FIVE
Noah
I blinked away my surprise and caressed my hands down Charlotte’s legs instead. This was more than okay with me, anyway. The black lace wrapped around her hips was see-through and sexy as hell. If anything, I was grateful. She looked so good lying across the tangle of my sheets in nothing but that tiny scrap of black fabric.
I flashed her a wicked smile and slid down, positioning myself between her parted legs. I dropped kisses across her trembling stomach, giving her plenty of warning of what I intended to do. She didn’t stop me, though. Her hands raked through my hair, encouraging me to do it.
So I settled in, nestling between her thighs, and hooked a finger in the crotch of her panties. As soon as I pulled the fabric out of my way, my mouth was on her.
The gasp that tore from Charlotte’s mouth was epic.
She bucked as my tongue fluttered over her skin, and her fingers tightened in my hair. Shit, she was so warm and soft and wet... I closed my lips around her clit and sucked oh-so-gently, but she jolted like it sent an electric shock through her system.
“You like that, huh?” I whispered. She had her eyes closed, but I was sure she could hear the wicked grin on my face.
Her only answer was a quick, jerking nod, and her eyebrows pulled together as if she were trying to focus on the sensations.
I used the tip of my tongue to tease her. To draw needy moans from her lips, and trembling quivers from the legs wrapped around my head. She was so fucking responsive, my dick jerked, wanting to remind me of its presence.
Like I could fucking forget.
While one hand was busy holding her panties to the side, I shoved the other down between my body and the bed and massaged my erection. I varied the speed of my mouth between long, slow licks and fast, furious flutters, trying to gauge which she preferred, but it was impossible to tell.
It seemed like this girl was a fan of everything.
One of her hands vanished from my head so it could glide up the length of her body and came to a stop on her breast. She squeezed and rolled her palm in a circle, moving like a mindless, sexual creature.
Fucking hell. She was so goddamn sexy.
And I was kind of floored by it. With all my experience, I’d never seen a woman this young be so assertive. So confident. Charlotte wasn’t timid or bashful or worried that I might judge her.
Plus, none of this seemed to be an act, or a performance for my benefit. It felt... genuine. It was such a turn-on, I felt a crushing need to bring her to orgasm, and to do it now. To show her just how sexy she was.
I abandoned my dick and slid my index finger as deep inside her as I could.
“God, yes ,” she breathed.
The muscles inside her clamped down when I began to pulse my finger, swiping my tongue across her clit in a matching rhythm. Her hips rocked, moving her pussy against my mouth to the exact angle she wanted.
“Noah,” she whined.
I didn’t lift my head, didn’t pause my tempo. “Hmm?”
“You’re going to make me come.”
That’s the plan.
She’d said it like a warning. Maybe she was enjoying herself and didn’t want to come so soon, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold out. I wanted her. I wanted her almost as badly as I wanted to push her over the edge into ecstasy, and my body and mind were at war with each other.
Wait, no. This war was stupid. I knew what needed to happen.
I kept up my driving tempo, even as I pushed a second finger inside her, and swirled the tip of my tongue against her velvety soft skin. The pitch of her moans changed, as did her hurried breaths, swelling toward the big finish.
And when it happened, she left no doubt about it.
“Oh, my God, I’m gonna...” Her back bowed and every muscle in her seemed to tense, and she cried the word like I’d ripped it from her lungs. “ Fuck .”
She writhed as the orgasm rolled through her, and I watched with both satisfaction and lust. Her pussy’s rhythmic clenching on my fingers was echoed with the throb of my cock. And the sound of her moans filled the room and clouded my head, pushing all thoughts away but the girl quivering beneath me, splayed across my bed.
I’d always enjoyed making my partner come, but I didn’t remember it being this... pleasurable .
When her gasps and gulps of air began to quiet, I could hear my pulse thundering in my ears. It turned out that making her climax had a powerful effect on both of us.
I crawled up the length of her body and collapsed onto my side next to her, planting a kiss on her bare shoulder. It was tame, but I figured she’d probably like a few more moments to recover. Her orgasm had sounded consuming.
Plus, I still had my pants on and needed to get to work rectifying that.
My hands damn near shook as I undid the button and jerked down my zipper. I moved with speed, but was clumsy with desire, and I only had my jeans and underwear pushed down around my knees when Charlotte’s hand locked on my shoulder. She shoved me, forcing me to roll onto my back, and climbed on top of me.
I grinned up at her in pleasant surprise. There was that assertiveness I liked so much. But she was straddling me, and when she ground her body against mine, all thought evaporated.
Her sexy panties were the only barrier between us, and the fabric was whisper thin. It meant I could feel every move she made as she rocked her body over me. Every slide of her hot pussy along the length of my cock. Each rotation of her hips, which pressed the damp fabric against my sensitized skin.
Fuck, it made me wild. I was drunk with lust and filled my hands with the weight of her small, perfect tits. I didn’t deserve a night like this. Didn’t think it was even possible to still pull a girl this hot, and yet, here we were. Only a heartbeat away from sex—
Oh, shit.
Where the fuck had I packed my condoms?
Before the move, I’d emptied my nightstand drawers. They had to be in one of the boxes in the bathroom. But which one?
I’ve been so distracted with that thought, I hadn’t realized Charlotte was slowly working her way down my body. As she mouthed kisses down my bare chest, her hand closed around my dick.
One firm tug from her wrung a groan of pleasure from me, and my vision hazed. The second pump of her fist felt even better, and I had to lock my teeth to prevent another moan from escaping.
The ends of her long hair trailed over my skin as she continued to move down, making her way toward my waist. Was she going to—?
“ Yes ,” I sighed.
Her mouth was like lava when it closed around me, and the power of it forced my eyes shut. She kept going, too, nearly to the base. It was instinctual, the way my hips thrust, trying to get her all the way down, but she seemed prepared for it and retreated.
Her tongue swirled and her cheeks hollowed out as she sucked. The heat of it moved through my legs like an electric current. My heart fell out of rhythm and sputtered along. And it was almost impossible to catch my breath.
Once again, my body and my mind went to war with each other. This blowjob felt so fucking amazing I didn’t want it to end, but at the same time... I wanted to be buried deep inside her pussy, not just her mouth. It was more fun if we were both getting off.
I watched the mesmerizing bob of her head, and my fists clenched at the sensation. She was, like, way too good at this. If she wasn’t careful, I was going to finish in her mouth.
Charlotte was focused, as if determined to make that happen. I unclenched one hand and used a fingertip to trace a line on her forehead, sweeping back the hair out of her eyes. They fluttered open, and her gaze reeled around until it locked on mine.
The connection between us pulled taut as she stared up at me, her lips wrapped around the thick length of my cock, which was wet and glistening with her saliva. The image of it sent another surge of lust coursing through me.
It came out in a low, rushed voice. “Do you want me to grab a condom?”
She hesitated, considering something. Then, she backed off me, leaving her lips beside the tip of my dick. “Uh... that’s okay.”
Um, what?
Did she mean she wanted to have sex without a condom? Because that was a hard no for me, an absolute dealbreaker. I liked kids well enough—but I didn’t want them right now, and I definitely didn’t want them with a woman who was nearly a stranger.
Plus, while I liked taking risks in my life, gambling with my health wasn’t one of them.
Her lips parted and she slipped me in her mouth once more, but I was too distracted to completely enjoy it. I peered down at her over my heaving chest. “I guess I was asking,” I whispered, “if you were ready for me to fuck you.”
I’d meant for it to sound seductive, but maybe my tone had been off. Charlotte jerked back, letting my dick fall from her mouth and land with a thump on my stomach. Her expression was difficult to read, like a mixture of embarrassment and shame, and I didn’t understand at all.
Had I offended her? Because up until now, I’d thought her signals had been clear and she wanted this as much as I did. Cold worry swept through my chest. Had I moved too fast? Made her uncomfortable, and she’d only gone down on me out of obligation, feeling like she needed to return the favor?
“I, um...” Unexpected color warmed her cheeks, and her gaze ran from mine. “I don’t do that on the first date.” Her throat bobbed with a heavy swallow. “Sorry.”
It was weird to feel both disappointment and relief at the same time. Did I want to slide inside her and find out just how sexually compatible we were? Sure. But I liked doing all the other stuff a lot too, and it was hard to be disappointed about her just wanting to suck my cock.
I tilted my head and pushed out a smile. “There’s no reason to be sorry.”
“I should have told you sooner,” she said, “but you’re really fucking hot, and it’s been a while for me, and I got impatient.” She pressed her lips together for a moment, and then the truth spilled out. “I was worried if you found out you weren’t going to get laid, you’d want to stop.”
I let out a breath. Somewhere in her past, she’d probably had that experience.
God, I wanted to shake my head. I knew there were people out there who only did oral if they thought it was going to lead somewhere, or that it was all or nothing when it came to sex—
Those people were fucking idiots.
To me, sex encompassed a hell of a lot more than just putting a dick in a pussy, and I found all forms of sex and foreplay satisfying. So if she didn’t want to go any farther tonight, that was no problem.
“I didn’t mean to tease you,” she continued. “I was going to let you finish in my mouth.”
Her earnest tone and eager expression punched a laugh from my chest. “Oh, were you?”
The corner of her mouth quirked into a sultry smile. “Yes, Daddy.”
It was unclear if she was joking or half serious. But there it was again, this strange feeling of excitement running through me. Why was I kind of into it? I didn’t get a chance to examine it further, because Charlotte lowered back down, taking me in her mouth.
This time, she kept her eyes open and focused on me.
The connection of our gazes while her cheeks hollowed out, and the deep pull of my dick into the back of her throat, was straight fire. Once again, my fists clenched the sheets beneath me. I was nearly naked, and the ceiling fan was on, but I began to sweat anyway.
“That feels,” I said between two enormous breaths, “so fucking good.”
She made a noise of approval, like a hum, and the vibration just kicked everything up another notch. I didn’t make any attempt to leash my moans. I wanted her to hear how much I was enjoying it.
Not that there was any doubt in her mind, given the way I moved, subtly bucking my hips. The steady stroke of her mouth began to pick up the pace, while her luscious tongue flicked over my tip and the sensitive underside.
I didn’t know how long she spent going down on me. Time seemed to suspend. At one point, she shifted on the bed, adjusting to a more comfortable position. Then her hand joined the mix. Her fingers wrapped around the base of my cock, gripping tightly, and the intense pressure squeezed a groan of pleasure from my body.
I loved how she wasn’t delicate with me. Like she somehow knew if it was too much, I’d tell her. Her fist pumped in time with her mouth, making my slippery skin glide in and out of her grip.
She’d given me the heads up, so it only seemed fair to return the favor, and my words came out like gravel was lodged in my throat. “Fuck, you’re going to make me come.”
She gave another one of those sexy hums, and the orgasm that had seemed close was suddenly right on top of me.
Up until now, I’d been good. I’d avoided trying to take over, to take control. But my mind was no longer operating at one hundred percent, and my body took charge. My hands delved into her hair, holding her head still so I could pump from below.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that she was into me fucking her mouth like this. Rough and mindless. But Charlotte held perfectly still, making it easy for me to move how I wanted to. When a sexy moan bubbled up from deep inside her, it pushed me past the point of no return.
Heat fired through my limbs.
It traveled along every scalding nerve ending until it reached my center, and I came in a long, loud rush. True to her word, she didn’t retreat as my dick pulsed and filled her mouth with my cum. I shuddered with each wave, turned my head to the side, and groaned from the overwhelming pleasure.
When the pressure changed and she swallowed, the intense sensation made me flinch and contract. Charlotte sat up, swiped a finger across her lips, then collapsed beside me on the bed so we were both staring up at the spinning ceiling fan. The bare, warm skin of her arm pressed to mine, and maybe she was hoping to nestle in against me, but I wasn’t ready for that.
My recovery was slow.
I pushed out a long breath and hung my forearm over my forehead, using the back of my wrist to wipe away the sweat that clung there. My heart was beating faster than the ringing bell at close of business, and the rest of me was heavy and unmovable.
And yet a lightweight feeling washed through me, like a fleeting moment of euphoria.
When it was over, I rolled onto my side to face her, not caring that my pants and underwear were still awkwardly bunched around my calves. Her gaze stayed fixed on the ceiling, and I watched the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Maybe she needed to recover too.
She could sense my gaze was on her, but she didn’t turn her head when she spoke. “Thanks for tonight.” Her voice fell to a hush. “I know it’s weird to say, but I... needed it.”
There was a tug in my chest, like a rope being pulled taut. The force of it was so intense, I struggled to reply. “Anytime.” It had come out sounding playful, but I’d meant it. “I needed it too.”
She finally turned to look at me, and her eyes were unfocused. Was she adrift in her thoughts? I reached over and trailed my fingers along her jaw line, urging her to come closer and meet me halfway for a kiss.
There was another pull in my chest when our mouths came together, and this time it was more powerful. Far too big to write off or ignore. I had the terrifying thought that my body longed for her, like a magnet when it came close to another, drawn together.
I didn’t want a conventional relationship, and I wasn’t interested in romance or finding a soul mate. It meant I didn’t ‘date,’ at least not in the traditional sense.
And yet, at the end of our kiss, the question just popped out of my mouth. “So, when’s our next date?”
Charlotte drew in a deep breath, and her gaze dropped from mine. She stared at the center of my chest like it was more interesting than her Instagram feed. Abruptly, she turned and flopped over onto her back. Her face skewed with an expression that looked a hell of a lot like distress.
“About that,” she said.
But nothing followed it.
She paused for so long I wasn’t sure anything else was coming, and the moment hung tense between us. Was she going to reveal she didn’t want anything else from me? I should have been excited about her hesitation. I’d brought her home, hoping for that outcome.
So why the fuck was I worried she was going to say this was a one-time thing?
Finally, she pushed out what she’d been holding on to. “I know I said I don’t have sex on the first date, and I don’t, but...”
Oh . I let out a knowing laugh. “Not on the second date either, huh?”
She shook her head. “I don’t sleep with a guy,” she turned and set her nervous gaze on mine, “until I’m in love with him.”
I froze, and a million thoughts darted through my brain in that moment, but only a single word could escape my lips. “Oh.”
It was clear she was waiting for more from me, but what the fuck was I supposed to say? I was willing to explore more with her, but love ?
That wasn’t going to happen.
Getting involved with her would be cruel—I’d just be leading her on.
“Well, full disclosure,” I said, “I don’t really do ‘love.’”
She looked dubious. “What do you mean, you don’t do ‘love?’”
My post orgasm brain left me unfiltered. “I’ve got a lot going on right now. I don’t have time for it.”
It was like I told her I only wanted to invest in GameStop. “I’m sorry, you don’t have time for it? Who doesn’t have time for love?”
I didn’t like how judgmental she was being, even if part of me worried she had a point. “Seriously, I don’t have time for it.” I mashed the pillow under my head and frowned. I needed to be truthful and set expectations. “Really, I don’t have any interest in it. Maybe you think that makes me a dick, but I’m being honest here. I don’t want or need romance.”
Charlotte’s mouth hung open as she processed my statement.
Then confusion narrowed her eyes. “Okay, why’d you ask me for a second date?” Disgust abruptly swept through her face. “Oh, I gotcha. You’ll pretend you’re interested until you close the deal, and then you’ll ghost me.”
Irritation heated me up, but it was partially self-directed. I understood that it sounded bad, but... “That wasn’t what I was going to do.”
She didn’t believe a word of it, judging by the way she sat up, fished her bra from the tangled sheets, and hurried to put it on.
“Okay, just wait a minute. Let me explain.”
Um, how are you going to do that? You don’t even know why you asked her for a second date.
She turned to look at me over her shoulder, waiting impatiently for me to continue. I scratched the center of my forehead, willing the words to come.
“I don’t date,” I said. “Not in the traditional way, at least. I do better when my relationships are,” I searched for the right word, “transactional.”
“Transactional,” she repeated, and her tone turned bitter. “ Nice .”
“It’s better that way,” I admitted. “The relationships in my past were complicated.” How much detail was I supposed to give her? “When I was in New York, all I cared about was my job. I was too focused on that to do the things I needed to do, so every one of my relationships suffered. Not just the romantic ones, either.”
She wasn’t convinced. “But you’re not in New York anymore.”
I reached down and pulled up my pants. “It’s not going to be any different here.”
“You don’t know that.” She said it like a child trying to reason to get what they wanted.
I finished buttoning my pants and gave her the most direct look I possessed. “I don’t want it to be any different here. It’s better to not get attached to me, because ultimately, I’m just going to let you down.”
She blinked, staring at me with disbelief. “Seriously? Do other girls buy that shit?”
“What?”
Charlotte climbed off the bed, snatched up her pants, and shoved her foot into one of the legs. “The idea that you won’t date someone ‘for their own good.’ That you’re—what? Saving them from falling in love with you and getting their heart broken?”
I frowned and got off the bed on the side opposite her. It made me sound like an asshole, but I lifted a hand in surrender. “It’s the truth.”
“Sounds more like an excuse.” She jerked her pants up and did up the fly, and her tone filled with sarcasm. “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free, am I right?”
I fucking hated that saying, and my frustration got the better of me. “Some people don’t need love in a relationship to feel fulfilled. In fact, some people don’t even need love to have sex.”
Her shoulders tensed, and she drew in a sharp breath. I hadn’t meant to be so cutting, and so my words sliced us both. And while the bed was a physical divide between us, it suddenly felt wider than a football field.
“Well,” she said, yanking her shirt over her head, “I do.”
“Why?”
Her movements slowed. “What do you mean, why ?”
“We did a lot of things tonight, Charlotte. We got naked and we went down on each other. Wasn’t that a kind of sex?” I realized how confrontational my posture had become and tried to relax, softening my voice. “I’m just curious as to why full-on sex is too much, but everything else is okay.” The idea popped into my head and was out before I could think better of it. “Is it, like, a way to keep your body count low?”
Well, shit.
Shock wasn’t a strong enough word for emotion that splashed across her face. She lifted her chin and glared at me. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“No, you don’t. I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.”
It wasn’t fucking likely because she turned and strode for the door. Fuck. I picked up my shirt and tugged it on while chasing after her.
I caught up to her in the entryway, and the Uber app was open on the screen of her phone. I scrubbed a hand over my face while coming up with a way to repair the damage I’d done.
“I didn’t answer your question,” I said. “I didn’t ask for a second date just so I could fuck you.” Could she hear how genuine I was? I hoped my expression made it clear I was serious. “I asked because I want to see you again.”
She lifted her distrustful gaze from the screen.
“You should say no,” I told her. “I’m sure we’re at different places in our lives, and we want different things, and it’s probably a bad idea.” A frustrated sigh escaped my lungs. “But if you give me your number, Charlotte, I’m going to call you.”
There was a flickering spark of hope in her eyes, but it quickly died. “And then what? I don’t want a ‘transactional relationship,’ whatever the fuck that is.” She punched the icon on her screen, ordering her ride, and then leveled a pointed gaze at me. “You say you don’t have time for love, but I don’t have time to waste on a guy who’s telling me that dating him is never going to lead to anywhere.”
She was absolutely right, so why the hell did I feel this urge to push back, to try to encourage her to give me a chance? I should be smart and overrule the feeling.
She’s too young for you anyway.
“Give me your number,” I demanded.
She shook her head and reached for the door. “Have a nice life, Noah.”