Chapter Two
J ared stood beside Charlotte as she let them into her hotel room with her key card. The door shut with a click behind them. Her hips swayed as she walked inside and tossed her room card and purse onto the table in the outer room. She obviously had a suite to accommodate herself and the girls.
Turning, she met his gaze. Jared couldn’t remember his last hookup but he had the definite feeling this would be one he wouldn’t soon forget.
From the moment he’d met Charlotte this past year, he’d felt a connection. Talking to her had been easy and fun. They seemed to think alike and she was witty. Bright. And so fucking sexy she took his breath away. Without shame, he studied her, and from her high heels to the fitted light purple dress, she exuded sex appeal. Add in her tanned skin, beautiful face, luscious lips, and a shoulder-grazing haircut that showed her long, graceful neck and he was a goner.
“I’d offer you a drink but I don’t have anything,” she said with a high-pitched laugh that showed her apprehension.
“That’s fine because I see something I want a lot more.” Determined to erase any nerves she might have, he stepped closer and slid a hand behind her neck, pulling her toward him.
When they were a breath apart, he waited, giving her one last chance to change her mind. Instead, she eased forward and their mouths met. He kissed her, parting her lips and taking his first taste. Her Champagne-tinged flavor along with her eager response did not disappoint. When she tangled her tongue with his, she triggered a primal response, one that had been building since they’d first met.
He spent long minutes devouring her mouth, tipping her head for better access and delving deeper. Tasting her felt like getting to know her better, more intimately. He ran his fingers through her hair, feeling the soft strands and tugging until she reacted with a soft moan.
His cock hardened and need raced through him, along with the desire to move things along. Sliding his lips over her cheek, along her jawline, and down her neck, he tasted her skin, breathing in her floral scent. She tipped her head, giving him better access, and he took his time, learning her likes and dislikes as he kissed, licked, and nipped at her skin.
Finally, he turned her around, kissing the back of her neck as he slid the zipper down her dress and peeled it off her shoulders. With a swipe of his hands, it fell to the floor, leaving her clad in only a matching pair of virginal-looking white lace underwear and bra. He already knew she wasn’t na?ve or a virgin, giving him permission to do so much more with her, and he loved it.
Pivoting her once again, he held her in front of him, admiring her until her chest flushed pink. “You’re stunning,” he said in gruff voice.
The light flush rose up and stained her cheeks.
“Thank you. Think you can even things up?” She reached out and began to unbutton the rest of his shirt, parting the sides and slipping it off his shoulders.
It caught on the cufflinks. He grinned and held out one hand for her to free his wrist, then the other. Then, he wasted no time undoing his pants and removing them along with his underwear and socks. His dick stood at attention, throbbing with need.
“Looks like we’re uneven again,” he said, his gaze on her soft mounds of flesh protruding over the white lace bra.
Her dark eyes never left his as she reached around her back and undid the clasp, letting it drop to the floor. The act revealed full breasts and dusky-colored nipples, and his mouth watered at the sight. She hooked her thumbs in her skimpy panties and pulled them off, tossing them onto the pile of discarded clothes.
“Even,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing their naked bodies in close contact.
His hard cock rubbed against her soft skin and he groaned at the feel of her feminine flesh.
“Play time’s over,” he stated, and lifted her fireman style over his shoulder, grinning as she shrieked and laughed at the same time.
Unable to resist, he gave her luscious ass a light slap. Instead of yelling in outrage, her silence was followed by a long, pleasure-filled moan.
He picked up his pace and deposited her on the mattress in the center of the bed. Placing one knee beside her, he intended to join her, when he paused, reality hitting him.
“Shit. We need protection,” he said, grinding his teeth at the thought of not feeling her wet, tight heat around his.
“I have an IUD,” she said, their gazes meeting. “And I had every test under the sun before I left for the dig. There’s been no one since.”
“Good to know,” he said, his voice tinged with the same relief flowing through him. When it came to this woman, he was discovering he had a caveman side. One that wanted everything she was willing to give. As much as she’d let him explore and get to know her better, he was all in.
Wait.
What?
This is a one-night stand , he reminded himself. The truth was, he had no time for a relationship and even if he did, she lived across continents. Their worlds had crossed for this short period of time only. Besides, when he was younger he’d tried dating and not one woman had the patience for the hours he put in at work.
A small voice asked if that was because maybe he’d never found the right woman. No. He shook his head and caught her curious expression, her nose crinkling as she obviously waited for him to give his status on protection.
Instead, he’d gotten lost in crazy daydreams.
He cleared his throat and his mind of anything other than the current situation. “After my father’s heart attack, common sense made me get a physical. The whole nine yards,” he told her. “I’m clean. And yeah. As I said, I have no time for a social life.” It’d been longer than he cared to admit since the last time he’d had sex with any woman.
Charlotte’s eyes darkened at his words. “So we can still…?”
The question trailed off and knowing what she’d been thinking, he nodded. “We can. Which means the time for talking is over.” Grasping his erection, he pumped with his hand, his palm grazing from root to tip, and he grit his teeth at the desire coursing through him.
Joining her on the bed, he leveraged his body over hers, kissing her once more. After taking time with her mouth, he moved down her body, licking, kissing, and tasting until he reached her center, swiping his tongue through her pussy, finding her wet for him. His dick gave a hard pulse of need and at the same time he exhaled a low groan, she let out a shuddering moan. He could play some more but they were both on the edge.
He kissed her belly once, then twice, before sitting up, gripping his cock and lining himself up at her entrance. Their eyes met as he pushed inside her for the first time. Pumping his hips in short bursts, he eased his way into her, making sure she was slick and ready.
She was wet with need but he was thick and she needed priming. He took his time, watching her face, making him aware of her increasing pleasure. Three more passes in and he bottomed out deep, her body accepting all of him.
“Jared, I feel you everywhere,” she murmured, squeezing her core muscles tighter around him.
“That’s the point.” Unable to hold back, he lifted his hips and slammed deep once more.
“Oh God!” Her eyes glittered with desire and he complied, slamming into her, pressing her deeper into the mattress.
Her breath came in short pants and he feared he’d come too quickly.
“ More .” She continued to beg for him to thrust harder and deeper and he was only too happy to oblige.
He had another trick up his sleeve and he slid his hand between them, stroking her clit back and forth until she lost any sense of rhythm.
“I’m so close.” Her body trembled beneath him, her inner walls clasping him harder.
“Then let go.” He pinched her clit between his thumb and forefinger and she stiffened, then began to shift her hips against his. She let go, crying out and riding out a climax that seemed to last for a gloriously long time as he held on, determined not to follow her over just yet.
He slid out, flipped her over, and pulled her up on her hands and knees. Repositioning himself, he slid back in, the new angle causing her to grip him tighter and from the scream she let out, he’d hit a new spot inside her. One that made her wild and she threw her head back, meeting him as he thrust in and out, so fucking close.
Recalling what she’d enjoyed, he rubbed a hand over one ass cheek and gave her a light slap, then massaged the area until she let out a whimper.
“I didn’t know that could feel good,” she admitted.
He couldn’t say this was normally his thing, but with Charlotte, he wanted to experience her locking his cock in a tight vise, trusting him not to hurt her, but to provide all the pleasure she deserved.
He slapped the other cheek.
“Oh God, yes.”
He then thrust into her, slamming hard as he made sure to hit the sweet spot inside her, over and over until she cried out his name. Knowing she was mid-climax, he let go, coming until he thought he’d blacked out.
They collapsed on the bed and he pulled out, rolling to the side so as not to crush her. Once he caught his breath, he glanced over. She lay on her stomach, face to the side, breathing heavily.
“You okay?” he asked, sliding her hair off her cheek so she could breathe more easily.
“You broke me,” she said, laughing.
“In a good way, I hope.”
“The best way possible.” She shifted to the side and met his gaze. “Despite what it may seem like given the situation with the twins, I don’t do this often.” She gestured between them with one hand.
“I never thought you did.”
She offered him a sweet smile. “I meant to say, I don’t do this often, nor do I plan to, but I can guarantee, this was the best time ever.”
“You’re good at giving compliments.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Be right back.”
He slid out of bed and walked naked to the bathroom where he washed up, found an extra hand towel, wet it with warm water, and returned to find Charlotte where he’d left her.
He sat on the bed and cleaned her gently as she watched him, her gaze soft. “Thank you, Jared.”
He smiled, liking how his name sounded on her lips. “You’re welcome. Now, get some sleep.” He rose to his feet, planning to return the towel to the bathroom.
“Are you leaving?” she asked, sounding disappointed.
He couldn’t contain the pleasure he felt at her reaction. “Not if you don’t want me to.”
She shook her head. “I don’t.”
So he put the towel in the bathroom, climbed into bed, and pulled Charlotte into his arms.
***
Unsure how long he’d slept, Jared woke to a warm body wrapped around his. This was a rare to never happens occurrence and he knew immediately where he was and hoped for a morning quickie before he had to say goodbye to Charlotte.
A flash of disappointment hit him at the realization this couldn’t be anything more than it was.
“Morning,” she said, and he rolled to his side, facing her.
Her chocolate-colored eyes were half-mast, her hair messy, and she still looked beautiful to him. “Good morning. Did I wake you?” He’d tried not to move or jostle her.
She shook her head. “My internal clock is pretty strong. I’ve been waking up around seven with the girls. What time is it?”
He glanced at the clock on the nightstand beside her and grinned. “Seven o’clock.”
She stretched her arms over her head and her breasts popped out from beneath the blanket. Blushing, she grabbed the covers and pulled them back up. “Oops.”
“Didn’t bother me,” he said with a chuckle. Despite wanting her again—how could he not?—he had the sudden urge to also know more about her. “Are you ready to go back to your dig?” he asked her, curious about her lifestyle.
She paused, wrinkling her nose as she thought. “I guess so, but when I’m there I miss home. But we still have work to finish.” She sounded more resigned than excited.
“Is it hard to leave the girls?” He couldn’t imagine just taking off to another country for a couple of years if his kids were here.
“Very hard. But there’s a part of me that’s following my mother’s dream. Our dream,” she clarified.
“How so?”
She pulled in a deep breath and exhaled before beginning an explanation. “Mom, her name was Kylie, was a curator at a museum. She loved ancient artifacts and history, and passed that love on to me. From the time I was young, she used to take me with her to work. My older brother stayed with the babysitter but I was a bookworm, so I never minded being at the museum. I used to ask her so many questions.” Her lips tilted upward at the memory.
“You sound like Dakota and her never-ending facts.”
Charlotte laughed. “She’s more precocious than I ever was. I was more serious. But I couldn’t get enough of paleontology and history and my mother always indulged me with patient answers.”
“You two were close.” It wasn’t difficult to figure that out.
Smiling, she nodded. “I miss her.”
“What happened?”
Charlotte swallowed hard. “She died from cancer when I was sixteen.”
He reached for her hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Given his age when his own mother passed away, murdered by one of his father’s clients when he was thirteen, he knew how hard this must have been on her. It didn’t seem like the right time to bring up his past. He was focused on hers.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “Mom had always wanted to go on a dig for ancient artifacts, but she became pregnant with my brother. And let’s just say my father was nothing like Noah.”
Jared appreciated the insight she was giving him into her life. “Noah is an exceptional parent,” he said. “And he’s understanding when it comes to you and your work. You two have an unusual but very fortunate agreement about raising the kids.”
She nodded. “I’m forever grateful to him. Mom and I used to talk about trying to go on a dig together after I graduated college but… obviously, it never happened and I was determined to do it on my own. I just never expected this dig to keep getting extended as often as it has.”
They lay in silence, her story settling inside him as he thought about their shared loss and how much she’d loved her mother. “Thank you for telling me,” he said.
“I don’t mind talking about Mom. It makes me feel close to her, as does being on the dig. But I have a lot to make up to Dylan and Dakota.”
Her love for the kids was obvious. “You’re setting a good example for them about being true to themselves.”
“I appreciate you saying that. I fight the guilt daily.” She shook her head, as if ridding her mind of unhappy thoughts. “Now, how about some us time before I have to meet the girls for breakfast?”
She didn’t have to ask him twice. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, his lips coming down on hers when her phone rang from her nightstand. She must have gotten up for it during the night.
With a groan, she rolled over and answered the call. By the time she hung up, he knew from the gist of the conversation the girls wanted to come see her and their time together was over.