. I reach my arms above my head and have a good stretch.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” I open one eye, not sure of the voice I’m hearing. Oh, it’s Mitch—mmm.
“Good morning.” I smile and sit up, bringing the sheet with me. Mitch walks over to the bed and leans down for a kiss.
“I ordered brunch for us. You didn’t bring a bag up last night. Do you have one in your car?”
“Uh, yeah, I do actually.”
“Then give me your keys, the make, and where you’re parked so I can have my assistant get it. You go jump in the shower.” He hands me my purse.
“I’ll get it,” I offer, looking around for my dress.
“Baby, you need to shower and eat so we can get to the bank. My meeting is in two hours.” He pushes my purse in front of me again.
“Did your meeting get pushed up? I thought it was at two.” I pull my keys out and hand them to him.
“It is at two. It’s noon, Charlotte. C’mon, get in the shower.” He pats my leg.
“Noon? No. No, no ... it can’t be noon!” I grab my phone and check it. Five texts, ten missed calls, and yes, you irresponsible asshole—it’s noon! “Shit!” I yell and jump out of bed. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” I scramble for my things.
“Charlotte! What are you doing?” He grabs my arm.
“I have to go, Mitch! I was supposed to be home this morning—no later than ten! Ava’s gonna kill me!” I look frantically at the phone. “Shit! She’s gonna think I’m dead!” I pull up her texts. The last one says “ARE YOU DEAD???!!!!”—confirming my suspicions.
“You can’t go. You signed a contract. Call her and tell her you’re fine and that you’ll see her tomorrow!” He points to the phone. I stare at him like he has five heads. Just as I’m about to ask him if he’s a moron, I remember he doesn’t know I have kids.
“Mitch, I can’t do that. I have to go home. I’m sorry. I wish I could stay. I realize I signed a contract, but I had no idea that I would be spending another night with you. You didn’t tell me how long you were in town for, or that you expected me to start right away with the whole ‘beck and call’ thing.” I explain the best I can while dialing Ava’s number.
“Charley?!” she screams.
“Yes, it’s me. I’m so sorry, Ava. I overslept. I’m leaving now,” I say as I frantically throw on my clothes.
“Your parents are with them, Charley. I couldn’t stay,” she says quickly.
“What? Oh no! Ava—ugh!” I pull at my hair.
“I tried calling you, damn it!”
“I had to keep my phone on vibrate.” I look up and find Mitch gone.
“Well, I told them that you were at an interview in Boston. I didn’t know what else to say,” she explains with a sigh.
“No ... thank you, Ava. I’m sorry I scared you. I’ll call you later.” I rummage through my purse for a hair tie.
“You’d better—I want full details!” she says before we hang up. Quickly, I hit the number to my house.
“Charley-baby! How’d the interview go?” my dad asks, his tone cheerful. God, I hate lying to this man.
“So far, so good, Dad! They want me to stay and interview with another person and possibly create a few samples.”
“Listen, sweetie, Mom and I have the kids—we’re all fine. You concentrate on what you need to do! Don’t worry about rushing home, baby doll. You just knock their socks off!” I can almost see him swinging his fist in his “Go get ’em, champ” way.
“Thanks, Daddy. I love you.” I choke back my tears.
“I love you, Charley. You make me so proud,” he says.
“Thanks, Daddy.” I can barely k
eep it together. “Call you later.”
“Okay, honey—good luck!”
“Thanks! Bye.” I hang up and sit on the bed to sob. I don’t deserve his pride. I take a deep breath and call CiCi.
“Hey, Charley, I was just thinking about you. My friend Reagan is selling this vitamin-powder-supplement thing at parties and she’s doing great with it, so I told her that you may be interested.” I don’t think I have ever called CiCi and gotten a simple fucking “Hello, Charley.”
“CiCi, thanks, but are you busy tonight?” I ask.
“Depends.”
“I met a nice guy and I’d really like to go out with him again. Will you stay over tonight so I can?” I cross my fingers.
“All night? Are you sleeping with him?”
“Well, I’m not sure what time I’ll be in, so it’s best if you just stay over, and please do not tell anyone!” I beg.
“What do I get?” Crap!
“I will host a vitamin party thing for Reagan and consider the benefits of pushing the powder on unsuspected loyal friends who feel obligated to buy it from me just so it can sit on their shelves and collect dust! Do we have a deal?” Fingers still crossed.
“Deal!” she yells excitedly. Christ ... I thought I was the easy one here.
“Thanks, babe—call ya later!” I smile and hang up. Phew! With a deep breath I head out to the living room.
“Mitch ... I think I’ve worked things out,” I say with a smile as I approach him at the table. He holds up a check. “What’s this?” I take it.
“Payment for last night. I gave you the most I could as a gift so there would be no red flags.” He sips his coffee and I spot the ripped-up contract on the table. I look down at the check and see it’s written for $13,000.00.
“That’s it? You’re done with me?” I sit down in disbelief. “I just lied to my family and friends so I could spend tonight with you! My dad thinks I’m on a job interview and just went on about how proud he is of me!”
He looks up. “You’re spending the night with me?”
“No ... not anymore.” I shake my head and get up to leave, disappointed. Why did I think he would be different from any other selfish prick I’ve been with?
Under Contract (The GEG Series) Page 4
